Transcript Document

Presenters:
Chra & Dominique
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Pharaoh is the ancient Egyptian name for king.
The word literally means the king’s palace, but
over time, it became interchangeable with the
Egyptian word for any ruler of Egypt, male or
female.
To Egyptians, a pharaoh represented more
than just a king and were often considered to
be a god that possessed the secrets of heavens
and earth. The pharaoh was responsible for all
aspects of Egyptian life such as keeping the
irrigation works in order, directing the army,
and issuing laws. He or she controlled trade
with other countries, owned the ships that
sailed to foreign lands, as well as all of Egypt’s
mines and quarries.
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There were more than 170 Pharaohs and
some of them had names that were very
similar to each other.
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We were really surprised to learn that
there were seven Cleopatras and the
most famous one was Cleopatra VII.
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By the time of the Middle Kingdom, each
Pharaoh was given a combination of five names.
The first name of the Pharaoh was his “Horus”
name which identified himself with the falcon
god Hor.
For example, King Tut’s Horus name was Kanakht tut-mesut, which means “Strong Bull,
Fitting from Created Forms.”
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The Pharaoh’s second name was the “Nebti”
or “Two Ladies” name which referred to the
two goddesses named Wadjet and Nekhbet.
Wadjet was represented as a cobra and
Nekhbet as a vulture. The “two ladies”
represented Upeere KMT (Nekjbet) and
Lower KMT (Wadjet).
King Tut’s second name or Nebti name was
Nefer-hepu Segereh-tawy Schetep-netjeru
Nebu, which means “Dynamic of Laws, Who
Calms the Two Lands, Who Propitiates all the
Gods.”
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The third name was called the “Golden Horus” name
and was represented by the falcon symbolizing the
god Hor, sitting on top of the symbol for gold.
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King Tut’s Golden Horus name or third name was
Wetjes-khau Sehetep-netjeru, which means “Who
Displays the regalia, Who Propitiates the Gods.”
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The fourth name was the Pharaoh’s throne name or
prenomen. This name was usually enclosed in a
cartouche (which looks like a loop of rope tied at
one end) and followed the words “Nesut Bit” which
is Egyptian for “He of the Sedge and the Bee.” Like
the “two ladies,” the sedge and the bee were symbols
for Upper and Lower KMT.
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King Tut’s throne name or fourth name was Nesut
Bit Nebkheperure, which means “King of Upper and
Lower KMT, Lord of Manifestations is Re.”
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The Pharaoh’s fifth name was his or her birth name
or nomen. This name was usually preceded with
the ancient Egyptian words “sa re” meaning “Son of
Re”, and also enclosed in a cartouche.
King Tut’s full birth name or fifth name was Sa re
Tutankjaten Heqaiunushema, meaning “Living
Image of the Aten, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Iunu.”
After becoming Pharaoh, King Tut changed his
birth name to Tutankjamun meaning “Living Image
of Amun.”
Here is King Tut’s full name:
Hor Ka-nakht tut-mesut, Nebti Nefer-hepu
Segereh-tawy, Schetep-netjeru Nebu, Neb Hor
Wetjes-khau Schetep-netjeru, Nesut Bit
Nebkheperure, Sa re Tutankhamun
Heqaiunushema
which in English means,
The Horus Strong Bull, Fitting from Created Forms, He of the Two Ladies,
Dynamic of Laws, Who Calms the Two Lands, Who Propitiates the
Gods, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of Manifestations is Re,
Son of Re, Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Upper Egyptian Iunu!
There were five different crowns that a pharaoh
would wear that included the White Crown, the
Red Crown, the Double Crown, the Nemes Crown,
and the Blue Crown.
The White Crown or Hedjet was considered the
crown of Upper Egypt. As early as 3000 BC, this
crown was depicted as a tall, white cone-shaped
crown and usually worn during ceremonies.
The Red Crown or Deshret was the crown of
Lower Egypt. This crown is shaped like a throne
with a low front and a tall back, from which
protrudes a coil. A statue of the founder of the
Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep I, was found in his
tomb with this crown.
The Double Crown or Pschent was also known as
“The Mighty Ones”. With the unification of
Upper and Lower Egypt, this crown combined the
red crown and the white crown. The god, Horus,
often was depicted from the wall paintings of
tombs wearing this crown.
The Nemes Crown was more of a headdress than a
crown. The Nemes was a piece of striped cloth
pulled tightly against the forehead with two
strands that hung to the sides of the face. The
brow was decorated with the uraeus Wadjet and
the vulture Nekhbet and probably made most
famous by King Tut.
The Blue Crown or the Khepresh was also known
as the “war crown”. The crown was a tall, brilliant
blue crown with golden discs which also had the
uraeus and vulture on the brow. Ramessess the
Great was often depicted wearing this crown.
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The crook (heka) and the flail (nekhakha)
are two of the most prominent items in
the royal regalia of Ancient Egypt. The
crook was a golden hooked handle
wrapped with blue copper bands and its
hieroglyphic value meant to “rule”. The
flail was a golden rod with three long
strands of beads dangling from the top.
These symbols of royalty were most often
represented as emblems of the national
god, Osiris.
Because Egyptians thought that the
pharaohs were gods in human form,
they were usually mummified and
buried in a pyramid full of treasures
and wealth. Most of these pyramids
have been found.
The Valley of the Kings is a valley that is
located on the west bank of the Nile
River. For a period of nearly 500 years,
from the 16th century to the 11th century
BC, tombs were constructed for the
kings and the most powerful nobles of
Egypt. It is famous for the discovery of
King Tut’s tomb and is considered as one
of the most famous archaeological sites
in the world.
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Each time a new Pharaoh came to power, the
calendar was reset to year one.
For example, the ancient Egyptians would write
that something happened on the 12th day of the
3rd month of the 2nd season in the 8th year of
King Ramesses.
Since the ancient Egyptians did not account for
leap year, their calendar gradually grew out of
step and it is difficult to know the exact time
that a Pharaoh ruled and dates may be off 20
years or more.
Ancient Egyptian history is confusing because it is divided into
“kingdoms” and “periods” and “dynasties” but most historians agree
on at least nine distinct periods. They include:
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Neolithic/Pre-Dynastic
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Early Dynastic
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Old Kingdom
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First Intermediate
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Middle Kingdom
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Second Intermediate
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New Kingdom
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Third Intermediate
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Late Period
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Ptolemaic & Roman
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The Amratian society of Upper Egypt shows
signs of the hierarchical structure of pharaohlike civilization
First indication of wrapping of bodies in strips of
cloth or mummification
Hieroglyphic script first developed
Upper and Lower Egypt are unified and the royal
residence was Memphis
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1st Dynasty kings are buried in the first royal tombs
at Abydos
Architecture indicates a new political order, headed
by a god-king
Hetepsekhemwy was the first king of the 2nd
Dynasty
The first pyramid was built during the reign of King
Djoser – The Step Pyramid at Saqqara
King Khufu’s Great Pyramid at Giza and the Great
Sphinx becomes part of the pyramid complex of
King Khafra
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Three pyramids were built, known as the Giza
Pyramids. The first was constructed for the Pharaoh
Khufu, the second for his son Khafre, and the
smallest one for his son, Menkare.
With the social and political climate changing, the
royal residence changes from Memphis to
Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt and Upper Egypt was
controlled by Theban rulers.
Mentuhotep II, king of Thebes in southern Upper
Egypt, defeats Herakleopolis in Middle Egypt which
reunited the country.
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Amenemhat I expands the Egyptian
territory south into the country Nubia and
begins to trade with Asia and the Aegean
Senusret I founds the temple of Karnak at
Thebes.
Senusret II constructs the Faiyum
irrigation system which helps to provide
water
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The royal court that was established
at Lisht in the 12th Dynasty is
abandoned and moved to Thebes
which begins the Second
Intermediate Period
On top of Queen Mentuhotep’s
coffin, the Book of the Dead is found
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The war between the Thebes and the Asiatic
rulers of the Nile Delta begins
Theban King Ahmose conquers the capital of the
Hyksos (Asiatic) kings at Avaris, in the eastern
delta.
Reunification of Egypt marks the start of the
New Kingdom.
Thutmose I begins violent military missions that
annexes Nubia into Egypt.
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King Akhenaten orders that the cult of Aten
becomes Egypt’s state religion and the religious
center is moved from Thebes to Amarna.
Tutankhamun, Akhenaten’s son, restores Thebes
as the religious center of Egypt and Amun-Ra,
the sun-god, to the chief god of Egypt.
Ramses II oversees great building projects,
including the Piramesse – the House of Ramses
of the Bible
The Royal Tombs in the Valley of the Kings are
pillaged
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Civil war and economic troubles weaken centralized
rule of government.
Osorkon, the first of the Libyan pharaohs, takes
power.
A royal princess marries Solomon of Israel
diminishing the prestige of Egyptian royalty.
Psamtek I drives off Assyrian invaders and defeats
Kushite kings.
Nekau II begins construction of a canal from the
Nile to the Red Sea in order to increase trade.
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Egypt is invaded and captured by the Persian ruler
Cambyses.
King Darius completes the construction of Nekau II’s canal.
Amytraios retakes Egypt from Persia.
Artaxerxes I of Persia re-invades Egypt ending the last
native Egyptian rule.
Alexander the Great invades Egypt and becomes pharaoh.
Ptolemy I founds the Mouseion at Alexandria which houses
Alexandria’s library of over 700,000 volumes.
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Queen Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony are
defeated at the Battle of Actinum by Octavian.
Octavian enters Egypt in 30 BC and begins the
Roman rule of Egypt.
Christianity appears first in Alexandria.
By the 3rd century AD, Christianity has gained
widespread acceptance and thus, the gods in
human form were no more.
Cleopatra VII is the most famous female
pharaoh and she was also the very last
pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Cleopatra had
four children, one with Julius Caesar, and
three with Mark Anthony. Cleopatra was
pagan and worshiped the goddess, Isis.
After learning of Mark Antony’s death by a
snakebite, she allowed two asps to be
hidden in a fig basket which bit her and
eventually led to her death.
Also known as Amenhotep IV, he was most famous for
trying to encourage Egyptians to worship only one
god, Aten. He oversaw the construction of some of
the most massive temples in ancient Egypt in honor
of Aten. Because Aten was considered the “mother
and father of all human kind, many statues of
Akhenaton depicted him as androgynous – looking
neither male nor female. With Akhenaton’s death,
the Aten cult he had founded virtually disappeared
and all of the statues and temples were destroyed.
However, his belief in only one god is thought to
have spawned Judaism.
Tutankhamun or King Tut is the most well-known
pharaoh mainly because when explorers found
his tomb, most of the artifacts were relatively
untouched. He was only nine years old when he
became pharaoh and had a short reign of nine
years. The “boy king” died at age 19 by reasons
still disputed to this day. Some current theories
are that he was murdered by his advisors, suffered
injuries from an accident, or died during war.
King Tut’s tomb was found in the Valley of the
Kings in a section not usually reserved for kings.
Hatshepsut was one of the most successful
female pharaohs and ruled longer than any
other woman in the Egyptian dynasty. She
was very successful in warfare in her early
reign and helped to re-establish trade
relationships which brought great wealth to
Egypt. Researchers suggest that she died of
a ruptured abscess after the removal of a
tooth when she was fifty years old.
Also known as Ramesses the Great, this king
was often regarded as Egypt’s most powerful
ruler. He had eight wives which held the title
Great Royal Wife often simultaneously.
Monumental evidence “seems to indicate that
he had about 110 children with about 40-53
daughters and 48-50 sons. Ramesses II built
what is known as the Ramesseum which was a
beautiful temple , but now just a few ruins.
The last decades of his life he was crippled and
walked with a hunched back. An abcess by his
teeth could have been serious enough to cause
his death but it still is unknown.
She was the Great Royal Wife of the
pharaoh Akhenaton and the motherin-law and possibly the stepmother
of King Tut. She was famous for her
bust that the sculptor Thutmose
made that many people now copy.
She and her husband Akhenaten
made their own religion where they
only worship the god, Aten. The
death of Nefertiti is unknown
because researchers cannot find the
mummy.
After Thutmose III’s death he created the
largest empire Egypt had ever seen. He’s
also known as a great builder and has built
over fifty temples and great additions to the
Egypt’s chief temple in Karnak. When
Thutmose II died he was too young to rule
Egypt so the title was passed to his fathers
queen Hatshepsut. After Hatshepsut died
he became pharaoh for 54 years. Thutmose
III died of old age, yet it was very hard to
tell this because tomb robbers damaged the
body while stealing the jewels that covered
him. The other pharaohs in the tomb was
also similarly damaged by the tomb
robbers.