When you think of Egypt, you think of mummies and pyramids, but you never think about the achievements and technological advances of the Egyptian peoples. The Egyptians were also pioneers of many customs and traditions, as well as cultures and military advancements. The ancient Egyptians were a very resourceful people with a scintillating culture and an immense historical significance.
The ancient Egyptians entire lifestyle revolved around the Nile river. The Nile was naturally regulated, easy to navigate, and calm, making it one of the safest and wealthiest agrarian areas in the world. Every summer, the river flooded, leaving fertile, black silt that farmers used to grow crops. The land was so fertile, that some farmers would throw seeds on the ground, and have their livestock walk on it, pushing the seeds into the ground. Some of the crops they grew were figs, pomegranates, melons, wheat, and grain. The Nile itself was so manageable, that the Egyptians used a technique called basin irrigation, in which farmers used the annual floodwaters to fill basins and canals with water for irrigation.
Using the Nile to their advantage, the Egyptians could create large amounts of surplus with little to no effort, and were able to easily transport imports and exports using the Nile. This meant that they could spend more time on very distinctive projects.
Egyptologists, those who spend their lives on studying Egypt, and historians have determined that Ancient Egypt was divided into three main time periods: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.
The Old Kingdom lasted from 2649 to 2152 BCE. During this time, the Pyramids of Giza, the sun god Ra, and the idea of divine kingship were brought about. The Pharaoh, the king, was either a god, or was almost a god, which set up the expectation that he was to act like a god, not a human. The pyramids represented the political and social dominance that the pharaoh had over the people of Egypt. The most well-known pyramids, such as Giza, were built between 2575 and 2465 BCE. The Sphinx was actually built for the pharaoh, Khephren, and the Great Pyramids were built for the pharaoh Khufu. These pyramids were built by slaves who were forced to work for the Egyptian government for a certain number of months each year. The reason for the construction of the pyramids was to honor the pantheon of gods, featuring Ra, the sun god and the god of creation, so that they would maintain cosmic balance. The Old Kingdom was incredulously wealthy, which was followed by pharaohs fighting over power, which led to an intermediate period between the Old and Middle Kingdoms.
The Middle Kingdom lasted from 2040 to 1640 BCE. During this time, pharaonic rule was reestablished, but it had a few changes. The first change was that the pharaohs were outsiders from Nubia, which was located downriver. The second change was that they fostered a new pantheon of gods, the main god being Ammun, which roughly translates to hidden . Ammun and Ra combined together to form a god called Ammun-Ra, and almost all of the pharaohs built temples devoted to him, and gave sacrifices in his favor. The Hyksos were a group of people that managed to conquer all of Egypt, but instead of destroying the Egyptians culture, they just integrated into their culture. The Egyptians, however, adopted their military technology, and then destroyed them, and drove them from Egypt.
The New Kingdom lasted from 1550 to 1070 BCE. The Egyptians continued their military advancements and headed south in search of gold and slaves. Hatshepsut, a woman who ruled Egypt for roughly about 22 years, was the most expansive ruler during this time, because she expanded Egypt by trade, rather than military strength. Most male pharaohs focused on military expansion, which in turn, brought about clashes with the Assyrians, the Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans.
During the New Kingdom, a pharaoh named Akenahten, tried to invent a new god named Aten. After his death, he was replaced by his spouse, a daughter, and a son. The son, Tutankaten, decided to turn away from this new god, Aten, and adjusted his name, and was called Tutankhamen. Tutankhamen married his sister and most likely had scoliosis, but he didn t do all that much before he died around the age of 18. The most likely reason for his fame throughout the world, is that his tomb was discovered in 1922 by British scientists.
The Egyptians were most often buried with things that they found to be very useful and pleasurable in their lifetime. This is because the Egyptians saw the Afterlife as, basically, a continuation of their current life. The Egyptians also believed in the power of amulets, divination, and that certain animals, such as cats and/or dung beetles, had divine power.
Overall, Egyptians were a resourceful people. They used the annual flooding of the Nile to fertilize their lands so that they could grow crops, and, when they were conquered by the Hyksos, they adopted the Hyksos military techniques and technologies and took back their land. They were also a very cultural group and had an entire pantheon of gods, and they believed in magic and an afterlife. The Egyptians built some of the most impressive monuments in history, and it s all due to their resourcefulness and their technological advancements.