Western Civilization. Paul R. Waibel
During the three months each year when the flood waters of the Nile covered the arable land and farming ceased, thousands of peasants were put to work constructing the pyramids. By ensuring the preservation of the pharaoh's body, they were ensuring the continuity of the rhythm of life, especially the regularity of the Nile's flooding upon which life depended.
The pyramids are among the most impressive man‐made wonders in history. The first pyramid was built for Djoser (r. c. 2686–c. 2613 BC) at Saqqara, on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Memphis. It has six stepped layers of stone that reached a height of 204 ft. (62 m). The pyramid was surrounded by a 40‐acre (16‐ha) complex of temples and other buildings enclosed by a 30 ft. (9.1m) high wall. The Step pyramid, as it is called, was designed by history's first known architect, Imhotep (c. 3000–c. 2950 BC).
Most impressive of the pyramids built during the Old Kingdom is the Great Pyramid, built one century later for Khufu (or Cheops, r. c. 2589–2566 BC). It was the first and largest of the pyramids built at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River close to modern‐day Cairo, and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
Figure 1.4 The Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops, completed c. 2560 BC.
Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.
To build the Great Pyramid, workers cut approximately 2.3 million limestone blocks at quarries 500 miles (804.7 km) away and brought them to Giza. Each block weighed an average of 2.5 tons (2.3 MT), though some were as heavy as 16 tons (14.5 MT). The base is 755 ft. (230.4 m) long on each side (570 000 sq. ft., or 52 954.7 sq. m). The stones are so accurately placed that there is no more than an 8‐in. (20.3 cm) difference between the lengths of the sides. The original height was 481 ft. (147 m), making the Great Pyramid the tallest manmade structure well into the nineteenth century AD. The pyramid was encased in smooth limestone. The outer stones fit together so well that a hair cannot be wedged between them. It is estimated that in order to finish the pyramid in 30 years, it would have been necessary to set in place one block every two and a half minutes. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote in The Histories (c. 430 BC) that the Egyptians told him it took 100 000 men 20 years to build the Great Pyramid.
A series of weak pharaohs toward the end of the Old Kingdom allowed much of the central government's power to slip into the hands of powerful regional nobles. The result was roughly one century of weak central government and general turmoil between c. 2150 and c. 2050 BC. Mentuhotep II (r. c. 2046–c. 1995 BC), who ruled from Thebes in Upper Egypt, reunited Egypt sometime around the 39th year of his 51‐year reign. He was the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, a period of stability and prosperity that lasted from c. 2050 to c. 1652 BC.
The pharaoh's role changed somewhat during the Middle Kingdom. His power over the whole of Egypt was restored, but he was no longer the absolute ruler that he was during the Old Kingdom. The age of the great pyramids was over. The pharaohs of the 11th and 12th dynasties undertook great building projects that benefitted the people by providing employment, but nothing on the scale of the Great Pyramid. It was the pharaoh's role as shepherd of his people that was emphasized. The conquest of Lower Nubia on the southern border of Upper Egypt and military expeditions north along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea enhanced the power of the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom.
During the latter part of the eighteenth‐century BC, Lower Egypt (the Delta region) was invaded by a people whom the Egyptians called the Hyksos (meaning “rulers of foreign lands”). The Hyksos spoke a Semitic language and migrated away from the Middle East after Indo‐Europeans migrated into it in the second millennium. The Hyksos kings, or pharaohs, ruled Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period from their capital at Avaris in the eastern Delta.
The Hyksos invaders enjoyed the advantage of advanced military organization and technology. The Egyptian army was outdated both in its weaponry and its emphasis on infantry. They relied on their infantry organized into sections of spearmen, bowmen, and archers. Their main weapons were the mace, a solid shaft with a heavy round head used to bludgeon the enemy, and a simple bow. One can only imagine the fear that must have possessed the Egyptians when confronted with a mobile army of warriors with lightweight, horse‐drawn chariots. The Egyptians had never seen horses before. Furthermore, the Hyksos warriors had a new composite bow that could fire an arrow at least 200 yards further than the simple bows used by the Egyptians. They wore helmets and body armor and carried penetrating axes, swords, and quivers of arrows. Weapons made of bronze gave the Hyksos a decisive advantage on the battlefield, and subsequently brought Egypt into the Bronze Age.
The Hyksos controlled Lower Egypt, while Upper Egypt remained under a native Egyptian line that ruled from Thebes. Pharaoh Ahmose I (1570–1546 BC) eventually drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and pursued them north into Palestine as far as the Euphrates River. Ahmose I also led a campaign south into Nubia. Ahmose I's reign marks the beginning of the New Kingdom, or the Egyptian Empire (1550–1069 BC). His conquered lands were consolidated and expanded by his successors, Amenhotep I (1546–1526 BC), Thutmose I (1525–1512 BC), Thutmose II (1512–1504 BC), and Thutmose III (1504–1450). Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittite Empire were compelled to send tribute annually to Egypt.
One of the most interesting rulers of Egypt during the New Kingdom was Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1508–1458 BC). She was the daughter of Thutmose I and the half‐sister of her husband, Thutmose II, whom she married when she was only 12 years old. When Thutmose II died in 1479 BC, the heir was an infant son by one of his concubines. Hatshepsut assumed the role of regent for her stepson, Thutmose III. At some point, she assumed the role of pharaoh and co‐ruler with Thutmose III.
Hatshepsut's reign was a period of prosperity and peace for Egypt. She succeeded in restoring Egyptian culture and religion, which had been interrupted by the Hyksos, to their former glory. Her extensive efforts to expand Egypt's trade included an expedition she sent to the Land of Punt. The location of Punt is not known for sure, but is usually assumed to be the area of modern Somalia and Sudan. The expedition returned with live myrrh trees, frankincense, and other treasures. Trade between Egypt and Punt continued throughout the New Kingdom.
Upon the death of his stepmother in 1458 BC, Thutmose III became pharaoh in his own right. A gifted military commander, he led his armies north as far as Niya in northern Syria and south into Nubia as far as the fourth cataract. In all, Thutmose III led 17 campaigns during 20 years of his 46‐year reign. The Egyptian Empire reached its greatest extent under Thutmose III, who is referred to by some as “the Napoleon of Egypt.” He died at 90, a remarkable achievement even in the twenty‐first century AD.
If Hatshepsut has a rival for “most interesting of the pharaohs,” it is Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaten (r. c. 1353–c. 1336 BC). Amenhotep IV attempted to replace the various gods of Egypt with one god, Aten, represented as the sun disk. He changed his name from Amenhotep, which means “Amun is satisfied,” to Akhenaten, meaning “Effective Spirit of Aten.” Beginning in the first year of his reign, Amenhotep IV built several structures at Karnak dedicated to Aten, including a temple. During the fifth or sixth year he constructed a new capital, Akhetaten (“Horizon of Aten”) on the east bank of the Nile, 194 miles (312 km) south of modern Cairo.
Akhenaten's religious revolution gave birth to a new style in art, one more realistic than the stiff, formal style normally associated with ancient Egypt. Traditional artistic styles emphasized the eternal, unchanging nature of the universe that was central to the Egyptian worldview as far back as the Old Kingdom. Akhenaten's new religion and new capital, well away from Thebes and the old gods, ushered in a new artistic style called the Amarna Renaissance that was more realistic. Art from the period includes scenes of Akhenaten, his queen Nefertiti, and their children in everyday settings, playing together beneath “the Aten.” Nature in all its beauty likewise became the subject of art. One need only compare the famous bust of Nefertiti6