Division Ck~3-£

FEB 10 1904 *
Section
B43/Z

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA

A Sketch of their History

In Paper Covers, 6d; in Cloth Covers, 8d.

“This is a compact and accurate manual, full of'

illuminating knowledge. As a side-light on Old Testa¬
ment history and life it will be found most useful.
It contains brief, but lucid, accounts of Babylonian
literature, science, religion, and industry.”—American
Journal of Theology.

“The results of profound research are now brought

within the reach of the student in brief compass and
in a popular style.”—Sunday School Chronicle.

* ; 4 •

& l (p j °13£>
 Bible Class primers.
EDITED BY PRINCIPAL SALMOND, D.D., ABERDEEN.

HISTORY OF EGYPT

ROSS G. MURISON, M.A., B.D.,

LECTURER IN ORIENTAL LANGUAGES, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, TORONTO.

dbittlmrgh:
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET.
LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT Sc CO. (Ltd.)
 CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE

I. Introductory . 7
II. The Ancient Kingdom 20
III. The Middle Kingdom 3i
IV. The Hyksos—Dynasties XIII.-XVII. . 37
V. The Eighteenth Dynasty—1587-1387 . 42
VI. The Nineteenth Dynasty—The Kings
WHO KNEW NOT JOSEPH . 54
VII. The Decline of Egypt . 60
VIII. Foreign Domination 64
IX. Independence and Renaissance 68
X. The Persian Period—525-331 72
XI. Religion . 76
XII. “The Book of the Dead” 83
XIII. The People and their Life 89
XIV. Science and Art . 96

XV. Modern Egypt . 105

5
 HISTORY OF EGYPT
-o-

CHAPTER I

Introductory

i. Egypt, a Wonderland.—There have always

been a peculiar interest and a charm attached to
Ancient Egypt and its story, arising out of the
romance and traditions connected with the land.
It was to Egypt that Abraham went; in it Joseph
fulfilled his high destiny ; at its court and schools
Moses received his early training ; and there the
Israelites groaned under the tyranny of Pharaoh,
from which they were delivered only by the mighty
power of Jehovah. The youthful nations of Greece
and Rome were impressed by its hoary antiquity
and high civilization, and to them also in many
things Egypt became a schoolmaster. They, as all
who since have visited the Nile valley, stood with
awe before its colossal works, its pyramids and
temples, its Sphinx and obelisks, and spread the
fame of them through all lands. We do not wonder
then, that in the popular mind Egypt was as a
fabled land. Now, while there is more interest
than ever in its story, Egypt is no longer regarded
as a mere isolated wonder, like some extraordinary
freak of nature, or one of its own pyramids ; but
7
8 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

we desire to know something of what that strange

land really was, and what part it played in the
development of the world’s higher life.
2. The Land. — On modern maps the whole
north-east corner of Africa is generally marked
off as Egypt ; but such an Egypt is a creation of
the map maker, and never existed in history.
The historic land is a small country consisting
merely of the Nile Delta, and the narrow valley
of the river up to the First Cataract. Egypt is the
gift of the Nile ; only the land directly fertilised by
its overflowing waters belongs to the ancient king¬
dom ; and as said by Herodotus, no one is an
Egyptian who does not drink Nile water. The
whole extent of this territory does not exceed
13,000 square miles.
3. Its Names.—The modern name of the land
is from the Greek, and is supposed to have been a
corruption of Ha-ka Ptah, the House of the Spirit
of Ptah, the name of the temple in Memphis.
The Old Testament name is Misraim (Assyrian
Musru), a word meaning “ border land.” Because
of the colour of the soil the Egyptians themselves
called it Qemet or Black Land, and the desert
Deshret, Red Land. In the inscriptions poetic
names descriptive of the country are often em¬
ployed. The most common of these are, The
Two Lands, Land of the Sycamore, Land of the
Sacred Eye, Land of the Inundation.
4. Geological Formation.—The rock-bed of
Egypt is granite. Over this in the first fluvial
period was laid a great bed of limestone in the
north, and of sandstone south of Edfu. At Aswan
 INTRODUCTOR Y. 9

(Syene) is the First Cataract, formed by a granite

range rising through the sandstone at right angles
to the river. As the land emerged from the water
a great “ fault ” or fracture was caused by its
rising much higher on the east side. This long
fracture, running parallel to the Red Sea, was
partly filled with sand and gravel in the second
fluvial period, leaving it a long narrow plain when
the land again rose from the water. Along this a
river made its way, bringing at high water much
detritus, and creating a soil fit to support man and
beast. The land thus made is Egypt. The soil
deposited by the overflow has at present in
Upper Egypt an average depth of 33 to 38 feet,
and near the head of the Delta where the basin
is in places below sea-level, a depth of 50 feet.
From the depth of the soil and the present annual
rate of deposit, Petrie has calculated that the Nile
first began to overflow the plain about 8000 years
ago ; this, if correct, would give the farthest limits
of Egyptian history, but a very great element of
doubt must accompany such calculations. In pre¬
historic times the Delta was a great bay of the sea,
but by Nile deposits and the drifting sand it has
been filled up. It is said that at the present time
the Mediterranean coast is sinking a little and
the Red Sea coast rising.
5. Its Physical Features.—The Delta is a
monotonous, level plain, with no woods or hills
to add variety to the landscape. In neither part
of Egypt are there any elevations, except the
artificial mounds on which the villages and
towns are built; but in the upper valley, the
lo HISTORY OF EGYPT.

river and the enclosing hills, rising to a height

of 600 to 800 feet, make it more picturesque.
The narrow valley from the Delta to Aswan is
about 580 miles long and from 14 to 32 miles
wide, but the alluvial soil never exceeds 9 miles
in width. Beyond the fertile strip down its centre,
the valley is desert, and its drifting sands con¬
tinually tend to encroach on the cultivated fields.1
Beyond the eastern plateau there is a great
mountain range with peaks over 6000 feet high.
Diorite, dark-red porphyry, black granite, syenite,
alabaster, and basalt are found here, and were
early quarried by the Egyptians for obelisks and
other “monuments of eternity.” Some emeralds
and a little gold were also found. Egypt and its
immediate neighbourhood are, however, very poor
in useful metals.2
6. The River.—The principal feature of Egypt
is its maker, the Nile. The Egyptian title of the
river as a god was Hapi, but its common name
was simply ye'or—the river, which is the name
given to it in the Old Testament. It was sup¬
posed to issue from the heavenly ocean and to
come to light above the cataracts. The Nile
ranks as one of the three longest rivers in the
world, being about 4000 miles long, but in volume

1 In places it is possible to stand with one foot in a fertile field,

and the other on the barren sand of the desert, only a small artificial
ridge separating them.
2 Gold came from Nubia and from South Arabia, silver perhaps
from Cilicia, copper from Sinai, and later, from Cyprus, malachite
and lapis-lazuli from Sinai and Mesopotamia. The places of tin
and iron are unknown. Salt, alum, and nitron were found in the
western desert.
 INTRODUCTORY. n

of water it is exceeded by many shorter streams.

It is formed by the union of the Blue and the White
Niles at Khartum; from there to the sea, 1350
miles, it receives no tributary except the Atbara,
which enters it 140 miles farther down. As the
country through which it flows is absolutely barren,
the river loses much of its water by evaporation, ir¬
rigation, and infiltration. The White Nile rises in
the lakes of Central Africa, and its waters never
vary much in volume. The Atbara and the Blue
Nile are in the dry season almost empty, but at
other times are great rivers, rushing down from the
eastern mountains, carrying with them the precious
detritus which makes Egypt a habitable land. The
Nile was the great highway of Egypt; upon it the
great stones for tomb and temple were brought
from the quarries, and along its waters were borne
the trading vessel, the marriage party, and the
funeral procession. Nature made navigation easy
to the Egyptians : coming down the stream the
current is strong enough to carry the vessel at
a moderate speed, and ascending the Nile, the
regular north wind fills its sails.
7. The Inundation.—The annual overflowing of
the Nile is caused by the spring rains and melting
snows in the Abyssinian highlands. In the time
of its coming it varies by only a few days. Early
in June the water begins very slowly to increase,
but it is not until the second half of July that the
“real swelling of the reddening, turbid stream”
occurs. Towards the end of September the water
remains stationary for twenty or thirty days, but
during the first half of October it rises again and
12 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

attains its highest level. By the middle of January

it has receded within its banks again. The time
when the waters are reaching their height is
always a period of much anxiety. A “ small
Nile” means famine, for then the canals and
reservoirs are not filled, and the higher fields
lie barren.1 On the other hand, should the river
rise too high, houses are undermined and fall,
many of the cattle drowned, and the grain in the
granaries spoiled. Fortunately, the river rarely
transgresses, and Egypt has had always much
more regular harvests than Palestine, which has
to depend upon rain.2 When the river is at
its lowest, its waters are greenish in colour and
unwholesome ; but as the waters swell, they be¬
come almost blood-like in colour and are then
quite fit for drinking. At low water the Nile
covers seven ells—I2§ feet—of the nilometer at
Roda, near Cairo, and when it reaches fifteen
and two-thirds ells—27I feet—the inundation has
reached the height most favourable to agriculture,
and the dykes and dams are then cut with noisy
merrymaking. The flooding of the fields does not
take place directly from the river. The cultivable
land is laid out in huge basins, into which the
water is conducted by a net-work of canals;
when it is filled, the basin is shut up, and the
water detained in it until the ground is saturated
1 The new dam at Aswan will prevent this calamity in large
measure.
2 Cf. Am. viii. 3 ; Isa. lix. 1 qb; Gen. xiii. 10. Egypt was re¬
garded in Palestine as a great garden. The greatest curse a prophet
can pronounce upon the land of the Nile, is to declare that its river
will be dried up.
 INTRODUCTORY. 13

and sufficient soil deposited. The overflow,

according to the ancient Egyptians, was caused
by Isis, weeping for Osiris, dropping a tear into
the heavenly river, which, overflowing, caused
the earthly river also to overflow. To this day,
both Moslems and native Christians call the
night between the 17th and 18th of June the
“Night of the Drop,” because then a heavenly
drop falls into the Nile and causes it to rise. Any
neglect of the irrigation system has always been
disastrous to the land. Many of the high fields
have to be watered entirely by machinery from
reservoirs.
8. Climate.—Rain seldom falls in Egypt except
in the neighbourhood of the Mediterranean. In
Upper Egypt a heavy rain does not occur more
than once in fifteen or twenty years, and except for
a rare thunder shower there is no rain at all. On
the east the high mountain range robs the clouds
coming from the Red Sea of their moisture, on the
west is the great desert, so dry that a shower con¬
densed in the upper air, is dissipated before it can
reach the ground, while the heating of the mois¬
ture-laden winds coming from the Mediterranean
as they proceed south prevents their parting with
any rain. Therefore day after day there is the
same powerful sunlight, dry, warm air, and blue,
cloudless sky.1 In summer the heat is intense.
In the Delta the temperature seldom exceeds 950,
but in the upper country it sometimes reaches

1 It is evident from the great denudation of the neighbouring

hills, as well as from the remains of petrified forests, that in pre¬
historic times the land had a very heavy rainfall.
14 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

122° in the shade. Because of the dryness of the

atmosphere the heat is not so oppressive as the
same temperature in moister climates ; it is also
tempered by the welcome north wind which blows
with great regularity.1 A very different wind is the
Cham sin or Fifty which coming from the desert,
laden with fine sand, causes much discomfort.
Fortunately this wind is confined to the fifty days
preceding midsummer, and seldom lasts more than
a day at a time. The influence of the eastern
desert and the Red Sea upon the climate of
Egypt is very slight. From December to March
the climate is delightful.
9. Its People.—The population of Egypt has
always been very dense because of its fertility. At
present it is between six and seven millions, a num¬
ber probably exceeded in earlier times. The origin
of its people is an unsolved and apparently insoluble
problem. Many origins have been suggested but
none are satisfactory, and neither ethnology nor
language gives much help. To themselves the
Egyptians were simply Rome(t), the People; a
peculiar people, specially favoured of the gods,
and free from all foreign taint. This view has
been held by some moderns, who say that they
were “an unmixed race rising gradually into the
consciousness of nationality.” The position of
Egypt made that impossible, and destined the
valley of the Nile to be the home of a mixed race.
To the ancients, Egypt lay on the edge of the
world ; it was the last land beyond which there

1 In ancient times the Egyptians prayed that in the world to

come they might be permitted to sit in the “ cool north wind.”
 INTRODUCTORY. 15

was nothing but the untraversable desert. Into

this land, then, in the movements of the nations
came many peoples, who could go no farther, and
to whom returning was generally impossible. Out
of these successive immigrations of various races,
the character of the land, in process of time, de¬
veloped a type to which all later comers were
assimilated.1 The type thus resulting has per¬
sisted down to the present, and the fellahin of
to-day have features similar to those seen on the
statues of ancient kings. A varied origin is seen
in the great diversity which can be traced in the
modes of burial for nearly a thousand years after
the first dynasty.
10. Vegetation.—In spite of its fertility Egypt
is poor in varieties of vegetation, and many of its
most valuable plants were not indigenous. Its
cereals in early times were wheat, barley, durra,
peas, beans, and lentils. Vegetables have always
been plentiful, especially those of the bulbous
varieties, such as onions, cucumbers and melons.
Flax and cotton were extensively grown. The
vine was carefully cultivated, and some parts of
Egypt were famous for their wines, but the
popular beverage of the land was beer. The
sycamore or wild fig is almost the only tree of
workable wood which grows in Egypt. Its spread¬
ing branches give a welcome shade, and its roots
go so deep for water that it may frequently be seen
1 The people of Britain are the outcome of analogous circum¬
stances. A later evolution of a type by environment acting upon
a mixture of races is seen in the United States Americans. The
process of the assimilation of new-comers to this type is going on
there continually, and is frequently completed in one generation.
i6 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

growing at some distance in the desert.1 Date

and dom palms are found, as also a few tamarisks
and acacias. The olive tree was rare in ancient
times, its oil being an imported luxury. Its place
was taken by the castor plant, the oil of which was
used for anointing and cooking.2 Of the many
marsh plants the most noteworthy were the
papyrus and the lotus, both of which have almost
disappeared from Egypt.
11. Animals.—Animal life was more abundant.
In the surrounding country lions, leopards, panthers,
hyaenas, desert wolves, and jackals were met with.
The crocodile and the hippopotamus infested the
river and its canals, but neither is now found below
the Cataracts. Deer of various kinds abounded,
and in the winter the marshes were full of birds.
The domestic animals were asses, cattle, goats,
sheep, and pigs, the horse and camel being intro¬
duced in comparatively late times. Dogs were
much esteemed, especially for hunting. The
urseus or asp, and the horned viper, both ex¬
ceedingly poisonous, are frequently met with, while
frogs, flies, scorpions, and locusts are so plentiful
as at times to be a plague. Fish of various kinds
abound in the river, and form one of the staples
of food among the common people to-day as in
early times {cf. Num. xi. 5 ; Isa. xix. 8).
12. Divisions.—Egypt falls naturally into two

1 Such a desert tree was always regarded as divine, and even yet
the natives ascribe to them a special sanctity.
2 Maspero says he has often been obliged when dining at native
houses at Port Said to eat salads and sauces prepared with castor
oil, and he assures us it was not so disagreeable as might be at
first supposed (“ Dawn of Civilization,” p. 64, n. 4).
 INTRODUCTORY. 17

parts, the Delta in the north, and the long narrow

valley from its apex to Aswan in the south. In
historic times these have been under one sovereign,
but everything points to a time when they were
politically independent. All departments of the
government, excepting the army, were double, and
the king down even to Roman times bore the title,
“ King of the two lands.” Each had its own crown
and floral emblem, of different shapes and colours,
respectively the lotus and a species of reed. The
upper country was officially styled To Res, the south,
which with the article pa gives the Hebrew and
Greek name Pathros. Another division equally old
was into counties or nomes, as they are generally
called. There were twenty-one or twenty-two of
these in each land, but the number varied. Each
nome probably represented a prehistoric kingdom.
It retained its own prince, capital, god, and totem,
and was known by the name of its totem, which
was generally an animal.
13. The Libyan Oases.—The western desert
lies lower than the eastern (§ 4) and in places it
sinks below sea level. In these depressions the
water possibly infiltrated from the Nile, coming to
the surface, renders them fertile. There are five of
these oases, supporting at present a population of
nearly 60,000. The inhabitants of these oases were
a constant source of danger to Egypt, into which
they made many inroads. The people of the most
remote oasis, that of Amen, adopted the Egyptian
cult of Amen, and maintained it with great rigour,
although they remained, as they are to-day, purely
Libyan.
B
i8 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

14. Other Neighbours.—To the south of the

First Cataract lay Nubia, the Ethiopia of the Greeks
and Romans, called by the Egyptians Kush
(Hebrew, Cush), and one of their earliest con¬
quests. It was to them a land rich in gold, cattle
and rare animals, and from it they were supplied
with negro slaves. The Nubians frequently made
extensive raids into Egypt, but in later times many
of them became mercenaries in the Egyptian army.1
Beyond the eastern plateau lies the great Arabian
desert. Here was the home of the Amu,2 or
nomads, a people who, in the opinion of the
Egyptians, were the embodiment of all that was bad.
These Amu were Semites, and their favourite em¬
ployment was to raid Egypt. When their incur¬
sions became too frequent, large punitive expeditions
were sent against them, which would frighten them
into good behaviour for a while. With Syria Egypt
had also almost constantly very close relations, both
warlike and commercial. The land of Punt, situated
on both sides of the southern Red Sea, was the
Holy Land of the Egyptians, with which they always
maintained friendly commercial relations.
15. Chronology—The chronology of Egyptian
history, as there is no absolutely certain means of fix¬
ing dates, is in a very unsatisfactory condition. The
two sources from which information can be obtained
are some lists of the kings, and astronomical cal¬
culations. None of the lists which have come
down to us are older than the eighteenth dynasty,
1 Beyond the First Cataract the valley becomes much narrower,
being there only from 45 to 10 miles wide.
2 This is the name given to the people of Syria, of which these
were a branch.
 INTRODUCTOR Y. 19

and all are more or less fragmentary. The data

for astronomical calculations are also very incom¬
plete. Petrie gives a series of dates, which he
says cannot at the most be more than a century in
fault on either side for the early kings, the range of
error gradually becoming less until certainty is
almost reached. For the first two periods the dates
thus given seem to be the point earlier than which
there is little probability of the event having oc¬
curred. On the other hand Meyer, a German
historian, has prepared a list of minimum dates
after which, he thinks, the different reigns cannot
be placed. In the following pages down to the
beginning of the New Empire both dates are
usually inserted as showing the limits within which
the reign occurred. From that time but one is
given, as for this period the variations are slight.1
16. The Sothic Cycle.—All astronomical cal¬
culations to determine dates in Egyptian history
are based upon clues afforded by the imperfection
of the calendar. The year was of 365 days, and
therefore a day in every four years was lost. In
1460 years a whole year would thus be lost.2
1 I have, as a rule, followed the dates given by Petrie, as showing
the latest results obtainable.
2 The same would occur with us if there were no leap year. In
30 years January first would fall at the time Christmas now does,
in 730 years it would come in midsummer, and in 730 years more it
would be back again in midwinter. This precession of the New
Year’s Day through the solar year went on continually in Egypt,
and as the change in one generation was not great it passed almost
unnoticed except by the scholars, the Egyptians not being addicted
to historical research. It was probably the inundation which first
drew attention to this imperfection and led to some attempt to deter¬
mine the exact year. The surest and simplest method of ascer-
taining the precise length of the year is to observe the sun’s place
20 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

This period of 1460 years is called a Sothic Cycle,

because Egyptian scholars marked the exact year
by the heliacal rising of Sothis (Sirius, the Dog
Star). A Roman writer relates that a Sothic Cycle
began in 139 A.D., so that the date of the beginning
of preceding cycles can easily be calculated. If,
therefore, any seasonal event like the inundation
or the heliacal rising of Sothis be dated by the
calendar year it is not difficult to ascertain at what
time in a cycle the event occurred, though the cycle
itself has yet to be determined.

-0-

CHAPTER II

The Ancient Kingdom

17. Historical Divisions.—Manetho, an Egyp¬

tian priest, who wrote a history of Egypt in Greek,
divides the kings who ruled in ancient Egypt from
the beginning down to the Greek period, into thirty-
one dynasties ; this division, although in some
cases inexact and obscure, is always followed on
•

among the stars, and to take his relation to some one star as the
New Year. This was what was done in Egypt, and the day chosen
as the beginning of the year was the day on which Sothis could be
first seen rising on the horizon in the glow of the dawn, that is, the
New Year was the day on which Sothis first appeared as a morning
star, which would be but for a few moments before it was lost in the
light of the sun. This is called the heliacal rising, and a Sothic
Cycle began when it fell on the first of Thoth, the calendar New
Year’s Day. A festival called Sed was celebrated every thirty
years to mark the change of a week in the calendar. These are
quite frequently mentioned.
 THE ANCIENT KINGDOM. 21

account of its convenience. For the sake of con¬

venience it is also customary to divide the
history into three periods, known respectively as
the ancient, middle, and new kingdoms.
18. The Mythical Dynasties. — Like all
ancient peoples the Egyptians looked back to a
golden age when their land and people were under
the direct government and tutelage of the gods.
This age is divided into three periods or dynasties.
The first lasted for 12,300 years, and was ruled by
a succession of seven great gods, who taught the
Egyptians the beginnings of all their civilisation.
The second was a dynasty of nine minor deities or
demi-gods, whose rule lasted for 1570 years, when
their sovereignty gave place to that of a series of
thirty supernatural heroes, whose rule lasted for
3650 years. The heroes (or spirits) were followed
by ordinary mortal rulers, beginning with the ten
kings of This (Tini), who reigned in Egypt for 350
years.
19. Prehistoric Times.1—Until a few years
ago no monumental remains extending beyond the
Fourth Dynasty had been discovered, and many
considered the kings who were said to have pre¬
ceded it, as also mythical. In late years numerous
remains of these early dynasties have been found,
and even the grave of Mena himself, the first king
of the first dynasty, has been identified.2 Not only
so, but graves carrying us back far beyond Mena
have been opened, giving us a glimpse into the
1 This section and the most of the succeeding one are taken from
an article on “ Recent Years of Egyptian Exploration,” by Flinders
Petrie in the Pop. Sci. Mon. for April 1900.
2 Some question the correctness of this identification.
22 HISTORY OP EGYPT.

ages preceding history in the Nile valley. Two

periods in this early time can be traced. In the
first period the people buried their dead in shallow
circular graves, contracting the body so that the
knees almost touched the face, and wrapping it in
gazelle or goat skin, sometimes fastened with a
copper pin.1 In the hands they placed a piece of
the valued malachite, and near the head was set a
simple bowl of red or black pottery. The pottery
is varied and graceful in form, and decorated with
patterns done in white clay on the dark red surface.
Marks of proprietorship are very common, and
are the first steps towards the later writing.
The second period belonged to a kindred people.
Much of the pottery remained the same, but
a new style in hard buff painted with patterns
and subjects in red outline came into use.2
Copper was now more generally used, and gold
and silver are also found. In the graves of this
period were placed spoons of ivory, and rarely of
precious metals, and vases carved in a variety of
hard stones ; but hair combs, which were common
in the former period, have now ceased to be worn.
Flint working in Egypt at this time attained to the
highest stage of perfection ever known in any land.
In the later stage of the second period writing signs
disappear.
20. Dynasties I.-III (p. 4777-3998, m. 3180-
2700).—In the third period revealed by the graves,
that of the first dynastic kings, the tombs are much
1 This method of burying is evidently symbolic of man entering
another life through the grave.
2 Among the subjects portrayed are ships with cabins and
banks of rowers.
 THE ANCIENT KINGDOM. 23

more elaborate, and are now great halls of about

50 feet long by 32 wide. There are in them vases
of hard and beautiful stone, immense jars of
alabaster, and hundreds of common jars for food
for the dead. Soon smaller rooms were added to
the main hall for worship or for storing offerings.
The retainers were buried in smaller tombs around
the royal grave. From the carvings on slates and
mace heads found in these graves, it is evident that
the work of the early kings was the consolidation
of the kingdom. One king records myriads of
slain enemies, another pictures a captive king
whom he has taken with over a million other
prisoners;1 and a third king shows his trium¬
phant entry into the temple over the bodies of
slain enemies. In spite of these wars much pro¬
gress must have been made in the arts of peace.
Naturally many traditions of these kings were
current among the Egyptians. Two were reputed
to have been great physicians, and a favourite
recipe for making the hair grow is attributed to
one of them. One was over 8 feet tall, and in
the reign of another the Nile flowed with honey
for eleven days.
21. The New Race.—The first dynasties are
evidently the princes of a new and conquering
race, which invaded the valley of the Nile, and
Mena may have been the first to unite the crowns
of the two lands. The original home of this race
is uncertain. They probably came, as many
writers think, from Punt (§ 14). The fact that the
1 The regular Egyptian system of notation is already complete,
as is also the ability to exaggerate.
24 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

first seat of the new dynasty was at This, near

Abydos, which lies at the head of the great Koser
road to the Red Sea, makes it almost certain that
the new race came into Egypt by that way, and the
reverence which the Egyptians had for Punt would
be accounted for by the fact that it was the father-
land of their first kings. Petrie thinks that the
people of Punt and the Phoenicians were of the
same stock. Whether this theory be correct or not,
there is much reason to believe that the new race
was Semitic. The Egyptian vocabulary is certainly
not Semitic, but its grammar as certainly is.
This points to the conquest of Egypt at some time
by a Semitic people of superior civilization, who
identified themselves with the conquered people,
and adopted their language ; but finding the primi¬
tive language too limited in its scope to express the
various moods, tenses, voices, and other inflections
to which they had been accustomed, the new race
gave the Egyptian vocabulary the grammatical
structure of their own tongue. This period appears
to be the most likely time in which such a develop¬
ment would take place.
22. Dynasty IV. (p. 3998-3721, m. 2830-2700).—
The fourth dynasty has left greater memorials of
itself than any monarch has ever done since, for
its kings built the greatest of the pyramids.
Sneferu, the first king of this house, had to fight
Asiatic tribes which attacked Egypt, and to pre¬
vent the inroads of these Amu (§ 14) he built a
great wall of fortifications across the eastern
frontier of the Delta. He opened mines in the
Sinaitic Peninsula for copper and malachite, and a
 THE ANCIENT KINGDOM. 25

tablet erected in his honour there shows this king

in the act of smiting an Arab. He built for him¬
self the pyramid of Medum, and his worship was
very popular for many centuries. His successors
Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura built the three
great pyramids of Gizeh, works which have not
been approached in size by any pyramid of later
times. In this dynasty and in the following
Egyptian art was at its zenith, and some of the
best examples of statuary both in wood and stone
date from this period.
23. The Pyramids.—The pyramids are rightly
considered one of the wonders of the world, and
taking into account the purpose for which they
were built they might almost be regarded as the
greatest. The largest, that of Khufu, is at the
present time 451 feet in height, with 568 feet as
the length of the sloping face, and each base 750
feet in length. Originally the measurements were
somewhat greater, as it now lacks the outer layer.
It covers about thirteen acres of ground, and is
calculated to contain 6,800,000 tons of stone, pro¬
bably more stone than has ever been put into any
one other building. The limestone of which it is
composed came from the quarries on the opposite
side of the river, and the granite with which it was
finished came from Aswan five hundred miles up
the Nile. Herodotus was informed that a million
men were employed three months annually for
twenty years in erecting it, and Petrie thinks this
number working for the three months of the in¬
undation when other work could not be done
would be sufficient, if there was besides them a
26 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

large permanent corps of stone - cutters. The

people of later times execrated the memory of the
pyramid builders because of their cruel oppression
—a tradition in which there is likely too much
truth.1 The pyramids were first built in steps,
then levelled off by great blocks of dressed stone,
after which the whole pyramid was carefully
polished. . On the great pyramid none of this
facing now remains, so that it is easy of ascent by
means of the steps. The workmanship in this
pyramid varies greatly in quality. In the queen’s
chamber the jointing of the granite blocks which line
it is “ an unsurpassable marvel of skilful masonry.”
The work is so well done that the joints can
scarcely be distinguished, “neither hair nor needle
can be inserted,” an old Arab writer says. How
such exact stone-cutting could be done at that time
is as yet unknown, though it has been suggested
that they used drills fitted with jewel points. In
the king’s chamber above, which is reached by
the Great Hall, the work is very much inferior.
The measurements of the second pyramid are—
height 450 feet, slope 566I feet, and base 694^ feet,
and of the third, height 204 feet, slope 263! feet,
base 356^ feet. Each side of the pyramid is care¬
fully placed facing one of the four cardinal points
of the compass.2 In all the pyramids, of which
there are about seventy, great ingenuity was dis¬
played in hiding the sepulchral chamber, which
was generally underground. The passage was
1 Khufu is said to have closed the temples lest the people should
waste time at worship.
2 For a discussion on the method followed in building, see
Baedeker, “Egypt,” p. 109, and Petrie, “History,” i. 5-8.
 THE ANCIENT KINGDOM. 27

closed with great stones, and numerous false pas¬

sages were built to deceive and discourage any
who might seek to rob the dead.
24. The Sphinx.—The pyramids and the Sphinx
are closely associated in the popular mind as the
two great wonders of Egypt. The Sphinx is a
knoll of rock running out to a promontory from
the pyramid plateau. This headland has been
in some age carved to resemble the human
head, and the rock behind it has been given
the semblance of a recumbent lion. It may
be that a natural likeness suggested this figure.
The head is now much mutilated,1 but it is still
very impressive, not only from its gigantic propor¬
tions,2 but from its air of “impassive dignity.”
By some the Sphinx is regarded as pre-historic,
but this is improbable. It belongs to some time
later than the fourth dynasty and earlier than the
eighteenth. From a fancied resemblance some
conclude that it was made by Amenemhat of the
Twelfth. Near the Sphinx is the granite temple,
sometimes wrongly called the Temple of the
Sphinx, one of the finest examples of Egyptian
masonry.
25. Dynasty V. (p. 3721-3503, m. 2700-2560).—
The first king of this dynasty was a usurper,
perhaps a priest. No great foreign wars mark

1 The mutilations date from the Arab Conquest. A fanatical

sheikh did it much harm in 1380 A.D., and later the Mamelukes used
it for a target. According to newspaper reports the Sphinx is
weathering rapidly on account of the damper atmosphere produced
by extended irrigation.
2 It is said to be 66 feet from the top of its head to the platform
between its paws.
28 HI ST OR Y OF EG YPT.

this period, though a strong hold was kept upon

Sinai and its mines. The attention of the kings
was mainly given to tomb and temple building.
An, the sixth of this line, was the first king to
adopt a throne-name, a practice followed by almost
all his successors. This throne name always con¬
tained the name Ra, as the kings claimed to rule
because they were of divine origin. On the walls
of the pyramid of Una are some religious and
magical texts which must date from pre-historic
times, as already they seem to be but vaguely
understood by the scribes. The tomb of Tyi, an
architect, and son-in-law of the king, contains a
series of mural decorations which illustrate Egyp¬
tian life in this early time. Tyi was one of the
leading nobles in the kingdom, and yet as no
mention is made of his father he is evidently
sprung from the people.
26. Dynasty VI. (p. 3503-3335, m. 2560-2400).
—This house, which secured the throne after much
fighting, was more energetic than its predecessor,
and its ideal appears to have been foreign con¬
quest and exploration. Its most famous king is
Pepi I., the real founder of Memphis, monuments
of whom have been found all over Egypt. He
carried on war with the “sand-dwelling Nomads”
of the Sinaitic Peninsula and Palestine, and seems
to have been the first king to claim these lands as
tributary territory. In his eighteenth year a Sed
festival was observed (§ 16), which is the first men¬
tion of this celebration. In the time of Pepi II.,
who reigned ninety-four years, there were im¬
portant commercial expeditions—one to Punt, and
 THE ANCIENT KINGDOM. 29

one to the king of the Soudan, to procure a dwarf for

the sacred dances. Pepi II. was probably in his
extreme old age incapacitated, which naturally led
to much scheming to secure the supreme power.
In consequence a time of weakness begins with the
close of his reign. The dynasty lasted only thirteen
years after his death, and almost nothing is known
of the history of the country for the next four
dynasties.
27. The Biography of Una.—The first con¬
tinuous historical narrative which has come down
to us dates from this period. It is the biography
of Una, the first noble of his time, and gives a
good description of the busy life of a capable
Egyptian official. He was girded in the reign of
Teta(VIIL), that is, he ceased to run naked, and
put on the waist-cloth. As he grew in stature he
increased in favour, and held office after office.
Because of his trustworthiness, he received from
Pepi I. the exalted title, “only friend of the king,”
and for his tomb was given fine stone from the
royal quarries, the highest mark of kingly favour.
He was appointed to take the evidence at the trial
of Queen Amtes, a delicate and important case of
which no details are given. The crowning event
of his life was an expedition which he commanded
against the Amu. He was subsequently engaged
in superintending the quarrying and transporting
of the special stone for the pyramid of Pepi.
While taking down the basalt block for the
table of offerings, he was caught in the month
Epiphi by the subsidence of the Nile, and was
unable to bring the stone safely to Memphis. This
30 HISTORY OF EGYPT,

information is of importance, as it marks the time

of Epiphi at this reign. Una also superintended
the digging of five canals, and the building of
vessels for the carrying of more granite.
28. Nitokris.—Of Queen Netaqerti, the last
ruler of this line, nothing is known, except the
name and some traditions. Herodotus says, that
after a year’s reign the brother of Nitokris was
assassinated, and his sister-wife, the “beautiful
one with the rosy cheeks,” succeeded him. Deter¬
mined to avenge his death, she secretly prepared a
great banqueting hall beneath the level of the Nile. .
To a feast here she invited all those implicated in
the murder. In the midst of the feasting the river
was suddenly turned into the chamber, and all the
guests perished. Tradition also credits her with
having built the third pyramid of Gizeh. Such
a claim is without foundation, but the Arabs
still believe that it is haunted by the ghost of a
beautiful woman.
29. Dynasties VI I.-X. (p. 3322-2985, m. 2400-
2130).—This is one of the “dark ages ” of Egyptian
history, and of the period we have no information,
except what can be gathered from some lists of
names and a few unimportant monuments. It
was a time of decentralization. The nomarchs
made themselves more and more independent
of the central power, one evidence of which is
seen in the nobles being buried in the cemeteries
of their own capitals. It was also a time of an¬
archy, each noble struggling to keep his own, and
as much more as he could seize. This condition
of affairs naturally offered a tempting opportunity to
 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. 3i

any strong neighbouring power, and three foreign

names on the lists show that invasion was added to
the other evils under which Egypt suffered. One of
these alien kings bore the name Yaqebher, which
is the Hebrew name, Jacob-el. Another bears the
name Khyan, and is called a heq-setu, or Arab
prince. In this period of confusion the Theban
nomarchs gradually increased in strength, until they
were able to take the lead in Egyptian affairs, and
finally to ascend the throne.

-o-

CHAPTER III

The Middle Kingdom

30. Rise of Thebes.—Down to this time the

centre of rule had been at or near Memphis, an
ancient city near the apex of the Delta. When
Egypt comes again into the light of history the
capital has moved 400 miles up the Nile to Thebes,
a city well situated for a commercial centre, and
far removed from the dangers of Asiatic invasions.
Thebes was originally merely the capital of a nome,
but its princes had been men of ability, and had
made their province the centre of Egyptian activity
against the foreign invaders. Soon after being
made the capital of the land, Thebes became a
large and important city, but in modern times it is
represented by the villages of Karnak, Luxor, and
Medinet Habu.
31. Dynasty XI. (p. 3005-2778).—Of the nine
32 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

kings of this dynasty six are named Antef, and

three Mentuhotep. The first part of the dynasty
was spent in bringing order out of confusion and
establishing the government on a firm basis. Of
most of the kings very little is known. A monument
of Antef IV. shows that monarch accompanied by
four hounds of different breeds, named respec¬
tively Gazelle, Greyhound (?), Blackie and Firepot.
Antef VI., the last king, sent an expedition to Punt,
which returned from the Holy Land laden with
incense, precious stones, and rare animals. By
digging four large reservoirs at different places,
the road through the valley to the sea was made
practicable for later caravans.
32. Dynasty XII. (p. 2778-2565, m. 2130-1930).
—Later ages looked back to this dynasty as having
been a golden age, for it was a period of long reigns,
great prosperity and extensive conquests. It also
witnessed a great revival in art, “ beauty was added
to strength” and some of its monuments are as
“ perfect in workmanship as anything wrought by
man.” Many of the classics which were in after
time studied in the schools, belonged to this age,
or were ascribed to it. A favourite was the inter¬
esting story of “ The Son of the Sycamore,” which
some take to be a biography, but others regard
as a historical romance. The Son of the Syca¬
more, a nobleman, when he was informed of the
death of King Amenemhat, fled to Syria. Here
he was hospitably received, given a Syrian wife,
and became a leader among the people. But in
his old age his heart turned back to the land of
his nativity. He wrote to the Pharaoh, who, on
 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. 33

condition that he brought none of his children with

him, kindly gave him permission to return. There¬
upon leaving all behind him he returned to his
homeland. The hero of the tale is evidently a
member of the royal family of whose loyalty to
the new king there was, or might be, some suspicion,
and who therefore fled to make sure of his life.
This story shows that it was too common a thing
in Egypt, as it was in all oriental lands, for the new
king to kill his brothers, and all who might be
suspected of having designs upon the throne.
33. Amenemhat I. (p. 2778-2748, M. 2130-
2100).—This king was one of the most vigorous
monarchs Egypt ever had, and his monuments
are to be found throughout the whole land. When
he succeeded in making himself king he found the
nomarchs a great source of trouble. These had
succeeded in making themselves almost inde¬
pendent, and the first work of the new king was
to bring them again into proper subjection. To
this end he rearranged the boundaries of the nomes,
and “restored that which one city had taken from
its sister city, causing one city to know its boun¬
daries with another city, and established their
landmarks as heaven.” Owing to the develop¬
ment of the provincial resources the king could be
no longer an independent despot, but as occasion
arose or could be made, Amenemhat appointed
his own friends nomarchs, thus making the
throne again supreme. He carried on very suc¬
cessful campaigns against the Libyans, Nubians
and Asiatics. He also did much building, and
began the decoration of the temple of Amen in
C
34 HISTOR Y OR EG YET.

Thebes, which had been founded in the previous

dynasty, and which by being added to by follow¬
ing kings down to Greek times, was destined to
become the most magnificent temple the world
has ever seen. One of the classics of Egyptian
scholars was the “Instructions of Amenemhat,”
a collection of proverbs which were traditionally
supposed to have been written by the king after
his abdication. Ten years before his death he
associated his son Usertesen I. with himself as
his assistant and successor. This example was
followed by nearly all the kings after his time,
and did much to render successions peaceful.
In an eastern court where there is a harem and
no strict law of primogeniture, there is always
much plotting among the aspirants to royal
honours and their friends, but this difficulty was
greatly obviated1 by the king himself appoint¬
ing his successor. The right of succession in
Egypt remained, down to the last, in the female
line, the heir-apparent was a royal princess, that
is, the daughter of a royal mother. To secure the
throne the king always married this daughter to
the son whom he had chosen to succeed him, who
then became heir to the throne through his wife.
Even full brother and sister could be thus married.2
In one case at least the king seems to have married
his own royal daughter immediately after her birth,
1 Cf. the succession
of Solomon.
2 Among primitive peoples relationship is generally counted
through the mother not the father, but marriages of full brother
and sister, which were common in Egypt, would be as abhorrent to
the primitive man as to us. Children of the same mother could
never marry {cf. Gen. xx. 12).
 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM. 35

evidently to prevent any usurper claiming the throne

by asserting a marriage with her.
34. His Successors.—The kings of this dynasty
walked in the steps of its founder, and sought
to extend by conquest the power of Egypt. Nubia
especially was the scene of many of their wars, be¬
cause of its gold mines, and the Wawat so frequently
mentioned must be the valley of Ollaqi which runs
from Korusko to the sea. Usertesen I. penetrated
beyond the Second Cataract, where two of the for¬
tresses he erected can still be traced. He was
afterwards revered as the founder of Ethiopia,
and a long hymn in his honour has been found.
At Beni-hassan (167 miles south of Cairo) there are
the tombs of many nobles, and in one of these, is
an interesting wall painting showing us something
of life in Syria at this time.1 It is the picture of
thirty-seven Amu or nomads from Asia who have
come down to Egypt to trade in kohl, the favourite
eye paint of the people, and shows them being
brought into the presence of the prince, the deputy
of Pharaoh. Those represented are the chief, and
a follower each with a gazelle, four men armed
with bows, boomerangs and spears, two children
on an ass laden with rugs, four women wearing
shoes, and gaily dressed in coloured garments
woven in checks or stripes, an ass laden with
baggage, a man carrying a water bottle and play¬
ing on a lyre, and a bowman with a boomerang.
The men wear pointed beards, and the faces are
unmistakably Semitic. The leader is named Absha,
which is the same as the Hebrew name Abishai;
1 Some have regarded this as an illustration of Gen. xii. lo.
36 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

and he is called in the inscription a heq-setu, or

prince of the hills, the same title that is given to
the foreign king Khyan (§ 29). From what can be
gathered from this picture the civilization of Syria
was well advanced at this time.
35. The Fay£tm.—This province, the most fertile
in all Egypt, is situated in the Libyan Desert.
The Fayum is really one of the oases, but because it
is watered directly by the Nile it has always been
regarded as part of Egypt. It is an oval-shaped
depression in the desert, in parts 120 feet below
sea level. It is connected with the Nile by a long
channel, the Bahr Yusuf, which in the time of the
inundation brings to it the mud-bearing waters,
making it a great lake. By building an embank¬
ment about 20 miles long, Amenemhat III. re¬
claimed here an area of over 40 square miles, which
became as it is to-day, one of the most beautiful
and most fertile spots in the whole land. By
means of dams and other works, the lake was made
a reservoir which held a large amount of the
surplus water of the overflow, and gave it up for
irrigation in the dry season. Traces of the locks
used have been found, but probably in Greek times
the system was already abandoned. The king
erected in this province two great statues of him¬
self, and the pyramid of Illahun in which he was
buried. Here also he built one of the greatest
funerary temples, the far-famed Labyrinth, of
which to-day only a few insignificant ruins remain.
The provincial capital Shed, the “ Rescued,” was
called Crocodilopolis by the Greeks, because the
patron deity of the district was Sebek, the crocodile-
 THE HYKSOS. 37

headed god to whom all crocodiles were sacred.

One of these animals was kept in the temple.

-o-

CHAPTER IV

The Hyksos—Dynasties XIII.-XVII

36. Dynasties XI11.-XIV. (p. 2565-1928).—The

second great period of obscurity to which we
now come is to the historian much more unsatis¬
factory than the former, because the little re¬
membered about it shows that very important
events must have happened in it. The powerful
kings of the first part of the twelfth dynasty
gradually gave place to weak ones, and since
because of its shape Egypt could be strong only
when it had a strong central authority, a policy
of decentralization began again and resulted in a
period of confusion. Now when the strength of
the throne was gone, the nomarchs who had
shared in the great prosperity brought about by
the vigorous kings, naturally separated themselves
more and more from the central power, and
preyed upon one another. The whole period
was one of internal strife, civil wars and foreign
invasion. The thirteenth dynasty had probably a
Fayum origin as the majority of the royal names
contain the divine name Sebek (§ 35). Its capital
was at Thebes. Of the fourteenth very little is
known. The fact that its capital was at Chois, an
obscure Delta town, points to active strife between
38 HISTORY OF EGYPT

north and south, and it may be that the two

dynasties were largely contemporary.
37. The Hyksos.—When nations lay before them¬
selves as the ideal a career of successful slaughter
and pillage, which, with rare exceptions, has been
the ideal down to comparatively modern times, a
country divided against itself lies a tempting prey to
its neighbours. That was the condition of Egypt
at this time, and the inevitable foreign invasion was
added to the disorder already existing in the land.
Asiatic peoples, known in history as the Hyksos,
successfully invaded the whole land, although
they never subdued Upper Egypt so completely
as they did the Delta. These foreigners built as
their capital, Tanis (Zoan, Num. xiii. 22), near the
frontier between Asia and Egypt. Dynasties XV.,
XVI. and XVII. were Hyksos kings, but contem¬
porary with the last there was a native dynasty
reigning in Thebes, the foreigners having been ex¬
pelled from the greater part of Upper Egypt.
Among the Hyksos the best known name was that
of Apepi I. These foreigners seem to have adapted
themselves very fully to Egyptian life and religion ;
the tradition which accuses them of trying to
root out the ancient religion of Egypt, re¬
ceives no support from the few records of the
time. They retained their own god Sutekh,1 but
identified him with the sun-god Ra. Many think
that it was during this time that the Hebrews
entered Egypt, but in the uncertainty of the
chronology it is impossible to dogmatize.
1 After their expulsion Sutekh was identified with Set, the Satan
of Egyptian theology.
 THE HYKSOS. 39

38. Story of Josephus.—Almost all our infor¬

mation about these foreigners comes from Josephus,
who, writing against Apion (I. 14), quotes the
following from Manetho :—“ In the time of King
Timaus, God was displeased with us, I know not
how, and there came an ignoble race from the east
into our country and subdued it without a battle.
They then burned down our cities, demolished our
temples, and treated our peoples barbarously. At
length they made one of themselves, Salatis, king,
who made Memphis his capital. He made both
Upper and Lower Egypt tributary, and stationed
garrisons where necessary. He especially sought
to render the eastern boundary secure as he feared
the growing power of the Assyrians.1 He selected
a city in the Saite (Sethroite) nome, named Avaris,
and strongly fortified it with walls, and stationed in
it 240,000 men fully armed. In summer Salatis
came to Avaris to collect tribute and exercise his
soldiers, in order to terrify foreigners. Salatis
reigned thirteen years and was followed by five
others who reigned in all two hundred and fifty-
three years and ten months. These six were the
first rulers among them, and during the whole
period of their dynasty they made war on the
Egyptians, hoping to exterminate them entirely.
All this nation was styled Hyksos, for hyk in the
sacred dialect means king and sos in the vulgar
tongue, a shepherd. Some people say they were
Arabians. The Hyksos retained possession of
Egypt 511 years. The kings of Thebes and other
provinces raised insurrection, and a long and
1 The Assyrians had not yet appeared upon the stage of history.
40 HISTOR Y OF EG YPT.

terrible war was carried on till the shepherds were

overcome by a king named Alisfrag-mouthosis1 and
expelled from the other parts of Egypt and hemmed
up in a place of about 10,000 acres called Avaris.
Around this they built a vast strong wall to keep all
their possessions and their prey. Thummosis, son
of Alisfrag-mouthosis, beleaguered the place with
480,000 men, but when he despaired to capture the
place they came to a composition that they should
leave Egypt, and should be permitted to go without
molestation. They therefore departed from Egypt
with all their families, in number not less than
240,000, and bent their way through the desert to
Syria, and settled in the country now called Judea,
where they built a city large enough for them, and
called it Jerusalem.”
39. Expulsion of Hyksos.—Although the
Hyksos were not Hebrews, this version of Manetho
appears to be in its main features correct.2 Upper
Egypt was the first to rally against the aliens, and
by the vigorous kings of the seventeenth dynasty the
greater part of the South Land was freed, and then
by Aahmes, the first king of the famous eighteenth,
the Hyksos were completely driven from the land.
40. Their Race.—The nationality of the Hyksos
is still in dispute. Arguments were formerly based
on certain statues and human-headed sphinxes,
which are now admitted to be more ancient than
this time. The meaning of the name given by
1 This name may be a corruption of a possible title of Aahmes.
Aahmes-pahar-nub-tes-taui, Aahmes, the Golden Horns, binding,
together-the-tvvo-lands (Petrie, ii. 20).
2 Very likely the Hyksos took Jerusalem, which was the strongest
and most important town in South Syria.
 THE HYKSOS. 4i

Josephus is probably the correct one, and some

think the foreigners were mainly Semites, while
others are of opinion that they were Hittites and
other non-Semitic peoples of Eastern Asia Minor,
who, having conquered Syria, descended on Egypt.
From the importance of the Hittites in the next
two dynasties it is probable that they formed a
strong element in the invading forces. Manetho
gives 511 years as the length of the Hyksos period,
but some conclude that it was more likely about
200 years.
41. Dynasty XVII.—The time of this dynasty
was occupied by the long war of independence.
The most notable king was Seqenenra the Brave,
who died in battle. His mummy was found
at Deir-el-Bahri (§ 61), and the head shows three
severe wounds. His queen Aah-hotep was one
of the great women of Egypt, and was for ages
an object of worship, as was also her still more
famous daughter Nefertari. The jewelry of Aah-
hotep was found intact in her coffin, which was
discovered slightly buried in the most ancient
part of the Theban cemetery, where it doubt¬
less had been hidden to escape spoliation.
Her jewelry consisted of many pieces of great
value and beautiful workmanship, the most of it
the gift of her son Aahmes, some of whose jewelry
was also found in the coffin. A fragment of a
papyrus contains a scrap of the Tale of Apepi
(§ 37) and Seqenenra, in which the foreigners are
represented as having been most cruel and tyran¬
nical towards the Egyptians, whose religion and
temples they sought to destroy.
42 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

CHAPTER V

The Eighteenth Dynasty—1587-1387

42. The New Dynasty.—With this line of kings

begins and ends what is from a political standpoint,
the most glorious epoch of Egyptian history. Egypt,
which had been made a military nation by the war
of independence, became a conquering power, sub¬
duing all lands from the Libyan oases to the
Euphrates. But a period of conquest is always
a testing time to a nation. Egypt was unable to
assimilate the new forces let loose in the midst of
her civilization, and the height of her glory was
the beginning of her decadence. This period also
witnessed one of those strange religious move¬
ments which seem to arise so mysteriously, and
which either by success change the whole char¬
acter of the land, or by failure leave the country
worse than before. The latter was unfortunately
the case in Egypt.
43. Aahmes I. (1587-1562).—The great work of
this monarch was to bring to a successful con¬
clusion the war of independence, and re-establish
order in the land. Within a few years of his
accession he expelled the Hyksos from Egypt and
overran the country as far north as Phoenicia.
On his return he punished the Nubians who had
invaded the land in his absence. Aahmes
having his land at peace and his fear upon his
enemies, set himself to make Thebes a great city,
and to restore the temples and worship of the gods.
 THE EIGHTEENTH BYNASTY. 43

Nefertari, the sister-wife of this king, by marriage

with whom he secured his right to the throne, was
one of the most venerated figures in Egyptian
history. After her death she was adored on an
equal footing with the great gods, and seems to have
been regarded with the same affectionate venera¬
tion as many Christians give to the Virgin. The
next three kings Amenhotep I. (Amenophis),
Tahutmes I. and II. (Thothmes) are of little im¬
portance historically. They did some building,
and carried on the wars a Pharaoh might be
expected to wage. Tahutmes I. penetrated into
Syria as far as the Euphrates, but it is doubtful if
he gained any lasting hold upon the north.
Tahutmes II. was a figure-head, the actual rule
being in the hands of his clever sister-wife
Hatshepsut.
44. Hatshepsut, Queen.—This queen is the
most famous the valley of the Nile ever had, and
is one of the most interesting figures in its
history. She was the favourite of her father,
and was married by him to Tahutmes II., who
thus became nominally king, but into whose
weak hands no real authority ever seems to
have passed. On his death she was for twenty-
two years regent for his successor, most of that
time much against his will. She proved herself a
very capable monarch. She seems to have
regretted that she was a woman for she frequently
had herself sculptured, clothed as a king, and
with the false beard which kings are always
represented as wearing. Nevertheless her rule
was womanly and her energies were directed
44 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

towards works of peace. She operated the mines

in the Sinaitic Peninsula, and cultivated friendly
relations with foreign nations. She was active in
building and restoring temples and again be¬
stowed upon the Delta its share of royal favour.
The greatest architectural work of this queen was
her vast and magnificent temple at Deir-el-Bahri.
It is built on three terraces, the highest being
against the solid rock, which forms the back of
the third temple. The walls of this upper temple
are covered with decorations picturing life in
Egypt, and the works of the queen. The most
interesting of these historically are the illustrations
of a commercial expedition sent by her to Punt.
In these, as in all their pictures, great attention
is given to detail; for example, the fishes in
the Red Sea are so carefully drawn that the
different kinds may easily be recognised. Scenes
in Punt are shown together with pictures of
the lading and other events in the course of
the enterprise. This expedition, which was
carried in five large vessels, was received with
every courtesy by Parohu, King of Punt, and
his people. The ships returned safely with
incense, balsam, cosmetics, ebony, ivory, gold,
leopard skins, baboons, greyhounds and giraffes.
The next greatest of the works of Hatshepsut are
the obelisks she erected at the temple of Karnak.
The larger was put up at the Sed festival, in her
sixteenth year. It is of beautiful workmanship, in
the “ fine granite of the South,” and is nearly a
hundred feet high. It was quarried, transported
to Thebes (135 miles), set up, polished and
 THE EIGHTEENTH D YNASTY. 45

inscribed all in the incredibly short space of seven

months.
45. Tahutmes III. (1503-1449).—The date of
Tahutmes, the greatest of all Egyptian conquerors,
is almost certain. A heliacal rising of Sothis
(§ 16) on the 28th Epiphi is recorded, and
from this and the mention of Sed festivals and
new moons, Mahler has calculated that he began
to reign on March 20th, 1503, and died upon
February 14th, 1449. Tahutmes chafed under the
control of Hatshepsut, and his first work, when
independent, was to obliterate her name wherever
he found it. Yet he owes much to her, for by her
peaceful, yet strong sway Egypt had been
rendered prosperous and contented so that when
he became his own master, he could give his
ambitions for foreign conquest full scope. The
greatest events of his reign are his numerous
wars, but he had also time for much building. He
erected a beautiful temple at Elephantine and
another at Semneh above the Second Cataract, to
Usertesen III., the conqueror of Nubia (§ 34).
He also built the great colonnaded hall in the
temple of Karnak. “Cleopatra’s Needle” on the
Thames Embankment is one of his works. He
erected it at On (Heliopolis) in honour of his
father the Sun. Thence in the Greek period it was
removed to Alexandria, and then again in the last
century to Britain. The mummy of Tahutmes
shows this great warrior to have been a small man
about five feet two inches tall. Scarabs of this
king were very common in later times, and were in
great demand as talismans.
46 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

46. Syrian Wars.—The extensive annals which

this king has left give a graphic picture of his
wars, and of the state of Syria and the wealth
and luxury of its inhabitants at this time. Imme¬
diately after the death of Hatshepsut, he collected
his forces for a campaign against Syria. He
marched with his army to Gaza, 160 miles in twelve
days, and in ten days more he was at Carmel
ninety miles away, a feat of which he was very
proud, as such rapid marching had never before
been done by Egyptian troops. After resting for a
few days he crossed the mountains and at Megiddo1
met and completely defeated a confederation of
Syrian chiefs. The neighbouring princes hastened
to send tribute and hostages to save their lands
from being ravaged, and even the king of distant
Assyria, a country now for the first time coming
into prominence, sent propitiatory gifts.2 Between
this and his forty-first year Tahutmes made
thirteen more campaigns into Syria, all being
successful and yielding much booty. These wars
gave Egypt a prestige in Syria which was never
completely lost, although clear-seeing men like
Isaiah the prophet of Judah perceived the inherent
weakness of Egypt and her inability to give per¬
manent assistance. In these campaigns the most
inveterate enemies Tahutmes had to encounter

1 Megiddo because of its situation has probably witnessed more

battles than any other spot in the world. In Revelation the great
war between good and evil is called the battle of Mt. Megiddo.
2 The King recorded the victories of this glorious year on a stele
which he erected in the Wadi Haifa, and a great hymn long a
favourite with the people was composed by a priest of Amen to
celebrate his home-coming.
 THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. 47

were the Hittites, whose capital Qadesh on the

Orontes, was several times sacked. The great
King also led two expeditions against Nubia and
from both returned laden with loot.
47. Results of Syrian Conquest. — The
enormous spoils collected in these campaigns
inaugurated an era of great prosperity in Egypt,
and the character of the booty produced a lasting
effect upon Egyptian civilisation. “At this period
the civilisation of Syria was equal or superior to
that of Egypt. No coats of mail appear among
the Egyptians in this age, but they took 200 suits
of armour at the sack of Megiddo, and soon after
such coats of scale armour commonly appear in
groups of valuables sculptured in the tombs. No
gilded chariots appear in Egypt except later than
this, and for royalty, but we read of twofold plated
chariots, 10 with gold and silver, 19 chariots inlaid
with silver (tribute), chariots adorned with gold,
silver, and colours, 20 chariots inlaid with gold and
silver, and again nine more. Here was luxury far
beyond that of the Egyptians, and technical work
which could teach them, rather than be taught.
In the rich wealth of gold and silver vases, which
were greatly prized by the Egyptians, we see also
the sign of a people who were their equals, if not
their superiors, in taste and skill.”1 Articles of
Syrian make would soon be found throughout all
Egypt and would be a continual incentive to native
workers. But a more far-reaching influence was
exerted by the captives, of whom thousands were
carried off. Only the more skilful of the men
1 Petrie, ii. 146.
48 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

would be taken, and as they were not herded

together, but adopted into households, these edu¬
cated foreigners became a living force in Egypt.1
Another and perhaps still more potent influence
was that exercised by Syrian women. Many
captive maids were taken into Egyptian harems,
and as no stigma attached to such a wife or her
children, these would have much to do in training
the families of the upper classes. Thus Syria
touched the life of Egypt, and many things which
had resisted change for centuries now became
modified.2
48. Amenhotep III. — Amenhotep II. (1449-
1423) showed himself a worthy successor of his
father, and put down successfully a rebellion in
Syria. Of Tahutmes IV. little is known except that
he reigned nine years, and set up a stele between
the paws of the Sphinx recording the dream he
had while taking his noonday siesta in its shade.
In this dream the sphinx-god exhorted his royal son
to save him from the sand which was encroaching
on him. Amenhotep III. (1414-1379) came to the
throne while still a young man, and boasts that in
the first ten years of his reign he killed a hundred
lions. This King is “ remarkable for the great love
shown everywhere for his fair wife Tyi,” to whom
he was married in the tenth year of his reign, a

1 One noble tells of having 20, another 31, of these foreigners.

Slaves of this class would not be accounted an inferior order, cf.
story of Joseph.
2 In statuary and art especially new standards appear. Many
Semitic words came into the language at this time. It was
fashionable to interlard elegant writing with foreign words and
phrases.
 THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. 49

marriage which seems to have changed the whole

course of his life. Tyi was perhaps a Syrian lady
(some think a Libyan), and not a princess of
the blood royal. Although Amenhotep had other
wives (the coming of a Syrian princess, Kirgipa,
with 317 attendants is mentioned), yet his favour
for Tyi never changed. On the monuments she is
generally represented by the side of her husband.
Her influence over him was evidently very great,
and to her is due in greater or less degree the
religious reformation which culminated in the fol¬
lowing reign. In this king’s time Egypt was at peace
and he had opportunity for architectural works.
His most famous undertakings are the two sitting
statues of Memnon, each over 60 feet high, and
made out of a single block of fine sandstone. The
north statue was known in classical times as the
vocal Memnon, because it uttered a hymn to the
sun at its rising.1
49. The Heretic King.—Amenhotep IV. or
Akhenaten (1390-1372) is one of the most interest¬
ing Pharaohs to the student of history, because of
the attempt he made to disestablish and disendow
the Church of Egypt and replace it by another and
purer system. In the closing years of his father’s
reign the worship of Aten, the sun’s disc, as the
symbol of the great god, had been growing in im¬
portance, and the son, in the sixth year of his reign,
declared in his favour to the exclusion of all other
gods. Amen of Thebes was his special aversion.

1 This was simply a crackling sound caused by the rising sun

heating the fractured stone. After the injuries were repaired by
Septimus Severus the noise was no more heard.
D
5° HISTORY OF EGYPT.

He ordered that his name should be everywhere

removed and that of Aten inserted in its stead.
To show his complete separation from the faith of
his fathers he changed his name from Amenhotep
to Akhenaten and removed his capital from Thebes
to Amarna, where he built a new city, Akhenaten.
The cause of this reformation and its character are
not yet clearly known. Aten was an ancient Egyp¬
tian god, and his worship was the cult of Heliopolis
(On). It may be, therefore, that there had grown
up in the temple schools of On a system of theo¬
logy or philosophy which the young king had
adopted, and with all the zeal of a young convert
attempted to force upon the nation. Or more
likely Tyi the queen was an ardent disciple of the
new faith and instilled her beliefs into the mind of
the heir - apparent. Others think that although
Aten is an ancient name, yet in this movement it
is employed as the nearest approach to the Semitic
Adon (Lord, Adonis), whose cult this reformation
sought to establish. If this theory be correct Tyi
must have been a Syrian, and her influence in the
court caused her husband to favour her religion
and made her son a zealot in its cause. There is,
however, nothing about the movement which would
lead one to connect it with a Syrian origin or
character, but it is certain Akhenaten received his
enthusiasm for it from teachers, as he was too
young to have himself developed it. It must have
been the growth of considerable time, and had it
fallen into the hands of a prophet like Buddha or
Confucius it would probably have had a success
equal to the systems of these men, but unfortunately
 THE EIGHTEENTH DYNASTY. 51

it fell into the hands of a fanatic king, who, having

the power to enforce his new religion, was its
greatest enemy.1 Although no systematic state¬
ment of the theology of the movement has been
left, yet it certainly was of a much higher order
than the systems it sought to supplant. Some
hymns to Aten remain, which breathe a very devout
spirit and show almost a pure monotheism. One
of the great features of the new faith was the promi¬
nence given to Maat, or Truth, and the favourite
motto of the King was, “ Living in Truth.” The
effect of the reformation is also seen in art, which
is more natural and less bound by the conven¬
tionalisms so common in Egypt. The king and
queen are portrayed without flattery, and the
domestic side of the royal life is more frequently
shown. At his new capital the king taxed the re¬
sources of the country by his extensive building. The
bureaucracy also built many mansions, but the town
was never completed, and soon after the death of
Akhenaten it was abandoned and sank into ruins.
50. The Tel-el-Amarna Tablets. — In the
ruins of the castle of Akhenaten there were found

1 A movement which almost touched some of the noblest truths

must have been led up to by many steps, and one can scarcely
imagine it dying out in one generation or being permitted to be
fruitless. About a century after this Moses was receiving his
training in Egypt, and very likely came into contact with this
system, which must have lived as a philosophy long after it was
dead as a political issue. The two essential doctrines in the Mosaic
teachings are, the One God, and His absolute holiness, and these
are in germ the centre of the reformation of the Heretic. It is,
therefore, possible that the prophet of Israel was indebted to this
movement for the beginnings of the system which by communion
with God in his wilderness exile he developed more fully.
52 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

some years ago a great number of letters which he

had filed away in the “ Place of the Records of the
Palace of the King.” These were sent from Asia
and are written upon clay tablets in the cuneiform
characters and in the Babylonian language. It is
a striking evidence of the great influence of Baby¬
lonia upon the western lands that Egyptian officers
as well as native Syrian princes writing to the King
of Egypt should use Babylonian characters and
language. Babylonia was to these lands the mother
of civilization for unknown centuries, and her lan¬
guage was to them what Latin was to Europe in the
Middle Ages. In Egypt it was studied in the schools,
for among the letters there was found a text-book
containing a portion of the Adapu Myth punctuated
with red points for the assistance of beginners.
51. Contents of Letters. — These letters
show the decline and fall of Egyptian dominion in
Syria. Probably on account of religious revolu¬
tions at home, the strong hand of Egypt was
removed, and immediately a movement towards
independence began. The earlier letters were sent
to Amenhotep III., but the greater number belong
to his son’s time. Some of the early letters are in
an unknown language. The early letters refer
chiefly to peaceful subjects such as love and
commerce. The principal correspondent in this
group is Dushratta, King of Mitanni, in North
Mesopotamia. Amenhotep III. has asked for his
daughter, and he asks for “much gold,” and a
wife from Egypt in return.1 There was also con-
1 On the death of the Pharaoh, Tyi evidently acted as regent, for
Dushratta writes to her.
 THE EIGHTEENTH D YNASTY. 53

siderable and sometimes acrimonious corre¬

spondence between Amenhotep and the Kasshite,
Kallimasi of Babylon, about ladies for the harem.
Burraburiash of Babylon sends to Egypt for
gold to decorate a new temple, and complains
that the last received was short in weight and
poor in quality. He also requests Akhenaten
not to allow Assyria to trade with Egypt.
Asshurballit of Assyria sends for gold for his
new palace ; in return for two royal chariots, four
horses, two of them white, and a seal of blue stone,
he expects twenty talents of gold. The King of
Alashia (probably Cyprus) writes several letters ; he
congratulates the young king on his accession, and
sends oil for his anointing. He also sends copper,
and his most frequent request is for silver. These
letters show the close commercial relations ex¬
isting between Egypt and Asia, which were
strengthened by many international marriages.
The princesses frequently enclosed letters to one
another. But this state of comparative peace gave
place to more troublous times. The Hittites were
increasing in strength and sought supreme authority
in Syria. Reports of rebellion and attack were sent
in great numbers to Egypt, containing urgent, and
in many cases pathetic but vain appeals for help.
While the war was in the north the chief writer
was Ribaddi, Governor of North Phoenicia, the
most faithful ally or officer Egypt had. He wrote
letter after letter (about fifty in all) seeking help,
but finding none. The rebellion spread south¬
ward through Galilee into Palestine. Jerusalem
was now the centre of importance, and its king,
54 HISTORY OP EGYPT.

Abdkhiba, held out for Egypt as long as he

could.1
52. End of Dynasty.—The closing years of the
dynasty are in gloom. The priests and people
strongly opposed all attempts at religious change,
and the successors of Akhenaten had to revert to
the Amen worship, and return to the ancient capital.
The result was that religion became more than ever
mummified, and the power of the priesthood greatly
strengthened, both events of evil omen to the
land. The successors of the Heretic were weak¬
lings, and the “ divine father Ay,” a priest, seized
the throne. A period of anarchy now ensued, until
at length Hor-em-heb (probably the same as the
famous general of that name), who, through his
wife, was connected with the royal family, seized
the throne and succeeded in restoring order.

--0-

CHAPTER VI

The Nineteenth Dynasty

THE KINGS WHO KNEW NOT JOSEPH

53. Horemheb (1340-1337).—Horemheb owed his

elevation to the large standing army, the product
of the campaigns of the great conquerors, which had
become the real master of the land. As soon however
as the new king felt himself secure upon the throne
1 Abdkhiba more than once uses the formula: “Neither my
father nor my mother appointed me to this place ” ; an expression
somewhat similar to that used of a still earlier king (Heb. vii. 3).
 THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY. 55

he set himself to curb the power of the soldiery.

A long inscription at Karnak, set up perhaps for a
warning, records his decisions in several cases
where soldiers were convicted of pillaging. Two
Apis bulls were buried in this reign. The successor
of Horemheb, Ramses (Ramessu), the first of the
long line of Ramesside kings, made several raids
into Nubia and also fought with the Hittites. He
reigned only two years, but shortly before his death
he appointed Seti, his son, co-regent.
54. Seti I. (1337-1320).—Seti (Sethos) took up
as his lifework the conquest of all that Tahutmes
had won. In spite of his warrior spirit, he failed,
and could regain only what had not fallen into the
power of the Hittites. In his first year he overran
Palestine and garrisoned it. He claimed a victory
over Mantenaur, the Hittite king, but as no attempt
was made to follow up the victory, it was pro¬
bably a drawn battle, or perhaps a Hittite advan¬
tage. The campaign was on the whole successful,
and as he was returning home he was met by a
large company of priests and nobles who accom¬
panied him in triumph to Thebes. Seti began the
magnificent Hall of Columns in Thebes, which
Ramessu II. finished. He worked the mines of
Sinai and Nubia. Of the latter there has come
down a map, rudely drawn, but quite intelligible,
the oldest map in the world. With Seti began the
policy of enlisting great bands of mercenaries, a
policy which proved disastrous to the land, for the
standing army was now large and always eager for
war, and the Egyptians themselves became com¬
pletely dependent upon it. In time both the
56 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

Libyan and the Nubian mercenaries were able to

place their princes on the throne of the Pharaohs.
The pirates, later so troublesome, begin at this
time to appear ; among them were the Shardana,
whom many identify with the Sardinians.
55. The Pharaoh of the Oppression.—
Because the Greeks accepted Ramses II. (1370-
1254) at his own valuation, he has enjoyed for
centuries the fame of having been the greatest of
all the great kings of Egypt. With their usual
facility the Greeks added much to the boast¬
ful claims of the Pharaoh, and credited him
with having conquered Asia, to the eastern bounds
of India, and invaded Europe. His actual warfare
was much less glorious. For twenty years he
warred with the Hittites, and was then forced to
conclude a treaty with them, surrendering to them all
the country north of Lebanon. To ratify this treaty
he married the daughter of Chetasar, the Hittite
king. The greatest battle in the whole war, accord¬
ing to Ramses, was in the first campaign, when
the advance guard of the Egyptians, commanded
by the king himself, was treacherously led into
an ambuscade, and only the king’s personal prowess
and generalship turned the threatened annihilation
into a magnificent victory. This was the greatest
act in the life of Ramses, and again and again he
inscribes it upon his monuments, together with an
ode full of fulsome flattery, composed by Pentaur
the poet laureate in honour of the event. The lists
of conquered countries given by this king are
untrustworthy in the highest degree. He conquered
every land whose name he found in any list, by
 THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY. 57

simply adding it to his own catalogues. Thus he

claims Assyria and Babylonia, two lands with
which he never came into the least contact. The
treaty with the Hittites left Ramses forty-six years
of peace, which he fully occupied in building. He
erected a great many temples, some of them being
magnificent works, as, for example, the Hypostyle
Hall in Karnak (§ 91) ; the Ramesseum temple
and several grotto temples. Some of the temples
were to himself. Not satisfied with this he
“adopted” many of the works of his predecessors
by obliterating their names and inserting his own.
His favourite residence was Tanis (Zoan) near the
Asiatic frontier. He gave much attention to
Goshen, in which he settled several colonies of
Asiatics, among them being the Apuri, whom some
would connect with the Hebrews. He built several
cities, among them being Ramses, the royal resi¬
dence. Everything points to this king as having
been the greatest of those kings who oppressed the
Israelites. His works, so many and so great, must
have meant a great deal of forced labour, which
would naturally fall most severely on the foreigners
in the land. Ramses had a large family ; one
inscription mentions 111 sons and 51 daughters
by name.
56. The Israel Stele.—In the reign of
Merenptah (1254-1234) the pirates of the coast-
lands united with the Libyans to plunder Egypt,
and before they were driven back came within
sight of Memphis. But the chief interest of this
king for Bible students is that he is the only
Pharaoh, so far as is yet known, who mentions
58 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

Israel. The name is on a stele, found by Petrie

in 1895, which describes the king’s victorious cam¬
paign in Syria. The closing lines are :—

The chiefs lie prostrate uttering shalo7n (i.e. they

present their homage).
Not one among the nine barbarian nations is
raising his head.
Plundered is Libya.
The Hittites keep peace.
Captured is Canaan for all its wickedness (or
with all its tribes).
Led away is Ashkelon.
Caught is Gizer.
Yenuam has been annihilated.
Israel has been laid waste and its seed destroyed
(or without offshoot).
Kor has become a widow for Egypt.
All lands together they are in peace.
Any stranger who appears is subjected by the
King Merenptah.

The most obvious explanation of the reference

to Israel is the oppression in Egypt, but a fatal
objection to this is the place it occupies in the
stele, between what are clearly names of places.
Evidently Israel is a people localised in Syria.
It cannot refer to a raid made after the occu¬
pation of Palestine, for there is no reference
to any such campaign in the Book of Judges.
Either, then, a large number of Hebrews did not
go down to Egypt with Jacob, or when the famine
was over many returned from Goshen to Canaan.
The Hebrews did not always stay in one company
 THE NINETEENTH DYNASTY. 59

(z/iGen.xxxvii. I4fif.), so it is quite possible that some

remained in the north country where the famine
was probably not so severe, while the others sought
refuge in Egypt.1 We know, too, that there was
intercourse between the Hebrews in Goshen and
Palestine (cf Gen. 1. 4-14), so that there was
nothing to hinder any who desired to return after
the famine was over. Some think that a consider¬
able number of Hebrews after crossing the Red
Sea may have proceeded direct to Canaan, while
the main body remained with Moses, but this is
very unlikely.2
57. End of Dynasty.—Merenptah is the last
of the able rulers who made the new empire famous.
Seti II. has left some boastful inscriptions, which
are evidently false. After his reign of two years
a period of anarchy ensued, in which several
usurpers managed to seize supreme power, among
them being a Syrian, Arsu by name, but whether
1 In the Egyptian inscriptions there is some evidence that the
tribe of Asher was in North Palestine at the beginning of this
dynasty. In the Amarna tablets a people named Habiri are men¬
tioned, and some scholars would identify them with the Hebrews.
2 In support of this view Numbers xxi. 3 is placed after xiv. 43.
This theory presupposes that the Exodus occurred in the reign of
Merenptah, which is quite probable, although many prefer to put
it later, in the reign of Set-necht or Ramses III. The invasion of
Palestine certainly was not before the time of Ramses III., because
no mention is made in Judges of the campaigns of Ramses I.,
Merenptah and Ramses III. Moreover, the land was not ready
for them before that time. In the time of Ramses III. Palestine
was completely demoralized by barbarian hordes, who were dis¬
persed by Egypt, but who left Canaan a prey to any strong power.
Israel took advantage of this to take possession of the land. The
Exodus is generally placed at about 1200 B.c. The time of
Merenptah is by most historians placed somewhat earlier than the
dates given by Petrie.
6o HISTORY OF EGYPT.

he had been a leader in the Egyptian army, or was

an invader, is uncertain. None were able to make
their rule permanent until Set-necht, the founder
of Dynasty XX., made himself king.

-0-

CHAPTER VII

The Decline of Egypt

58. Causes of Decline. — The replacing of

native soldiers by mercenaries (§ 54), and the
enrichment of the priesthood, two vicious poli¬
cies followed by the later kings, now began to
bear fruit. A large part of the booty won in
the Syrian wars went to the gods, the lion’s
share going to Amen-Ra, whose high priest
became wealthier than the king himself. The
priesthood thus became an immensely wealthy
and powerful corporation, and being responsible to
no authority, it is easily seen how great a menace
it was to the state. Ramessu III. continued this
evil though seemingly pious policy, and during the
weak rule of his successors, the priests were the
real kings of Egypt; so that it is not surprising that
a high priest should make himself king in name
also. The priests were indebted for their power
to circumstances, not to ability ; and hence their
supremacy in Dynasties XX. and XXI. was cala¬
mitous to Egypt.
59. Ramses III. (1203-1171).—This king seems
to have made Ramses II. his model, but equalled
 THE DECLINE OF EGYPT\ 61

him in nothing except boastfulness. The chief

events of his reign were the raids of the “ People
of the Sea,” a coalition of the barbarians of the sea
coasts of N. Africa, Asia Minor and the Grecian
Isles ; by this coalition all the Syrian peoples were
subdued, and the great Hittite kingdom for ever
broken up. When Palestine was invaded, Ramses
in alarm gathered together his forces and pro¬
ceeded against them. A great battle was fought
by land and sea at Magdolos, in which the Egyp¬
tians were victorious. Three years later Ramses
had again to take the field against the barbarians,
this time dispersing them completely. But Egypt
was also weakened by the struggle, and, after an
almost continuous occupation for centuries, Pales¬
tine ceased to be an Egyptian province, and was
never again regained1 for any length of time.
The homeland was in a state of unrest. Labour
troubles (§ 87) and lawlessness were very common.
An example of this unrest and an illustration of

1 The rise of Egyptian supremacy in Asia had been slow. In

the Fourth Dynasty the fighting frontier was in Sinai, and in the
Twelfth it was not much farther north. It was not till the expulsion
of the Hyksos that Egypt took permanent hold in Asia. Tahutmes
I. reached the Euphrates, and the great Tahutmes III. does
not seem to have extended his conquests much beyond this, though
Assyria sent gifts to him. In the early Amarna letters the zenith
of Egyptian dominion is seen, and from this time the decline was
rapid. The losses under Akhenaten were never fully recovered;
Seti I. and Ramses II. regained one half. Merenptah, Ramses
III., and later, Shoshenq claimed authority over Palestine, but
not beyond it. Necho, who defeated Josiah, reached as far as the
Euphrates, but was defeated at Carchemish ; and even the Grecian
Ptolemies had no authority beyond part of Phoenicia. Egypt,
however, remained always, and often for evil, an important in¬
fluence in the politics of Palestine.
62 HISTOR Y OF EG YPT.

the constant danger in which an oriental monarch

lies, is given in the account of a conspiracy against
Ramses III., headed by a royal wife, probably to
put her son on the throne. The ladies of the harem
wrote to their mothers and brothers to “excite the
people and stir up those who bear enmity to the king
to begin hostilities.” The general in command of the
army in Nubia was expected to lead the insurrection.
The details of the conspiracy are unknown, but as
usual its centre was the harem, and many officers,
both civil and military, were implicated. One of
the most heinous offenders was an officer who stole
a book of magic from the royal library, to learn
how to make figures for the women to use against
the king.1 The conspiracy was discovered, and a
commission of eleven judges appointed to try the
offenders. Three of the commissioners were them¬
selves found to have been corrupted and had their
ears and noses cut off. The conspirators were
found guilty, the nobles being allowed to commit
suicide, and the others executed.
60. The Ramessides(1203-1 ioo).—Ramses III.
was followed by a series of weaklings who were, as
a rule, mere puppets in the hands of the priests.
Ramses IV., VI., VII. and VIII. were sons of
Ramses III., but the fifth of the name was an
1 Small images play an important part in the magic of all peoples.
They were much used in Egypt. In the third dynasty a wax
crocodile was made to secure vengeance upon an enemy. In the
Book of the Dead, the serpent Apep, which seeks to destroy the
soul, is conquerable by putting a wax figure of him upon the fire
six times in a day ; and the fiends in his train should be represented
by figures tied with a black hair, cast upon the ground, kicked
with the left foot, pierced with a stone spear and thrown upon the
fire.
 THE DECLINE OF EGYPT. 63

usurper. Of the reigns of the Xth, Xlth and

Xllth Ramesside kings but few particulars are
known. The last king reigned for twenty-seven
years, but the sovereignty was in the hands of
Herihor, high priest of Amen and general of
the army, who, on the death of Ramses, made
himself king. One of these kings sent tribute to
Tiglathpileser of Assyria. Of the successors of
Herihor (Dyn. XXI. 1100-970) little more than
the names are known. Manetho says they were
Tanitic, so that probably the Delta had success¬
fully rebelled against the Theban priest-kings, and
was independent for a time. The Tanitic and
priestly families intermarried again, uniting the
crowns. It was, perhaps, Pasebchanu II., the last
king of this dynasty, who gave his daughter to
Solomon, and captured Gizer for her dowry (1
Kings ix. 16).1
61. Grave Robbers.—The graves of the wealthy
in Egypt were always in great danger of being
spoiled, as they contained so many valuables (§ 80),
and that of a king was a veritable gold mine to
any who could rob it. It is therefore most likely
that grave robbing was common from earliest
times, but during the Ramesside period it was
done systematically. This was brought to the
notice of the court through the jealousy of two
governors, and a commission was appointed which
reported that of ten royal pyramids examined only
one had been entered, but all the private tombs had
been rifled. Eight men were punished, but three
1 Some think it was more likely Shoshenq of the following
dynasty.
64 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

years later sixty arrests were made on the charge

of grave-robbing, many of the criminals being minor
priests and officials. To save them from destruc¬
tion at the hands of robbers many of the royal
mummies were hidden in a deep pit in the moun¬
tains at Deir-el-Bahri. All the great monarchs of
the New Kingdom rested here, huddled in one
heap, till 1881, when they were discovered.

-0-

CHAPTER VIII

Foreign Domination

62. The Libyans (970-780).—The

Libyan mer¬
cenaries were now so strong in the army that
their leader Shoshenq (Shishak) met with little
opposition when he made himself king. He
married his son and successor Osarken I.1 to the
daughter of Pasebchanu, and thus made his line
legitimate kings. Shoshenq was a contemporary
of Solomon and Rehoboam, and it was at his court
that Jeroboam found refuge. Egypt under this
energetic king again began to seek foreign con¬
quest. This Pharaoh waged war on both Israelite
kingdoms (1 Kings xiv. 25), capturing Jerusalem
and carrying off much booty. His successors were
of little importance, and about 800 B.C. the central
authority having become too weak to keep them
1 According to some Osarken is Zerah the Ethiopian (Libyan)
mentioned in 2 Chron. xiv. 9-15. An inscription of Osarken claims
the conquest of Syria.
 Foreign d omina tion. 65

in check, the Libyan garrisons began to act as the

earlier nomarchs had done. The history of Dynasty
XXIII. is totally obscure, but from the Nubian
inscriptions we learn that the country was really
governed by twenty petty rulers of Libyan
descent.
63. The Ethiopians.—The Nubians (Ethi¬
opians) now became ambitious of conquering their
former master. This south land was largely
Egyptian in its culture. Its royal titles, official
language, and system of writing were Egyptian,
and its religion was the cult of Amen-ra carried to
extremes. The king was completely under the
priests, being appointed by an oracle through them,
and obliged to commit suicide should they com¬
mand it.1 It was thus very natural for the Theban
priests to describe Ethiopia to Greek tourists as
being in a golden age, and the hierarchy of Amen
would be more favourable to the Nubians than to
the Libyans who had made Bubastis (W. Delta)
their capital, and glorified its god, the cat-headed
Bast. Therefore when Piankhi, King of Nubia,
invaded Egypt, he met with little resistance in the
south. In the north, Tefnecht, prince of the Sais
nome, had subjugated the surrounding country, and
now strenuously opposed the advance of Piankhi.
He was, however, finally obliged to promise *
allegiance to the Ethiopian, who returned home
nominally in possession of the whole land. But
Tefnecht still controlled the Delta, and his son
Bekenrenf (725-719), the only king of XXIV., ex-
1 They were deprived of this dangerous power by Ergamenes in
the third century b.c.
E
66 HISTOR Y OF EGYPT.

tended his authority to Thebes, where he reigned

for six years in comparative peace.
64. Dynasty XXV. (719-665).—The Ethiopians
had not, however, abandoned their ambitions, but
having strengthened themselves by marriages with
Tanitic princesses, and being favoured by the
Theban priesthood, they again marched north,
took Bekenrenf prisoner, and established their
power in Egypt. The greatest name in the
dynasty of Nubian kings is Sabakon, who was
formerly regarded as the So (Seve) to whom the
people of Syria appealed for help against the
Assyrians (724, 2 Kings xvii. 4), but the king
referred to there was a king or nomarch in the
Delta, not Sabakon. Of this Nubian dynasty
but little is yet definitely known except from the
Assyrian records.1 Shabatako, son of Sabakon, a
weak prince, was followed by a usurper Taharqo
(Tirhakah, 2 Kings xix. 9), who made good his
claim to the throne by marrying the widow of his
predecessor. This king sent help to Syria when
Sennacherib came to quell the rebellion against his
suzerainty in 701, but was defeated with the allies
at the battle of Elteqe.2 After subduing Syria and

1 For supplementary history of this period the reader is referred

to the Primer on Babylonia and Assyria, §§ 40-44, 50, 51, 54.
2 The dates of this dynasty are uncertain. Meyer gives as date
of Taharqo, 704-664, Crum (Bib. Diet.) 690-664. If the latter be
correct, the destruction of Sennacherib’s army must have taken
place in a second campaign, which the Bible historian has confused
with the famous one in 701. This is possible and some think it
likely. Crum, in spite of his dates, says Taharqo was, with the
allies, defeated at Elteqe, which was certainly in 701. It may be
that Taharqo was acting as heir and commander for Shabatako at
this time.
 FOREIGN NOMINATION. 67

Palestine the Assyrian advanced against Egypt,

but the plague broke out with great virulence in
his army (2 Kings xix. 35) and he was obliged to
return home. Taharqo, in the period of peace
which followed, did much building both at Thebes
and Napata (Gebel Barkal), the capital of Nubia.
65. Assyrian Invasions.—The peoples of
Syria always looked to the Pharaohs for help
against Assyria, and Egypt required Syria as a
buffer between herself and that formidable enemy.
It was therefore the policy of Egypt to keep Syria
stirred up against Assyria or Babylonia, and when¬
ever help was asked it was most liberally promised.1
In 677 Esarhaddon of Assyria invaded the west
land which had rebelled, incited thereto very likely
by Egypt, and the Assyrian determined to reduce
the Nile land also. In 670 all things were ready,
and he advanced against it. Three successful
battles were fought with Taharqo in rapid succes¬
sion, and Memphis taken and plundered. All
Egypt then submitted, and Esarhaddon apportioned
it out to twenty native princes, though the real
government was in the hands of Assyrian officers.
On the death of Esarhaddon, Taharqo, who had
fled to his own land, again marched north and was
received by Thebes as its deliverer. He overthrew
the Assyrian garrisons as far as Memphis, but north
of it he met the army of Asshurbanipal hastening
against him. Taharqo, having been defeated,
fled to Nubia while the whole land again submitted.
As soon as the main army was removed, Necho of
1 Isaiah combated most strenuously a pro-Egyptian party in
Judah.
68 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

Sais, and two other princes, appointed by Esar-

haddon, began intriguing with Taharqo. In¬
criminating letters were found on their messengers,
and the three governors, bound hand and foot,
were sent to Nineveh. Necho was restored to his
province laden with marks of Asshurbanipal’s
favour, to whom he remained a faithful vassal all
his life after. The brave Nubian died about 664,
and Urdamane, his nephew, who succeeded him,
immediately invaded Egypt, captured Thebes, and
proceeded north. He was, however, soon in
retreat. He made a final stand at Kipkip in his
own territory but suffered a defeat, which brought
Ethiopian dominion in Egypt to an end. Thebes
was thoroughly sacked, and never again recovered
its former glory.

——0 -

CHAPTER IX

Independence and Renaissance

66. End of Assyrian Dominion.—Although

the battle of Kipkip extended the sway of Assyria
beyond the limits ever before reached, the close of
Assyria’s brief rule upon the Nile was near and
the end of Nineveh itself not much further away.
Necho’sson, Psamtik (665-610), aided by Gyges of
Lydia and by Greek mercenaries, successfully re¬
volted. This Saite dynasty sought to make Egypt a
great commercial nation. To this end the Greeks
were greatly favoured, many of them came as mer¬
cenaries, but many more as traders. Psamtik and
 INDEPENDENCE AND RENAISSANCE. 69

his successors gave lands in the Delta to them and

soon large colonies were to be found in the chief
cities. By one of the last kings of the dynasty the
Greeks were allowed to build Naucratis, a Greek
city, governed by Greek laws, and completely inde¬
pendent of Egypt. In everything else except
commerce the ancient was the ideal, so that the
time of this dynasty is sometimes called the
Egyptian Renaissance. A determined effort was
made to stem the retrograde movement in art,
but in vain : the revival lacked life. The works of
this time at first glance take us back to the time
of the pyramid builders, but a closer examination
shows them to be but imitations of the archaic.1
67. Necho II. (610-594).— Psamtik having
succeeded in restoring order in the homeland, his
son, Necho, could seek to restore Egyptian
supremacy in Asia. The time was favourable, as
Assyria was in its death throes at the hands of the
Medes and Babylonians. In 608 Necho invaded
Asia and met with little opposition until he reached
Megiddo, whither Josiah of Judah had hastened to
meet him. The Hebrew king was slain, and his
army disbanded, and the Egyptian proceeded to
Ribla, near Hamath. Here he made his head¬
quarters for some time, imposing his authority
upon the surrounding lands. An example of his
treatment of these is seen in his dealings with Judah,
where the people had made Jehoahaz king. This
' Sais was naturally the capital of this dynasty, and Thebes
which, with few interruptions, had been the capital for 1500 years,
gradually sank into decay, and to-day all that remains of this once
great city are the villages of Luxor, Karnak and Medinet Habu.
Of Sais scarcely a trace remains.
70 HISTORY OF EGYPT

king, Necho removed and put his brother Eliakim

(Jehoiakim) in his place, at the same time making
Jerusalem pay a tribute of a hundred talents of
silver and a talent of gold. But the destruction of
Assyria left Babylonia free to secure the west land
which was its share of the effects of the dead
kingdom. In 604, Nebuchadrezzar led his father’s
army to Syria and engaged Necho in battle at
Carchemish, with the result that Egypt’s sway in
Asia was ended for ever. Necho, confined to
Egypt, did much to promote commerce. He sent
out some Phoenician ships from the Red Sea which
went round about Africa, and in the third year
entered the Mediterranean by the Straits of
Gibraltar. Necho was succeeded by his son
Psamtik II. (594-589), who was of little importance.
68. Persian Conquest.—Uahebre (Heb.
Hophra, Gk. Apries, 588-569) was active in Syria.
Zedekiah of Judah, in spite of prophetic warning,
listened to the Egyptian party, and rebelled against
Nebuchadrezzar who had appointed him. Hophra
went to the assistance of his ally, but withdrew at
the approach of the Babylonian army. The Egyp¬
tians gave no assistance to Jerusalem when it was
besieged and taken (587). After the dastardly assas¬
sination of Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadrezzar had
appointed governor of Judah, many Jews fled to
Egypt, taking Jeremiah the prophet with them.1
An inscription mentions that the Babylonian army
1 Jer. xliii. 5-13.—The Tahpanhes here mentioned is the modern
El Defenneh on the Egyptian frontier, between Pelusium and Zoan.
The ruins of a large fortress built by Psamtik I. for the Greek
mercenaries is known as “The Castle of the Jew’s Daughter.'’
In front of it is a pavement like that described by the prophet,
 INDEPENDENCE AND RENAISSANCE. 71

overran Egypt as far as its southerly border at

Aswan. The next ruler, Aahmes II. (Amasis,
569-526), a general under Hophra, was made king
by the native troops in an uprising against
the Greek and Carian mercenaries, who were
favoured by Hophra. The change of monarchs,
however, made but little change in the treatment
of these foreigners who had become too necessary
to Egypt to be lightly offended. The long reign
of Aahmes was wise and prosperous, and commerce
and agriculture flourished. Nebuchadrezzar, in
567 made an expedition against Egypt, of which all
details are yet lacking. In the latter part of the
reign of Aahmes, Cyrus was rapidly becoming a
menace, and Croesus of Lydia, Nabonaid of
Babylon, and the Pharaoh made alliance against
him, but before united action could be taken Lydia
was conquered. In 538 Babylon opened its gates
to the Persian and the various Greek states also
submitted. Egypt was the next point of attack,
but Cyrus died (529), before he was ready to pro¬
ceed against it. Three years later Aahmes died,
and the first duty of his successor, Psamtik (526-
525), was to meet the invading Persians under
Kambyses. A battle was fought near Pelusium,
in which Kambyses was successful, in spite of the
bravery of the Greek mercenaries. Psamtik fled
to Memphis, but when that city fell he was made
prisoner, and soon after compelled to commit
suicide. The daughter of Psamtik together with
the noblest maidens of Egypt were sold into
slavery.1
' This begins the first permanent conquest of Egypt.
72 HISTORY OR EGYPT.

CHAPTER X

The Persian Period—525-331

69. Cambyses (525-522).—The memory of the

first Persian king was execrated in Egypt because
of his brutal treatment of their most revered
customs. Having subdued Egypt, he wished next
to conquer Carthage, but the Phoenicians on whom
he was dependent for ships refused to proceed
against their kinsmen. He then sent 50,000 men
against the Oasis of Amen, but his army must
have perished in the desert for it was never again
heard of. An expedition against Nubia was at
first more successful, but as it was returning a
great many perished in a sand-storm. Kambyses
seems now to have become partly insane, and
although at first he sought to conform him¬
self to Egyptian beliefs, he now did all he could
to insult them. On his return to Memphis he
found the people celebrating the finding of a new
Apis bull, and imagined they were rejoicing over
the destruction of his army. He would not believe
that a god had been born, but sent for the bull,
which he fatally wounded with his sword. He is
also accused of having mocked at Ptah, the great
god of Memphis (who was represented as a dwarf),
and of having robbed temples and burned statues.
70. The Persian Kings.—Darius (521-486)
posed as the successor of the native Pharaohs,
and did much to win the favour of the priests and
people. He imposed on Egypt an annual tribute
 THE PERSIAN PERIOD. 73

of 700 talents of silver (about £70,000), 120,000

bushels of grain, and the fisheries of Lake Moeris
(Fayum). The income of the city of Anthylla was
given to the queen for pin-money. Aryandes, whom
Kambyses had appointed governor of Egypt, was
put to death on suspicion of seeking to establish
Egypt as an independent kingdom. Darius came
to Egypt in 517. Just before his arrival the Apis
bull had died, and he offered 100 talents to who¬
ever would find the new one. He did much for
the temples at Memphis and at Edfu, but his chief
work was the building of the temple at the Oasis
El Kergeh. The check the Persians received at
Marathon (490) encouraged the patriots in Egypt
to seek independence, and under the leadership of
a Libyan named Chabbash the Persians were ex¬
pelled. This king reigned but two years when
Xerxes (485-465) again subjugated Egypt, and
appointed his brother, the tyrannical Achaemenes,
satrap. After the assassination of Xerxes, a time
of anarchy ensued, and a Saite prince, Inaros,
gathered an army and expelled the Persian tax-
collectors. Artaxerxes (464-448) sent an army
against Egypt, which Inaros, with the help of a
hundred ships from Athens, defeated in a great
battle near Memphis. Another large army led by
Megabyzos was despatched, and defeated Inaros
and his Greek fleet (460). Inaros was sent to
Persia and crucified, but the cause of independence
was taken up by one Amenrut (Amyrtaeos) who
was more successful, and with assistance from
Cimon of Athens, drove out the Persians (415).
71. Independence (415-349).—Of the dynasty
74 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

of Amenrut (XXVIII.) and the two following few

details are known. The army was evidently
supreme, appointing and deposing kings at its
will. In the reign of Necht-hor-heb (Nectanebus
I. 386-368) the Persians sent against Egypt an
immense army of 200,000 Persians and 20,000
Greeks, supported by 300 men-of-war and many
smaller craft. The invaders, who entered by the
Pelusium branch of the Nile, were at first success¬
ful, but a quarrel between the Persian and Greek
leaders gave the Egyptians time to collect more
forces. A number of battles were fought in which
the defenders were for the most part successful,
and the enemy, further discouraged by the rising
of the Nile, returned home. Necht-hor-heb owed
very much to Agesilaos, the able Greek general
who commanded his army. In the reign of Necht-
enebf (Nectanebus II. 367-349), as the land seemed
more secure, this commander returned home, and
his loss was soon felt. Ochus of Persia (362-337)
gathered an immense force of 300,000 infantry,
30,000 cavalry, 300 triremes and 500 transports,
besides about 10,000 men from Greece, and pro¬
ceeded against the west land, where Sidon,
Cyprus and Egypt were at one against him.
Sidon fell through the treachery of its king, then
Cyprus was conquered and Egypt left alone. In
spite of the superior numbers of the enemy,
Nechtenebf might have been successful had he
been an efficient general, but he was defeated and
fled to Ethiopia with all his treasures. Ochus
wreaked his vengeance on Egypt. The Apis bull
>vas butchered and eaten, and an ass, the symbol
 THE PERSIAN PERIOD. 75

of all uncleanness, was put in its place as the god

of the land. The sacred ram of Mendes was also
slaughtered and the cities and temples plundered,
the priests having to buy back the sacred writings
at exorbitant prices.
72. The End.—During the fateful struggle
between the Greeks and Persians which destroyed
the kingdom of the latter, Egypt looked on an
impassive spectator. And when Alexander, supreme
in Asia, came to Egypt (332), he met with no op¬
position, but seems rather to have been welcomed
as its deliverer. He entered Memphis as an
Egyptian Pharaoh, observing all the customary
religious rites, going in state to the temple and
sacrificing to the sacred bull. Leaving Memphis,
he founded Alexandria, and from there proceeded
across the desert to consult the famous oracle in
the Oasis of Amen, where, on entering the temple,
he was hailed as the son of Amen-Ra. Before
leaving Egypt, Alexander placed the country under
various rulers, and gave orders that justice should
be administered according to the ancient laws.
With this conquest the history of the Egyptian
people ends ; from this time the story of Egypt
is the story of a foreign race, ruling in the Nile
land. Egypt has never again been free, and its
people have been content to submit to the strong
power of the time being.
In our own day, and by our own people, they
have at last been released from all tyranny except¬
ing that of their religion, and though still governed
by an alien race, we look forward with hope to a
time soon to come when the people of the Nile
76 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

valley, the heirs of so many millenniums, will again

take their place among the history-making nations
of the earth.

-o-

CHAPTER XI

Religion

73. Gods Many.—The religion of Egypt is an

extraordinary mingling of the noble and the
base ; although at times it almost looked into the
deep mysteries of God, it at no period freed itself
from the most primitive and ignoble elements.
The gods are so many and their functions so con¬
fused that they have been well described as a
rabble. Every district and village, even every
family of distinction had its own god, whose one
duty was to provide for, and guard its particular
group of clients. Should a deity prove itself in¬
competent it was ignominiously discarded, and a
new one adopted. Every phenomenon in nature,
every event in life had also a god in charge of it.
Goddesses were the equals of the gods, and the
local deities always retained their individuality and
supremacy in their own district.1
74. God.—In spite of this gross polytheism,
some think that the Egyptians believed from very
early times in one God who was self existent, im¬
mortal, invisible, eternal, omniscient and inscrut-
1 The schoolmen sometimes grouped the deities in triads or
enneads, a chief god with two or eight companions,
 RELIGION. 77

able.1 It is true that the further back we go the

religion seems to be simpler and more monotheistic ;
but this arises from the simpler state of society,
when each district had but one god, though recog¬
nising as real gods the deities of their neighbours.
As society became more complex so did religion,
and the superstitions of the prehistoric Egyptians
became incorporated with the somewhat higher
religion of the New Race, their successors in
authority. As has been seen (§ 49), some of the
more thoughtful at times approached monotheism,
but the religion of the masses was always a simple
worship of many gods.
75. Animal Gods.—The strangest feature in
Egyptian religion is the supremacy in it of animal
worship. No trace of this appears in the first
dynasty, which implies, not that it did not then
exist, but that the New Race were beyond that
stage,2 while their predecessors in the Nile valley
were not. Animal worship probably came to
Egypt with the migration into that land of totem
peoples. In spite of all changes the primitive
superstitions maintained themselves and gradually
working up into the superimposed religion of the
dynastic peoples, became at last supreme.3 The
idea of God was now, however, too great for
totemism, but the animal retaining its old sanctity,

1 Budge, Religion of Egypt. The name for God was neter, and
its hieroglyph a battle-axe. The root-meaning of the word is un¬
certain.
2 Very few traces of animal worship have been found in Ancient
Babylonia.
3 The history of Egyptian religion is the history of deteriora*
tion with now and then noble, but ineffectual efforts at reform.
78 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

became not the god, but his symbol or in some

way sacred to him. In many cases the deity
became incarnate in a certain animal of the class.
Each nome probably had one or more of these in¬
carnations, but the three of greatest national im¬
portance were the bulls at Memphis (Apis) and
On (Mnevis) and the ram at Mendes. The Apis is
the best known, as a large cemetery of these bulls
has been found. When a calf having the divine
markings was discovered, he was brought to the
temple with great rejoicings ; here he was waited
upon by a great staff of priests, fed upon the
choicest food, and allowed to gratify every whim.
The mother of the god was also lodged in the
temple, and carefully tended. When the bull died1
all Egypt went into mourning until the new one
was discovered. The deceased deity was mummi¬
fied with as much care as was the body of a king,
and buried with equal pomp.
76. The Great Gods. — From Babylonia the
worship of the hosts of heaven came very early
to Egypt, possibly with the New Race. The
cult was never so dominant as in the Old Land,
although its presence kept a higher ideal before
the thinkers, and to it are due the attempted re¬
formations. The ancient gods of the land were
identified with the heavenly hosts among whom, to
the Egyptians, the sun was supreme God. Ra
seems to have been an ancient national deity, but
with the coming of the new faith was identified
1 It is said no bull was allowed to live after attaining the age
of twenty-five, but was then drowned. All sorts of animals, cats,
mice, crocodiles, snakes, vultures, jackals etc., were locally
sacred, and were embalmed at death.
 RELIGION.

with the sun, who daily crossed the heavens in

his boat. The different nome gods were also
identified with the sun. When these local deities
became national gods, to simplify theology they
were sometimes regarded as phases of Ra. Ra the
Sun, and Hapi, the Nile, were the greatest of the
gods, but the one who touched most closely the life
of the people was Osiris, the god of the underworld,
who was sometimes identified with the sun between
setting and rising. He became god of the dead by
reason of his own death and resurrection, the story
of which was familiar to all Egyptians. The first
of the divine kings of Egypt, he taught his people
the beginnings of civilization. Lured by deceit,
he was slain by Set his brother, and his body, in
a box, thrown into the Nile. After much searching,
Isis, his twin sister and devoted wife, found the
chest where it had grounded near the mouth of
the river, and carefully hid it, but Set accidentally
discovered it, cut the body into fourteen pieces and
distributed them throughout the land. Isis found
thirteen,1 and pieced them together. Then the
body was embalmed, and by the magic of Thoth
and Horus made to live again. Osiris, the first¬
born of the dead, therefore became the god of the
dead “who maketh mortals to be born again.”
The gospel of the Egyptians, and their hope for the
future, was their belief that Osiris, who had suffered
so sorely, would be merciful, and give to his people
the immortality he had himself received. Thoth,
the moon, whose symbol was the dog-headed ape,
1 The fourteenth had been devoured by the oxyrhynchus fish,
which was therefore forever unclean to the Egyptians.
So HISTORY OF EGYPT.

and in later times the ibis, was the god of books,

wisdom, mathematics, science and magic.1 Ptah
of Memphis, the architect, was self-created, and
was later a form of Ra, as the opener of the day.
Nu was the father of gods, the great primeval
watery mass from which all things sprang. Nut,
the sky, and Seb, the earth, were originally united,
but were separated by the god Shu, the light, and
the sky is now supported by four pillars or gods.
Seb was sometimes called the “ Great Cackler ”
because he produced the primeval egg from which
the earth sprang. Nut is sometimes represented
as a cow along whose body the sun travels. Horus,
the day, and Set, the night, were children of Nut
and Seb. They were continually at war until
finally Set, the red-haired, fair-skinned, and ill-
tempered, became the symbol of all evil, and was
ejected from the noble army of gods. • The like
fate was given to his friend Sebek, the crocodile,
and these once revered gods, whose names kings
had been honoured to bear, became as thoroughly
detested as among the “devil and his angels”
Christians. Isis was a nature goddess, and is
called the divine mother and lady of enchantments.
Aunbis, the jackal, presided over the abode of the
dead, Hath or, the milk-cow, was the lady of heaven,
and Maat, whose symbol was a feather, was truth,
and presided over righteousness. Amen, at first
merely the local god of Thebes, by the rise of that
province became a national god. His priests'
called him “ God of gods, One of one ” ; or “ One

1 In one theory of creation he seems to have played the part

of the Wisdom in Prov. viii. 23-31.
 RELIGION. 81

without end ”; and identified him with Ra to

secure the universal acceptance of his cult, hence
he is frequently called Amen-Ra. They also tried
to identify him with Osiris. His worship was
adopted both in Nubia and Libya.
77. Worship.—Worship was essentially formal
and non-moral. All depended on the ritual, and
the least mistake in its performance made the
whole ceremony vain. The gods were dependent
on offerings ; if these were to cease, they would
perish. Sacrifice thus played a prominent part in
worship. Every temple had two essential parts—
a closed, dark adytum, or Holy of Holies, with
before it a holy place for worship. All additions
were either for ornament, or for the housing of
priests and stores. In ancient times the laity
seems to have taken part in the worship ; but the
ritual as it became very elaborate became more and
more confined to specialists, resulting in a clerical
hierarchy, and depriving the people of any part
beyond providing for the support of the temples.1
In the new kingdom, especially after the Syrian wars,
the priests, from their shares in the spoils, became
immensely wealthy and powerful corporations.2
It was customary, also, for the wealthy to leave
legacies, to endow perpetual services for their
souls. In spite of the fact that the kings and lords
often braved the sternest imprecations, and
despoiled the temples, it is calculated that on an
1 Pharaoh and the nomarchs were the only exceptions. They
always retained the high priesthood in their own hands. In the
temple of Amen the clergy were in five orders or grades.
2 Ramses II., in one year, gave ,£20,000 worth of precious metal's
to the temples.
F
82 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

average, a third of Egypt was always in the hands

of the priests. In the inner sanctuary was the
sacred bark, shaped like the boat of the sun, also
containing the sacred image, the manifestation of
the god who was able to divide himself as often as
he pleased, and make any person, beast, or thing
part of himself. This image was small, and was
never represented in pictures or carried in pro¬
cession, the sacred ark being in such cases the
symbol of divinity.1 The ceremonial and the
many processions of the large temples were per¬
formed with much magnificence. Naturally, the
official cults formed but a small part of the religion
of the masses. To them the old local and depart¬
mental gods and ancient superstitions were suffi¬
cient. A slavish belief in magic pervaded all
classes, and formed a barrier to a higher and
moral view of religion.2 The serpent was held in
high respect, and probably every house had a pet
one as its genius or guardian.3 It was the symbol
of deity and royalty, and a serpent image always
guarded the entrance of the inner sanctuary. Cir¬
cumcision was regularly practised, but the few
references to it would imply it was not so important
religiously as among the Hebrews.
1 Some doubt the existence of an image in the adytum.
2 By certain kinds of magic even the gods themselves could be
forced to obey their clients. The magicians were, therefore, an
important and highly-honoured body (cf. Gen. xli. 8; Exod. vii. n).
3 This is quite common still in Egypt. Many of the Egyptian
Moslems worship the Shekh Heridi, a sacred serpent, with shrine
and festival, who works wonderful cures. This is undoubtedly a
remnant of the old pagan serpent worship.
 “ THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.” 83

CHAPTER XII

“the book of the dead55

78. Pert-em-hru.1—It has been said that the

Egyptians lived only for the future. While this
is an exaggeration, for they as much as any people
lived in the present, yet the thought of the here¬
after and the need of preparation for it was much
in their thoughts. Unfortunately the thing which
would make or mar a man in that time was
not so much morality or devotion to the gods as
knowledge of “ The Book of the Dead.55 This
famous work, the Bible of the Egyptians, is a
collection of prayers and magical formulae for the
use of the deceased, to enable him after death to
safely reach the Elysian fields, and to enjoy
himself there. One ignorant of this book must
as soon as he sets out on his journey after death
inevitably perish ; but the man, who by study
or by magic is acquainted with its prescriptions,
will with certainty pass all dangers, and enter into
bliss. Many copies of the book have been pre¬
served, and although in its present form it may
not be older than the seventh century B.C., some
of its chapters go back to the earliest historic
times.2
79. The Parts of Man.—From earliest times
1 The title has not yet been satisfactorily translated. “ Book of
going forth by Day ” is perhaps near it.
2 Eg. Chapter XXX. is ascribed to Menkaura of Dynasty IV.
Its rubric instructs that it be said over the scarab to be placed on
the neck of the mummy.
84 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

the belief in a future life was strongly held,1 and to

explain its possibility and mode, elaborate theories
of the composition of man were developed. In
man there are eight distinct parts. The body ;
the double, or Ka ; the soul; the spirit; the heart;
the vital force ; the name ; and the shadow.2 The
functions of some of these were never clearly dis¬
tinguished. The most important were the body,
Ka and spirit. The Ka was the exact counterpart
of the body, and was confined to the earth, though
free to move where it would. It was to the Ka the
offerings were made, and one unfed was in danger
of starvation. Its existence was also dependent
on the body, which was therefore embalmed, so
that the Ka should have a perpetual home. Lest
some unforeseen accident should happen to the
mummy, statues were placed here and there in the
tomb after being made by magic, fit homes for the
Ka, so that should the body perish, the double
would make his home in one of these.3 The spirit
or soul was not confined to the earth or neighbour¬
hood of the tomb, but could ascend to the celestial
gods and live with them.4
1 The dead are called “ the living ” or the “ yesterday who sees
endless years.”
2 The name is all-important among primitive people, and a man’s
right name is seldom used, because, by its use in magic, much evil
may be done, or some power exercised over the owner. Cf. the dis¬
like of the fairies to be called by that name. The shadow was
equally important. The common tales of the man who sold his
shadow to Satan illustrate this.
3 Some say that the body was always regarded as perishable,
and was mummified not to provide a home for the Ka, but as the
seed from which the celestial body should sprout. (Cf. i Cor. xv.
37, 44.) This view, if ever held, would be rare:
4 It sometimes returned as a human-headed hawk to visit the body.
 “ THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.” 85

80. Death and Burial.—“ In Egypt a man

never died, he was assassinated either by magic or
evil spirits.” Under such conditions medicine
could not flourish, although by its contemporaries,
the land of the Nile was regarded as far advanced
in the healing science. The physicians were all
specialists, and many medicines were employed,
some of them being to us most repulsive in their
nature.1 When, however, medicine and the still
more powerful exorcisms and incantations had all
failed and death occurred, the body was given
over to the embalming priests. The brain and the
intestines were first removed and placed in four
jars each under the care of one of the four support¬
ing gods.2 For seventy days the body lay in a vat
of preserving liquid, after which it was carefully
wrapped in fold after fold of linen, while a priest
repeated the proper charms to make each act
effective, or recited in the ear of the dead passages
from the Book of the Dead. Within the folds of
the bandages were placed numerous amulets and
passages from the sacred book. Meanwhile
carpenters had been making the coffin which was
also an image of the dead, and jewellers, clothiers,
and cabinetmakers had been preparing the dead
1 Many of the most popular prescriptions were believed to be
divine gifts. A papyrus of Ramses II. on medicine gives cures for
various diseases and fractures, and explains the construction of the
body with the number and uses of its many pipes. This latter
was mostly pure invention, as anatomy could not be studied, it
being sacrilege to mutilate a body. Some of the people took
medicine monthly as a prevention of disease.
2 The cover of each canopic jar was an image of the god in whose
keeping it was placed. The number four is frequent in Egyptian
religion.
86 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

man’s outfit, while painters and scribes had been

adorning his eternal house with stories and pictures
for his amusement. When all was ready the body
was drawn to the tomb in a boat-shaped hearse.
All the gifts and furnishings provided for the
departed were also borne in the procession.
81. The Judgment.—What now became of the
departed was not perfectly clear. He lived some¬
where and somehow, and if not supported by
offerings would die or become a monster and a
scourge to his neglectful relations.1 The general
belief was that the soul had now to seek the
Happy Land, the entrance to which was through
the judgment hall of Osiris, away beyond the moun¬
tains of the west. The road thither was infested
by many dangers, evil spirits, the serpent Apep,
swine, crocodiles, and apes all hunting, or fishing
for wandering ignorant souls. But the well
instructed having studied well the sacred book in
his life-time, and having the important passages
written upon his coffin and bandages in addition
to many amulets, need fear no evil; for when
danger threatened to destroy him, or rob him of
the charms and magic which would enable him to
enjoy the hereafter to the fullest, he merely had to
repeat the appointed charm or show the proper
amulet, and it vanished. On arriving at the
House of Osiris he must first successively pass
1 A ghost did not always wait for this neglect to “walk.” On
the Ka statue of a woman was found an accusing letter from her
husband because of her haunting him in spite of a magnificent
funeral and plentiful offerings. He threatens her with a law-suit
before Osiris about it if she does not cease. He placed the letter
on her statue to make certain she should receive it.
 “ THE BOOK OF THE DEAD.” *7

nine arits, each with three guardians, and twenty-

five pylons with one guardian apiece; should he
fail to repeat any one of the eighty-six names
entrance would be barred. At the great door he
repeats hymns to Ra and Osiris, and enters the
hall where Osiris, generally in the form of a
mummy, waits to pronounce judgment. With him
are forty-two juror gods each of which the soul
addresses by name, declaring he is not guilty of a
certain sin. This plea is tested by Anubis the
Jackal-headed, weighing the heart against the
feather of righteousness (the goddess Maat), the
result being recorded by Thoth, the scribe (Ibis¬
headed), while near by sits Ammit, the eater of the
dead, a horrid beast composed of the parts of three
animals. The justified soul was then presented to
Osiris who restored his sight and his voice, and
permitted him to pass into the Abode of the Blest.1
1 The standard demanded by the “Negative Confession” is
very high. The man declares he has not robbed with
violence, done violence to any man, stolen, killed man or
woman, made light the bushel, acted deceitfully, stolen things
of the gods, lied, uttered evil words, stolen food by force,
acted deceitfully, invaded any man’s land, slaughtered animals
belonging to the gods, pried into matters to make mischief, been
imperious or violent in temper. The belief extending from
very ancient times that after death came a judgment when every
man would be rewarded according to the deeds done in the body,
should have exerted a powerful influence on the morals of the
people, but unfortunately it was vitiated by magic which it was
believed could overcome all imperfections of life. The arrangement
of the chapters in the Book of the Dead is in confusion, so it is
impossible to be certain of the exact order of the progress of the
soul from death to heaven. Budge thinks it went at once to
judgment, and then if sight and voice were restored by Osiris, it
had to pass many questioners and dangers before it reached the
place of the Blessed.
88 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

82. The Elysian Fields.—In the incantations

the deceased always identified himself with Osiris
or some other god, seemingly to make him by
magic responsible. In the new kingdom, some of the
more thoughtful developed that practice almost into
pantheism, teaching that the justified soul went
upward until it could enter and leave the boat of
the sun at pleasure, or become completely identi¬
fied with, or absorbed in Ra. To the great mass
of the people, however, in all times, the future life
was an exact reproduction of the present. In it
they were vassals of Osiris, and worked in the
fields, ploughing, sowing, irrigating and harvesting.
At the call of the over-lord they fought against his
enemies, Set, dragons, and serpent. In their
leisure they hunted, walked in the cool beside the
heavenly waters, listened to music and enjoyed the
society of wife, children or friends. To escape
labour small magic images called Uashabti, or
respondents were buried with the dead, and these
did the work the deceased was called upon to
perform, leaving him free to enjoy himself without
interruption. The fate of the rejected was not so
well thought out. At first they were probably
annihilated, but as religion became more gloomy,
more severe punishment was considered necessary.
There is now a lake of fire beside which Ammit,
the “ Devourer of Shades,” is seen sitting, and
the wicked die “ the second death,” eat the food of
filth, lie upon beds of torment, or live in the land
of darkness.1
’ Some thinks it was only at times there was any belief in a hell.
 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFE. 89

CHAPTER XIII

The People and their Life

S3- Manners and Customs.—The Egyptians were

a “people docile and peaceful, lovers of flowers
even more than of letters, and of an exceptionally
religious temper.” Their wise men taught them to
pray to the gods, to honour the dead, to give bread
to the hungry, and water to the thirsty. But in
spite of a great degree of theoretic perfection in
morals, their practice seems to have fallen far
short, and as religion deteriorated their ethics
became more materialized. Arrogant pride was a
common failing, and yet except in the case of the
king, a man’s ancestry is seldom mentioned. Birth
was no barrier to advancement,1 and the clever son
of a poor man, if he secured the proper patronage,
might rise to be the highest official in the land.
The people were fond of luxury, and their feasting
was often accompanied by drunkenness. Even
women, as the pictures show, were on such
occasions frequently overcome. Bread and cakes
of fine flour often fancifully shaped, were baked
in ovens and pans.2 Fish, fresh and dried, were
1 Cf. Gen. xli. 41.
2 Reference to the royal chief baker has been found but not to
the cup-bearer. The people prayed that in heaven they might be
plentifully supplied with bread and beer, goose and beef. From
tomb lists there are known io kinds of meats, 5 of birds, 16 of
bread and cake, 6 of wine, 4 of beer, n of fruit. The tomb pictures
of eatables were often magical and would be food for the Ka.
Roast goose may be said to have been the national dish of Egypt,
so high in favour was it. The poor had to be content with coarse
meal ground between two stones, made into scones and baked on
a stone in the ashes, as their chief food.
90 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

cheap and much eaten by the poor.1 The lot of

the lower classes was made worse by the taxes and
forced labour so plentifully imposed. Taxes were
never paid without protest, and the man whose
payment was not wrung from him by beating would
have been regarded as a mean-spirited craven.
Valuables were always carefully hidden to prevent
assessments on them, but the tax-gatherers were
good detectives. Payments were made in kind,
and all buying and selling was by barter, rendering
big bargains complicated matters.2 Besides the
regular markets held in the open, the festivals of
the gods were great fairs. The upper and middle
classes had slaves, but amongst the poor the
drudgery fell upon the women. The huts of the
fellahin contained almost no furniture, and the
men rarely went into them except to eat and sleep.
Fine linen was worn by the rich and a coarse
matting by the poor. Cleanliness was almost a
passion with the well-to-do, hence they always
dressed in white linen. From the same motive the
beard was shaven off and the hair kept closely cut,
while false beards and great wigs were worn on
state or festive occasions.3 The face was rouged,
1 Cf Num. xi. 5 ; Isa. xix. 8.
2 Coins and medals were not struck. For large transactions bars
or rings of metal were sometimes used, these had to be weighed
whenever they were proffered in payment. A man wishing to lay
up money would purchase valuable articles of small size, easily
hidden, and easily realised upon.
3 The falling or turning grey of the hair was, however, much
dreaded. Some of the many sure preventives were, the blood of a
black calf boiled in oil, the fat of a black snake, the fat of the lion,
hippopotamus, crocodile, cat, or ibis, the tooth of an ass crushed in
honey. A common act of revenge was to cause an enemy’s hair to
fall out by magic arts. The lower classes let their hair grow freely.
 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFE. 91

the eyes painted, and the limbs and hair oiled, even
the dead being unhappy without seven sorts of
ointment and two of face paint.1 The aristocracy
were fond of hunting with bows, boomerangs, and
trained dogs. Bull fights, prize-fights, wrestling,
shooting at targets, gambling, draughts, tales,
dancing-women, contortionists, jugglers, and min¬
strels with harp or flute provided amusements for all
classes. Justice was highly esteemed ; the Greeks
say that even the king was under the restraints of
the law. Oaths were much employed and therefore
truth suffered. The penalties of crime were the
bastinado, imprisonment, or additional days at
forced labour for minor offences, while for graver,
the prisoner had his nose or ears taken off, was
sent to the mines, or put to death by strangling,
beheading, or impalement.
84. King and Court.—The king was a deified
autocrat. He bore the title, “king of both lands,”
or “king of all things,” and was generally styled
“His Holiness” or simply “He.” Many designa¬
tions were given him, of which the most familiar to
us was Pharaoh, orper-ao, Great House.2 Ra and
his colleagues were the Great Gods, the king was
the Good God, and was worshipped in his lifetime,
and sometimes long after his death.3 The royal
1 Every wealthy house had an anointer, who dipped balls in
perfumed oil and placed them upon the heads of guests during a
feast. (Cf. Ps. xxiii. 5.)
2 Cf. The title “ Sublime Porte.” Some take it to be a form of
p-ur-a, meaning “ great prince,” or “most mighty of princes.” From
the time of Shishak it became a usual designation of the kings.
3 It is said that the voice of the people could declare a deceased
king unworthy of veneration. This would be a great incentive to
the king to make his reign popular.
92 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

dress was simple, but always had as part of it a

skin in front and a lion’s tail behind.1 On state
occasions he wore the white or the red crown, or
one that was a combination of these. On the royal
head-dress there was always a divine image of the
uraeus asp, his symbol, guardian and avenger. It
was the right of everyone to approach the king
with his wrongs, a right probably not often exercised
by the common people. On coming into presence
one had to approach as unto a deity, being dazzled
by the splendour, and prostrating himself upon the
ground. As a special favour the courtier might be
allowed to kiss the king’s knee instead.2 Royal
progresses were sometimes made throughout the
country and were characterised by great ceremony.
To one whom the king delighted to honour he
conferred the title “Friend of the King,” and
loaded him with presents.3 Pharaoh was the high-
priest of all the gods, and sacrificed to them. Under
the king the country was governed by an army of
officials, the most important of whom were the
governor of the south and the royal treasurer, who
calls himself the “ lord of all that exists or does not
exist.” In the more ancient times the chief offices
were held mainly by the nomarchs, who in a smaller
sphere played the role of king, but in the new
kingdom the military officers often exercised
authority in civil matters.
85. Women and Children.— In Egypt the

1 Cf the royal ermine.

2 In the new kingdom these customs seem to have been modified.
3 A picture shows Akhenaten and his queen upon a balcony,
throwing down gold collars to a courtier. (Cf. Gen. xli. 42.)
 THE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFE. 93

women enjoyed great freedom 1 and were as much

the equals of men as in any modern nation. Except
in the case of kings and nobles with whom mar¬
riages were often political, polygamy was the excep¬
tion. The relationship of husband and wife was
often affectionate, and Ptahhotep declares he is a
wise man “ who founds for himself a family and
loves his wife.” Marriage with a full sister was
very common, and kinship seems to have been
counted through the mother rather than through
the father. Children were greatly desired, and the
relationship between parents and children gives a
very pleasing picture of Egyptian life.2 In their
first years the boys wore a side-lock and often went
naked. Children played with the same kind of toys
as they yet do, and dolls, some with wigs and mov¬
able limbs, toy animals, balls of wood or stuffed
leather, boats, tops, whip-cats, and marbles have
been found. In teaching children great reliance
was placed upon corporal punishment, for according
to a very ancient proverb, “the ears of a youth
are on his back.”
86. Agriculture.—The life of Egypt was its
agriculture, and its rich, regularly watered soil
made it the natural granary of the surrounding
nations in time of need.3 Famines were not frequent
in Egypt, and one of several years’ duration is very
1 The Greeks said that the men promised to obey their wives,
but this is an exaggeration.
2 This comes not only from the natural kindliness of the Egyp¬
tian character, but as the dead depended so much on offerings,
parents were careful not to alienate their children lest they should
neglect them after death. The Bedawin Arabs still spoil their
children for this reason.
3 Cf. Gen. xii. io; xiv. io ; xlii. i.
94 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

rare.1 In spite of all his natural advantages, the

farmer’s lot was a hard one. The tax-gatherers
had no mercy, and oftentimes he had to leave his
own operations, no matter how pressing, to culti¬
vate the fields of the over-lord.2 Neither were his
natural enemies lacking, for the hippopotamus, the
locust, the worm and the birds all took their share
of his products.3 The farming tools were simple ;
the ground was broken up by a rude plough or
hoe, and the seed harrowed by the trampling of
sheep or pigs. The grain was carried on the backs
of asses to the threshing-floor, where it was separ¬
ated by being trodden by oxen or asses, and win¬
nowed in the north wind by women. The grain
was then measured by officials of the estate, and
the lord’s share taken to his granary. Cattle¬
raising was much followed, and various breeds
1 In the Ptolemaic period there was one of seven years, as also
between 1064 and 1071 a.d. Some think a famine mentioned in the
later Hyksos time to have been the one referred to in Genesis.
High officials sometimes claim credit for distributions of grain in
famine time somewhat similar to those made by Joseph.
2 Besides the regular corvdes there were doubtless many irregular
ones. The priests were always exempt from these (cf. Gen. xlvii.
22), as were also the military class and their families while on
duty.
3 To show the felicity of a scribe’s life, one gives a good though
much exaggerated view of the life of a farmer. “ The worm hath
taken the half of the food, the hippopotamus the other half; there
were many mice in the fields, the locusts have come down, the
cattle have eaten, the sparrows have stolen. Poor, miserable
farmer. What is left on the threshing-floor thieves have made
away with. Then the scribe comes to receive the harvest, his
followers carry sticks, and the negroes palm-rods. They say,
‘Give up the grain.’ There is none there. Then they beat him
and throw him into the canal. His wife is bound before his eyes
and his children put in fetters. His neighbours run away to save
their grain.”
 7'HE PEOPLE AND THEIR LIFE. 95

were kept.1 There are few pictures of pigs though

they were kept, but being unclean are not often
represented, though in certain festivals they were
offered in sacrifice. The ass was in all time the
beast of burden; wheeled vehicles and horses do
not appear till the time of the Hyksos, and camels
not till the Greek period.2 Poultry were not do¬
mesticated till late, though wild fowl and deer
were fed in captivity. There were no isolated
farms, but the peasantry lived together in villages
from which they cultivated their crofts.
87. Labour.—Slaves were common, and were
procured by capture in war or by purchase, but
the lowest class seems to have been the negroes
who were secured from the Nubians.3 The
Egyptian poor were largely free-men able to hire
themselves to anyone, and go where they would
except out of Egypt. Still, as a masterless man
was without anyone to look after his interests or
defend him from injustice, they generally kept them¬
selves as vassals to some person of authority. The
two most important classes were the scribes and
the soldiers. The scribes were never tired of
sneering at the artisan “who is like a heavily laden
donkey driven by the scribe.” The profession of
a scribe was in high repute, as the work was gener¬
ally easy, and a clever man, by ingratiating himself
with his superiors, might rise very high.4 The
1 The steward’s list of one property records 735 long-horned, and
220 hornless cattle, 760 donkeys, 974 sheep, 2234 goats.
2 But cf. Gen. xii. 16 ; Exod. ix. 3.
3 Slaves of foreign birth rose to high positions in the new king¬
dom (cf. Gen. xli 41).
4 Humility was therefore inculcated. “ Bow thy back before thy
chief” was one of their proverbs.
96 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

military class formed a sort of aristocratic caste.

A register of them was kept, and each had a hold¬
ing from Pharaoh, or the nomarch.1 Labour was
well organised, each craft having its own corpora¬
tion and elected head,2 and its own quarter of the
city. Each company of workmen seems to have
elected its own foreman. A rude tablet in the
British Museum gives a foreman’s list of his men,
the days they were absent and the reasons annexed.
This shows that education must have been some¬
what diffused among the common people. Wages
were paid in kind, but payments were often irregular,
and paymasters dishonest. When matters grew
very bad the workmen went on strike. In the time
of the Ramessides, one company employed in the
Theban Necropolis struck three times within six
months because of irregularities in the payment
of their wages. On one of these occasions the mili¬
tary had to be called out to preserve order.
-0-

CHAPTER XIV
Science and Art

88. Writing.—The Egyptians had the greatest

veneration for writing, which they regarded as the
gift of Thoth, and the foundation of all learning.
Their system of writing, while very complex, is not
difficult to read. Originally the signs were all
1 The power of the king rested on the priests and soldiers, the
rest of the people being generally merely an inert mass.
2 The Greeks said that even the thieves had their guild with its
dean, who carried on negotiations with the police.
 SCieJvce and art. 91

pictures, each standing for the thing pictured. In

time some signs were used to denote a different
word having a similar sound ; thus a goose sa is
the word sa, a son, and never means a goose, and
a house fir denotes fir the verb, to go out. A great
advance was made when certain signs came to be
used as syllables, and the final step was when some
became letters standing for the sound with which
their name began ; thus <zz> the mouth T is the
letter r.1 Vowel signs were not written, hence the
1 The alphabet signs were :—

J b S g

□ p f d or z soft
O t 3-S th

^ q waw n

mh ® kh

i—v\ i sh

Heb. N the weak, and

J] the strong Semitic ayin

See Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, p. 334; Petrie,

History I., Preface.

Some scholars regard the Egyptian alphabet as the original of

the Phoenician from which ours is derived, but it came more likely
from the Babylonian through the Aramaeans.
G
98 HISTORY OF EGYPT\

correct pronunciation of a word is frequently in

doubt. Signs denoting the class to which a word
belonged were much employed as aids to the
reader; thus the picture of a man is always
attached to a word denoting a person, and a king’s
name is always enclosed in a cartouche ^
When the hieroglyphics instead of being carved
were written upon papyrus, theyassumed simpler and
more rounded forms, resulting in a cursive script.1
89. Literature. — Egyptian literature is dis¬
appointing ; it contains so little of real value.
In the Book of the Dead there are a few
passages of great excellence. Some of the hymns
to Ra and Hapi are beautiful; for the Sun and the
Nile were realities. But most of the hymns are full
of stereotyped phrases suitable for any king or god,
and contain nothing devotional. Their songs were
much better. There are several love songs sur¬
viving. A drinking song, known possibly to the
Greeks, was a great favourite, and seems to have
been sung at feasts when the mummy was brought
in, as it points out the fleeting character of life, and
expresses the moral, “ Enjoy life as long as thou
canst.” Two songs of the fellahin have been pre¬
served, one of Dynasty V., sung by the shepherd to
the sheep while driving them to and fro in the field
to harrow in the seed, and the other of the XVIIIth,
sung to the oxen on the threshing floor. The epic
of Pentaur, which is the only example of an attempt

1 The famous Rosetta Stone which gave the key to the decipher¬
ment of the Egyptian writing is a basalt slab containing a decree
in honour of Ptolemy V. inscribed in three characters, the ancient
hieroglyphs, the cursive writing and Greek.
 SCIENCE AND ART. 99

to relate the deeds of a Pharaoh in poetic form

(§ 55)? was not °f high literary merit, although it
was used in the schools. Correct letter writing
was regarded as important, and there are many
examples of schoolmasters’ models. The choice
literature of the new empire makes great attempts
at elegance, one sign of culture being to use many
foreign words. Egyptian lore is full of proverbs,
many of them very old. Puns are of frequent
occurrence ; fairy tales and stories of the mar¬
vellous were much relished ; one especial favourite
was the story of a shipwrecked sailor who finds
himself on a magic island where dwells the great
sea-serpent, by whom he is kindly treated and sent
safely home to Egypt. Wonderful tales of magic
abounded: the most famous magician of all time was
Dede, who could restore beheaded animals to life.
The tale of the two brothers, Anep and Bita, is in¬
teresting, because of the very close resemblance to
the experience of Joseph in the house of Potiphar.
Bita the younger, coming in from the field for seed
grain, is tempted by Anep’s wife but resists. In the
evening she denounces him to his brother with
false accusations, and Bita has to flee for his life.
90. Art. — Art is much more satisfactory; in
spite of many shortcomings, it was really great,
both in the range of its subjects and in its treat¬
ment of them. Painting in the modern sense did
not exist, the pictures are simply coloured drawings,
no surface being ever completely covered. The
artist was grievously hampered by conventionalisms.
The people of the pictures are impossible creations,
the face being profile, chest full front, legs side view
100 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

with both feet seen from inside, and the hand often
having an impossible twist. In several periods at¬
tempts were made to break away from these modes,
but without any lasting results. In representing
the lower classes much more freedom was allowed,
and some of the pictures of these are very graphic.
Pictures of animals are much more successful.
Caricatures are common, and some are very clever.1
In colouring no attempt was made at shading,
but the colours harmonised well, and the effect
is good when seen in the dim interiors for which
it was intended. In sculpture the same limitations
are seen. The statues in wood and bronze are
superior to those in stone, although even modern
stonecutters scarcely understand the treatment of
stone better than the ancient Egyptians who had to
work with the most primitive tools. In statuary
there are a few masterpieces, but, the work is
generally the production of artisans rather than
of artists. In the wooden statues a peculiar life¬
like expression was imparted to them by inserting
eyes of stone, as in the famous Shekh-el-Beledof the
fourth dynasty which has eyes of opaque white
quartz, with pupils of rock crystal, and framed in
plates of bronze.2 Where poor material was used
it was covered with stucco and painted.3
1 E.g. one picture shows an ass, lion, ape, and crocodile giving a
vocal and instrumental concert; in another, a lion and a gazelle are
playing draughts ; in a third, the pharaoh of the rats, in a chariot
drawn by dogs, gallops to assault a fortress garrisoned by cats.
2 This statue received its name from workmen who saw a
resemblance between it and a neighbouring shekh.
3 Statues w'ere kept in stock like tombstones in modern times.
By a little work any one could be given some resemblance to the
person for the accommodation of whose Ka it was needed.
 SCIENCE AND ART. IOI

91. Architecture.—The houses of the very

poor were, as they are to-day, mere huts of
wattles plastered with mud. Better class houses
were built of rude, sun-dried bricks made of
Nile mud mixed with straw. In the erection
of more pretentious buildings, the expensive kiln-
dried bricks were employed for exteriors, while
stone was used for temples and tombs. The man¬
sions of the rich presented a great blank wall to
the street, while within was a small town laid out
with gardens, avenues, ponds and summer houses.
The inner walls, when not covered with matting,
were decorated with drawings of animals, or
geometrical patterns. The arch was employed
in very ancient times, the scarcity of wood pro¬
bably leading to its discovery. Pillars and columns
much employed in temple building, for ornament
as well as for use, were often flower-shaped.1 The
temples seem generally to have been orientated
to some particular part of the heavens.2 Huge
stones were sometimes used, but generally the
blocks were no larger than those employed by
modern builders. In the ruins of Karnak there

1 A favourite column was made like four lotus-stalks tied to¬

gether. This developed into the fluted or proto-doric.
2 Lockyer thinks the temple was always placed so that through
the door the deity, star or sun, to whom it was dedicated could
be seen on a certain day from the adytum. Thus the temple of
Amen-Ra was turned to the point of sun-set at the summer
solstice. From the shrine to the outside, a distance of about 500
yards, there was a clearway, through which at setting, on that
day, the sun would shine for a couple of minutes right through
to the image in the dark shrine This was the manifestation of
Ra. The temple would also be thus of great value in determining
the exact length of the year. Dawn of Astronomy, pp. 99-112,
102 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

are blocks thirty feet long weighing sixty-five

tons.1
92. Mathematics and Astronomy.—When
the overflowing Nile reduced a fertile field to a
marsh or a gravel bed as it frequently did, the
lord gave the farmer a piece of equal size in
reclaimed land. This necessitated exact measure¬
ments very early, as the extent of each holding
had to be accurately known, and its boundaries
marked out. Geometry was an Egyptian inven¬
tion, but no great advance was made in it in
spite of many formulae. The area of the circle
was calculated but not that of the triangle. The
methods were cumbersome, and used for practi¬
cal purposes only. Addition and multiplication
tables have been found, but while fractions were
used it was with difficulty. Greater advance
was made in astronomy which was introduced
with astral worship from Babylonia. In the clear
air of the Nile valley stars are visible to the naked
eye, which are only seen through a telescope in
other lands. There were thirty-six constellations
1 The ruins of the temple of Amen-Ra at Karnak are the most
majestic ruins in the world. The temple consisted of: (1) a long
avenue of crio-sphinxes ; (2) two pylons 135 feet high (one now in
ruins) ; (3) courtyard 275 X 329 feet, with a small temple 80 X 160
feet at one side ; (4) two pylons ; (5) Hypostyle Hall, or Great
Hall of Columns, 328 X 170 feet, supported by 164 columns, the
central twelve of which are 66 feet high and 33 in circumference
(a number of these have lately fallen); (6) long aisle ; (7) open
court, with two granite obelisks ; (8) cloistered court with roof
supported on square piers, each with a colossus in front of it ; (9)
sanctuary, severely plain, with no obelisks, colossi or pillars (ex¬
cept those put in to support falling roof), and consisting of three
parts, ante-room, outer and inner sanctuaries, with two granite
Steles before the latter ; (10) chambers for priests, offerings, etc,
 SCIENCE AND ARE 103

named, and charts and lists prepared, giving the

names and positions of the stars. At least five of
the planets were known from a great antiquity,
and were carefully studied, their colour and appear¬
ance being noted. The priestly colleges maintained
schools of astronomy, and every important temple
was also an observatory. Eclipses were caused
by a ferocious sow attacking the moon, when
it found its guardians inattentive. The stars do
not seem to have been regarded as themselves
gods, but rather as the abodes of blessed souls, or
as angels of the sun. Thoth, the moon, taught the
measuring of time by months, and the inundation
marked out the year, which was divided into three
seasons, called respectively Inundation, Growth,
and Harvest. Each month was in the care of a
god, whose name it bore, and each day had also
its tutelary deity. The year was of twelve months
of thirty days each, and when this was found to be
too short, five days belonging to no month were
added. The remaining error was never rectified in
the practical calendar (§ 16).
93. Skilled Labour.—The Egyptians were
fond of beautiful things, and the mechanical arts
attained to a high degree of perfection. There
are many examples of work in the hardest stones
except the diamond, ruby, and sapphire. Beads
and amulets of precious stones beautifully cut,
pierced and polished, were common.1 Within the
1 The three most common charms were the sa girdle buckle in
carnelian, the symbol of the blood of Isis, which washed away sins,
the Sacred Eye, a powerful protective against the evil eye, and the
scarab, the symbol of life and eternity. Of the last named there
are innumerable examples of all materials and sizes,
104 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

last few years some ornaments have been found

which give a revelation of the delicacy of jeweller’s
work.1 Metals were of two classes, noble and base.
Iron was reserved for weapons and tools. Lead
was comparatively useless, but was sometimes em¬
ployed for inlaying temple doors or for small statues.
Copper was too yielding to be much used alone,
but a few years ago there was discovered a statue
of Pepi and his son over life size, entirely wrought
in hammered copper of beautiful workmanship and
artistic skill.2 Bronze is the most common metal.
From it domestic utensils, often of artistic form,
are made. The custom of inlaying gold and other
precious metals upon bronze, stone and wood, dates
back to the times before the Pyramids. In ancient
times silver was more precious than gold, and down
to the eighteenth dynasty silver objects are rare
in tombs. The Egyptians were proficient in
gilding, even large objects being frequently
covered with the thinnest of gold leaf. They
also made much use of electron, a metal of a
fine, light, yellow colour composed of gold
amalgamated with 20 per cent, of silver. The
obelisks of Hatshepsut were coated with electron,
so that “when the sun shone between them, the
two Egypts were flooded with their dazzling

1 E.g. a figure of a sacred hawk made up of dozens of microscopic

pieces of coloured stone—lapis-lazuli, turquoise and carnelian—
every one cut to the forms of the feathers, and every piece having
a tiny cell of soldered gold strip to hold it in place, yet the whole
bird is only about half an inch in height. The soldering of the
minute parts of gold is absolutely invisible.
2 Probably of the same age is the head of a sacred hawk, wrought
hollow of a single mass of hammered gold-
 MODERN EGYPT. 105

rays.” Chains and rings have come down in

great numbers, as also some beautiful jewelled
pectorals, or breast ornaments.1 Ivory and ebony
were much employed in fine work, and especially
for inlaying. Glass was known from very early
times and some pieces are yet as perfect as ever.
The glazing of pottery in the time of the eigh¬
teenth dynasty has never been excelled, or perhaps
equalled ; but the secret of its manufacture has
been lost. The favourite colours were two shades
of blue corresponding to the colours of the most
prized stones, the lazuli and the turquoise. The
leather-worker’s craft flourished, and beautifully
stamped and decorated leather was in common use.
The Egyptians were proud of the products of their
looms, and with reason. The garments of the
wealthy were sometimes so fine that their limbs
show through, and portions of the winding-sheet
of Tahutmes III. are as fine as the finest India
muslin.

-0-

CHAPTER XV

Modern Egypt

94. Greek Period, b.c. 332-30.-011 the death

of Alexander, Ptolemy, a favourite officer, secured
Egypt as his share of the Empire. Alexandria,
now the capital, increased rapidly in importance.
1 The arms, fingers, neck, ears, brow and ankles of the dead
were loaded with jewelry, and jewelled daggers, axes, bows, arrows
and amulets were also buried with them.
io6 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

The Greeks and Jews, between whom there was the

deadliest rivalry and hatred,1 were very numerous
in it, and each nation had its own quarters. The
Ptolemies acted as the successors of the native
Pharaohs, and left untouched the religion2 and
customs of the land. The Greeks had their own
deities and courts, and the latter were frequently
resorted to by the Egyptians in preference to their
own. As time went on, the natives gradually rose
again into positions of trust and importance, and
Greeks are found taking Egyptian names. Ptolemy
I. founded the famous museum and library of Alex¬
andria, which became for a time the greatest
centre of culture in the world.3 The first three
Ptolemies were able and efficient rulers, but with
the fourth, decadence began. The Greek rulers
at no time lessened the burdens of the people
but rather increased them, and a farmer did not
get half the produce of his croft.
In this dynasty, it became the practice to form¬
ally enthrone the queen as co-ruler with her hus¬
band. The women of the Ptolemies were ambitious
and unscrupulous. The queen was generally the

1 Jews in great numbers settled in Egypt at this time. There

was a village in the Fayum called Samaria. A temple, a rival to
Jerusalem, was built early in this dynasty, and existed down into
Roman times. The Jews were very loyal to the Ptolemies, and
were much trusted by them. In Egypt was made the translation
of the Old Testament into Greek, which was used by all Greek¬
speaking Jews, and is still the authority of the Greek Church.
2 They transferred the income of the temples to the crown, thus
making the priests dependent on them.
3 There is no contemporary evidence that this library was
burned either by Caesar, when forced to burn his ships in the
harbour, or by the Moslems, when they conquered the country.
 MODERN EGYPT. 107

full sister of her husband, and fratricides were fre¬

quent. The Grecian power came to an end when
Antony was defeated, and the famous, or infamous,
Cleopatra VI. poisoned herself.1
95. Roman Period, b.c. 30-A.D. 642.—The first
two centuries of Roman rule was a time of com¬
parative prosperity. Egypt was the granary of
the empire; and he who controlled it, could
starve Rome into submission.2 But this changed,
and Egypt became of little importance, for agri¬
culture was so oppressed by taxation, by official
neglect of irrigation, by the pillage of Roman
soldiers and officials, and by the raids of neigh¬
bouring peoples, that the arable land was much
less productive, and greatly diminished in extent.3
Christianity was early brought to Egypt where it
spread very rapidly, being eminently suited to that
downtrodden people. But the story of Christianity
in Egypt is one of the saddest pages in Church
1 Caesar became enamoured of Cleopatra when she appealed to
him to restore her to the throne from which she had been driven
by her brother-husband’s advisers. He did so, and she went to
Rome, and lived with him until his assassination. She murdered
her husband, and in her later life associated with herself as king,
her son, Ptolemy VI., named Caesarion, after his father. Her
greatest enemy was Herod the Great, who was carving out a
kingdom for himself in Palestine, for if Antony had been success¬
ful against Octavian, Palestine would have been handed over to
Egypt. Herod wished to put Cleopatra to death, when on one
occasion she visited Jerusalem, because she had tried to exercise
on him those charms which had been so fatal to Caesar and
Antony. He was dissuaded from this by his advisers who feared
the vengeance of Antony.
2 Hence Egypt was kept by the emperor as a royal province,
and no senator was allowed to enter it except by special permission
of the emperor.
3 Many gave up farming and turned to brigandage.
io8 HISTORY OF EGYPT.

history. At first the Christians were severely

persecuted, but with Constantine (324-337) came
recognition, then because of doctrinal differences
they immediately turned on one another with the
grossest fanaticism and cruelty.1 Theodosius I.
(379-395) formally declared Christianity to be the
religion of the empire ; and, as the emperor
favoured the orthodox party, a cruel persecution
of Arians, pagans and Jews was carried on.2 In
536 the Monophysites separated from the domi¬
nant, though much less numerous party, and
elected a patriarch of their own.3
96. Moslem Period, a.d. 640-1882.—The
native Christians, tired of the injustice of their
orthodox rulers, sided with the Mohammedans
when they came against Egypt. After the con¬
quest they were, therefore, not badly treated,
except that they were regarded as inferiors, and had

1 Athanasius and Arius are the great names of this controversy.

Alexandria from its founding had been a hot-bed of rioting, and
its masses were always ready for any disturbance. Contests be¬
tween Jews and Greeks were of frequent occurrence down to
Christian times, and then the riots were between Christians, or
between Christians and pagans or Jews. The Egyptian Church
at first held strongly to the Arian theology, and later to the
Monophysite doctrine that Christ’s human nature was wholly
absorbed in the divine, and that He has now only the divine
nature. (For orthodox doctrine, see Shorter Catechism, Q. 21.)
The native Church, or Copts, are still Monophysites.
2 Perhaps the most notorious act of these monkish persecutors
was the murder of Hypatia, the female pagan philosopher (415).
3 The early Egyptian Church was greatly given to Monasticism
and gave this character to the mediaeval age. Some Egytologists
think the worship of the Virgin and Child is a development of
the old Egyptian worship of Isis and the Child Horus. The
artistic representations of the Virgin and Child resemble very closely
the old Egyptian statuettes of Jsjs and Horus,
 MODERN EGYPT. 109

to pay a special tax. In spite of this, the great

majority of them remained faithful, and a century
later still numbered over 5,000,000, while the
Moslems complained that their religion was
making no progress. Many Arabs migrated into
Egypt, and intermarried with the Copts ; and
some of the rulers subjected their Christian
subjects to severe persecutions and tormenting
disabilities, so that the Christian population was
greatly reduced by slaughter or apostasy.1 In 969
the country was conquered, and Cairo founded
by the famous Fatimite dynasty.2 The new rulers
governed the country admirably for a time.
Population increased rapidly, and the whole
commerce of India and Central Africa flowed to
Egypt. The Shi’ite rulers were displaced, in
1169, by the famous Saladin, a Sunnite or orthodox
Moslem, whose reign is the most glorious period
of Moslem Egyptian history. From 1240 to 1517
the country was governed by the Mamelukes,
1 In 832 a great massacre of Christians took place, and since
then the Moslems have been in the majority. The Copts, the
purest representatives of the ancient Egyptians, now number
about 500,000—a fifth of the indigenous population ; the total
number of Christians of all schools and races is about 650,000—
about a tenth of the whole people.
2 Mohammedanism is sharply and incurably divided into two
great parties: the Fatimites who hold that the leadership of the
Faith belongs by divine right to the descendants of Fatima, the
daughter of the Prophet; and the Sunnites who follow the Omay-
yad Caliphs who excluded the grandsons of Mohammed from the
succession. The Sunnite division is much more orthodox than
the other or Shi’ite which is regarded as heretical, if not athe¬
istic. The Mamelukes kept the Caliph in captivity, and ruled the
Moslem world in his name. When the Sultan of Turkey con¬
quered Egypt he forced the Caliph to transfer to him his spiritual
authority and hence the Turk claims to be the head of Islam.
lio HISTORY OF EGYPT.

whose rule was bad.1 In 1517 Selim I. of Turkey

conquered Egypt and made it a Turkish province.
The Mohammedan rule in Egypt from the beginning
has been evil, and that continually. The common
people were regarded as mere machines to produce
taxes. Through misrule and neglect of the canals,
famines from low Niles were frequent,2 and were
generally followed by pestilence; so that at times the
population decreased to a third of its normal number.
Taxes were multiplied, and farmed ; the officials
were oppressors ; and murder and brigandage
were common. Such a period of tyranny would,
or could have been borne, perhaps, by no people
except the patient Egyptians. Finally, British
influence, in 1882, became supreme in the ancient
land, and the load of oppression has been removed
at last from the people.
1 As the name shows, these were slaves purchased by the
Sultans and trained as soldiers, who succeeded in gaining posses¬
sion of the supreme power. One of the greatest of these, Beybars,
because of a blemish in one eye, was bought originally for about
only I10. This Sultan annihilated the last remnant of the
Christian kingdom of Jerusalem.
2 One of the worst lasted for seven years, 1066-1072.

Turnbull ANb spears, printers, Edinburgh.

 COMPARATIVE

CHRONOLOGICAL

TABLE
 o 0 M 0 W>
0 0 O O o vo CO 0 o O 0 CO O 0 CO m o 00
8 8 0 o 8 ° 8 in o M 0 VO ON Cl VO o 0 oo 0
u O 00 u-> CJ VO ci oo VO lO io CO CO CO Cl Cl M 0 On O' CO 00
• CO CO CO Cl Cl Cl H M H H M w M M H H H M On
PQ <L> c3 d o u d d d d d d d d d d d d
PQ
 COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGICAL TAB! '.—continued.

H
539
/
COMPARATIVE CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE—continued.
'
 “ Most heartily do we commend these manuals for general use."
—Methodist Times.

giible (Elitss primers.

EDITED BY PRINCIPAL S. D. F. SALMOND, D.D.

Paper Covers, 6d. Cloth Covers, 8d.

For List of those already issued, see below.

THE PROPHET JEREMIAH: HIS LIFE AND TIMES.

THE HISTORY OF EGYPT.
BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA.
THE MINOR PROPHETS.—THE MOSAIC TABERNACLE.
THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE.
OUR LORD’S ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE EXILE AND THE RESTORATION.
ELIJAH AND ELISHA.
THE MIRACLES OF OUR LORD.
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT, CHRISTIAN CHARACTER; A STUDY
IN NEW TESTAMENT MORALITY. 2 Parts.
THE FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.
THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY.—MOSES.
THE MAKING OF ISRAEL.—LIFE OF ABRAHAM.
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF PALESTINE.
THE SABBATH.—THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD.—LIFE OF
CHRIST—THE SHORTER CATECHISM, 3 Parts (or 1 Vol.
Cloth, is. 6d.).—THE APOSTLE PETER.
OUR CHRISTIAN PASSOVER.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 3 Parts (or 1 Vol., cloth, Is. 6d.).
LIFE OF ST JOHN.—PAUL.
THE STORY OF JERUSALEM.
HISTORICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENTS.
THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES.
OUTLINES OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS.
OUTLINES OF EARLY CHURCH HISTORY.
DAVID.
SOLOMON.
REFORMATION
KINGS OF JUDAH.
KINGS OF ISRAEL.
JOSHUA AND THE CONQUEST.

Prospectus, with Authors' names, free on application.

Edinburgh : T. & T. CLARK, 38 George Street.

London ; SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., Ltd.
fjanbbooks for $ible Classes anb
$1 rib ale Stabettls.
“I name specially the admirable Handbooks for Bible Classes
issued by T. & T. Clark of Edinburgh. They are very cheap, and
among them are some books unsurpassed in their kind.”—Dr W.
Robertson Nicoll in The British Weekly.
“Sound, intelligible, and sometimes brilliantly-written handbooks,
packed with wisdom and knowledge.”—Methodist Recorder.
“ These volumes are models of the multum in parvo style. We
have long desired to meet with a series of this kind—Little Books
on Great Subjects.”—Literary World.

COMMENTARIES—
GENESIS. By Professor Marcus Dods, D.D. Price 2s.
EXODUS. (Two Vols.)
By James Macgregor, D.D. Price 2s. each.
JOSHUA. By Principal Douglas, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
JUDGES. By Principal Douglas, D.D. Price Is. 3d.
CHRONICLES.
By Professor J. G. Murphy, LL.D. Price Is. 6d.
HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH, MALACHI.
By Professor Marcus Dods, D. D. Price 2s.
OBADIAH TO ZEFHANIAH.
By Principal Douglas, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
mark;
By Principal T. M. Lindsay, D.D. Price 2s. 6d.
ST LUKE. (Two Vols.)
By Principal T. M. Lindsay, D.D. Price 3s. 3d.
(Vol. I., 2s.; Vol. II., Is. 3d.)
ST JOHN. (Two Vols.)
By George Reith, D.D. Price 2s. each.
ACTS. (Two Vols.)
By Principal T. M. Lindsay, D.D. Price Is. 6d. each.
ROMANS.
By Principal Brown, D. D. Price 2s.
GALATIANS.
By James Macgregor, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
EPHESIANS.
By Professor J. S. Candlish, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
HEBREWS.
By Professor A. B. Davidson, D.D. Price 2s. 6d.
THE PASTORAL EPISTLES.
By Rev. J. P. Lilley, D.D.
GENERAL SUBJECTS—
THE LIFE OF CHRIST.
By Prof. James Stalker, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
THE LIFE OF ST PAUL.
Bv Prof. James Stalker, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
HEBREW IDEALS.
By Rev. J. Strachan, M.A. Price 2s.
T. & T. CLARK, 38 George Street, Edinburgh.
Danbbooke for $5ib.U Classes anu1'
' ^ribatC §tubOnt0—continued.
THE SHORTER CATECHISM.
By Alexander Whyte, D.D. Price 2s. 6d.
THE CHRISTIAN SACRAMENTS.
By Professor J. S. Candlish, D. D. Price Is. 6d.
THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE OF GOD.
By Professor J. S. Candlish, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
By Professor J. S. Candlish, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF SIN.
By Professor J. S. Candlish, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
SCOTTISH CHURCH HISTORY.
By Norman L. Walker, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
THE CHRISTIAN MIRACLES AND THE CONCLUSIONS OF
SCIENCE. By Rev. W. D. Thomson, M.A. Price 2s.
HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS.
By George Smith, LL.D.,F.R.G.S.,C.I.E. Pr. 2s. 6d.
PALESTINE: Its Historical Geography. With Maps.
By Archibald Henderson, D.D. Price 2s. 6d.
THE REFORMATION.
By Principal T. M. Lindsay, D.D. Price 2s.
THE SUM OF SAVING KNOWLEDGE.
By Rev. John Macpherson, M.A. Price Is. 6d.
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH.
By Rev. John Macpherson, M.A. Price 2s.
PRESBYTERIANISM.
By Rev. John Macpherson, M.A. Price Is. 6d.
THE CHURCH.
By Professor Binnie, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
BUTLER’S THREE SERMONS ON HUMAN NATURE.
By Prof. T. B. Kilpatrick, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
HISTORY OF THE IRISH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
By President Hamilton, D.D. Price 2s.
LESSONS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST.
By Rev. W. Scrymgeour, M.A. Price 2s. 6d.
CHURCH AND STATE.
By A. Taylor Innes, M.A., Advocate. Price 3s.
THE LAST OF THE PROPHETS-JOHN BAPTIST.
By Rev. J. Feather. Price 2s.
FROM THE EXILE TO THE ADVENT.
By Rev. W. Fairweather, M.A. Price 2s.
FOUNDATION TRUTHS OF SCRIPTURE AS TO SIN AND
SALVATION. By Prof. Laidlaw, D.D. Price Is. 6d.
THE TIMES OF CHRIST.
By Rev. L. A. Muirhead, B.D. Price 2s.
THE PRINCIPLES OF PROTESTANTISM.
By Rev. J. P. Lilley, D.D. Price 2s. 6d.
Detailed Catalogues free on application.

T. & T. CLARK, 38 George Street, Edinburgh.

 •■Iiw mtmmmnrm mamKammmmmmiM

W'
T. &,T. CLARK’S PUBLICATIONS.
Large 8vo, 125. • •6d. net.
ORATIONS IN BIBLE LANDS DURI
TH E NINETEENTH CENTURY.
Edited by Processor II. V. Hilprecht.

A work of special importance. The section on “Palestine”

; r$. -Mi.Prof.: BE^tNG^a ; ?4 Egypt,” by Dr Steindobff ;
■<:‘ ‘ Arabia, ” by Or F. Hommel ; “ The Hittites,” by Dr
Jensen- ; and “ Assyria and Babylonia,” by the Editoh.
\ Thevolume contains over 700 pages, and is enriched by
ft ('over 200 Plates and Four Maps specially drawn for it.
J:, y 4', Messrs Clark ham pjeasiitein dr&tairig special attention to this
! iimportant work^ Jn fmippipfon of well-known .scholar in this

- .bopkmdwpditl,-~Melhodiit 'Trtm,
fit X1 V' j J>' t*v: 'j 7 •; .—■’ . \ . 4.’
.-•• .■;'>.*•; ■.x^ v'• • g;>V At
y!-.\(ii.
ANCIENT EGYPT

The Gifford Lectures on the Ancient Egyptian and

Babylonian
. . J
Conception of the'.Dlvinc.
• • \) *- i •*'?> ■ • A ». !■• Vrf i . 'i ' *<X J- i .t •? " ■>/• ■
£y-

By A. II. Sayce, if.A., LE D.,

/ Professor of Assyriology in the University of Oxford.

\ “ Extremely interesting. .>. . One can have no guide in these

■ /complex; subjects more ‘learned or more considerate to his :

* J: CLARK, 38 Georoe Street, Edinburgh.

'V SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & 00., 'London.
. v , , •> ^v*, / j_ j y! >!>,v OS.'-' x vvrVr ■ ■- .