Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom

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Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom

• HST 397
• Ancient History
• Prof. Marc Cooper

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Origins of farming in Africa

• Sahara region used to be grassy steppe lands with
  water (10,000 BCE)
• Abundant hunting, fishing, wild grains
• Eastern Sudan begins to herd cattle and collect
  grains (9000 BCE)
• Permanent settlements and the growing of sorghum
  and yams (7500 BCE)
• Small states with semi-divine rulers (5000 BCE)
• Climate becomes hotter and drier after 5000 BCE
• People are driven into river regions Wadis
  leading to Nile
• Annual flooding makes rich soil for agriculture
  but swampy
• Farmers begin clearing and draining Nile swamps
  after 4500 BCE
• Earliest farming villages in Egypt show influence
  from southwest Asia and Nubia

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Egypt and the Sinai
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Egypt and Nubia "gifts of the Nile"

• Egypt--lower third of Nile River Nubia--middle
  third of Nile
• After 5000 B.C.E. peoples cultivate gourds and
  watermelons, domesticate donkeys and cattle (from
  Sudan), and grow wheat and barley (from
  Mesopotamia)
• Agriculture easy in Egypt (due to Nile flooding)
  but more work in Nubia
• States begin to emerge by 4000 B.C.E., small
  kingdoms by 3300 B.C.E.

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Predynastic Egypt ca. 3300 BCE

• Early Kingdoms
• South (Valley)
• Abydos Osiris/Isis
• Hierakleopolis Horus
• North (Delta)
• Heliopolis - Re
• Buto Set/Neith

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The unification of Egypt

• Egypt, large and prosperous state by 3100 B.C.E.
• Menes/Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt
• Establishes Memphis as the capital city
• Narmer palette seems to celebrate unification
• Pharaoh, absolute ruler and god owns all land
• Archaic Period (3100-2660 B.C.E.)
• Old Kingdom (2660-2160 B.C.E.)
• Great pyramids of Giza built during this period
  Khufus the largest
• Violence between Egypt and Nubia (Egypt dominates
  from 3000-2400 B.C.E.)
• Nubia later develops into Kingdom of Kush
• Interaction through diplomacy, Nubian
  mercenaries, and intermarriage

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Nubian evidence for early pharaohs
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Narmer Palette
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Old Kingdom

• Peaceful period
• No standing army
• No foreign conquest
• Armed trading expeditions to Nubia
• Reconnaissance in strength in Palestine
• Kingship
• King is netcher nefer, the good god
• Royal tombs larger than those of gods
• Noble tombs near royal tombs
• King is thought to own everything
• King is thought to do everything
• Centralized bureaucracy executed royal will
• Most bureaucrats were directly responsible to king

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Djosers step pyramid
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Giza Pyramids
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Pyramids
Bent Pyramid
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What were pyramids?

• Burial place of pharaohs
• Included mortuary temples for the continued
  worship of dead kings
• Huge make-work projects which kept thousands of
  workers busy all year long
• Protected the dead kings body so that he could
  be Osiris and make plants germinate

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Why did the Old Kingdom fall?

• 5th and 6th dynasty kings paid out vast sums to
  keep up the cults of long dead kings
• Power decentralized as bureaucracy grows
• Weather and foreign enemies may have become a
  problem