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    Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History
    Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History
    Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History
    Ebook306 pages3 hours

    Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History

    By Nigel Fletcher-Jones

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    About this ebook

    First appearing around the mighty River Nile in the fourth millennium BC, Ancient Egypt is one of the great wellsprings of human civilization. Egyptian culture developed around a complex system of religious rituals tied to the agricultural seasons, with the pharaoh a living deity at the centre. Mighty pyramids, tombs and monuments were built to celebrate the pharaohs, many of which can still be seen in all their splendour today.


    Arranged chronologically, Ancient Egypt offers a compact photographic guide, from the 4000 BC Naqada culture to the end of the Ptolemy dynasty with the suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC. In between, discover the Narmer Palette, a 31st century BC stone tablet that records the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by King Narmer; learn about Amenhotep the Magnificent, during whose reign Egypt reached the peak of its artistic and international power; marvel at the massive, rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel, dedicated to Pharaoh Ramesses II (“the Great”), marking the southern extent of the Egyptian empire and celebrating his victory over the Hittites at the Battle of Kadesh; and discover how Egypt was ruled by Archaemenid Persia for almost 200 years, until the arrival of Alexander the Great and his all-conquering Macedonian army.


    Colourful, engaging and illustrated throughout with more than 180 photographs, Ancient Egypt is a vivid pictorial introduction to 4,000 years of Ancient Egyptian civilization.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAmber Books Ltd
    Release dateMay 1, 2024
    ISBN9781838865399
    Ancient Egypt: A Photographic History

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      Book preview

      Ancient Egypt - Nigel Fletcher-Jones

      FROM PREHISTORY TO THE EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD:

      6000–2686 BC

      During the period from about 16,000 to 6000 BC the area now covered by the inhospitable Sahara Desert in northeast Africa was covered by savanna grasslands, oases and seasonal watercourses. Small groups of hunter-gatherer-fishers traversed the landscape, leaving their mark in cave paintings, including many images of the animals – including wild cattle – that they hunted.

      Evidence that these people were particularly drawn to the River Nile is hard to find. There are traces of the postholes, middens, pits, stone tools and pottery associated with temporary camps along the river margins, but too few to suggest permanent villages. It seems likely that the Nile was simply one of the way stations in an annual cycle of movement.

      That changed around 6000 BC as the pattern of summer rainfall shifted southwards, leading to aridity in north Africa and the emergence of the Sahara – a process that was probably completed in Egypt around 4000 BC.

      The emergence of the western and eastern Egyptian deserts (called Deshret, the ‘Red Land’, by the ancient Egyptians) increasingly compressed the formerly nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples against the Nile valley (or Kemet, the ‘Black Land’).

      STONE CIRCLE, NABTA PLAYA

      Originally located about 100 km (62 miles) west of Abu Simbel, this stone circle probably dates to around 4500–4000 BC and is, perhaps, a precursor to the large stone structures of ancient Egypt and their astronomical alignments.

      ‘SWIMMERS’, THE CAVE OF THE SWIMMERS, WADI SURA

      Although difficult to interpret, it is possible that some of the images here represent swimming in seasonal lakes in what is now the Sahara Desert.

      WADI SURA

      Reflecting the wetter climate before the Sahara Desert formed, the painting in the caves of the Wadi Sura – 600 km (370 miles) west of the Nile – reflect the occupations of hunter-gatherer-fishers on the savanna grasslands between 7000–4000 BC.

      RITUAL AND HUNTING SCENES, WADI SURA

      In images such as this we are able to glance at the life of hunter-gatherer-fishers and the animals they hunted before the Sahara Desert formed. These animals only appear today further south in Africa.

      NEW FARMING METHODS

      Simultaneously, between 6000 and 4000 BC, winter crops of emmer wheat and barley, together with domestic animals – cattle, pigs, sheep and goats – were introduced from southwest Asia. It is possible that some cattle were also independently domesticated in northeast Africa.

      For some centuries, in any case, it is likely that grain harvesting in the Nile valley was a marginal activity alongside cattle herding (which had primary economic and symbolic importance), root and tuber gathering, hunting and fishing. Yet, over time, the population coalesced into small permanent or semi-permanent villages along the length of the Nile. The cultural identity of these people appears to have been remarkably similar along the whole length of the river.

      Groupings of villages became small kingdoms in about 3500 BC in order to benefit, presumably, from mutual trade and defence. As writing was in its earliest phase in Egypt, we do not know the names of the local rulers but it seems likely that their authority was based on their presumed connection to unseen and otherwise unknowable cosmic forces expressed, in part, by increasingly elaborate funeral rites.

      As a result of all these developments agricultural practices became greatly intensified throughout the Nile valley – aided by the introduction of oxen and ploughs around 3300 BC. And a peasant class emerged over which the king, courts, landlords and tax inspectors presided.

      The king’s power over life and death was absolute. Indeed, we are aware that, when a king or queen died, some retainers joined them in their tombs. This practice, which came to affect hundreds of people in the Early Dynastic Period, did not continue after about 2700 BC.

      Simultaneously, the demands of the court led to the development of extensive land and sea trade routes – the former aided by the domestication of the donkey – particularly for the acquisition of wood, incense, wine and oil.

      FUNERARY MASK, HIERAKONPOLIS

      It is likely that predynastic funerary masks, such as this one dated to about 3600–3500 BC, served a similar function to those we see later in Egyptian history – affording magical protection to the deceased and assisting him or her into the Other World.

      JAR WITH BOATS, BIRDS AND ANIMALS

      Dated to around 3500–3300 BC, the images on this jar are clearly associated with the Nile. The male and female figures standing aboard a boat are involved in a religious or social event and the scene is supported by images of mountains, animals and birds.

      FEMALE FIGURE, EL MA’MARIYA

      This figure, dated to around 3500–3400 BC, appears to be involved in an activity perhaps similar to those depicted on pots of the same age. The exact meaning is now lost to us, but the upraised arms of the figure suggest a ritual performed in front of the two smaller male and female statues that were found with it.

      COSMETIC PALETTE, GERZEH

      Wild and domesticated cattle were held in high esteem from the beginning to the end of ancient Egyptian history. This schist palette (3500–3200 BC) shows a cow’s head surrounded by five stars – indicating an association with the heavens. Some Egyptologists have suggested that this may be an early representation of the divine being who became Hathor, the cow-headed goddess.

      SCORPION MACE HEAD, HIERAKONPOLIS

      This ceremonial piece is attributed to King ‘Scorpion’ (around 3200 BC). Here he wears the white crown of Upper Egypt, but on a smaller mace head he wears the red crown of Lower Egypt, leading to the suggestion that Egypt may have been united during his reign.

      LAPIS LAZULI FIGURE, HIERAKONPOLIS

      Lapis lazuli imported from the area of modern Afghanistan was one of the main artistic materials used in ancient Egypt. This enigmatic female figure (3300–3000 BC) is generally recognized as Egyptian workmanship, but with, perhaps, some Mesopotamian influences.

      NARMER PALETTE, HIERAKONPOLIS

      This cosmetic palette dating to the reign of King Narmer (around 3100 BC) is often used as a symbol of the unification of Egypt. On the front (right), the king wears the red crown and is preceded by four standards as he inspects the decapitated bodies of his enemies. On the reverse, the king is seen in the white crown as he executes an enemy.

      Within Egypt, expeditions were increasingly sent out into the desert to acquire gold, turquoise, carnelian and other semi-precious stones. Remarkably, via the port of Byblos, lapis lazuli – reminiscent of the deep blue of the Egyptian sky – was probably imported from distant Afghanistan and, such was the desire for red-orange carnelian (the colour of the sun) that soon it may have been imported from

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