Before going further into the Persian empire, let me give general information on Egypt. Well, the Assyrians attacked Egypt once and successfully invaded it. So, where is Egypt? It is still mystifying to me. Egypt is a place full of some big pyramids and monuments. Many Hollywood films have used Egypt for blockbuster.
The ancient Egyptian life was totally isolated from Mesopotamia. While Mesopotamia was known for its hard life, Egypt was a perfect place to meditate upon death. Predictable floods let farmers to have more leisure time since they didn't have to be wary of sudden deluge. Also, the river flows from south to north, while wind blows conversely. This natural gift of Egypt enabled many barters to go wherever they liked. So, the upper Egypt and lower Egypt could trade w
ith each other.
Egyptians had ample time. They had nothing to do till the Old Kingdom when Menes unified two Egypts into one. Egyptian crowns were divided into two with each different color. King Menes combined these two crowns into one. As no environmental challenges similar to those at Mesopotamia hampered the Egyptians, they started to think about the world after their death. What would it be like? They were very curious indeed. You might have listened to some tales or legends about Egypt.
Egyptian legend goes like this. There were Osiris and Isis happily ruling the Kingdom of Egypt. Yet Osiris's brother murdered him and then crowned himself a king. Osiris couldn't help but sail through the river of Death. Thought a usurper was punished by Ra(I don't know whether it was Ra or Horus) to death, Isis could not bear her miserable fate and wept so long and profusely to fill the Nile River. Here, Ra is the sun God and Horus is the god of light. You might hear Horus or Ra, or even Amon-Re in some movies. The father of Tutankhamen revered god called Amon so much that he combined Ra with Amon so as to call it Amon-Re. Of course, this God would not be revered much after the murder of Tutankhamen.
Anyway, Osiris was perfect in every sense that he became the God of Death. Every soul would be judged in front of him when dead. This is the religion Egyptians believed. There were more gods, but it is trifle to remember all of them.
Back to the main story, King Menes unified two kingdoms and many historians called this era the Old Kingdom. At this Old Kingdom, none came through the eastern desert of Egypt, kings regarded as gods. Pharaohs meant these kings. They were god-like. Even though they were mortal in this world, their souls would remain intact and govern the dead as they had done in real world. Naturally, the Egyptians built pyramids, the places where the gods' souls would rest in peace. It is remarkable to look at this magnificent monument made by human beings. They did not even have pulley. Isn't it amazing?
Well, if there was the Old Kingdom, there must be the New Kingdom. Yes. They even had the Middle Kingdom, come to think of it. What happened? At the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos intruded Egypt for the first time. So, turmoil began till the New Kingdom started.
Before I explain more about the New Kingdom, I should explain more on mummification, an indication of highly complicated methods the Egyptians used and developed for medical purposes, and their language. First, mummification was started by death of pharaohs. Many believed pharaohs were immortal. So, they could be awaken from their death anytime. This required some intellectuals to think. What if our great god-kings awoke 200 years later? Voila! Preserve the dead body! Medical experts and surgical doctors already knew what organs would decay in a moment. Then, get rid of them. What about the brain? How should we deal with brain? Well, I don't think the intellectuals at the time considered brain as important. Get rid of it, either! Embalm the body and wrap it carefully. Easy does it. That's how they mummified their gods.
Then, we must see what hieroglyphics was. It's a carving. But, carve what on what? Egypt had historians. Historians documented major events on papyrus, a paper of which was made in the Delta region. Since they had writing system, they could easily categorize what is more important and what is less significant. This was a major motivation for the Egyptians to develop technology and science. Astrologists looked at the sky and found out Sirius, a bright star, appeared right before the floods would come. This study let the Egyptians have similar calendar to what we use today.
The New Kingdom is a long story and somehow brutal one in a manner of speaking. In case of Queen Ahhotep, she took the charge of dead husband and drove out the Hyksos. Later kings and queens regarded valor as important characteristic one must possess.
This is the end of the story for this posting. Thank you for reading it.
The ancient Egyptian life was totally isolated from Mesopotamia. While Mesopotamia was known for its hard life, Egypt was a perfect place to meditate upon death. Predictable floods let farmers to have more leisure time since they didn't have to be wary of sudden deluge. Also, the river flows from south to north, while wind blows conversely. This natural gift of Egypt enabled many barters to go wherever they liked. So, the upper Egypt and lower Egypt could trade w
ith each other.Egyptians had ample time. They had nothing to do till the Old Kingdom when Menes unified two Egypts into one. Egyptian crowns were divided into two with each different color. King Menes combined these two crowns into one. As no environmental challenges similar to those at Mesopotamia hampered the Egyptians, they started to think about the world after their death. What would it be like? They were very curious indeed. You might have listened to some tales or legends about Egypt.
Egyptian legend goes like this. There were Osiris and Isis happily ruling the Kingdom of Egypt. Yet Osiris's brother murdered him and then crowned himself a king. Osiris couldn't help but sail through the river of Death. Thought a usurper was punished by Ra(I don't know whether it was Ra or Horus) to death, Isis could not bear her miserable fate and wept so long and profusely to fill the Nile River. Here, Ra is the sun God and Horus is the god of light. You might hear Horus or Ra, or even Amon-Re in some movies. The father of Tutankhamen revered god called Amon so much that he combined Ra with Amon so as to call it Amon-Re. Of course, this God would not be revered much after the murder of Tutankhamen.
Anyway, Osiris was perfect in every sense that he became the God of Death. Every soul would be judged in front of him when dead. This is the religion Egyptians believed. There were more gods, but it is trifle to remember all of them.
Back to the main story, King Menes unified two kingdoms and many historians called this era the Old Kingdom. At this Old Kingdom, none came through the eastern desert of Egypt, kings regarded as gods. Pharaohs meant these kings. They were god-like. Even though they were mortal in this world, their souls would remain intact and govern the dead as they had done in real world. Naturally, the Egyptians built pyramids, the places where the gods' souls would rest in peace. It is remarkable to look at this magnificent monument made by human beings. They did not even have pulley. Isn't it amazing?
Well, if there was the Old Kingdom, there must be the New Kingdom. Yes. They even had the Middle Kingdom, come to think of it. What happened? At the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos intruded Egypt for the first time. So, turmoil began till the New Kingdom started.
Before I explain more about the New Kingdom, I should explain more on mummification, an indication of highly complicated methods the Egyptians used and developed for medical purposes, and their language. First, mummification was started by death of pharaohs. Many believed pharaohs were immortal. So, they could be awaken from their death anytime. This required some intellectuals to think. What if our great god-kings awoke 200 years later? Voila! Preserve the dead body! Medical experts and surgical doctors already knew what organs would decay in a moment. Then, get rid of them. What about the brain? How should we deal with brain? Well, I don't think the intellectuals at the time considered brain as important. Get rid of it, either! Embalm the body and wrap it carefully. Easy does it. That's how they mummified their gods.
Then, we must see what hieroglyphics was. It's a carving. But, carve what on what? Egypt had historians. Historians documented major events on papyrus, a paper of which was made in the Delta region. Since they had writing system, they could easily categorize what is more important and what is less significant. This was a major motivation for the Egyptians to develop technology and science. Astrologists looked at the sky and found out Sirius, a bright star, appeared right before the floods would come. This study let the Egyptians have similar calendar to what we use today.
The New Kingdom is a long story and somehow brutal one in a manner of speaking. In case of Queen Ahhotep, she took the charge of dead husband and drove out the Hyksos. Later kings and queens regarded valor as important characteristic one must possess.
This is the end of the story for this posting. Thank you for reading it.
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