Egypt+(complex)+69-80

=** Egypt Complex (69-80) **= **The Formation of Complex Societies and Sophisticated Cultural Traditions** **The Emergence of Cities and Stratified Societies**
 * 1) In general, Egyptian #|economy : productive, high prosperity, good geographic location, center of trade linking lands from all sides, sophisticated cultural development, writing systems (principal medium of communication)
 * 2) The Cities of Egypt were not as prominent as they were in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians mostly clustered into villages that traded with their neighbors, however the Egyptians had several major cities formed in both Egypt and Nubia. The Capital, Memphis was founded as early as 3100 B.C.E. The conqueror Menes believed it was a perfect spot due to the fact that it was at the head of the Nile delta. Other cities in Egypt were Thebes, the administrative center of Upper Egypt. Heliopolis, the site of the enormous temple of the sun god Re. Another important city was Tanis, on the Nile delta. Tanis was a busy port and the gateway to the Mediterranean.
 * 3) Nubian cities were never as well known as the ones in Egypt. The city of Kerma dominated the trade routes and was the capital of the earliest kingdom of Kush. Napata was the political center and very prosperous due to wealth. Then Meroe became the capital after the Assyrians forced them south.

Just like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians encouraged the development of social classes. Peasants and slaves supplied the hard labor, that kept complex agriculture in order. Then there were the professional military forces, administrators and tax collectors. Then there was the Pharaoh instead of a king that was the supreme central ruler. Usually no noble class because of the supreme ruler ship. Unlike Mesopotamia, citizens could attain social status through government #|work rather than birth. Tombs in Nubia show social status with jewelry, weapons, etc.
 * **Social Classes**

Just like in Mesopotamia, men ruled. They were in charge of the household and were the rulers, administrators and military forces. Except in rare occasions, women weren't given much #|power. However some women left their mark. Women of the royal family often served as regents for young rulers and even one woman took #|power as a pharaoh. Queen Hatshepsut (reigned 1473-1458) (E.F.) served with her stepson Tuthmosis III. The idea of a female ruler to the Egyptians were unsettling and unfamiliar. Many women were the rulers of the kingdom of Kush, mostly when the capital was Meroe. Some served by themselves and others served with a male king by their side. Some women were priestesses in religious cults and others received #|education and worked as scribes.
 * **Patriarchal Society**


 * Economic Specialization and Trade**

Bronze flourished and many weapons were made out of it. However with the high cost of copper and tin (because it was rare) royal workshops were monitored. Surprisingly slower tool and weapon adaption that Mesopotamia. Bronze only became in high need when the Hyksos needed bronze weapons to impose authority in the Nile delta.
 * **Bronze Metallurgy**

Iron first showed up in east Africa (Sudan) and as the word spread, so did the techniques. Meroe became a large-scale iron production for weapons and tools. 1000 BCE iron production increases. Meroe is one of the major sites of production.
 * **Iron Metallurgy**

Sailing was very important to keep Upper and Lower Egypt connected. With the Nile right there, boating was the simplest way to transport goods and people. For local transportation people used wheeled #|vehicles and donkey caravans were used for transportation between the Nile valley and the Red Sea. (E.F.) In Nubia, transportation was more difficult because they had to transfer their goods across land and then onto a boat, and with sailing, the wind and the current went the same way so they could not go for long distances at a time. 3500 BCE - Nile River Travel, 3000 BCE - Mediterranean travel, 2000 BCE - Travel extends to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Sea. Long distance trade becomes encouraged by efficient transportation and specialized labor. Egypt needed trade because the only valuable resource was the Nile River. 4000 BCE - trade flows easily between Egypt and Nubia. (Old Kingdom) Between Egypt and Nubia exotic goods like ebony, gold, gems, and slaves were sent to Egypt and Egypt sent Nubia pottery, wine, linen, and decorative items. Pharaohs really liked having wood in their tomb and in Egypt there were not many trees. Most of their trees were sent from Lebanon. Egypt also traded with east Africa, which they called Punt. 3500 BCE - Egyptian merchants traded with Mesopotamia, 3000 BCE - trade within the Mediterranean Basin. Trade increases interactions between people of distant lands.
 * **Transportation**
 * **Trade Networks**


 * Early Writing in the Nile Valley**

Hieroglyphics have been found on papryus sheets and on monuments from 3200 B.C.E. They were similar to pictographs that Mesopotamians used.(E.F.) Greek for "holy inscriptions" because they were often found on temples and other religious sites. They are preserved in inscriptions but mainly papyrus, wich is made from a plant that grows along the Nile. Egyptian priests traveled regularly to Nubia to promote their belliefs in hieroglyphics. (B.P.) This is a cursive form of Hieroglyphics. It is easier and was used in everyday writing. Egyptians used Hieratic from 2600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E. (E.F.) Egyptians created demotic and coptic scripts by combining the Greek alphabet with their own alphabet. (E.F.)
 * **Hieroglyphic Writing**
 * **Hieratic**
 * **Demotic and Coptic Scripts**
 * **Rosetta Stone:** key to reading hieroglyphics, discovered by Nepoleon Bonaparte, Jean Francois Champollion discovers that hieroglyphics were more phonetic than picture based.
 * **"The Satire of the Trades" -** told of the miseries of 18 jobs while showing that scribes lived a fulfilling, honorable life
 * **Meroitic Writing:** After 5th century BCE, Egyptian influence declines in Nubia, and the capital moves from Napata to Meroe. A new script is made by the Nubians for the new capital, which today is preserved in papyrus and monuments. It was developed using bits and pieces of hieroglyphics and adding symbols that make specific sounds. Historians have not been able to translate this language in its entirety because of its complexity. (B.P.)

Heliopolis was known as the "City of Sun." It was the headquarters of a sun cult near Memphis and was the principal cultural center of ancient Egypt. There an enormous temple was built to serve the Sun god, Re. (B.P.) Amon and Re were the principal gods in ancient Egypt.(E.F.) Many devotees believed that the two combined to be one universal God. Amon was a Theban deity. This sun god was believed to be associated with creation, gertility, and reproductive forces.(E.F.) Re was also a sun god who was worshiped at Heliopolis.The two gods shared a cult that the majority of people took part in. (B.P) Religious worship was considered an important community responsibility. Pharaoh Amenhotep IV thought Aten was the one true god. He was known as the "Sole God" and he created the capital of Akhetaten to honor Aten. He also ordered his followers to go around and chisel the names of other gods off of monuments and public buildings. (E.F.) This was the earliest form of monotheism, which is the belief that there is only one god. (B.P.) Later, this was destroyed when Akhetaten died. Egyptians mummified people because they believed it helped transfer the dead to their new dimension of existence. At first only pharaohs and their relatives (in Old Kingdom) were mummified. Then the wealthy and ruling elites and finally in the New and Middle Kingdoms the commoners were mummified. (E.F.) Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth and Seth scattered his brother's body parts all over the place. Osiris's wife, Isis, found his body parts and gave him a proper buriel. The gods in turn, turned Osiris into the god of the underworld. In the underworld he determines who will become immortal after they die. He judges everyone with the feather of truth. Osiris is often associated with the Nile, crops, and immortality. (E.F.) The people of Nubia believe in their own gods but they also worship the gods of the Egyptians. There is very little written history about the Nubians, but we do know some things. Two of their main gods were Apedemak and Sebiumeker. Apedemak was the lion-god and was pictured as tough with bows and arrows. He was known as the war god for the Kingdom of Kush. Sebiumeker was the creator god and the divine god of human devotees. The Nubians did not mummify their loved ones, but built smaller scale pyramids instead. Amon and Osiris were also associated in their culture. (B.P.)
 * The Development of Organized Religious Traditions**
 * **Heliopolis**
 * **Amon and Re**
 * **Aten and Monotheism**
 * **Mummification**
 * **Cult of Osiris**
 * **Nubian Religious Beliefs**

=__**The Five Themes**__=

The humans in Egypt interacted between their environment by settling near the Nile River for the access to the water and for transportation, As the transportation continued ideas also traveled with the gold and gems. In east Africa, iron was found with the experimentation of iron ore. The techniques then traveled to the large cities in Egypt, including Meroe. The Egyptians also took after the Mesopotamians with the idea of social class. There were the slaves and peasants, military and administrators and then the best for last, the Pharaoh. The Egyptians went even more modern with their technology and social class, then the Mesopotamians before them.
 * 1) **Interaction between humans and the environment**

2. **The Development and Interaction of Cultures** TheNileValleyis a site of sophisticated cultural development. Many religions flourish. Some are similar, and some are different. From having only one god, to many gods, each belief system has some form of involvement in a life after death. Structures were built around loved ones and cherished things were placed with them in their tombs. (B.P.) Transportation was very important to the interaction and development of cultures because people, mainly priests, could travel aroundEgyptand spread their beliefs. Cults were created, which are groups of people practicing the same religion. The different beliefs inEgyptset a basis for religions that could branch off and so on, and become what we have today. (B.P.)

3. **State-building, expansion and conflict** The societies were mostly patriarchal. Men still had most of the power and women had only minimal power in Egypt. Nubia was also a hierarchial society in ancient times. People also started to build temples to worship the gods that they believed in. Many cities were ruled by a Pharaoh. There were temples dedicated to Re, Amon and Aten. Some conflict arose once, when Pharaoh Amenhotep IV thought that Aten was the one true god and tried to get rid of the mention of other gods on buildings.(E.F.)

4. **Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems** Trade and commerce were vastly important in complex Egypt. Because the Nile River was Egypt's only valuable resource, trade was needed to keep its economy moving. Later, specialized labor and efficient modes of transportation made long distance trade available and established trading networks. Goods within regions became more diversified and so did the interaction of people of far away lands. Labor systems closely resembled those of Mesopotamia, with the exception of a single ruling pharoh instead of a noble class. Industrialization thus follows to meet the needs of ancient Egypt's citizens, including the invention of a writing system and temples built in honor of gods. Capitalism and socialism have not yet emerged.

5. **Development and transformation of social structures.** The social status's of Egypt and Nubia were very different. In Nubia, if you were born in a certain social class, you stayed there. Nubie was a complex heiroatchical society. Now, in Egypt, if you began in the middle class and worked very hard and showed sign of being an all around good person, you could be moved to a higher class. An example of gender roles is that men still held the most power in this patriachal society, but women sometimes served as regants, like female Pharaoh Hatshepsut. In Nubia women ofter served as queens, priestesses, and scribes.

L.F.