What is the Shpinx?

Which caused the decline of ancient Egypts Old Kingdom?

THE FALL OF THE EGYPTIAN EMPIRE The Nubians were conquered various times by Egypt, once during the Old Kingdom and again during the Middle Kingdom. The major one came during the New Kingdom, during the eighteenth and twentieth dynasties. The dates for these dynasties are approximately 1567 B.C. to 1085 B.C.. After the twentieth dynasty, the Nubians separated themselves from Egypt. In 750 B.C. they conquered Egypt. They ruled Egypt until the Assyrians took over in 670 B.C. This particular group of people were one of the first to conquer Egypt. They began the fall of the Egyptian Empire. They were only in Egypt for eighty years, before the Assyrians took over. King Mentuhoptep tried to bring Nubia back under Egyptian control during the sixth dynasty. Nubia was reconquered during the Middle Kingdom. Again it was brought back under Egyptian control during the New Kingdom. It would stay this way for almost four-thousand years, when Nubia broke away from Egypt and then turned around and conquered it. As a part of the Egyptian Empire, Nubia did a lot of trading. Egypt used the resources there. In Nubia there was a lot of gold and copper which was used during Egypt's Middle Kingdom. This trade helped the Egyptian Empire. They sent stones that were used for buildings, ebony for furniture and gold that was used in gold working;. The Nubians had contacts that the Egyptians did not have. They were able to trade with other cultures in Asia and other places. During the Middle kingdom, this group of people was not very receptive of the Egyptians. They would lead raids against the military posts that Egypt set up. They were recruited by Egypt to fight in its wars. Next came the Persian conquest. Cyrus the Great of Persia marked out Egypt as part of the world he planned to master; but he died before accomplishing that portion of his designs. His son Cambyses advanced against Egypt just as the aged Aahmes died, and the Persians thus encountered a new and untried sovereign, who made little resistance against them. The story of Persia's dominion over Egypt has been already told. It is true that Cambyses and his successors took the title of Pharaoh and that the Egyptian priesthood included them among the dynasties of Egyptian sovereigns. But the Persians held the rank of Pharaoh only as one among their many honors; they dwelt in their own country and ruled Egypt by governors as a conquered country. The long line of independent monarchs who had held the throne of ancient Egypt as their chief glory and their seat of empire vanished with Aahmes. Alexander, the famous Grecian conqueror, won Egypt when he defeated Persia. Indeed, the Egyptians hailed him as a deliverer. He worshipped their gods, accepted the title of "Pharaoh" with solemn respect, and caused Egypt to profit greatly by his favor. He founded the celebrated city of Alexandria at the western mouth of the Nile, naming the city after himself and planning to have it supersede Tyre as the commercial metropolis of all the eastern world. In the division of Alexander's empire among his generals, which followed after his death, Egypt fell to Ptolemy, the son of Lagos. His family, the Ptolemies, ruled Egypt as independent monarchs for nearly three centuries, making of it a sort of Greek-Egyptian kingdom. Its fortunes fluctuated, without marked extremes, in the constant struggle for power which occupied the various Greek kings whom Alexander had thus left in control of all the East. This era of the Ptolemies is to be reckoned on the whole as one of the more fortunate periods of Egyptian life. At no time was the Nile valley actually invaded, and the sovereigns were most of them thoughtful of their people's comfort and prosperity. Alexandria became not only the business centre of the world, but also the chief home of Greek learning and Greek art, outstripping the decadent cities of Greece itself. The first Ptolemy founded the celebrated Alexandrian library, which grew to be the largest and most valuable collection of books the world had ever known. The second Ptolemy, called Philadelphos, built the colossal lighthouse of Alexandria, and reopened the ancient canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. Egypt was thus established as the intermediary of the trade between Europe and India. Alexandria grew to resemble both a great university filled with learned philosophers, and a great American trading city, her wharves thronged with merchants and strangers from every land. She was the granary of the Roman world. Rome first interfered in Egyptian affairs when Ptolemy Epiphanes asked for help against the King of Syria, about two centuries before Christ. After that, Egypt was really a vassal kingdom of the Romans. She took part perforce in the tremendous civil war between the Roman generals Pompey and Caesar, and her young queen Cleopatra won the favor of Caesar. Cleopatra's remarkable career belongs rather to the story of Rome than to that of Egypt. Roman intrigue brought Caesar to Alexandria, where he fought for Cleopatra; and after the great conqueror's death Roman intrigue sent Anthony to punish her. Anthony also succumbed to the thrall of this remarkable woman, and for nine years dwelt with her in Egypt. When at last he roused to defend himself against his Roman enemies it was too late. His fleet and that of Cleopatra were defeated at Actium (31 B.C.); and these two celebrated lovers both committed suicide rather than be taken as prisoners to Rome. The Roman Emperor Augustus made Egypt a mere province of his empire. As such it became the richest of all the provinces, and in the later days a centre of disunion and discontent from which the various Roman governors planned rebellions against Rome. Most striking of these revolts was that of the famous Zenobia, queen of Palmyra. Her husband had been the friend and vassal of Rome against the Persians. But Zenobia not only declared herself independent, but also claimed sovereignty over Egypt as a descendant of Cleopatra. She seized the country (269 A.D.), defeated the Romans who marched against her, and ruled Egypt for over three years. Then she was defeated, captured, and slain. Another notable tragedy of those days was the ravaging of Alexandria by the troops of the Emperor Caracalla. Angered by the jibes which some of the young men of the town made upon his drunkenness, he sent his soldiers out to slay every person whom they met in the streets. They continued the massacre for six days. After that, the Romans had less trouble with the chastened city. It became the seat of learning rather than of politics. Greek philosophy, which had once guided the world, found in Alexandria its last refuge against the advancing tide of Christianity. And here occurred that brutal blow beneath which the Greek scholastic philosophers disappeared. Their last leader was the beautiful woman teacher, Hypatia, who ruled like a queen over the Alexandrian schools of philosophy in the fifth century. A horde of wild Christian monks from the monasteries of the deserts attacked Hypatia and tore her to pieces in the streets while her disciples field for their lives. Alexandria, the chief home of trade and learning, became also the religious metropolis of the east, the strongest seat of Christianity, the fostering place of theological doctrines and disputing sects. Christianity triumphed here, as throughout the Roman world. As early as 389 A.D. the Emperor Theodosius forbade all the old pagan worships, and ordered all the temples to be closed except those of the Christians. With this downfall of the five thousand year old religion, the native or Egyptian Egypt ceased to exist. Egypt had first surrendered her culture for that of the Greeks, to whom she herself had given their earliest instruction centuries before. Next she had perforce given up her empire to the Romans, of whom her mightier Pharaohs had never heard, even as barbarians. Now she lost also her religious faith, abandoning it for that sprung from the Hebrews who had been enslaved about a century before the "exodus." Thus, with the decree of Theodosius, the great and remarkable civilization created by the Hamitic race lost the last shadow of its national existence. 1. The rise of the Egyptian empire During 12,000 B.C. early hunter-gatherers had appered to have moved into the Nile River Valley. Through time, these groups turned to farming and formed settlements along the river. This was the begining of the Ancient Egyptian empire. Throughout this empire many scientific advancements were made in mathematics and scienc alike. Many monuments were built in Giza and Luxor that still stand as monuments in the eternal desert sands today. In this period of history the idea of mummification came about which was to dehydrate a body and prepare them for there eternal sleep in the afterlife whch took about 105 day. This was usually done to a pharaohs who had the wealth to build a pyramid. This was a very important part in history which was why it was one of the most known civilizations to man. A. The dynasties of the pharaohs Over many centuries there were strong leaders that helped to unite early Egyptian settlements. Through these rulers two kingdoms were born-Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. The form of government in these kingdoms was a monarchy where the king or queen rules the kingdom. Throughout this time period many kings and Queens led Egypt like Ramses II and Hatshepsut. many wars broke out and many conflicts were solved due to the power of the current king or Queen. This is one way that each kingdom was diverse in many ways.Upper Egypt layed south from the Mediteranean Sea which was along the upper Nile River. Lower Egypt was north of that at the Nile River Delta. Sometime around 3200 B.C. a ruler from Upper Egypt named Menes united all Egypt into one Kingdom. This increased Egypts power and prosperity. Later on Egyptian rulers took the title of pharaoh which meant "great house" after the luxurious houses they dwelled in. Menes also founded a dynasty which was a family of rulers in which the right to rule passes on within the family usually from father to son or father to daughter. 1. Old Kingdom The old kingdom lasted from about 2650 to 2180 B.C. This is the period when many important developmeants in science and the arts took place. One example of their great accomplishments are the mighty pyramids that still stand in the Egyptian sands today. Around this time is when the upper class of Egypt consisted of the pharaoh, the royal family, and the priests and officials who helped govern the city. These were the people who usually had pyramids built for them. A pyramid is a large building where mummified bodies were placed. These pyramids were trangular and were almost geometricaly perfect. Scientsis and acheoligists are still amazed on how they were built. The bodies that were placed in these pyramids were first tookien through the long process of mummification. This proess involved removing the untrails of the deceised and placing them in canopic jars. Then the body was left to dehydrate in salt for many day. Then franksence was placed in the body after dehydaration. After that the body was wrapped in linen and placed in the sarcofigus in the pyramid. around the tomb were placed objects that the dead could use in the after life such as chariots and even boats. These tombs were very luxurious while the tombs of the peasants were nothing but a hole in the ground. The peasants and farmers who stood for most of the population were considered the lower class. The lower class owed the pharaohs certain services, such as duty in the army or work on the pyramids and irrigation systems. Near the end of the old kingdom the group of upper class Egyptians gradually became a hereditary group of noble which grew stronger as the pharaohs grew weaker. Throughout the last 100 years of the old kingdom civil wars divided the country as rivals claimed the thrown. 2. First intermediate period The first intermediate period is one of two intermediate periods. This period is when a series of weak pharaohs ruled Egypt. During this time many invasions and civil wars occured throughout Egypt. Most of Egypt was in conflict and was very difficult to control. That is a reason why the rulers were so weak for a long period of time and were not able to reastablish order. Since the kingdom was broken apart during the old kingdom this period was very hard to control and that is one reason why the pharaohs in this period were weak. During this period there was also widespread famine due to low Nile floods. This period lasted from 2134 to 2040 until the Middle kingdom was created. 3. Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom was a time of rebirth for Egypt. There was a new line of pharaohs that reunited Egypt. Once again the hereditary class of nobles and priests weakened the power of the pharaoh. There were many rivalries and conflicts that divided the power of the middle kingdom and caused it to fall into disorder around 1780 B.C. Around 1650 B.C. an Asiatic people known as the Hyksos overwhelmed the Egyptians. According to records of Egypt hundreds of years later the savage and warlike Hyksos savagely invaded Lower Egypt. Some scholars belivethat the nomadic Hyksos migrated to the Nile River Delta around the year of 1800B.C. In the confision following the collapse of the Middle Kingdom the Hysos became the most powerful people in the region and ruled most of Lower Egypt for more than 100 years. This period is also when trade was revised. The rebirth of trade helped to reastablish Egypt. There were also the orginazation of canals and resivoirs that helped the economy of Egypt greatly. This middle Kingdom lasted until the start of the second intremediate period. 4. Second intermadiate period The second intermediate period began around 1640B.C. and ended around 1550B.C. this is a period when pharaohs lost complete control of the thrown. There was very little power to the thrown due to the many civil wars breaking up the kingdom of Egypt. This is also the period in when the Hyksos from the east started to settle in the delta region of the Nile River Valley. The Hyksos were taking over Egypt and starting to settle and create kingdoms of there own. The Hyksos created some of the most powerful kingdoms known to the Egyptians such as that of the rule of Ramses II. Ramses II was also known as Ramses The Great since he was considered such a great ruler for being the one who drove the Hyksos from Egypt and built many monuments and temples throughout his empire of Egypt. 5. New Kingdom The new kingdom started right after the second intermediate period in 1550 B.C. and lasted until 1070 B.C.this is the period in when the Hyksos were driven out of Egypt by an army forged by many leaders in Upper Egypt. A strong line of pharaohs from the city of Thebes which is a city far up the Nile ruled and reunited Egypt. This is when Egypt frontired to for an empire. An empire is a form of government in which a single individual or a single people rules over many other peoples and their territories. This empire steached from along the eastern end of the Mediterranean to Nubia in the south. The ruler who helped to restore Egypt to become a lavish empire was Ramses II. He helped to expand Egypt using his power and army. He was also know as Ramses the Great since he was considered such a good king. Another reason why he was considered a great king was that he built monuments and temples throughout the empire. With the vast army that Egypt had it was easier to conquer territory than to rule and keep it. Some times they allowed the local prince of the conquered region to act as governer and to insure his loyalty they took his sons and brothers to be trained at the place of Thebes as hostanges. Only strong pharaohs could hold the empire together since whenever a part of the government of Egypt showed some signs og weakness some parts of the empire would revolt and try to break away. Another important thing that happened in the new kingdom was the introduction of monotheism. Monotheism is the belief in one god instead of the prior religion which was called polytheism which was the belif in many gods like ancient Roman and Greek cultures. This religion would forever change the world to help it become what it is today. If it wasnt for the creation of monotheism than we would still be worshiping many gods today such as the god of wine who was Dionysos in the Greek culture. 6. Third intermediate period This period wasnt so much of and intermediate period but more of the fall of the Egyptian empire. Ramses the Great was a great king but his decendants werent. The did not have the ruing skills like Ramses did so the empire he worked to build from a fallen kingdom began to breakapart and fall again like so many before that. . This is when Egypt slowly fell into decline. Many early records from this time say that there was an upheavil in the Eastern Mediterranean. Armies from Nubia, Assyria, and Persia invaded and ravaged Egypt. Egypt was so overwhelmed in attacks from many different forces that it was beginning to fall into ruin. Egypt was no longer the major imperial power that it once was but just a mere shadow of its former self as dynasties of Egyptian pharaohs continued to reign. It was not until around the 300's B.C. that the rule in Egypt by Egyptians was finally at an end after thousands of years. Many years later Napoleans army invaded Egypt and took it over. A year after that one of his soilders stubled upon the Rosetta stone which helps to translate the Egyptian language. The discovery of this helps us to understand how Egypt was thousands of years ago. If it wasnt for this discovery we would not know as much about Egypt as we know now. We still don't know everything about Ancient Egypt and that is how large that it was that many of its mysteries are still unsolved to this day. Two mysteries of Egypt are the pyramids and how they were built and what purpose was the Shpinx. Many scholars debate on where the stone that was used to build the pyramids. Many of these stones had a weight of over thousands of pounds and would have been nearly imposible to transport to Egypt. Another mystery of the pyramids is how they were so exactaly well built. They were so geometrically perfect that with all the technology that is current in this day and age it would be impossible to rebuild a pyramid as exact as they were. in the other hand In my opinion, the fall began when the Pharaohs got smart to the setup the priests had. Try reading (The Curse of the Pharaoh!) first for a background on Akhenaton. Akhenaton was the first pharaoh in a long time to take charge of the kingdom again. He was a new-kingdom pharaoh and, previously, pharaohs were sheltered in their palace while priests took care of everything economical, and any decision that king should make. The king was only their to perform rituals to ensure stability in the universe (read: Daily Rituals of the Pharaoh for further background). Akhenaton was originally named Akhenamen, after the god amen. Amen was the alpha-god in a pantheon of smaller gods. They were still gods, but not as important. Akhenamen took the god Aton (a god that as not very important) and made him the only god. He tried to convert the whole kingdom to monotheism. Then he changed his name to Akhenaton, after the god Aton. With only one god, their only needed to be one figure of power. He no longer needed or wanted priests ruling with him. The priests didn't like this. He changed the capital from Thebes to a city built for Aton, Amarna (now called Tell el-Amarna). After Akhenaton's death, his city was thouroughly abandoned and then torn down. The traditional religion reigned, but only after king Tut came around. King Tutankhamen was very young when he became king; not even 9. At this young age he was very easily influenced. That's why the priests started when he was young. King Tutankhamen ruled for a decade until he was eighteen. It is most likely that he was the son of Akhenaton by a minor wife. He does hae some of the distorted bodily features as Akhenaton and he wears the same style of clothing that Akhenaton invented. Obviously the priests thought it was ok. There are DNA analysese being conducted currently to prove that Tutankhamen was the son of Akhenaton but until the results are made public, we don't know yet. Anyways, remember how Akhenaton's name used to be Akhen-amen. Well, the famous king Tutkhamen's name used to be Tutankh-aton. He was originally named after Aton as his father wanted. So was his wife, but it was then changed by the priests who coerced him into reinstating the old religion in Egypt. Now let's fast-forward to a more zealous king, Ramses II. He happens to be just about the last great pharaoh. The first, noticable thing we mention he did was proclaim himself a "full god" during his life-time. Now, we all know the kings were supposedly descendants of the gods, but they were not officially "full gods" until they died and fused with Osiris. This is shown in his sculpture. The front of his temple is four gigantic sculptures of himself. They are very blocky and undetailed compared to small sculptures but that's just because they are so large. It also does give him a more intimidating look. The gods shown around him are all much smaller than him. This is highly unusual. Normally, the rest of the pharaoh's family and his subjects are all smaller than him, which is normal. But usually gods are shown much large than the pharaoh, unless they are in animal form, in which case they are shown in a higher position or in some form of protective position. So, after the last great king, Egypt started having trouble. Not at first, but soon it developed. It began with internal conflict, between the city-states that made up Egypt. The king returned to his position as a solitary ritual-performer with no real power and the leaders of the individual city-states started defying the king. THey made their own laws, collected taxes for themselves and disregarded any orders from the king's palace. Then the conflicts became international and Egypt, in its weakest state ever, had little to call an army, and it was invaded several times; first, by the Assyrians, then the Persians. They both eventually left and the Greeks took over, until finally the Romans came and wanted to add Egypt to their huge Empire (and we all know how that turned out). I think that the outright religious defiance of King Ramses II was Egypt's "blaze of glory" before it fell and it was the last straw before corruption completely took over, became fat, and eventually helpless.

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