The Middle Kingdom of Egypt lasted from the beginning of the eleventh dynasty, to the end of the fourteenth dynasty. It lasted from about 2030 BC to about 1640 BC. A lot of success came from the Middle Kingdom. A very successful age was the twelfth dynasty.
In the twelfth dynasty of Egypt, a lot was established. A great king with great authority was Amenemhat. Historians don't know how he took the throne, but somehow he won it over. A lot of people plotted against him, especially the nobles. His great capital was Thebes.
The thirteenth dynasty began the second intermediate period of Egypt. The Thirteenth Dynasty was from approximately 1782-1700 BC. The 13th Dynasty starts with the death of Nefrusobek, the last member of the royal family of the 12th Dynasty.
Also in the twelfth dynasty, there was a lot of tomb building. In this dynasty, non-royal tombs were built. Large burials were built for non-royal families early in the twelfth dynasty of Egypt.
The twelfth dynasty had a lot of good pharaohs such as Sesostris II and Amenemhet II and III. Amenemhet was the son of Senustret and a chief wife of his named Sneferu. Amenemhet ruled third in the twelfth dynasty of Egypt. His name means Amen is the head.
David, Rosalie. "Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt." Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE49&iPin=HEGU0063&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 30, 2007).
Page, Willie F., and R. Hunt Davis, eds. "Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: Ancient Africa (Prehistory to 500 CE), vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE49&iPin=AHCI0383&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 30, 2007).
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Old Kingdom of Egypt
The Old Kingdom of Egypt lasted from 2575 BC to 2134 BC. The Old Kingdom was also known as the age of the pyramids. The Ancient Egyptian writing system called hieroglyphics was invented in this period. Hieroglyphics were used to write the texts inside the pyramids. The Hieroglyphcis were used for almost 3,500 years. Hieroglyphics were very hard to learn, so mostly only important people such as: Government officials, royalty, priests, scribes, etc. knew how to use them. These hieroglyphics died out by the 1st century. During the 7th century, they had simpler versions of the hieroglyphics.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Artists and Craftsmen were drawn to work for the king. The techniques of the working with metal, stone, and wood were very beneficial to the Egyptians during the Old Kingdom. These skills were greatly used during the pyramids of the rulers of the fourth dynasty, and the sun templates of the fifth dynasty. We know this by the fact that these artifacts were very well preserved over the years.
The First king to rule in The Old Kingdom of Egypt was King Djoser. He ruled in the third dynasty and was the first to rule in that dynasty.He is important because he was the one who ordered the building of the famous pyramids built during the Old kingdom of Egypt. Imhotep was a very important person during the time of King Djoser's reign. Imhotep served as the king's royal vizier.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the Egyptians increased their skills in building pyramids, by creating flat smooth pyramids, rather than stepped. The stepped pyramid was a representation of a stairway to the gods. The smooth pyramid symbolized a mound from which all life came from.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, there was a pharaoh known as King Tut. King Tut's real name was Tutankhamen meaning, "living image of the Aten." Tutankhamen's reign was not extraordinary, but we know so much about it because when Howard Carter found his tomb, it looked like it hadn't been touched. The tomb was air tight for all these years. King Tut started his reign when he was nine years old, and died when he was nineteen. King Tut probably ruled from about 1334 to 1325 BC.
Dr. George Hart. Ancient Egypt. Fog City Press. San Francisco, California. 2003.
Downes, Dorothy. "art, ancient Egyptian." In Gowing, Sir Lawrence, gen. ed. Facts on File Encyclopedia of Art, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Artists and Craftsmen were drawn to work for the king. The techniques of the working with metal, stone, and wood were very beneficial to the Egyptians during the Old Kingdom. These skills were greatly used during the pyramids of the rulers of the fourth dynasty, and the sun templates of the fifth dynasty. We know this by the fact that these artifacts were very well preserved over the years.
The First king to rule in The Old Kingdom of Egypt was King Djoser. He ruled in the third dynasty and was the first to rule in that dynasty.He is important because he was the one who ordered the building of the famous pyramids built during the Old kingdom of Egypt. Imhotep was a very important person during the time of King Djoser's reign. Imhotep served as the king's royal vizier.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, the Egyptians increased their skills in building pyramids, by creating flat smooth pyramids, rather than stepped. The stepped pyramid was a representation of a stairway to the gods. The smooth pyramid symbolized a mound from which all life came from.
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt, there was a pharaoh known as King Tut. King Tut's real name was Tutankhamen meaning, "living image of the Aten." Tutankhamen's reign was not extraordinary, but we know so much about it because when Howard Carter found his tomb, it looked like it hadn't been touched. The tomb was air tight for all these years. King Tut started his reign when he was nine years old, and died when he was nineteen. King Tut probably ruled from about 1334 to 1325 BC.
Dr. George Hart. Ancient Egypt. Fog City Press. San Francisco, California. 2003.
Downes, Dorothy. "art, ancient Egyptian." In Gowing, Sir Lawrence, gen. ed. Facts on File Encyclopedia of Art, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
King Khufu
The legendary king of Egypt, Khufu, was the son of king Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres. Sneferu was the founder of the fourth dynasty of Egypt. His reign lasted about 23 years from 2589 to 2566 B.C. He ruled in the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Khufu in Greek is Cheops, and is pronounced Keyops. He is known for being the founder for the Great Pyramids at Giza.
King Khufu was known as the Father of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. These pyramids are one of the greatest things man has ever seen. These Pyramids are one of the seven wonders of the world. The Great Pyramids at Giza are the burial chambers for the pharaohs. Before the great pyramids, the pharaohs were buried in small bench-shaped mounds.
Khufu, who ruled 2nd in the fourth dynasty, or family of rulers, acomplished a lot of things as the pharaoh of Egypt. We don't really know for sure how King Khufu created the great pyramids. There were no cranes, so it isn't known for sure how it was done. A suggestion for the way of creating the pyramids was that there were hundreds of guys working, who camped out close by, and for years lifted the blocks of stone for a small salary, until they were completed. King Khufu's tomb was robbed and the body was stolen, so not a lot can be said about him.
In building the Great Pyramids at Giza, King Cheops used workers that probably wouldn't be in any other use during the flooding of the Nile. King Khufu was an expert in Math, Astronomy, Science, and Art. All of these skills are reflected in the Great Pyramids at Giza.
King Khufu had many kids. The kids were Djedefhor, Khumbaef, Merysankh, Minkhaf, Neferma'at, Khamerernebti, Djedef'Aha, and others. His family was divided into two groups. In order to create the Great Pyramids, his daughter had to sell herself to get the necessary money to pay off the workers. It is also said that King Khufu fiddled with magic.
Bunson, Margaret. "Ra'djedef." Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Revised Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE49&iPin=EEGY1546&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 15, 2007).
Page, Willie F., and R. Hunt Davis, eds. "Cheops." Encyclopedia of African History and Culture: Ancient Africa (Prehistory to 500 CE), vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Ancient and Medieval History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE49&iPin=AHCI0317&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 15, 2007).
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