Egypt: From Unification to the First Intermediate Period (1 Viewer)

[mesbaz]

Trying to make notes for historical period "Egypt: From Unification to the First Intermediate Period," but the lack of information is driving me crazy.!

Seriously why did they put a topic on the syllabus on which theres hardly any information !?

I'm spending 5 hours locating information for EACH dot point !

Could spend half that time studying for other subjects ! It shouldn't be THIS hard to locate information!

Does anyone have good information? Or. Does anyone know WHERE to get good information? Theres nothing on resources or this site...

Specifically on these areas;

- achievements and impact of rulers from Djoser to Pepi II
– political and religious developments in the kingship: role and influence of the cults of Re and Osiris
– changing roles of the Queens from Neithotep to the wives of Pepi II
– dynastic difficulties: palace conspiracies in the reigns of Teti and Pepi I
– factors contributing to the emergence of centralised government

half the section as you can see... sigh*

i wish i never picked history ... :mad1:

Thanks in advance. :]

 

[mesbaz]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

anyoneee ?

 

[jess39]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

Didn't your teacher give you any notes or anything?


edit: Okay, so I'm in the middle of doing my notes for this topic. Here's what I've got on the dot points you mentioned.

Achievements and impact of rulers from Djoser to Pepi II

Dynasty III – ‘Laying the foundations for greatness.’
1. Political
o Djoser consolidated and expanded bureaucracy
o Cult centres became regional administrative centres – acting through priests and officials
o Increased importance of the king (pyramids)
o Rise of official class (tombs, statuary)
2. Religious
o Development of god-king concept
o Development of pyramids and afterlife theology
o Rising influence of solar cult e.g. Imhotep (pyramidial structures), cartouche, Djoser’s sun temple at Heliopolis
3. Economic
o Economy is booming – able to support an elite, non-producing ruling class and building programs
o Trade and mining in Sinai (copper, turquoise) and Nubia (gold)
4. Social
o Rise of upward mobility i.e. scribes moving up
o Growth in official class
o Egypt is still dominated by agrarian class
5. Military
o ‘Smiting the Bedouin’  a common inscription by all kings, particularly in Sinai and Nubia
o Keeping Egypt safe, upholding ma’at – warrior-king concept

Dynasty IV
1. Religious
o Many examples of the rising importance of Heliopolitan solar cult
 Sneferu’s son Rahotep was chief priest of Re (sun god)
 Mortuary temples shift from north to east
 Khufu’s pyramid = ‘Horizon of Khufu’  likens himself to the rising sun
 Khufu’s son known as ‘Son of Re’ (Djedefre)
 Djedefre is the first to show himself in sphinx form (sphinxes associated with the sun)
 Khafre’s sphinx houses a solar chapel
o Khufu seems to challenge some aspects
 Absence of serdabs or ka statues – only the king (and the gods) had statues made for ritual use
 His name was written on serdabs for centuries – a powerful charm
 Places tomb above the ground, breaking with tradition
o Menkaure reintroduces serdabs and ka statues
o Shepsekaf rejects ‘Son of Re’ title, appears to attempt to reestablish Memphite theology
 Builds a mastaba, not a pyramid – focus is on his ka
 Mastaba is at Saqqara (links to Memphite theology)
 False door in burial chamber
 Son-in-law was high priest of Ptah (creator god, Memphite theology)
o Kings made themselves the centre of necropolises, surrounding themselves with family and officials/nobles
o To access the afterlife, nobles felt they had to be buried near the king
o Craftsmen and peasants who worked on the pyramids could also hope to access the afterlife because of their service to the king
2. Political
o Massive pyramid structures = sign of king’s divine status
o Remains of a seated statue of the king found near Seila step pyramid
 May have represented Sneferu and have once crowned the summit of the pyramid as a symbol of royal power (Stadelmann)
 Pyramids are symbols of royal power as well as tombs
o Increasing power of officials to manage vas and complex building programs
o Sneferu built six pyramids – perhaps each marked a shift in placement of royal palace
o Khufu is depicted as a tyrant by Herodotus and Westcar Papyrus
 May be extremes, yet there are elements of truth as there is an absence of ka statues in his tomb
o Dynastic dispute at the time of Khufu’s death
3. Economic
o Supremely confident economic times
o Palermo Stone in Sneferu’s reign
 Built 60 ships, 35 buildings
 Took 7000 prisoners and 200000 cattle from Nubia
 Imported large qualities of cedar from Lebanon
 Celebrated 24th cattle count (at least) – reigned for at least 48 years?
 Copper mining in Sinai
o Inscriptions show Khufu exploiting mineral wealth in Sinai, the Eastern Desert and Nubia
o Strong agricultural economy to fall back on
4. Social
o Importance of the queens, particularly in the transition of power i.e. Hetepheres, Khentkawes
o A time of “upward mobility”  talented officials could begin working their way up the social scale
o Flourishing of arts (mostly mortuary)
5. Military
o Kings continued expeditions into foreign lands to support the economy (inscriptions in Sinai, Nubia and the Eastern Desert)
o Army was recruited when needed
o Generally secure time for Egypt

Dynasty V

Dynasty VI
^ I haven't done these two yet.

Political and religious developments during Dynasties I and II

• Political changes
o Changing power of the nobles
o The king’s role becomes increasingly political and more defined
 More about the administration of the country
 Military ruler
 Development of titles and symbols
o Economy and bureaucracy – capital moves
 More confident with more money in the arts
 Funerary customs create a dead-end economy
 Taxes (cattle count) developing (established by Den)
• Religious changes
o King as god – concept of god-king and the king’s cult
o Memphite theology, cult of Ptah (state cult)
o Burial customs – size of tombs, design, location

^ Haven't done much on this one yet.

Changing roles of the Queens from Neithhotep to the wives of Pepi II (NB. There was no word for ‘queen’  there was only ‘the king’s mother’, ‘… sister’, ‘… wife’, ‘… daughter’ etc.)

• General role of the queen
o L. Troy states four main roles of queens:
1. Maintaining the image of goddess on earth
2. Carrying out rituals to imitate the activities of the goddess on earth
3. Carrying out the procreative needs of the king
4. Performing the female cultic activities as partner of the king
o Two types:
1. Mothers of kings
2. Wives of kings
o “The most important queen in any one reign was not the wife of a king, but his mother.” (Callender)
 She gives birth to the heir
 Mothers get satellite pyramids, grander tombs than wives etc.
 Thus, the wife who bore the successor to the throne was the most important
o It is unsure how many wives a king had at any one time
o Wives of kings held titles – religious titles, court titles
 ‘Everything she says is done for her’ = most important
 Other examples: ‘Mother of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt’, ‘Daughter of the god’, ‘Follower of Horus’
o No real title for regent – though some queens do appear to have acted in this capacity
o Most important job was to provide a male heir and to be a sexual companion for the king
o Religious role – represented Hathor as the king represented Horus
 Provided female element in the stability of the Egyptian state
 Female counterpart of Horus – had to be in ma’at with the king
Dynasty I
• Neithhotep
o Believed to have been a princess from a royal house in Lower Egypt
o First queen of unified Egypt
o It is likely that early queens such as Neithhotep had a more prominent place than later queens
o Wooden seals show her name within a serekh, topped by the symbol for Neith (goddess worshipped in the delta)
 Possibly represents treasury of Lower Egypt
 Serekh is usually associated with the king  suggests early power of queens
o It is possible that she was married to Narmer in a diplomatic marriage
 She is speculated to be from Lower Egypt, he is from Upper
 No evidence for this
• Meryt-Neith
o She may have ruled for some years, possibly as regent for her son, Den (has her own tomb at Abydos – kings’ cemetery)
o Has a very grand tomb – when it was discovered it was thought to be the tomb of a king
 Two large funerary stelae with her name in raised relief were found nearby
 Structure corresponds to other royal tombs in the enclosure
 40 subsidiary tombs – her shipmaker, vasemaker and artists included
• She has power to rival the king’s in the afterlife as she can demand subsidiary burials
o Her name is found on a clay sealing in the tomb of Den as ‘King’s mother Meryt-Neith’ with a list of kings from Narmer to Den
 However it is not found on another clay seal listing of early rulers in the tomb of Qaa, several generations later
• Perhaps this female power was later denied or erased, to ‘right’ ma’at
o So far the only woman to have two funerary monuments as other early dynastic rulers did:
1. The actual tomb at Abydos
2. A cenotaph at Saqqara
• Includes the tombs of craftsmen intended to work for her in the afterlife
• Solar boat enabling her to travel with the sun god in the afterlife – normally exclusively the right of kings  may well have been regent/co-regent
 At the least, must have been a very powerful woman

Dynasty II
• Nemathap
o Acted as regent for her son, Djoser
o Possibly reigned as king in her own right
o Carried titles of ‘The Great Royal Wife’, ‘Mother of the Kings’ Children’, ‘Controller of the Affairs of the Kiltwearers’ and the titles of an heiress
o Thought to be daughter and wife of Khasekhemwy
 Named on several sealings from his funerary complex
o A cult in her honour was still maintained during Sneferu’s reign (Dynasty IV)
 Referred to in the tomb of Metjen at Saqqara

^ Um, yeah. Haven't finished this one, either.

I also haven't done the palace conspiracies yet.

Factors contributing to the emergence of centralised government

1. Political
o Need for the establishment of a capital
 “Memphis was the fulcrum of Upper and Lower Egypt.” (Aldred)
 Control and management of resources and populace
o Establishment of the god-king concept would be incentive
o Distribution of land and power  problem of keeping the nobles happy with a unified government and one king
o Narmer Palette, tombs
2. Economic
o Internal and external trade
o Irrigation policy (Scorpion macehead)
o Co-ordination of agriculture (Allan)
o Taxes and the census (Tomb of Den)
o Needed to support the burial of the king and other programs i.e. the corvée
o Recording levels of the Nile (Palermo Stone)
o Trade  internal and external (tomb goods suggest trade with other lands) (Trigger  the state grew out of the need to manage trade)
 Important for unification
o Supporting burial of king
3. Social
o Cultural integration  pottery, technology, need for common language (craft centres and workshops)
 Naqada III dominated Badarian culture
o Social hierarchy and status as society is serving the elite  people put systems in place to suit their needs (tomb goods)
o Population growth (Johnson and Earle)
o Evidence of trade shows communication
o Development of writing (clay seals on wine jars in Abydos tombs)
4. Religious
o Centralisation allowed the king to impose the god-king concept (ivory comb of Djet)
 King was an intermediary between the gods and the people – had to consult with the gods
o Memphis was dedicated to Ptah (creator god)  indicates his importance (Shabaka stone)
o Brings smaller regional cults together
o “Did dogma from the beginning claim that he was a god? … Or was the dogma of the divinity of the pharaoh a concept which the new state worked out over early dynasties, in order to establish securely the new rule?” (Wilson)
5. Military
o Expansion into Nubia (inscriptions for Djer), Sinai (inscriptions for Den), Palestine etc. for exploitation of resources was made easier
o Stronger military force = strength in other areas
o Increasing strength meant Egypt was a bigger threat to other countries
o Warrior role of the king as set up by Narmer



There you go. They're not the most amazing notes ever, but I hope they help.

 

[mesbaz]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

OMGGG THANK YOU SOO MUCHH !!!!!!
your'ee aa lifesaverrr !!!!

My teacher is hopeless. she went on holidays for about 1 month so we missed out all those dot points. And even when she gives notes shes really lazy so she writes like 5 points for an area and its all abbreviated. Like she doesn't tell us the actual event, she tells us the summarized summarized version of it, because she cant b bothered to write it all out. Does that make sense?

Thank you so much ! its been impossible to find info in this area, what with no textbook, no resources, no past papers and no internet info >.<" ( well there is internet stuff but its pretty all over the place, can never answer a dot point).

And i hate to be a hassle, and you can refuse if you like. But do you have anything on the first dot point :$ the nature and impact on unification ?

I have the views of the traditionalists + alternatives, but i don't know the background. Would you happen to have anything on the background ?

My teacher just gave us an skeleton for an essay saying( points below ) and told us to research and i did but its all over the place and im having trouble understanding it chronologically.

If you can that would be great ! But if you cant, thats okays. Thank you heaps for your help! You're awsome ! thank you thank you thank you

Our essay format/hw below

Write about Dynasty 0
mention Menes
talk about the Narmer Palette
Gives traditional and alternative view ( have this )
make an assessment
Findings at Tomb U-J
Consolodiation
Khasekhemwy

ps: i made some notes on some of the other dot points. so if you need any help feel free to shout id like to pay back in some way

 

[jess39]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

Yeah, I hate having to research. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I like everything already being organised accoriding to the dot points, lol.

This is what I have for the first dot point. It doesn't cover everything in your essay points, but I think it's quite thorough...

[FONT=&quot]The issue of unification: its nature and impact[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (Balance the causes/course and consequences of unification.)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Causes and course[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Naqada III spread and dominated Badarian culture (Baird, Wilkinson)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Lower Egypt (north) [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] Badarian culture[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Upper Egypt (south) [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] Naqada III – dominant, more hierarchical[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Writing, language, burial customs and pottery were superior[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]3500 BCE – 3100 BCE: evidence of pottery, burial customs spreading from south to north[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Unification spans 300 or 400 years, leading up to Narmer and then through Dynasties I and II[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Spread of Naqada III culture and language from south to north[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Naqada culture was fairly widespread throughout Egypt by 3200 BCE (pottery styles found over a large area)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Society was becoming increasingly hierarchical [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] evolving government (elite burials with luxury grave goods at Abydos and Hierakonpolis)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Language was similar[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Writing was developing (clay seals on wine jars in tombs from Abydos)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Technology was increasing/improving (evidence of carnelian and ivory workshops in Hierakonpolis)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Spread of agriculture and trade[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Upper Egypt was using better wheat stock and irrigation[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Fertile land of flood plain of Upper Egypt allowed it to sustain a growing population[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Lower Egypt had access to Mediterranean trade [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] likely reason for Upper Egypt expansion[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot] “Agriculture created a food surplus that allowed the emergence of cities and a state bureaucracy.”[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (Robert C. Allen)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Being hemmed in by desert, the geography forced settlement around the Nile[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Development of the state from first settlement was relatively rapid (c. 1000 years)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Access to Lebanon (Levant) was required for wood for boats[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Upper Egypt was rich in gold and semi-precious stones (Eastern Desert)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Considerable trade between Egypt and the Near East in the Predynastic period (massive increase in trade during Old Kingdom as administered by the state)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]There is even a suggestion that the very idea of a state was ‘imported’ from Mesopotamia (Bruce Trigger)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Warfare[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Local elites in Upper Egypt may have joined together for expansion into Lower Egypt[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Overall the process took over 200 years, although was not firmly established until Dynasty III[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Narmer was in power by about 3000 BCE (Dynasty I)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]There is evidence for upheaval/warfare: Khasekhemwy’s tomb (Dynasty II), Narmer label[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Problematic – warfare is depicted symbolically, no reference to real events[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Impact[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Concept of god-king spreads[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Few [/FONT][FONT=&quot]civilisations[/FONT][FONT=&quot] begin with this idea [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] king basically is the state, ‘god-king’ was a way of controlling it[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]“The early dynasties had the problem of articulating the concepts to that new nation which they were constructing.”[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (Wilson)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Basically had to invent the concept of a ‘nation’[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Narmer associated himself with Hierakonpolis and Horus and the kingship continued this association – Horus on earth (cemeteries at Abydos show remains of cult centres dedicated to the king)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]“The king was accorded the most elaborate burial which was symbolic of his role as mediator between the powers of the netherworld and his deceased subject.” [/FONT][FONT=&quot](Kathryn Bard)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]A great deal of money and faith went into mortuary complexes – emphasise the importance and divinity of the king (burial boats and human retainers also found at Abydos, ‘proto-pyramid’ at Abydos)[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]Evidence for a ‘proto-pyramid’ – mound at Abydos for Khasekhemwy (pre-dates Djoser’s step pyramid by 40-50 years)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Cultural development – architecture, sculpture, art, jewellery[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Writing developed more rapidly with the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]centralisation[/FONT][FONT=&quot] of government (labels and seals allowed for a more efficient administration)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Serekhs[/FONT][FONT=&quot] first seen in Dynasty 0[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Arts flourished – tomb objects, royal commemorative art [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] allowed for propaganda and extension of the ‘god-king’ concept[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Temple architecture indicates an efficient bureaucracy (Temple of Min at Koptos, shrine on Elephantine Island)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Religious unity[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]‘Memphite theology’ – cult of Ptah (creator god)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Ptah was the centre of creation [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] provided justification for the creation of a new state capital[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Early Dynasty II hampered by rebellion (evidence via serekhs with both Horus and Seth icons, lack of any significant archaeological evidence to the contrary)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Abydos remained an important cult centre – dedicated the king, came to be associated with Osiris[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Development of agriculture and trade[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Change of wheat type allowed for huge surpluses to be cultivated – prosperity in trade and hard years[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Egyptian expansion into Lower Nubia, northern Sinai and southern Palestine (fortified cities, clay seals) [/FONT]à[FONT=&quot] increase in trade[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]o[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Administration – centralised government[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Capital moved from Hierakonpolis to Memphis (means ‘white walls’) – more central location[/FONT]
·[FONT=&quot]First civilisation with an administrative and political ‘capital’[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Early government was centralised (serekhs used on clay seals to show property of the king)[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Farming was administered by the government to control surpluses[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Taxation (cattle count) was introduced under Den[/FONT]
§[FONT=&quot]Conscription introduced to support the army for military and trading expeditions and large building projects[/FONT]


Pay back... hmmm. lol. Do you have anything for the dot points 'political and religious developments of kingship: role and influence of the cults of Re and Osiris', 'decentralisation of the administration: changing roles and influence of the nobility', or 'political and religious significance of royal burial complexes'?

It's cool if you don't/don't want to. I'm just being lazy again because I haven't got much on them yet...

 

[mesbaz]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

pm'd you
oh & i have good notes on the collapse if you want that

 

[Nª!j∂♫]

Re: ancient history ! help please !

uhhhhhh have a horrid little essay to write on
"the political and religious significance of the changing architectural features of royal burial complexes from Dyn 3-6".

EVIL!!

any suggestions?
oh, and hi, reegan, if you're reading this :]

 

[pscecelia]

hey I know this is thread is very old but I was needing help ....read the post above.. I have the exact same history essay question