tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29552613103039415602024-03-06T00:38:26.142+02:00The Nile PharaohThe most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. We really does not know how many kings ruled in Egypt, for at times in its ancient past the country was split up, and there were at least several kings at the same time. There were also probably kings who ruled regions of Egypt before recorded history, and in fact, several ancient historians record legendary Pharaohs who became Egyptian gods.The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-28599230317479999612009-08-01T10:16:00.015+03:002009-08-01T12:26:26.354+03:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Color in Egyptian</span></strong></div><div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Art and Jewelry</span></strong></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 344px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 375px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910541926506354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihU3SSlzDjqqawq5udVbXQJsq1nEgbRaiwBbQ_dFHXlWxXJ63OaswACY9FxYuLiT8bWt4VYcxqXHfGZaE1eYF6y2RjVuvKMk0KfPN4z8j-AeFrvpVcxODCr2Rz9m9MpEkAONn3213IVlQ/s400/artoverview5.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7yBcy6MVUO2oeRZntETmv6zouHRhRPxIVSy0YkbPqKG3jFvOPqjS8JUvNJtT-XIptiLGMFAISbtbYBJtDyxZTpuYu_YHYDa5nNDBIY2fBOwsKQnZFWri9UV7RQi7BurDUnINyofKi80/s1600-h/31784-004-0D0962C0.jpg"></a></div><div>The Egyptians considered the color of an object to be an integral part of its nature or being. The word iwen was used to signify the concept of color, and could also mean external appearance, nature, being, character, or even disposition.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7yBcy6MVUO2oeRZntETmv6zouHRhRPxIVSy0YkbPqKG3jFvOPqjS8JUvNJtT-XIptiLGMFAISbtbYBJtDyxZTpuYu_YHYDa5nNDBIY2fBOwsKQnZFWri9UV7RQi7BurDUnINyofKi80/s1600-h/31784-004-0D0962C0.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 234px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364909356241561890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7yBcy6MVUO2oeRZntETmv6zouHRhRPxIVSy0YkbPqKG3jFvOPqjS8JUvNJtT-XIptiLGMFAISbtbYBJtDyxZTpuYu_YHYDa5nNDBIY2fBOwsKQnZFWri9UV7RQi7BurDUnINyofKi80/s400/31784-004-0D0962C0.jpg" /></a></div><div>Not every color and variation has symbolic significance of course. When groups of objects were being depicted, colors were varied to distinguish one object from another. So rows of people or chariot horses may be alternated as light and dark. And color was often enjoyed for its own sake.</div><div><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Names and uses of colors:</strong></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Old Egyptian had four basic color terms:</strong></span></div><div></div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>km,,, </strong></span>or black, hence, Kmt, or "Black Land". The color black carried connotations of fertility and regeneration, and was also the color of the underworld, where the sun regenerated every night. The god <strong>Osiris</strong>, king of the Underworld, was sometimes referred to as kmj, "the black one." Black stones were used in statuary, and black backgrounds used in some coffins, to evoke those regenerative qualities of Osiris and the Underworld.</div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwUeRIT1g_LEyRHiqpgkrmiZpXt2iZlDfJXxxUEFbNShVZKeF0jHmkPdeS6uOTTEfDNGFgRDT2vtzptu4_iQVZ0cef37TonYF7OI0vGD7j8I1cUAByLpK77OkHZgF3TwDYSsTcmKQETM/s1600-h/colors6.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 374px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364909359179786914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwUeRIT1g_LEyRHiqpgkrmiZpXt2iZlDfJXxxUEFbNShVZKeF0jHmkPdeS6uOTTEfDNGFgRDT2vtzptu4_iQVZ0cef37TonYF7OI0vGD7j8I1cUAByLpK77OkHZgF3TwDYSsTcmKQETM/s400/colors6.jpg" /></a></div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>khdj,,, </strong></span>or white, was also used from prehistoric times. Chalk and gypsum provided the white pigment used.<br /></div><div>White was associated with cleanliness, ritual purity and sacredness and so, was the color of the clothes worn by ritual priests. The Instructions of Merikare speaks of service as a priest in terms of the wearing of white sandals. The floors of temples were made of white calcite. White alabaster was used to make ritual objects such as small bowls to the massive embalming table of the <strong>Apis bulls</strong> mummification. Many sacred animals such as the Great White baboon were also of that color.</div><div></div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Khdj,,, </strong></span>also meant the metal "silver" and could incorporate the notion of "light": for example, in some texts, the sun was said to "whiten" the land at dawn. White was also used to denote the metal silver, and with gold, then symbolized the moon and sun. </div><div><br /> </div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>W3d,,,</strong></span> where the "3" actually stands for the "a" that is not our letter A, had its focus in "green", as the term for the mineral malachite. The color green was symbolic of growing things and of life itself. To do "green things" was a euphemism for positive life-producing behavior in contrast to doing <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7YoYBNq3D4dgB0scXfonDAOIgyNyaA1AmxvljhrxFj-0BKISBCoipHMrnX_aPZthTtjXMyPPC1RWkkPiyAeU5GXcGTfUx8_TUEFa5tmVCHk7zPqtYBHXZk2rqVTv2s8mE0RpnQ43_sc/s1600-h/artoverview1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 289px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 244px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910198635943026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf7YoYBNq3D4dgB0scXfonDAOIgyNyaA1AmxvljhrxFj-0BKISBCoipHMrnX_aPZthTtjXMyPPC1RWkkPiyAeU5GXcGTfUx8_TUEFa5tmVCHk7zPqtYBHXZk2rqVTv2s8mE0RpnQ43_sc/s400/artoverview1.jpg" /></a>"red things." </div><div><br /> </div><div>The hieroglyph that represented w3d was a green papyrus stem and frond, carrying connotations of fresh vegetation and vigor and regeneration. Osiris was often shown with green skin to signify his resurrection, and in the <strong>26th dynasty</strong>, coffin faces were often painted green to identify the deceased with Osiris and to guarantee rebirth. </div><div> </div><div>Chapters 159 and 160 of <strong>the Book of the Dead</strong> give instructions for making an amulet of green feldspar, (though a variety of materials, ranging in color from green to blue, were used) The common amulet of the "Eye of Horus" or the Wedjat is usually green because of the connotations as an expression of the aspects of healing and well-being. <strong>Wadjet</strong> was the green one, the protective serpent goddess of Lower Egypt (though the color of that royal crown was red.)</div><div></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 385px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 375px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910543776326274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti9DJHFiqn6-P4LNBSEnOBIV0MVbo5cPAWSNocHr1_yMeG5buLAiIOa6BDZTh2smSgbfOCaFyQ1Pj5XFjqIx2uFVrAHCd3YaHp1D-VVEZtfwnUOW7tRdXcDg1hg7XCS7POvnwJgPDw2I/s400/artoverview7.jpg" /> <div>Turquoise, or mfk3t, was the most valued of the green stones. Mined in <strong>Sinai</strong>, it was connected to the deity <strong>Hathor</strong>, who was called Lady of Turquoise, and as well as to the sun at dawn, whose rays and disk were described as turquoise, and whose rising was said to flood the land with turquoise. Thus, turquoise was also associated with rebirth, and faience figurines in this color were often used in funerary equipment.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 281px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910553789436434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAznkbgTfysWuipT_LcnOJNB-EcrkXk2KB-ps1E3VdmLDjLCUyUICbiPbp26VGhQrqktkN9KUot24l1eLVvGZqxuXaSXYphnxyrOluuFjMS9AT1bw-Ql9jruhTnGxb7JZMGEKz7uOPKMs/s400/colors5.jpg" /></div><div>Although blue pigment appears on paintings, the Egyptian language had no basic color term in Old Egyptian for "blue." Blue, or irtiu and khshdj, could represent the heavens as well as the primeval flood, and in both it functioned as a symbol of life and rebirth. Blue could also represent the Nile and its offerings, crops and fertility. The phoenix, or <strong>benu-heron</strong>, an ancient symbol of the inundation, was often painted in bright blue (the actual bird had light gray-blue plumage.) The sacred baboon was also depicted as being blue.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>Blue pigment was introduced at about 2550 BCE, based on grinding lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone flecked with golden impurities. Lapis lazuli was the blue stone that figures prominently in much jewelry, but could only be acquired by import. It was called khshdj, and the term was extended to also mean blue. The stone and the color were associated with the night sky and the primordial waters. The rising sun was sometimes called the "child of lapis lazuli."<br /></div><div>Blue pigment could also was manufactured by combining oxides of copper and iron with silica and calcium.</div><div> </div><div></div><div><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>dshr,,,</strong></span> meant "red", hence, "Deshret", the "Red Land", the name given to the desert areas on each side of the fertile Nile Valley. Red pigments were derived from naturally occurring oxidized iron and red ocher.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>Red was considered a very potent color, hot and dangerous, but also life-giving and protective. It is both the color of blood, relating to life ad death, and of fire, which could be beneficial or destructive. Expressions such as dshr ib, "red of heart" or <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL1nVUQ6P_EsqnU6pWAY3kEEAlrvDPXuQUMzVol9LK3mx8_LGc-AGS_y8wnJzYO_UEoJ7CUkrZulb8ND0llz_cAUDSM4cW-6cNPXwDXAtsxAacSDnZUEQpTdJXrnuW8-y-CynKYcjcWg/s1600-h/artoverview13.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 222px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 375px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910204609473266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL1nVUQ6P_EsqnU6pWAY3kEEAlrvDPXuQUMzVol9LK3mx8_LGc-AGS_y8wnJzYO_UEoJ7CUkrZulb8ND0llz_cAUDSM4cW-6cNPXwDXAtsxAacSDnZUEQpTdJXrnuW8-y-CynKYcjcWg/s400/artoverview13.jpg" /></a>"furious" are formed from this basic word. </div><div><br /> </div><div>Red is also a color given to the sun, red at its rising and its setting. In papyrus texts, red pigments or "rubrics" were often used to emphasize headings, but also used to write the names of dangerous entities and unlucky days.</div><div><br /></div><div>Royal statuary was often made of rose or golden quartzite and red granite, which were used to invoke the regenerative properties of the solar cycle and the connection between the kingship and the sun. The obelisk of Senussret at <strong>Heliopolis</strong> was made of red granite.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcHfF4rSqRtAGQGI1OIBQbEFxz_f2w9PmJ5NK6MRPSFs9XdTv_DNbS_No-AJdZZfSyLbJKjhkDaL61fVnERr-T3vKaaWffHnGaGWzugqro5PCQcqGzCjZkfDe5O_PXrjkYQak0H5E71w/s1600-h/colors2.jpg"></a></div><div><strong><span style="color:#006600;">khenet,,,</span></strong> or yellow, was symbolic of all that is eternal and imperishable.<strong> </strong><strong>Anubis</strong>, often shown with black skin as a jackal, when depicted as a jackal-headed human male, had a black head with gold limbs and torso.</div><div></div><div></div><div>The color yellow was often associated with the sun disk and with gold, or nbw. Gold was not only associated with the sun, it was also the flesh of the gods, and the divine snake in the Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor was also gold.</div><div><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Color in Art :</strong></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcHfF4rSqRtAGQGI1OIBQbEFxz_f2w9PmJ5NK6MRPSFs9XdTv_DNbS_No-AJdZZfSyLbJKjhkDaL61fVnERr-T3vKaaWffHnGaGWzugqro5PCQcqGzCjZkfDe5O_PXrjkYQak0H5E71w/s1600-h/colors2.jpg"></a></div><div>In paintings deities were not often colored to indicate gold f<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcHfF4rSqRtAGQGI1OIBQbEFxz_f2w9PmJ5NK6MRPSFs9XdTv_DNbS_No-AJdZZfSyLbJKjhkDaL61fVnERr-T3vKaaWffHnGaGWzugqro5PCQcqGzCjZkfDe5O_PXrjkYQak0H5E71w/s1600-h/colors2.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 249px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 183px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364909363431691682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcHfF4rSqRtAGQGI1OIBQbEFxz_f2w9PmJ5NK6MRPSFs9XdTv_DNbS_No-AJdZZfSyLbJKjhkDaL61fVnERr-T3vKaaWffHnGaGWzugqro5PCQcqGzCjZkfDe5O_PXrjkYQak0H5E71w/s400/colors2.jpg" /></a>lesh. Most male deities were represented with reddish-brown skin, and female with yellow skin. But other colors, as green and blue were indicated above for Osiris, were used.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div>The fertility deities <strong>Min</strong> and Amun-Re-Kamutef were shown with black skin. <strong>Amun-Re</strong> was depicted as blue-skinned from <strong>the 18th Dynasty</strong> onward, emphasizing his status at that time as king of the gods. The jackal that represented Anubis and <strong>Wepwawet</strong> was colored black, although most jackals were actually sandy-colored, to signify their funerary role and connection with the underworld.</div><div><br /></div><div>Kings were often shown painted in different contexts with different colored skin. For example, the eleventh dynasty king <strong>Nebhepetre <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYm7jYERv5BbSezuUnA5RF4bVbETDMixet8u8YX9UbB_gGUFtdSZQ1Z3xHecelZv4NW7RKtDjb2pcf6g8pIVBxkoQ4ILS_DYLKhFAxyKZdo6KfO4V1dPnSkC9kBZeawZWI1qN37Fy6XU/s1600-h/colors3.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 190px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 325px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910210289499922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAYm7jYERv5BbSezuUnA5RF4bVbETDMixet8u8YX9UbB_gGUFtdSZQ1Z3xHecelZv4NW7RKtDjb2pcf6g8pIVBxkoQ4ILS_DYLKhFAxyKZdo6KfO4V1dPnSkC9kBZeawZWI1qN37Fy6XU/s400/colors3.jpg" /></a>Montuhotep I</strong> was shown regularly with reddish-brown skin at his mortuary temple at <strong>Deir el-Bahri</strong>. But one statue found ritually buried shows him with black skin to symbolize his renewal in the afterlife. In addition, some faces on nonroyal coffins during some periods were also painted black for the same reason. But the most common color for coffin faces, apart from natural red for males and yellow for females, was gold, linking the deceased with the sun god and showing the deceased successfully transformed into a divine being.</div><div><br /></div><div>Certain colors were often set side by side as well, to signify completeness. For example, red and white, or its alternate hue yellow, find completion together in the colors of man and woman, and the red and white crowns. Green and black are also often used in the same way as the symbolic opposites of life and death.<br /></div><div>Some colors were interchangeable. While hair was often shown as black, it was sometimes depicted as blue for the gods. However, they too could also be shown with black hair. The converse could also be true, as illustrated in the example where the god Anubis is shown as blue, as is the mummy. In the pectoral of <strong>Tut</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Ptah</strong> is shown with black hair, the Blue Crown is colored black. In the same way, light blue and green could be interchanged. In that Tut pectoral, the god Ptah, often shown with green skin, is shown here as light-blue skinned.</div><div><br /></div><div>The heavens may be colored black, though blue is more commonly used. Yellow gold, the color of sun and stars, could also represent the heavens, though its use for such is relatively rare. Black also represented Egypt itself, the fertile Nile soil, but the color green also signified earth as opposed to heaven or the sea.</div><div> </div><div> </div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_VLEsyglx4YMUnB0GqxMDcvPHqgYWejoENNCH2r7VpcC9sy9I8J97RczBxwTeEzp4axUySR4YwUGG6mQiyXfbCOXUXIcFt8agR6ZlTRAqdc0lhXFYlE75rO49sZZvCDYyanL_dNFctM/s1600-h/colors4.jpg"></a></div><div><strong>Horemheb</strong> and <strong>Ramesses I</strong> both used a blue-gray background on the walls of their tombs, perhaps to represent the entrance of the deceased King into the underworld or the heavens. Since the underworld was described in some texts as the field of malachite (a green stone) green could also represent the underworld as well.</div><div><br /></div><div>Earlier it was stated that male figures, whether divine or human, were given reddish-brown skin tones. Women were given yellow-gold skin tones. A poem from the Papyrus Chester Beatty I describes a female object of affection with "bright skin," arms more "brilliant than gold," and "white-breasted."</div><div><br /></div><div>Since <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwrgjbaPDky02ovEgHOb0prHQz-4lSanvYYYzKMRR65tR4faZEmDh7NFtvHpmN9aw622VaCe2lQKKPicFS2Fly8cKSinBIzEaOKmuGHDF31KcUfHD9vqIsXlUaPltLi2kqvGSS0m-2z4/s1600-h/colors1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 258px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 179px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364909370155142642" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXwrgjbaPDky02ovEgHOb0prHQz-4lSanvYYYzKMRR65tR4faZEmDh7NFtvHpmN9aw622VaCe2lQKKPicFS2Fly8cKSinBIzEaOKmuGHDF31KcUfHD9vqIsXlUaPltLi2kqvGSS0m-2z4/s400/colors1.jpg" /></a>Egypt included people close to the Mediterranean as well as to sub-Sahara, its people showed many skin tones. But the men of Egypt had to be distinguished from non-Egyptians, from foreigners. Foreign peoples of different races were given appropriate skin colors by stylized characterizations. While Nubians and Kushite kings living to the south of Egypt were depicted as black in contrast to the red-brown skin hues of the Egyptian male, Libyans, Bedouin, Syrians and Hittites, living to the north, west, and closer to the Mediterranean were all shown with light yellow skin, as well as distinctive clothing and hair-styles.</div><div><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Color in Hieroglyphics:</strong></span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_VLEsyglx4YMUnB0GqxMDcvPHqgYWejoENNCH2r7VpcC9sy9I8J97RczBxwTeEzp4axUySR4YwUGG6mQiyXfbCOXUXIcFt8agR6ZlTRAqdc0lhXFYlE75rO49sZZvCDYyanL_dNFctM/s1600-h/colors4.jpg"></a></div><div>Hieroglyphics illustrate the dual use of color, one, where objects are given the same hue they have in nature, and two, where objects are assigned colors to which they are symbolically linked. Each glyph had its own color or combination, which was faithfully kept whenever multiple colors were used. Sometimes difference in color was used to distinguish between two otherwise identical signs. Color was omitted in everyday writing, in order to save time or expense, but it was nevertheless viewed as a very real part of a complete sign.</div><div><br />Where the signs were not painted black or red, each sign received its own basic color or combination of colors. The colors assigned to the various signs are in most cases simply the colors of the objects themselves. So signs for leg, arm, hand, mouth, or other body parts, were usually in red, whereas reeds and other plants were green, water was blue, etc. Other objects had more symbolic coloration, for example, metal butcher knife was red, the sickle was green, and the bread loaf was blue.</div><div><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">The Painter’s Work:</span></strong></div><div><br />The paintings extant in the beautiful tomb of Nefertari are excellent examples of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_VLEsyglx4YMUnB0GqxMDcvPHqgYWejoENNCH2r7VpcC9sy9I8J97RczBxwTeEzp4axUySR4YwUGG6mQiyXfbCOXUXIcFt8agR6ZlTRAqdc0lhXFYlE75rO49sZZvCDYyanL_dNFctM/s1600-h/colors4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 262px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 164px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910214832721794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT_VLEsyglx4YMUnB0GqxMDcvPHqgYWejoENNCH2r7VpcC9sy9I8J97RczBxwTeEzp4axUySR4YwUGG6mQiyXfbCOXUXIcFt8agR6ZlTRAqdc0lhXFYlE75rO49sZZvCDYyanL_dNFctM/s400/colors4.jpg" /></a>the symbolic and practical uses of color. After the outlines of the scenes were completed, color was applied with coarse brushes made from bundles of palm fibers, or pieces of fibrous wood chewed or beaten at one end.</div><div><br />Dry pigments were prepared by crushing various substances in a mortar or on a grinding palette with a stone pestle. These were then mixed with a water-soluble gum or egg white to bind them. Intermediate shades were derived by laying one pigment over another.</div><div><br />Many of the reliefs seen today in museums and even on the temple and tomb walls in Egypt itself have little of the tints originally placed upon them. But conservation is underway, and hopefully, as with <strong>Nefertari</strong><strong>’s </strong><strong>tomb</strong>, the vibrancy of the Artist’s craft, part of the soul of ancient Egypt, will return.</div><div><br /></div><div>The mediums with which Egyptian artists worked were varied. One of the most easily obtained was limestone, which composed the cliffs to either side of much <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtUKWj0waQN8QcELynKKbbW9Kr1Jx2ZN5gIZ9vjdIz3WMBPs8DbaUYXf8BK8pv9zPcMZUyIS9YwA37b9XjHvncQTkxd8uyYY-eiEbHPyTk8Se76f6Fh57H_n8eX_Wp81EIAcOA_H3z2U/s1600-h/artoverview20.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 267px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 249px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364906588940002914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmtUKWj0waQN8QcELynKKbbW9Kr1Jx2ZN5gIZ9vjdIz3WMBPs8DbaUYXf8BK8pv9zPcMZUyIS9YwA37b9XjHvncQTkxd8uyYY-eiEbHPyTk8Se76f6Fh57H_n8eX_Wp81EIAcOA_H3z2U/s400/artoverview20.jpg" /></a>of the Nile Valley. Other common soft stone materials included calcite (Egyptian Alabaster), a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, sandstone, schist and greywacke. Harder stones included quartzite (a crystalline form of sandstone), diorite, granodiorite, granite and basalt. Stone was almost always used in royal free standing and rock cut temples and tombs after the earliest periods. It was also used to make statues, stelae, offering tables, libation bowls, vessels and other ritual equipment.</div><div><br />Soft stone, whether cut in place such as a rock cut tomb, or carved into blocks as in free standing<strong> </strong>temples, was usually covered by plaster prior to being decorated. Paint was sometimes also applied to hard stone, but often it was left visible for its symbolism. Hence, black stone such as granodiorite was representative of the life giving black silt left by the <strong>Nile inundation</strong>, thus symbolizing new life, resurrection and the resurrected god of he dead, <strong>Osiris</strong>. Red, brown, yellow and gold were associated with the sun, and so stones of those colors, such as red and brown quartzite and red granite, symbolized the sun. Green stone referred to fresh, growing vegetation, new life, resurrection and Osiris as well, who sometimes appears with black skin and sometimes green. </div><div><br />Limestone and other soft stones were carved with copper chisels and stone tools. Hard <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jq8TchQENgK7P3ZCS4FHFh1iVSzM5rxYMggBZXtDjO7WwU2j6x1VDh6WenRSo4U1bU0rjUDBVgMiVHzbTBVMGwsPWY2rusCwvHRuB8gyxj0tkarGrZz1eZWUoGPg3R-HtgezooUlIJo/s1600-h/artoverview18.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 263px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 375px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364906372900317378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jq8TchQENgK7P3ZCS4FHFh1iVSzM5rxYMggBZXtDjO7WwU2j6x1VDh6WenRSo4U1bU0rjUDBVgMiVHzbTBVMGwsPWY2rusCwvHRuB8gyxj0tkarGrZz1eZWUoGPg3R-HtgezooUlIJo/s400/artoverview18.jpg" /></a>stones were worked by hammering and grinding them with tools made of even harder stone together with sand, which is basically quartz, acting as an abrasive. Stone vessels were hollowed out using drills with copper bits, together with an abrasive. These tools were also used to apply details and inscriptions to hard stone monuments. Afterwards, the finished object was polished with a smooth rubbing stone. </div><div><br />If the stone was to be painted, the surface had to be smoothed and any holes in the stone or joints between blocks filled in with plaster.</div><div><br />Scenes on stone surfaces were often cut into relief before painting (or when not painted at all). There were two main types of reliefs, consisting of raised and sunk relief. In both, chisels were used to cut around the outlines of figures. Then, in raised relief, the stone of the background was cut away, so that the figures were left standing out from the surface. In sunk relief, it was the figures that were cut back within their outlines, leaving the surface of the background at a higher level. In both methods, the figures were modeled to a greater or lesser extent within their outlines.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaIq3ayCCTtn8Uk9Unc1b90Pyy6wjbUaSdPzQ3tI8ROLEH4Ud4EaT-bVCYFhwwaH-iuBoDI6y5AG79i178ZmUTQ27gEalreRD_h9GPl9rxh1R1RdygpLNLJ6E4Ow_LZ0I6p45CFwAlN0/s1600-h/artoverview26.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 264px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 277px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364906594463650690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaIq3ayCCTtn8Uk9Unc1b90Pyy6wjbUaSdPzQ3tI8ROLEH4Ud4EaT-bVCYFhwwaH-iuBoDI6y5AG79i178ZmUTQ27gEalreRD_h9GPl9rxh1R1RdygpLNLJ6E4Ow_LZ0I6p45CFwAlN0/s400/artoverview26.jpg" /></a> Traditionally, sunk relief was used on outside walls and raised relief on interior walls, because bright sunlight has the effect of flattening raised relief and enhancing sunk relief. It should be noted that such work could also be applied to plastered surfaces on soft stone. </div><div><br />In Theban tombs which were often simply painted, as opposed to relief-cut, rock cut walls, the walls were first covered with mud that was then plastered before painting. Treated similarly to soft stone, mudbrick was used in houses, palaces and other public buildings. And like the walls in <strong>Theban tombs</strong>, the mud was prepared for decoration with a layer of plaster. </div><div><br />Prior to actually painting the prepared surfaces of stone or plaster over stone or mudbrick, scenes were laid out by first marking off the area to be decorated and then drawing in the initial sketches in red, to which corrections were often made in black, probably by the master draughtsman in charge of the project.</div><div></div><div>Squared grids were introduced at the beginning of the <strong>Middle Kingdom</strong>. Used to assist the artist in obtaining the proper proportions of their figures and often also to lay out the composition as a whole, the grids were drawn out on the surface before the scene was sketched in.<br /></div><div>The lines of the grid were either drawn against a straight edge, or more commonly made with a string that was dipped in red paint and stretched taut across the surface before being snapped against it like a modern chalk line. </div><div></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.britannica.com/">http://www.britannica.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.all-about-egypt.com/">http://www.all-about-egypt.com/</a></div><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 26px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5364910979555356242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS1JV0cRrexSDn3NY7baWQnXoMhtkbBtBzcNb9BAnXa-Gh7sOSN0iWc00aWcc3QZwc_kxzFJdlSCWB-1lpkrKvXILUPX3jFzW8Rmdp1w4XsR7-c7zbEgp4jVMGVNyhMhtHJ_b16zHJH6o/s200/elwali.jpg" /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></div></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-42016205781667561552009-05-15T09:00:00.008+03:002009-05-18T14:05:49.556+03:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Red Chapel of</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III</strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></strong> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">When archaeologists rebuilt the White Chapel of Senusret I in the Open Air <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw00Sxxheu96w4WPi879GFz0kb-XUXKFJ54_4rKdUSXgQ1xHMxCwObmnF3628ddp20u6Ixve9WnzyNh_byoh7oSAoXj5xbttvKwu3Lq0ZrvhXI-JHaJB5fSI-06bfgAbVCf2t3DH3jnmw/s1600-h/redchapel1.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 275px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 189px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330252159391003490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw00Sxxheu96w4WPi879GFz0kb-XUXKFJ54_4rKdUSXgQ1xHMxCwObmnF3628ddp20u6Ixve9WnzyNh_byoh7oSAoXj5xbttvKwu3Lq0ZrvhXI-JHaJB5fSI-06bfgAbVCf2t3DH3jnmw/s400/redchapel1.jpg" /></a>Museum at Karnak on the East Bank of Luxor (ancient Thebes), it took many years to carefully arrange the layout of the structure like a big jigsaw puzzle on paper. In 2001, when the Supreme Council of Antiquities decided to rebuild the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty) in the Open Air Museum, the process, like all of our modern lives, happened much quicker (though still a number of years), as they fed the architectural elements of the building into a computer. The results are splendid. </div><p>What really sets the small monuments, such as the White and Red Chapels, in the Open Air Museum apart is their very well preserved state. When the Pharaoh, Amenhotep III decided to enlarge the temple at Karnak by adding a new facade in the form of two entrance pylons, he pulled down many monuments which he no longer thought relevant, putting their stone sections in the core of the structure. This was the Third Pylon at Karnak.</p><div align="left">At the end of the 19th century, a large <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj416GVvmmZ0ZCFi8xKseg9VIxt7NAfX9VXqjOYFHhUSqOUBV_Kc7q1ZB9sPxQGZsITpm4zvMB1B35hoasAekX1X83738q2GdNRqRA44rRSQY360tnPQH1QqQfP6812TjCCIcKSBdWtIM/s1600-h/redchapel.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 249px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 205px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330252159023739266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj416GVvmmZ0ZCFi8xKseg9VIxt7NAfX9VXqjOYFHhUSqOUBV_Kc7q1ZB9sPxQGZsITpm4zvMB1B35hoasAekX1X83738q2GdNRqRA44rRSQY360tnPQH1QqQfP6812TjCCIcKSBdWtIM/s400/redchapel.jpg" /></a>part of the massive Third Pylon of Amenhotep III at Karnak toppled over during an earthquake. Then, in 1924, the director general of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Pierre Lacau, ordered his director of works at Karnak, Henri Chevrier, to repair the structure. He had to completely dismantle it in order to do so, and in the process, he discovered some 951 blocks that belonged to a total of eleven different structures used as fill within the pylon. Though many of these blocks were damaged, their encasement in mortar in the pylon preserved their inscriptions and decorations. Chevrier was responsible for reconstructing the White Chapel of Senusret I many years ago, but the blocks from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut remained dismantled until the 21st century.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut was a barque shrine, as we believe was the White Chapel of Senusret I, built with a base and doorways of black granite (or more properly, gray diorite) with walls of red quartzite, from the quarry known as Djebel Akhmar, or "red mountain". Of course, the latter stone explains why the shrine is known as the Red Chapel. Actually, the natural color of the red quartzite varies, so the ancient craftsman painted all the block a uniform red color. It was probably begun about four years before Hatshepsut's death in about 1483 BC, and her nephew and successor (as well as defacer), Tuthmosis III may have continued work on the chapel, but never finished it.</div><br /><div align="left"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 222px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330251731472079010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiyzHIw4aJ3BE4SdPdgNHcSKnjOkjTAAy0eUBkKQNL9n_Q3g8uYmc88wnskXDmQcxFcMaYxZug9HKmgFum2KzVXpItG04E1xZEGZZ6JISW2_1dtsHWtxGs3GSsXtQ34iKwyQiyJR_7SL0/s400/redchapel6.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="left">The chapel, which set at the heart of the Karnak com<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrzIp1rRs6VhBBd7xaVCsooMNY1JdC6qSa-EdOnmRn3abB-k-D0_puqkCpZwcZZueZ9HLZO3ztPGk0nmooC-loAUZAPkk40yGbzLUghp8DXuyyMn0vJijCixORGulD76sM8LYl93tE1E/s1600-h/redchapel19.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 236px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 301px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330252163233608162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirrzIp1rRs6VhBBd7xaVCsooMNY1JdC6qSa-EdOnmRn3abB-k-D0_puqkCpZwcZZueZ9HLZO3ztPGk0nmooC-loAUZAPkk40yGbzLUghp8DXuyyMn0vJijCixORGulD76sM8LYl93tE1E/s400/redchapel19.jpg" /></a>plex originally, was probably built to replace the earlier alabaster structure of Amenhotep I. It may have originally rested between her two obelisks in the temple, though this is by no means certain.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">For many years the blocks from Hatshepsut's chapel were displayed on low stone bases where visitors could wonder along the blocks and see the exquisite reliefs, carved on both sides, at close quarters. However, in 1997 a decision was made to reconstruct the shrine. This work, actually begun in March, 2000, is now complete (early in 2002). It was undertaken by the Franco Egyptian Center, directed by Francois Larche, with the support of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The project was funded by the Accor Company, a consortium that holds about 30 percent of the hotel capacity in Luxor (as of 2002). </div><br /><div align="left"><br /></div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztUrj6crIQoGv4T-VWMd0fHSxn1ELWPnrlnvCZRCJb8SLMM8uTLv2vLVxIB64K0dN9ikZQExbU78KCVrsV9m23A7tXJFonzLaduStCAAJeQgjtQt2DSJtmYOKIgMjGnCT_AJiU7V1NUs/s1600-h/redchapel16.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 275px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 363px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330252159307678162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhztUrj6crIQoGv4T-VWMd0fHSxn1ELWPnrlnvCZRCJb8SLMM8uTLv2vLVxIB64K0dN9ikZQExbU78KCVrsV9m23A7tXJFonzLaduStCAAJeQgjtQt2DSJtmYOKIgMjGnCT_AJiU7V1NUs/s400/redchapel16.jpg" /></a>e blocks, numbering about 315, were studied to work out their original order. This was not an easy process. Unusually, most of the blocks contained a complete scene, and therefore do not overlap on to adjacent blocks. In fact, they never overlap on the horizontal joints. Some researchers believe that, due to the way in which these decorations occur, that this was indeed the first "prefabricated" building in history, with its decorations complete (though possibly not painted) prior to the building's erection. This of course made it extremely difficult to identify the sequence of blocks within the structure. Also, about half the blocks were missing (some 40 to 45 percent), so modern blocks of stone cut from the same material as the original were required. In some instances, modern brick was also incorporated, which was then plastered over and carefully painted to match the original colors. In order to assemble the building, apparently a study of the notches and dovetails in the blocks was studied </div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">This work resulted in a surprisingly large structure (over seventeen meters in length and over six meters wide) which now dominates the Open Air Museum. It is a strikin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmi_uFb1e3nmyED3B6Vc7FxCn8-S9YCjf8G9xX-LUhPYjCoXxfyYDwDjgRZTEmXQ5j8ce5EM7tlsJHHIfkjAo23Zvpl11WFJMJfWvEjvwx698kIDeonCRKX7-IqccpQlLoj8O4ug2dkE/s1600-h/redchapel13.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 232px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 316px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330251879230805122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmi_uFb1e3nmyED3B6Vc7FxCn8-S9YCjf8G9xX-LUhPYjCoXxfyYDwDjgRZTEmXQ5j8ce5EM7tlsJHHIfkjAo23Zvpl11WFJMJfWvEjvwx698kIDeonCRKX7-IqccpQlLoj8O4ug2dkE/s400/redchapel13.jpg" /></a>g building with its black granite and red stone walls. It has three doors at the same level and of the same dimensions. The structure is divided into two chambers, with a low plinth in the larger of the two rooms that was used as a base for the barque of the God Amun, who's image was carried in procession between the temples of Karnak and Luxor during the annual celebration that took place at the height of the Nile Flood. In the center of the chapel was apparently located a drain for the waters used in absolution during the celebration.</div><br /><div align="left">The decorations of the chapel are particularly rich, with gold paint filling the hollows of the engraving. However, the only unfortunate aspect of this construction is that now many of the inscribed blocks, with their major motif being Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III interacting with Amun-Min and various other gods, as well as scenes from the Opet festival, the dedication of the chapel, the establishment of the queen as ruler of Egypt and the recording of nome divisions, are more difficult for visitors to actually see since many of the carved scenes are high up in the walls and not always oriented for viewing. It has been suggested that a good pair of binoculars be taken along for a visit if any serious study is intended.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 219px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330248461024196162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWjEm3DFVHmBHycAUiJ9hJyntGsXp1y7AMASJ14pdDIKp533bSX9PordOXbI5dCVXYGQQkH_rm7xr5-7vPdeYenNCMt0PcowhefF7L2bmO7Ehg8SHH6WGHGxEIauBuDaJ4RZUeV3V7j4/s400/RedChDjedAnkh.gif" /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Bottom frieze inside: djedpillars, was-sceptres and ankhs.The frieze of leafs below them is probably lettuce leafs - sacred to Amun-Min.</span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">The barkshrine is dedicated to Amun and his fertility aspect Amun-Min. Both Hatshepsut and Thutmose III are depicted making offerings and performing rituals to Amun. We see the King running in the Heb Sed, there are processions for the Opet with the Bark of Amun carried on the backs of priest, and we see Djehuty pouring purfying water over the King. Seshat records the events and assists Pharaoh in the rituals. A frieze of Sepat deities carry forward offerings around the outer base of the shrine. On the northern side, dancers and acrobats are performing, harpists are playing, sistra are rattled and food is carried forward. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 214px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330248471356021378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmybyx8R38ztyrjiSApVdia7WBzxdWFHxgsKfxxWebCAg3mPTtwZXDxYo8NTB_XWVp1N1KTBZZ9pQ8nb2OAPSjt4gdQ6aSpzMzKqY13xvTIfDBRKKdAiFlIurkghBZDErmzaDL5_lJ9GM/s400/RedChHebSed.gif" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Left: Hatshepsut depicted as man, making the Heb Sed run before Amun-Min.Right: The Bark of Amun on its stand, surrounded by offerings..</span></div><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 149px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330248448389404770" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEY3qPW4L4DRnX3Tul_sjb2iM21N_sZTNu4c84WsOfWrKeUyMWdbf5WHVzoGulgP8IN3RoYy2hP5vVmnYVdkYjquU8HQVuOLfOQ499tCLxVeqQnioQDGt6I1L3VYSvazSdrWTm5ThtLk/s400/RedChBark.gif" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Hatshepsut conducts the Bark of Amun across the river to attend rituals on the West Bank.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 374px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330248475133793650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_2plGrY1fWBVqjLEcKky7s4pzTl1LDRgvL_hEHeglDUhL8XKMTAuZ7JuCuKTnHXDeIpBHdkDon3BZ-oXMrIJdw7nWQOCIZ-6GGeTkcgvV_8c9OABIDKU1vpOqbDnKR9WZjtNFJHGr0M/s400/RedChSeshat.gif" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Seshat, patron deity of records, assists Pharaoh Hatshepsut as she lays down the foundations to a new temple.</span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 168px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330248453013438354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-lGCoVBK_IFQemu4h2ZfsnJu6Nut-5w2fSUWaYW15X4PyNtEl2bc_PjHCHYr59VoevAa1V-28tNO38M47xMKlj7jphyphenhyphenMseFO1FCH9F_3gJFdPfg3YKTPu54orzHWAsuxGROIZcrl33To/s400/RedChCelebr.gif" /></span></div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Upper register: Female acrobats perform and harpists play for Maat-Ka-Re.Lower register: Male dancers(?) pay homage and women play sistra for Maat-Ka-Re.</span></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.philae.nu/">http://www.philae.nu/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://forums.touristclick.com/showthread">http://forums.touristclick.com/showthread</a></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 26px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330252280513435218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2fT78M5yitp9alHvjEa1UQixiaLNzfCWk2c7mi-CQoVNxpIE-W2udvAOsrBvVN4ah-FORy95_FMHqnJsS-mKaMsSleN-rWSkzIyezrleMnkwj-bLFP5nj6j_3eT-vLszhY0JCrv6hP0/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-61881994579091329412009-04-29T22:19:00.012+03:002009-04-30T00:37:08.144+03:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The White Chapel of</span></strong></div><div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Senusret I</span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAEhq987mkJkrpBjM9PlVlTqg38hq5vHlVIL3wla3qyIEEoPUZrutInTftAz4YeyY8Mn4zEGmncZsn6F6j10QWTiXpsd_VRrpdGsfrJ0XPl9Jozo0TaDPJ7exfk-BwKeQYpwPhrZpbcQ/s1600-h/whitechapel7.jpg"></a></span></strong></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216780116522834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif3QM_Y4YCts3wQ3YmkddIaORNtE0G5u5o1TUkRvd1DrdEH9921vxehqtzQislMjm9KkrNz9qH0jA0iz4HE2l_1VmkJCjmscU3htCPEFFIp0HIx2f25ZEWiSYzqajydRUPyJUMue5IeFo/s400/450px-SesostrisI-AltesMuseum-Berlin.png" /><br />Senusret I was th<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zdl732Gs6V-JIapdfVSM-JRhekqNdKwm2DvnzypqjPeczlVmF0opdV13y246c_zOwb1-IBz46Bz5SOEpCjNduIDaBjrA-ksVufbH1KyOshryLa2CVg110S8MU3tIbF_1KCwoS9CGsMk/s1600-h/THE+white+chapel+OF+SENUSRET+I.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 271px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 198px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330215363191329922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zdl732Gs6V-JIapdfVSM-JRhekqNdKwm2DvnzypqjPeczlVmF0opdV13y246c_zOwb1-IBz46Bz5SOEpCjNduIDaBjrA-ksVufbH1KyOshryLa2CVg110S8MU3tIbF_1KCwoS9CGsMk/s400/THE+white+chapel+OF+SENUSRET+I.jpg" /></a>e second king of Egypt's 12th Dynasty, and was the first monarch of the Middle Kingdom to invest in an extensive building program. He constructed a number of temples from the Delta to as far south as Elephantine at modern Aswan, included structures at Thebes . We have evidence of at least 35 sites where he built, yet most of this work is lost to us. This is regrettable, because the art of this period is superb.<br /><br />One building project that was lost to us, but now is found is the little pavilion built for Senusret I's first jubilee (Sed) festival, which according to custom, occurred during the king's 30th year as ruler <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ENMqaAJfBrlvqgNwIsus1eGYHioUcNVbhXTU7MShUyoN64VV0V-GrPkI5lRhaNkUqk_5DiiE776E2lZTQDwa87X5tfE3smbrNIB1PIwI0fQlXjdiXzRHeaEEk_qHPHDPO_iOwE_2gF0/s1600-h/DSCN0133ww20.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 230px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 264px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216006349253506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ENMqaAJfBrlvqgNwIsus1eGYHioUcNVbhXTU7MShUyoN64VV0V-GrPkI5lRhaNkUqk_5DiiE776E2lZTQDwa87X5tfE3smbrNIB1PIwI0fQlXjdiXzRHeaEEk_qHPHDPO_iOwE_2gF0/s400/DSCN0133ww20.jpg" /></a>(though it is probable that Senusret's festival was held in his 31st year of rule). It was probably built to house the royal barque and is sometimes referred to as a "barque shrine". Popularly known as the White Chapel, it had been disassembled and used as fill in Amenhotep III's Third Pylon at Karnak during the 18th Dynasty. In 1924, the director general of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Pierre Lacau, ordered his director of works at Karnak, Henri Chevrier, to repair this Pylon, but in order to do so, the pylon had to be dismantled.<br /><br />It took years to do so, because it could only be done when the Nile was in a low phase, due to ground water. During this work, Chevrier discovered some 951 blocks that belonged to a total of eleven different structures that had been used as fill within the pylon. While many of the blocks were damaged, their reliefs were often in outstanding condition, due to the layers of mortar which had both bound them together and protected the blocks.<br /><br />This work progressed slowly, but methodically, and after determining the proper block orientation and placement, Chevrier was able to reconstruct almost completely the so called "White Chapel" of Senusret I and the barque shrine of Amenhotep I. Both buildings are now located in the Open Air Museum at Karnak, along with the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut. The White Chapel as a structure is considered by many to be the most elegant, as well as the oldest structure in Karnak today, and Chevier thought that the structure may have once been covered in gold foil, so it could have been all the more glorious.<br /><br />The White Chapel is a small, simple, but eloquent structure, built of Egyptian alabaster (calcite), most notable for its many inscriptions. It was probably built during the remarkable purity of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28s9Q9OcE8wO-YyjwuKES7r23YgkObx6Dx5i4UBs8tjVqn6aOR-vYC0juj5rddBYmaPfMU2a7CVoR7pqIXK-kF04HwXPJ1eMNn85rj9WHAJI-VEZaA2U4KQd7FUfw_-rnYyxUMj5NEMw/s1600-h/whitechapel6.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 304px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 236px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216015029734482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28s9Q9OcE8wO-YyjwuKES7r23YgkObx6Dx5i4UBs8tjVqn6aOR-vYC0juj5rddBYmaPfMU2a7CVoR7pqIXK-kF04HwXPJ1eMNn85rj9WHAJI-VEZaA2U4KQd7FUfw_-rnYyxUMj5NEMw/s400/whitechapel6.jpg" /></a>form in this structure is echoed in the austerity of the temple at Qasr el-Sagha. Ramps led up on either side to the small rectangular building, situated on a platform, in which Senusret I himself possibly sat enthroned during part of his Sed festival. There are twelve pillars around the outside of the kiosk, with another four in the interior that support a complete roof. These pillars are decorated with raised reliefs on all four sides. Between the outside pillars is a low, rounded balaustrade. The different nomes of Egypt (the administrative centers) are recorded in columns on the parapet (base). Within the chapel, the god depicted with Senusret I is usually Amun-Re in his guise of the god of procreation and fertility, Min.<br /><br />In many of these depictions, the god stands, ithyphallic, on a rectangular pedestal and is <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAEhq987mkJkrpBjM9PlVlTqg38hq5vHlVIL3wla3qyIEEoPUZrutInTftAz4YeyY8Mn4zEGmncZsn6F6j10QWTiXpsd_VRrpdGsfrJ0XPl9Jozo0TaDPJ7exfk-BwKeQYpwPhrZpbcQ/s1600-h/whitechapel7.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 289px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216016626404082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEAEhq987mkJkrpBjM9PlVlTqg38hq5vHlVIL3wla3qyIEEoPUZrutInTftAz4YeyY8Mn4zEGmncZsn6F6j10QWTiXpsd_VRrpdGsfrJ0XPl9Jozo0TaDPJ7exfk-BwKeQYpwPhrZpbcQ/s400/whitechapel7.jpg" /></a>swathed as though a mummy, with linen bands crossed over his chest and with two tall feathers attached to the fillet around his head. Longstreamers from the head band hang down his back almost to the ground. His right arm is raised behind him holding a flail, the symbol of kingship. In these scenes, we find tall plants behind Amun-Min that depict cos lettuce which, even today as in antiquity, is regarded as a potent aphrodisiac. The plant was associated with Amun-Min. In other scenes, Amun is depicted in similar dress as the king, again with the tall feathers, usually offering the sign of life to the king. Alas, we find the king being led before Amun by Re-Horakhty, who instead offers the king the sign of life.<br /><br />In various scenes, the king is shown either wearing the Red Crown of lower Egypt, which interestingly, appears to made of basketry, or the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.</div><div></div><div align="left"><br />As an example of the scenes found within this chapel, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Dc4OYGSldsJllPVSzHhu4b-szq0BsjjV9Sc-l3W8MVZ0i93Z8jOlIj-us3VzIOK81umfECm0YrWBTKfsPaEs7rVf7x62Fe6G8zLBZwCfq3a74SMgRxN3qYqADQmSCnfcmaWSRilCYc0/s1600-h/DSCN0130ww20.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 217px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 272px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330215367976538674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Dc4OYGSldsJllPVSzHhu4b-szq0BsjjV9Sc-l3W8MVZ0i93Z8jOlIj-us3VzIOK81umfECm0YrWBTKfsPaEs7rVf7x62Fe6G8zLBZwCfq3a74SMgRxN3qYqADQmSCnfcmaWSRilCYc0/s400/DSCN0130ww20.jpg" /></a>from a viewpoint inside we see on one of the left central pillars Senusret I, who is offering a ritual conical loaf (shewbread?) to the god, Amun-Min. On the right, the north pillar of the eastern doorway is shown Atum, the Lord of Heliopolis, conducting the king towards Amun-Min, saying to him, "Come in peace, O Senusret, that thou mayest see thy father, Amun Re, who loves thee, that he may give thee the kingship of the Two Lands". Barely discernible on the shaded face of the pillar, the king is followed by his ka and embraces Amun-Min.<br /><br />In the center of the scene on the pillar which stands at the north east corner of the building, Senusret I is consecrating to the god the sacred mast which he has erected for him and in return Amun-Min says to him, "I who am thy father, O Senusret...I establish thy crown as King of Upper and Lower Egypt on the throne of Horus, living for ever."<br /><br />As an interesting side note, the White Chapel provides one of the earliest records of a "river-unit". This is a measurement that appears to correspond to 20,000 cubits in length, or about 10.5 kilometers.</div><div align="left"><br /><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 105px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216961739923490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYdN4h6bVhIT6iDLfxCOqnyCXpo9PDil8VKAHZQiJ-j6u76oTL6CSIgchX6WX3PKgrc_4Zs92QEeImHMSu9J3cWLPwCT0kpuiZXq9m9UyPCfG0ko80M2xoQwRuHguE2VTCQ99Hs2Xzcq0/s400/whitechapel8.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG0AC-m7rE5nkny-85oTs3gVN0aLJRJSx3pYZrJ8HvJA3o2xKZ_xuXlbZR_x632iMOgv_J95Kk5bPFwmwCc64Mk5O3CWtES5qXBuiWAx77Yg3f5cQ8N66TSiLo1B4qANc8ChNPk2m014/s1600-h/whitechapel10.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 107px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 309px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330217106799742146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUG0AC-m7rE5nkny-85oTs3gVN0aLJRJSx3pYZrJ8HvJA3o2xKZ_xuXlbZR_x632iMOgv_J95Kk5bPFwmwCc64Mk5O3CWtES5qXBuiWAx77Yg3f5cQ8N66TSiLo1B4qANc8ChNPk2m014/s400/whitechapel10.jpg" /></a></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 133px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 317px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330216783853263810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwruDGxWL3TGL98imYjaeAmvjv90mkBQjL1gma-wKcsehsFjny2MTXSQai6PhyphenhyphenUcpIYXTS_evnuzZIiU2B3mh_BQU3LL2Eo8n36m2rzF-xq4AcEuQxjBKNL_PEjrG7MQ4hvOQZAyf9iPE/s400/whitechapel9.jpg" /> <div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#006600;">Detail of the Finely Carved Raised Reliefs</span></strong> <br /></div><div align="left">However, it is not the content of the inscriptions that set this monument apart from almost all others in Egypt, but it is the minute, carved details of the costumes and glyphs, which were usually not engraved but added in paint. The reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions are integrally related to the architectural design and are not only some of the best work known from the Middle Kingdom, but of all the monuments in Egypt. Their caring and spacing was never really surpassed.<br /></div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/feature/WhiteChapel">http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/feature/WhiteChapel</a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 26px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330217971062898210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMBa_Q-J00nmar61RLDEA-n_pXcAFm2lSgQqFJrjZuTRyVG7M_iKjB2Yz40zudxzUVcyc4CUyA7wYqP1t5fQ0CePLBVOWJuS9ep9DRtfyDOcScptL7NR8yndH40D7feiNIWj6L1t2Zgs/s200/elwali.jpg" /></div></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-14276534191988675002009-02-10T20:50:00.018+02:002009-02-10T22:51:09.470+02:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The Temple of Philae in Egypt</span></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Part II</span></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The Approach to the Temple of Isis</span></strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301258405486809506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVLiyNlJPquWXPedVY5T5wb_NF66R_AIH355vTXEAdaFsdLm7-zc1_I5zgVj40Sie9Jix58Q_9fr83ob32ei8DTJcVvwFaaKsX8tLvHA9Z5XwWIqNDb71F356_t0Kuiafqy1F0fEMECo/s400/philae2-15.jpg" border="0" /><br />Though the monuments of Philae Island are now located on the nearby reworked Island of Agilika, and Philae is now buried beneath the waters of the lake formed between the Old Aswan Dam and the High Dam, Philae and the neighboring island of Biggeh to the west, in ancient times, formed an integrated religious complex devoted to the cult of Osiris. The ritual focus was Biggeh, the site of the abaton, one of the alleged tombs of Osiris. At Philae, regular visits were paid every tenth day by Isis to the island of Bigeh and the tomb of Osiris.<br /><br />There are many legends connected to Philae, but the most well known one tells the story of how Isis found the heart of Osiris here after his murder by his brother Seth. Each evening there is a Sound and Light Show which recounts the legends against the magnificent backdrop of the floodlit monuments - a truly magical experience.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301258404834527954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjwjf3PnSAn41r55SbcJ-Fva_P9KMHvY_FrWf-NjADfyO4AU1Lyqxrc1or-ZI0LpCvXlXiKHURKwNpLf0mXgqgSxDdDJu8a53BbJnIDl0m8h67n0byYcTNFgEG_Rr52juQqq12YOj8U1Y/s400/philae2-14.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:85%;color:#006600;"><em>Tourist boats on their way to visit the Temples of Philae in Egypt</em></span></strong><br /></p><br /><p align="left">Philae was dedicated preeminently to Isis, sister-wife to Osiris, and patroness of the Ptolemaic rule. Although Isis was the major deity honored therein, the location of the island on the frontier between Egypt and Nubia meant that cults of Nubia were also featured on theisland,represented by significant cult buildings.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6askJC2iWSRSXTdpPUPuHLuvs_r8ObnsMfh7Jf5uKccfJhI7A8lmlkW-DfzpQrk356CTj99rOeSZPalkAMDYFy8lU_vCg7KlPZUNgjdSu1uRy5YovOqXXvboruiXiA7INB7lFNiVflz4/s1600-h/distant7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301260447665787826" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6askJC2iWSRSXTdpPUPuHLuvs_r8ObnsMfh7Jf5uKccfJhI7A8lmlkW-DfzpQrk356CTj99rOeSZPalkAMDYFy8lU_vCg7KlPZUNgjdSu1uRy5YovOqXXvboruiXiA7INB7lFNiVflz4/s400/distant7.jpg" border="0" /></a> There was some evidence at the actual island of Philae of cult activity in honor of Amun, in the time of King Taharqa, who ruled Egypt between 689 and 664 BC in the 25th dynasty, and who probably built an altar of granite to Amun. Perhaps the Kushites, when invading Egypt, established a stronghold on Philae. Traces of mudbrick houses in trenches between the stone foundations of the later temples and the early nilometer west of the mammisi may date to this period.</p>The monuments on the island are dominated by the great temple of Isis and its associated <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-168YosY9WNu1pwDDoFKNf_8iXJpSYNi-_IF5B1l2MNGyXo6G_NRRobI9cHASV20A6Nih7cbS74DHSzZWhmOBxYPM98dr7wqL55MDe7IX3GveEJ4kPTnraGzDCD6wAsEE1X3tzsicg7k/s1600-h/philae2-2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301260438350039666" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 380px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-168YosY9WNu1pwDDoFKNf_8iXJpSYNi-_IF5B1l2MNGyXo6G_NRRobI9cHASV20A6Nih7cbS74DHSzZWhmOBxYPM98dr7wqL55MDe7IX3GveEJ4kPTnraGzDCD6wAsEE1X3tzsicg7k/s400/philae2-2.jpg" border="0" /></a>structures, which are concentrated in the west and center of the island, on, or adjacent to, a granite outcrop which must have been originally chosen as an embodiment of the primeval hill on which the first temple was said to have rested. This hill was reproduced on the new location of the monuments at Agilika.<br /><br />The Taharqa altar to Amun is the earliest evidence of structures on the island. The known history of Philae does not go back farther than that, and it was not until the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods that Philae rose to importance. The priests believed their island had a far longer history, and as stated above, an inscription at the frontier on the island of Sehel states that as early as the 3rd Dynasty, Djoser gave them the country from the First Cataract to the island of Derar. (Dodekaschoinoi) During Ptolemaic times they held the gold mines of Wadi Alaki within their administrative sphere.<br /><br />But the earliest known cult building in honor of Isis, known to the Egyptians as Aset, was a small shrine erected in the Saite period by Psamtik II. This was followed by a further small temple on the granite outcrop, erected by Amasis. So it now seems that the Saite kings introduced the cult of Isis into this area and laid the foundations for her subsequent glorification on the island.<br /><br />The next evidence of building, and the earliest surviving monument of Philae, dates to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn30.htm">30th </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvaqO8jTivhVdhIoOVSrvfu6V_gqY3bpDMpJQYvAcON9sbHWqlTrdJZLTQb-fUXbkWODZwkV14fQf2H2L1Oa1nkJ5x3ZTigMXPJ8-IZPObIKPBLVMjvUTL-xpmMxU6lTf2QquzpWtTrI/s1600-h/philae2-1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301260455982491074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 237px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 186px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYvaqO8jTivhVdhIoOVSrvfu6V_gqY3bpDMpJQYvAcON9sbHWqlTrdJZLTQb-fUXbkWODZwkV14fQf2H2L1Oa1nkJ5x3ZTigMXPJ8-IZPObIKPBLVMjvUTL-xpmMxU6lTf2QquzpWtTrI/s400/philae2-1.jpg" border="0" /></a>Dynasty. Beginning at the ancient quay where boats now land at the southwestern corner of the great temple, the first structure is the kiosk of Nectanebo I, though one may first notice the obvious seating for the sound and light show. The kiosk or vestibule of Nectanebo is a hall with screen walls linked by graceful columns. Of its original fourteen Hathor pillars, only six remain. The screens between the columns are some six feet high, crowned with concave cornices and rows of uraeus-serpents. The screens are carved with reliefs showing Nectanebo sacrificing to the gods.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301258398272867490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 305px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOq4CvFjAAZfQxeKHLq3NnCcx-yjwCHRloVkcXYjlcMPr9FeEb3-PUPTCo6YZt9Ps2PbIB4VIV4X2Oav9-Z3RW4JJ-s4qYpeD88k3RKBBNuPhCuWTpMAwZ7scc38OIr1-DWsAYzktpdN8/s400/philae2-12.jpg" border="0" /> From Nectanebo's monument north, there are two colonnades, one on the east side and another on the west of an outer courtyard that leads to the first temple pylon. The western half of the colonnade is the more complete, and is pierced with windows originally looking toward the island of Biggeh. A nilometer descends the cliff from here. The colonnade is about one hundred yards long and contains thirty-one of the original thirty-two columns. The column capitals tops are floral, and remarkable in their variety with no two being alike. Most of the columns show carvings of Tiberius offering gifts to the gods. The ceiling, which is mostly destroyed, is decorated with stars and and flying vultures, while the rear wall has two rows of bas-reliefs of Tiberius and Agustus offering to the gods.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzRQwavgPqXSPcqsyDr6AnyrB89cueG4DntwKbK7vekmxJwdimAcSBNgqME4QnG801B2rWtM3BPFb8x9qVQRYsq7esQ2qKlx2Qd6Eha48aLLywMjCVTp7UBTFN-ZQOjddP_M4S0k2x9s/s1600-h/philae2-11a.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301261762799224850" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 315px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzRQwavgPqXSPcqsyDr6AnyrB89cueG4DntwKbK7vekmxJwdimAcSBNgqME4QnG801B2rWtM3BPFb8x9qVQRYsq7esQ2qKlx2Qd6Eha48aLLywMjCVTp7UBTFN-ZQOjddP_M4S0k2x9s/s400/philae2-11a.jpg" border="0" /></a>The eastern colonnade was never completed. On the south it abuts the temple of Arsenuphis, or Iry-hemes-nufer just to the north of the vestibule of Nectanebo. Arensnuphis was an obscure Nubian lion-god venerated as the companion of Isis. The temple was built by Ptolemy IV Philopator and extended by Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Here, the reliefs depict Ptolemy V before Isis and other gods, and also Ptolemy IV before Isis, Horus and Unnefer. The shrine was enclosed by walls that are ruined in some places but which have representations of Tiberius worshipping Osiris, Isis, Harsieses (Horus the Elder), Nephthys, Khnum, Satis, Anukis, Arsenuphis and Tefnut.<br /><br />The eastern colonnade is partly roofed and has seventeen columns, only six of which have their capitals completed. Behind (to the north) of the Temple of Arsenuphis and to the east of the eastern colonnade is the ruined chapel of Mandulis, another Nubian deity. At the northern end of the colonnade is the Temple of Imhotep. In it, Ptolemy V Epiphanes is shown before the deified Imhotep.<br /><br />Just beyond the temple of Imhotep <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXXShSadKvn43mmyjFrcX603z74XNWbvVanWTDWK-2gfoq8qhrCo_ZN2E8KLopv74aaee909mzjlE4xhmAxQ55mALxPIRM0a5DybmVTcodiCf5qlQVJvWlQhJIwBsl_R-VFPHjrk5zQY/s1600-h/philae2-13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301261765275631154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 217px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 168px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXXXShSadKvn43mmyjFrcX603z74XNWbvVanWTDWK-2gfoq8qhrCo_ZN2E8KLopv74aaee909mzjlE4xhmAxQ55mALxPIRM0a5DybmVTcodiCf5qlQVJvWlQhJIwBsl_R-VFPHjrk5zQY/s400/philae2-13.jpg" border="0" /></a>and the first Great Pylon of the Temple of Isis is the Gate of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, with depictions of the Ptolemaic Pharaoh being led forward by Isis.<br /><br />Just before the main gateway to the first pylon are two Roman style lions carved from pink granite that have been re-erected on this island from their fallen position on the old Island of Philae. Two obelisks once also stood here, erected by Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and his second wife, Cleopatra III (who by the way is not the more famous Cleopatra VII). On the base of the eastern obelisk was the inscription complaining to the royal that the priests of Isis at Philae were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay on the island.<br /><br />These obelisks made of pink granite are not lost to us, but may now be found at Kingston Lacy in Dorset in the UK. The eastern obelisk, which measures 6.7 meters tall and weighs six tons, was found on its side half-buried and its western counterpart was badly damaged and only about a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN15EuET4q3a92oelP06beec6kjdcMRHNu2vKxccsE9uSijhO99h3sEM_2VmDx6ifwksn4BHq3V312fkyjXiHkznnjEXrtTan3DJ2N3p2Y1AaCcJcTwxiO_ANDWLpB_sh6ksz4FvgdQs/s1600-h/philae2-10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301260431971496162" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 350px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFN15EuET4q3a92oelP06beec6kjdcMRHNu2vKxccsE9uSijhO99h3sEM_2VmDx6ifwksn4BHq3V312fkyjXiHkznnjEXrtTan3DJ2N3p2Y1AaCcJcTwxiO_ANDWLpB_sh6ksz4FvgdQs/s400/philae2-10.jpg" border="0" /></a>third of it remained. They were taken by Mr. Ralph Bankes for his garden. Interestingly, they were partly instrumental in the decipherment of hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone bears many inscription of Ptolemy in hieroglyphics, demotic script and Greek. From these inscriptions, it was possible for the French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion to identify the hieroglyphic form of the name, by using the same method, Bankes pointed out the hieroglyphic form of the name, Cleopatra, which was unknown before. But these obelisks, or at least the eastern one, has a more interesting history than this.<br /><br />Two of the most avid collectors of antiquities in Egypt around this time (1819) were the British Consul, Henry Salt, and the Consul-General of France, Bernardino Drovetti. They both gave money to local chiefs throughout Egypt who then saw to it that other collectors were either warned off or not supplied with labor. It was Salt, of course, who actually obtained the obelisks for Ralph Bankes, and Salt was lucky enough to have as his agent the giant Italian adventurer, Giovanni Belzoni, nicknamed the strongman of Egyptology.<br /><br />On hearing of this matter concerning the obelisks at Philae, Drovetti claimed that they belonged to him, but grandly ceded the ownership to Bankes. Belzoni, who Salt tasked with their transport, thoug<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhB6YVB6tcm2UKSCiWbe-GYcQ9iYQy8OEdlba4JlHopxy3KqhjhRZHcUiFEm9SaEDtub8zu5Lg8mEGOH6fR6c-j6FgySjwanvbuLvmbni6uslXk-tuCXRpvng5TLM4Quum46wFcrOL84/s1600-h/Belzoni1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301261759012603202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwhB6YVB6tcm2UKSCiWbe-GYcQ9iYQy8OEdlba4JlHopxy3KqhjhRZHcUiFEm9SaEDtub8zu5Lg8mEGOH6fR6c-j6FgySjwanvbuLvmbni6uslXk-tuCXRpvng5TLM4Quum46wFcrOL84/s400/Belzoni1.jpg" border="0" /></a>ht that Drovetti had found it impossible to find ways of transporting the first <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/Belzoni1.jpg"></a>obelisk (the complete, eastern one) through the cataract and had relinquished his claim for this reason. Given the size of the obelisk, he may have been right.<br /><br />The obelisk was levered and pushed on rollers to a stout wooden pier for shipment, "But, alas," writes Bezoni, "when the obelisk came gradually from the sloping bank and all its weight rested on it, the pier, with the obelisk and some of the men, took a slow movement, and majestically descended into the river."<br /><br /><div align="left">Nevertheless, Belzoni and his men hauled it out of the mud and got it loaded onto a boat for its journey to Cairo. Yet the story does not end there, for Drovetti had, it seems, not given up. Drovetti's men intercepted Belzoni on his way to Aswan and it was only after a long altercation which ended in gun-fire and the arrival of Drovetti himself that the monument was allowed to proceed on its way. It was shipped to England on the Despatch in May, 1821 and not erected in Bankes garden until 1827. In the interval, Bankes returned to Egypt in 1822 to collect the broken western obelisk.<br /><br />This leads us up to the first pylon, beyond which is the temple of Isis proper.<br /></div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.philae.nu/">http://www.philae.nu/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.bluffton.edu/">http://www.bluffton.edu/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.safariegypt.com/">http://www.safariegypt.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/">http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/</a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301270881561506610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 26px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7C9e9IAVBi4EzqA07Imq34RqBdAkhZ0K-vO-IOjFgOGpN4of_pj-TD0QKAzTiZaso77F-AJQDjflpCHWbRBNXuWrzgE64-c1xTAGe20FPefLj6O27VANDr3LOcNZM-pV64y8kiIDG9mI/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> </div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-45395135848477430132008-11-19T05:00:00.000+02:002008-11-19T05:38:43.635+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Temples of Philae on </strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Agilika Island</strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Part I</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>" Before the High Dam "</strong></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266674403033403218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 319px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_FDXqgGgaOFsxs0GeYiVKWYWv2QcE0X_PnzL1ltUksDLcjG-JMjsTL6cNnP11-IFO4e0xIihwYc-4-0m27MDcChWiVpGuVgfAQ8dl0gtgpqogRtNNkUs7tLSAe-CddAXiDALIFEw-VGk/s400/hypostyle-hall-cc-romsrini.jpg" border="0" /><br />One of the main sites visited by almost every tour to Egypt is what is billed as Philae, but Philae is actually a nonexistent island now buried beneath Lake Nasser. The island was sometimes visible and sometimes not after the Old Aswan Dam was built, but was permanently submerged by the High Dam.<br /><br />Philae is an approximate Greek rendering of the local name "Pilak" known from hieroglyphic texts and which may be Nubian in origin. The ancient Egyptians saw in their name for Philae an etymology with the meaning "island of the time [of Ra]", but the island’s history is later than that.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266674413428020690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid563C8ObqxlMdcyOi2biA7U2R83Ukx8mzh2wHRcJyS_tVQ4QSdJJrdoY61W8QzYE6bUD_ol986i-amg6QN3qHOQKOF7j2aKNxJRIIlDjR3M0PhvlY1XQTGP-BA0zF1wR1oO5SolgvoxU/s400/philae1-3.jpg" border="0" /> What we refer to today as Philae is the main temple complex relocated from that island, after the High Dam was built, to the island of Agilika. It was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis and her connection with Osiris, Horus, and the Kingship, during the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian History.<br /><br />Today, there are two dams at Aswan but of course, in ancient times, there were none. Prior to the dams, Philae Island occupied a position at the beginning or southern end of the First Nile Cataract, where the river gathered speed, dropping sixteen feet in swirling eddies and turbulent falls of white water for a distance of three miles. Various pharaohs attempted to calm or at least provide better passage around these rapids. Pepi I built at least one canal, as did Merenre, as early as the Old Kingdom, but later kings would also, such as Senusret III.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzJUFSCeAWAe6BdnrNdihq2gf9aTswoL8r2Imb2ek-9v-iv7MiMkZKkOKkpeje4GzNQnaZt4zj9193U47Pns4_xCewh7oLziwQrFeUJV738SfbNmP5WaaCLkUiNQQQJC8zaemKN7UzUc/s1600-h/philae2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266675891100641954" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 164px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzJUFSCeAWAe6BdnrNdihq2gf9aTswoL8r2Imb2ek-9v-iv7MiMkZKkOKkpeje4GzNQnaZt4zj9193U47Pns4_xCewh7oLziwQrFeUJV738SfbNmP5WaaCLkUiNQQQJC8zaemKN7UzUc/s400/philae2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />During early times, the priests of Philae claimed that the source of the Nile was bottomless and lay beneath the rocks of Biggeh, where half the river rose to flow north and half to flow south. Their rivals were the priests of Elephantine, who made the same claim. Indeed, the river around these islands was even then over one hundred feet deep in places, with confusing waters that could twist and turn in all directions.<br /><br />This trek of water was hazardous in ancient times, a fact that escapes the modern visitor to Agilika Island. Amelia Edwards, the fearless Victorian Egyptologist saw it differently than we do today. She recounts:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#009900;">"At Assuan, one bids good-bye to Egypt and enters Nubia through the gates of the Cataract - which is, in truth, no cataract, but a succession of rapids extending over two thirds of the distance between Elephantine and Philae. The Nile - diverted from its original course by some unrecorded catastrophe, the nature of which has given rise to much scientific conjecture - here spreads itself over a rocky basin bounded by sand-slopes on the one side, and by granite cliffs on the other. Studded with numberless islets, divided into numberless channels, foaming over sunken rocks, eddying among water-worn boulders, now shallow, now deep, now loitering, now hurrying, here sleeping in the ribbed hollow of a tiny sand-drift, there circling above the vortex of a hidden whirlpool, the river, whether looked upon from the deck of a dahabeeyah or the heights along the shore, is seen everywhere to be fighting its way through a labyrinth, the paths of which have never yet been mapped or sounded."</span></em><br /><br />Of course, one can still get a glimpse of these cataracts north of the Old Aswan Dam. In ancient times, travelers made their devotions at Philae before continuing through the dangerous territory of the south to the "Land of Ghosts".<br /><br />On the island of Sehel are more than 250 inscriptions from pilgrims and travelers coming to and going through the area, dating from the fourth dynasty down to the Ptolemaic period. Pepi I cut canals through the cataract to assist boat crews on their way to the calm water above Philae. Harkhuf passed through here on his way to Nubia during the reign of Pepi II. Also here on Sehel is the so-called Famine Stela, inscribed during Ptolemaic times but related to the reign of King Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. It states that the king decreed that large tracts of land on both sides of the river stretching from Elephantine south should be given to Khnum’s temple, along with one-tenth of all produce and livestock raised as well as taxes on caravans and gold mining. There is an identical decree in the temple of Philae, carved at the base of the eastern tower of the second Great Pylon.<br /><br />Such was the power of the gods, or at least the belief therein, that according to an inscription on the base of the eastern obelisk standing in front of the Great Pylon, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII, Euergetes II, and Cleopatra III his second wife, the priests complained that they were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay at Philae. The priests were not being left enough resources with which to continue sacrifices and libations for the welfare of the royal family. Euergetes II released the priests from further payments.<br /><br />The Island of Philae lied about four miles south of modern Elephantine, just to the other side of the Old Aswan Dam. It only measured about 500 yards from north to south and 160 yards from east to west, which meant that it was almost entirely covered with temples and other monuments. These were protected from the Nile Flood during ancient times by high walls, quays and terraces. In fact, before the building of the first dam, the Island always stayed clear of the river, safe on its granite foundation against the turbulent rush of the flood with its abrasive silt.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266674412705604658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEippwmoWo6qXPboNyRwdXYevlm0PQZphcUyrscmwuzlx2EGziabhzscoqJSxZ_q4cfFDK0yMdZQ8nya74M7xEaEOtZIOFYKYVFupeRoAVpfCTQbQUMRKyZheqPpYY-Y9AAMCBcprVgVk2A/s400/philae1-5.jpg" border="0" />Prior to the building of the Aswan Dam, the engineer in charge, Captain Henry Lyon, was asked to underpin the monuments of Philae so that they could withstand the submersion, which he did. He also excavated part of the site where he discovered the remains of some Christian churches.<br /><br />After the Old Dam was built, it created a lake extending south some 140 miles back to the Sudanese border. In fact, the height of the dam was at first restricted because of the protests made by people interested in preserving Philae and the other temples and monuments from submersion. Winston Churchill cared little for this. He remarked that:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#009900;">"This offering of 1,500 millions of cubic feet of water to Hathor by the Wise Men of the West is the most cruel, the most wicked and the most senseless sacrifice ever offered on the altar of a false religion. The State must struggle and the people starve, in order that the professors may exult and the tourists find some place to scratch their names."</span></em><br /><br />Of course, one can still get a glimpse of these cataracts north of the Old Aswan Dam. In ancient times, travelers made their devotions at Philae before continuing through the dangerous territory of the south to the "Land of Ghosts".<br /><br />On the island of Sehel are more than 250 inscriptions from pilgrims and travelers coming to an<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLDHBC_Y0kzZGVC6imwGDXFDLewvg2fNL4hWvfJ0b60wjdg1hdDjIEl4Ex4Gne1nOwHHGmMlNq7f0QI1FvHTSS29N-jtdgONxofzgr9C_VXwzafEzuZvApPweB5deEirvPXN5SoPd5NI/s1600-h/philae1-7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266675889632532882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 341px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaLDHBC_Y0kzZGVC6imwGDXFDLewvg2fNL4hWvfJ0b60wjdg1hdDjIEl4Ex4Gne1nOwHHGmMlNq7f0QI1FvHTSS29N-jtdgONxofzgr9C_VXwzafEzuZvApPweB5deEirvPXN5SoPd5NI/s400/philae1-7.jpg" border="0" /></a>d going through the area, dating from the fourth dynasty down to the Ptolemaic period. Pepi I cut canals through the cataract to assist boat crews on their way to the calm water above Philae. Harkhuf passed through here on his way to Nubia during the reign of Pepi II. Also here on Sehel is the so-called Famine Stela, inscribed during Ptolemaic times but related to the reign of King Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. It states that the king decreed that large tracts of land on both sides of the river stretching from Elephantine south should be given to Khnum’s temple, along with one-tenth of all produce and livestock raised as well as taxes on caravans and gold mining. There is an identical decree in the temple of Philae, carved at the base of the eastern tower of the second Great Pylon.<br /><br />Such was the power of the gods, or at least the belief therein, that according to an inscription on the base of the eastern obelisk standing in front of the Great Pylon, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII, Euergetes II, and Cleopatra III his second wife, the priests complained that they were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay at Philae. The priests were not being left enough resources with which to continue sacrifices and libations for the welfare of the royal family. Euergetes II released the priests from further payments.<br /><br />The Island of Philae lied about four miles south of modern Elephantine, just to the other side of the Old Aswan Dam. It only measured about 500 yards from north to south and 160 yards from east to west, which meant that it was almost entirely covered with temples and other monuments. These were protected from the Nile Flood during ancient times by high walls, quays and terraces. In fact, before the building of the first dam, the Island always stayed clear of the river, safe on its granite foundation against the turbulent rush of the flood with its abrasive silt.<br /><br />Prior to the building of the Aswan Dam, the engineer in charge, Captain Henry Lyon, was asked to underpin the monuments of Philae so that they could withstand the submersion, which he did. He also excavated part of the site where he discovered the remains of some Christian churches.<br /><br />After the Old Dam was built, it created a lake extending south some 140 miles back to the Sudanese border. In fact, the height of the dam was at first restricted because of the protests made by people interested in preserving Philae and the other temples and monuments from submersion. Winston Churchill cared little for this. He remarked that:<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>"This offering of 1,500 millions of cubic feet of water to Hathor by the Wise Men of the West is the most cruel, the most wicked and the most senseless sacrifice ever offered on the altar of a false religion. The State must struggle and the people starve, in order that the professors may exult and the tourists find some place to scratch their names."</em></span><br /><br />So the water level was raised, and the temples and structures on Philae were flooded each year from December to about March, and had to be visited during this time by boat, passing through the Kiosk of Trajan and into the court of the Temple of Isis.<br /><br />All did not turn out as badly as thought, however. The water ended up saving the temples from erosion by sand storms and helped to remove salt deposits which were damaging to the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcNMDvprJCfC6KYi8BSavXrk92xAbDM9yMKLxvVDkgESXfeSSmBGo4Zj58puDNtLzGLHCtgZSdyvTlScng0Lhr5VS9OZ3lUy89EtUsdehsPSXjfTzTd3FNYVALZpuhqh98sX1CC6mEaY/s1600-h/philae1-6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266675885300784242" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 194px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcNMDvprJCfC6KYi8BSavXrk92xAbDM9yMKLxvVDkgESXfeSSmBGo4Zj58puDNtLzGLHCtgZSdyvTlScng0Lhr5VS9OZ3lUy89EtUsdehsPSXjfTzTd3FNYVALZpuhqh98sX1CC6mEaY/s400/philae1-6.jpg" border="0" /></a>stonework. Regular inspections of the site showed that it suffered less damage than might have been expected, save for the paintwork that was washed away by the new lake created by the Old Dam.<br /><br />Then, construction on the High Dam began and, as with a number of other monuments south of Aswan, the temple and other monuments had to either be moved or lost beneath the waters.<br /><br />In reality, Philae would not have been lost under the water of Lake Nasser itself, but rather the lake that was formed between the High Dam and the Old Dam. It was the only major monument located in this region. it would have been almost permanently submerged, but worse, this small lake is subject to a daily rise and fall of several yards, which would have inevitably eroded the temples completely.<br /><br />This was accomplished during the 1970s, when the Philae monuments were moved to Agilkia northwest of Philae Island. Since waters already engulfed the monuments at Philae, a coffer dam had to be built around the island and then the water pumped out. This work began in 1972 and was finished in 1980 as a cooperative effort of UNESCO and the Egyptian Antiquity Organization. The new location was carefully landscaped to make it resemble Philae as much as possible. Some 40,000 blocks, weighing about 20,000 tons were moved to the new location.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.akhet.co.uk/">http://www.akhet.co.uk/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.geocities.com/">http://www.geocities.com/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.planetware.com/">http://www.planetware.com/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ask-aladdin.com/">http://www.ask-aladdin.com/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.sacred-destinations.com/">http://www.sacred-destinations.com/</a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270205071829026098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 26px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHgei7VjBrpmCDPhA6f5yPAGrz13fLh78ddIf32aWtIjau7co_V3ml4nhI4n0Ikw1nlS1MiB6st86RV3mP3XdurPgZKAT2E1KOWqhmCXkXKFHEsqdnLbTOyu7yLswXxMK2NtPEf0mIf68/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;"><strong>T.N.P</strong></span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-38660223079875070442008-10-06T11:15:00.000+02:002008-10-06T11:15:43.589+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Law and the Legal System</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>in Ancient Egypt</strong></span></div><br />Egypt had one of the first organized governments. Before Upper and Lower Egypt were united, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jpYUh-ja349ehxcZD4X569PlYtE-Peplb0s_oM8GzZAoOWb8jWAtCWMSXGBtAiNILwPtiCuaKfO2boQgApgTbezogFpQvgELIzOoB_kMJChLKRbrKpuNrRWj0rjHIZvzOadXGZu0o1Y/s1600-h/law1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663279798647874" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jpYUh-ja349ehxcZD4X569PlYtE-Peplb0s_oM8GzZAoOWb8jWAtCWMSXGBtAiNILwPtiCuaKfO2boQgApgTbezogFpQvgELIzOoB_kMJChLKRbrKpuNrRWj0rjHIZvzOadXGZu0o1Y/s400/law1.jpg" border="0" /></a>each area was ruled by a king. In 3100 BC, after the country was united into a centralized system of government, it was then divided into 42 nomes, or regions. A governor ruled each region but had to obey the pharaoh.<br /><br /><br />The pharaoh was the highest authority and had total power over the people. The pharaoh controlled the executive and judicial branches of government and was assisted by many appointed civil servants. When selecting these aides, the pharaoh had to follow the legal rules of seniority and literacy.<br /><br /><br />Government officials in the Old Kingdom held positions such as the Royal Courtiers, Advisors, Councilors, and Ministers. The Royal Court's status grew over time and covered religious, civil, judicial, and military duties. The Advisor was the highest official in the state, but not a member of the government's higher Council. The Council was comprised of senior state officials who enforced legislation and royal decrees and later assumed judiciary functions. The Minister was the head of the judges.<br /><br /><br />A number of administrators specialized in handling taxes, finance, public works, and labor distribution on various projects. Egypt was the first country to implement a system for workers in governmental projects such as crafts, industry, agriculture, and construction.<br /><br />Courts of law existed in all Egyptian regions. Many contracts and papyri about petitions and verdicts prove that there were specific, fixed laws concerning everyday transactions such as inheritance, marriage, grants, wills, land ownership, and other commercial transactions. Everything was recorded and kept in an archive, including wills, title deeds, census lists, orders, tax lists, letters, inventories, regulations, and trial transcripts.<br /><br /><br />During the Greco-Roman age, the Ptolemaic king took the position of pharaoh and followed the system of central government. Because the priests threatened the invaders' control, the Ptolemies tried to weaken them by stripping the temples of their properties and rights. They later changed their policy and won the priests' support by showing respect to Egyptian beliefs and building more temples. The Ptolemies maintained the country's division into regions with the governor as the head. The governor acquired a military character as the leader of the garrison and its financial administrator. Inside these districts there were exclusive cities for the elite Greek classes to live in, such as Nokratis, Alexandria, and Ptolemia.<br /><br /><br />When Egypt became a Roman province, the Romans made no changes unless necessary. The Roman emperor became the pharaoh of Egypt and was portrayed in the Egyptian temples wearing the pharaoh's double crown and clothes. The emperor directly managed Egypt's affairs and took the leadership of the Roman Army. A new post was added in the administration which was the chief judge.<br /><br /><br />After Egypt became an Islamic province, it continued to be governed from abroad. The caliph appointed a ruler who governed Egypt and managed its affairs in the caliph's name.<br /><br /><br />He supervised collecting "Al-Kharag," which is the tax on agricultural land. Christians and Jews paid taxes and Muslims paid Zakah. The Police Chief was responsible for preserving security and the post official was responsible for the communication between Egypt and the Center of Caliphate.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Law and Order</strong></span><br /><br /></div><a name="police"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;">The Police</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;">:</span></strong><br /><br />The prevention of crime and apprehension of criminals was the duty of local officials and police <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjP_y-3oAnctQFsd-BCTEHtgWVma1OaHqyK7VYgmV-m4FjdZBtsbR657feKLoI6hEzXulc68BVj3GYCFRYTVAi43PsLaAvsnu6TdKVa5fWKc9geUY5jCos2JHF9l3KH6muq_oy0BRLag/s1600-h/law2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663278747212930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjP_y-3oAnctQFsd-BCTEHtgWVma1OaHqyK7VYgmV-m4FjdZBtsbR657feKLoI6hEzXulc68BVj3GYCFRYTVAi43PsLaAvsnu6TdKVa5fWKc9geUY5jCos2JHF9l3KH6muq_oy0BRLag/s400/law2.jpg" border="0" /></a>forces. They opened investigations following complaints by citizens<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">To Polemon, epistates of Kerkeosiris, from Tapentos daughter of Horos, of the same village. An attack was made upon my dwelling by Arsinoe and her son Phatres, who went off with the contract relating to my house and other business documents. Therefore I am seriously ill, being in want of the necessaries of life and bodily ...</span></em> <span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">P. Tebtunis 52 , fragmentary [</span><a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem5"><span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">5</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">]114 BCE</span><br /><br />They collected clues against suspects by interrogating them and their acquaintances, checking public records, organizing reenactments and applying physical coercion, generally in the form of beatings.<br /><br /><br />Then, as is still the fact today, most crime was of the petty variety, but in a society where most people lived much closer to the edge of abject poverty, even small thefts might be a serious matter. One such memorandum describes robberies<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">perpetrated by the workmen of Nakhu-m-Maut. They went into my house, stole two large loaves and three cakes, spilt my oil, opened my bin containing the corn, stole Northern dehu-corn. They went to the house in the wharf, stole half the killesteis (a kind of acid bread) yesterday [baked], spilt the oil.In the third month of the Shemu-season, the 12th day, during the crown feast of king Amen-hotep, l.h.s., they went to the granary, stole three great loaves, eight sabu-cakes of Rohusu berries ..... They drew a bottle of beer which was [cooling] in water, while I was staying in my father's room. My Lord, let whatsoever has been stolen be given back to me... <span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">Egyptian publications of MarietteG. Maspero, Etudes de mythologie et d'archéologie égyptiennes vol. 3, 1898</span><br /><br /></span></em><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em>Better connected people might petition regional officials or even the king himself<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">To King Ptolemy and Queen Cleopatra, his sister, the mother-loving gods, greeting. From Petesouchos son of Petos, Crown cultivator from the village of Oxyrhyncha in the division of Polemon in the Arsinoite nome. I live in Kerkeosiris in the said nome, and there belongs to me in the aforesaid village of Oxyrhyncha a house inherited from my father, possessed by him for the period of his lifetime and by myself after his decease up to the present time with no dispute. But Stratonike daughter of Ptolemaios, an inhabitant of Krokodilonpolis in the aforementioned nome, mischievously wishing to practise extortion on me, coming with other persons against the aforesaid house, forces her way in before any judgement has been given and ... in the village about ... the house, coming in and laying claim to it wrongfully. I therefore pray you, mighty gods, if you see fit, to send my petition to Menekrates, archisomatophylax (archbodyguard) and strategos (commander), so that he may order Stratonike not to force her ways into the house, but, if she thinks she has a grievance, to get redress from me in the proper manner. If this is done, I shall have received succour. Farewell... <span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">P. Tebt. 771 </span><a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem5"><span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">[5]</span></a></span><span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">From the middle of the second century BCE </span><br /><br /><br />Armed with staffs, policemen guarded public places, at times making use of dogs or, probably more rarely, of trained monkeys.<br /><br /><br /><a name="criminals"><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>The Criminals and their Crimes</strong></span></a><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>:</strong></span><br /><br /><br />Although there were differences in how members of the various social classes were treated and judged, neither riches nor nobility raised a person above the law. High treason committed by <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkJ3pLsT-8nC26CUf9qX8PHOcRxFjNAfg9cgl3-_mEQX4_2vQZsIng4ym411dyix-0cthTYDdHxfTKXkcLLH4y-s_TzzBfMUQ90MWSCKQxG0v32M5EcMqF01VOPCS0DIAw4hKuH0YPXY/s1600-h/pilloried_syrians_late_period-louvre.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663784124960722" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJkJ3pLsT-8nC26CUf9qX8PHOcRxFjNAfg9cgl3-_mEQX4_2vQZsIng4ym411dyix-0cthTYDdHxfTKXkcLLH4y-s_TzzBfMUQ90MWSCKQxG0v32M5EcMqF01VOPCS0DIAw4hKuH0YPXY/s400/pilloried_syrians_late_period-louvre.jpg" border="0" /></a>powerful noblemen and officials was harshly dealt with. Judges and tax collectors abused their powers, above all during times of unrest, and scribes sometimes falsified cadastral data; if they were caught, their punishment could be savage.<br /><br /><br />As the existence and proper functioning of the state depended on their activities, resisting state officials doing their duty or bribing them had to be suppressed at any cost, as had perjury, false accusations and statements and undue influence on judicial procedure. Misbehaviour had to be punished, honour upheld, peace between neighbours kept, and people's lives and property protected. Not reporting a felony was a crime in itself:<br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>The great criminal, Weren, who was butler.He was brought in because of his hearing the words from the chief of the chamber, and when he had [withdrawn from] him he concealed them and did not report them. He was placed before the nobles of the court of examination; they found him guilty; they brought his punishment upon him... <span style="font-size:78%;color:#660000;">Records of the Harem Conspiracy against Ramses IIIJames Henry Breasted Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Four, § 437</span> </em></span><br /><br /><br />Sacrilege and lese-majesty, twin crimes in a society where the divine and secular were closely interwoven, were especially heinous. They were offenses against what we would see as the worldly institutions of state and king, but in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians rather insults against the gods and the world order they had instituted.<br /><br /><br />We know of a few, apparently rare <a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/administration/pharaoh.htm#rebellions">attempts on a king's life</a> [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem28">28</a>], but there were also lesser transgressions: The pseudepigraphical <a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/famine_stele.htm">Famine Stela</a> threatens the impious with He who spits (on it - i.e. on the stela in the temple) deceitfully shall be given over to punishment. Even if this account is fictitious we may suppose that such actions were prosecuted. Robbery, theft and the fencing of stolen goods were criminal offences, particularly the breaking, damaging and looting of tombs:<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sw-mT3CYP14tP24exySnOiyiNHMM8HXH-K5daguJxcBC2Fqat-QGrVKHQcotuRRa9Ah-uOUVqBZu0HnFYlm8BrI8S9No1i-dnFwxrvIttGt_UQcxevv5GLpqkMAeO6FbAL4U7c1f7Xk/s1600-h/marketpolice.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663283624853778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sw-mT3CYP14tP24exySnOiyiNHMM8HXH-K5daguJxcBC2Fqat-QGrVKHQcotuRRa9Ah-uOUVqBZu0HnFYlm8BrI8S9No1i-dnFwxrvIttGt_UQcxevv5GLpqkMAeO6FbAL4U7c1f7Xk/s400/marketpolice.gif" border="0" /></a>After collaborating for four years, Amenpenofer, a builder working for Amenhotep, High Priest of Amen-Re Sonter, and seven other builders, woodworkers, farmers and a boatman, decided to break into the pyramid of Sobekmesef. With their metal tools they cut a passage into the pyramid's underground chambers, removed all the obstacles and reached the sarcophagi of the queen and king. They opened the lids and the inner gilded wooden coffins, collected the golden face masks, jewellery, amulets, weighing 160 deben (about 14.5 kg) and burned the remains. They divided the loot into eight parts and were rowed back over the Nile by the boatman.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iLpb5XfHfsHe391sWqXovmp0uPOaYb-cDHDu6M5dDWf9r10zoWOmNkGSlyRyAT0exuyxD_Vp0Zne454YB6cwLL2o6jSy0MbMQ-zJ9IoauCxE-wrxpmNkIhTQQtsYg61TEr8gh7dJBC0/s1600-h/punishment.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663787895614322" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iLpb5XfHfsHe391sWqXovmp0uPOaYb-cDHDu6M5dDWf9r10zoWOmNkGSlyRyAT0exuyxD_Vp0Zne454YB6cwLL2o6jSy0MbMQ-zJ9IoauCxE-wrxpmNkIhTQQtsYg61TEr8gh7dJBC0/s400/punishment.gif" border="0" /></a><br />Whether he couldn't keep quiet, his sudden wealth was noticed, or they had been observed, Amenpenofer was arrested by the city guards and brought to the office of Peser, prince of the city. He bribed a scribe with his twenty deben of gold and was released without being charged. On his return, his associates agreed to redistributing the remaining 140 deben of gold.<br /><br /><br />The robbers returned with the investigating judges to the pyramids they had robbed. They agreed to reveal all the names of the gang to their master, the High Priest of Amen, but when they were brought before him, only three of the eight were left. The judges requested of the High Priest to apprehend the fugitives.<br /><br /><br />The mother of Amenpenofer was exiled to Nubia and the builder himself rearrested a few months later and brought to court.<br /><br /><br />Not just common people committed tomb robberies. Times were difficult during the late Ramesside period. The administration was in disarray and salaries rarely paid on time, if at all. Social upheaval and civil war brought with them sharp price rises. It is no wonder that scribes and priests took part as well in this "redistribution of wealth".<br /><br /><br />One such gang included a priest named Pen-un-heb, and four Holy Fathers of the God, Meri and his son Peisem, Semdi and Pehru. They began by stealing the golden necklace of a statue of Osiremire Sotepenre, which after melting left them with four deben and six kit of gold. The old Meri divided the loot among them.<br /><br /><br />Another gang of priests, scribes and herdsmen robbed the House of Gold of Osiremire Sotepenre. The priest Kaw-karui and four of his colleagues occasionally removed some gold with which they bought grain in town. A herdsman after threatening the priests, received a bull they had bought for five kit (about 45 grammes) of gold. A scribe, Seti-mose, who overheard their quarrel, blackmailed them and extorted four and a half kit of gold.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="law"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Law</strong></span></a></div><br />Justice, represented by Maat [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem42">42</a>], the goddess of the World Order, lay with the gods and was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOC-e_7VtTKTE8xXJhjq7F9Crj_xxEXjl9K0zGbicaljTiZpbz1yUzayd4LR4cluMZf8Qf7-43WWwZUNE-kGHKPmdZ1QC09zzKmLJVdfJx8UzMyfSH8nuzBO4Ps-q23hwvgR0n9_65rA/s1600-h/maat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663280346635618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 288px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 157px" height="144" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOC-e_7VtTKTE8xXJhjq7F9Crj_xxEXjl9K0zGbicaljTiZpbz1yUzayd4LR4cluMZf8Qf7-43WWwZUNE-kGHKPmdZ1QC09zzKmLJVdfJx8UzMyfSH8nuzBO4Ps-q23hwvgR0n9_65rA/s400/maat.jpg" width="288" border="0" /></a>immanent and retributive, both in the here-after [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem33" name="33">33</a>] as in this world. The pharaohs as living gods were the source and executors of justice [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem43" name="43">43</a>]. The administrative tools for achieving justice among humans were the laws and ordinances.<br /><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">Thou art Re, thy body is his body. There has been no ruler like thee, (for) thou art unique, like the son of Osiris, thou hast achieved the like of his designs Isis [hath not loved] a king since Re, except thee and her [son]; greater is that which thou hast done than that which he did when he ruled after Osiris. The laws of the land proceed according to his position.....</span></em><br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="judges"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Judges</strong></span></a></div><br /><br />During the Old Kingdom there were seemingly no professional judges. Cases were tried befo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrn3uAkQII-Hss2rmTvyH6mJS1AELcTZ2To09S3bOMWkdJHA_kh7oJFqCCfX1liqh-U84VwNBH9Jxajt37_0jHBTLevM1jAaes9MMwBbaVdvHN-levck7d15CMajNL5Mk9av4q-5MNwA/s1600-h/judge_mehu_5d-bmfa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663274179295250" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrn3uAkQII-Hss2rmTvyH6mJS1AELcTZ2To09S3bOMWkdJHA_kh7oJFqCCfX1liqh-U84VwNBH9Jxajt37_0jHBTLevM1jAaes9MMwBbaVdvHN-levck7d15CMajNL5Mk9av4q-5MNwA/s400/judge_mehu_5d-bmfa.jpg" border="0" /></a>re tribunals of scribes and priests appointed for the purpose, with high officials - sometimes one or even both of the viziers [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem1">1</a>] - presiding. Throughout pharaonic history, the justice system remained part of the executive; and many official positions had executive and judicial aspects.<br /><br /><br />The title of judge was of great significance to its holder. In the tomb of Mehu, a fifth dynasty judge, inscriptions describe him as zAb (judge), Priest of Maat, the Goddess of Truth, Eldest One of the Hall and Secretary of the Secret Decisions of the Great Judgment Court.<br /><br /><br />Judging became a profession [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem21">21</a>] and similar to other professions in Egypt, administering the law ran in families. The father was followed by the son unless something extraordinary happened.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="trial"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Trial</strong></span></a></div><br /><br />The differences between the administration of civil and criminal law were significant. In crimina<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjQMF_x7YBpvcRJopo10VspQJmMCb8FH7mQw6pb-52NzP7DR6MWOj5_46OPXV11DQS1gy_HyBxEZL3Ow3NnY9QcibU9MWTXs5shl0niLJjbk_e-oxQ0lx2qR1KMYhoBgN1Fb1fs_3GK8/s1600-h/punishment.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663790520374706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjjQMF_x7YBpvcRJopo10VspQJmMCb8FH7mQw6pb-52NzP7DR6MWOj5_46OPXV11DQS1gy_HyBxEZL3Ow3NnY9QcibU9MWTXs5shl0niLJjbk_e-oxQ0lx2qR1KMYhoBgN1Fb1fs_3GK8/s400/punishment.jpg" border="0" /></a>l cases, where the state was the prosecutor, there seems to have been an initial presumption of guilt, and trials were conducted accordingly [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem27">27</a>]. Crimes against the state, the king, the gods, and against the person, such as murder and bodily harm, were prosecuted by the state, while victims of robbery, theft, and apparently sexual aggression had to bring their cases before the court themselves [<a href="http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/law_and_order/index.html#rem40">40</a>].<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://history.egypt.com/">http://history.egypt.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.reshafim.org/">http://www.reshafim.org/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/">http://fathom.lib.uchicago.edu/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/">http://www.hiddenmysteries.org/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5242663953977599906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJl6m8C0DKQDpE13sW9nJZwc9Oo5fUDieduvuhmDM_rel483EPIeCBgXemmQt3FBa-Pw1TEHioLF8zDoxipe5BsgAwGov1O9gM2i01aVs76gk4MaopP2eugrIGj5RHM-IP2rAzlONiPNg/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-81015279286163900782008-07-07T02:44:00.000+03:002008-07-08T05:32:17.465+03:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The mummy</strong></span> </div><div align="left"><br />Mummification in ancient Egypt was a very long and expensive process. From start to finish, it took about seventy days to embalm a body. Since the Egyptians believed that mummification was essential for passage to the afterlife, people were mummified and buried as well as they could possibly afford. High-ranking officials, priests and other nobles who had served the pharaoh and his queen had fairly elaborate burials. Also they used to mummify their pets and sacred animals. The pharaohs, who were believed to become gods when they died, had the most magnificent burials of all. In the case of a royal or noble burial, the embalmers set up workshops near the tomb of the mummy. </div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Mummification</span></strong> </span><br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172549870058896210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 337px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 143px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="143" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpX09BmNwnA0Va_8ajHLq6baguv2HxeotrhgniE9afch39HygxZX1SSKEj-LhLflRFw1nkHPRTgM-pK_0KZAY6l6t2MafjmtEX1lNmOu8Hw1dGRjfb-zfE4gizvXaCg-8TKy8uyjN8_Bw/s400/Untitled.jpg1.jpg" width="317" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDcBgRBOx_uuqzrPUkdLL9k-DliDIYd-hXrgiFggZbe7LcHzdB5AzoapLHe2T5PZLeErAY2sY1Gb_pxaAVuPN8ItSWRD4azTEZffIw8Q8A-x_mM6ZBhXRONr0xNhanbJB_JARH64R-9Q/s1600-h/mummy.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172205685740274322" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="245" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDcBgRBOx_uuqzrPUkdLL9k-DliDIYd-hXrgiFggZbe7LcHzdB5AzoapLHe2T5PZLeErAY2sY1Gb_pxaAVuPN8ItSWRD4azTEZffIw8Q8A-x_mM6ZBhXRONr0xNhanbJB_JARH64R-9Q/s400/mummy.jpg" width="102" border="0" /></a><br />The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/homemain.html##">dehydrated</a> the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.<br /><br />Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realized that bodies placed in coffins decayed when they were not exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert.<br /><br />Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed a method of preserving bodies so they would remain lifelike. The process included <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/homemain.html#emb#emb">embalming</a> the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen. Today we call this process mummification.<br /><br />The process of mummification has two stages. First, the embalming of the body . Then, the wrapping and burial of the body.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Embalming the body</span></strong> </span></div><br /><p>First, his body is taken to the tent known as 'ibu' or the 'place of purification'. There the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page2.html##">embalmers</a> wash his body with good-smelling palm wine and rinse it with water from the Nile.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172549874353863522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4DcEv4eMw65tZiHGu816v-c5TuVUwiBoNcqPaczbJwpjC-mVBYrP0nlBUup3sRpf42EH4RllPExn-bbgmiwRVJd9oIeBnQ1WAALCPypZsmfIdF2OSErxXAZe0fCkOUow-aL6X1xEby2o/s400/Untitled.jpg2.jpg" border="0" /><br />One of the embalmer's men makes a cut in the left side of the body and removes many of the internal organs. It is important to remove these because they are the first part of the body to decompose.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172549878648830834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5Nj_L22LbRnAO3o6VMy5kzpo2eJzBQOOiKy0PnoYSZfmmLsOt-1RNMNapSkYO6wd3_J0K7MVDVs9d3yRq76GCfxpeDgx9IMSD2nDYIgqOAUO87aoYrcPMs8Qe1OFBZryZc9FQp8AIO0/s400/Untitled.jpg3.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a name="after">The liver, lungs, stomach and intestines are washed and packed in </a><a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page3.html##">natron</a> which will dry them out. The heart is not taken out of the body because it is the centre of intelligence and feeling and the man will need it in the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page3.html#after#after">afterlife</a>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFUz9utpI77pcEU8qTOIp1D-nUlJqnO5kR2UnIVXLpbRCzTzc2DUk5ldjdkU4boKAkbWQ6DIC_PMOQzngqHNAIKiZM6aZIhZKCLg4rXW7KMH_2-FgCtIfaexYoUTZN66h8uZy8KbP8ho/s1600-h/brain.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172205681445306994" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicFUz9utpI77pcEU8qTOIp1D-nUlJqnO5kR2UnIVXLpbRCzTzc2DUk5ldjdkU4boKAkbWQ6DIC_PMOQzngqHNAIKiZM6aZIhZKCLg4rXW7KMH_2-FgCtIfaexYoUTZN66h8uZy8KbP8ho/s400/brain.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;">A long hook is used to smash the brain and pull it out through the nose.</span></em></strong></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em></strong></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em></strong></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166147050253713762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSCRofdb3lcLIuns-DjLi8AjM-q_rcJpX0MWWKYYM0AjaxHZBHX7rDXtv0jHekZmqbgjNh4O5jdr3dVEWo5W9cmfEXnnysZ6GeIzcPzRcS3OXdPQOpDwXOkXhkR3VI4F3XkH8U-O0k1aY/s400/5.jpg" border="0" /><br />The body is now covered and stuffed with natron which will dry it out. All of the fluids and rags from the embalming process will be saved and buried along with the body.<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166147333721555314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_yHA4d6AmRHkvv-Phgx6PTbFbD43zcY1n-BQiwNM86CRL4d0zOc2A03kqyQn3EL7Xm7xkA6eUxM2Xm1-2aXvGZVpCddgXaBENA-RfA3UzLjCkLTIrXoO0ga6s-6Tg0Y1hL2_UAicXhg/s400/6.jpg" border="0" /><br />After forty days the body is washed again with water from the Nile. Then it is covered with oils to help the skin stay elastic.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page6.html##">dehydrated</a> internal organs are wrapped in <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page6.html##">linen</a> and returned to the body. The body is stuffed with dry materials such as sawdust, leaves and linen so that it looks lifelike.</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie27Oq4pXSwzQkYIiAwlHhvgJiLsY_kyKtsDD4htqqwtqMQXZob2YZdAnCXSArlmM6-Vr2_PBFeg-YUkvyJa5-ZBE_2CgZtwWeQsP0aAZLWnV5c8kLbwrucFGq_4lcDyHEt_1qojFsSBM/s1600-h/drying.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172205685740274306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie27Oq4pXSwzQkYIiAwlHhvgJiLsY_kyKtsDD4htqqwtqMQXZob2YZdAnCXSArlmM6-Vr2_PBFeg-YUkvyJa5-ZBE_2CgZtwWeQsP0aAZLWnV5c8kLbwrucFGq_4lcDyHEt_1qojFsSBM/s400/drying.gif" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172549882943798146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM0KNEVGuNcJ9fFfHrm2kreErgxmlBF8URoLz68WCf4gzE8U9AZjiRQ2t8Udw2gSPHaFtMpQsG98AaqZyO3aonUnkpM4rOuGK0L02s4lx14s6gBnImEnasX9FfZEok7NjVbSas5fwRvl4/s400/Untitled.jpg4.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166147389556130194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmK_mYs5Y4XKXUY77DTwKqPwIINfUyOtKQZnAaQ0kwVEV1nUUcU2qDZ0jM-zyFkTvx5JIgUD1h0XLpb6_kqJvv1wu36y361Y4AYQKNmeiAzhXFD5TtHOpXMaVKLdZmC-7_Ax0IkZ1HY5E/s400/8.jpg" border="0" /><br />Finally the body is covered again with good-smelling oils. It is now ready to be wrapped in linen. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5166147393851097522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohnyXx6EKoJualxpdk2s48hr70pDy0K_cViXNzrXxqBsL_vgF82W3CZHygPUyP13XSKTUgrgPi7OZFmxnyvlTvFGyH-ERKVblgGmn1MX98zMheBVC_uf2eL3-41b3HRmByqM9LR8NAbw/s400/10.jpg" border="0" /><br />In the past, when the internal organs were removed from a body they were placed in hollow <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page7.html##">canopic jars</a>.<br /><br />Over many years the embalming practices changed and embalmers began returning internal organs to bodies after the organs had been dried in natron. However, solid wood or stone canopic jars were still buried with the mummy to symbolically protect the internal organs.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Wrapping the mummy</strong></span><br /></div><br /><div align="left">First the head and neck are wrapped with strips of fine linen. Then the fingers and the toes are individually wrapped. </div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172550153526737810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWcbtF11_jZHT-HR-mi5l236nVYaYkePmGzTkNSrDsJspWuTneh-JU51dyxcPKC61JWj6Rz6dY643xOq3qPwZD96BEZiNxSpM-gYZtNg_PiNx99XcIyXmzKH_rzmahzuLPFFB4JDTqnQ/s400/Untitled.jpg5.jpg" border="0" />The arms and legs are wrapped separately. Between the layers of wrapping, the embalmers place <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page9.html##">amulets</a> to protect the body in its journey through the underworld.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172550157821705122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5kgiZJnkYsnHpRjF_he91Uw7I-MaNB6BClbPXWo2dku8FEhqjxgvOpQSMTuzRdpgVWF4tNh7t1RcGhc0Qfm0pvBF5vGqW47YMysRYvWQWxUV9tEHtJYgvpiW__4cnxCLwIMcoZuHUvFc/s400/Untitled.jpg6.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em><strong><span style="color:#006600;">This is the 'Isis knot' amulet which will protect the body.</span></strong></em></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172488619530287186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LzLDCIgvFSJuqHdhCvEerKBl4Yd5Kp-X9OhdkkX4-q9XwUfhnz8GywuHpOCKBYWNECibuu3CgGUcvqZEatNcz4wkCEsBT9lKs1iamo-YA428xMPqaSbHXstqIHpPOp50QsckLUtJnrU/s400/Untitled.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>This is the 'Plummet' amulet which will keep the person balanced in the next life. </strong></em></span><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong><br /><br /></p><p></strong></em></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172550157821705138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmvAUlVqj091ZdR_9gv3zS69lPzc2gvU7XwRfE14Xs6goJlZATiRzq5f1fNb41sbkMxv-isakR65ZF4sJeJ_2DEKJStZCfsr_kYBedrZKrOH4ClnPB41eFjb9rUSWC_AWqsqgDYjUxxfw/s400/Untitled.jpg7.jpg" border="0" />A priest reads spells out loud while the mummy is being wrapped. These spells will help ward off evil spirits and help the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page10.html##">deceased</a> make the journey to the afterlife.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172550162116672450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4Hr_Tab4yPlpfcoZTEOHxAjGV9caSrZMF4PUcl0GrhWB6VFHpc12trzalQzdrQ7qp0PspZkAltMrsnsJBPkU0erY6yZFDS1TB2ejVoWiJMRY9nPWUsDCAN6VVmAFHzKTuwO7mx3cg_Y/s400/Untitled.jpg8.jpg" border="0" />The arms and legs are tied together. A papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the Dead is placed between the wrapped hands.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172550162116672466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0IvDHzyBGApaSKZP0ES6TZfeBbKPj0ExYnIKoT_MOpEaMb4cZilor6vy00rd0G5nKK_UpAsZHaiSflMDoNYSJDDYQmwB3YC_HhF5vLW5m7zjR5vJiQMI8tLQnt2aVEJK2D56M_8_Nh6M/s400/Untitled.jpg9.jpg" border="0" />More linen strips are wrapped around the body. At every layer, the bandages are painted with liquid <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page12.html##">resin</a> that helps to glue the bandages together<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172490401941715042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDiQ66sKo-RbTxAzKUa_GmTAAyTkJQSjhRzH9b1KZg-x967UwDwoBeOq3b4U513_aaVJtBv_JKaEEKG7qoooELraSvhgpiDca-Gr5SHO80pTm-gEEJXrg2kZPalP-A0xNwT5QJ6eytry8/s400/Untitled.jpg2.jpg" border="0" /> A cloth is wrapped around the body and a picture of the god Osiris is painted on its surface.<br />Finally, a large cloth is wrapped around the entire mummy. It is attached with strips of linen that run from the top to the bottom of the mummy, and around its middle.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172553297442798562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FmJ9yqMIxK3RyS58jZFhTO3dKs4q6mvJsieEBWdux9ScLNnsDOiL_TdhGKvxOgdHIrqKrsboy7XFv1Ao3RLbYMEkHhFrlA7cry-d5C7E8KughjE3wtY3SKO4yeL8ZR7EuXqHMgIjojw/s400/Untitled.jpg0.jpg" border="0" /><br />A board of painted wood is placed on top of the mummy before the mummy is lowered into its coffin. The first coffin is then put inside a second coffin.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172547821359495922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoj4YmHCVMOTkWmMtUjPkmfUwDszZRZI9wmp6P5vo5s-U9QPUw13TcyjoyPcD4e2PMuimPmfHr5eAWvhEZ-h8KfyNgYPD_YSCwk21qC3USp51V2jJ5U8NkykMEn1M_z8YM9bOnYxQ6IcE/s400/11.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172492562310264946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXVRbbwEqAPPddVvI3zZyif42gy60wn1IEPqHnFnMB0KTJnlA5Jz9rsFmGVMzsG-KHU9xq1Dv5-MFKXnwq3FoF4m7vZN5tSlYDYKRCDOv9QXMtkD1BLBL9U2UjV7C_-R14er9BK2mDNPk/s400/Untitled.jpg3.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="left">The funeral is held for the deceased and his family mourns his death. A <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page16.html##">ritual</a> called the 'Opening of the Mouth' is performed, allowing the deceased to eat and drink again.<br />Finally, the body and its coffins are placed inside a large stone <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page16.html##">sarcophagus</a> in the tomb. Furniture, clothing, valuable objects, food and drink are arranged in the tomb for the deceased.</p><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The mummy and its coffin </strong></span><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495323974236290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_GCTuSDIchQY4mCqZR1Ncn3mb_SyaNbRnNFjMgCjp1OwVUK5H_W7G74iZ93GQ491IA5k49gLubUbTBk6amC27HvWbbSC_5MAycZlHO-kmgvPZuNOAhH7AOeCneQ4CGVh28YfoyU03NI/s400/lid_sm.gif" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">Wig</span></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong></strong> </span></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;color:#000000;">Painted coffins from ancient Egypt often show the </span><a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/wig.html"><span style="font-size:100%;">deceased</span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="color:#000000;">person wearing a large wig. People wore wigs in real life to special events and on important occasions.</span> </span></p><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172499296818985490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihm7zfdj80l0XSFOh8oR_D4AwEG0E74z9QtcSTRCKY3dPxbvMnEOG5_AxwOKHGbPvtN84W94XdBheCCaagVs6Vl7oFg3bEhFnirRVNK-y6gflXU3PTTdM81UvOnE47gG6l9HfssN-wmsw/s400/wig.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></strong><strong><span style="color:#006600;"><em>This ancient Egyptian wig is made of human hair attached to a net. </em></span></strong><br /><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong>Collar</strong></span><br /></p><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495899499854066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOPnOo7KWADsn_9mGDYhEwFr-yBXvyXpX69juOMXK9pmcGPhtTxx4IKrw84EtptLpj90MVjghXfGzv3Eea4Cqk74ck5CLyS9k4JQSya0GrV14Z1VHi97amsuBX3wv9zPVOMUkSTJHtq7g/s400/brace.gif" border="0" /><br /><br />Ancient Egyptian coffins often showed the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/collar.html">deceased</a> person wearing fine jewellery.<br />Collars like the one painted on this coffin were popular among wealthy and important people in ancient Egypt. They were made up of multiple rows of beads and charms.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Nut</span></strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495345449072834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 91px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="71" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY0-ksxqftpCRxBYpiFrqMnSGoE-9mQDX2cnI1RIp2tzrW5EE7zsqMf68GCWmsb5VYAUNqimRrNGG3mdPq1fNP-jQnz-QZj8t7OYX8CE3kQ0myTRY4RaNgr8DqloDkdNJLySRfYBnHLgg/s400/nut.jpg" width="180" border="0" /> The ancient Egyptians associated the sky goddess Nut with rebirth They believed that Nut swallowed the sun every evening and gave birth to the sun again every morning. Nut often appears on ancient Egyptian coffins.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Scarab</span></strong> </div><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172497278184356210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 105px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 84px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="58" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhy4ktlwH1pioE4i4_yQMZIYdIa-lCvdB-D6yoZNwsVzPVWhZOU9EpLOGQtvWslvzBBZ3wlWBYROSMY45f01ZftGzSGgo8kIgt80-kCb3355LB2HoWNPT8_T9MiNC4THcmwfmR4sN-qq4/s400/scarab.jpg" width="105" border="0" />The ancient Egyptians connected the scarab beetle with rebirth, and with the sun's movement across the sky during the day. Thus, scarabs often appeared on coffins and other objects connected with funerals and the afterlife.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Spells</span></strong> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172497282479323522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkMhlZt0ZNsjqyx0rB5mgYQdgHRr9yxm7bMawxj3LR9Vx9o5EvUvH-yLP7UIPy4K_sAzTub0wv3j8u3ER5PPygHxEFLTciYTjC_pehWn2t0jyh4tSmNl8hnVWnhZ_QI8GeLEGCkbhM9kU/s400/spell.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="left">Protective spells were written in <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/spell.html">hieroglyphs</a> on coffins. These spells helped to protect the deceased person and keep them safe on their journey through the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/spell.html">underworld</a>. </div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">'Opening of the mouth' tool</span></strong> </div><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172547834244397874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDzz1QW5Qy9ZqNgjzNpK6nrlBvBjRKKL7Rmb_Jh7CHU6g1ry5n9RLMGQnH5f_VQdJqJ7Pbbrs17-xkO1BHxXUZlzsf4lG9a0Xd6sUNCfKjFV-BOfD0DH4FkfCioO-OxUVwaE3I29gr7E/s400/111.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="left">The ancient Egyptians believed that in order for a person's soul to survive in the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/mouth.html">afterlife</a> it would need to have food and water. A special <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/mouth.html">ritual</a> called the 'Opening of the Mouth' was performed so that the person who died could eat and drink again in the afterlife. </div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Shabtis</span></strong><br /></div><br /><div align="left">The ancient Egyptians believed that the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/shab.html##">afterlife</a> was very much like the Egypt that they lived in. Thus, there was a lot work to be done in the home and in the fields. </div><br /><div align="left">Shabtis were small figures who would magically come to life and work instead of their 'master' or 'mistress' whenever there was work to be done in the afterlife. Some people had enough shabtis and 'overseers'(to keep the shabtis in order) buried with them so there was one for each day of the year.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172547825654463234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqAG44WJ49d9ih_q90JltdJk5iUKwe8cDOrc-tWzDH4C7l42Q1Z6EotXPE1TF0AHn9zz5gFWaOZ9EMIt0hHCOipsBp7L43xHXaeErsgMFiaATjcCIWtTeNHQd0x5bzfaOjapa1TF3RxU/s400/22.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#006600;"><em>These shabtis belonged to a priestess named Henutmehyt</em></span></strong></div><br /><div align="left">Now his body is ready for its journey through the underworld. There his heart will be judged by his good deeds on earth. If his heart is found to be pure he will be sent to live for all eternity in the beautiful 'Field of Reeds'. </div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172547825654463250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_nFcRLfwCm6b5-IBxHAZhayDnTb9IZ2jicpm1DiI9uxW-B37AF_vFRZ33TzkIKpS-L3bmiq6nfWEMLWNc3YSxKKb2xuwoALcKx8jOsNcmhHCDLPSWTWVN_fcdQ4jrd01DYBpC_qx104/s400/33.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495332564170898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bVRoANh_hSB5hz7BU37mJRQ12zGV70sE42vOMh0hyphenhyphenIaMQeU6sI-IQouZDdYKH8jAKGzowOYL4DP7PTnxltb8b6VAZRozETqADqfWPr1OGyoxjDWaez0Cwq3PVRe9uSaCrlc5bCzeZcU/s400/insi_sm.gif" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495336859138226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-FYgEyx64SOdEN9KCAFaQDwnvXAg0b6cZ3zEo-fAPZZYae6NTteoh3hKQtm78iOjsnrFW5lnKGnhy_qyQLvHo8cQMCl4ebylbgro0iCfDFG8N-Vio0bvpmw2xw57jIeJO1HZrD_ItEqM/s400/x-ray+mummy.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"></span></strong></p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">The Four Sons of Horus</span></strong> </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172547829949430562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQRe0tk_Ss4PZVhyHsq4ruiAqGvgE0RYZ2PVa6s8P9ym71LZYCUdRnnD35dncKNfPUzzlnN8FNro4f4cXhWszixI4hrAdPmEVJyQGpLcrnfWVpKWj0-tEdgGG1MwJFBcombXWivafgAk/s400/44.jpg" border="0" />During the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/can01.html">mummification</a> process, the internal organs were removed from the body. Before about 1000 B.C., the organs were dried and placed in hollow <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/can01.html">'canopic jars'</a>. </p><p>After about 1000 B.C., the internal organs were often put back into the body after being dried. When this happened, the ancient Egyptians placed solid or empty canopic jars in the person's tomb. </p><p>The lids of canopic jars represented gods called the 'four sons of Horus'. These gods protected the internal organs. Hapy was the baboon-headed god who protected the lungs. </p><p>The Four Sons of Horus were traditionally the guardians of the internal organs of the deceased. Each was associated with a particular organ, and also with a different cardinal point on the compass.<br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172496633939261762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3iUBSmDFrKGwBnQKb0pgoRrU0UZFfu1oBxfvwKQWO8V1knYjpPyy-vA1iFoA8i1NlmTtXcUbVAN3gUHBs8uAyX-x_5p4D7eBQq_fJhijyLd30tYfmrIqZI6-6eR1g9TPYc1ROs6CFd4c/s400/imsety.gif" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Imsety the human-headed god looks after the liver</strong></em></span><br /><br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495916679723282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIPEd55REtmefS0X5L2lwVIwfscP7rTe-HQp3rbXmg_yO4My4HNc8_LTusaWhZTYdbnpCvuJW7qDMxXdTPGYvsftJ3fjQAWz0rzXkybdMCEjd0fiFI-IDviB8XwOequ3bF_GEyEzmg910/s400/hapy.gif" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Hapy the baboon-headed god looks after the lungs</strong></em></span><br /><br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495916679723266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ2mbRf7sEvouhSeXkqajYaVQlZ6DydWwQMeWsCNVXVcq5Cws8eNVlaPnGwCHuF-yuILn8tydcVpnKQjFaX9mF0g9OGVtVtsygGU76DIeePYizmmUVm_JXCpZIN5Hvj-fWpCR0fdpbps0/s400/duamutef.gif" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Duamutef the jackal-headed god looks after the stomach</strong></em></span><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172496638234229074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BcSzLYVqtbMgxCESbHPMRv33L4XmUCLWuwmKmtCIoi1wnQ46HZBCwNTS0cVxAE2kkyIg2G8yqtpdSgY7Ij0Yx5ZCN4ciho5s4oswZvlHa3-SBJ92TXZ0DUS6XH6OA8eAX1M_XArqkj8/s400/qebehsen.gif" border="0" /> <span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Qebehsenuef the falcon-headed god looks after the intestines</strong></em></span><br /></p><br /><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Linen</span></strong></p><p>Ancient Egyptian mummies were wrapped in hundreds of yards of <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/linen.html">linen</a> strips. </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172496642529196386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjABiGEzFF_qB1ZZGfBe4TzDyREot2PMDE0vVu6AHZkylNPUrqdrcZ3zCz8J_KHdAKmj6AbSJDaykBmTSTYP1dkAGUpLWcEbcK2JlDpFH62NEWrlr4dzN1wboatd73lWpQIeb0MQAJUDHc/s400/receipt.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>This papyrus is a receipt for <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/linen.html">natron</a> and linen. It states that the mummy will be delivered to the family at the end of seventy-two days.</p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Headrest</strong> <strong>amulet</strong></span></span> </p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172496621054359842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlw2RJt9Tf0pOPNmRL6JD5au71TD01s8PLUkz0aJrUExLS2FgCduZObnCHbKF4tKrcFrNDdlIaPmoUUczkRK_AVZ4szpPP-Anf3yQ7jhDQG_CUpvKHr3aRIpTRXJdtOO5iD3-_XLFvWvg/s400/head.jpg" border="0" /> The ancient Egyptians used headrests in this shape in their daily lives. This <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/head.html">amulet</a> made sure that the person's head would be supported forever. This headrest amulet is only about two centimetres tall. </p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Heart scarab</span></strong></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#000000;">Heart</span> <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/heart.html">scarabs</a> were placed in the wrappings with the mummy. They had spells carved on them to protect the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/heart.html">deceased</a> person's heart from being lost or separated from the body in the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/heart.html">underworld</a><br /><br /></p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172496629644294450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgythQyjIeuY9YRISGqEO7xFQKvIr4vb8JcsFQtBL8TCi3vYbsu67i5FXOmMxWb68zGk02WXy9UH0Iy1yUwww-p4oVN1tYNzUPFabY16Z-Otom4Whhu5qhxB6AT6Gj08DuTf4NFpSX9s/s400/heart.gif" border="0" />The heart was especially important to the ancient Egyptians because they believed that it was the centre of feeling and intelligence. </p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;color:#006600;"></span></strong></p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Isis Knot amulet</span></strong></p><p align="left">The <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/knot.html">amulet</a> is a symbol of protection associated with the goddess Isis. </p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIuhRQs6-S8_gvve8UX-V2vsHdUBwVC0j95BSZeMYRhTxY0fE639T090AKe_C_vTlI3dp4PhnkBIzxgNyUpepL0AKzms5n3znBv5C1QIbjKMlV0DCRyVnahTSM1P9pElje_SlutfQSoI/s1600-h/isisknot.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495890909919442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIuhRQs6-S8_gvve8UX-V2vsHdUBwVC0j95BSZeMYRhTxY0fE639T090AKe_C_vTlI3dp4PhnkBIzxgNyUpepL0AKzms5n3znBv5C1QIbjKMlV0DCRyVnahTSM1P9pElje_SlutfQSoI/s400/isisknot.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Fingers amulet</span></strong> </div><div align="center"></div><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTI-4I6iMNbXsE_WSaL2pvNTwf1oMeZItsjuE6mpS1WKwY_M8vlF5-GfPbzg2-EW-xxy8HouNZIEqqepHD0flhSdYrZMgrdiJdqNv4ZcdkduqlLrGO3WoFBWfLkbE3Wv5OF-ioSxZSaA/s1600-h/finger.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172495895204886754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTI-4I6iMNbXsE_WSaL2pvNTwf1oMeZItsjuE6mpS1WKwY_M8vlF5-GfPbzg2-EW-xxy8HouNZIEqqepHD0flhSdYrZMgrdiJdqNv4ZcdkduqlLrGO3WoFBWfLkbE3Wv5OF-ioSxZSaA/s400/finger.jpg" border="0" /></a> This <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/finger.html">amulet</a> may have represented the fingers of the <a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/explore/finger.html">embalmers</a>. </p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;">Jewellery</span></strong></p><p>The ancient Egyptians believed that objects buried with them could be used and enjoyed in the next life. Thus, people were buried with jewellery and fine clothes. </p><p>Some of the rings, bracelets and necklaces buried with people had been worn during their lifetimes and some were created just for their burials. </p><p></p><p align="center"><strong><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="font-size:180%;">The Challenge</span> </span></strong><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">‘The Underworld'</span></strong> </p><p>The ancient Egyptians believed that before a person could get to the afterlife, that they had to pass through the underworld. The underworld was a place that was full of terrifying monsters and dangerous animals. A person would need magic to successfully overcome these threats. </p><p>The ancient Egyptians chose spells to take with them on their journey. The spells were chosen from a group of spells known as the Book of the Dead. The spells were then written on a papyrus scroll which was buried with them in their tombs.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172497286774290850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsUK6WAUIgUQL7-rbwA5UvQ7r_quFu3_xMXDZkwg_Mh6jXAyWInNxIvyiMi1b0axV8EHynJMF4r0bxr-lpxykPBK8M-mIKywZVxv52Gdg3ciDCtOvgiFcnEZRpO9rAPG-yI_m3Jnht8I0/s400/underworld2.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172497286774290834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpX0eqAuENN_ige8ht75-SzAX73dqK8RpAVrhkDElocvBqvqYK70kJmugbRvB_nFwfnjAg4bXwwC3Gf0YfMiFMSVf8-uduQtE7qRJm5tkRvnMT6N8UMQrTpaPApXpBBhRKrj8MR_Z75tg/s400/underword1.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172497295364225458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvoqQVHXCW3Wv1dU4lIgyKvpKtnHGVD2C9STgTfTJf9Tcx86WpReuSA5hSvd48SyQkbPGSbHLQ1o4nHEQEqar5ngrtdarxm-FwviJRIPFY1n9oFjaL_XLXqoyY7bilAah8f2gEYUfSMkk/s400/underworld3.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKbgAYxjEX-ecxN7aoUnMiEbqIGXaOYP1RN3uk3FAqbBilusXv9ZAr7gEuD957MBPceusDlQw5xb2PIv05KTCCCftp0jIQ_Lrskag9H-8xtZAmI2Wte3Aj4EW9wBZdzYUgLaZAO7Tjhw/s1600-h/underworld4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172498991876307394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKbgAYxjEX-ecxN7aoUnMiEbqIGXaOYP1RN3uk3FAqbBilusXv9ZAr7gEuD957MBPceusDlQw5xb2PIv05KTCCCftp0jIQ_Lrskag9H-8xtZAmI2Wte3Aj4EW9wBZdzYUgLaZAO7Tjhw/s400/underworld4.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong> spell for protction against crocodiles</strong></em></span><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP1DCOeF0_9xWTdQj_LK-EXCV-9m7avFqUR_N3f-vJpTg7YKhUM1Gaf6gyqyGbVh_SeBNzyXcxNyxnYpakcXhNVmRPIkYcdnjNQyeCBdmSzLn72tXYm-JKQ07hJOSzYRfi4n6gU8YIyw/s1600-h/underworld5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172498996171274706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzP1DCOeF0_9xWTdQj_LK-EXCV-9m7avFqUR_N3f-vJpTg7YKhUM1Gaf6gyqyGbVh_SeBNzyXcxNyxnYpakcXhNVmRPIkYcdnjNQyeCBdmSzLn72tXYm-JKQ07hJOSzYRfi4n6gU8YIyw/s400/underworld5.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>spell for protction against snakes</strong></em></span><br /><br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172499000466242018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBYzUD-XR2xVPesiZtspTNHaxbY2k4bkKdU5jqknbYCZRD3mskxil76BI4uiIKuJIxE2sdt6Vwe41kfdK9lDX910rnzuvV7NMy6gwyNyPaI-99QTgVYkW-2QD-cZ_Qca4VzN14iqy5Ss/s400/underworld6.jpg" border="0" /><em><strong><span style="color:#006600;"> spell for turning into a swallow</span></strong></em><br /><br /></p><p>Now you have been through the dangers of the underworld there is still one obstacle between you and paradise in the afterlife.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172499000466242034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnZ4AigdpdGlLYotf2H8fBoVqg1L6Uu1NoEcJKHO-4jqnb1dgQcQnMzsnx5_gcGrPTs6_t5FP1t5WvY_i_oUdFBW5k632khosu2K9BLTnS-IjZaeQwMCg_hB4QlQG6lk3SJd9mxnNhMR0/s400/underworld7.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The weighing of the heart</strong></em></span></p><p align="left">Your heart will be weighed against a feather to see if it is truthful and good. If you pass this test, you will in the afterlife. If you fail, your heart will be gobbled up by a monster called Ammit.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172499004761209346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv_bZVmdI6kz8i_dJ7aU67DLES9_hoDhCX_xoD8K5D0Jxhlqy52P0N9Qpv2gNv9d3UADx0lG1VBfQvKZJxa8RNn82oYTV8UALLFtiNT3F4QlIWBLwzmICXwSJzMc69WIi-Yiv9Qx4LMNo/s400/underworld8.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p></p><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Anubis, the God of Embalming</span></strong></div><br /><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em></strong></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172531904210696770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLF-Dfm5OdqJafUnomqwXzUd745Bro6L18A-FSiuJjn1_9ulEJ0pOOwd47oXwxNAZCkHq5Zz9FtTxKHL2upizxcryPlvTtfCE_xV5SW6gTd0Q6iK2SxhA5GSShqqRpymdXlZQ8V-Xe40/s400/Untitled.jpg6.jpg" border="0" /> <strong><em><span style="color:#006600;">The famous jackal headed denizen of the underworld</span></em></strong></p><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em></strong><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em></strong><p>The Ancient Egyptians held a great reverence for the Jackal headed god Anubis, who oversaw the embalming and mummification process as well as escorting the deceased through the procedures for entering the underworld. When the person arrived for judgment, they would first declare their purity before an assembly of gods including Osiris. The Ibis headed god <a href="http://www.akhet.co.uk/thoth.htm">Thoth</a> was on hand to record the result of the judgment. </p><div align="left">In the 'weighing of the heart' from the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D0292704259/akhetegyptology/">Book of the Dead</a> the heart of the dead person was balanced against the feather of Maat, or truth. If the heart was lighter than the feather the dead person was allowed to pass on into the underworld, but if it failed the test then the Eater of souls would devour the deceased. </div><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>MUMIFICATION OF THEIR BELOVED PETS</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">The Ancient Egyptians kept many animals as household pets, including cats, dogs, monkeys, gazelles, and birds.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172534932162640514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfO3bkgdFzYrAu1cqPJL54qqHVhQIkQKL7eTBhE_rVamriHGHuV7YorcOOlBeJXkDuhyH18rrArt_sgCOS2UZfdcliabT4NCKUOWIN_lhE43Z1N4blm6f2DG70IwFU3j5a-4HUfR03TM8/s400/Untitled.jpg8.jpg" border="0" />Pet monkeys and cats are often depicted on the walls of tombs, seated beneath the chair of their owner. These paintings often had magical properties, ensuring that these pets could join their masters after death. In the pictures above, care has been taken to ensure that the pets, like their owners, would have abundant food in the afterworld. The cat has a large bowl provided while the monkey has its favorite fruits. The cat also has a wooden chair leg to scratch (the left paw is actually in the process of scratching!).</div><br /><div align="left">The Ancient Egyptians also trained dogs, hawks, and mongooses to hunt with them. And scenes of hunting and pictures of favorite hounds arecommon motifs on tomb walls.</div><br /><div align="left">Small faience and wooden models of dogs have also been found in tombsPets were not only present as paintings or models. The mummified bodies of pets have also been found in tombs. A certain Hapymen, buried at Abydos, was so fond of his pet dog that it was mummified and wrapped in linen, and placed at the side of his feet in his coffin. In the Valley of the Kings, in tomb KV 50, a pet baboon and a dog were placed so that they glared at each other in preparation for battle. It is unclear whose pets these rivals were.<br /><br />Two women, Isitemkheb D and Ankhshepenwepet had pet gazelles (or in the case of Isitemkheb D an ibex?) buried with them. The mummy to the right is a gazelle from the Cairo Museum collection.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172531908505664098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 223px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 119px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="119" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGh9ldlLrhm6kF2vWavGJQpMXDWOqI7ZStno3j6TWJE9mWLGy3torh6NT_k4AImUZFU8DLXRWj_Vdlksber66cNIDAqpfGRLgUuEHcbA0ICryCaydO5u2c8Hzd-h9TXKtpp-lSK_6ilZ0/s400/Untitled.jpg9.jpg" width="188" border="0" />Some pets were given quite elaborate burials by their grieving owners. The limestone sarcophagus below shows a cat receiving offerings of food and flowers. It was commisioned by the Royal Son and Chief Artificer, Tithmose, for his pet cat (Mit Rahina, XVIIIth dynasty or later). The hieroglyphic texts along the sides are the sameAs those used for humans. </div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172531899915729458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdh-rbQBzJafKIx9kzxpcPCYWs-1gF9F19CzJC9X2nC-1acW2Pw_m_Q3C309Yn0ZTV_nqvxQ_gc8Bya4z0XCgKamu9YLCz41XilQo9phFVke-RzMm9CQQYaDEJny20ccGIFTmgvhpgctI/s400/Untitled.jpg0.jpg" border="0" /> Although it is possible that some pets were killed when an owner died, it is perhaps more likely that a pet was placed in the tomb of its owner after a natural death. The X-rays of these pet mummies may help to clarify this issue by providing evidence as to the manner of death.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">SACRED ANIMALS</span></strong></div><br /><div align="left">Animal cults were common in Egypt throughout its history, although they reached an acme of popularity in the Late and Greco-Roman Periods. Animal cults focused on one specific animal in whom the spirit of the god would reside and be worshipped as such for the duration of the animal’s lifetime. Upon its death it was mummified, and another one, chosen for its special markings, would take its place.</div><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">ANIMAL MUMMIES WRAPPING</span></strong></div><br /><div align="left">Animal mummies are wrapped in lots of interesting ways. Some are just wrapped spirally with old linen sheets that are knotted to keep them in place. Others are wrapped so that the head shows details of eyes, nose, and mouth in paint or in attached bandages. In the Roman period mummies were wrapped in elaborate patterns, such as diamonds and squares, using overlapping bandages of different colors and widths.</div><br /><div align="left">Late Period mummies of hawks and other birds of prey were first identified as mummies of children until they had been unwrapped! This was because the embalmers wrapped the mummy with a lot of bandages so that it looked baby-sized, and often covered the head area with a car tonnage (made like paper Mache) mask of a human face.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172531912800631410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpgtjSwYRoALoUMEZuN8ZBNQ_0Sa6p7EYl5-K6zSYPrHOZM79cK1V_K6mY6MYp-tH_TXLBRItC0Ej3AywR3wyepjGZOiXJFiFZBtwNX3C0KKWnLBupN67of3XVhRgQpZ3Da-PEGCtQEto/s400/Untitled.jpg22.jpg" border="0" />Materials used in mummification. Frankincense is an aromatic tree sap or gum. When melted it becomes a thick, gluey substance that can be used like tar. Natron is a mineral salt which is used to dehydrate a body covered in it.</div><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><em>Who are the mummies?</em></strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">Over time almost all Egyptians who could afford to became mummies when they died -- a total of about 70 million mummies in 3,000 years. By the 4th century AD, many Egyptians had become Christians and no longer believed that mummification was necessary for life after death. Eventually, the Egyptians gave up the art and science of making mummies.</div><br /><div align="left">So where did all the mummies go? Sadly, most were plundered in ancient times by grave robbers and vandals looking for treasures wrapped up in the bandages. Countless mummies were also destroyed during the middle Ages, when they were ground into powders to make supposedly magical potions. Later on, modern treasure hunters blundered into their tombs looking for artifacts and souvenirs. Even industry aided the destruction by using mummies' bandages to make paper or burning their bodies for fuel.</div><br /><div align="left">The best preserved mummies are those of the pharaohs and their relatives. These mummies tended to be more carefully embalmed and protected from harm. The mummies that have survived allow us to look back into the past and know something of the ancient Egyptians and their time. Three of the most famous Egyptians mummies are Tutankhamen, Seti I and Rameses II (Ramses the Great).<br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Tutankhamen</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">Tutankhamen, known to many as King Tut, was probably just a boy when he was crowned pharaoh in the <a href="http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/mummy/dateline.html" target="LINK">18th Dynasty</a>. He was still a teenager when he died of unknown causes and was entombed in the Egyptian Valley of Kings. Although, Tutankhamen was not one of the more distinguished or important pharaohs in his own time, he has a very special place in ours.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172534940752575122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLpq7BGgki_EDEqobLA2_mtkp74IjlOA0FtLhXwAekcFp8_1am-IrqHyLnVcDZQoJBRVjlDYig3qa2lG8M8UNeMu3Gj4GZ8v_VFbZXSMReDWvPzg-Bn9AcFv88pTBS2o8xrFwxHRV2Oc/s400/Untitled.jpg33.jpg" border="0" />Tutankhamen's tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. Over the next several years, Carter's expedition carefully uncovered the riches within, including the gold mask above. A number of mysterious deaths that followed the opening of the tomb set off wild rumors of a mummy's curse.</div><br /><div align="left">Today, Tut is known to countless people the world over, in part because his is the only pharaoh's tomb ever discovered intact. Tut's burial site had somehow escaped pillaging by grave robbers for over 3000 years. His mummy and its magnificent solid gold sarcophagus, along with wall paintings, furniture, weapons, games and other artifacts have survived to the present, giving us a unique glimpse at the trappings of an ancient pharaoh.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172534953637477026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 435px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 159px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="146" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlTdpVmUasBdr9zkeDJeB_RVm0V_VutWEG5pGF5yfSuk6jbDzsmOwEGCmO2bGbsCHvOkyR-DdI6hAiEG0A1BRRD9Ba6xyWOUC2u7f8Ov1VdDyBb7PACz1L1eR2EsBUTuh6I45dLFLWik/s400/Untitled.jpg44.jpg" width="377" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Seti I</strong></span> </div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172534957932444338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLCjONRdCOuGy81KS0H-O2gz6EjaiN8JEU2UpedUnq7xG35ychYQqA5X1ij5QRP3H0E9fVbQItgpSZhbFAcAW8gVgXiDJcGo5ZbGa4OCkNJ-OMXRylo9YPLB1acp6Re7vA2BglPVtir8/s400/Untitled.jpg55.jpg" border="0" /> Seti I is considered to be one of the greatest of pharaohs and warriors, and was also the father of another very notable pharaoh, Rameses II (or Rameses the Great). Seti ruled in the <a href="http://www.si.umich.edu/CHICO/mummy/dateline.html" target="LINK">19th Dynasty</a>, several generations after Tutankhamen. Surviving accounts of Seti's exploits tell us that he was highly successful at protecting Egypt from such invaders as the marauding armies of neighboring Libya. Seti was also known to have extended his powers beyond the boundaries of Egypt as far east as modern-day Syria.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172534962227411650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7au9Scy1E3KqR3P2j3exPt4Ba70VqZ50gqJAZQn9222REH70px9rKSeC9xUdTTxYfSWQbvsGzC4pqoiXs4IQoVAORC2dEEUNOu3BY99TY4v2X2zEyIxsXcF1MdZ18Nol3mNjvAVFyky8/s400/Untitled.jpg66.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Rameses II the Great</strong></span></p><p align="left">Rameses the Great ruled over Egypt from 1279-1212 BC, an incredible 67 years. Rameses was legendary in many respects. At a time when most people lived only a few decades, Rameses was about 90 years old when he died. He was a tall man about six feet in height, when the average Egyptian was a little over five feet tall. Rameses had many wives in his lifetime and is believed to have fathered over 100 children.</p><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172535580702702306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHH7i-cmI6-K5zwpmVf2fYmY-YY2mJzH20FB8_8qp2mGFpje7BeirMb6WBathpSsYAAqnVThlKfVYZv9_-o6IeZatmfVZJ0L9x5C0WFeNLqIjhZOXJxtoDoCOdfMFwkWC1DpaEp53_jrA/s400/Untitled.jpg77.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="left">In 1974, Egyptologists at the Cairo Museum noticed that the mummy's condition was getting worse rapidly. They decided to fly Rameses II to Paris so that a team of experts could give the mummy a medical examination. Did you know that even a mummy needs a passport to travel? Ramses II was issued an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as "King (deceased)."</div><br /><div align="left">Once in Paris, Rameses was diagnosed and treated for a fungal infection. During the examination, scientific analysis revealed battle wounds and old fractures, as well as the pharaoh's arthritis and poor circulation. In addition, experts were able to determine some of the flowers and herbs that were used for the embalming, including lots of camomile oil.</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.artsmia.org/">http://www.artsmia.org/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/">http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.mummytombs.com/">http://www.mummytombs.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://guardians.net/egypt/egypt.htm">http://guardians.net/egypt/egypt.htm</a><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172562913874574322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg94FbjqTk7u7jcob6Qw_WeulbUyzLteTK_SpcMDG8uWcdEN2NHhl_SqVlGd-mEwsGNZHMmB-N4cZs36qvK-WnKggWoA_lFhkBXe1HwTazhyphenhyphenZ_H_oIneZRyljDAkzKehOIYy4x3yp21CNc/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P & Shery.K</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-86088218346459823552008-06-17T00:46:00.008+03:002008-06-17T01:32:38.120+03:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Meditation </strong></span><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Music</strong><span style="font-size:100%;color:#000000;"> </span></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Of</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Ancient Egyptian </strong></span></div><div align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5msnULXcqWiHDJrTsDT1wWXnTA_a0gPlxmcN1sJ0JnAZDxAkIcRhEPd40rsuICFTJ2R1XSXMT4jSCwyVL0-UO33KsR1GwouY54EpHdlV6nJxJ4iP2WGPv0-CsvPnCX-rGL8-3tYr1bI/s1600-h/music10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212575903735713090" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 281px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 195px" height="280" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_5msnULXcqWiHDJrTsDT1wWXnTA_a0gPlxmcN1sJ0JnAZDxAkIcRhEPd40rsuICFTJ2R1XSXMT4jSCwyVL0-UO33KsR1GwouY54EpHdlV6nJxJ4iP2WGPv0-CsvPnCX-rGL8-3tYr1bI/s400/music10.jpg" width="281" border="0" /></a> It almost seems strange that we should know as much as we do about ancient Egyptian music and at the same time have little or no idea of its real nature. We have texts, representations and even extant instruments but virtually nothing on the actual musical compositions that were composed.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Musical instruments ranged from very simple, such as percussion instruments, to very complex, such as harps. Some instruments were strictly (at least in design) Egyptian, while others apparently came to Egypt from the Near East. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Of course, the most basic instruments were percussion and the simplest of these were human hands, used for clapping. Clapping to music is often displayed by singers depicted in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> tombs, and even today remains an important aspect of modern Egyptian music.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">However, the earliest instruments in evidence are bo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9mXpm36SzdMMCL40npo19lAv9H93VIcdLQrGwzxxQtDoNvL0WKMkadwsjppIwU0zLsplz7Fr1MuoM7KTwNsJ1X6OjbM9ko4EfaCWfott8APMnVAj0D6qjESXpQpiSDvT1wtEmGCzg5A/s1600-h/music20.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212578712535747922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 293px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px" height="187" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9mXpm36SzdMMCL40npo19lAv9H93VIcdLQrGwzxxQtDoNvL0WKMkadwsjppIwU0zLsplz7Fr1MuoM7KTwNsJ1X6OjbM9ko4EfaCWfott8APMnVAj0D6qjESXpQpiSDvT1wtEmGCzg5A/s400/music20.jpg" width="325" border="0" /></a>omerang-shaped clappers, which are not only known in Egypt but also from southern Palestine as early as the fifth millennium BC.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">During the pharaonic period, clappers were often decorated with hands or <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a> faces. There were also smaller clappers or castanets.<br /><br />However, drums did not actually appear until the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>. Initially, these seem to have been drums in the shape of a barrel made from hollowed tree trunks, which became popular in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/military.htm">military</a> bands.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Drums in the shape of a goblet and wheel-thrown pots with skin covered tops and open bottoms were introduced around 1750 BC from the Palestinian region. When circular frame drums with a skin stretched across a wooden hoop were introduced during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>, other forms of percussion instruments appear to have lost ground. Of course, there was also the sistrum which was a metal rattle or noisemaker, consisting of a handle and a frame fitted with loosely held rods that could be jingled. These were used especially in the worship of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a>. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Finally, there were almost certainly bells, and during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCYPTa3cqbumES5o_zIpZbjUY62zzimU96SdnJ_ZTa6Zjo2femHxZqg9W4M-riEfGp_XXQLBOwM8RSjoPgf7wB7UoJtZfYTUbPxOznoNT0_0zGld5sK7Ejezi6ADcfIkDSeCL65UHa3Y/s1600-h/music5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212575902046097986" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 297px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" height="277" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLCYPTa3cqbumES5o_zIpZbjUY62zzimU96SdnJ_ZTa6Zjo2femHxZqg9W4M-riEfGp_XXQLBOwM8RSjoPgf7wB7UoJtZfYTUbPxOznoNT0_0zGld5sK7Ejezi6ADcfIkDSeCL65UHa3Y/s400/music5.jpg" width="297" border="0" /></a>Egyptians became acquainted with symbols consisting of a pair of concave discs about 15 centemeters across that were attached to the player's hand with leather straps. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Though simple, percussion instruments can produce interesting and complex music, particularly if used in ensembles. One such large ensemble is depicted in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> tomb of a singing instructor named Khesuwer. He is shown coaching ten sistrum players and ten hand clappers who have been arranged in neat rows, indicating a highly disciplined performance.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212579588546163586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyTPdan9rfcPUFCKg_WEpFteOxCJ73heUF-ILHIIvf1VMTOhDRuqZeJRgLEKbpY_1DUQcPG1UIBXMKULGc8vIV5v8HvgE3Uvgn8BOqCO3-Rff3a13LWqlMSzlvfDA_JQy9-dUqfbD7QA/s400/harpplayer.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><em><span style="color:#006600;">Harp, New Kingdom</span></em> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left">Typically, however, percussion instruments cannot produce different pitches, so the use of wind and stringed instruments also became an important aspect of Egyptian music. Both string and wind instruments were used by the ancient Egyptians as early as the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> and before.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">We can recognize a number of types of wind instruments, including flutes, parallel double-pipes and divergent double-pipes. Of these, the flute is the oldest and is depicted on a predynastic shard as well as on a slate palette from Hierakonpolis. Hence, the instrument could possibly have been invented in Egypt. The original flutes never disappeared altogether and have survived to this day under the Arabic names of nay and uffafa. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212579567215992562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWeNIx1DFd9qJNUDNhU-EIPgFh4sS3LVGSr1U_yZQWpyHMQ-alD0UUc7fRdbDxZGh_uU5rAy6DgsyB13cBFtMsipus8NV7BptNKkdXNcAT41W3eer6ZZSX3vHFy3_8pRZBsJSg0JP7aug/s400/music4.jpg" border="0" /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>Scene showing a male on the left playing a flue, and on the right a parallel double pipe</em></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">At first, all of these instruments were made of reeds, though later, the earlier reed pipes were imitated in bronze. They could be short, or as long as a yard in length. There were usually three to five finger-holes. The various types of pipes differed in the construction of the mouth-end of the pipe. Flutes had a sharp wedge resting just outside of the lips. Pipes had a loosely fitting mouthpiece furnished with double and single vibrating lamellae. None of these mouthpieces have ever been unearthed, so their details are unknown, but the parallel pipes that have survived resemble modern Egyptian folk clarinets, called a zummara, with one lamella. Divergent pipes, which only appear at the beginning of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>, are similar to Greek aulos that had double lamellae like the modern oboe.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212607027339877090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7EAy2YDJ85BKNCvIC3GjQvU-YtG0M1NeaeaXNiuBvUAGQDi-64fRwlilr8sZq77xiRsw5v4vfGs11dMvDAJOlwJn5SgWtjJNuhYuz97cwHDtkzFRT0g40t14Eut7h4wo-JG752Fe3Y8/s400/music11.jpg" border="0" />A more complex instrument to produce was the trumpet, such as that found in the tomb of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm">Tutankhamun</a>. These were made of silver and bronze, with mouthpieces of gold or silver. They were sometimes inlaid with gold. Trumpets seem to have had mostly a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/military.htm">military</a> use, though they became associated as well with gods such as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re-Horakhty</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/ptah.htm">Ptah</a>. Though we find the first examples of the trumpet at the beginning of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>, it is possible that they existed as early as the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a>.<br /><div align="left"><br />Instruments made from animal horns do not appear in any reliefs, but it should be noted that there are terracotta models of such instruments dating to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>.</div><br /><div align="left">Stringed instruments mostly consisted of lyre, lutes a<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNw0PQ4-NQWFdu3y-YtLfCoujZ7-L9SjV0_KHB3y-nLqc3DApvu9nHiywtLVf3q7mJ4wBt6lhBM3avz6Xx0dZgl1wwQRZ4y7SeeK0CtPI2TNmnlbLKGGmHVinAJpiAZie9woMHO0l-xk/s1600-h/music7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212578720836455906" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNw0PQ4-NQWFdu3y-YtLfCoujZ7-L9SjV0_KHB3y-nLqc3DApvu9nHiywtLVf3q7mJ4wBt6lhBM3avz6Xx0dZgl1wwQRZ4y7SeeK0CtPI2TNmnlbLKGGmHVinAJpiAZie9woMHO0l-xk/s400/music7.jpg" width="317" border="0" /></a>nd harps. There were three types of lyre consisting of thin, thick and giant. The thin lyre was used throughout the Fertile Crescent and the Egyptian lyres of this style were merely the southern extension of this form with no local characteristics. Thin lyres were introduced into northern Syria around 2500 BC, and the first depictions in Egypt that we know date to around 1900 BC. They became common in Egypt about five hundred years later.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Thick lyre with larger dimensions and more strings than the thin variety briefly appear in Anatolia around 1400 BC. However, they were used in Egypt from about 2000 BC and into the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greek Period</a> in Egypt. Giant lyres became popular during the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm">Akhenaten</a>. Some were even large enough to accommodate dual players. Though giant lyre players can be seen wearing Canaanite costumes, there are no giant lyres yet known from the Palestinian region. However, in Mesopotamia, giant lyres are known from engraved seals found at Uruk and Susa that date to around 2500 BC. </div><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212579574920089250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoMbZEHShXwyLgl-rrwpTIZVADlFvFyMXnw_dLAHVskPPWXIJibGgBFeAGgyaT9K1mFsR5xcNGOa37SGRO6cJoV_ScL0bB7bKLMoo-43zqm3Tw28XfnBEynkEmCakWGwI4UZv-WXiOWY/s400/guitar.jpg" border="0" />The New Kingdom lute consisted of a small oblong wooden sounding box, flat on both sides, with six or eight holes, and a long neck, often decorated with ribbons, from which two to four strings were strung. It was played with a plectrum or bare fingers. Similarly to modern string instruments different notes were played by pressing the strings against the neck of the instrument at various spots seemingly marked by frets. </div><br /><div align="left">Lutes, similar to mandolins, made their appearance in Egypt during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>. They had already gained popularity in the Near East at the beginning of the second millennium BC. Though they gained wide acceptance in Egypt, their use was mostly abandoned during the Hellenistic age, only to reappear once more after the Muslim invasion of Egypt in the mid-seventh century AD. Lutes were typically made with a long oval resonating body made from wood and perhaps partially covered with leather and partially by a thin sheet of wood with an opening to release the sound.</div><br /><div align="left">Most all of the instruments were patterned after examples found elsewhere in the Near East, as were stringed instruments such as the lyres and lutes. However, though the harp seems to first appear in Mesopotamia in about 3000 BC, the harps that showed up in Egypt in 2500 BC take on a shape that is uniquely Egyptian. Stringed instruments were more complex than either percussion or wind instruments, and many were indeed finely made with precious materials. For example, we know that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ahmose1.htm">King Ahmose</a> possessed a harp made of ebony, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/gold.htm">gold</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/silver.htm">silver</a>, while <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tuthmosis3.htm">Tuthmosis III</a> commissioned "a splendid harp wrought with silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite, and every splendid costly stone." </div><div align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqsRWKEM8Oag_w9vyzHTFmVVwnJgGmvTucSUg9zUVeHB0_bkh9thc0TwyqdF_bYqzD9BWyKLr-AYLasL_l0OTq_luXJmnyOad0kgTa9z8bxFw8tNWizfM52RKcRi10Opn-6tea8EM1-I/s1600-h/music2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212575925314685730" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 329px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqsRWKEM8Oag_w9vyzHTFmVVwnJgGmvTucSUg9zUVeHB0_bkh9thc0TwyqdF_bYqzD9BWyKLr-AYLasL_l0OTq_luXJmnyOad0kgTa9z8bxFw8tNWizfM52RKcRi10Opn-6tea8EM1-I/s400/music2.jpg" width="334" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left">There were two primary designs for Egyptian harps. The arched harp became dominate in pharaonic Egypt. It was made with a sound box which was joined smoothly to a curved rod encircled by collars for individual strings. The strings stretched between their collars and a rib in contact with the skin over the box. When the collars were rotated, the tension and thus the tuning of the attached strings changed. The second type of harp was angular, with a rod that was stuck through a hole in an oblong box. This arrangement resulted in a sharp angle between the rod and box. </div><br /><div align="left">Arched harps in a shovel shape were used exclusively during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>'s, though their size and the position in which they were played varied. However, the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> a variety of new shapes and sizes of harps appear. They seem to all have been more or less equally popular. Some of these were considerably different than the earlier shovel harps shaped like a hunting bow, though all had the smooth curve characteristic of arched harps. During the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a>, Egyptians sought the glory of their former empire and looked reflected this desire in archaized designs in architecture, as well as in harp design. The basic shovel harps were reintroduced, but by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greco</a>-<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Roman">Roman period</a>, the variety of shapes was much reduced.</div><br /><div align="left">Though angular harps appear to have been invented in Mesopotamia around 1900 BC, and there they replaced arched harps very quickly, in Egypt their adoption took and complete replacement of the arched harp took more than a millennium. However, when the Egyptian finally did embrace the instrument, they did so with enthusiasm and also with considerable talent. One ancient writer, Athenaeus, reports that an Alexandrian angular harp player's music was so popular that citizens in Rome went about whistling his tunes in the streets. </div><br /><div align="left">Surviving angular harps differ from their earlier counterparts in having many more strings. Most of t<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKtGni-g3tgqXqMmJW9JNKrI6bBjehjTKaQ3l_0THrA83G8Dw6o0A-T_Zz_WKKuh8wbetjZoVRCNf7BcWRM9zPwRTCi5BJ5zoXn6xVrnGHt_hPAgOUqQybkwp9CZYx667yvm7ZWUHjpc/s1600-h/music8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212578726846481746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 267px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 229px" height="285" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKtGni-g3tgqXqMmJW9JNKrI6bBjehjTKaQ3l_0THrA83G8Dw6o0A-T_Zz_WKKuh8wbetjZoVRCNf7BcWRM9zPwRTCi5BJ5zoXn6xVrnGHt_hPAgOUqQybkwp9CZYx667yvm7ZWUHjpc/s400/music8.jpg" width="399" border="0" /></a>he arched harps have fewer than ten strings, and some as few as three. On the other hand, angular harps typically have twenty-one and as many as twenty-nine strings. Perhaps the Egyptian reluctance of adopting the angular harp implies a reluctance to expand the pitch range of their harp music, but that seems to have changed by the end of the first millennium BC. This also implies an early conservatism in Egyptian music, which was an observation confirmed by Plato's assertion that Egyptians "were forbidden to introduce any innovations in music". Should this be surprising to us? Considering the Egyptian's formality and structured approach to visual art, perhaps not. It is very possible in fact that much of the music corresponded in many ways to its visual counterpart.</div><br /><div align="left">Of course, human vocals were an integral part of almost all Egyptian music, and many scholars maintain that instrumental music on its own did not exist in ancient Egypt. Likewise, unaccompanied vocals were also rare. In many instances, we also see a singer accompanying him or herself, such as a singing harpist.</div><br /><div align="left">Scholars have sought to discover some form of musical notation system from ancient Egypt, but alas, have been unable to do so. However, some less precise information is available. During the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a>, singers within ensembles usually made arm and hand gestures, and Hans Hickmann claimed that these arm positions communicated pitches to the musicians. However, recent research seems to refute his theories, and it is now believed that such movement was simply spontaneous responses common to singers even today, though it has also been suggested that these movements may indicate basic stop or start commands.</div><br /><div align="left">There is extant a terra-cotta figurine from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a> that may be adorned with musical notation. This figure portrays an angular-harp player facing a scribe, who's writing tablet contains signs. Not much survives beyond a few long horizontal lines crossed by numerous vertical strokes. If these signs do represent musical notation, one might expect the length of the verticals to indicate pitches, but the lengths are insufficient to differentiate among the twenty-one strings of the angular harp. </div><br /><div align="left">By the early <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greek Period</a>, we do finally find definite musical notation on an Egyptian <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/papyrus.htm">papyri</a>. However, both the music and the notation system is Greek.</div><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Throughout the entire pharaonic period, musicians are often shown in ensembles, though in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> singers <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWOMxi4Z9HcnrnN16PTnKXSefTNnqzgh4uFajL4ISkQNntHMZyaPUuQIusNqnHXi5GiCMMgL4AgxxuGs7Txb-MNZqnZruH4XrspGMytXoDW69Xc6vKKg9XZdwcuNer272c4cFMXjfeug/s1600-h/music1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212578735548268610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 274px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px" height="334" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirWOMxi4Z9HcnrnN16PTnKXSefTNnqzgh4uFajL4ISkQNntHMZyaPUuQIusNqnHXi5GiCMMgL4AgxxuGs7Txb-MNZqnZruH4XrspGMytXoDW69Xc6vKKg9XZdwcuNer272c4cFMXjfeug/s400/music1.jpg" width="274" border="0" /></a>were frequently accompanied by a single instrument. During the Old Kingdom, such a group might consist of singers, hand clappers, several harps, a flute and a clarinet style pipe. Originally, only men played the full range of instruments while women seem to have been confined to harps and percussion. However, towards the end of the Old Kingdom, other female musicians appear, and by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>, mixed gender ensembles are common. In fact, by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>, exclusively female groups become predominate. </div><br /><div align="left">Various titles provide some information on musician's social organization. The best documented of these were referred to a "hnr". They sang, danced and clapped hands in <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/papyrus.htm">temples</a>, palaces and funerary settings. This type of group flourished from about 2500 through 1500 BC and during the Ramessid Period. At first, these groups had only female members and overseers, but males integrated these ensembles during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a> and became the sole overseers of such groups during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>. Royal women were frequently members of these groups, which were attached to palaces, <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/papyrus.htm">temples</a> and funerary estates. They performed secular music along with sacred singing and also performed for the deceased. The female members of the group wore light dresses and hair braided into plaits, with balls dangling from the ends. Men usually wore narrow belts or kilts.</div><br /><div align="left">Other titles denote temple songstresses (or chantresses) who served deities such as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a>. The number of titles meaning "Temple Singer" seems to indicate a diverse role for sacred music. These songstresses routinely performed in priestly rituals, but there were also grand events such as one that was staged on the occasion of <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/amenhotep3.htm">Amenhotep III</a>'s <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/sedfestival.htm">sed-festival</a>. Tomb drawing of this extravaganza depict long rows of singers, percussionists and dancers and we are told that their music "opened the doors of heaven so that the god may go forth pure". </div><br /><div align="left">There were also several deities associated with music. One of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a>'s titles was "mistress of music" and she was considered the goddess of singers. Bes was often depicted playing instruments, even outside of Egypt, including the lyre, harp, tambourine and the oboe like divergent pipes. Another obscure deity known as the Blind Horus has been identified as the "harp god", though some scholars believe he was simply a patron of the harp players. However, many harpists are depicted as blind, or even blindfolded. </div><br /><div align="left">Music also played a part outside of its sacred role. In <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> tombs, female family members are shown playing instruments, singing and dancing for the tomb owner, a theme that is also repeated in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> tombs. Private tombs of the Old Kingdom also show occasional scenes of music among farm workers, such as depictions of a flutist wandering about while men cut sheaves of barley. </div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212579573294205394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPNMFSkhn4da8Qqlyn1i_2eURK1oKVqwREhnqNHUz2nT45EZPlN4GK6dLq_RSYTuNvXvaSomF-nfYgpcctrQYqDFXH0bYHOYiO7s9b6AqxFy-7BqMFlNq5wGtwOrZByBI2VKGtKZPu7sM/s400/music6.jpg" border="0" /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>Women clappers and a single divergent double-pipes player</em></span></div><br /><div align="left">Some tomb scenes provide us with clues to the forms of Egyptian music. For example a song written in an <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> tomb appears to have been sung antiphonally by two groups. One group asks a question and the second group answers it. The first group begins with a call and a question, "Oh, Western Goddess! Where is the shepherd?" The second group responds, "The shepherd is in the water beneath the fish. He talks to the catfish and greets the mormry-fish.", The song is concluded with the call, "Oh shepherd of the Western Goddess." The song is accompanied by a scene depicting sheep trampling seeds in the field. The calls and the questions are shown next to the foreman, indicating that he is probably the lead singer. The answers are sung by helpers who drive the sheep across a field. This antiphonal song dates to about 2200 BC, and is considered to be among the oldest known in literature and music.</div><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212579581651713202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFf5RXgzUtmfsgJZCxnOqAiOfAMyacGj6CDT2KqKrXlQMxCScfHsSv3md-4mH-_p1VXdNKadHsty06IXvqrv_eQmW7lvhtW1A72z7tieBS-2iYy5K4LUBDkeJBHpnT3tiyxTlWaCR_qZw/s400/sistrum.jpg" border="0" /><em><span style="color:#006600;">Bronze sistrum, a sort of rattleLate Period</span></em></div><br /><div align="left">A larger musical form, the rondo, has been suggested for a harper's song, which decorate the walls of some <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> tombs. In these, a harpist, and in some rare examples, a lute player, is shown beside an extensive text. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The text usually begins by describing the inevitability of death and the futility of life. In these, the reader is encouraged to lie for the moment when told, "Make holiday...put incense and fine oil together beside you...put music before you...give drunkenness to your heart every day." </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Some scholars believe that songs were performed in the tomb, while others believe they were intended for life beyond the tomb. Most likely, the songs were sung at a banquet held in the tomb to buoy the spirits of the living. We have no idea of the music for these compositions, but a song in one of the tombs contains a phrase that recurs intermittently seven times. Hickmann suggested that this refrain corresponded to a reoccurring melody, making it similar to a modern rondo.</div><br /><p align="left">This type of song also is found in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> tombs, but in those they are shorter and have an entirely different character than their <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> counterparts. There, the harpist shares the sage with an ensemble. Altenmuller analyzed the the texts and their visual settings and concluded that the music belonged to a tomb ritual intended to bring back the deceased from the underworld. During this brief spiritual reincarnation, the tomb owner was known as "the deified one", and was enabled to join the musicians by the sheer power of their music.</p><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Cymbals</strong></em></span> </p><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212560987940452002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgx2X4URcjauyXG_wctfgjHEQjKLWAufnpqr0nJlmc9BonSdwBjHTm29GE983IGBclB1ynbyZrpD1xIzjkBWMGdYWCNLaXh0pV3l90z0pxwF-X9LpcELc_WBZguuBO9mOZgz178PShhyc/s400/uc33268.jpg" border="0" /> Bronze cymbals, forming a pair. Breakage around part of rim. Two groups of four parallel lines running round top surface, and hole in top centre for attachment to handle.<br />Found in a tomb on a site near <a href="http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/naukratis/index.html">Naukratis</a>.</div><div align="center"><br /><em><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Bells</span></strong></em> </div><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212560994512872674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3v0o7-tMdtx_o2W7EKpZ_ndSU8LvN09jhS2RuNLjwO2sHRsUOGmrCxWTO0UbotxXBnkIjvTLD1JcpRTDBmd6fQpuCr1PEAXhzYZ8GGu0y6FdUza5o0srbgUzmcJXppZBghVj__IpO9M/s400/uc30361.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212561003289654082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-bk1F4RRjdelc-BaYiDsAxnDoOQ-PfD8DRcFN3-UmifYWpf2LBlpZHIwTJYqKYbfCncuxTCRl97jcHh4puc67VIedEDoPdMTUXQvq1ElbK_NukdNwDWj8hr0QiwIIEc47Vvc68Z10wM/s400/uc30362.jpg" border="0" /> Two bronze bells, forming a pair, tongues are missing. </p><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Neck of harp</strong></em></span> </div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212561006906181506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtBoe9azayCuJBpbsV4_n054bssEq6Yv2wNpTUqksEQDRepAkzSmUT2bl18P6ob61QS9yStUtbUMKtI7jVYZzwSFbVxlCwLRI0N6rC7GLiF4dVL1VizKIWklVTfnhG9NQ1CCD8NNo2_w/s400/uc35804.jpg" border="0" /> Neck of wooden angular harp; circular in section, narrower circumference at base, fifteen pegs still in situ with holes for five more. </p><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>fragment of a harp</strong></em></span> </p><p align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212561025255946354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg22NYUvUr1iNDCFPA3CtkFpUs4zJBc7X1qo7s64iqriqYxuFaz_zBBpjx1WwgGiwBMefEmenYMSb77LSQHBwJZWfcyj2o_BS9MO9hGDgtPkJ-4jdancghfefGLGJ74dhcdZmqI_QBjI2s/s400/uc33271.jpg" border="0" /> Wooden neck of harp, both ends broken. In two pieces (a third not traced). Three pegs out of at least five, remain. Lower part gessoed. </p><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Pipe</strong></em></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212565824784207458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg805bpIjkVlJ8KsFH3LxJl3cPMM4puFUH9RoHWLtS2OWqwBA6zJtnrxztUJS4eWM80m5-VV-_L4YtqYu87JmXGgo9F9T9VR81vUKbS-TLyKSzB83AuFd1ZvYbMCuAILwD4tWzPSCRG3DY/s400/uc33270.jpg" border="0" />Seven joined reed pipes, with knob at bottom of each. Fastened with strip of palm-stick at each side tied with string and resin. Smallest reed broken away at top.<br /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Lahun</strong></em></span><br /></p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6sKy8wTC1B8cT0-WUGaZzri2K6xhGHBdCBtp99vG-IDcgodJurKUIyaN-8h-Z0NMJP9kYTHPjsxterTuj8cLFadTXhflP6adu1lPSP5HU3pSWWNlm0oopcsSCOdHAS9lwV3vMRzDEVA/s1600-h/uc7407.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212565840699569554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH6sKy8wTC1B8cT0-WUGaZzri2K6xhGHBdCBtp99vG-IDcgodJurKUIyaN-8h-Z0NMJP9kYTHPjsxterTuj8cLFadTXhflP6adu1lPSP5HU3pSWWNlm0oopcsSCOdHAS9lwV3vMRzDEVA/s400/uc7407.jpg" border="0" /></a> Length of reed (sealed at each end by joint) with a shield-shaped hole cut through both sides.</p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212565832577868786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghUpIJ0E5vHy9ka8DJZ1J8nCqm_KWklOQ_SK2yZPYy_qos-eakZPNjWSq_iouYraNWh-qQoIBFPYJ9mjouERmzUItxukbZdp9Tnot2XCleetKfOliLMn9YGq5C49MMm9AKPhGURTj06Ws/s400/lahunmap.gif" border="0" /> Lahun is the name of a modern town at the entrance to the Fayum.</p><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Gurob</strong></em></span> </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Mg8UaIbEw_GdwTPqgkynbatSgZ1oeH_sAt0O_d8NIEKLx-z0R8wnmV1lUzIISX24VB1bYuXGoH75wOW2VCj4K21h1W5gvEd96dJEsal2kyo5HGGKwXqhUhyphenhyphenjaXP5cwBmAn9p1BSDTG0/s1600-h/uc7945.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212565851057881154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Mg8UaIbEw_GdwTPqgkynbatSgZ1oeH_sAt0O_d8NIEKLx-z0R8wnmV1lUzIISX24VB1bYuXGoH75wOW2VCj4K21h1W5gvEd96dJEsal2kyo5HGGKwXqhUhyphenhyphenjaXP5cwBmAn9p1BSDTG0/s400/uc7945.jpg" border="0" /></a> Pair of reed pipes, mouthpieces lost, similar holes spaces 1.14 (inches) to 1.24 (inches), practically equal; joined together by resin and linen.</p><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJryXSEfulOJFkvQejw0e7Jgt6QCtKRW8rs-bwwc5wc0Fox6JSikrdNHbPX16OgSjXLGFnPPrh1zvZpesOrInfQFzloPwN7ywa4f3tLn0ViaF5V7fLNOdY7ZG7yEOfwMojtFHlIxBtrlk/s1600-h/uc35805.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212567957083294706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJryXSEfulOJFkvQejw0e7Jgt6QCtKRW8rs-bwwc5wc0Fox6JSikrdNHbPX16OgSjXLGFnPPrh1zvZpesOrInfQFzloPwN7ywa4f3tLn0ViaF5V7fLNOdY7ZG7yEOfwMojtFHlIxBtrlk/s400/uc35805.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Double reed pipes (clarinet type) in sections which are lashed together at the ends with bitumenised thread; size of sections increases from mouthpiece, one side has four, the other three and a fragment, third section of this side has size holes.</p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212567962179993458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuEHImD4lAtZO0DJ59zrigvPlD1jJK__fzO5Dl2wPTlMjyfbt6qiyeDSgJrGI-9tA0fgTaCoyGAtGeGgapCnsoE_xXy9Kf5R5NNrhORdIFlObELkhKy1CNzZozBGmFTDUQHkWa6V1IF4/s400/uc59720.jpg" border="0" />Reed, hollow and clogged, faded traces from zig-zag binding at one end; broken along edges; perhaps a musical instrument.</p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212565841727486882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifekzHxCwPuQBuco__kvaSwamNeSMRwSAb3yl4v5D3hbhQhdb2sp9hbhfKI0YHxfaPDqrKpEzpiSZVLhDcTJga-0h2u_U2Z6L0NzeNxdcM6QCFetqH5u5kgXu0ATRWu8ezrcvWWEkfVPM/s400/046ihnasya.gif" border="0" /><br />Important town with palace, town and necropolis at the entrance to the Fayum.</p><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Flute</strong></em></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212567967312287074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivbj0RNY-L437be_nWu89zU0A_I2GsIYOqxnJinkUoTsBzYCqksZ6ViOBLOyDdLEA1iSNqt2QJNOOcACuduP4HfhwN9XPJ6PpDklFXmZx-vYNEU5urstj1cw6Z0cP8dOr7VVZTRylzJbM/s400/uc71559.jpg" border="0" /><br />Thick reed segment, sliced diagonally at one end to form part of a musical instrument.<br /><br /><div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"></div><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.aldokkan.com/">http://www.aldokkan.com/</a> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/">http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/</a> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/AncientEgypt.html">http://www.umich.edu/~kelseydb/AncientEgypt.html</a> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/music.htm">http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/timelines/topics/music.htm</a></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5212591519542769378" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaH5G0WPGGnzxe_mLMsr9iMzMEh1LrSi0B8lBWdQv1l2sORAYJn0khodV9TNQNvOS_-22juOHGOumpJYkHvn9X_wn7A9WFoh5RO3GH6MNp8koJMD9FFQVnaMtrD-pmyTZOQz1dRTukWo0/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-53166613854897674062008-05-28T23:50:00.001+03:002008-05-29T00:01:17.170+03:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Old Predynastic Maadi</strong></span></div><br />The archaeological site of Maadi, for which a modern suburb of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/cairo/">Cairo</a> is named, is located on an <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxoqGay6CPQIfs50znaej7SNeQ1k4vRjCtK4S4ntequCUBkdjnlp40lnTX0PIK_q48vW_VU-r6-vaMsA1WLPm_nJHdm1-Wz6-9pQWODSxY8fPtVDXSAzbHirDmx2jNRv0-nNylJxSZzY/s1600-h/maadi3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018185159717538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxoqGay6CPQIfs50znaej7SNeQ1k4vRjCtK4S4ntequCUBkdjnlp40lnTX0PIK_q48vW_VU-r6-vaMsA1WLPm_nJHdm1-Wz6-9pQWODSxY8fPtVDXSAzbHirDmx2jNRv0-nNylJxSZzY/s400/maadi3.jpg" border="0" /></a>east-west oriented desert ridge between two wadis at the southern city limits of Cairo. Regrettably, part of this <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic</a> site has already been ruined by modern building activities, and the remaining area is under threat from the intrusion of this highly populated area of Egypt.<br /><br />Maadi is not only the name of an ancient Egyptian settlement, but is also used to define a specific culture of the 4th millennium BC, though by the middle of that period it had already been abandoned. It is closely associated with Buto, the other Lower Egyptian stronghold of early civilization which may predate Maadi, and might certainly have existed concurrently with Maadi.<br /><br />Parts of the Maadi site was initially excavated in 1918, and the results of this investigation became public in a report to the International Congress of Geography in 1925. Three years later, Egyptologist J. Lucuas visited the site and identified three specific areas of settlement.<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Excavations</strong></em></span><br /><br />Maadi, as well as two nearby necropolises, were extensively excavated . By the Department of Geography of the University of Cairo between 1930 and 1953. In the earliest years of this project between 1930 and 1933, the excavations were conducted in cooperation with the German Institute of Archaeology (O. Menghin, K. Bittle). In total, there were eleven archaeological missions carried out by the University of Cairo under the leadership of various Egyptian and foreign prehistorians. Though this work came to an abrupt halt during World War II, four volumes of research were published by various specialists in the fields of natural sciences, pottery, lithic industries, non-lithic objects and cemeteries. Unfortunately.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017759957955154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAx67Be0_Up_UHNEQeiwTsGl8eN5witmTdKfnDeuPzx4ziXqO-JhCZ6IRRALKf8B3rxFG7eCbdXdinIguTZVJ_cNDuKOBBofTgETjSlXkp0NzC_IOSENXK6zZkWKuao5FxvUU6kiqsi0/s400/maadi2.jpg" border="0" /><br />Throughout this period, a part of the western section of the site was occupied by a military camp and other structures, and was therefore not accessible to archaeologists. However, in the mid 1980s, F. A. Badawy finally received permission to excavate that area, which resulted in the discovery of a very ancient stone building.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwLkaL34hl-5bYdS_GeJkzq1w8wzreqJEppQtoSoLLNqZ7AnPGiD7zkXMkYnqPb883e77bXahRQAam8WIBKvptFTeACFFa1COD3MZdt1yt8qr-10MIN73zIkHvDEhf_DuKZ_ZoSrvTWg/s1600-h/daik_maadi_08_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017382000833090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 187px" height="187" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiwLkaL34hl-5bYdS_GeJkzq1w8wzreqJEppQtoSoLLNqZ7AnPGiD7zkXMkYnqPb883e77bXahRQAam8WIBKvptFTeACFFa1COD3MZdt1yt8qr-10MIN73zIkHvDEhf_DuKZ_ZoSrvTWg/s400/daik_maadi_08_k.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></a>Currently, and in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities and the University of Cairo, parts of Maadi are being excavated by the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo. In addition to sampling various regions of the site, the stone building excavated by F. A. Badawy has been cleared, and the adjacent area excavated to clarify its stratigraphic relationship to the surrounding settlement.<br /><br /><br />So far, the findings of this work provide a picture of at least two occupation phases, including one in which wooden posts of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPQZmLHL7w9vtSWap4y-zmeEnJkOXnGMEUzyDjpoVvK4BU4FBBqdcvuKGWk0iuPE_SpD_fmfCd3Z2-VM1Tb09xgTBXrVje_vLUmXbaXRFACR_6KItMmncZ7dasLONlP3cuwuXcLRArXI/s1600-h/daik_maadi_04_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200016858014822834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 207px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px" height="215" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPQZmLHL7w9vtSWap4y-zmeEnJkOXnGMEUzyDjpoVvK4BU4FBBqdcvuKGWk0iuPE_SpD_fmfCd3Z2-VM1Tb09xgTBXrVje_vLUmXbaXRFACR_6KItMmncZ7dasLONlP3cuwuXcLRArXI/s400/daik_maadi_04_k.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></a>different sizes, probably from huts and fences, storage jars fire places and small mud lined pits, occasionally with burnt walls was discovered. Substantial ash deposits also point to industrial activities.<br /><br />There now is recognized two subterranean or semi-subterranean stone buildings. The one originally excavated by A. F. Badawy is entirely made of stone and was carefully plastered with Nile mud. It has a rectangular plan with rounded corners and an entrance lined by walls from the north. Its interior measurements are eight by four meters, with the floor situated two meters deeper than the upper preserved edge of its walls. So far, this building is completely unique among ancient Egyptian sites.<br /><br />A second building has now also been discovered within the recent excavation zone. It consists of an entrance corridor of approximately six<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX2gzPiox0bCxgBxS38U_fhWETCPnm5aBSQFIVlFE8MK7_chABQgDzRQljoUTgqBp44xPdApXBu7NT5BZ_yeAR0VzvRsznOeOC7B1cj_0ntOwwMZxrgMh3_sYhaFx8tzSZay0hAYQFrY/s1600-h/daik_maadi_12_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200016862309790146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 208px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px" height="228" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX2gzPiox0bCxgBxS38U_fhWETCPnm5aBSQFIVlFE8MK7_chABQgDzRQljoUTgqBp44xPdApXBu7NT5BZ_yeAR0VzvRsznOeOC7B1cj_0ntOwwMZxrgMh3_sYhaFx8tzSZay0hAYQFrY/s400/daik_maadi_12_k.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></a></div>meters in length and a one to one and a half meter width, which slopes to a depth of two and one half meters below the upper edges of its walls. This corridor is accessible from<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX2gzPiox0bCxgBxS38U_fhWETCPnm5aBSQFIVlFE8MK7_chABQgDzRQljoUTgqBp44xPdApXBu7NT5BZ_yeAR0VzvRsznOeOC7B1cj_0ntOwwMZxrgMh3_sYhaFx8tzSZay0hAYQFrY/s1600-h/daik_maadi_12_k.jpg"></a></div>the south by stone steps and communicates with a cave-like main room that has not yet been fully excavated. While the corridor is carefully line with plastered stone, the main room appears to be simply cut into the bedrock.<br /><br />This second building is similar to others that were found in the older excavations in the eastern part of Maadi, which scholars have connected to the chalcolithic Beersheva culture of Southern Palestine. There is no doubt whatsoever that both buildings date to the Predynastic Period, and thus far, they represent the earliest examples of the use of stone as building materials known in Egypt. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTyhyphenhyphenqJTB9v4s_s5wmdAXaFHQM82_XLgL9c4_9FyaWfr-EMcRIVw7ZI565oXTFVXIKcTu4eKndZmon6MVPc3I5spJ0nD76hgvYa_97Yo9c1iO2F1VuNZ4spMfJKw0IZc48DQ1H7uTwUc/s1600-h/daik_maadi_16_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200016870899724770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 205px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" height="130" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdTyhyphenhyphenqJTB9v4s_s5wmdAXaFHQM82_XLgL9c4_9FyaWfr-EMcRIVw7ZI565oXTFVXIKcTu4eKndZmon6MVPc3I5spJ0nD76hgvYa_97Yo9c1iO2F1VuNZ4spMfJKw0IZc48DQ1H7uTwUc/s400/daik_maadi_16_k.jpg" width="164" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Settlement</strong></em></span><br /><br />The site of Maadi is located on a narrow ridge in the mouth of the Wadi al-Tih. Though on the surface, it appears to have the typical characteristics of a Northern Egyptian Predynastic farming village, evidence unearthed in this location suggests otherwise. Certainly agriculture was a primary economic factor in this settlement, but there was also an emphasis on trade, metallurgy and foreign contacts that was unknown in other northern sites.<br /><br />Between about <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8u70gpeudTzKhQMURHLtUV5KEnyM77EKJzlsFxmrdLcnmYmQrKaHLznG3GEcaoD03HEJlplTpLe6lKO1pj8Il9pSx0TXQtKhYn2sRgwJ3KEyi5m70KJiDa0kiNCgwprY-rcRHl6YGLoU/s1600-h/maadi5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200021256061334258" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 284px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" height="226" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8u70gpeudTzKhQMURHLtUV5KEnyM77EKJzlsFxmrdLcnmYmQrKaHLznG3GEcaoD03HEJlplTpLe6lKO1pj8Il9pSx0TXQtKhYn2sRgwJ3KEyi5m70KJiDa0kiNCgwprY-rcRHl6YGLoU/s400/maadi5.jpg" width="308" border="0" /></a>3600 and 3000 BC, a number of innovations took place at Maadi that brought Egypt into the realm of the international world. Trade dominated this settlement more than any other contemporary sites, and it had few rivals in Egypt even during later periods. Its location within the Wadi al-Tih, the main historic route to the copper mines of the Sinai, together with the presence of housing obviously of a foreign type and pottery, domesticated donkeys, elaborate storage facilities and a well developed copper industry all evidence the importance of it role as a trade center.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIchelym6RD6uBoq0KSLAcIVCpkt_YSUuwBOhvnh3Qui-0I-wplBsZdTZExTd8_aR6FRhIQjHUlndOTiTLlg7eJxOLTKRknOtXVjL_sF7sAwkXXUQ-PXizyrI80BYW_iiIotclm5TmL8/s1600-h/maadi6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017373410898434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 292px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 145px" height="175" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqIchelym6RD6uBoq0KSLAcIVCpkt_YSUuwBOhvnh3Qui-0I-wplBsZdTZExTd8_aR6FRhIQjHUlndOTiTLlg7eJxOLTKRknOtXVjL_sF7sAwkXXUQ-PXizyrI80BYW_iiIotclm5TmL8/s400/maadi6.jpg" width="292" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Maadi may have in fact originated in order to exploit the Sinai copper mines. Unearthed tidbits in the area include copper bars that are possibly ingots, bits of unprocessed, a miscast head of an ax, and even a possible smelting area, originally identified as a pottery kiln. However, trade may have predated Maadi's copper industry, considering that metallurgy had developed first in other regions like the Mediterranean and <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXnpM-SF4EKM4tXM6VFDiRuQ3C947urGO-TlbVx1r5VJBwzH1n53jeV_ZAhq1RndZDdv5ipQxzhkmYmus2F2ZVsDZADdMakhRkrMnOvAbRPdZYHZBsfBAkh-PgFXvazFYqNy6H5v5Avc/s1600-h/daik_maadi_13_k.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017382000833058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwXnpM-SF4EKM4tXM6VFDiRuQ3C947urGO-TlbVx1r5VJBwzH1n53jeV_ZAhq1RndZDdv5ipQxzhkmYmus2F2ZVsDZADdMakhRkrMnOvAbRPdZYHZBsfBAkh-PgFXvazFYqNy6H5v5Avc/s400/daik_maadi_13_k.gif" border="0" /></a>Iranian Plateau, and spread into Egypt through trade with foreign lands. Hence, we may note that Maadi was a mercantile community which invested its surplus wealth into metallurgy, transportation and storage.<br /><div><br /><div><div><div>There can be little question that Maadi benefited from a very favorable geographical position. Not only did it have access to the mainstream of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf4a.htm">Nile</a>, just south of where it branches into the Delta, but from there goods could reach the Mediterranean and of course there was also access to the desert frontiers to the east through the Wadi al-Tih. Its ultimate abandonment, however, may have been due to the ease with which its location was imitated by the ancient capital of Egypt, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/memphis.htm">Memphis</a>, located only ten kilometers north of Maadi. Another contributory factor may have also been the fact that after the unification of Egypt, its rulers sought to control and exclude the nomads that undoubtedly provided considerable trade goods to the area.</div></div></div></div><br /><br />One of the most obvious evidences of foreign contact at Maadi is a unique type of dwelling that was apparently imported from southern <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEkG4rI1qYSKeoDcATcBvEveqAAp6RWu1W2jooL1wG3Wpd20e2FAJHKjPLOO3vdfXBucWbCDpwfasOmfgAaXpyvmTZRy2mDNjneVDq-DxDc3XlMs0wosVFrHlhrQQZdZEA74jmjp1fFNY/s1600-h/daik_maadi_14_k.jpg"></a>Palestine. Though most of the houses in the settlement were typical of the usual Lower Egyptian variety, having an oval shape with post walls and frames of mud-daubed wickerwork, there were also true underground houses which were unique among the villages of prehistoric Egypt. However, such houses did exist at several sites around Beersheba in southern Palestine, leading archaeologists to believe that they were imports from that area to Egypt, perhaps even housing foreigners at Maadi.<br /><br />These foreign style structures were constructed with a pit dug two to three meters into the subsoil. There dimensions could be as great as three by almost five meters. Their entrance consisted of a slanting passage with steps that were sometimes faced in stone. Around the walls of the pit, posts were driven into the floor in order to support a roof that was probably made of light materials such as woven mats, the remains of which were discovered in some of the buildings. In the center of the floor, a sunken hearth was constructed.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPuiic91h0DQC9Fs3lS19M9UsSQ0OTMd3DuiNUYkHTzKj8mDP8L521p6HawGhKGi1NpSLNU5twL4VjGSCRTFc6SaDQOt1kBiDiVnU1izXO7w_robJ6zRovAeVx1UiOmblqOxv8f5YJ3pQ/s1600-h/maadi7.jpg"></a><br />Within these dwellings, considerable debris was unearthed during excavations, supporting the claim that they were houses as opposed to some sort of ceremonial structure.<br /><br />However, the subterranean houses are not the only evidence of foreign contact at Maadi. With the exception of "Fayoum A" culture locations, Lower Egyptian sites usually only reveal storage pits and jars associated with individual households. Though such facilities also existed at Maadi, there were two specialized storage areas located at opposite ends of the site. On the southern boundary of the settlement were large, underground storage cellars while on the northern border there were rows of great storage jars, known by the Greek name, Pithoi, that were sunk up to their rims in the soil. The latter pithoi mostly contained foodstuffs such as em<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjb2lgmKnZgfrTI_6O6BG13Lltby-JmUFXx1LlOLTy1VfDEyGkCfGjR_fkeioG5n38pSLSUPuvGay8l5NeaVB5eCrw1Vo6ly_zvUZP1pThIt0YKQBRgV9Ri61NBVdTXrlWUah5Hi0xfk/s1600-h/daik_maadi_10_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018180864750210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghjb2lgmKnZgfrTI_6O6BG13Lltby-JmUFXx1LlOLTy1VfDEyGkCfGjR_fkeioG5n38pSLSUPuvGay8l5NeaVB5eCrw1Vo6ly_zvUZP1pThIt0YKQBRgV9Ri61NBVdTXrlWUah5Hi0xfk/s400/daik_maadi_10_k.jpg" border="0" /></a>mer wheat and barley as well as cooked mutton, animal and fish bone and shellfish. Non-food items included small pots, flints, spindle whorls and jar stoppers. On the other hand, the cellars on the southern boundary of Maadi contianed luxury goods, suggesting a fairly well organized community based system of storage and exchange.<br /><br />The storage cells measured one to two meters in depth, and could reach a maximum length of almost four meters. Within these cellars, there were at times large pithoi jars sunk into the floors and covered by stone lids. There is also indication that the cellars <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXybWil1-q-EKhGOJkIcmNReuH7T1W_9gb79FOEXolxqylTF1xMm-A0WCRrdW-rb6-lv47VxTTPUxsLxqF1KtxKCzupR_CJmqTGw6lSgkTx3PsyyJVzh2DN4gh4x_uqAdgMH9zLpEPPs/s1600-h/daik_maadi_09_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018180864750194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXybWil1-q-EKhGOJkIcmNReuH7T1W_9gb79FOEXolxqylTF1xMm-A0WCRrdW-rb6-lv47VxTTPUxsLxqF1KtxKCzupR_CJmqTGw6lSgkTx3PsyyJVzh2DN4gh4x_uqAdgMH9zLpEPPs/s400/daik_maadi_09_k.jpg" border="0" /></a>were at one time roofed over with light timbers. There was also at least one cellar with a retaining wall built of stone, which was one of the earliest uses of that material for building purposes. Some of the cellars were also linked together, which might indicate an increasing wealth of their owners or the settlement at large.<br /><br /><div><div>While many of the cellars had been disturbed or filled with trash during later periods, surprisingly, there fortunately remained samples of their original content, providing clues to the goods that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXupKdfJpwSrjyHl5ZYIP04NnB2sb9_pMqgJHY_j_oV5RJLNMVoX-MCc6OXj4UjKX6nUZ32u5idW_DkRu9NXiplz2nOgpee-h4hqOv3g69L6DHj_JO7PgHVZfYS9sCTtTFgPzRKZNmz0/s1600-h/daik_maadi_11_k.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018185159717522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXupKdfJpwSrjyHl5ZYIP04NnB2sb9_pMqgJHY_j_oV5RJLNMVoX-MCc6OXj4UjKX6nUZ32u5idW_DkRu9NXiplz2nOgpee-h4hqOv3g69L6DHj_JO7PgHVZfYS9sCTtTFgPzRKZNmz0/s400/daik_maadi_11_k.jpg" border="0" /></a>were once flowed through Maadi. In one of these cellars that remained sealed, there was unearthed a number of well made stone jars and vases, carnelian beads and a decayed, unidentifiable white substance. In other cellars, jars contained grain and in several examples as many as twelve containers were still in place. </div></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pjemxJMNi7EgoYHaV-KCeWm63zsqLr1hYUrkuG6dgRcdklpsHNYJBePU8qsEzN9LFfwVLWCO7Jhk3dV00qdtuEzYZKSl24on5vhiLvg_KgF1xoDmdRXfA9bDpvpA8Pkxpp0k3HU72BI/s1600-h/daik_maadi_05_k.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017377705865746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0pjemxJMNi7EgoYHaV-KCeWm63zsqLr1hYUrkuG6dgRcdklpsHNYJBePU8qsEzN9LFfwVLWCO7Jhk3dV00qdtuEzYZKSl24on5vhiLvg_KgF1xoDmdRXfA9bDpvpA8Pkxpp0k3HU72BI/s400/daik_maadi_05_k.gif" border="0" /></a>Well made stone jars at Maadi perhaps indicate that at least here Lower Egypt had finally attained the technical competence in stone grinding found in the south, provided they were manufactured in this region. These items, manufactured from a variety of stone including granite, gneiss, diorite, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> basalt, limestone and alabaster, were both well made and attractive. They were usually fashioned as elongated cylinders with flat rims, small handles and flaring, ring-like bases. These were undoubtedly used for commercial purposes, while local limestone was roughly shaped into dishes, bowls, cups and lamps for domestic use.<br /><br />Carnelian beads may have possibly served as a crude form of trade currency. The beads that were found in the sealed cellar were almost certainly made from material remote from Maadi. It may have originated in the Eastern Desert, and the beads may have also been manufactured elsewhere and brought into Maadi by nomads. These attractive red-orange, translucent carnelian beads were in considerable demand in the ancient Middle East and South Asia during the fourth and third millennia BC. They were also easy to transport and relatively scarce.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvlGWPPYULEAg6TaCR7NzCA9DUTBboEJPmRqAitMXYMXzqEhIE0u2TeXBChKUjYDqc9PywfobW3elE9ayJrzDrovoCE2a7f55AV9VmyLKdTYNSYMrzzYqwGYIoxIOgPem1hGfHGG4-ys/s1600-h/maadi4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018185159717554" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 358px" height="378" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTvlGWPPYULEAg6TaCR7NzCA9DUTBboEJPmRqAitMXYMXzqEhIE0u2TeXBChKUjYDqc9PywfobW3elE9ayJrzDrovoCE2a7f55AV9VmyLKdTYNSYMrzzYqwGYIoxIOgPem1hGfHGG4-ys/s400/maadi4.jpg" width="299" border="0" /></a><br />There was also found the distinctive black-topped red ware of Upper Egypt, which is not surprising considering the site of ancient Gerzeh lies only about thirty kilometers south of Maadi. Other southern imports included the ubiquitous slate pigment palettes.<br /><br />Another indication of Maadi's role in foreign trade is the so-called Palestinian pottery unearthed at this site. Maadi contained several ceramic type that, like its subterranean houses, have precedents in the the Beersheba area of southern Palestine. They included ledge-handled jars, round-body lug-handled pots and loop-handled pots with light bodies.<br /><br />This pottery corresponds well with the discovery of some of the earliest domesticated donkey remains known in prehistoric Egypt Even today, jars are strapped on the backs of donkey or camels by nomads and transported with ease over long distances, and evidences the method that allowed the foreign pottery to be transported over their long journey form southern Palestine.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200017764252922466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUzz24adGt9nxsZtrS3oMgKIuN5F1RZBQfDoBpWBEiUwP_iaRTdvX8KO5AGmRKNxa57mhKK-dATs2zPZenclljXAi2j-i8zvwgvJ_GXM5hD3B07Y9EuP5K5ULOMCou3B1mAjR_PQwzwzg/s400/maadi9.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Maadi South cemetery</strong></em></span></div><br />As stated earlier, Maadi choose to invest most of its wealth in trade, storage and metallurgy, rather than fancy tombs and luxury goods as did their southern counterparts in Upper Egypt. However, they were not without some quest for prestige, and just bout the time that foreign contacts accelerated around 3,600 BC, they began to adopt many of their southern neighbors burial customs, though always on a poorer scale. Unfortunately, the early excavations at the three necropolises located in the area were not very well documented, and thus scholars have found it extremely difficult to date many of the burials.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnngi2vOmEOLy62gJ8B1ol2Msb5mZMk6pq6bNL4VaE487P5MLVLaP6Zjh3TqHhJr6xObD1dZKPH8L2EVb33Y8k24RtLw1h5NHxxh0Ep-0o-a2kSoapSM9kTUTMR0o0sLQHsKNeHxYNj3g/s1600-h/maadi10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018627541349074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnngi2vOmEOLy62gJ8B1ol2Msb5mZMk6pq6bNL4VaE487P5MLVLaP6Zjh3TqHhJr6xObD1dZKPH8L2EVb33Y8k24RtLw1h5NHxxh0Ep-0o-a2kSoapSM9kTUTMR0o0sLQHsKNeHxYNj3g/s400/maadi10.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Two of the cemeteries located in Wadi al-Tih and Maadi North, may probably be dated later than the Predynastic period. The necropolis that probably was used by the townspeople at Maadi, Maadi South, and which was luckily the best reported, is located about a kilometer southeast of the town on a low rise in the mouth of the Wadi Digla. Here, Amer and Rizkana unearthed some 468 burials between 1952 and 1953, all distributed over little more than an acre of land. Besides the human burials there were also burials for thirteen gazelles and one dog. At least one of the gazelles had its throat cut in what might have been a ritual sacrifice. The poorest graves were segregated at the western end of the site where the fourteen animal burials occur.<br /><br />The prehistoric date for this cemetery is supported by the contents of its graves, including artifacts that closely resemble those excavated in the settlement. These included any number of pots of the familiar oval, ring-based variety on smooth red and polished black wares, stone vases of alabaster, bas<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyGCGoEpeywJpxa8RmO69G0F74EccGzpZqCeV75k4SR1h2vWFnKVS9Df2ap3GFIGT7aOPM21WBwC-MbwGUG86yysBfkCgEoFM04EF0M8SaMpUWmw-HQcH0xFoYlen6ggHtw2M3d0naHI/s1600-h/maadi1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200018631836316386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="238" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbyGCGoEpeywJpxa8RmO69G0F74EccGzpZqCeV75k4SR1h2vWFnKVS9Df2ap3GFIGT7aOPM21WBwC-MbwGUG86yysBfkCgEoFM04EF0M8SaMpUWmw-HQcH0xFoYlen6ggHtw2M3d0naHI/s400/maadi1.jpg" width="325" border="0" /></a>alt and limestone, flake and blade tools, trapezoidal and rhomboidal palettes with beveled edges similar to those of the Naqadan culture, shell pigment containers and combs, bracelets and combs. Of course, there were also carnelian and other colored stone beads. Interestingly, little copper was discovered, presumably because it was simply considered too valuable for trade purposes to bury with the dead.<br /><br />With the coming of the unification of Egypt, Maadi disappears from our history of Egypt, but it certainly contributed to the future of the empire with its unique cultural and knowledge of trade with the outside world.<br /><br />As a side note, there is, or was at least until recently a museum at Maadi. It is both difficult to find and difficult to reach, having no signs and no real road. However, we are told that those truly interested in the archaeological site would do very well to seek it out.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.dainst.org/">http://www.dainst.org/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.springerlink.com/">http://www.springerlink.com/</a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200021500874470146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqGl12cn6pza2r_aA1Tbh2wM0HK0rDESs8mrUSnlRY7MdhrQjeCAeS3ILUdroeTLxIHA6irlDG_D-NJe6xOM5k0H2iTT7PuG07qDVLnlT4w-hxVOzRCItouG3Wdi0zF2f5B5LOFD_rGns/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-55669051102001068902008-05-20T02:30:00.004+03:002008-05-20T03:05:12.599+03:00<p align="left"><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Spirits of Nature</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Religion of the Egyptians</strong></span> </p><p align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyk_c7uXuqzJR-Ii2JHz9To1v12zZgOCZbmVmEZetJJEHEDghOU4wmZeySSVbN_IJYrVEqxdaczlNycnWz3eHBMNIF1xMY_q49lJlIOpE5-reE7_2DBAm1Gj7J84efncmLP0Zn5aJykF0/s1600-h/map.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618663006876018" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 143px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px" height="337" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyk_c7uXuqzJR-Ii2JHz9To1v12zZgOCZbmVmEZetJJEHEDghOU4wmZeySSVbN_IJYrVEqxdaczlNycnWz3eHBMNIF1xMY_q49lJlIOpE5-reE7_2DBAm1Gj7J84efncmLP0Zn5aJykF0/s400/map.gif" width="125" border="0" /></a>Ancient Egypt had by tradition a great variety of gods and what today can be labelled as "spirits" and "fairies". The total of them all was over 2.000, but many of them had similar characteristics and appeared all over the country by different names. The huge diversity is due to the fact that before the country was united the Nile Valley was split up into about forty self ruling areas (later to be provinces - so called nomes) where the ruling tribe had its own deities. Almost all gods had one thing in common - they had a count- erpart of the opposite sex and manifested themselves on earth through animals. Thus hundreds of birds, crocodiles, snakes, frogs, turtles, cows, cats etc. were considered to be the living images of a particular god and a natural and indestructible part of the environment in which people lived.All parts of life were covered and there were gods for - beer, plants, digestion, the high seas, female sexuality, gardens, feasting etc. Many of them had lots of duties and were in time combined with each other in a great number of ways. They could also appear in many forms like a goddess (curious even by Egyptian standards) having a head of a bee and body from a hippopotamus. The goddesses are easy to single out in depictions - they always had their legs joined together, while the gods used to be shown striding.</p><p align="left"></p><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI5VRO2nxMYmFEG-yO5mvxXvtkmNLT8rlxzo58tmGvpUbV91HCjccJGl0nvr0-MhE0_zA6UlhdQgiFljpX2OaSAaeWVpwpt1fB887cOKGBa2-o75tSFbw_UY05Sstamc4rl5GQRQ93MQ/s1600-h/taueret.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199583770692562978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXI5VRO2nxMYmFEG-yO5mvxXvtkmNLT8rlxzo58tmGvpUbV91HCjccJGl0nvr0-MhE0_zA6UlhdQgiFljpX2OaSAaeWVpwpt1fB887cOKGBa2-o75tSFbw_UY05Sstamc4rl5GQRQ93MQ/s400/taueret.jpg" border="0" /></a>Different towns struggled to have just their local gods as the prime deities in the state religion and thus we have many different religious legends over the years depending upon which town had the greatest influence for the moment. Because of this over the years different gods came into fashion and later went out of style, with exception of a group that was in front right from the beginning and never lost its popularity. These were responsible for vital things like love, joy, dancing, childbirth, justice, cemeteries, afterlife, writing, mummification etc. All aspect of daily life were covered by at least one of these deities, and like people on earth they were members of families, were married and had children. Many ingredients made it possible for common people to identify themselves with them since their personalities were made of both divine strength and human weakness. They did most of the things that ordinary people did, like harvesting, hunting, eating, drinking, partying and even dying. Most of them were depicted as men and women combined with the head of the animal by which they were represented and they could appear in different costumes and be represented by several animals in the Egyptian fauna. In other words - they could appear in many ways and yet some of them were so alike looking that it's impossible to identify them without reading the connecting text. Just looking at the dresses and the regalia they carry along isn't always enough, because they used to borrow objects from each other. This guesswork is a part of the charm when looking in to their in many ways, to us, unlikely world.As to their names today we use a blend of both their original Egyptian ones like Re, Ptah and Amon, and the Greek forms like Isis, Anubis and Horus.</p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong><em>Clothing</em></strong></span></p><p align="center"></p><p align="left">When the goddesses and gods were depicted with a human body the variety wasn't so big in the way they were dressed. Not more then half a dozen types of garments make almost one hundred percent of all. From the beginning they all wore white dresses, or at least single colored. This tradition slowly changed over the years and with time the colours and patterns became various. The peak was reached during the Greco-Roman period with outfits like actors in a costume spectacle in a theatre. Excluding the mummy-like creations, here is a type description in brief:</p><p align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1V2elolbyxOAAZWYfhEE0kDnfutX9us7G_qthxxnmqPmWyL2rSBbB3QaO07Gj5Il9KQ2XEWMWl_GFGBPeEVuDGByfis7IjZoi-K0j2-iIGMbYBmTocRHBfBlmnvH93z09OImzm7cI5o/s1600-h/khons.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199583774987530290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 188px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 342px" height="266" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN1V2elolbyxOAAZWYfhEE0kDnfutX9us7G_qthxxnmqPmWyL2rSBbB3QaO07Gj5Il9KQ2XEWMWl_GFGBPeEVuDGByfis7IjZoi-K0j2-iIGMbYBmTocRHBfBlmnvH93z09OImzm7cI5o/s400/khons.jpg" width="245" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><em>Tunic with suspenders</em></strong></span>.Male garment, ending above the waist<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199585982600720466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 117px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px" height="260" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_-bhPxwzP6ZikreqURofVIgZ3ITCwNsj24TVQZ7bMpB-8O9cLPUwmYMkhPgY277zaWSaprQ6hpjesn9ZQCAQLKWUhIbp9fF82yPiNUYMUIsV_xu4hjaIHNTqZ6usZitrBrMQIQAMsX0/s400/sekhmet.jpg" width="86" border="0" />and popular in all times. Example: <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/re.htm">Re.</a><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><em>Dress with suspenders</em></strong></span>.Female garment, ended above the waist, and was usually white. Example: <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/hathor.htm">Hathor.</a><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The short loinclothShort</strong></em></span> and skirt-like garment and popular from earliest times. Example: <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/asar-hap.htm">Asar-hap.</a><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The short-sleeved</strong></em></span> <span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>overall </strong></em></span>From the earliest times very common tight female garment. Example: <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/isis.htm">Isis.</a><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The full-length dressUnusual</strong></em></span>, sleeve-less and for goddesses. Went up to the neck. Example: <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/seshat.htm">Seshat.</a><br /><br /></p><p align="left"><em><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Notice</strong></span> that long sleeves were not in fashion in any era of Egyptian history, at least for the gods and goddesses. Their dresses were to a great extent similar to those worn by the upper classes in society during daytime and evenings, and mostly indoors.</em> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong><em>Headgear</em></strong></span><br /></p><p align="center"></p><p align="left">The gods had a lot of different things to put on their heads, and they surely did. In bright contrast to the stereotyped positions of their bodies the painters and sculptors were keen on giving the heads as much attention as possible. This was obviously initiated by pharaoh himself or the priesthood in order to give their favourite gods as much promotion as possible. The different crowns could give a hint where the god originally came from, and by wearing the combined crown for the whole country, the message was given that this god or goddess was important to all Egyptians. To make them conspicuous all crowns, hats etc. were adorned with plumes, horns, snakes, flowers, sun discs, leaves etc painted in bright colours. Especially during the Greco-Roman era the fantasy and elaboration was significant.<br /><br /></p><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199587004802936946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Pn23bi9pmZ6Wv86mnc4EVF0oUg15EOKrBbwn_jHdnmaNgKSETwiaTVvsW6suNXjAHw2lmn86t8UjncnJhJ2SHEHy8GIPxH90oAqI3t9dj7NVikx2IMPXRy2v8B0PxhxabB5I7K_TPpY/s400/1kronor.gif" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>EGYPTIAN CROWNS:</strong></em></span> The red one was from Lower and the white from Upper Egypt. The double crown represented the whole country. The Atef-crown was worn by Osiris and the type with horns and the sun disc by Re-Horakhte and other gods. The blue helmet-like came during dynasty 18 and was worn by kings and the god Amon.<br /><br />Besides royal crowns the gods had a lot of other symbols and things to wear upon their heads. In some cases the headgear was necessary to identify the deities in question, when they were dressed the same, as they often were. Here is a selection of personal things helping to identify which goddess is depicted in case the written hieroglyphs don't give a clue. The following objects below are shown in the way that they looked when the bearer in question was facing right. <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/neit.htm">Neit</a> had the a stylised form of her shield and crossed arrows on her head. <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/isis.htm">Isis</a> wore a throne on top, a rather uncomfortable one it seems, and <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/maat.htm">Maát</a> had her standing ostrich feather she was named after. <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/nephthys.htm">Nephtys</a> had a building topped with a bowl-like object (for collecting rain water?) and <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/nut.htm">Nut</a> had a pot (or a broad vase) upon her head.<a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/selkhet.htm">Selkhet</a> wore the dangerous scorpion (without its deadly sting), and <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/seshat.htm">Seshat</a> had the holy Persea-tree with two horns over it as her personal sign. <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/anat.htm">Anat</a> had a stylised cow's uterus as her token. <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/hathor.htm">Hathor</a> had several objects in her hat box like cow's horns with the sun disc and her favourite musical instrument - the sistrum, which was a rattle. </p><p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199586996213002338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTEXJsC4yC2SOR1E5lMX-5PkPczx_lGzyQNnJ7Gb-ONNA6UdjwqBYJQreLwpHhjlSLbgGjafTG01WCUMYnNUbdUNqlS-VYQN3IKEnK5VI3UuE8oiYY4w8flvJ_ylNFIm0wOVxvbHckMTo/s400/1hattar.gif" border="0" /> Most of these objects worn upon their heads were unique for just one female deity. The solar disc and horns (Hathor) and object of Anat could be worn by others and the very common solar disc with a cobra (not shown) was the insignia of many goddesses.<br /><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Regalia</strong></em></span></div><br />All paintings, drawings, sculptures and reliefs in Egypt followed a traditional scheme, and changes came slowly in time. Lots of artistic expressions didn't alter anything at all, and were the same for 3000 years. Traditional ways of depicting people are among these unaltered expressions of art. The body was normally in profile except for the torso which was shown from the front like the eye, to make the face more expressive. The gods (and kings) depicted were seldom empty handed - they usually carried various objects, and the symbolic meaning of some are still obscure to Egyptologists. The gods usually had the well known ankh-sign in one of their hands, with the meaning in general "life", also to be interpreted as joy of living. Since the Egyptian religion offered eternal life for those who had behaved well on earth, we don't know if this sign of life meant the next or the present one - or possibly both. The other hand was holding a staff or sceptre of some kind, and here we have half a dozen types. Goddesses usually had a sceptre topped with a flower in different colors (like a white lily from the Nile) but this was seldom seen among the gods, possibly because it gave a more soft impression to the observer.<br /><br />Very common through all times was the Was-sceptre for "command" (see pictures below) and some gods, like Ptah and Osiris, had their own type of this staff.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199587009097904258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYz5TCEiIzdmUd7OTCPCCLCRVTRJM64045zJlgQ_Ox8srx44PHSQOKxF29yOj9nqB25dcfM_fq8ISB7lesUwm9CzzEsXRimr07cGdrczCmQZnfGu4L-39cKZ8IJdVcyiKEwBQ2l-REU9o/s400/1spiror.gif" border="0" /> <span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>1)</strong></em></span> Sceptre with flower often carried by goddesses.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>2)</strong></em></span> The herdsman's crook of god <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/anedjti.htm">Anedjti,</a> patron of shepherds and protector of domesticated animals.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>3)</strong></em></span> Was-sceptre, stood for domination and power. It was very common among gods/kings in all times.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>4)</strong></em></span> Staff of creator <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/ptah.htm">Ptah</a> formed of four "djed-pillars" of order and stability (possibly a human spine).<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>5)</strong></em></span> Outfit of Osiris: crook and flail (cattle breeding and farming) plus the Was-sceptre and ankh-sign.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Myth of Osiris</strong></em></span></div><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"></span></em></strong><div align="left"><br />In the very beginning of time <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> was king over Egypt and his queen (and sister) was the goddess <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/isis.htm">Isis.</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-vcec3lWHk0kCoPVoBF5T7xGeAgjd4eUA-KoBre-FGaN5RYHEea9YOSEEb2UjG0yXfePysqoQ8C1dQ0tkekzmpv37bhSWWod4fQFjCsZmnvjsbPAOfHI9WjiRUu0XXAWrkvv3Kx6O5I/s1600-h/osiris.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199587936810840242" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz-vcec3lWHk0kCoPVoBF5T7xGeAgjd4eUA-KoBre-FGaN5RYHEea9YOSEEb2UjG0yXfePysqoQ8C1dQ0tkekzmpv37bhSWWod4fQFjCsZmnvjsbPAOfHI9WjiRUu0XXAWrkvv3Kx6O5I/s400/osiris.jpg" border="0" /></a>He was beloved by the people whom he told how to worship the gods and grow their crops for their daily bread. His brother <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/set.htm">Set</a> became jealous and tried to overthrow him and become king himself. When participating in a feast with Osiris as host, Set began to describe a beautiful coffin he had, in a way that made the other guests curious. IsisHe was asked to fetch it and so he did and this was just in line with his plan.<br /><br />Everyone agreed that it was a magnificent piece<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq1gEQNBkFLwVtlHi87imVzrUwhCWkCpQ3e-ZCd1gCmh9ruUcx3VwBB7SxIXj5avOaY4dd-FFRtMxIkipUCUQ5QCY0D1EeYgcak6WMaO6WNUqn37h3dF259zAebQnwuyPLJAboMecWkY/s1600-h/gods_isis.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199588473681752290" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 157px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px" height="284" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUq1gEQNBkFLwVtlHi87imVzrUwhCWkCpQ3e-ZCd1gCmh9ruUcx3VwBB7SxIXj5avOaY4dd-FFRtMxIkipUCUQ5QCY0D1EeYgcak6WMaO6WNUqn37h3dF259zAebQnwuyPLJAboMecWkY/s400/gods_isis.jpg" width="224" border="0" /></a> of craftsmanship and Set told them that he would give it away for free to whomever fitted exactly into it. Since he had made the coffin himself it was measured to fit one person only - his brother Osiris. When he placed himself in it everybody could see that he was the one who would get i as a present, but the evil Set had other plans. With his brother Osiris still in it, he and his fellows quickly nailed the lid and threw it into the Nile. Queen Isis was overcome by sorrow and began to search all over the land for it, but in vain.<br /><br /></div><div align="left">One day she heard that a wonderful tree had sprung on the shores of Byblos in the north on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where the local king had cut it down and built a palace from it.<br />HorusIsis understood that this was the place <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sTIVg5iHFomMiAfgiSaXIqBtlzbZ1Cll7ik2B-GyEB4I5xjImrr_DIJK18ExxUNawGXZleOxMJqxdfTgmcSk8KSaWEGqkQ_eJjqMb67pIMNt-ggxiKkSxyWBkqj7zz-gS7MysUmeMfA/s1600-h/gods_horus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199587936810840210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 176px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 259px" height="281" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sTIVg5iHFomMiAfgiSaXIqBtlzbZ1Cll7ik2B-GyEB4I5xjImrr_DIJK18ExxUNawGXZleOxMJqxdfTgmcSk8KSaWEGqkQ_eJjqMb67pIMNt-ggxiKkSxyWBkqj7zz-gS7MysUmeMfA/s400/gods_horus.jpg" width="229" border="0" /></a>where the coffin had come to shore and she went there in disguise. She got a job at the court as a hairdresser for the queen and now when she could walk freely inside the castle she began to look for the coffin, and finally she found it in a remote chamber.<br /><br />During the night she managed to snach it and embarked a boat heading for Egypt. When she came there she hid in the marshlands in the delta. There she opened the coffin and took a last farewell of her beloved husband Osiris and began searching for a suitable place to bury him. But Set was aware of all this and was hiding nearby. When Isis went to rest for the night he snatched the coffin and cut his brother's body into <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwrx6EjQNCgre62P2bjxlZEPA932DbA-ydB_9VSgG5aN3ECEWn-AgH-Tw2ZKWdCikH1jHlvqwpoN37oSfF4FTNBS_HvSu_PS89oybLucMdaxrHsYJzgbEjsvVIl5onqy0pAXowZfUUC0/s1600-h/gods_seth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199588473681752306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 199px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px" height="300" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwrx6EjQNCgre62P2bjxlZEPA932DbA-ydB_9VSgG5aN3ECEWn-AgH-Tw2ZKWdCikH1jHlvqwpoN37oSfF4FTNBS_HvSu_PS89oybLucMdaxrHsYJzgbEjsvVIl5onqy0pAXowZfUUC0/s400/gods_seth.jpg" width="236" border="0" /></a>fourteen pieces and spread them all over Egypt. Isis became furious and asked her sister <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/nephthys.htm">Nephthys</a> and her son <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/anubis.htm">Anubis,</a> to help her to find all the pieces of her husband's body.<br /><br />They now started a nation wide search that lasted for many years and finally all the part of Osiris' body were found except for the penis which had been thrown into the Nile where it was devoured by a fish. Isis made a wooden replacement for it and then put the whole body together. She now asked the sun god Re to make her husband alive just for one day, which he did, and they could have a last night of love together. The next day Osiris died and his body was embalmed by Anubis who thus made him the first mummy. Isis later gave birth to a son who was named <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/horus.htm">Horus</a> and she did all she could to keep it a secret from Set, but he found them and almost killed them in an ambush.<br />ThothThey were saved by the god of wisdom - <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/thot.htm">Thoth</a>, and he told them to hide in the reeds in the marshes once more. But as before Set found their hiding place and had more wicked things on his mind. He transformed himself into a snake and gave the little Horus child a fatal bite.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R8BL3ooh3khU_TAEcdTEHnIIQdEd7JtfUkTV8FxmWZXY4JnLAke-EFDRpmlKzWAzhsFzmlCOFuMcU3SZNGjHFUN_Xh81pOm-6-Cmw2db_ZNp_s8IvqOBm7-AOouXzFXX1MQufBVNHwA/s1600-h/gods_thoth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199587936810840226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3R8BL3ooh3khU_TAEcdTEHnIIQdEd7JtfUkTV8FxmWZXY4JnLAke-EFDRpmlKzWAzhsFzmlCOFuMcU3SZNGjHFUN_Xh81pOm-6-Cmw2db_ZNp_s8IvqOBm7-AOouXzFXX1MQufBVNHwA/s400/gods_thoth.jpg" border="0" /></a> When Isis came back she found her baby almost lifeless, and took him to the nearest village to get help. A wise old woman examined him and found out that it must have been Set as a snake who had bitten him. Thoth came to their rescue once more and drove out the poison from Horus' body and he recovered. He and his mother stayed hiding in the delta until he was a mature man and sometimes he took the form of a hawk and scouted out Set for the final showdown - the revenge on his murdered father. When that moment came they fought for three days until Thoth stopped the fight. They were both taken to the Court of Law in the Underworld and there they presented their versions of the story leading to the combat. The Court did not believe Set, who was sentenced to pull the boat with the sun across the sky forever. Horus now became the new king of Egypt like his father Osiris before him, and the good had finally conquered evil.<br /><br />Isis put the body of her dead husband in a coffin and had nineteen identical coffins made in which she put duplicates. Priest from Egypt's twenty biggest towns then were given one each and could all thereafter claim that they had Osiris' tomb in their town. Thus many places in Egypt were (and still are) called Abusir - the place of Osiris.<br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Legends of creation</strong></em></span></div><br />Ancient Egypt had different stories telling about how the world and all its inhabitants once came to be. The legends varied from province to province along the Nile, but after the unification a handful of them grew more popular and others were forgotten.The priesthood in the cult centres of the creator-gods supported their own version and thus we meet gods like Atum, Re, Ptah, Khnum and Kheper performing the act as The Great Maker, but in different ways. There are no Deluge-legends involved in any of the creation stories of the Nile-people, probably because they had their own big flood every year and the beginning of everything couldn't possibly involve a banality like that.<br /><br />The most common, and probably one of the oldest stories, said that at the dawn of time there was nothing but the water called Nun, and the first ground coming out of the water was symbolized by fetish called the "Ben-Ben stone". From a slightly irregular shape in time it turned into a broad and short obelisk with a pointed top in a four-side pyramid fashion. Some scholars suggest that this might be the prototype for later pyramids tombs, but others do not. On the Ben-Ben stone stood Atum and he coughed and spat out Shu and Tefnut.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The world creators in short:</strong></em></span></div><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>ATUM</strong></em></span> from Heliopolis made everything (even himself) of his own sperm through masturbating or spitting. He then created woman from a bit of flesh from his hand.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>PTAH</strong></em></span> from Heliopolis in Lower Egypt made the world by simply saying words and made earth raise from the water, very similar the story in the Bible.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>RE</strong></em></span> (also from Heliopolis) is told in a rather late poetic legend to be the creator by using a tear from his eye to build all the world.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>KHNUM</strong></em></span> from the island of Elefantine in Aswan in the south, was the creator who made the world and all its people on his potter's wheel. The stuff was mud from the Nile.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>PERKHE</strong></em></span> (representing Re) made all other gods from matter taken from his own body. He also created life (symbolically) every morning by commanding the sun to rise.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>AMON</strong></em></span> from Thebes was during the New Kingdom vaguely connected to the creation of the World, saying that he once (like Atum) had created himself at the dawn of time<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>THOTH</strong></em></span> was in Khemenu (Hermopolis) in Upper Egypt, the maker of the world and the first ones he helped to life were four frogs and four snakes, the so called <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/ogdoad.htm">Ogdoad</a>.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The first family</strong></em></span></div><br /><div align="left">The family from which all the world was built up was the earth god Geb and his wife Nut, goddess of the sky. They had the twins Shu who was god of the cool dry air and his sister Tefnut, patroness of rain, dew and moisture.By command of the sun-god Re they were separated and Geb wept over his loss, and from his tears came all the seas and oceans of the world.</div><br />One legend tells that Re for some reason (possibly jealousy) had become angry with Nut and laid a curse on her telling that none of her coming children could be born on any one day of the year. This was a big setback for Nut and Geb who were just planning to raise a family. In their agony they turned to the god of wisdom - Thoth, for advice. He went to his superior, the shadowy and not often depicted moon-god Aah who was in charge of the Egyptian moon-calendar. This old table of time consisted of 12 months of 30 days together making the moon-year of 360 days.<br /><br />Thoth made him a proposition to gamble about the matter and they started to play a game of dice resulting in victory for Thoth. He thereby won the moonlight of the five additional days of the true astronomical year (in this case July 14-18) and gave it to Geb and Nut who used them for the births of their children. Thus the curse of Re had no effect because the children could all be born outside the official calendar.<br /><br />In the following years Nut gave birth to five of the most famous deities of Egypt: Year 1 - Osiris. Year 2 - Horus (the Elder). Year 3 - Set. Year 4 - Isis. Year 5 - Nephtys.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The origin of Universe</strong></em></span></div><br />From the beginning there was nothing but a water chaos called Nun, and from that came the god <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/atum.htm">Atum,</a> who had created himself. He made the earth-god Geb and his sister (and wife) Nut, goddess of the sky. To hold up and fill <em>the</em> sky they had two children, the boy Shu, the god of the air, and a girl Tefnut, goddess of moisture and rain. This family of four was the very foundation upon which the world existed as they represented: earth, water, air and the sky.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>The first gods</strong></em></span></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8_e70RBFy-PDUdgko3UMKBNh-brG8oqX0QQ_7udxqjtp1HaTB8u_Kqo7wAP2UZ_y45tIdL4zURuNBWCfx_8X2FWQd5K12c6nLSnJQMIzmzoC9NbO-Rc_6dtkSjqlkTUdVIRCOgGn-RQ/s1600-h/god+of+the+air+shu.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199611709454823682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 257px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 263px" height="300" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn8_e70RBFy-PDUdgko3UMKBNh-brG8oqX0QQ_7udxqjtp1HaTB8u_Kqo7wAP2UZ_y45tIdL4zURuNBWCfx_8X2FWQd5K12c6nLSnJQMIzmzoC9NbO-Rc_6dtkSjqlkTUdVIRCOgGn-RQ/s400/god+of+the+air+shu.jpg" width="257" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>1)</strong></em></span> The old tradition from Heliopolis (Iunu) just north of Memphis in Lower Egypt said the creation of all the gods was made by <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/kheper.htm">Kheper,</a> who was another form of their local sun god Re. He was self-produced and made the other gods out of the matter of his own body. He was the father of many gods like Osiris, Nephtys, Isis, Set, Horus and others.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>2)</strong></em></span> The priests from Hermo- polis in Upper Egypt declared for their part that <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/thot.htm">Thoth</a> was the primeval god and created the first four couples that built up everything. The first pair was <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/nun.htm">Nun and Nuntet</a> (snakes), who represented and dwelled in the mass of water from which everything emerged. The second was <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/heh.htm">Heh and Hauhet</a> (frogs), who stood for indefinite time and long life. The third was Kek and Keket (snakes), who embodied darkness, and the fourth pair was Niau and Niaut (frogs) representing the void. During the New Kingdom the two latter were replaced by Amon and Amonet.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>3)</strong></em></span> In Sais (in the delta in Lower Egypt) the priests taught the people that their own mighty goddess Neit was behind the origin of the other gods. She was self-begotten and self-produced and mother of the mighty solar god Re.<br /><em><strong><span style="color:#660000;">4)</span></strong></em> Another story tells that the creation of The World was wet and dark and Atum-Re arose from the Nun and appointed the eight reptile gods above (the so called Ogdoad) to their proper places and brought order from chaos. Here the frogs Niau and Niaut have been changed for Amon and Amonet which tells that this version is of later date (New Kingdom) when Amon had reached a lofty position among the gods.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Creation of man</strong></em></span><br /></div><div align="left"><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199616798991069458" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-hh17p5OdGeCBsI6iEMBI7pdiq5HSboZYBK8AfbL0c2qiaPggv6oyqLlG27yCdwAo0IPZWvYUXoV6D0mc6GnsNk737ISTVikDaLyq0m8LVvC0tC2QJmy-sbcX7GYPY-VLWhPxRuPQec/s400/1khnum.gif" border="0" />A very old legend in Egypt told that mankind was divided into four types when they were made on the potter's wheel by the great creator <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/gudasidor/khnum.htm">Khnum.</a> He made them all out of mud of various colors from the Nile. The order in which they were made was as follows: First was - Romut, meaning "men", and these were the Egyptians themselves. The second to come from the potter's wheel was - Áamu, the people from the desert mountains east of the Nile. This name was later also used for Asians in general.Number three, called - Temehu, was the fair skinned people from the Mediterranean coast west of the Nile Delta and the oases west of the Nile Valley.The last to be made was - Nehesy, the black people to the south of Egypt, below the province of Nubia. Notable is that the names of these people seem to be very old and originating from the early times when the Egyptians didn't have a name for Asians, which they surely encountered well before the first dynasty as shown in archaeology remains.According to another (much younger) legend mankind was created from a tear that fell from the eye of the god Re, and turned into men and women. The fair-skinned Libyans, considered as "cousins" by the people in the Nile valley, were formed in the same way. The two other people have a tear from Re as their origin too, but in a more irregular way.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Court in the Underworld</strong></em></span> </div><br />When a person had died he was taken to Underworld where his deeds in life were taken to the Court of Osiris for the final judgement. Since this place also was called "The Island of Fire" it's quite obvious that the Egyptians had knowledge about the burning interior of the Earth though they had no volcanoes in their own country. Before coming there the dead person had to pass a labyrinth of gates and doors and answer questions correctly to pass through. The lion-god Aker let him through the last gate and he was facing the fourteen members of the jury in the Tribunal Hall. There he was allowed to speak about his behaviour on Earth. (Shown in the upper left in the picture below).<br /><br />Then god Anubis took him into the courtroom presenting him the scale where his heart would be put in balance with the feather of the goddess Máat, patroness of truth and harmony. The procedure was recorded by Thoth - the god of writing and wisdom. Sometimes Thot's animal (a baboon) was sitting on top of the scale ready to adjust the result using a sliding weight.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199617125408583970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJvOQBd-JBNpnJFL3pUX6-303ZQ0en89oKqs7gPleah6wcOwvSfqRtpEQRsC3IsdRl55JnnMmLirzbn3omr61CHD-dyCBCiIC9gsWFYOixurIXFWvea4xll-eLavOuQxznReaEiCOavM/s400/1court.jpg" border="0" /><br />The deceased enters from the left guided by Anubis. His heart is placed on the scales and the result is recorded by Thoth. Then Horus takes him in front of the judge Osiris for the final verdict. Behind the throne stand Isis and Nephtys.<br /><br />If the heart of the deceased wasn't too heavy with sins from his life on Earth, he went through and could continue his voyage to the afterlife and was granted a plot of land in the "Field of the Reeds". This was the paradise for the ancient Egyptians - to grow crops for eternity in a land that was the very image of the Nile Valley they just had left.<br /><br />If he failed the test on the other hand - his heart was immediately devoured by the beast Ammut sitting under the scale ready to have a good blow-out. In that case the dead faced the most horrible future imaginable for the Egyptians - he was denied an eternal life in the land in the West and his soul would be restless forever.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The seven steps to Paradise</strong></em></span></div><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>1.</strong></em></span> Crossing the celestial river by Nemty to the "Land in the West".<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>2.</strong></em></span> Passing through gates and labyrinths by answering questions.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>3.</strong></em></span> Being let into the great Court of the Underworld by the god Aker.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>4.</strong></em></span> Addressing a jury of 14 judges about the deeds during life on Earth.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>5.</strong></em></span> Taken by Anubis to "Balance of Truth" to weigh his heart for sins.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>6.</strong></em></span> If the heart wasn't heavy, brought by Horus to Chief Judge Osiris.<br /><span style="color:#660000;"><em><strong>7.</strong></em></span> Entering the "Fields of the Reed" (Paradise) and get eternal life.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Book of the Dead</strong></em></span></div><br />The Book of the Dead was (in most versions) an illustrated manuscript which consisted of prayers and magical texts to be used during the funeral and read over the dead to ensure the survival in the afterlife.<br /><br />These texts were a necessary part of the funerary equipment and were thought to help through dangers of the Underworld. Over 150 burial spells were written on papyrus and placed with the dead and the content has been traced back to the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts from 2.300 B.C. and had probably a long oral tradition before that.<br /><br />Each nome (province) and even towns had their own version putting text mentioning the local gods in favour. For poor people (i.e. the average Egyptian) there were versions not so elaborated (and expensive) and just containing the essence. A big part concerned the moment when the dead came in front of the jury in the Underworld. There he would make confessions like: "I have not killed or used false weights on my balance, or caused pain to anyone". Then he usually stated things like: "I have given clothes to the naked, water to the thirsty and bread to the hungry" etc, all to convince the jury members of his kind-heartedness.<br /><br />One spell was spoken in front of a tribunal of 42 gods, and proclaimed innocence of a series of specified sins that covered every kinds of wrong doing. This made the soul worthy to go further into the Judgement Hall where the Court of Osiris (see above) had the final word. Being approved of there he was ready to embark on the Boat of Re to sail to the "Land in the West" for eternal rest.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199617129703551282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGAsIMpZglvXfk56XHyN8cYTFA1_V7iAptN5iNKmXwXeAkXZeiKVExwnfaYRzuigjcxuohmaNyYoPGkEZT7gtByXoEE4d8jcM2LKoRSfK5OK6jSz7JAQipJ9ZgWA52J-lDCTcOC5iDhpQ/s400/The+Ba.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">The human soul - Ba, seen as a bird, hovering over his newly mummyfied master on his bier.</span><br /><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Ka and Ba (body and soul)</strong></em></span></div><br /><div align="left">The purpose of preserving the body through embalming is clearly shown in the two components the Egyptians thought built up a man's personality. In both cases the physical body was essential for their existence and an eternal life for the deceased.</div><div align="left"><br />The Egyptians believed that every person (during life and after) was followed by an invisible double called - Ka. He was created at the moment of birth and stood for "force of live" for the person. He could not be seen or depicted but all big tombs had a "blind door" for him to use. After death a transformation of rebirth took place and every night he was released to give his dead master a spiritual travel to the land of the living. The travel itself was made by his soul Ba (see beyond). This was a link from the tomb to life on earth that was supposed to go on forever. The poor commoners who couldn't afford an embalming were offered small simple statuettes of mummies to give their Ka someone to stand beside in the life beyond and thereby please their life-long companion and get eternal rest themselves.</div><p align="center"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheXoHYLj1wLVGoJsU6KJRiZp73QYYv8emf54jQeKCs7m5cwz4QytXgbTlYyZrI1qus1tGJT7VHBfDtlSecavEjy-Mk5LvjEMPh8e-nvlHkSbUZoQeyADwVoGb4gnlLWQYAftHi5JbnZg/s1600-h/kasiluett.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618083186291010" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheXoHYLj1wLVGoJsU6KJRiZp73QYYv8emf54jQeKCs7m5cwz4QytXgbTlYyZrI1qus1tGJT7VHBfDtlSecavEjy-Mk5LvjEMPh8e-nvlHkSbUZoQeyADwVoGb4gnlLWQYAftHi5JbnZg/s400/kasiluett.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyW2dXj7_acc4vFnnp6PdmtZvj_vS6rEx87_o68fo74GKcsGbQgTiNXlEXNn4lZNvsN-NfeTBA3L7Ec78qZt_sIAOlS7uzRbu6wyJlbFixIzUHrFt0dt5fvaWtVD8XyL_Bo_2u0utcdoE/s1600-h/babird.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618212035309906" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyW2dXj7_acc4vFnnp6PdmtZvj_vS6rEx87_o68fo74GKcsGbQgTiNXlEXNn4lZNvsN-NfeTBA3L7Ec78qZt_sIAOlS7uzRbu6wyJlbFixIzUHrFt0dt5fvaWtVD8XyL_Bo_2u0utcdoE/s400/babird.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">Ka (left) walking beside the bodyand Ba who was dwelling within.</span><br /><br /><br /></p><p align="left">The human soul was called - Ba and was depicted as a bird with a human face, sometimes with the features of the dead person. The Ba (like Ka) appeared for the first time at the moment of birth, but the Ba was dwelling within the body, and after death in the mummy. During life he was his master's conscience and after death he was himself protected from being misled by evil spirits through rituals and prayers from "The Book of the Dead" performed by priests or relatives. A correct behaviour in both worlds was essential to the Egyptians. After death he was released from the mummy every night and could fly back to the world of the living to check things out. Before sunrise he was back within his master, who thus never lost contact with the world he had left.<br /><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>The Solar Boat of Re</strong></em></span> </div><br />The story of the sun god Re and the voyage in his boat was one of the most important in Egyptian mythology and concerned the very basics of life for the people in the Nile Valley. It clearly shows the cyclic way of looking at time and life that was at hand since the oldest times for Egyptians.<br /><br />The religious beliefs in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt told that Re was the creator of men and at the beginning of the fifth dynasty he reached a very lofty position when the kings adopted his name in their titles claiming to be his sons.Re travelled through the waters of heaven in two different boats each day. The first, Madjet ("being strong"), rose out of the east behind the Mount Bakhu and then passed between two sycamore trees. At noon he was transferred over to a small bark by the name of Semektet ("going weak"), and this vessel took him into the sunset in the west at Mount Manu.<br /><br />He did not navigate the boats himself because this was taken care of by Máat, goddess of justice and stability. She was first mate on the bridge and set the course accompanied by Horus.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLnbqGf6zzqXmpXiWvHrTAvvDJmuHztvSVpu4gZuXQhj5FfqRgn264jJ5fhM5yzE7uglKarmezhWugr_VKqIL39ABJJ0LtHDEOB1lrwz6CDOVF8NQKPehnMtDPK4THzdGJgfYQEwoKDA/s1600-h/nunboat.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618663006876034" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 207px" height="232" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLnbqGf6zzqXmpXiWvHrTAvvDJmuHztvSVpu4gZuXQhj5FfqRgn264jJ5fhM5yzE7uglKarmezhWugr_VKqIL39ABJJ0LtHDEOB1lrwz6CDOVF8NQKPehnMtDPK4THzdGJgfYQEwoKDA/s400/nunboat.jpg" width="297" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#006600;">The first voyage over the sky.<br /></span>The life-giving Re (as the sun disk) and the symbol of creation the beetle Kheper on the very first day. Onboard are the gods who had helped to formed the World. The boat was the first land that was created and is held up by Nun, the lord of the watery chaos below from which everything had emerged at the dawn of time - the day before. (See gods Hu and Sia).<br /><br />The boat was not provided with sails, but had another way to get power to move. It was simply pulled across the sky by the evil god Set who had been condemned to do so for killing his brother Osiris (as told in the <a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/main.htm#osiris">Myth of Osiris</a> above).<br /><br />At night the god Upuaut stood on the prow and navigation was assisted by pilot fish Abtu and Ant, who swam in front of the boat.<br /><br />The crew consisted of the gods Geb and Heka plus the companions Hu and Sia. They all helped Re to overcome the obstacles set up by those who tried to stop his journey - the three monsters Sebau, Nak, and Apep. The evil creature Apep was the most dangerous one and he took the shape of a big snake or a crocodile.<br /><br />Under the protection of war god Maahes, Re fought and killed the monsters every day in order for the sun to rise the next morning, and by then they were all alive and kicking again and the daily combat could begin as usual.<br /><br />Cloudy days were scary to the Egyptians because it might be that Apep had stopped Re in his boat. To prevent this and make things go back to normal again they made extra offerings in the temples to make the sun come back.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2FclpTSjVOTK4h1pP9_S9p_U9xQFSneOWxcV6l8ssylGWNnwYSjX3mJTATSIp_VlAIxD4rk6DDHa8cW_eK8piOLN6rabHX4l7mw93Ff5oDi3vaj1CiAYYalSB1Rb-9BP2nJQi3GCuHU/s1600-h/rebark.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618667301843346" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU2FclpTSjVOTK4h1pP9_S9p_U9xQFSneOWxcV6l8ssylGWNnwYSjX3mJTATSIp_VlAIxD4rk6DDHa8cW_eK8piOLN6rabHX4l7mw93Ff5oDi3vaj1CiAYYalSB1Rb-9BP2nJQi3GCuHU/s400/rebark.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">A prayer for life</span><br />By begging Re to come back in the morning the Egyptians hoped that life should go on as usual.(From a prayer book).<br /><br /><br /><br />The most critical days, that thankfully did not come often, were those with solar eclipses in different stages. It seemed that Apep was swallowing up the sun, but somehow, after extra ceremonies, Re turned out to be the winner in the end. There were even manuals for people to help to fight this evil snake/crocodile that could jump up from the heavenly waters and attack the boat and the people onboard. Even the otherwise bad god Set took part in the struggle, besides pulling the boat, which underlines the importance of the mission.<br /><br />The essence of this myth is that the sun (symbolising life itself) was a constant struggle. A lifetime for a man was a similar voyage with the birth and peak of living at noon. At twilight life was coming to an end and people finally reach the glorious Land In the West - the next World, after their short stay on Earth.<br /><br />By venerating the gods who struggled every day to make the life-giving sun keep shining, order and stability was secured. This was what the chief navigator goddess Máat stood for and she always managed to get the old barge to port.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Burial customs</strong></em></span> </div><br />The basic purpose of mortuary preparation was to ensure the deceased a successful passage into the next world. The tombs were from the very beginning shallow holes in the sand later to be lined with a wall of sun dried bricks or stones and topped by a mound of sand or clay. The substructures were elaborated downwards when pits leading to grave chambers were cut out in the bedrock starting around 3200 BC. The structures above ground developed into bench-like brick buildings (mastabas) later to be made of stone and ending with the great pyramids 2.400 BC, a time span of evolution for almost half a millennium.<br /><br />The amount of grave goods and offerings (for wealthy people) was increasing and be- came more sophisticated and progress was also seen in the treatment of the body of the deceased - the mummification. This custom first appeared also in about 3200 BC. and steadily progressed technically for the next 2.000 years from simple dehydration (made by the dry climate) to preparations with chemicals.<br /><br />Originally the dead was placed in a crunched position lying on the side, but with time traditions changed and they were stretched out on their backs.<br /><br />The religious belief was that the body should be preserved intact for the soul to dwell in the next world. This made kings and other royalties hide their dead protected un- der mountains of stone (pyramids) and later in secret hideouts in the desert cliffs. Unfortunately they did not separate the valuable offerings and grave goods from the mummies, which made the robbers plunder it all during periods of political instability.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGABpO2OmpOoY4gyWnxXvmXkpa7jcs8sgAuRHhAYHTVsT045Z0pbednrIHTwL4nj6GkyfBEDH5kKPAKajpucNkF3bjSV1XnUbhDBxgnsaQjnDgi4mRhXvks0M1pkob42U3wWu2X4f6w98/s1600-h/1anubmum.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199618654416941410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGABpO2OmpOoY4gyWnxXvmXkpa7jcs8sgAuRHhAYHTVsT045Z0pbednrIHTwL4nj6GkyfBEDH5kKPAKajpucNkF3bjSV1XnUbhDBxgnsaQjnDgi4mRhXvks0M1pkob42U3wWu2X4f6w98/s400/1anubmum.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"></span><br /><span style="color:#006600;">Prepared for eternity</span><br />Anubis who was the watcher over the cemeteries, also took care of the important mummification.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left">In the picture he is making an em- balming to make the dead keep his looks in the next world. Without a physical body the soul had no place to dwell and became restless forever.Poor people could only afford small clay figurines as substitute for a preserved body. </div><br />Thus the great kings of the Old Kingdom did not come to "the Field of Reeds" after death despite (or probably just because) they tried to protect themselves under moun- tains of stone, which draw attention to everybody, not the least tomb robbers. <p></p><p align="left">The next world was located in more than one place both in a physical and a religious (metaphysical) sense. It could be 1) in the area around the tomb, 2) among the stars, 3) in the celestial regions with the sun god or 4) in the Underworld itself. </p><div align="left">All places had one thing in common: they were all located in "The Beautiful West" where the day (and life) ended with the setting sun.The journey to the next world was fraught with obstacles in the Underworld. It was a trip by boat through many gates with tricky questions to answer. The judgement after death (see Book of the Dead above) was a subject often depicted from the New Kingdom and onwards, but the belief was older than that, probably from before the first dynasty 2000 years earlier. It was the final judgement whether the dead had been a good human being or a bad one. Most of them (who had means) passed through by giving offerings to the gods and making declarations of their good behaviour on Earth, true or not. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><a href="http://www.lockware.net/"><div align="center"></a><a href="http://www.reshafim.org/">http://www.reshafim.org/</a><a href="http://www.lockware.net/"></div><div align="center"></a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.metmuseum.org/">http://www.metmuseum.org/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.dragonstrike.com/">http://www.dragonstrike.com/</a> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.lockware.net/">http://www.lockware.net/</a><a href="http://www.lockware.net/">re.net</a></div></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/index.htm">http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/index.htm</a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199619049553932706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYK22aCIhPXcXVXnUPHa0tQ7BaXYwDHqsIbFNRpfREORyDoOXNMzUOJ8U8NsgEUn2AgIke4g4dc73DoP_b76guSOLGjR-GtV5OFjEZru7DqS2IJ-q0cPQidigAek06-sfiJiB7o23vEfU/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-65852140040367065352008-05-08T18:07:00.019+03:002008-05-11T00:55:10.197+03:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Birth of Gods</strong></span><br /><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gsrOdV29RDN6tPavyIgQjkx-DZrOJFgEx-uOLwxYZzwMhnZA8w2FBRNOgO8EWWNGtPWE7_u6FJlqHTt-6YxUI4YhRI0USOZVyM7LpWrOkx01Q0Y-I1gwgEhCJdYUS0A86MqsrEqYooE/s1600-h/birthofgods5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198044820448256834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 185px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 333px" height="299" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8gsrOdV29RDN6tPavyIgQjkx-DZrOJFgEx-uOLwxYZzwMhnZA8w2FBRNOgO8EWWNGtPWE7_u6FJlqHTt-6YxUI4YhRI0USOZVyM7LpWrOkx01Q0Y-I1gwgEhCJdYUS0A86MqsrEqYooE/s400/birthofgods5.jpg" width="216" border="0" /></a>We are able to study the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods of ancient Egypt</a> very well back to the beginning of recorded history (around 3000 BC), and we can also find representations of divine powers back another millennium before the Egyptian began to write down their thoughts. However, since these earliest beginnings of religion in Egypt predate the written word, and the non-written evidence often comes from relatively uncertain contexts and settings and is difficult to interpret, the subject is open to differing opinions. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Man's first gods were the forces of nature. Terrifying and unpredictable, they were feared rather than revered by our ancestors. Yet while much of the world was in darkness, worshipping cruel incarnations of natural forces, a river valley in Africa held a people who followed a different path. They worshipped gods that were beautiful to behold, luminous beings that walked the earth, guiding the human race to Paradise. They had human forms but were much more powerful; yet like humans, they got angry, despaired, fought with one another, had children, and fell in love. They lived lives that were very much like those of the people who worshipped them, the ancient Egyptians. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">They were gods to be feared yes, as all gods are, but they were also gods to be loved. What's more, the Egyptians enjoyed talking about the gods.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> Like the gods of the Greeks and Romans, the Egyptian gods seemed to be made for storytelling. There were tales to educate, tales to entertain, and tales w<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQMxeqtoPe6jWJXO9NyBS9x-7Cy7DrlVDh-GmU5uGyuQjAyfSbY-2ft5es2gl8Zc_ZSSRvbKF390w4jvmdi1zAmBk10aHxVUwOhbb_dNL-QrS7EYvezL3nlXgXHnemow5aRpv3QVDmuk/s1600-h/gods.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198045868420277202" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 189px" height="202" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtQMxeqtoPe6jWJXO9NyBS9x-7Cy7DrlVDh-GmU5uGyuQjAyfSbY-2ft5es2gl8Zc_ZSSRvbKF390w4jvmdi1zAmBk10aHxVUwOhbb_dNL-QrS7EYvezL3nlXgXHnemow5aRpv3QVDmuk/s200/gods.jpg" width="200" border="0" /></a>ith morals, and in those stories, the gods didn't seem so far away and unreachable. It was comforting to hear that the gods also wept for those they had lost, to hear about the gods laughing, to learn that the gods faced many of the same problems that the people did, albeit on a grander scale. In learning about the gods on such an intimate level, the Egyptians could better relate to the universe around them. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Nevertheless, various evidence suggests that even very early Egyptians had concepts of spiritualism. The care with which the dead were buried in the prehistoric period, and the afterlife belief implied by that care, certainly suggests that the necessary intellectual sophistication was present for such a belief. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">During the true neolithic period in Egypt (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag03012001/magf4a.htm">Merimda</a> and Fayoum cultures), no representations are known that can be interpreted with any certainty as depictions or symbols of divine power. However, no real conclusions can be drawn from this lack of evidence because the art during that time frame which we have been able to recover consists of pottery vessels and the first cosmetic palettes, none of which have depictions of human beings, animals or objects. Hence, there could have been a worship of fetishes made from perishable materials, though none have been found. The lack of animal burials seems to suggest the absence of divine worship, though future finds could certainly change our perceptions of this period. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">During the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">chalcolithic period</a>, which lasted through most of the fourth millennium BC in Egypt, o<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JpeWzg9Xtqabo8Y0-VucyBHPT_Z7KtSFaiaR-v77LOPVfqbujB1oiHbMaqRjjLIdH73b9HBgiCpN56MuJTNzYlINNQc-yABw9JLwNNOxXN8B_1EFMKG_698EndhH2BvXKKRMfJ48bco/s1600-h/birthofgods10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198045864125309874" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 226px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px" height="286" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_JpeWzg9Xtqabo8Y0-VucyBHPT_Z7KtSFaiaR-v77LOPVfqbujB1oiHbMaqRjjLIdH73b9HBgiCpN56MuJTNzYlINNQc-yABw9JLwNNOxXN8B_1EFMKG_698EndhH2BvXKKRMfJ48bco/s200/birthofgods10.jpg" width="130" border="0" /></a>ffers us our first clear evidence for a belief in gods, which is already at this early stage surprisingly multifarious and highly differentiated. Hence, the evidence from this period suggests that earlier worship took place for which no direct evidence has been found. The main sites that evidence the belief in gods during the chalcolithic period are <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/maadi.htm">Maadi</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a> in Lower Egypt and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elbadari.htm">Badari</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/naqada.htm">Naqada</a> in Upper Egypt. At all of these locations, animal burials, typically consisting of gazelles and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/dogs.htm">dogs</a> (or jackals), and more rarely cattle and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ram.htm">rams</a>, have been found, and the care with which these animals were buried and provided with grave goods evidences a <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/animalcults.htm">cult</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/animalgods.htm">sacred animals</a> or at least of divine powers in animal form. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">During this period also, cosmetic palettes begin to assume the form of animals, and finally, by the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic Period</a>, they are richly decorated with animal figures in relief. The most notable examples of these are the "animal palettes" in Oxford and in the Louvre. We also see, from the Naqada I period, figures of animals on decorated vases and in the form of clay statuettes. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Hence, considering this evidence, there can scarcely be any doubt that, at least in the last centuries of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Prehistory">prehistory</a> the Egyptians worshiped divine power in animal form. Yet, even in that period there was no pure zoolatry. If these zoomorphic images are not merely totems of tribal groups and do signify manifestations of the divine in some way, the represent a significant stage in the development of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">Egyptian gods</a>. The idea that the divine might be manifest in animal form is a vital prerequisite for the animals which are shown acting in human ways and which are the major representations of the Egyptian gods at the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic Period</a>.<br /></div><div align="left">From the Naqada II period and from the beginning of recorded <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpsObnRmGqTjeDBXm5PlrCQS5YYjshuz7fc6COE4aoIAAJRQdA2naEqGI-eIw8elRoWKp7y99R6SDsDo3Xk_j5xHxhuJUWHYuqvJVbFJ1ouz6o1Wb7qZQrcQa5vQbhrvmuZ-3X8vF7E0/s1600-h/birthofgods6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198044833333158738" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdpsObnRmGqTjeDBXm5PlrCQS5YYjshuz7fc6COE4aoIAAJRQdA2naEqGI-eIw8elRoWKp7y99R6SDsDo3Xk_j5xHxhuJUWHYuqvJVbFJ1ouz6o1Wb7qZQrcQa5vQbhrvmuZ-3X8vF7E0/s400/birthofgods6.jpg" border="0" /></a>history, the animals on "standards" and archaic objects of uncertain character which were carried on poles evidence the worship of sacred objects. It would seem that this fetishism was far less important than animal worship, though because these objects were rather perishable, it may have had more importance than we now realize. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">What we do not know is whether anthropomorphism, or the worship of deities in human form, took place in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">predynastic times</a>. Though human figures made of clay and ivory are infrequently found in the Badari culture and even became common in the Naqada cultures, there remains much doubt about these objects. Though they have been repeated interpreted as deities, many pointers lead us to suspect that they may not be. For example, nude, possibly female figures, have been labeled as a "great mother goddess", but in fact, nude statuettes such as these are quite unknown in Egypt during the early historical period. One should also be very skeptical about identifying naked, bearded figures as gods. Such figures may more likely be associated with <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/enemies.htm">enemies of Egypt</a>, for foreigners were frequently shown with beards, and captives especially were often naked. Scholars also believe that the fragile nature of clay, from which many of these figures are made, probably also provides evidence that they did not represent gods. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Hence, there is no certain evidence for the worship of anthropomorphic deities in predynastic Egypt, even though such deities as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/min.htm"><span style="font-size:180%;">Min</span></a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/neith.htm"><span style="font-size:180%;">Neith</span></a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/onuris.htm"><span style="font-size:180%;">Onuris</span></a>, who we find in human form at the beginning of history, were most probably worshiped in prior times.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">----------------------------------------------- </span><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></div><div align="center"><br /></div></span><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><em>Min</em></span></strong></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Patron of:</span></strong> fertility, sexuality, and travelers through the eastern Sahara.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Appearance:</span></strong> a man with a large erect penis. Sometimes he is shown in the garb of a pharaoh, wearing a feathered crown and carrying a flail.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Description:</span></strong> a very ancient god, Min has become rather popular in the modern era, a sort of resurgence of his cult. Min was honored with a variety of ceremonies, some involving the harvest, others praying for a male heir to the pharaoh. Lettuce was his sacred plant, for it was believed by the Egyptians to be an aphrodisiac. The Greeks identified him with their god Pan, and the Romans believed Min to be the same god as Priapus.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">Worshipped:</span></strong> Worshipped widely throughout Egypt by the end of the New Kingdom, his cult centers were at Koptos and Akhmin (Panopolis).</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong><em>Neith</em></strong></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Patron of:</strong></span> war, impartiality, mummification wrappings, the funeral bier.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Appearance:</strong></span> A woman carrying weapons of war, usually a bow and arrow and a shield.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Description:</strong></span> In the Old Kingdom she was a war deity, invoked as a blessing for weapons, both for the soldier and the hunter. Often weapons were placed in tombs surrounding the mummy as protection against evil spirits. These weapons were consecrated to Neith.</div><div align="left"><br />In the New Kingdom her association with funerary rites is even greater. She stands, along with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a>, guarding the funeral bier of the pharaoh. In the New Kingdom the mummy wrappings were considered the "gifts of Neith."</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">In may stories Neith is found being asked to arbitrate between two sides, her combination of military prowess and impartiality renders her very similar to Athena.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Worship:</strong></span> Cult centers in the Delta in the same area as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/sobek.htm">Sobek</a>, her son.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong><em>The Egyptian War God </em></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong><em>Onuris</em></strong></span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left">A god of war and hunting who originated at This (the Thinite region) near <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, Anhur (Han-<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQAxqnw_4cm175uJX-3MU4mI8jPX_UutQijMfzggF9Jf-1naWmvkWGIGyhparQCcJ9Ew0RllWsxDqmG80oBFm1JS3NrtjI8oHRsb-FA7TjKzVyUtrkrAl8ebL7yGMNlnoof-sQTl-dQw/s1600-h/onuris1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198062283785282578" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQAxqnw_4cm175uJX-3MU4mI8jPX_UutQijMfzggF9Jf-1naWmvkWGIGyhparQCcJ9Ew0RllWsxDqmG80oBFm1JS3NrtjI8oHRsb-FA7TjKzVyUtrkrAl8ebL7yGMNlnoof-sQTl-dQw/s400/onuris1.jpg" border="0" /></a>her, Inhert)), was more commonly known by his Greek name, Onuris (Onouris). His name (Anhur) literally means "he who leads back the distant one" (which might also mean "Sky Bearer"), which appears to reference the mythical manner in which this god is said to have journeyed to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/historicalessays/nubia.htm">Nubia</a> in order to bring back the leonine "Eye of Re", who became his consort as the lioness-goddess <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/menhit.htm">Mekhit</a>. This legend is paralleled by another surrounding the god <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/shu.htm">Shu</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a>, who was supposed to have also brought back the fearsome "eye" as his own consort, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/tefnut.htm">Tefnut</a>. However, the name Anhur suggests that the tradition may have originated with him. This nevertheless led to Anhur often being equated with Shu and also to his link to the sun god under the epithet, "son of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a>". Onuris was thus supposed to hunt and slay the enemies of his solar-deity father. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Onuris, as a war-like god, was also associated <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/montu.htm">Montu</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/sopedu.htm">Sopedu</a> and had a strong rapport with <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>, whose claims he vociferously advocates in the tribunal judging the rights to the Egyptian throne. Later during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greek period</a>, he was identified with the Hellenistic war god, Ares. <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Roman">The Romans</a> maintained this war-like identity of Onuris as evidenced by a depiction of Emperor Tiberius on a column shaft in the temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kom-ombo.htm">Kom Ombo</a> which shows Tiberius wearing the characteristic crown of Onuris. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">The iconography of Onuris that has survived depict him as a standing god, with a beard and a short wig that is surmounted by a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Uraeus.htm">uraeu</a> and either two or four tall plumes. He is frequently depicted wearing a long kilt which is often decorated in a feather-like pattern. His right hand is raised as if to thrust a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP3RJBczw2Bm7Vx5GDeDgV0YPyTXqnw5iCf866eBtv96hkMihP2BPYVjuDF0QgHXALIi_F308l0mAUOVoK5XKZjMoa5Tq2DXz9mAuDWDY6_tVk6Nr7VZOrvYXz2Znu_cesZQjL-lv4_w/s1600-h/onuris2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198062459878941730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVP3RJBczw2Bm7Vx5GDeDgV0YPyTXqnw5iCf866eBtv96hkMihP2BPYVjuDF0QgHXALIi_F308l0mAUOVoK5XKZjMoa5Tq2DXz9mAuDWDY6_tVk6Nr7VZOrvYXz2Znu_cesZQjL-lv4_w/s400/onuris2.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/projectileweapons.htm">lance (he is also known as the "lord of the lance") or spear</a>, while his left hand holds a length of rope that may be symbolic of his role in capturing his lioness consort. His association with the spear and ropes also provides an inevitable link with the mythological <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/contendingshorusseth.htm">struggle between Horus and Seth</a>, in which the hawk god used the same weapons to entrap and kill his foe, the Hippopotamus. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">However, in other instances the rope is absent, and the god may be depicted grasping his raised spear in both hands and at other times neither rope nor spear is present, though his arms are raised as if to hold these objects. This iconography clearly shows that rather than throw the spear, he intends to thrust his spear downward into a subdued enemy. Hence, Onuris controls rather than attacks his enemies. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">Though Onuris seems to have originated at This near Abydos in Upper Egypt, his main area of worship in later periods was in the Delta town of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/niledeltaruins4.htm">Sebennytos (modern Samannud)</a>, where he was venerated alongside or as a form of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/shu.htm">Shu</a>. There is a temple of Onuris-Shu called Phersos (Per-shu) at this site that has been dated to the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nectanebo2.htm">Nectanebo II</a>, though its construction may have started during the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nectanebo1.htm">Nectanebo I</a> of Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn30.htm">30th Dynasty</a>, though worship of Onuris in this location would have predated this temple. Silver and bronze amulets of the god occasionally have been unearthed in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a> burials elsewhere in Egypt. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198062640267568178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP4XRYaZwTEY53j5sgIITYrjz1TJ3owtLuf7p3ZyVp4qDvpQPfOy-nNfHLxgEp90bOImfVteocQPgHGeuEhEJJgiZnh6Jx0Mu0J8oPc0__0HdeaEFwMmBKbdAXiQpKW7fso7eN_VX4L4c/s400/onuris3.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Small, silver statue of Onuris with Lance</strong></span></em> </p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">----------------------------------------------</span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span> </p><p align="center"> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></p><p align="center"></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqKh2xP60S7ZGtq8FNREGMTkp4GpUkRrukavvTkdw7UV9ijEnbs4UmqbiB4MRj_Q9XOSzwM9Z3GiIN9BKmE4b93-8DFQfPnnWxavQ1qQ_nq8ic4khwbWJ-hF1Hv0mvvN_rnj1LCvbWN0/s1600-h/birthofgods8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198045859830342562" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px" height="241" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqKh2xP60S7ZGtq8FNREGMTkp4GpUkRrukavvTkdw7UV9ijEnbs4UmqbiB4MRj_Q9XOSzwM9Z3GiIN9BKmE4b93-8DFQfPnnWxavQ1qQ_nq8ic4khwbWJ-hF1Hv0mvvN_rnj1LCvbWN0/s200/birthofgods8.jpg" width="147" border="0" /></a>Unfortunately, few gods that we may name from later Egyptian times can be traced back into <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Prehistory">prehistory</a>. For example, while the standards of the prehistoric Egyptians document the existence of hawk cults, they do not really provide any evidence that they depicted <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>, or other known hawk deities. Nor can the opponent of Horus, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm">Seth</a>, be made out with certainty though there were dog-like animals represented. Also, the cow goddess found on the Narmer palette and about three centuries earlier on a palette from Girza, is iconographically more similar to Bat, rather than to the better known <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a>. However, stars added to the image show that she was already a sky goddess, so alongside animal deities, it should be clear now that the Ancient Egyptians were also worshiping inanimate objects, or rather the manifestation of gods through them.<br /><br />How the predynastic Egyptians viewed the relationship between animals and human beings can perhaps best be seen in the "Battlefield" palette, pieces of which are in both the Oxford and London. The retro of this composition depicts a battlefield crowed with contorted bodies of defeated enemies, while others have been captured and bound. The subjugated enemies, who are naked and without weapons, appear utterly defenseless. The victors are represented as animal powers, consisting of a lion, birds of prey and standards surmounted by birds. However, on other contemporary palettes of the time and in predynastic rock drawings, there are sometimes human hunters.<br /><br />Yet it seems certain that men of this period felt themselves defenseless without an animal disguise. Mankind had not yet become so dominate, and animals still appear to be the most powerful and efficacious beings. This may explain why, in late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">predynastic times</a>, the powers that determine the course of events were mostly conceived in animal form.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198055918643749874" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI_0-wxPV5G_1dUvp-zbxw6bVV6kVQ-5CYkmubjttjP0w2cdGbLqUlenjIzW2kbf0JOPGlmq6k2sG8pTBMYtvzfwQO9qBXj29aBDXwxp9_Y4HJ0I-6Ug8YlLYsVqdi4lL_snEJsMX1Q4g/s400/birthofgods3.jpg" border="0" />Then, at the beginning of the historical period, the human view changes drastically regarding the superiority of animals. The earliest documented kings of Egypt retain animal names such as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/scorpionking.htm">Scorpion</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/narmer.htm">Catfish</a>, Kite (?), Cobra and "Wing-spreader" (probably a bird of prey), but towards the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn1.htm">1st Dynasty</a>, this type of name disappears for good. Apparently, mankind was no longer feeling subjected to incomprehensible powers and so the powers that were worshiped as deities came more and more to show a human face as their original animal or inanimate form changed into a human one.<br /><br />However, one must not discount the emergence of monarchy and the resultant origin of the Egyptian state, which transformed ancient religion by providing a new focus which unified its different goals and needs. In fact, at this point it might be said that the infancy of Egyptian deities had ended, and there is almost no doubt that the state greatly effected the direction that religion would take.<br /><br />So this evolution from dynamism to personalism took place shortly after Egyptians began to write, taking place between 3000 and 2800 BC, and while other regions experienced the same transitions, only in Egypt can it be observed and documented. This process has been called the anthropomorphization of powers, and it produced the first gods in human form, though other methods of depicting this anthropomorphization appear at the same time. For example, the cow heads that crown the Narmer palette contain a human face, while the subjugated "and of papyrus" has a human head attached.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FjYcH0pbdyf2hPz3stvjgdGUx6B1zNQLyzqKsf2bV-4VNmrreTrtOU81eiNUHXWWiFwSIn6Qepu9WcVEX6emS0Zjj15598sWFrizmgk0PbU-ZF3LDjxJMWkGJnmlthf6fjpEbwDgb00/s1600-h/narmerfront.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198045864125309890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 174px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 256px" height="286" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FjYcH0pbdyf2hPz3stvjgdGUx6B1zNQLyzqKsf2bV-4VNmrreTrtOU81eiNUHXWWiFwSIn6Qepu9WcVEX6emS0Zjj15598sWFrizmgk0PbU-ZF3LDjxJMWkGJnmlthf6fjpEbwDgb00/s200/narmerfront.jpg" width="139" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmF36SV9IM3uSQ-Drnt6VymWdRk9GMkpI7rXVJu73Py-hRcQn1nKp8btp9puWxMeXz4AycEPoWsfQi05jsnOltxi8uzixeHonAD1nzWKm3IOYTgtvF2quOEFKdVHKE4gB_62P3nUjQQs/s1600-h/narmerback.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198044902052635522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 181px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 257px" height="291" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmF36SV9IM3uSQ-Drnt6VymWdRk9GMkpI7rXVJu73Py-hRcQn1nKp8btp9puWxMeXz4AycEPoWsfQi05jsnOltxi8uzixeHonAD1nzWKm3IOYTgtvF2quOEFKdVHKE4gB_62P3nUjQQs/s400/narmerback.jpg" width="250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmF36SV9IM3uSQ-Drnt6VymWdRk9GMkpI7rXVJu73Py-hRcQn1nKp8btp9puWxMeXz4AycEPoWsfQi05jsnOltxi8uzixeHonAD1nzWKm3IOYTgtvF2quOEFKdVHKE4gB_62P3nUjQQs/s1600-h/narmerback.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>Front and Back of the Narmer Palette</strong></em></span> </div><br />Yet, it should be noted that, in many ways, the ancient Egyptians never completely abandoned the power of animals. <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a>, for example, appears to have been one of the earliest deities to be given anthropomorphic form, but even she retained the horns of her sacred animal, the cow, and was frequently depicted in bovine form millennia after her appearance. The <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bull.htm">Apis Bull</a> also retained immense importance, and the various protective deities were often in the form of animals throughout <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm">Egyptian history</a>.<br /><br />At first the depictions of gods as humans takes on the form of a body without separate limbs. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb94ouGDh8x15rD1NLY3SJIao3E8BPgNmJrWCb3PxtGoFAJ2AjRTgrxYliXEIjrMwp0ztdDHwvRacgNNnxZJOLc8X4CeI8gzpgESgV-MwbqdulhxaBDXoDV-0usSdnd-F7SYKCf-xWk20/s1600-h/birthofgods4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198056992385573890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb94ouGDh8x15rD1NLY3SJIao3E8BPgNmJrWCb3PxtGoFAJ2AjRTgrxYliXEIjrMwp0ztdDHwvRacgNNnxZJOLc8X4CeI8gzpgESgV-MwbqdulhxaBDXoDV-0usSdnd-F7SYKCf-xWk20/s400/birthofgods4.jpg" border="0" /></a>Erik Hornung has pointed out that this cannot be attributed to mummy form, as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> and other gods were later depicted, because it would be some centuries before mummification was practiced. However, one must also remember that the dead were probably at this early time wrapped in some sort of shroud. Still, a more likely explanation is the Egyptian <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/artoverview.htm">tendency in art</a> throughout the historic period to emphasis the most prominent human features. Note even on the Narmer palette the stance of the king as he smites his enemies. As in later artwork, his head is profiled while his chest and shoulders are viewed from the front. His legs once again return to profile. Hence, Egyptians concentrated on essential and unavoidable features of the human form. The archaic figure of a god shows no more and no less than is necessary to evoke an image in human form.<br /><br />Initially, there were few gods in human form. <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/min.htm">Min</a> was probably depicted in human form, as recorded on the annal stone in Palermo, but this is a late copy from early records, so it could have been influenced by later statuary. However, an image of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/ptah.htm">Ptah</a> in human form on a stone vase from Tarkhan can certainly be placed in the early dynastic period. <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/neith.htm">Neith</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/anuket.htm">Satis</a>, who in later periods were depicted in human form, are attested by their inclusion in names during the early dynastic period, but whether they were then represented in human form is unknown. However, we can assume that by the end of the at the beginning of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/min.htm">Min</a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/geb.htm">Geb</a>, Nut, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/shu.htm">Shu</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/atum.htm">Atum</a> were all depicted in human form and already familiar to Egyptians (though no absolutely certain evidence exists).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISdTBa8xRePBuXE71yxKV77HLmDITyvslR3tHar3p9jzifHHxd5O4qCMTGgYsLzyWj943j8keZNJCqIjMqZ4yEk-KlO_QvYGCpnf5jJC-F8jHiiM65TnD89fw0vhuXsT4rVhKT3X1fL8/s1600-h/birthofgods1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198045855535375250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 192px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 278px" height="200" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISdTBa8xRePBuXE71yxKV77HLmDITyvslR3tHar3p9jzifHHxd5O4qCMTGgYsLzyWj943j8keZNJCqIjMqZ4yEk-KlO_QvYGCpnf5jJC-F8jHiiM65TnD89fw0vhuXsT4rVhKT3X1fL8/s200/birthofgods1.jpg" width="192" border="0" /></a>Interestingly, though the predynastic Narmer Palette displays a cow's head with a human face, during the first two dynasties of Egypt's historical period, purely anthropomorphic deities appeared along side purely animal forms of gods, who were still predominant, such as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> (hawk), <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm">Seth</a> (dog), <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bull.htm">Apis (bull)</a> and the baboon-form "great white one". It would not be until later that gods combining human and animal elements, which is so characteristic of Egypt, would make their appearance. Only at the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn2.htm">2nd Dynasty</a> do the first gods in human form with animal heads appear on cylinder seal impressions of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/peribsen.htm">King Peribsen</a>. The earliest examples in fact show the god <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/as.htm">Ash</a>, "lord of Libya". The earliest form with a hawks head and a human body is on the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn3.htm">3rd Dynasty</a> stela in the Louvre, representing the god Horus.<br /><br />Thus, Egypt's ancient representation of gods would be complete, and continue into the later dynasties with remarkably little change over the next several thousand years.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.nemo.nu/">http://www.nemo.nu/</a><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198048690213790690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF7yhiQOyxt3eOGT4HxZ3J5FzPinufD6Y9MK9sLdZlLMbw3mt8DLdGS-RM2rcxqIhCMKDBCB9yjHLLRNd3m0K4vkcWLzsseda1ABvqhs_s1rnQH1rbTp5D0xJxjwL4vVrbohi7cWkeQXA/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> </div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-14509605687630058702008-04-24T18:06:00.022+02:002008-04-24T23:42:35.003+02:00<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPPdiXSr91hBeefZtQ6JCMOf52aaopGS2HYfWcx0QrZlaefV6NG1zKMadpAzdVFe_CAdQj8PcxmpiyM66kIq0fn9SzaZzaefQUsfnUPlr2Flr4gSi_de67A8ZYwZrI6SPM572H6FRuTQ/s1600-h/cone55.gif"></a><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Funerary</strong></span></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><em><strong>Funerary and Other Masks of Ancient Egypt</strong></em></span></div><br />Many people interested in Egypt are familiar with funerary masks, used to cover the face of a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UwiXevc0r-ovQWQHhdTKGCQtHSJ6HVQ3jUMTGt1s2keZY4YHzPdXUfioncz0PY9XyBoIYvr8UyYuT5zWIezBpbHjqbhMdjYhSsYY-8fhNHlu4T_nipqm9xmn3JsH2y6b6c5YlxbY-e4/s1600-h/masks2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192869774180028802" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UwiXevc0r-ovQWQHhdTKGCQtHSJ6HVQ3jUMTGt1s2keZY4YHzPdXUfioncz0PY9XyBoIYvr8UyYuT5zWIezBpbHjqbhMdjYhSsYY-8fhNHlu4T_nipqm9xmn3JsH2y6b6c5YlxbY-e4/s400/masks2.jpg" border="0" /></a>mummy. An example, of course, is the famous funerary mask of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm">Tutankhamun</a> now in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm">Egyptian Antiquities Museum</a> in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/cairo/">Cairo</a>, though certainly most funerary masks were not made of solid <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/gold.htm">gold</a>. However, living persons in ancient Egypt might have employed transformational spells to assume nonhuman forms. Specifically, masked <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/priests.htm">priests</a>, priestesses or magicians, disguising themselves as divine beings such as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/anubis.htm">Anubis</a> or Beset, almost assuredly assumed such identities to exert the powers associated with those deities. Funerary masks and other facial coverings for <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm">mummies</a> emphasized the ancient Egyptian belief in the fragile state of transition that the dead would have to successfully transcend in their physical and spiritual journey from this world to their divine transformation in the next. Hence, whether worn by the living or the dead, masks played a similar role of magically transforming an individual from a mortal to a divine state.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/beasts.htm">fantastic creatures</a>. Some of these are understood to have probably been humans dressed as deities, though the ancient Egyptians probably saw them as images or manifestations of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> themselves. This was probably most evident in three dimensional representations such as the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> female figure from <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">Western</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (modern <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>), now in the collection of the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUXg4xfJB652oT1Moka6RjQ3ooL0Mk-48slhUZ6Gx4WSpcO24Gr0XKF1dHAk7numBKJYfqIk-Zzz_AAAKH_mTsgimUrruAtQHvklMdgCacfNhiNd9Wxtfgl7fX6B8ESOIot-JD3P8-5U/s1600-h/masks4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192871393382699570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 251px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px" height="395" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEUXg4xfJB652oT1Moka6RjQ3ooL0Mk-48slhUZ6Gx4WSpcO24Gr0XKF1dHAk7numBKJYfqIk-Zzz_AAAKH_mTsgimUrruAtQHvklMdgCacfNhiNd9Wxtfgl7fX6B8ESOIot-JD3P8-5U/s400/masks4.jpg" width="251" border="0" /></a> Manchester Museum and sometimes referred to in earlier texts as a leonine-masked human. Though most certainly a human dressed as an animal, this figure was surely considered an image of Beset.<br /><br />Two dimensional depictions are more difficult to interpret. The question of the extent to which these depicted masks were used in Egyptian religious rituals has not yet been satisfactorily resolved for all periods of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm">ancient Egyptian history</a>. This may be due to intentional ambiguity. An example is one very common depiction rendered in many mortuary scenes that records the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm">mummification</a> of a body by a jackal-headed being. Such representations may document the actual mummification rites performed by a jackal-disguised priest, though it may also be interpreted as commemorating that episode of the embalmment by the jackal god <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/anubis.htm">Anubis</a> in the mythic account of the death and resurrection of the god of the dead, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, whom the deceased wished to emulate. Another example is a ritual procession of composite animal and human figures, identified in the accompanying texts, as the souls of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hierakonpolis.htm">Nekhen</a> and Pe, who carry the sacred bark in a procession detailed on the southwestern interior wall of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/karnak3.htm">Hypostyle Hall</a> in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karamun.htm">Temple of Amun</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>. Scenes such as this may either be literal records of the historic celebration performed by masked or costumed priests, or alternatively they may represent a visual actualization of faith in the royal dogma, which claimed categorically that the mythic ancestors of the god-king legitimized and supported his reign.<br /><br />Irregardless, it is thought that the ancient Egyptians <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPZuN7lfJ970RvBpp1gJofWZLWkF5dacf2iDyIqvY313RuY40RfnRhg_lhzb03HlBTMmk9qaq4exMVKI08hpqurWPuuZ94RoEieCh-GA_vrBWmYXkTtYRvPGjJFg8aGtN-BlY54eJIZU/s1600-h/masks6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192869761295126882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPZuN7lfJ970RvBpp1gJofWZLWkF5dacf2iDyIqvY313RuY40RfnRhg_lhzb03HlBTMmk9qaq4exMVKI08hpqurWPuuZ94RoEieCh-GA_vrBWmYXkTtYRvPGjJFg8aGtN-BlY54eJIZU/s400/masks6.jpg" border="0" /></a>did in fact perform some ritual ceremonies wearing such masks, though these ritual objects from the archaeological record are rare. Perhaps this is due to the fragile and perishable materials from which such masks may have been constructed (though surely some were made from gold, thought to be the skin of the gods). We do have an example of a fragmentary <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/bes.htm">Bes</a>-like or Aha (perhaps an ancient god and forerunner of Bes) face of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Cartonnage.htm">cartonnage</a> recovered by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/flinders.htm">W.M. Flinders Petrie</a> at the town site of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kahun.htm">Kahun</a>. However, this relic may not have been a mask even though it does appear to have eye holes. There was also an unusual set of late Middle Kingdom objects found in shaft-tomb 5 under the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ramseum.htm">Ramesseum</a> that included a wooden figurine representing either a lion-headed goddess or a woman wearing a similar kind of mask, which probably connected in some way with the performance of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/egyptmagic2.htm">magic</a>.<br /><br />However, the only incontrovertible evidence for the use of ritual masks by the living are found from Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a>. From that time, for example, we have a unique, ceramic mask of the head of the jackal god, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/anubis.htm">Anubis</a> (now in the collection of the Roemer Pelizaeus- Museum, Hildesheim), dating to sometime after 600 BC, which was apparently manufactured specifically as a head covering. This mask has indentations on both sides which would have allowed it to be supported atop the shoulders. The snout and upraised ears of the jackal head would have surmounted the wearers actual head. Two holes in the neck of the object would have allowed the wearer to view straight ahead. However, lateral vision would have been limited, thus necessitating the wearer's need for assistance, as explicitly depicted in a temple relief at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm">Dendera</a>. In this depiction, the priest wears just such a mask, and is assisted by a companion priest. A description of a festival procession of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a>, which was led by the god <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/anubis.htm">Anubis</a>, who was presumably a similarly masked priest, took place not in Egypt but rather in Kenchreai.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SyDLsK78WhdWRnT4v2ZGgC_iOxtd7LABitw3XpCHunSQrkDUIho1K2s63HgEDPN-7X6LcjX7wRH3suFPrhbFFTjx2FSm-fnrTxir1YuLZ_arKcEdq5NMf4GHrlsdGn2j3t9cckSUvSI/s1600-h/masks3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192871406267601490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SyDLsK78WhdWRnT4v2ZGgC_iOxtd7LABitw3XpCHunSQrkDUIho1K2s63HgEDPN-7X6LcjX7wRH3suFPrhbFFTjx2FSm-fnrTxir1YuLZ_arKcEdq5NMf4GHrlsdGn2j3t9cckSUvSI/s400/masks3.jpg" border="0" /></a>Funerary masks had more than one purpose. They were a part of the elaborate precautions taken by the ancient Egyptians to preserve the body after death. The protection of the head was of primary concern during this process. Thus, a face covering helped preserve the head, as well as providing a permanent substitute, in an idealized form which presented the deceased in the likeness of an immortal being, in case of physical damage. Those of means were provided with both a mask with gilt flesh tones and blue wigs, both associated with the glittering flesh and the lapis lazuli hair of the sun god. Specific features of a mask, including the eyes, eyebrows, forehead and other features, were directly identified with individual divinities, as explained in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bod.htm">Book of the Dead</a>, Spell 151b. This allowed the deceased to arrive safely in the hereafter, and gain acceptance among the other divine immortals in the council of the great god of the dead, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>. Though such masks were initially made for only the royalty, later such masks were manufactured for the elite class for both males and females.</div><br />Beginning in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>, attempts were made to stiffen and mold the outer layer of linen bandages used in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm">mummification</a> to cover the faces of the deceased and to emphasize prominent facial features in paint. The forerunners of mummy masks date to this period through the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">6th Dynasty</a>, taking the form of thin coatings of plaster molded either directly over the face or on top of the linen wrappings, perhaps fulfilling a similar purpose to the 4th Dynasty reserve heads. A plaster mold, apparently taken directly from the face of a corpse, was excavated fr<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAWSGRSa6xIJpO9W4G-8gTflMBuIsD8SSoF87Ux4TluvXxuTkejOzcNfZS-o7co1TKrF4v4PFQZdMOrSs3hUqp0ugjSqTafsgcBtNnUQEDkMUp8WxeNmGyN9He8LQlx6sEzRS-UJ7uac/s1600-h/mask5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192869765590094194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 206px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLAWSGRSa6xIJpO9W4G-8gTflMBuIsD8SSoF87Ux4TluvXxuTkejOzcNfZS-o7co1TKrF4v4PFQZdMOrSs3hUqp0ugjSqTafsgcBtNnUQEDkMUp8WxeNmGyN9He8LQlx6sEzRS-UJ7uac/s400/mask5.jpg" width="206" border="0" /></a>om the 6th Dynasty <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tetip.htm">mortuary temple</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/teti.htm">Teti</a>, though unfortunately, this is thought to date to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greco</a>-<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Roman">Roman period</a>.<br /><br />The very earliest masks were experimentally crafted as independent sculptural work, and have been dated to the Herakleopolitan period (late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hfirstin.htm">First Intermediate Period</a>). These early masks were made of wood, fashioned in two pieces and held together with pegs, or <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Cartonnage.htm">cartonnage</a> (layers of linen or papyrus stiffened with plaster. They were molded over a wooden model or core. The masks of both men and women had over-exaggerated eyes and often enigmatic half smiles. These objects were then framed by long, narrow, tripartite wigs held securely by a decorated headband. The "bib" of the mask extended to cover the chest, and were painted for both males and females with elaborate beading and floral motif necklaces or broad collars that served not only an aesthetic function but also an apotropaic requirement as set out in the funerary spells. Hollow and solid masks (sometimes of diminutive size) were also built by pouring clay or plaster into generic, often unisex molds. To this, ears and gender specific details were than added. These elongated masks eventually evolved into anthropoid inner coffins, first appearing in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>.<br /><br />Masks became increasingly more sophisticated during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Third">Third Intermediate Period</a>. These later masks made for royalty were beaten from precious metals. Of course, an obvious example of such is the solid gold mask of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tut.htm">Tutankhamun</a>, though we also have fine gold and silver specimens from <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tanis.htm">Tanis</a>. However, masks of all types were embellished wit<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9RR3SvcI50Q8-IH2Vmq6xPjTmkrgOMdedXUxR_dleTw06-g4MsLfnDexPy_N9JJMohiEgu_9_Y8pwMA_JxrBi2N6DcSyYh2rKPfNUAviV87dgK64-nrczDGl9X9I8La4MIbxeD5VD7T8/s1600-h/mask3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192871397677666882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9RR3SvcI50Q8-IH2Vmq6xPjTmkrgOMdedXUxR_dleTw06-g4MsLfnDexPy_N9JJMohiEgu_9_Y8pwMA_JxrBi2N6DcSyYh2rKPfNUAviV87dgK64-nrczDGl9X9I8La4MIbxeD5VD7T8/s400/mask3.jpg" border="0" /></a>h paint, using red for the flesh tones of males and yellow, pale tones for females. Added to this were composite, inlaid eyes or eyebrows, as well as other details that could elevate the cost of the finished product considerably. Hence, indications of social status, including hairstyles, jewelry and costumes (depicted on body-length head covers) are often helpful in dating masks. However, the idealized image of transfigured divinity, which was the objective of the funerary masks, precluded the individualization of masks to the point of portraiture. The results are that we have a relative sameness in these objects with anonymous facial features from all periods of Egyptian history.<br /><br />The use of face coverings for the dead continued in Egypt for as long as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm">mummification</a> was practiced in Egypt. Regional preferences included <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Cartonnage.htm">cartonnage</a> and plaster masks, both of equal popularity during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Ptolemaic (Greek) period</a>. The cartonnage masks became actually only one part of a complete set of separate cartonnage pieces that covered the wrapped body. This set included a separate cartonnage breastplate and foot case. During the Roman period, plaster masks exhibit <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greco</a>-<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Roman">Roman</a> influence only in their coiffures, which were patterned from styles current at the imperial court. This included both beards and mustaches for males, and elaborate coiffures on women, all highly molded in relief.<br /><br />However, during the Roman period there were alternatives to the cartonnage or plaster mask. Introduced during this period were the so-called <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> portraits, which were in<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAiQwmt5ZHGSYPGbh4LIrTTOScFFbikMMlakblZ2E8Tr2dEdUCb_D9pYikuz50eO-tzOod996qspavV2ChUbvlRAf14kqhbVB_edh-EWimLjzuL9JrNbg6Kf5pZQSK-aBYHkY6hVpjQk/s1600-h/masks8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192869757000159570" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZAiQwmt5ZHGSYPGbh4LIrTTOScFFbikMMlakblZ2E8Tr2dEdUCb_D9pYikuz50eO-tzOod996qspavV2ChUbvlRAf14kqhbVB_edh-EWimLjzuL9JrNbg6Kf5pZQSK-aBYHkY6hVpjQk/s400/masks8.jpg" border="0" /></a>itially unearthed from cemeteries in the Fayoum and first archaeologically excavated in 1888 and between 1910 and 1911 by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/flinders.htm">Flinders Petrie</a> at Hawara. Since then, they have been discovered at sites throughout Egypt from the northern coast to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a> in the south. These were paintings made with encaustic (colored beeswax) or tempera (watercolor) on wooden panels or linen shrouds and were rendered in a Hellenistic style not unlike contemporary frescoes discovered at Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy. Nevertheless, it is believed that such two-dimensional paintings held the same ideological function as traditional three-dimensional masks. However, these portraits were popular among nineteenth and early twentieth century collectors and this had a tendency to at first isolate them from their funerary contexts. They were studied by classicists and art historians who, basing their conclusions on details in the paintings along, such as hairstyles, jewelry and costume, identified the portraits as being those of Greek or Roman settlers who had adopted Egyptian burial customs. In fact, successful attempts have been made, based on the analysis of brush strokes and tool marks and the distinctive rendering of anatomical features, to group these portraits according to schools and to identify some individual artistic hands.<br /><br />However, though the portraits do appear at first to capture the unique features of specific individuals, it appears likely that only the earliest examples were painted from live models. Studies have indicated that the same generic quality that permeates the visages of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Cartonnage.htm">cartonnage</a> and plaster<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpIpNvpQxVYAp-5SBwaOKlYbtbyHZNhZ0GqNn2hb92u4FgZDwuRvZ9THLZ5tvL6IkaUnUxwqXlIjgF6UBDXreV0Llv4AgtGwA-R2Wb3ykoFxoEgEmMAquqW_Rrf2-No4hZ3MC3FVkTSI/s1600-h/masks9.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872222311387746" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkpIpNvpQxVYAp-5SBwaOKlYbtbyHZNhZ0GqNn2hb92u4FgZDwuRvZ9THLZ5tvL6IkaUnUxwqXlIjgF6UBDXreV0Llv4AgtGwA-R2Wb3ykoFxoEgEmMAquqW_Rrf2-No4hZ3MC3FVkTSI/s400/masks9.jpg" border="0" /></a> masks persists within the group of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> portraits that have been preserved and therefore we believe that they served in a similar fashion as the earlier masks.<br /><br />There may also be evidence for a cultic use of these paintings while their owners still lived. The fact that the upper corners of some of these panels were cut at an angle to secure a better fit before being positioned over the mummy, that there are signs of wear on paintings in places that would have been covered by the mummy wrappings, and that at least one portrait (now in the British Museum was discovered at Hawara still within a wooden frame indicates that the paintings had a domestic use prior to inclusion within the funerary equipment. They may have been hung in the owners home prior to such use.<br /><br />Yet the iconographic elements, including gilded lips in accordance with the funerary spells 21 through 23 of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bod.htm">Book of the Dead</a> to insure the power of speech during the afterlife, as well as the allusions to traditional deities, such as the sidelock of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> worn by adolescents, the pointed star diadem of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/serapis.htm">Serapis</a> worn by men, and the horned solar crown of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a> worn by adult females, together with other evidence, emphasize a continuity of native Egyptian traditions. Though the product of the Hellenistic age of Roman Egypt, they date from the end of a continuum of a desire to permanently preserve the faces of the dead in an idealized and transfigured form that began in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> and lasted to the end of pagan Egypt.<br /><br />The last examples we have of funerary masks are actually painted linen shrouds of which the upper part was pressed into a mold to produce the effect of a three dimensional plaster mask. Some examples of this type of object may date as late as the third of fourth century AD. First unearthed by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">Edouard Naville</a> within the sacred precinct of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/bahari.htm">mortuary chapel</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn05.htm">Queen Hatshepsut</a>, they were initially and incorrectly identified by him as the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mummification.htm">mummies</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/chiste0.htm">early Christians</a>. However, later analysis by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">H. E. Winlock</a>, particularly noting the ubiquitous representation of the bark of the Egyptian funerary god <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/seker.htm">Sokar</a>, correctly identified these as further examples of masks consistent with pagan Egyptian funerary traditions, even though certain motifs, such as the cup held in one hand, seem to present the final transition from pagan mask to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/copticpainting.htm">Coptic icon painting</a> and the portraits of Byzantine saints.<br /><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872759182299858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVj4xJc1Eqqse8zhMYpSX4_p1z5LHEnWwN3JgbwRkXxS4LXClrwjX_EN6jRV0pVTA29P_B3pPPH_EJqkntNJSblx6V1fpD_huQpWjRLXj5ilg5dJDzTZr9k4OJ0zM_sYLK4-5ZbMxoQ2E/s400/mask2.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#006600;"><em>Funerary mask of Amenemope from the 21st Dynasty reign of Amenemope rendered in gold leaf on bronze</em></span></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#006600;"></span></em></div><div align="center"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#006600;"></span></em></div><br /><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192873137139421938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIiplJNudzPQPr5BHSAW_qCjltSAKtP01CuD4pT35TT4QlI6nPmq9j84UH3POgbXse5LLcJKurwtAqocERPLlkNFGzWFBmXMyIRxgHfZv1N3Mt9Sj-Dnl3muq3_gVDZQ1cV-eBsBxm-F4/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong><em>Funerary Cones</em></strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></em></strong><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxCwRJpnF4m7ftz4X7y810pUYJLeEjgqETc7NnB7PNjUWON6_23sspvEbvDgyHLKo_82BxN6Qk-IgjWhgsR66HvWoqyMo6X3mQhLA0S6HoiQjGd5BF4UGcgB1eQu9LiazIqmg7aLqjR8/s1600-h/funerarycones6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192871384792764946" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdxCwRJpnF4m7ftz4X7y810pUYJLeEjgqETc7NnB7PNjUWON6_23sspvEbvDgyHLKo_82BxN6Qk-IgjWhgsR66HvWoqyMo6X3mQhLA0S6HoiQjGd5BF4UGcgB1eQu9LiazIqmg7aLqjR8/s400/funerarycones6.jpg" border="0" /></a>Artifacts, often in a conical shape made of fired clay bearing stamped funerary text on their circular face, are generally referred to as funerary cones. Though only (about) two sets of these objects have been found in situ, we believe they were inserted as a frieze, with the stamped face exposed, above the doors of Middle and New Kingdom (particularly the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th</a> through <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn26.htm">26th</a> Dynasties) private tombs. These funeral objects were produced for both men and women. </div><br />Wiedemann published the first real study of these stamped objects in 1885, which was followed by an additional systematic corpus of the objects by Daressy in 1893. However, a corpus of facsimiles compiled by Norman de Garis Davies and M. F. Laming Macadam, known as A Corpus of Inscribed Egyptian Funerary Cones, published in 1957, provides the key reference source for their study today.<br /><br />While the Theban necropolis has yielded most known funerary cones, they have also been <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNUYVdXPNlBQCuud1TDbSB748KajzjOA8-P7mZy5miMwJ6932TqkoGPkQ7yhYeVVqw3ufox-S6_vP5EM7MKZ-sCP95MdVt2yNpW2gE8JGixFsbyLeSx-5II0UhA2DWALaTt51SZ2uVJM/s1600-h/funerarycones2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870706187932146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaNUYVdXPNlBQCuud1TDbSB748KajzjOA8-P7mZy5miMwJ6932TqkoGPkQ7yhYeVVqw3ufox-S6_vP5EM7MKZ-sCP95MdVt2yNpW2gE8JGixFsbyLeSx-5II0UhA2DWALaTt51SZ2uVJM/s400/funerarycones2.jpg" border="0" /></a>discovered in a few other locations including as far south as Nubia. The stamped text typically bears the names and titles of the deceased person, often including additional biographical data and epitaphs. Any number of cones might exist for any one person, and they provide us with a considerable amount of the information on many non-royal ancient Egyptians.<br /><br />The cones may have been used for a variety of functions. Egyptologists suggest that they may have been used to identify the tomb owner (almost like a modern cemetery marker, as an ornamental memorial, as a boundary marker or even as a symbolic offering of bread or meat. Others believe that they may have been used as a symbolic tomb seal, and may been intended to provide protection. Even the stamped, conical end of the cone has been interpreted in several ways. Some believe it represents symbolically the the ends of roofing poles, a form of visitors' card, simply a decorative element, or possibly even the shape of the sun disk.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbhiju8lyWkcXyy5QsfHzSU3bd_KGp567LFnIQ5t57xhrv_zCdBK_wWZ2gkRbpJyZg-dk7zBA3b4nF403YCzAKSj4g3n7K1546Rdi8o9BbRDrFUZG9l1_lE_0Bg_Zd1fh22izi7kzNHk/s1600-h/funerarycones5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192871389087732258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwbhiju8lyWkcXyy5QsfHzSU3bd_KGp567LFnIQ5t57xhrv_zCdBK_wWZ2gkRbpJyZg-dk7zBA3b4nF403YCzAKSj4g3n7K1546Rdi8o9BbRDrFUZG9l1_lE_0Bg_Zd1fh22izi7kzNHk/s400/funerarycones5.jpg" border="0" /></a>In reality, the use of these cones is complicated by their variety. While we generally refer to these stamped objects as cones, they could be rectangular, wedge-shaped, flat or bell shaped, and at least one example took the form of a double-headed cone. Their width, length and thickness could also vary considerably, and some of the cones were even hollow. Cones are often found that were painted in various colors, mostly consisting of red, blue or white. But in ancient Egypt, these colors could indicate different materials, including bread, meat, pottery and the red glow of the sun.</div><br />In fact, some Egyptologists suggest that the investigation and handling of artifacts referred to as funerary cones has not met the same standards as other pottery items. In fact, collectors and even well known Egyptologists have sometimes mutilated funerary cones in order to preserve only the text, without regard to the objects original shape. Even <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/flinders.htm">Petrie</a> admitted to this practice, stating that:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">"as the inscriptions are all that is really required, the bulk of the cone was removed, either by sawing, if soft, or breaking, if hard. Thus with a very small loss, I reduced a collection of over 250 to a more manageable bulk. "</span></em><br /><br />The earliest of these cones, have been dated to the eleventh dynasty, but have no inscriptions. Some were very large, measuring some 53 centimeters (20 inches) in length, but their size decreased, particularly during the New Kingdom. They seem most common from the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn03.htm">Thutmose I</a>, but apparently their used declined during the Ramessid period.<br /><br />While funerary cones are mostly associated with the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (modern <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/luxor/">Lu</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7R5gQRfNlqx-vsF0hfdAz6gzuX7TW8ff8x_fbx1G_NVoIqPhJ8Qb3X92X8d9kTN6IsPcf__KMA_8dFLtXRH7nOuc5NLR2j8ACCHZgKf38UbX7A9ztNtLKD7e8FkKorpjfjCJH_wL3UM/s1600-h/funerarycones7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870719072834050" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 257px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 148px" height="212" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7R5gQRfNlqx-vsF0hfdAz6gzuX7TW8ff8x_fbx1G_NVoIqPhJ8Qb3X92X8d9kTN6IsPcf__KMA_8dFLtXRH7nOuc5NLR2j8ACCHZgKf38UbX7A9ztNtLKD7e8FkKorpjfjCJH_wL3UM/s400/funerarycones7.jpg" width="257" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/luxor/">xor</a>), they have also been found at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/nagaeldeir.htm">Naga ed-Deir</a> and el-Deir north of Esna. Though the tombs they reference have not been discovered, they was probably located in those general areas. Also, Middle Kingdom tombs at Rizeiqat, Armant, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/naqada.htm">Naqada</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> have yielded uninscribed cones. However, beyond these few other cones, none have been found outside of the Theban necropolis.<br /><br /><br />Most of the cones come from painted, as opposed to sculpted tombs, and conform to the Theban funerary traditions. They may have been thought to be particularly suited to rock cut tombs. They have been discovered in various sections of the Theban West Bank, and are particularly notable in the tombs at Sheik Abd-el-Qurna, dating to the eighteenth dynasty, but are notably mostly absent at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/medina.htm">Deir el-Medina</a>, where only one example has been discovered.<br /><br />One of the facets of Egyptology that funerary cones indicate is that their are many more tombs to be discovered. Some of these tombs may be lost to us forever, but currently there are more than four hundred funerary cones that are not immediately assignable to a known tomb at Thebes.<br /><div align="center"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><strong><em>Gallery<br /></em></strong></span><br /></div><div align="left"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqzdx7GEgsUHXQfek9ZyxldU2LwYvKRhI9k2p8CI9073OnFGBE1Jpf0jsrOeDxKJ1YHvDC7zZTQpuJIUp6C0EYhpIYtana8J9VHO-brd9ajbFRuqVXYSH7C3ieCyHUJIYuG-IwdH_afM/s1600-h/Amenemipet.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192899860425937730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 164px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" height="162" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqzdx7GEgsUHXQfek9ZyxldU2LwYvKRhI9k2p8CI9073OnFGBE1Jpf0jsrOeDxKJ1YHvDC7zZTQpuJIUp6C0EYhpIYtana8J9VHO-brd9ajbFRuqVXYSH7C3ieCyHUJIYuG-IwdH_afM/s200/Amenemipet.gif" width="238" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CxN17qSX5nU3GN2bt5VXaOgtHI4OVTSscO-9WuB54zK7ylyOluguRfSMbBSCRS-IHICVROiEU8kVzlorTiV5ca-MFm6Z2BIxfsz_6ehD2Ar6dYLbiMbqwD6hffZurxp-6J8TA-s1gQ8/s1600-h/cone93.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192901243405407154" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-CxN17qSX5nU3GN2bt5VXaOgtHI4OVTSscO-9WuB54zK7ylyOluguRfSMbBSCRS-IHICVROiEU8kVzlorTiV5ca-MFm6Z2BIxfsz_6ehD2Ar6dYLbiMbqwD6hffZurxp-6J8TA-s1gQ8/s200/cone93.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2M7mve2zJ6AhVXJjljqThnwgS3385szASSAoLpslamQs3mWzTZH7yzB8O2Z28OudLJCwchLdtu5eN3sijFgTmNKXtf-kY_EsgBn0NVGFSK5xGpnp8fRjRAsC7KhkGzhjstuprr4gc6ic/s1600-h/Amenhotep.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192899869015872338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 180px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" height="150" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2M7mve2zJ6AhVXJjljqThnwgS3385szASSAoLpslamQs3mWzTZH7yzB8O2Z28OudLJCwchLdtu5eN3sijFgTmNKXtf-kY_EsgBn0NVGFSK5xGpnp8fRjRAsC7KhkGzhjstuprr4gc6ic/s200/Amenhotep.jpg" width="180" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXqzdx7GEgsUHXQfek9ZyxldU2LwYvKRhI9k2p8CI9073OnFGBE1Jpf0jsrOeDxKJ1YHvDC7zZTQpuJIUp6C0EYhpIYtana8J9VHO-brd9ajbFRuqVXYSH7C3ieCyHUJIYuG-IwdH_afM/s1600-h/Amenemipet.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwaq0CTqaWzlunbDQ_a-v6nlpzBu7WAy8MrUSUmA9TleYeQn-N95_uu2ESvr5LRHSFBgE9e-gRj-woVR1cGEKLDlcViykbYsZCW_m_45qb5i2bFcsF8TFxn1szCGAZmy3EDyGcW0ass/s1600-h/cone98.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwaq0CTqaWzlunbDQ_a-v6nlpzBu7WAy8MrUSUmA9TleYeQn-N95_uu2ESvr5LRHSFBgE9e-gRj-woVR1cGEKLDlcViykbYsZCW_m_45qb5i2bFcsF8TFxn1szCGAZmy3EDyGcW0ass/s1600-h/cone98.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192901260585276354" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwaq0CTqaWzlunbDQ_a-v6nlpzBu7WAy8MrUSUmA9TleYeQn-N95_uu2ESvr5LRHSFBgE9e-gRj-woVR1cGEKLDlcViykbYsZCW_m_45qb5i2bFcsF8TFxn1szCGAZmy3EDyGcW0ass/s200/cone98.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2M7mve2zJ6AhVXJjljqThnwgS3385szASSAoLpslamQs3mWzTZH7yzB8O2Z28OudLJCwchLdtu5eN3sijFgTmNKXtf-kY_EsgBn0NVGFSK5xGpnp8fRjRAsC7KhkGzhjstuprr4gc6ic/s1600-h/Amenhotep.jpg"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwaq0CTqaWzlunbDQ_a-v6nlpzBu7WAy8MrUSUmA9TleYeQn-N95_uu2ESvr5LRHSFBgE9e-gRj-woVR1cGEKLDlcViykbYsZCW_m_45qb5i2bFcsF8TFxn1szCGAZmy3EDyGcW0ass/s1600-h/cone98.gif"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdKCfgBC77NJRdzBrcDkRH374w1mlzKtGcU5R9HQRDZRJt8tVWDRsdAb3nvl45dNy_KmBR8fRXv5Co6U8oPI5gY8IrRRwQAeSbp1f0L1iiW3D9VA9sFHQ8WbhWBw2YmA6RdXaV5jMZ7s/s1600-h/Ahmose.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192899834656133922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 175px" height="200" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdKCfgBC77NJRdzBrcDkRH374w1mlzKtGcU5R9HQRDZRJt8tVWDRsdAb3nvl45dNy_KmBR8fRXv5Co6U8oPI5gY8IrRRwQAeSbp1f0L1iiW3D9VA9sFHQ8WbhWBw2YmA6RdXaV5jMZ7s/s200/Ahmose.gif" width="235" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s1600-h/Merymes.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_QL8NGYeMCuCWY_gFaa40qh51m3GUa7QjwFVgiMu2wn56U79nNWueYq7B8n9jCkcqjxqNMorRa611LMa-sgLt_XA_RHRIxnQIJ1S0XqXMplXiKN_sekby48sqZhKvGB3TLXgQh9OdTM/s1600-h/Amenhotep+II.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgJ6rEuL-J2RQxrUy3H8xPHWXAA20CMbBbw6a8N4y-OSskss_WmR3Ci9xMTqmmvlUZzfLu0L2eDnbLVXvODno08Vudptg6H-KGXa5U_9ZN7-KO4_FoTmwjD_nauJZTfJuOGpDAonCebM/s1600-h/Nerau.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192900650699920258" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 175px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" height="150" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgJ6rEuL-J2RQxrUy3H8xPHWXAA20CMbBbw6a8N4y-OSskss_WmR3Ci9xMTqmmvlUZzfLu0L2eDnbLVXvODno08Vudptg6H-KGXa5U_9ZN7-KO4_FoTmwjD_nauJZTfJuOGpDAonCebM/s200/Nerau.jpg" width="215" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY6Dns5JLoR8VqE2TxslJmg5PRPEdLNgiQoYlhao7zoZJrDyK6r_6Y6fi0vLw0OC9SqJR63-ueH4L1ilJ2q89N3CSEQAGWHnjWoCOrNjXhQd6yZjYeGTuAuXbPv7gQY591vAmZvz1Jvo/s1600-h/Amenemhet.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOdKCfgBC77NJRdzBrcDkRH374w1mlzKtGcU5R9HQRDZRJt8tVWDRsdAb3nvl45dNy_KmBR8fRXv5Co6U8oPI5gY8IrRRwQAeSbp1f0L1iiW3D9VA9sFHQ8WbhWBw2YmA6RdXaV5jMZ7s/s1600-h/Ahmose.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s1600-h/Merymes.gif"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIgJ6rEuL-J2RQxrUy3H8xPHWXAA20CMbBbw6a8N4y-OSskss_WmR3Ci9xMTqmmvlUZzfLu0L2eDnbLVXvODno08Vudptg6H-KGXa5U_9ZN7-KO4_FoTmwjD_nauJZTfJuOGpDAonCebM/s1600-h/Nerau.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_QL8NGYeMCuCWY_gFaa40qh51m3GUa7QjwFVgiMu2wn56U79nNWueYq7B8n9jCkcqjxqNMorRa611LMa-sgLt_XA_RHRIxnQIJ1S0XqXMplXiKN_sekby48sqZhKvGB3TLXgQh9OdTM/s1600-h/Amenhotep+II.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192899890490708834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 141px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" height="163" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV_QL8NGYeMCuCWY_gFaa40qh51m3GUa7QjwFVgiMu2wn56U79nNWueYq7B8n9jCkcqjxqNMorRa611LMa-sgLt_XA_RHRIxnQIJ1S0XqXMplXiKN_sekby48sqZhKvGB3TLXgQh9OdTM/s200/Amenhotep+II.gif" width="200" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s1600-h/Merymes.gif"></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s1600-h/Merymes.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192900646404952946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 158px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" height="200" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s200/Merymes.gif" width="216" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_R13XF9jlY25MNuRSverjll61USzWp6OF6cYuLdmpF-vKo3H8-GKSLsN8JuBPIW04nXMGi5p3goKsyE8f3otPAiniuD7vpCeFADmL4FzYqv2iovmLVzMT5BnbJoQJBGKKkxZwDDDMT6M/s1600-h/Merymes.gif"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAY6Dns5JLoR8VqE2TxslJmg5PRPEdLNgiQoYlhao7zoZJrDyK6r_6Y6fi0vLw0OC9SqJR63-ueH4L1ilJ2q89N3CSEQAGWHnjWoCOrNjXhQd6yZjYeGTuAuXbPv7gQY591vAmZvz1Jvo/s1600-h/Amenemhet.gif"></a><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXoqM6CsHrGcM6PX7goHKKT-JDOWd_84Jlu_N3MXK256u24eaVhzuIfD8-1hq6kX3a69R39yhqdRSonDFC4wN7UL59vX5GMdV-QlBqckOkS6wI0I-RQWw0jcjlMsZxF4LkbdtD8XqcoA/s1600-h/elwali.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192873334707917570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBXoqM6CsHrGcM6PX7goHKKT-JDOWd_84Jlu_N3MXK256u24eaVhzuIfD8-1hq6kX3a69R39yhqdRSonDFC4wN7UL59vX5GMdV-QlBqckOkS6wI0I-RQWw0jcjlMsZxF4LkbdtD8XqcoA/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><em><strong>Funerary Figurines including Shabti, Shawabti and Ushabti</strong></em></span></div><br />In the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Early">Early Dynastic period</a>, we find a few examples of what appears to have<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HqkwlFnUSNVOj7n9BShaW-k0PeNSwIujsIkkJohNHF2qStl94GvmccLw0PYhqPnyZ-QHdKyefeRdUBL8SGdVssdKTvb904yg9gO07AwPqjfn7LGrSnUuFYVKBtLUAAA_G8CHxLrJEAA/s1600-h/ushebti2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192869778474996114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_HqkwlFnUSNVOj7n9BShaW-k0PeNSwIujsIkkJohNHF2qStl94GvmccLw0PYhqPnyZ-QHdKyefeRdUBL8SGdVssdKTvb904yg9gO07AwPqjfn7LGrSnUuFYVKBtLUAAA_G8CHxLrJEAA/s400/ushebti2.jpg" border="0" /></a> been sacrificial burials in Egypt, where apparently rulers took to the grave various servants upon their death. However, this barbaric practice was soon replaced with symbolic figures of one nature or another. At first, they took the form of servant statuettes and tomb paintings and reliefs of laborers on the walls of tombs.<br /><br />The earliest examples of small figurines were wax prototypes that first appeared at <a href="http://touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a> during the Herakleopolian period and in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn11.htm">11th Dynasty</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotept.htm">complex</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep2.htm">Nebhepetre Montuhotep I</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">Deir el-Bahri</a> in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (modern <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>), where they were shaped as humans, wrapped in linen as miniature mummies and deposited in coffins. These earliest examples had no spells inscribed or other specific words for their purpose, but were nevertheless expected to perform work on behalf of the dead. Model stone statuettes of workers in various professions were commonly placed in tombs during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> (though in small numbers), and their use was also known from many periods.<br /><br />Later, many of these figures buried with the dead began to be called ushabti (ushabty, ushebti), <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8X7EYHSdJazr2_dQpxcYS8THkdQc_w2YDl6vx_vy8zdQcf1zwDU2XVEFz7InF2gLzPTRJXRM8sf-WGPeWduWusFi_AkvjpIQ6ZHgVnDTsnBJsC7kfPZ8CtnlmUNm2lesNtztW_muAeQ/s1600-h/ushebti16.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872230901322370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 223px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 327px" height="327" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8X7EYHSdJazr2_dQpxcYS8THkdQc_w2YDl6vx_vy8zdQcf1zwDU2XVEFz7InF2gLzPTRJXRM8sf-WGPeWduWusFi_AkvjpIQ6ZHgVnDTsnBJsC7kfPZ8CtnlmUNm2lesNtztW_muAeQ/s400/ushebti16.jpg" width="244" border="0" /></a>shabti (shabty) or shawabti. These figures were made from various materials, including wax, clay, wood, stone, terracotta and rarely bronze or glass, but the most common material was faience. Specifically, their primary tasks appear to have been agricultural work in the afterlife. In the Egyptian netherworld, each hour of the night was associated with a geographic region. These regions were organized just as on earth and consisted of lands donated by the sun god <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a> to the blessed dead to be farmed for their nourishment. Those owners of tombs of any importance were accustomed to having laborers perform menial work for them while living, and they expected to continue this privilege in death.<br /><br />Initially, these magical figures were believed to act as a substitute for the deceased himself, although later they came to be regarded as mere servants in the afterlife. Hence, at first they were sometimes fashioned either as mummies or as living persons dressed in fine linen garb, but in later periods their appearance changed more to that of servants. A spell for this purpose appeared in the Middle Kingdom <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/coffintext.htm">Coffin Texts</a>, and from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">New Kingdom</a> the figures were inscribed with Chapter six of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bod.htm">Book of the Dead</a> that reads:<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>"Oh Ushabi, allotted to me, if I be summoned or if I be detailed to do any work which has to be done in the realm of the dead; if indeed obstacles are implanted for you therewith a man at his duties, you shall detail yourself for me on every occasion of making arable the fields, of flooding the banks or of conveying sand from east to west; 'Here am I', you shall say."</em></span><br /><br />Though various spelling is used to designate these figures, there are basically three uses (ushabti, shabti and shawbti), and while all three are often indiscriminately and incorrectly used, each designation has historical limits to its usage, and in particular, shawabti was restricted geographically to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/medina.htm">Deir el-Medina</a> and other areas of Thebes. They derived their name from the usage in the Book of the Dead. However, in many cases, only the title and name of the deceased was inscribed upon these figures and therefore referring to all such figures as ushabti, shabti or shawbti is wrong. Hence, the designation of "funerary figurines" is at least accurate for all types in all periods.<br /><br />Both the spellings of shabti and shawabti appear in early versions of these figures, but the latter term was restricted to the strange stick figures from the Theban area. However, it is probably a dialectical variant and is the least preferable of the three spellings for the general references to these figures.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG23gAtPm2lrgHL2_mwnrcuK_gmblWRhGIHQZNtuZEaShi-FzXsLXJsReKLRUe_zyZgV_3Br7uH2gxeDCOxU4LF9leSoDdXqJEfjIRGDhkkWquFLQ4Nbf9EGYUYnjerCvchIVLlon0kQ/s1600-h/ushabti12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872226606355058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXG23gAtPm2lrgHL2_mwnrcuK_gmblWRhGIHQZNtuZEaShi-FzXsLXJsReKLRUe_zyZgV_3Br7uH2gxeDCOxU4LF9leSoDdXqJEfjIRGDhkkWquFLQ4Nbf9EGYUYnjerCvchIVLlon0kQ/s400/ushabti12.jpg" border="0" /></a>During the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm">Tuthmosis IV</a> (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th Dynasty</a>), a considerable innovation occurred in these funerary figures which changed them forever. Until that period, the figurines had almost always taken the form of mummies, but now they began to be fashioned with baskets, sacks and hoes or mattocks held in their hands, on the chest or waist. Some had separate models of agricultural tools, which might include model hoes, adzes, wooden yoke poles with bronze bags to hand across the servant's shoulders, and even mudbrick molds. Once this practice was established it became a permanent standard for these figurines. Also, at the end of the 18th Dynasty or the beginning of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>, the figures were represented in the clothing of the leaving, usually rendered in the garments of the elite, with loose folds and tight pleats.</div><br />However, it should be noted that during the 18th Dynasty reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), who attempted to revolutionize Egyptian theology, some figurines, though continuing to be adorned with agricultural tools, had instead of spell six from the Book of the Dead, an offering addressed to the sun disk, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/aten.htm">Aten</a>.<br /><br />Chapter six of the book of the Dead also became more elaborate, though many of the figurines continued to have inscribed only the name and title of the deceased. Beginning in the 21st Dynasty, we first see the spelling of ushebti as the standard spelling in Chapter six, which continued into the Ptolemaic period when the last of these figurines were made. This spelling may have derived from a verb (wesheb) meaning, "to answer", since the spell addresses the figure and tells it to respond when the deceased is called to perform labor in the afterlife.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5uw3OiK6axQmT2190eglWMrClmYYXbEwDZfKhTNGQxwlEgzN1MalfNRNo3A0A0_2ZCRFbexuZhP2keDMSx5kxHYDZ79mVDB9GGT0qWDs63vRG9b5Z6IncU0RzTpxPSG0lX7DYTo9zaY/s1600-h/ushebti6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870461374796194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" height="310" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5uw3OiK6axQmT2190eglWMrClmYYXbEwDZfKhTNGQxwlEgzN1MalfNRNo3A0A0_2ZCRFbexuZhP2keDMSx5kxHYDZ79mVDB9GGT0qWDs63vRG9b5Z6IncU0RzTpxPSG0lX7DYTo9zaY/s400/ushebti6.jpg" width="229" border="0" /></a>The number of figures buried with the deceased could vary considerably, and their number also increased over time. While in earlier periods there might be very few buried with the deceased, eventually in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn21.htm">21st Dynasty</a> there might be as many as 401, consisting of 365 workers for each day of the year, and 36 overseers, provided in boxes created to hold the larger number of figurines These overseers would even be equipped with triangular kilts traditionally worn by higher officials and whips. The ancient Egyptians identified the length of the year and through of the night by observing 36 groups of stars that changed every ten days, so the arrangement of 365 workers and 36 overseers was all astronomically calculated.<br /><br />However, with that sort of demand for these figures, they became mostly mass produced in terracotta and faience from a mold with indistinguishable features. So many of these funerary figurines were produced that, apart from scarabs and amulets, they are the most numerous of all ancient Egyptian antiquities.<br /><br />From the 21st Dynasty through at least the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Third">Third Intermediate Period</a>, ushebtis were consistently made of blue faience with details in black. During the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Late">Late Period</a>, while still made of faience, they were rendered in pastel tones of green or blue.<br /><br />During the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Ptolemaic (Greek)</a> era, a transition of ushebtis resulted in a return to earlier forms, with numerous figurines fashioned once again in mummiform so that once again, those dressed as the living are rare if at all existent.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"><em><strong>Gallery</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:180%;color:#006600;"></span></em></strong><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7rzSHhGQ9XpshYG96CKF60CNBRZxFAMD-g15Gw0S8qyezDU-DexzbhGepD9YX3vIvkFKXo3Obrndl4JmZgriyAiKcUqKBEAKo0dZxll-UiSEdVJdaI35Mc5QqdJ39SfTOj-BbIqZMe8/s1600-h/ushebti1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872235196289682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 89px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7rzSHhGQ9XpshYG96CKF60CNBRZxFAMD-g15Gw0S8qyezDU-DexzbhGepD9YX3vIvkFKXo3Obrndl4JmZgriyAiKcUqKBEAKo0dZxll-UiSEdVJdaI35Mc5QqdJ39SfTOj-BbIqZMe8/s400/ushebti1.jpg" width="114" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC_P_2QdSOXkOvLlh4XEDfqSxySZTywZ9pir-gPW4H9ezPzktSj6_j4fO9Ktc34odCHdVwXfeaYk0XdBWCwrMA7vLiqn1lcHJM7VeuWt2xSddGvsOSgzNRwruQ3xADYH78NMOeNb9PXw/s1600-h/ushebti7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872243786224290" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 86px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 335px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC_P_2QdSOXkOvLlh4XEDfqSxySZTywZ9pir-gPW4H9ezPzktSj6_j4fO9Ktc34odCHdVwXfeaYk0XdBWCwrMA7vLiqn1lcHJM7VeuWt2xSddGvsOSgzNRwruQ3xADYH78NMOeNb9PXw/s400/ushebti7.jpg" width="108" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNiWXFN7TOdm1H01iRLLKAc_arCD4BCCJ0JrZsLNXNcA_MnE4jw2MUOPw07mbo9NlWTmhEuWGlW_Sy0E72_WGk0H1OrE0F2CdrAD3I1F5yeMxG22bQv3qKPVlBh_bKCDrss8eT2iar-0/s1600-h/ushebti3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870465669763522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 341px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNiWXFN7TOdm1H01iRLLKAc_arCD4BCCJ0JrZsLNXNcA_MnE4jw2MUOPw07mbo9NlWTmhEuWGlW_Sy0E72_WGk0H1OrE0F2CdrAD3I1F5yeMxG22bQv3qKPVlBh_bKCDrss8eT2iar-0/s400/ushebti3.jpg" width="100" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfGTXCB_O8R4LICAGG7pm1X-KYXGoJCoF-9tKRaW6SJzhqwhDwLG9hIjYCf7vjLDpUwFQS_f_GwsCDIv_0CNt6xx3NZqy71wE-ecHopzzbNZ1SSo7F18wg3kAaz3hTuYhsevmOHZkjb4/s1600-h/ushebti4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870461374796210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 91px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 339px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfGTXCB_O8R4LICAGG7pm1X-KYXGoJCoF-9tKRaW6SJzhqwhDwLG9hIjYCf7vjLDpUwFQS_f_GwsCDIv_0CNt6xx3NZqy71wE-ecHopzzbNZ1SSo7F18wg3kAaz3hTuYhsevmOHZkjb4/s400/ushebti4.jpg" width="104" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7rzSHhGQ9XpshYG96CKF60CNBRZxFAMD-g15Gw0S8qyezDU-DexzbhGepD9YX3vIvkFKXo3Obrndl4JmZgriyAiKcUqKBEAKo0dZxll-UiSEdVJdaI35Mc5QqdJ39SfTOj-BbIqZMe8/s1600-h/ushebti1.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC_P_2QdSOXkOvLlh4XEDfqSxySZTywZ9pir-gPW4H9ezPzktSj6_j4fO9Ktc34odCHdVwXfeaYk0XdBWCwrMA7vLiqn1lcHJM7VeuWt2xSddGvsOSgzNRwruQ3xADYH78NMOeNb9PXw/s1600-h/ushebti7.jpg"></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7rzSHhGQ9XpshYG96CKF60CNBRZxFAMD-g15Gw0S8qyezDU-DexzbhGepD9YX3vIvkFKXo3Obrndl4JmZgriyAiKcUqKBEAKo0dZxll-UiSEdVJdaI35Mc5QqdJ39SfTOj-BbIqZMe8/s1600-h/ushebti1.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfC_P_2QdSOXkOvLlh4XEDfqSxySZTywZ9pir-gPW4H9ezPzktSj6_j4fO9Ktc34odCHdVwXfeaYk0XdBWCwrMA7vLiqn1lcHJM7VeuWt2xSddGvsOSgzNRwruQ3xADYH78NMOeNb9PXw/s1600-h/ushebti7.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcNiWXFN7TOdm1H01iRLLKAc_arCD4BCCJ0JrZsLNXNcA_MnE4jw2MUOPw07mbo9NlWTmhEuWGlW_Sy0E72_WGk0H1OrE0F2CdrAD3I1F5yeMxG22bQv3qKPVlBh_bKCDrss8eT2iar-0/s1600-h/ushebti3.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7rzSHhGQ9XpshYG96CKF60CNBRZxFAMD-g15Gw0S8qyezDU-DexzbhGepD9YX3vIvkFKXo3Obrndl4JmZgriyAiKcUqKBEAKo0dZxll-UiSEdVJdaI35Mc5QqdJ39SfTOj-BbIqZMe8/s1600-h/ushebti1.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzfGTXCB_O8R4LICAGG7pm1X-KYXGoJCoF-9tKRaW6SJzhqwhDwLG9hIjYCf7vjLDpUwFQS_f_GwsCDIv_0CNt6xx3NZqy71wE-ecHopzzbNZ1SSo7F18wg3kAaz3hTuYhsevmOHZkjb4/s1600-h/ushebti4.jpg"></a></div><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2_kSj5PAfkoLWtzpybe0H77m0HWuu2q92qYHicZuCT9fHL7vZbe87PrgcgDvoCiCT421jQ8N6L6qSpDbtmwLlqegFH64B2cwkJlnDTPFxZMEkT-H1IyvwXQBwfzyi6EydOSssYp5bOM/s1600-h/ushebti10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872492894327474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 82px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 311px" height="280" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_2_kSj5PAfkoLWtzpybe0H77m0HWuu2q92qYHicZuCT9fHL7vZbe87PrgcgDvoCiCT421jQ8N6L6qSpDbtmwLlqegFH64B2cwkJlnDTPFxZMEkT-H1IyvwXQBwfzyi6EydOSssYp5bOM/s400/ushebti10.jpg" width="144" border="0" /></a> </p><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde0h21YNZP5zrzCcd98KaMBEhg5KiBEfqu8lOgQ_-faL8z0ysUvqlW9MInXdu3tQKei1dOjxWUHHROfHYeBERwspOX6ZpldjJkadmpLJlzMHGzJ2XmVKZVWzRgPlXLQssXoC8IHzspXg/s1600-h/ushebti8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870469964730834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 81px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 307px" height="287" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde0h21YNZP5zrzCcd98KaMBEhg5KiBEfqu8lOgQ_-faL8z0ysUvqlW9MInXdu3tQKei1dOjxWUHHROfHYeBERwspOX6ZpldjJkadmpLJlzMHGzJ2XmVKZVWzRgPlXLQssXoC8IHzspXg/s400/ushebti8.jpg" width="115" border="0" /></a></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bJ9SOrQLlj4OEVc7nQ1M6uJzLFvhs4k61iUmZGiSi2wbsj70urZ8LSa2Irb4QoQrRInu1GSTMljmVl8P7IvDC03AMZwsYtLkTDjVSdt6RXrNSowIZx9Uh2TRxVm3uZJthh6osPSc_Wk/s1600-h/ushebti9.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192872497189294786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 80px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 311px" height="350" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bJ9SOrQLlj4OEVc7nQ1M6uJzLFvhs4k61iUmZGiSi2wbsj70urZ8LSa2Irb4QoQrRInu1GSTMljmVl8P7IvDC03AMZwsYtLkTDjVSdt6RXrNSowIZx9Uh2TRxVm3uZJthh6osPSc_Wk/s400/ushebti9.jpg" width="56" border="0" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpLI5uCSrd4jnAGjjmMWo715CNf1aIzAeYxrwnixkACaL7RPK_1NhQrdOBHPqhhFz1hNuzBWgnLf9W67OsdsEiBTuvRs-mY2q0wlwwfRWtVE7kx0kB7IWYDZN5MbBEcUw5YnsYRfmbW4/s1600-h/ushebti11.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192870474259698146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 85px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px" height="350" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhpLI5uCSrd4jnAGjjmMWo715CNf1aIzAeYxrwnixkACaL7RPK_1NhQrdOBHPqhhFz1hNuzBWgnLf9W67OsdsEiBTuvRs-mY2q0wlwwfRWtVE7kx0kB7IWYDZN5MbBEcUw5YnsYRfmbW4/s400/ushebti11.jpg" width="74" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgde0h21YNZP5zrzCcd98KaMBEhg5KiBEfqu8lOgQ_-faL8z0ysUvqlW9MInXdu3tQKei1dOjxWUHHROfHYeBERwspOX6ZpldjJkadmpLJlzMHGzJ2XmVKZVWzRgPlXLQssXoC8IHzspXg/s1600-h/ushebti8.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#006600;"></span></span></div><p> </p><p> </p><p><br /> </p><p><br /></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.newton.cam.ac/">http://www.newton.cam.ac/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.britishmuseum.org/">http://www.britishmuseum.org/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/">http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUpSNw1AxL5oOnn1TDh8h48Y5hCK9DIbO9rMCZZPkXJfdXqT57skOeRbYRJR0FAh5qq4TH8KYOLr46-d2h7Qcp1DfMeyBcK0QgaYGenUUTGT0D1L_zf9A36vhvvUcc0_VmqepHju52Mg/s1600-h/elwali.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192873339002884882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUpSNw1AxL5oOnn1TDh8h48Y5hCK9DIbO9rMCZZPkXJfdXqT57skOeRbYRJR0FAh5qq4TH8KYOLr46-d2h7Qcp1DfMeyBcK0QgaYGenUUTGT0D1L_zf9A36vhvvUcc0_VmqepHju52Mg/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><div align="left"></div></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-10923511244647830802008-04-02T07:30:00.001+02:002008-04-02T18:39:01.048+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>King Sekhemkhet </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>and his Pyramid at Saqqara</strong></span></div><br />Almost everything we know about Sekhemkhet ("Powerful in Body"), we know because of his <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_PqXjrec-l04sOqhKocFcMnL5EZh3kcn08MHq0_z4OD2YDmWUwj37S90YWSDUuZ8Qoxiwpc3YJ6U1q1zM46ptBd-9Gn_-ElbJFnefgzBd6TqVxWMnQnQmTbZjKmSnJdhiZtCH3bq3Lw/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033297427386978" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_PqXjrec-l04sOqhKocFcMnL5EZh3kcn08MHq0_z4OD2YDmWUwj37S90YWSDUuZ8Qoxiwpc3YJ6U1q1zM46ptBd-9Gn_-ElbJFnefgzBd6TqVxWMnQnQmTbZjKmSnJdhiZtCH3bq3Lw/s400/sekhemkhetp13.jpg" border="0" /></a>unfinished (Buried) pyramid at Saqqara, and it seems to give us little facts about his life. The only evidence outside of this tomb is a scene depicted at Wadi Maghara in the Sinai which bears his name. It is a military scene, classical in that it probably shows Sekhemkhet, with his raised mace, about to smite his desert enemies. This relief actually shows a procession of Sekhemkhets. In front of the smiting king, who is wearing the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/reg.htm">White Crown</a> is a second depiction of the king wearing the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/reg.htm">Red Crown</a>, and in front of him, another of Sekhemkhet back in the White Crown.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lEBvHBbMA8M1Of_kgjAgb5WEmLhAkSPhbdc9FtBZ6CFZl-XNfE09m6sgxQYucyBNiTG-kyGKYZt5wA0V32zmZiEZFi3bKoxgHM6Ij16847-rLrDOG26_JswZNB__owzDy_AQGjOWpL4/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp11.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033774168756898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 312px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 216px" height="249" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lEBvHBbMA8M1Of_kgjAgb5WEmLhAkSPhbdc9FtBZ6CFZl-XNfE09m6sgxQYucyBNiTG-kyGKYZt5wA0V32zmZiEZFi3bKoxgHM6Ij16847-rLrDOG26_JswZNB__owzDy_AQGjOWpL4/s400/sekhemkhetp11.jpg" width="312" border="0" /></a>However, we are not really sure of much about this king. According to the Turin King-list, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djoser.htm">Djoser</a>'s immediate successor was identified by his personal name Djoser-Ti (Djoserty), and ruled for only six years. It now seems that most Egyptologists believe Djoser-Ti and Sekhemkhet were one and the same person, though some might still argue otherwise. His reign would have been from about 2649 until 2643 BC.<br /><br />Judging from an inscription on his pyramid at <a href="http://touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a>, and from its very design, we can also tentatively guess that the great <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/imhotep.htm">Imhotep</a> survived Djoser, his predecessor, and was again the mind behind the funerary complex works. Also, because of his short reign, and particularly his truncated pyramid, many believe he came to a sudden and unexpected death, though we have no idea what might have caused it.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#006600;">The Buried Pyramid of Sekhemkhet<br /></span></strong><br />Another possible building project of Imhotep may have been the pyramid of Sekhemkhet. Also <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPADQ8RNt84UyKKQYhwe6vpftbvT8tEYNMwAVSpV8NzgvYJKZMDOllDjQVJvRKIMCiTy1xVJlhzQZ8zrloalUN0PjPcjY7IlT63g-bXGFas-N_DVpoIqjJbSqtYV91z50Scq5PVasOMrU/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033293132419666" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPADQ8RNt84UyKKQYhwe6vpftbvT8tEYNMwAVSpV8NzgvYJKZMDOllDjQVJvRKIMCiTy1xVJlhzQZ8zrloalUN0PjPcjY7IlT63g-bXGFas-N_DVpoIqjJbSqtYV91z50Scq5PVasOMrU/s400/sekhemkhetp7.jpg" border="0" /></a>located at <a href="http://touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a>, it would be rather remarkable for this pyramid to have been designed by anyone else, or to have belonged to someone other then Sekhemkhet. In many ways, it duplicated elements from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/stepyram.htm">Step Pyramid of Djoser</a>.<br /><br />Sekhemkhet's step pyramid was perhaps first noticed by a young Egyptian archaeologist named Zakaria Goneim while he was working at Saqqara excavating the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unasp.htm">pyramid</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unas.htm">Unas</a>, just before World War II. When the war erupted, he set out that period in Luxor, but afterwards returned to Saqqara to further investigate the huge, rectangular structure barely visible beneath a sand dune. It was only about one hundred meters to the southwest of the site Goneim had been working before the war, and he could tell that it was roughly oriented north-south.<br /><br />As he began to uncover the structure, he found that the four corners he had seen beneath the sand dune were actually the walls of an enclosure, and inside were the ruins of a previously unknown pyramid. Soon it was clear that this was a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn3.htm">3rd Dynasty</a> pyramid, because the facade of the perimeter wall, with its facade ornamented with deep niches, was so very similar to the wall that Djoser had built for his complex.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE8Ff0fnUF9wcn7quXp7CjNr_S7mjD2BGLU33hdoI3c0FVWDyJu7WYajNMi9Od3v-MVby1i8LNzravGoNB0EPa3AxiEbsS11Do4Ht5g99HutsMGI9rM67ExgDKfDIC-RXodRpOSpfiXE/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033765578822258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibE8Ff0fnUF9wcn7quXp7CjNr_S7mjD2BGLU33hdoI3c0FVWDyJu7WYajNMi9Od3v-MVby1i8LNzravGoNB0EPa3AxiEbsS11Do4Ht5g99HutsMGI9rM67ExgDKfDIC-RXodRpOSpfiXE/s400/sekhemkhetp1.jpg" border="0" /></a>The pyramid was built upon an uneven rock surface, so the builders were forced to level the terrain, building large terraces, of which some were more then ten meters high. Why the king chose this site for his pyramid is a bit of a mystery, though there are some nearby royal tombs from the 2nd Dynasty that may have lured him there.<br /><br />The perimeter wall was built in to phases. In the first phase, it was a much less radical rectangle. Later it was extended south, and particularly north. With these extensions, it was close to the size of Djoser/s complex. Like Djoser's complex, it has rows of niches alternating in a regular intervals with false doors, though there was probably only one real door in the entire complex, which has never been found. The wall was cased in fine, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/material.htm">white Tura limestone</a>. The wall probably stood about ten meters tall, with a walkway and sentry posts just as in the complex of Djoser.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181038515812651714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1mmxIiFpZj1ni5eJ1pMSea1PoLKC24_2dVsX0uNTtkG9DQIOuB1uFVDmY5qdOUmxsfafimpaY4X6JNqtLdXwi2GhyEC1Ngh1M2bclI265I5iGu7MhjCK44GHzKH_3b1TeIIRyv0VXhg/s400/sekhemkhetp9.jpg" border="0" />It has been difficult to determine whether the core was originally planned as six or seven steps, but apparently, the pyramid itself was never completed, having only reached a height of about 26 feet. It was built using the accretion layer method with the stones laid inwards at a 15 degree slope. These stones were laid at right angles to the incline. Since the pyramid was unfinished, there was never any casing applied. The pyramid probably had a square floor plan, with sides about 119 meters in length. According to Lehner, if the pyramid was built in seven steps, it would have been higher then Djoser's, rising some 70 meters (230 ft) above its base.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3IAZy-7WSbwKWc3zdfJQqmTfpoidyQWvMPUqpwQNroXPnrKqpjOqOPOU1W8hsJjhurKTumpkteujxLLfRrj0XToiFpXmJBdPDP_l_VnoP3rsCExTkUZPKJhbOVgY8wQgE-NTfd7-lCo/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033769873789570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3IAZy-7WSbwKWc3zdfJQqmTfpoidyQWvMPUqpwQNroXPnrKqpjOqOPOU1W8hsJjhurKTumpkteujxLLfRrj0XToiFpXmJBdPDP_l_VnoP3rsCExTkUZPKJhbOVgY8wQgE-NTfd7-lCo/s400/sekhemkhetp2.jpg" border="0" /></a>An entrance to the pyramid was found in front of the north wall, leading into a corridor that eventually communicated with the burial chamber. However, this corridor was bisected by a vertical shaft that extended up into the masonry of the pyramid itself. This was a type of security system also found in other Egyptian tombs, specifically at Beit Khallaf, dating to this period. Within the shaft, Goneim found the bones of various animals, including cattle, rams and gazelles, that were doubtless offerings to the deceased. he also found 62 papyri from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn26.htm">26th Dynasty</a> written during the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amasis.htm">Ahmose II</a>. Below these were some seven hundred stone vessels and remarkably a gold treasure cache from the 3rd Dynasty.<br /><br />These artifacts included 21 bracelets, small mussel shells, and faience corals covered with gold leaf. The items are, so far, the oldest gold ornamentation discovered in Egypt. It was no doubt a part of Sekhemkhet's funerary goods, but how it ended up at the bottom of the shaft rather then stolen with the rest of the tomb's content remains a mystery.<br /><br /><div>About 47 meters before reaching the burial chamber, a U shaped passage leads off to the east, and is lined with a series of narrow, long storage annexes. After the entrance to this auxiliary passage, the main corridor continues. It was between here, and the burial chamber that clay vessel stoppers were discovered bearing Sekhemkhet's name, which is another reason why we attribute the pyramid to him.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181032627412488722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcf9IT8FYxd2H5uuuKdb8zT9h5Q11U6nNehBshDeRwwtEDfhGaLAzZSuwoH14ttX26KCH6LE5q0xgDtbz6AI5Su8VIZ5AC-DTUSsl2U2HN5fjNV6c-vXD5feGOKQ4VugSt1crjjx9EeSQ/s400/sekhemkhetp3.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><br />The main corridor continues to descend down until reaching first a transverse corridor, and then to the burial chamber just to the other side, some 100 feet below the base of the pyramid. The burial chamber is lined up precisely with the pyramid's vertical axis. The walls within this north-south oriented burial chamber were left unfinished. Inside there apparently remains a highly polished alabaster sarcophagus cut from a single stone. This is very rare, for the only other alabaster we know of used in such a way was in the coffins of Queen Hetephere I, of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>, and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/seti1.htm">Seti I</a>, of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>. It also had no cover, but rather a sliding partition.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181032648887325234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9LgU9of_YGoAk7EdHl_KMMBKmJjYySnof7b9xrwsuH4Xurvk2d4YQnKNMVSD7CbDvukjUGCkoi_wpLlcddfC0HEblJjy5VqW1LU7KANa9_LAfOxmATk2n9uHqXe9Ro_PXegYya90VQ6w/s400/sekhemkhetp14.jpg" border="0" /> There is an interesting story related to this sarcophagus and its unique sliding partition. When found, the partition to the sarcophagus was sealed, and even the remains of what he believed to be dried flowers (later determined to be bark and decomposed wood) lay atop it. Furthermore, Goneim also claims that the entrance to the pyramid was blocked by an in tact wall. Goneim was sure he had discovered an in tact sarcophagus still bearing the remains of its owner. Though he was warned by other Egyptologists, notably Lauer, that the substructure had been robbed, he nevertheless created a media sensation. he invited high state officials, journalists, reporters and film teams to the opening. Then came the shock of an empty sarcophagus.<br /><br />He apparently managed to survive this embarrassment, for after all, he had made a reasonably important discovery by finding the pyramid of Sekhemkhet. Many Egyptology professionals throughout the world had considerable interest in what was probably only the second pyramid built in Egypt.<br /><br />Just outside of the entrance to the bu<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSwOvUn8VskvS8RTExpXfEe2auBd-dJAoCXN5cRswy_RUtA-eLH6mkC-b6QLFQ5vn8W2yzbu0BrrHESsfdqJ7LRiXs04FtKVNb5_B3Wfb1KpnxScNtcsxECAKLL3p8-Y5tNror1jWEJc/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033769873789586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlSwOvUn8VskvS8RTExpXfEe2auBd-dJAoCXN5cRswy_RUtA-eLH6mkC-b6QLFQ5vn8W2yzbu0BrrHESsfdqJ7LRiXs04FtKVNb5_B3Wfb1KpnxScNtcsxECAKLL3p8-Y5tNror1jWEJc/s400/sekhemkhetp10.jpg" border="0" /></a>rial chamber, the transverse corridor leads off the the right (westerly) and to the left, and then each makes a 90 degree tern back to the south past the burial chamber. These galleries were also unfinished, and may have been intended to lead to a larger mortuary apartment, similar to the one in Djoser's complex.<br /><br />Outside of the pyramid within the complex on the south, just as in the case of Djoser's complex, there is also a symbolic south tomb. The superstructure of the tomb consisted of a mastaba built of limestone blocks. It had an entrance on the west side, also like Djoser's complex. From there, a long corridor descended to the east, and like in the pyramid, was interrupted by a vertical shaft. Further down the main corridor, though this tomb had probably not been meant for a burial, the excavators found the fragments of a small coffin that had held the remains of about a two year old child.<br /><br />The burial chamber in the south tomb was small, but found within it were fragments of thin gold leaf impressed with a pattern imitating reed matting. Also found were animal bones and stone vessels.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Goneim would never finish excavating the pyramid. Having achieved some amount of fame, he went off to the United States on a lecture tour, and even wrote a book abo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoUmaAwbcBwWcLg3pTWlAl23_eEVlrp9QmAxFcoKGFIbqP1yHiUUPQWkl4i1tWN5hZVo9tHG2MHgsuyigC1w8VxZHY3EkxAqeCVNMokXvQOJwoShU9iYTIQR75zmDFXsrAa67KJqGAyg/s1600-h/sekhemkhetp8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181033293132419650" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidoUmaAwbcBwWcLg3pTWlAl23_eEVlrp9QmAxFcoKGFIbqP1yHiUUPQWkl4i1tWN5hZVo9tHG2MHgsuyigC1w8VxZHY3EkxAqeCVNMokXvQOJwoShU9iYTIQR75zmDFXsrAa67KJqGAyg/s400/sekhemkhetp8.jpg" border="0" /></a>ut his discovery named The Buried Pyramid. The book was successful, and even translated into different languages, but when he returned to Egypt, everything fell apart. He was accused of smuggling a large, valuable vessel that Quibell and Lauer had found two years earlier near in the Djoser complex out of the country. There was no hard evidence, only accusations and slander, but it devastated Goneim, who one must remember is also Egyptian. He was repeatedly interrogated by the police.<br /><br /><br />It was his friend Lauer who attempted to finally help him. In 1957, he tracked the missing vessel to a corner of the Egyptian Museum's depository. But like an Egyptian tragedy, even as Lauer was hurrying back to Saqqara to redeem his friend, Goneim was jumping into the Nile to commit suicide.<br /><br />In fact, it was Lauer who returned to the site in about 1963 for a hurried search for answers. It was he who discovered the south tomb, along with the south side of the perimeter wall. But unfortunately, no one yet has excavated the mortuary temple or the rest of the grounds. Many questions remain about this pyramid. For example, was Sekhemkhet ever buried, here, and if he was not, what happened to this king. The sealed sarcophagus seems to indicate, though not with certainty, that it never held his remains. By all indications, he came to an abrupt end, if we consider his attempted pyramid as evidence. In fact, most Egyptologist seem to agree that he probably only ruled for about six years. Perhaps he died in some remote expedition, his body never again seen. On the other hand, some future excavation may give us real answers to these questions.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.crystalinks.com/">http://www.crystalinks.com/</a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181035393371427506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tJqUyVGOm_7dpst19fUocwy-zKvie5TUDgXKdkh0Rw5ljgPE0-rqpBW7PRXPU45zIYpblQsTjuaWdTh6JooLIp9L6O8Cpw8U0j4FgRDfS-MyIjG7roefVlnnqnif7fguiTjOYUJMEZk/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-42229172719831603352008-02-03T05:29:00.000+02:002008-02-03T05:37:49.067+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Mortuary </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Temple of Amenhotep III</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>on the West Bank at Luxor</strong></span></div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352035878457394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqSNZGX6m9IIQW-vl3hWXGXNz2Q1TcsHmusMkNaW2IS7OH50PNBiIROm6Mmij_NNBL0cG4Hh5A-Xx0ijsJfiVRm3JrE8A6x64MvthyphenhyphenNdVvhjPGPgPGw7j7R9nK8VXwNVBOfbbI4NKwnU/s400/amenhotep%2520III%25202001.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn09.htm">Amenhotep III</a> built not only the largest temple at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (on the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> at Luxor), but in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dOPlSLGAmu7tKVuJbKzoCjNbCBo6rhZfABy3kd3vlEob9taE-dzZoJQpSlBEpm_vLYxPv-uQWorU_wImvAPfyhNrM_wnG_L2W4LzFev3kGc5hVXOyfjW_-qWr12RTvJhLleX6pz09h8/s1600-h/amenhotep3-statue.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162343570497916930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dOPlSLGAmu7tKVuJbKzoCjNbCBo6rhZfABy3kd3vlEob9taE-dzZoJQpSlBEpm_vLYxPv-uQWorU_wImvAPfyhNrM_wnG_L2W4LzFev3kGc5hVXOyfjW_-qWr12RTvJhLleX6pz09h8/s400/amenhotep3-statue.jpg" border="0" /></a>Egypt, measuring 700 by 550 meters. It covered 385,000 square meters (4,200,000 square feet). It was even larger than the temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karamun.htm">Amun-Re</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>.<br /><br />The temple's architect was also named Amenhotep, but was the son of Hapu. Unfortunately, it seem that the temple began to decay rapidly, and during the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/merenptah.htm">Merenptah</a>, it was actively used as a source of limestone blocks for the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">temple of that ruler</a>.<br /><br />The reason for this was perhaps a brilliant, but regrettable religious concept. The temple was apparently uniquely built on the flood plain. The temple was purposely built so low that the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nile.htm">inundation</a> of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf4a.htm">Nile</a> would flood its outer courts and halls, probably leaving only the inner sanctuary, built on a knoll above water level, dry. Thus, when the water receded, the whole temple symbolized the emergence of the world from the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvDs4V4GvtFAnjOmWghOAOAUrGUYv4eXlW4jK-Pi5Fr37oj_26z2j7qTAAV_mWm8ilModDOVqkLYVSGtQfUl-Xal2Yx7Hf_7lRMKiwfWE86JZCslnP92YgqzzoxcgzEnJFCdXNE3d1tE/s1600-h/memnon3xd5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162343570497916946" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 304px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 362px" height="322" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTvDs4V4GvtFAnjOmWghOAOAUrGUYv4eXlW4jK-Pi5Fr37oj_26z2j7qTAAV_mWm8ilModDOVqkLYVSGtQfUl-Xal2Yx7Hf_7lRMKiwfWE86JZCslnP92YgqzzoxcgzEnJFCdXNE3d1tE/s400/memnon3xd5.jpg" width="300" border="0" /></a>primeval <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/creation.htm">waters of creation</a>. Of course, this did nothing for the temple's preservation, particularly considering that many of the temple walls were built of mudbrick. Aggravating the destruction, many of the massive sandstone pylons and columns were far too heavy for the weak or even missing foundations upon which they were built.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#000099;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#000099;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#000099;"></span></p><p><span style="color:#000099;">However, we do have Amenhotep III's own description of the complex:</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>"He did (it) as his monument for (his) father Amen, lord of the throne of the two lands, making for him a splendid temple on the right of Thebes; a fortress of eternity out of good white sandstone - worked with gold throughout. Its floors were purified with silver, all its doorways were of electrum..."</strong></em></span><br /><br />Much of the temple was build during the last ten years of Amenhotep III rule and in conjunction with his three <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/festival.htm">Sed-festivals</a>.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162343561907982306" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYqh0Ri2UguF6QQtSwnse7vXztUeH18CXCVi4TsBU6sgxZ15Z9svJ90NKD1IrU2ZeVx3Myn9omYcs3mp0CaWe3Y_BRIUQeQiEWfJPcUERcutSuUbWNfbjSEB83JtgcFGlfYUfzo5jtIY/s400/amenhotep3temple4.jpg" border="0" />Though this temple has never been fully investigated, the only real remains seem to be the two huge statues we call the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/collmem.htm">Colossi of Memnon</a>, along with a few fragments of pylons, and various statues and column fragments A quartzite stela which has been re-erected but was probably originally one of a pair set up at the entrance to the court describes Amenhotep III's building accomplishments. Also, in the vicinity of the Solar court there are many column bases, though they are overgrown and difficult to spot, along with fragments of standing statues of Amenhotep III as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>. Some of the huge column bases are important to Egyptologists, because they reveal foreign place names known in the time of Amenhotep III, including references to the Aegean.<br /><br />Other statues discovered in the area depict the goddess <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/sekhmet.htm">Sekhmet</a>, sphinxes, some with the bodies of crocodiles and other deities. Ancient documents tell us that there was one seated and one standing statue of Sekhmet for each day of the year. Many other colossal statues were built here, including a pair of striding figures of the king that flanked the northern entrance <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGXN4CZbf3YLX57RZSIgGtx2iCMyXJp470xKNBUn6S_SJfHWoDdKi31nwCCuIBvD6lRpu99vJtCsZu8GX_kyatg8X3kFawLCsitU-sWScXEm_AbLqAJUxGGW2EHL4zRQiu02VtGMzLFI/s1600-h/amenhotep3temple1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162343566202949618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 273px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 310px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGXN4CZbf3YLX57RZSIgGtx2iCMyXJp470xKNBUn6S_SJfHWoDdKi31nwCCuIBvD6lRpu99vJtCsZu8GX_kyatg8X3kFawLCsitU-sWScXEm_AbLqAJUxGGW2EHL4zRQiu02VtGMzLFI/s400/amenhotep3temple1.jpg" width="273" border="0" /></a>to the temple, fragments of which also still remain. In fact, some Egyptologists believe that some of the colossal statues in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ramseum.htm">Ramesseum</a>, including the famous fallen statue of "Ozymandia", were probably usurped from the Amenhotep III complex.<br /><br />Of course, the Colossi of Memnon actually portray Amenhotep III. Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus they were equated by the early Greek travelers with the figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the goddess of dawn. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus, seeking to repair the statues, inadvertently silenced them forever.<br /><br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352031583490082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnEppJhnH2IJcDJsGBSp5SON80s52eO6nF5-TSS4U2TvjDYQ3VWzFX7IPQ1VTK9TDlL62c5d4jkpBWZoPZbD4IcnPUsxGKlN_pIhrnCR0cd6wluI_fwzwSD1N2wAOadIiP3lINxINkgc0/s400/Mortuary-Temple-Map.gif" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352040173424706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUNG8nVAa-gJc_FauH1e6gviauqaekDgCgBkW09-CScquYsDR-PsB1TfhXXTDOXPNvYh-DoY3ZI7mMdesZpT5vXusBRINgNP35X_R1KyIrPHBOnii7MXIc-5tCGSgaSYZczarKTAwN8Q/s400/amenhotep3temple3.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Side of the Colossi of Memnon showing Nile gods uniting plants of Upper and Lower Egypt</span></strong><br /></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352044468392034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsshsKxC0Akx24yufb68Epzz1kBvYydKIiw-QQ8538PRG_JAcdqr_pU1iZvWpHNCsuq5RY8dbfbhHasJ5PAAJUgWsNRl7GecuXeXIp_XCSIAFq12QlppGH-ZXhvW_41RH0Z_j9U-4CbM/s400/israelstela.jpg" border="0" /> These colossal statues set at the front of the temple, which was located almost directly across the Nile from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/lxtmpl.htm">Temple of Luxor</a> at Kom el-Hetan. Behind them were two massive courtyards with other seated, colossal statues. There were a total of three pylons. In front of the second set of pylons were two additional quartzite colossal statues, and before the third pylon stood two additional colossal statues made of alabaster. Betsy Bryan has suggested that this was the largest sculptural program in history.<br /><br />A long processional way similar to that built by the king in the Luxor Temple, lined with sphinxes, stretched from the innermost pylons to a large peristyle solar court.<br /><br />A considerable part of the temple was dedicated to Amen, but it is also known that the northern part of the temple was devoted to the Memphite deity Ptah, or Ptah-Sokar-Osiris to whom Amenhotep also built a temple in honor of in Memphis.<br /><br />There is also a small, separate limestone temple dedicated to Ptah-Sokar-Osiris in the northern part of the compound. It had its own gateway flanked by two quartzite standing statues of Amenhotep III. However, it was so destroyed by stone thieves that we can barely guess at its ground plan.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352040173424722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDLoUips6D1EndHWDyXaDElt5Ggz29SO6zdEQabPsMUJ8ZVfbOLouzpXfGhYbQSOEywkbr7MoxLINRO0a4tWYBq4AB0DLwAai7Z44Q8C-rqAaFZ74GFvl8PzcSoXAxYd6ehLCtdwks2g/s400/amenhotep3temple2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="color:#000099;">Arial view of the Colossus of Memnon</span><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.thinis.com/">http://www.thinis.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.aldokkan.com/">http://www.aldokkan.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ancientworlds.net/">http://www.ancientworlds.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/">http://www.ancient-egypt.co.uk/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.all-about-egypt.com/">http://www.all-about-egypt.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://forum.egyptiandreams.co.uk/viewtopic">http://forum.egyptiandreams.co.uk/viewtopic</a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162352856217210994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsohPuIdvOTGFodwjOfEcRYKv9WU_TixIO-Kta-Ys5XfujQys3WxMJUVSU98ZvL0Z-CzKXg5k2iYI8cNX0rSgOR7OcexrDFlkpyRNSX6xPGd-wDc-2DLQB_p9IlcvY-RRRD65V2RF_rac/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-17217887859571988772008-01-31T20:24:00.005+02:002010-11-18T02:27:22.900+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong><span></span><span></span>Dynasty 13</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>1802 - 1649 BC </strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(Ryholt) (c. 140 years</strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Dynasty 13 started the <a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5bildsidor/dynasties.htm">Second Intermediate Period (SIP)</a> (some makes the start at dynasty 15) and this era bears many unsolved problems. The first two kings were sons of the last male monarch of dynasty 12 and Upper Egypt was under control at least through the reign of Sobekhotep IV. The capital was Itj-tawy and a traditional belief is that after half the dynasty they kings were forced to move south, but no evidence confirms this. The territory reached north to Bubastis and the borders does not seem to have been changed over the years to the parallel dynasty 14 which controlled the rest of the delta.In the south dynasty 13 seems to have control as far as the second cataract though- out their existens. The two dynasties (13th and 14th) seem to have been getting along quite well but a big question is how all entries in the Turin Canon should be explained. The number of kings (around 60) points to an average reign of 1,5 years for the first couple of dozen rulers and this can hardly be a reflection of a historical fact. One theory (among others) is that the ruling class gave office to marionette-kings and sacked them when they felt like it.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekhotep I</strong></span></span></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">The founder of the dynasty is well attested for and he was the first (male) pharaoh to include Faiyum's crocodile god into his name. He was the son of king Amenemhet IV of dynasty 12 and is incorrectly noted as king number 19 in the Turin Canon, obvious interchanged with king Wegaf in position 21 who was ruling about forty years later.</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">The duration of his reign is gone from the damaged list, but a probable figure is estima- ted for at least three a period of years around 1800-1797 BC. His prenomen (seen within the cartouche in picture right) means: "Life of Re is Appearing", made by theese hieroglyphs: sunrise (which means "appear"), ankh (mean- ing "life"), and the sun (meaning the solar god). His name occures on at least a dozen building remnants of stone plus some papyrus inscriptions and an axe blade of unknown provenance. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /> </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161311494151654754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVKv9eM-kttV27sQhtmqTS-pSpVD_xL8bPzQUA61D7uBNrgizMgS7l3VTSkZJC1O8x1xPvj38RNyagX2gxrfMnsgJZ6cgGPDgabj8en1CGoWTtCfbfCTQT0B2rP9sWDiSPWqKFqs39F00/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sekhemkare Sonbef</strong></span></div><br />King Sekhemkare Sonbef was a son of Amenemhet III and and by some concidered identical to Amenemhet V (see below) and confusion is at hand ordering these insignificant rulers correctly with one thing in common: short periods in high office.<br /><br />This king is listed as number two in the Royal Canon of Turin, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QDw3WqqEDvLG01lU0gWa0BsvJbuDyNoT9Li_uMUnAzI2DaXhn6-AcVVOHNDCzqD5QY21EEDFSqLP24qb2nFDXsDMOMUoC-6Xeq09s3jasIUPTqKrcrfYUCdZ340vp0_nRwL-c6OSPof7/s1600-h/Seankhtawy.jpg"></a>where he possibly <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2GnBOSC3qMoDQL8_cnMgj8nTZObOmcRm3p0jSXClrBZ8r0-QefSf0r67M7qldIrKCOGyNZp4GbdCj1oU9Ow2TXpJ7HelkJOHbnetOvV1Z8jEK4qtLRBZAqFEeDDoGVw0o-pDuOh5vGhL/s1600-h/Sekhemkare.jpg"></a>succeeded his paternal brother Sobekhotep I.<br /><br />He thus was the son of the king Amenemhet IV of the dynasty before. His nomen was Sonbef, as written by the last three hieroglyphs at right in the cartouche above.<br /><br />His throne name was "Mighty is the soul of Re", (wihin a cartouche left), and his Horus-name in the serek right means: "Horus, the one who makes the Two Lands live".<br /><br />Another find is a stela (below) with his names (center and left) and at right the Nile god Hapi kneeling with offerings on a plate. A cylinders seal with his name (right) was used during his short reign of about 3 years around 1795 BC.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161306357370768514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3r-9ELM5Tn6RZXHLhVulAh0HKIzZ0Bp3fqr6CbSKL7v9oufdJf_NXdjD-y6DKSGpN42fu0ii9b7t0du2KeOAr4QHdWQmb0yG6T_ksw7ujPZzTtBYf-DxR-5BscgfxrPCXuK3v1Uy8yMg/s400/sekhemkarestele.jpg" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161311502741589378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkHmvC0Zae36Gd7utDjYHZkqVx8SfYkF69CmcRF1Danyww879QVAYt_SgE6UkKNn8OdFpsXiMCpW8H8PiIVtCJWjvU7_jiJxlDq-EgFYdJlongblRvFPhxdEWu6y274I6vBtmgEzehRVI/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenemhet V</strong></span><br /></div><div align="left">King Amenemhet V had a reign of about three years at least and possibly <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOAmL6-wG9V_4trCc2HoQpeVhKLbFr4y0WGpypNNePiRsfkwodKZFxrS9pl-xITsoJjaPob0t4eDTP9All9F32E79oV5mGEARjIggnqUp_nqn0tI5tR0YiBF2tzCCLM1kUHJd3GRcbQPk/s1600-h/Sekhemkare1.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0xgpcEG_CJJM7p1ox9jccRaSZT6Y9GsmKBBABMMqtBJIR7EupuqdMc5Kxu4TnABhi3R14HkzG43aFMUw26MmTtMJCT5fTpi-XCj7mzQvo0D3zIn-rdM-kxoKhlsaoOGa1nyIHTFIBHr9c/s1600-h/Mesh-eb-tawi.jpg"></a>identical to king Sekhemkare Sonbef above. His reign would have started around 1783 BC. and according to the Turin Canon he was the third king of the dynasty and is noted for a reign of 5-6 years. His throne name was "Sekhem-ka-Re" in the cartouche to the right and means: "Powerful is the Soul of Re", which was a quite common name. His Horus name is seen in the serek to the left and it means: (Horus is) the one who makes the two lands live". There are no mon- uments found from his reign, nor are there any scarab-seals or cylinder seals with his name. The only remain of him is his name written on papyrus and a statue (3/4 of man size) devided into two parts. </div><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXto7b5bJe8uBI3nuWiApeWn1dilqNdVkHVmyE0QXfiTJkV1I58F3oBGB5KeBTD_mkd2_YF3FZDLR2Yp0jZq3nqQAMjUjgSvibctG1EGqiBaQBIVdLqBr18W_7fAHEcN7_9Xdywk-J0TF9/s1600-h/amenem_5.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161302161187720194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXto7b5bJe8uBI3nuWiApeWn1dilqNdVkHVmyE0QXfiTJkV1I58F3oBGB5KeBTD_mkd2_YF3FZDLR2Yp0jZq3nqQAMjUjgSvibctG1EGqiBaQBIVdLqBr18W_7fAHEcN7_9Xdywk-J0TF9/s400/amenem_5.jpg" /></a>from the body, and the Nubian Museum at Aswan (in the picture left). In the latter place this statue, made of hard grey-green stone, was once found in the temple area on the old fortified island of Elefantine in the modern town of Aswan. A positive identifi- cation was made as late as in the 1990s when his name was found written on some of half a dozen fragments from the body which were found fitting the upper part. The artistic style adopted during dynasty twelve is clearly visible in this fragmentary statue (with the exception of the normally big ears). His expression seems also to be more joyful than the grim faces of some of the giants from the dynasty before. Excluding the reconstructed part (in brown) the measures are - height: 35 cm and width: 17,5 cm.<br /><br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161311498446622066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HrFmZaXn46FAxHMjlQtwiEv8gEWEIhBhAoMgM4wLf17TZrcTMZuMVU_b61HZoo8r4HdsPPA8sV-x15elFsKAZf-SRxqo7mJgH0-PqI3okH7HlOlabjZfjVvROOegDc74q_-iijZarYo/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenyqemau</strong></span></div><br /><br />King Amenyqemau had a reign of a few years around 1790 BC. and came to be <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbhhkMgYaAFFmIJeDHpBq3WIznAs0QH43NXWT5DegDhGyg-bfn6x3MQRbfuehuIRHbb_JmUeeRBrdB1MlWRH_oGUg7TR7ua4pZqYR158KxZFXFSe40oe7iCNKgMSt9y-7tmW9lVZXa9ywV/s1600-h/Nefer-netjer+neb-tauy.jpg"></a>k<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaQSv8bvxx6il9-ADeEXcVmY_jDLTZEJblTce_P0daZMO2N6Jhq5rTkjhPjEXQ9H7zfLIDj0vNizvqHO9e6fpn9qAfRLI9WCc_eyyjvkB6khv1Zvno8sDc8PlyqHyt5WfdPDnZxYTcO-g/s1600-h/Ameni+Kemau.jpg"></a>nown better 3,750 years later - in 1957.<br /><br />While working at South Dashur an American expedition tried their luck by excavating a low structure of mud brick rubble never worked on before. Soon they discovered a substructure that made them determine that this was a pyramid, until then unknown to science.<br /><br />The owner was soon identified as king Ameny Kemau (Amenyqemau), a little known ruler from the 13th dynasty, and hard to place in the long line of minor regents from this dusky period. In the Turin Canon appears a king by the name Se-hotep-ib-Re with a noted reign of just one year, which may be him. Another sug- gestion is that he was the son of (his prede- cessor?) pharaoh Amenemhet V but this has not been confirmed, but it might be possible.<br /><br />His name (in the picture right) clearly confirms his status by the signs at the very bottom (the goose and the sun) which says: "Son of Re", meaning nobody but the king. And in the picture left his personal name is seen within a royal cartouche. the place of his pyramid is hard to determine as man made, and looks more like natural formation in the landscape.<br /><br />The details of the superstructure have almost totally vanished, but it likely was a construction made of a mud brick core cased by limestone. The complex probably didn't have an enclosure wall and any subsidiary tombs has not been found. The remains below surface have been preserved in a better way and are well docu- mented from a second investigation made in the late 1960s.<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">The entrance and the design of the substructure was made in the line of fashion from the mid thirteenth dynasty architectural design. A huge block of stone (green) was a stopper at the threshold of the buri- al chamber (red). Nothing was found of any mortuary temple, causeway or valley temple. It's doubtful if there ever were any built and if the pyramid itself was ever finished.The base side was originally about 52 meters and the height about 35.</span><br /><br />The entrance corridor (picture above) was at the east side, and had two stairways before entering the large antechamber outside the grave chamber holding a huge block of quartzite stone. Into this craftsmen had cut two niches for the storage of the king's mummy coffin and the chest containing four jars with his embalmed inner organs. After the burial a big stone slab outside the door was put into place blocking the entrance to pharaoh's final resting place.<br /><br />Despite these precautions taken by the architect, the monument was entered by grave robbers who ransacked it of its valuable things leaving only fragments of the canopy chest behind. Luckily for the afterworld it was on these pieces of stone that the king's name was found some 3,700 years later (pictures at top).<br /><br />The pyramid of Amenyqemau was one of the last monumental pyramids to be built in Egypt and as such it is a valuable object for studying the long development of this famous type of tomb.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161311494151654738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnxZsadLN0K5kDSsiwG9vRqYHOo33hO5EcPEx-VKODdcN_8VfffE9MOQpatHJWmcZaOvq_Qv3Bo12VXzUvOkSG0oGZLOMuLkF6my_G7JkymTY_BcwJzTJoG3fCIElbfLHqAyq0zuoB3A/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekhotep II</strong></span> </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMrjpUr5gBX_VVqhjvQJkVrtdDguDaM5g2RhxlXoLIBAYVGTtoPWcA5zXcsF7GbxUFeDgtqD3jG83Ithk-7vXfT3Rofo6QLtxwufDtHw3_8X6uXE8y7H_XoIP1SwKYwP59nO8JkGj2lgYU/s1600-h/Sekhemre.jpg"></a>King Sobekhotep II was possibly the pharaoh in office just before the brief reign of king Hor and was possibly the son of his namesake Sobekhotep I who had ruled about a dozen years earlier. He was the second in a row of at least seven kings to bear this crocodile name with the meaning: "Sobek is Beautiful and Pleasing". The duration of his time in office is today generally agreed on to have been two to four years around 1778 BC. and he is identified in the Turin Canon as listed between the little known about king Amenemhet VII (Sedjefkare) and the far better known king Khendjer.<br /><br />At Deir el Bahri (western Thebes) and Medamud eight km northeast of Luxor, he made additions to the old temples of Mentuhotep I, which were built almost two centuries earlier.<br /><br />A statue (picture right) made of red granite, shows him sitting on his throne. His throne name (within the cartouche in picture upper left) means: "The Powerful Re Rules and Protects the Two Countries".<br /><br />His name has also been found on a block of stone from a chapel and an altar from Abydos. At Karnak a fundament from a statue of his is known and in the Petrie Museum in London his name is present on a fragment from a column.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161312185641389458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoeL3XHs-OEoj1JEAeYEvjaERsYRE47Ht9QwUPh997zxUsNXOeB2nEmcpht3sRKiHxS3cG6O-VToRu1Q9XIt6g7YCqtU26sX7v6nF0cjaauofVcBxp96fn8AWvn7as9N7i2iJKlb8C9V8/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Hor I</strong></span><br /></div><br />K<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X_ICD5R58MmZvWseqIDsXZ8Miq7Aso0OgLA6DHTAqWnneHSwOWizsKEUV_eqeAfWISbbPSyIq-Bo_4r-Y9li8Y0HFgxFBNRc90FIXHDVvy9zJPxxxEuaaaw7BxB6ZNOHgg3e_f1ETJk/s1600-h/King+Hor.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161307611501219010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_X_ICD5R58MmZvWseqIDsXZ8Miq7Aso0OgLA6DHTAqWnneHSwOWizsKEUV_eqeAfWISbbPSyIq-Bo_4r-Y9li8Y0HFgxFBNRc90FIXHDVvy9zJPxxxEuaaaw7BxB6ZNOHgg3e_f1ETJk/s400/King+Hor.jpg" /></a>ing Hor I has been very well known and his throne name is shown here written <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq3ZyV30iamHUvEZ8MPl5XJsagb81EZKqpl3uoebjNGfn3FCD7n0BAdQGcASQrOZSrJ6Z1nfI_R8yjJGXmRKJzyGJsjkuyJBeQLH1QxRvU9krs5wIkpdne3bRqLSSg4utQnHrVey3VCjw/s1600-h/Au-bri-Re.jpg"></a>within a cartouche in the illustration right. It means: "Re Succours the Heart".<br /><br />At Hawara by the north side of the pyramid of Amnemhet III a <a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5main.htm#hortomb">small tomb</a> was found to be his last resting place. Among other things it also contained a wooden statue of him.<br /><br />This life size (1.7 m) sculpture is today a masterpiece of its kind in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (picture left).<br /><br />The statue is depicing the king's Ka (an invi- sible follower) which walked beside every human being in life as well as after death.<br /><br />It was thought to take possession of the mummified body and was symbolised and shown in hieroglyphic writing as two up-reached arms, and now placed upon his head.<br /><br />The eyes are made of white and blue glass, a rare colour of the eyes of the Egyptians. The tomb was untouched by robbers and also contained his mummy within a wooden coffin plus some items of the funerary equipment including a wooden chest.<br /><br />Some indications in the tomb may point to the fact that a later king - Khendjer, took part in his funeral, but opinions among Egyptologists are divided in this matter. Pharaoh Hor had a brief reign (7 months to 2-3 years) around 1776 BC.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161312202821258706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSsthXK6rh-RFXwFWfkbx9FPJ4ToUH1aCTG5KY41_SOmxLQDMHbYmxUnh1Ep_glqst7zxYsaNTj7E70Ejy66ZMb8pjW_5ufuwG5lIO8zyOtCM9w8T_LD6nFRhvzZv05lF3Nkv6rstsfc/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Wegaf</strong></span></div><br />P<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqnfz1JNWnhS2J-WG78H3b_WXSVh23w80qzuYhl9BXICQ6WWs63xok-avP6jyAQYhPfzS8g_5xyAt1KMEPPceMf7rpNLsTA6ROE24maQqlY0QSlcNjGiGk4BnIR6AmNmKsSRyuEA6oyo/s1600-h/Wegaf.jpg"></a>haraoh Wegaf (also spelt Ugaf) is in most lists put in first <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClitc-lO1yPh3XcDOzOq4F-fk4I7GuEFimRijLZaa-pcw6B0xyjrmF3-JRjbsh_iL_lMpLgN9hURosm8bCcCt1RKmKS114ObMWP8k8sVwnDTux6lq_Zdh3rkGQ3zy43-eJjV7Ls233QM/s1600-h/Khwitawyre.jpg"></a>position of the dynasty with a reign of about a good two years around 1765 BC. The Turin Canon gives him - two years, three months and twenty-seven days on the throne.He is likely to have ruled from the capital Itj-tawy as the first in a row of about ten kings who had rather stable rules. His throne name (within cartouche right) means: "Re Protects the Two Lands", and sometimes the signs at row three and at the bottom are left out. At left his per- sonal name Wegaf is seen written with phonetic hieroglyphs.<br /><br /><p>His remains are rather few (7) and just a single scarab-seal is documented from his time as the senior commander of Egypt's military forces before he became pharaoh.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl6uDGJ9Tev4NNc81luwTG_2LrYQMp1tq63ueFNAXNHmemc5Ehd7Jze4PPHLyV5X4dVAOjGe0qOeaJAex-zAcSmaRiPkm15hZI_OBjc05LkBnr3zuYIKZQnppgiVe2iAorCrhUpSDGcx8/s1600-h/wegafstela.jpg"></a>He is also known from two stelas in Karnak and Lower Nubia in the vicinity of the second cataract (drawing in picture left) and from a statuette in the Museum of Khartoum in Sudan. In the early 1980s a former anonymous statuette on display in the Egyptian Museum was reattributed and determined as being his. A find of an Ostracon (single piece with temporary drawing/writing) from the island of Elefantine in Aswan shows his name together with the nomen of king Senwosret, (which one is unclear). In total half a dozen physical remnants of his are known including a statue (a the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) plus a stela and a statuette (stela seen in drawing left), now both in the museum in Khartum, Sudan.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcN4k5gTy6u5eAomcns0EOXkTe7ihrS60Z31A1T52pdGWJJFm-3uo7PnFnTbn3WGw9LRYuST3_LftQBwCuDBm0jOdyTxx2fdxC8UezFKHFfla0eeuzb6WhBH9o4-4BCBh7AFdCUZbNfc/s1600-h/elwali.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161312198526291394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcN4k5gTy6u5eAomcns0EOXkTe7ihrS60Z31A1T52pdGWJJFm-3uo7PnFnTbn3WGw9LRYuST3_LftQBwCuDBm0jOdyTxx2fdxC8UezFKHFfla0eeuzb6WhBH9o4-4BCBh7AFdCUZbNfc/s200/elwali.jpg" /></a><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Khendjer</strong></span></div><br /><p align="left">Nothing is known of the deeds of this pharaoh. His fame comes <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjodYDMR0SgaMfHty9kZ4KOTMDs-rwGYFU0ti-3mcsqmhrr7deGdjM6I8Vut6A1lYWbiE74NFL0BZrIrslQHWJk5AI1aWP2L1EY1hp1TuquoSP6U5h_1HLkWVqEHvDCuSEsiPolgWWR1cI/s1600-h/Khendjer.jpg"></a>from his <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXd48GruZAAr0jWbrBia_2qTlNFOq4qLrZrzFj6FDMwFcoQ7vc7iUFR_cWNrWb4CbpgKCFj0eswcglHLb4f1Yym8FkN71ZmXQk5c4pVES2BIBjwwDhplk1Ldis2-CUy0skzbD18IQqQJc/s1600-h/khedjerserek.jpg"></a>mortuary complex with his pyramid which was discovered at far south in the burial ground of Sakkara in 1929, and was identified as his two years later.His name was known before, from a stela, but here another throne name was used. For some time the question was if there were two kings called Khendjer, but soon scientists agreed on that it was one and the same pharaoh from the stela found at Sakkara and the one mentioned in the Canon of Turin. His Horus name "Djed Kheperu" (firm is the god Kheper) is seen within a serek to the right, and his reign would have lasted circa 4 years around 1757 BC.</p>The whole pyramid area of his had once been enclosed by two walls, the outer made of mud brick. The inner one was of limestone and had niches and panels and remains indicated it apparently had replaced an unusual wavy wall, just like the one surrounding the pyramid at Mazghuna South from king Amenemhet IV (see above).<br /><br />The mortuary temple was located on the east side between the walls and the only remains were bits of reliefs and parts of the pavement from the court yard. Luckily fragments from columns were inscribed with his name, and thereby identifying the constructions as his. Investigations of the fragmentary pyramid lead to the conclu- sion that it once had a base side of 53 meters and a height of about 37.<br /><br />After having been quarried away over the years it is considerably reduced in height . The rather well preserved capstone of the pyramid was found at the east side, inscribed with the king's throne name - Userkare.<br /><br />A chapel to the north was built against the pyramid's facade. It stood on a platform and was reached by two stairways.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161330224504032786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuWat4_QK8WGuKm_dD-huKTFJ4SZhM3qstuU68tu1GaWSUg5fSQh_SITo4CB1kvVf-PZg3YqsP0681vkGd_LIb7GYojeDT7MLwWt2y5atfKkHt8q25n6MDYtMHWYKybz72RrsnI9mD2Mc/s400/khendjerplan.gif" /> <span style="color:#000099;">The pyramid complex of Khendjer once had two enclosure walls and the mortuary temple was placed in between (striped area). Huge stoppers (green) blocked the way to the grave chamber (red). </span><br /><br />Fragments of reliefs that once adorned the walls have been found, depicting scenes of offerings and other well known motifs. The entrance was at the west side (picture below) with a stairway leading down to a portcullis that never was engaged and 39 steps further down was a room with stopper number two. Prior to the superstructure the grave chamber was built in a shaft cut out from the bedrock. The huge blocks sealing it from the top were lowered to their final position by a devise making them fall into place when the sand they temporary lay on was drained out from below through small channels, just like from the pyramid at Mazghuna South attributed to Amenemhet IV.<br /><br />Just outside the inner wall at the north west corner are the underground remains of a small (c. 20 m square) subsidiary pyramid possibly built for his queen. Within the area are also shaft tombs most likely belonging to other family members. All of it was in an unfinished state and never used for burials. An inscription on the sarco- phagus below the queen's pyramid, gives an indication of the duration of the king's short reign - four years. Apart from his tomb all remains left of him is 3 statuettes, 3 cylinder seals, a few scarab seals and a stela.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161312194231324066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI2Xmozynke48R_67-i7ANIBAOupndCg2k_tjwFHzp-Lm_-84aw53a1nSs-Om1mBbL4h-X-J5d4VU6U_A1mdUCmCQY0TcZQe8L3USp2_9v3LcVdIu7ORB4M3kSyiwAXCQ2BaBimmd-soE/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekhotep III</strong></span> </div><br />P<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MPgbvk8zL54DDq-YJ7PgsJAgJqorLUZGkFwR0w2Q96s_iqwK6iW6kpnpeSoSBv7YFv1qYsZ4OHEkjPj_CHn_sDnikOBcXQMzA8AALDd8mj9NZhi4qJXusihFkl2_qHmvzbKET88Zv5k/s1600-h/Sobekhotep+I.jpg"></a>haraoh Sobekhotep III is placed in the Royal canon of Turin as number 19 in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2GxWbBR9rMxb8BZUXMPiI7JDG5x22_59oUjras7jBQ8W-nwDxgv_TMt2nMYjAP9p8v5pZtV7lsXTGAusVfGRR8rndU0AvOG9fPXAxxdaXvvQEbzLXnW4NOWzBH6V5K9H1_0b970rlQV0/s1600-h/Sekhemre+sewadjtawy.jpg"></a>the long row of rulers. His reign is noted in the kings' to have been three years and two months, but the two marks for "years" are so separated that another in the middle is likely to once have been written there. His reign was thus possibly 3-4 years starting around 1749 BC. His throne name Sekhemre (right) have the sign for devine power "sekhem" as a staff of a commander on top under the solar symbol of the god Re.The whole meaning is: "Powerful is Re, Who Makes Two Lands Flourish". He was not of royal stock and his parents (noted in a temple inscription) were commoners. Despite his quite short reign a lot artifacts from his reign are know and among them over 30 scarab seals.<br /><br />His (none royal) family is <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZCLsZkIOhU8aJnGGdAnJ7YdZhxngN4Gg9oE6sHJi8jssSV8YXaVW-dieF6HQDWCHxkRLqN8-nTqVUy_WufM50l1hXECi5JG5Z353jJHsI2ppigqzTDaV6nPvDEUVxIlkYAnW_M0EucI/s1600-h/Sebekhotep+III+in+low+relief..jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161359056619490866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpZCLsZkIOhU8aJnGGdAnJ7YdZhxngN4Gg9oE6sHJi8jssSV8YXaVW-dieF6HQDWCHxkRLqN8-nTqVUy_WufM50l1hXECi5JG5Z353jJHsI2ppigqzTDaV6nPvDEUVxIlkYAnW_M0EucI/s400/Sebekhotep+III+in+low+relief..jpg" /></a>well attested for and the names of two <img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161360138951249538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdLxXXPX0Ro_RUKgvQ4Wvq8Y0mm53FNW6yaiTaCHequORqEo-tDB9QC9nqF_TfUxVPc0Gcs_Nl5c9JqEPl91UYWVwuxvRp4et6FdiPMWOWAXMcpOH7SxvOiEuCIE_c0Sqcl4UEOAdlq8/s400/Scarab+seal+of+sobekhotep.jpg" />of his queens are known - Senebhenas and Neni. From the latter he fathered the daughter Jewetibaw whose name has been found within a cartouche, an honour given a princess just once before in Egyptian history.Remnents of monuments of his are found in el Kab (a small chapel) and Lisht. A few cylinder seals are known and many scarab seals (see picture right). An altar on Sehel Island at Aswan bears his name, and so does an axe handle and a small gold ball, possibly from a necklace. He can be seen as a stone sphinx (Egyptian Museum) and has a statue dedicated to the creator god Khnum exhibited in the Medelhavsmuséet in Stockholm Sweden.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161312198526291378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_W1w5FuBpqwyiqyDlVXr8unK_732FMMARDfRJxUgl_liQNAE7xBTpGhgW4velJ79SX5pKilwrK7OAcBxp1ojNHl6qb5Wj5nc6dCv-JlSKjASUlhxT6EOoAqLCqFK_K5fhVEGdkaEykw/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Neferhotep I </strong></span></div><br />N<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIW-dycVu6g2WgqGOEtfbCJ065pdK4hIAtaWau9BchDTh8__S142IIHUwHyltlzUKmwvv1Db89tICGOtS7LzHXl34yHWe1MTME_8PoK8oIIUbSRR_IWT4pr4TFomMM82HiXOoFyLg_KZ8/s1600-h/Neferhotep.jpg"></a>eferhotep is the first king in a row of several bearing this rather odd name meaning "Beauty <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcOutyRKgzrnSnblmqMAFDKb-38DFWzf3AWEtSPMW9s3HuNo6pQmS2bD1ShQoS4jkC00VbaDN-PJCPa2Nt80FOxCXqLlwhferj7FNr3roFsCT-2nZC3YT9xB_4a86eJIABi3ywoEqplRo/s1600-h/Khasekhemre.jpg"></a>and satisfaction" and he was an elder brother to the next king: Sobekhotep IV. The hieroglyph for satisfaction is a loaf of bread on a reed mat (cartouche left) indicating the seriousness the Egyptians had in their relation to food.<br /><br />He is listed as number 27 in the Turin Canon and noted to have been in office almost a dozen years around 1742-1731 BC. His throne name (within the cartouche in the picture right) means: "Mighty is the Appear- ance of Re". Neferhotep I came from a military family of none royal stock (at least on his father's side) and possibly from Thebes. His queen's name was Senebsen and they likely recided in the main capital from witch the king ruled the country - Itjtawy near Lisht by the Fayum in middle Egypt.<br /><br />He was the son of a temple priest in Abydos. His father's position helped him to gain the royal image as the king because he did not have any royal blood in his family. Neferhotep is inspirited on some stones discovered near Byblos. Also, they found other stones in Aswan that were carved with texts which documents all his reign. It seems that all his power reached the Delta in the north and the Nubian Nome in the south.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161360495433535170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6cNZffJxFg8aKvHHsXi2XXvvPk_5WWVDR0lshMiSrS4-K9XoFoW39CSEpJOro9CERkxhNECcPQdY5hSdcrLkgyYyrXWPv9vW3Oc1bqn0gxn9hVPDzLW3L8dv9enLv8cSJQN12YpCFls/s400/Scarab+seal+and+statue+of+Neferhotep+I.jpg" /><br /><div align="center"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Scarab seal and statue of Neferhotep I</strong></span></div><br />Knowledge about his deeds could be better but artefacts from his reign are many and on Sehel island at Aswan his name is cut into the rocks in seven occasions. He has left two stelae from Abydos made in his 2nd and 4th year in office and another has been found at Byblos in Lebanon. His scarab-seals are more than 60 (one of them is shown in picture above) and two cylinders seals are known. Three statues of him have survived - one at Elefantine in Aswan and two from the Karnak temple area at Thebes. His successor was his youger brother Sobekhotep IV (below) and they might have ruled together because many monument have both their names inscribed.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161311489856687426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFu0hEFANcvUd9BCxP2acNkvPeum53v1tlNYVEFLg4XORSWpnipzugMQUInQOrbCa81aIp66Gp9KnJBZr5OKZQmnfSaJOssBaZ2SV9mRRHzkgFC9KIBs8aW0d7l4m-j1yL7Qvr61rbx1M/s200/elwali.jpg" /> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekhotep IV</strong></span></p><p align="left">In the Turin Canon Sobekhotep IV is listed in position 21. His throne name <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrsmJ4DoVZVDBIJ-l0NkA2dseheZoVGPKRYJQg9oq-Cb9WN8cF4FzDEWSRYRcZo6L2y_t5rJcBFRb5M8_qwvfXTf6t3GCm3vdX3DCPoKfwNcUbPi70mte7XtY8qdnTaSLoIxHq9CjFspw/s1600-h/Khaineferre.jpg"></a>(<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6fKNm1qNXpeWQ_mBK3j5BUlLLUNKFPrORU5mh96dhQlnK5bXh7Pqm9J_jKcHvvFyMrDshI3dPS8ndc3k1wDdjjFkC50FlhYE_O7bxYNZWBDGP69GOUjMTAZxCLU7eSJXiqagU9DqV_4/s1600-h/sobekhotep_4.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161359069504392786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6fKNm1qNXpeWQ_mBK3j5BUlLLUNKFPrORU5mh96dhQlnK5bXh7Pqm9J_jKcHvvFyMrDshI3dPS8ndc3k1wDdjjFkC50FlhYE_O7bxYNZWBDGP69GOUjMTAZxCLU7eSJXiqagU9DqV_4/s400/sobekhotep_4.jpg" /></a>within the cartouche in the picture right) was Kha- ineferre meaning: "Beautiful is the App- earance of Re".He was one of the most powerful kings of the dynasty and is known to have secured the southern frontier by sending troops down into Nubia. </p><p>His reign (and his brother's before him) can be concidered as the peak of the 13th dynasty, which was a rather shaky and politically troublesome period. Luckily there is a fine unbroken statue left of him showing his looks (picture left). He is sitting on his throne and his face is made in typical Middle Kingdom style with big ears pointing out. This unique piece is today to be seen at the Louvre Museum in Paris.</p><p>He was a younger brother to Neferhotep I whom he succeed- ed on the throne. Their father was a priest and their mother was possibly of royal stock and if so possibly a (grand?) grandchild of Amenemhet III from dynasty 12. His queen was called Tjan and has left an inscription (probably made after her husbands death) where she tells how he went to Heliopolis and studied the old scripts and took a statue of the god Osiris in a procession. It ended in the old capital down at Abydos in the so called "Osiris' Tomb", where the priests performed the well known story of his deeds. The duration of his reign is not noted in the Turin Canon, but is estimated to have been a dozen years around 1732-1720 BC. During his reign the Hyksos made their first appearance, and took control of the town of Avaris in the Delta around 1720 BC, and started their conquest of the week and diversed Egypt.<br /></p><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimto2v0AV66zLwLgitATcRD1SSJnE7CZ8KMImCHkcNpMn8koIAD-fqBk2YJynkkn7j-tDBwVFg5Cn_8EQy3N0gyM62Wbd4SuOEc5N3UBGuj7gozwx9hha-EkbCZu7QHELl_pVuAWf_Wfg/s1600-h/elwali.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161365889912458962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimto2v0AV66zLwLgitATcRD1SSJnE7CZ8KMImCHkcNpMn8koIAD-fqBk2YJynkkn7j-tDBwVFg5Cn_8EQy3N0gyM62Wbd4SuOEc5N3UBGuj7gozwx9hha-EkbCZu7QHELl_pVuAWf_Wfg/s200/elwali.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;"> T.N.P</span><br /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekhotep VI</strong></span><br /></p><br /><p align="left">Pharaoh Sokbekhotep VI had the throne name Khahotep <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEztehCrT1mqUnLXS_GMcHk74KSk4KqcCE4RvnO7rESZK5PA4rM4n7mZheEIiNjwwvEQLLkJ51DtGzRmBHxKgGsJqyV97Yy_3HyiItijYkt8h8v7g7IBGkrEM2PHf9F4EZZsWz8lJdk8/s1600-h/Khahotepre.jpg"></a>Re (within the ca<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFbO8UQNnKLH3y-h1e4fF6WKycAbcE452oy9_kEO8sQx9793ViUdajKLyeyhT-yEH_xhiJ1YOJfG-e9H9SHyJVswqPdvT6dSjZsmPSv_7816acOMuedYCXAxh_xo3LeUIAvS1jBTV4Dw/s1600-h/sebeksix.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161359069504392802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGFbO8UQNnKLH3y-h1e4fF6WKycAbcE452oy9_kEO8sQx9793ViUdajKLyeyhT-yEH_xhiJ1YOJfG-e9H9SHyJVswqPdvT6dSjZsmPSv_7816acOMuedYCXAxh_xo3LeUIAvS1jBTV4Dw/s400/sebeksix.jpg" /></a>rtouche right), with the meaning: Perfect In (His) Appearence is Re". He was a ruler from Thebes and probably the son of his predecessor with the same name (and number 5) who is known to have a son bearing this name. His time in office was not very long and his reign as ruler number 25 of this dyna- sty is estimated to a period of about five years (Turin Canon says four) around the years 1720-1715 BC.<br /><br />Little to nothing is known about his deeds and the only remnent of substance left from his time on the throne besides some (10) scarab seals, (including impressions and a cylinder ditto), is a statuette found in Kerma in Nubia, now in the Museum in Berlin (seen in picture left). This find indicates that Egypt though week, had inluence possibly next to control over this remote region known for its own identity and struggle for independence throughout the long Egyptian history. </p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161365894207426274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2XkvCEoxUF5WWtzOxd9thbOIMmjD9_zwUaFQmQI2L4qqTTt92zjogqH3gCb9aaCcm9bREWi5VRYs-A-R9Nop49qcCoaUBkvO-2zppzKx5LLcQNZgJRCLpjSt2VYixbBhz45S6NAiJkJ4/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Wahibre</strong></span> </p><p align="left">Pharaoh Wahibre (meaning "Re Is Strong Of Heart") had the personal nomen <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcy8A4Vs6uwG-vEED0W8Bu_9AdasoxCiBpZ9kz8k1wiuDrPLVNf9aphtnG5LZUIxz2aJED_2e7-7utjI3J3pGkolLzAjePuNh7iCcZ6C9ArPWuX42JDtiXsvVzqeiWOn4CT_xpaYyy7M/s1600-h/Wahibre.jpg"></a>Ia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg4c-ewyYhJmanvixzjjh3yQAYoGs8mFJu4Q0gnFy1z0pi0_fCNBzEhJEivF3AqVW_BMxBSibAF_ORGd4Htxkxdp2d_DcGtXipFxmX_FgL6X-8jgBmF-u7ILglErRGYFVcwSU_ru1jVs/s1600-h/Iaib+(Ibiaw).jpg"></a>ib (also Ibiaw) as seen in the cartouche right. He is noted in the Turin Canon as the 29th ruler and with a possible additional four king in a damage part of the papyrus earlier in the dynasty, he may have ent- ered the throne as number 33 in succsession.<br /></p><p align="left">With his successor Aya he is ending a line of kings with well attested rather long reigns and the followers all are estimated for very sh<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4g2urpbinUb4It67_d9xNhaYIXpX-pOs1Widivy9YONUe8z9VF31sxjoCosicOqTHQzxIb0xQYNNM96J7hWO4RmHy-U75e852gB1EQsBdtNIA4CLTMOy-djynLRncu5jHEMZXFG7A38/s1600-h/Seal+of+Wahibre.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161373951566073634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh4g2urpbinUb4It67_d9xNhaYIXpX-pOs1Widivy9YONUe8z9VF31sxjoCosicOqTHQzxIb0xQYNNM96J7hWO4RmHy-U75e852gB1EQsBdtNIA4CLTMOy-djynLRncu5jHEMZXFG7A38/s400/Seal+of+Wahibre.jpg" /></a>ort periods on the throne.From his almost eleven years in office (10 years, 8 months and 29 days in Turin Canon) around the years 1712-1701 BC. some remains are left that confirms his existence and they are: 1) Nine scarab-seals of<br />Seal of Wahibrewhich one was found in Byblos (Lebanon). 2) Three cylinder-seals. 3) A bead and stamp seal(?) with his name found at Lisht. 4) A cup from Kahun. 5) A stela of unknown provenance now in the British Museum.<br /></p><p align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161365894207426290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwf_JN2IMMDsysGc0wiMp4txb_j2S939MkA3xTmwsolGVsbF07er5ylAioojKgGr_4EXteahKEhYhSKHHoP6pyzhcQiwZWDijCs1m1RQHFAkd3SfehKW2BAQSqL6uoko0YGmUjx2OQjHM/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Aya (Ay, Ai)</span></strong></p><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></strong><p>T<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0-C8DFoIo4ols5VOAZ0NFTey5yoW5nlXElMQQmGkoo2kZfYlOb6VjZoCKoWO8-WXgoy422jyQBzsV6Xkuxp2cB7Fg4icO7wG3T_DKr3skaUE_qhCZTivrzCDCHODPFRdsmd3G95CX8Dc/s1600-h/Aya+(Ay).jpg"></a>he throne name of king Aya - Merneferre (seen within the cartouche right) <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcieo9As_cI5UYMoh7z7y0BImFr8tNbuh-7OTN9Lh9vBuD2NeZgsVlcouWDTq_Q6u8htoNEtqU2c4YvDlN41rPMFxTUm5_bLsncGhdGiU87PFZWYCbAZgsBSFclxR91iBWdtfI5jQ8EE/s1600-h/ayakart_2%5B1%5D.jpg"></a>means: "Beautiful is the Desire of Re". The Turin Canon has Aya in position 33 and he is the king from the dynasty with the longest reign noted - almost 24 years. One theory says that the Hyksos rulers expanded southwards and had captured Memphis by then, making Aya flee to the south from his capital Itj-twy, (which hasn't been found for sure by modern archaeology).Ryholt claims 1997 that nothing of this scenario can be proved by substantial evidence and on the contrary - the border between the two neighboring dynasties 13 and 14 seems to have been quite stable throughout the times.</p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEp-9LpMSegbOfFqH_cc4T1Cc8M1Pcwem2Y04OBsw3uAVe9ZdG17GjB33ecIF9vfLEJmSGTXvsu8k4ap384JiOwzRm664orrKfJZImTynumhdUzr4RaXt8ezbORYDHqwnjxMXbI-A9RI/s1600-h/Seal+of+king+Aya.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; FLOAT: left; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161373960156008274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibEp-9LpMSegbOfFqH_cc4T1Cc8M1Pcwem2Y04OBsw3uAVe9ZdG17GjB33ecIF9vfLEJmSGTXvsu8k4ap384JiOwzRm664orrKfJZImTynumhdUzr4RaXt8ezbORYDHqwnjxMXbI-A9RI/s400/Seal+of+king+Aya.jpg" /></a>His reign was for 23 and 3/4 of a year (according to the Royal Canon of Turin) and it likely occurred during the years around 1701-1677 B.C. He has left a lot of remains, among them over 60 scarab-seals (one of them shown in picture left), one cylinder seal, a stone jar with his name and the capstone (top) from his pyramid, found at Khatana (in the north east delta). It's likely to have come from Sakkara where this tomb probably was situated, but today it's not identified with surtainty. A candidate to be his last resting place is a never finished and rather big anonymous monument (and what's left of it) situated southwest of Khendjer's tomb in <a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5bildsidor/ayapyramid.htm">South Sakkara</a>.<br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTqaytOJbha0SxUkFH5-CyL6kfKZQKcboLsj0VLvmlIVqk-GYHlvDsBe10HWVpnbuTnqKK0KpSl-W4MrhT8s4eXGcQcb-3BljLApcNYZpMC12ph0YaNsu3eCDZDD8VB31yllLsgagqlE/s1600-h/elwali.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161365898502393602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRTqaytOJbha0SxUkFH5-CyL6kfKZQKcboLsj0VLvmlIVqk-GYHlvDsBe10HWVpnbuTnqKK0KpSl-W4MrhT8s4eXGcQcb-3BljLApcNYZpMC12ph0YaNsu3eCDZDD8VB31yllLsgagqlE/s200/elwali.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Dedumes I (Dedumose I)</strong></span><br /><br /></p><p align="left">King Dedumose I had the throne name Djed-hotep-Re (within the cartouche left)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63l5tSilJOFpOnILLRIpmgTIGNRfMoFh-mpbRDRPjOsACpgJ-rAuO_87cCJKUTWc_9-_3EUxsgXRKYeqkSsRLq0cn2bLEaAsTjext19oh5JXLl0qpiLKw1uOENlSbIame1GBFo3AZhr0/s1600-h/Dedumes.jpg"></a> me<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMAYJwAzd-UKuuyoIJaoh6QjVqUNfezGSQHIMYxTF6dBaEWra9FCdwCrKd9KnQVy8mSJH6FJQT7Ou1i05wh_8-NxzMYsI1lpbE1pj061utaIsikMQC0k-3y-Wic7JzD4lL0Q-XNP54_CE/s1600-h/Djedhotepre.jpg"></a>aning: "The One Bringing Lasting Peace". He is known from Manetho's historical work as the king who had to give up his country to the attacking Hyksos people. In this chronicle he is given his Greek name Totemaios. </p><p align="left">For some reason he is not present in the Turin Canon and only attested for by remains from Upper Egypt, but this does not mean that the historical scenario told above is not a fact. Another king with the same name and given the number II has initiated a discussion about his true position in the 13th dynasty. </p><p align="left"></p><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3O1SovGuiwvXZF1nA0f-wtTEyG8iBPuMzLDksv9MSm3kInuzIFQTh5ZgaU5u0E_xZbGWgowolT_ii8O7COQyx_r4qHPJVn5oSKxlaO2dbylps4LRbXaPuSaYZEmrnCwWkF5p_JD5bds/s1600-h/dedumoseserek.jpg"></a>This lack of agreement among the experts is due to the fact that at least three (by some scholars up to five) dynasties were operating at the same time in the split up Egypt. </p><p align="left">One possibility might be that Dedumose had to capitulate to the foreign enemies and his followers were marionette rulers, but this is just a suggestion of many from this politically very complicated period.Remnants of his are scant and apart from his names and titles found in single inscriptions, a remarkable stela has been found at Edfu made by an unnamed official giving himself the title "the king's son", and tells Dedumose's all titles and names and among them his Horus-name within a serek (left). It was Wadj-chau, meaning "Fresh at feature" un- derlining his physical fitness necessary to do his job properly in the eyes of the people. This stela is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.</p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161365902797360914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiae_i8pKsVN1xbmp3zpOy2X0FeCxFBruw5ybZuDO2ZAAdbdHlDWBNGeuedR66HeMwgQQHYyXtJL3i3wy56wNqS85ucGiLQwVL6zsLhDrzdvXGE2BVcqcIVwzrecHRhQdDqJJFlGm4Lez4/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Dynasty 14</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>1750 - c. 1670 BC. </strong></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(c. 85 years)</strong></span> </p><p>Egypt was now split up and dynasty 14 (parallel at least to the mid 13th) was ruling from Xois in the north eastern delta and was (at least indicated by some names) of Asiatic (Hyksos) origin. 32 names in a list which has space (rows) for about 60. Several lists and theories are at hand, like suggestions that they were province leaders, vassals, made up, or ancestors(!) to the living pharaohs. 76 kings ruled for 184 years. The duration of their reigns indicate about two years each on the throne in average, and these unlikely figures still awaits an explanation. </p><p>Just a few kings from dynasty 14 are known from seals in shapes of scarabs (see picture), and besides Nehesy's below the only remain of substance is a stone stela.</p><p align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Nehesy</strong></span> </p><p align="left">From Nehesy's reign are left documents where he states that he is the son of a pharaoh, but curi- ously he doesn't say who his father was, which possibly indicates that his statement isn't true. One theory advocates that his father might have been an Egyptian civil servant or a military commander who usurped royal rule in the delta. The throne name of his - Aa-seh-Re (cartouche in picture right) means: "Great in Council is Re". Nehesy has left a row of remnants from his reign: 1) An obelisk at the temple of Seth at Raahu (north east delta). 2) Two stelas at Tell Habwe. 3) A column at Tanis with his mother's name. 4) At least 23 seals mostly from scarab amulets with his name carved into the flat bottom. In the Turin Canon he is listed as the first pharaoh of the dynasty, but a great gap in the papyrus indicates a row of about five kings (see list above) who probably ruled before him. Estimations have been made indicating that these had a rather long reigns compared with most later kings, which makes the time when Nehesy was in charge to have possibly occurred around the year 1705 BC.<br /><br />The damage Turin papyrus can't give him more than half a year in office. His name Nehesy means "Nubian" in the Egyptian language and may indicate his origin and background, since soldiers from the south by tradition were a great part of the Egyptian military forces.</p><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></p><p align="center"><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/index.htm">http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/index.htm</a></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; DISPLAY: block; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5161706768581840850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKUh5Tmxp-H0gB8EylmFvH1cczEMR5dvjQyeJfN1f9cjeP1N8Y8NR9FcYNzdB-eYC0hkSwQ7NtMqIt3y_eHoVHwHeBmbNIwmWzx1JHpP-SpCf1hLJIEB12-WVdi5p7nwhLKJDX8XpSo24/s200/elwali.jpg" /> <p align="center"><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="font-size:85%;">T.N.P</span><br /></span><span style="color:#660000;"></p></span>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-12579722284730258802007-12-01T19:43:00.000+02:002007-12-28T22:02:28.547+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>MIDDLE KINGDOM</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>12th Dynasty</strong></span></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I (Sehetepibre) 1991 - 1962</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret1.htm">Senusret I (Kheperkare) 1956 - 1911</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2.htm">Amenemhet II (Nubkaure) 1911 - 1877</a><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret2.htm">Senusret II (Khakheperre) 1877 - 1870</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret3.htm">Senusret III (Khakaure) 1836 - 1817</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhet III (Nimaatre) 1817 - 1772</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn07.htm">Amenemhet IV (Maakherure) 1772 - 1763</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/firstqueen.htm">Neferusobek (Sobekkare) 1763 - 1759</a><br /></div><br /><div align="center"><br />This dynasty should bring back the values from the Old Kingdom with<br />divine kingship, but all in the minds of the pharaohs themselves.</div><div align="center">Its glory lies in the fact that the rulers were able leaders</div><div align="center">developing agricultural methods and exploiting</div><div align="center">the <a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5bildsidor/fayum.htm">Faiyum.</a> They all tried to imitate the </div><div align="center">great pharaohs from the passed.</div><div align="center">Egypt was prosperous and<br />the era saw at least </div><div align="center">seven more </div><div align="center"><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5bildsidor/pyrdyn12.htm">pyramids</a>.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenemhet I (Sehetepibre)</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Other spellings: Amenenkhet</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>1st King of the 12th Dynasty</strong></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Parents:</strong></span> Senwosret and Neferet I.</span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Sons</span></strong>Senwosret I<span style="color:#3333ff;">.</span> </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Wives:</strong></span> </span><br /></div><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Neferitatenen, King’s Mother:</span> She is mentioned on a statue belonging to her son S<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJBqXNXHFD8uNWRda9UFDuqaDVwE71E4kp83EzYxtRtqiJI3CtPmwJh8mI5xPKKeq3Ve766PWQ1VRtmpuIdAJikeWy1RPMYFc3oklDfJnxuhIYxNWftbI7zORgWclLOrkz90Mp7s4LopV/s1600-r/amenemhet15.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072463765831330" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_lINM5uX_jspJmINyaSfRs5avlaTLgWTJQn-NtB7GJiO4D6VG7ndcM27NYnIhAq9a7fkqFfgwjwxHDQM_K6A4WLq6whfa6o1RICv1zmUGcyMJBsM52HSZHILSiXyxAjdbMNTZfxK9RpnK/s400/amenemhet15.jpg" border="0" /></a>enusert I. <span style="color:#3333ff;">Titles:</span> King’s Mother (mwt-niswt).</span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Dedet:</span> Possibly a wife of Amenemhat I.</span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Daughters:</strong></span> </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Neferu III:</span> King's Daughter, King's Wife and King's Mother. Neferu married her brother Senusert. She is mentioned in the Story of Sinuhe. Neferu III had her own pyramid in the funerary complex of her brother/husband. It is possible that she was eventually buried in the funerary complex of her son Amenemhat II. </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Neferusherit:</span> King's Daughter. Buried in one of the shaft tombs near Amenemhat I's pyramid at Lisht. </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Kayet:</span> King's Daughter of his body. Mentioned in a relief at Lisht.</span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072914737397458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTwHgAYUwySLFHg2PzJ2MSsij44R_fyEYIyQHTPYUZ184-nId4AjZLbKT4eApM5eY4yEvZy3I0dbny6G4rXztHD3IU4AJNrj8Fw6e3nhtUctgM1B6hQdi6iKLAEjHNEZXRTj40-vIE2I76/s400/reign-Amenemhat%2520I.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><br /><strong><em>Statue from the time of Amenemhat I.From the tomb of Meketre.</em></strong></div><br />Amenemhet I was the first ruler of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>, and some Egyptologists believe that recovery from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hfirstin.htm">First Intermediate Period</a> into the Middle Kingdom only really began with his rule. He was almost certainly not of royal blood, at least if he is the same Vizier that functioned under his predecessor, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/11dyn06.htm">Mentuhotep IV</a>. Perhaps either Mentuhotep IV had no heir, or he was simply a weak leader. This vizier, named Amenemhet, recorded an inscription when Mentuhotep IV sent him to Wadi Hammamt. The inscription records two omens. The first tells us of a gazelle that gave birth to her calf atop the stone that had been chosen for the lid of the King's sarcophagus. the second was of a ferocious rainstorm that, when subsided, disclosed a well 10 cubits square and full of water. Of course that was a very good omen in this barren landscape.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147565484674865906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW0_aa4IXz8xwnTzG7Z0_JpeY0J_bdATCWaTaIr3I7znZGUIfDm1wg-qLQKKFOITyYDdcljLZ8zwlLgJ7Oq_G2LwtJAVoaY6PjHb_XiAu0Kn9rZA6t9aiweW1wnQGke4kvhvF3a4rHSru/s400/amenemhatI-1.png" border="0" /> <p align="center"><strong><em>Early part of reign: Horus Sehetepibtawy, Sehetepib-Re, Amenemhat</em></strong><br /></p><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139071944074788418" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Thahb-taofkQRNgZuXkF2GEKrEuyDgPVQ8Dg55HvBP0gnuL9UWIwF9kpBvTCg4Yf8lNWpaNyDQrSusXoLUQ9QumwxR6Tk3V4YKYC89cOzr9Mti_bdljeeY3Z1G6KtzP_OGRFNoZsclLh/s400/AmenemhatI-2.png" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Later part of reign: Horus Wehemmesut, Sehetepib-Re, Amenemhat</strong></em></div><br />Many Egyptologists believe that Amenemhet's inscription implies that a great ruler will come to the throne of Egypt upon the death of Mentuhotep IV, who will lead the country into prosperity. It is fairly certain that Amenemhet the vizier was predicting his own rise to the throne as Amenemhet I. However, we are told that he had at least two other competitors to the throne. One was called Inyotef, and the other a Segerseni from Nubia. It would appear that he quickly dealt with these obstacles. We believe that he ruled Egypt for almost 30 years. Peter A. Clayton places his reign between the years of 1991 and 1962 BC while the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt gives him a reign lasting from 1985 through 1956 BC. Dodson has his reign lasting from 1994 until 1964 BC.<br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139071948369755746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC0hOEronEpmosI7s4g6_V0n9q6gVu814lRGiSFmuJVpYP0M1Myl9xaVMHImgy35BjDgcKQnnxKob1CQJcALrlNh7r34jecu_GUJB9q7K3Vvv6GA8lZV-gurB6s2zZGtM6enu8TabC3995/s400/amenemhet12.jpg" border="0" /><strong>Image of Amenemhet I from his mortuary complex at el-lisht</strong> </div><br /><div align="left">Amenemhet I's Horus name, Wehem-mesut, means "he who repeats births", and almost certainly was chosen to commemorate the new dynasty and a return to the values and prosperity of a united Egypt. Amenemhet (Amenemhat) was his birth name and means "Amun is at the Head". He was called Ammenemes I by the Greeks. His throne name was Sehetep-ib-re, which means "Satisfied is the Heart of Re". </div><br /><div align="center"><div align="left">Neferu, who was the principal wife of Senwosret I, the kings mother, Nefret, and a principal wife, Nefrytatenen .Amenemhet was probably the son of a woman named Nofret (Nefret), from <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elephantine.htm">Elephantine</a> near modern <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a>, and a priest called Senusret, according to an inscription at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>. So his origins are probably southern Egypt. We know of three possible wives including Neferytotenen (Nefrutoteen, Nefrytatenen), who may have been the mother of Amenemhet I's successor, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn02.htm">Senusret I</a>, Dedyet, who was may also have been his sister, and Sobek'neferu, Neferu). It is fairly clear that Amenemhet established Egypt's first co-regency with his son, Senusret I, in about the older kings 20th year of rule. He was not only seeking to assure the succession of his proper heir, but also providing the young prince valuable training under his tutelage. Senusret was given several active roles in Amenemhet I's government, specifically including matters related to the military matters. </div><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139071948369755762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSIJ8jxnN5f9Phke4e4xERIpEZ9X8aHR66F8IMCFobu64P2YBR4iuBPUiGHF11Ydlfx_NzKZ7XWSVUZbZCCM27e6J3gd59ON44gFNKO0ySC02Fxojy27Shlmcuxc1E19FQ-mjt9CfjOxr/s400/amenemhet14.jpg" border="0" />We know of several pieces of literature that probably date from his reign, some of which appears to support his reign with fables of kingship. One, the Discourse of Neferty, has a ruler emerging named Ameny, who was foretold by a prophet in the Old Kingdom (Neferty). Neferti was a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a> sage who seems familiar to us from Djedi in the Papyrus Westcar. He is summoned to the court of Snofru, during who's reign the story is suppose to have taken place. This tale has Ameny delivering Egypt from chaos, but it should be noted that it is the chaos of the late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn11.htm">11th Dynasty</a>, not the First Intermediate Period. </div><br /><div align="left"><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;">Then a king will come from the South,Ameny, the justified, my name,Son of a woman of Ta-Seti, child of Upper Egypt,He will take the white crown,he willjoin the Two Mighty Ones (the two crowns)</span></em></strong><br /></div></div><strong><em><span style="color:#006600;">Asiatics will fall to his sword,Libyans will fall to his flame,Rebels to his wrath, traitors to his might,As the serpent on his brow subdues the rebels for him,One will build the Walls-of-the-Ruler,To bar Asiatics from entering Egypt..</span></em></strong><br /><br /><br />We do not know what year this literature dates to within Amenemhet I's reign. But while there are other text that refer to the chaos before the arrival of new kings, the references to Asiatics and the Walls-of-the-Ruler are new.<br /><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072919032364786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQHC4elQyLk1CE6MWsov7he4a8U55OYrJ_NLL8mNqx7UwcZzLoxSBQ-ASoY8rhQ4O3G6ZKjNbIfoK2ZueJn5DY8SkgypU3AcUIhLvu2GyJsctPrhcQJhclmznKiGckFvNOgy5EX06yMWv/s400/sehetepibre_low.gif" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Offering table inscribed with the name Sehetepibre, </strong></em><a href="http://edoc3.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/lepsius/page/abt2/band4/image/02041180.jpg"><em><strong>Lepsius Abt II, Band 4, Bl 118</strong></em></a></div><br />Amenemhet I set about consolidating the country in a very purposeful manner. He moved his capital north to the capital he apparently established named Amenemhet-itj-tawy, which means, "Amenemhet the Seizer of the Two lands". It was located south of <a href="http://touregypt.net/memphis.htm">Memphis</a>, on the edge of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum Oasis</a>, though the city ruins have not yet been discovered. This gave him a more central control of Egypt, as well as placing him nearer to problem areas in the Delta. It also signaled the end of an old era and new beginnings. This move was perhaps only carried out a short time after he took the throne.<br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072910442430130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPJMqa5z4JS0bZk_P09QeAuOrmRSoV6-NtJxa8N5FklbBpqfLIIHXqoF9vCV6vMEjUjNpyNiVG7pKhHkR4nNznHxPnQ7CsIoN73BsTKMR7yPwtyCyxI9pShLUesPebIlG7_9PP9RiOYIT/s400/amenoneplan.gif" border="0" /><br /><em><strong>The pyramid complex of Amenemhet I at Lisht also has five mastabas (brown), underground galleries and 22 burial shafts (left) for royal women. Pharaoh's grave chamber (red) was placed at the bottom of a vertical shaft (green) in the very centre deep under the monument.</strong></em></div><br />Many Egyptologists believe that the move was made at the very beginning of his reign, while a few believe it may have been much later, around the time of his twentieth year as ruler. However, he did begin a tomb at Thebes, and then abandoned it for a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1p.htm">pyramid</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/lisht.htm">el-Lisht</a>, near the new capital. It appears that the work on the tomb at Thebes may have taken between three and five years to complete. Also, there are very few of his monuments located near Thebes, suggesting that he soon moved away.<br /><br /><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072914737397442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAVbXGEKoxz21ZQagBhu7KNbC7vfpDvPblQAxsIVvtgDeJL9sI04F48Ezcrw6IgPbWgWygGsnSlsYd4AVYcJMc-gxpInSJRjWiysBBjUnKW_LfcH8zGCZmXr9i5jowPqhwAuNcht7Y-JdK/s400/granary-Wah.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Granary from the tomb of Wah</strong></em></div><br /><div align="left">His pyramid at el Lisht is instructional, for it seems to portray a return to some of the values of the Old Kingdom, while still embracing the Theban concepts of the region of his birth. Egyptologists who believe Amenemhet I may have waited until his twentieth year to make the move to his new city base their evidence on an inscription found on the foundation blocks of the pyramid's mortuary temple. It records Amenemhet's royal jubilee, and also that year one of a new king had elapsed, suggesting that the pyramid was started very late in the king's reign. Therefore, considerable debate remains over the timing of his move.</div><br /><div align="left">He also reorganized the administration of the country, keeping the nomarchs who had supported him, while weakening the regional governors by appointing new officials at <a href="http://touregypt.net/asyuttop.htm">Asyut</a>, Cusae and Elephantine. An inscription records that he also divided the nomes (provinces) into different sets of towns and redistributed the territories by reference to the Nile flood. We see a steady march during Amenemhet I's rule back to a more centralized government, together with an increase in bureaucracy. Another move, both to dilute the army's power and to raise personnel for coming conflicts, was his reintroduction of conscription. </div><br /><div align="left">Undoubtedly, in the Discourse of Neferty, Asiatics refer to the people who were causing trouble on the Egypt's eastern frontier. One of Amenemhet I's earliest campaigns were against these Asiatics, though the scale of these operations is unknown. He drove these people back, and indeed did build the Walls-of-the-Ruler, as series of fortifications along Egypt's northeastern frontier. However, even as late as his 24th year of rule, we still find inscriptions recording expeditions against these "and-dweller". None of these fortifications has ever been found, though the remains of a canal in the region may date from the period. Apparently, in the midst of the Asiatic campaign, he also found time to crush a few unrepentant local governors (nomarchs).<br /></div><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139072919032364770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1VaWySRsPcT6ThsG7lWqK2EVidQagAK0DiHF6kYRl87Xb1MB05DbqYCM_cuN4rwELHPxIs7CJeS6W9V4vEcPbO4N29o4RRavwodA1vM7NX2ssn4jMIIfNqS8jr5bh16e9aAmsoWaqpx7/s400/riverboat-amenemhat-I.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="center"><em><strong>Riverboat model from the tomb of Meketre</strong></em></div><br /><div align="left">In Nubia, Amenemhet I first pushed his army southward to Elephantine, where he consolidated his rule and seems to have been satisfied for a number of years. This expedition was apparently lead by Khnemhotpe I, governor of the Oryx nome, who traveled up the Nile with 20 boats. But by year 29 of his rule, the king appears to have no longer been happy with the lose trading and quarrying network with Nubia that we find in the Old Kingdom. The new policy was one of conquest and colonization with the principle aim of obtaining raw materials, especially gold. An inscription at the northern Nubian site of Korosko about half way between the first and second cataracts (rapids) states that the people of Wawat (northern Nubia) were defeated in his 29th year, and he apparently drove his army as far south as the second cataract. In order to protect Egypt and fortify captured territory in Nubia, he founded a fortress at Semna and Quban in the region of the second Nile Cataract, which would begin a string of future 12th Dynasty fortresses. Along with protecting his newly acquired territory and the gold mines in Wadi Allaqi, he also created a stranglehold over economic contacts with Upper Nubia and further south. We also know that he constructed a fortress at Mendes named Rawaty. </div><br /><div align="left">From a foreign relations standpoint, we also know that diplomatic and commercial relations were renewed, after a long absence, with Byblos and the Aegean world. </div><br /><div align="left">Amenemhet I took part in a number of building projects. Besides his fortresses, we know he built at Babastis, el-Khatana and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tanis.htm">Tanis</a>. He undertook important building works at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>, from which a few statues and granite naos survive. He may have even established the original temple of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mut.htm">Mut</a> to the south of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karamun.htm">Temple of Amun</a>. He also worked at Koptos (Coptos), where he partly decorated the temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/min.htm">Min</a>, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm">Abydos</a>, where he dedicated a granite altar to <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm">Dendera</a>, where he built a granite gateway to <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor2.htm">Hathor</a> and at Memphis, where he built a temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ptah.htm">Ptah</a>. Also a little north of Tell el-Dab'a, he apparently began a small mudbrick temple at Ezbet Rushdi, that was later expanded by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn05.htm">Senusret III</a>. </div><br /><div align="left">Religiously, being from southern Egypt, Amenemhet I's allegiance was probably to the god Amun, and in fact, we find from this period forward the rise of Amun, at the expense of Montu, god of war, as the supreme deity of Thebes.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">It is also notable that we find an increase in the mineral wealth of the royal family. We find a huge increase in the jewelry caches found in several 12th Dynasty royal burials. It is obvious from several sources of evidence that even the standard of living form middle class Egyptians was on the increase, though their level of wealth was proportional to their official offices.<br /></div><br /><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139071948369755730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aPS5PI5v-IdumHiTEfBtXUaDYEek_ImdIPu-f4IqyEj-miLJH9-zEzC_f-VT16j68Wmbm-VG17nYTv-4zuQBL-BxQQ-6ZoKUz6Y7TXoSH3CI4uMNRNBAIPx_s3NTqxZ700q5riXsQaU6/s400/amenemhatI-block.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div align="left"><em><strong><span style="color:#006600;">The metmuseum describes this block:"This block was found in the foundations of his mortuary temple at Lisht, the royal cemetery for the new capital. It was reused from an earlier building.King Amenemhat I is shown celebrating his sed festival or jubilee. He is flanked by the gods Anubis with a jackal head (in front) and Horus with a falcon head (behind), both of whom offer him the ankh, or symbol of life. At the left of the block stands the goddess Nekhbet of Upper Egypt and on the right the goddess Wadjet of Lower Egypt. The king wears a tightly curled wig with the uraeus on his brow and the false beard of kingship. He carries the flail and a ceremonial instrument."</span></strong></em></div><br /><div align="left">Amenemhet I appears to have been a very wise leader, setting about to correct the problems of the First Intermediate Period, protecting Egypt's boarders from invasion and assuring a legitimate succession. Yet he was murdered in an apparent harem plot while his co-regent was leading a campaign in Libya. Again, we find two literary works, the Tale of Sinuhe and the Instructions of Amenemhet I, reflecting this king's tragic end. One literary work from the time of Senusret I presents the account of Amenemhet I's murder, supposedly provided by the king himself from beyond the grave:</div><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><em><strong>"It was after supper, when night had fallen, and I had spent an hour of happiness. I was asleep upon my bed, having become weary, and my heart had begun to follow sleep. When weapons of my counsel were wielded, I had become like a snake of the necropolis. As I came to, I awoke to fighting, and found that it was an attack of the bodyguard. If I had quickly taken weapons in my hand, I would have made the wretches retreat with a charge! But there is none mighty in the night, none who can fight alone; no success will come without a helper. Look, my injury happened while I was without you, when the entourage had not yet heard that I would hand over to you when I had not yet sat with you, that I might make counsels for you; for I did not plan it, I did not foresee it, and my heart had not taken thought of the negligence of servants."</strong></em></span></div><br /><div align="left">Apparently, his foresight in creating the co-regency with his son proved successful, for Senusret I succeeded his father and their seems to have been little or no disruption in the administration of the country.<br /></div><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354681771884642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtsOkeZBSoYclWe8tRKFqvRkSvjbyohjdVPPb0xXsqvGYm5rNU-vqEnxhi6lOAgdmEQIyLyz4AsFR1Q7YdOVaecXKDJkSVHAay3NndAj5sgek788S4CF_J9g2xJtEQrhTqCUOIg6jnUYg-/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span></p><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Senusret I</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Other spellings: Seostris, Senusert, Senwosret</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2nd King of the 12th Dynasty<br /></strong></span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Senusret I</strong></span> was the son of <span style="color:#006600;">Amenemhat I</span> and <span style="color:#006600;">Neferitatenen.</span><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Wife:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Neferu III, King's Daughter, King's Wife and King's Mother. Neferu married her brother Senusert. She is mentioned in the Story of Sinuhe. Neferu III had her own pyramid in the funerary complex of her brother/husband. It is possible that she was eventually buried in the funerary complex of her son Amenemhat II.</span> </div><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Son:</strong></span><span style="color:#006600;">Amenemhat II, called Ameny in some inscriptions</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Daughters:</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Sebat:</span> <span style="color:#006600;">King's Daughter. Mentioned in Amenemhat II's shrine of Senusert I</span> </div><div align="left"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><em>The following women may be daughters of Pharaoh Senusert, but the evidence is not very definitive.</em></span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Itakayet:</span> <span style="color:#006600;">Possibly a daughter of Senusert I. Owned a pyramid in Senusert I's pyramid complex. She may not have been buried there and it is possible that this lady was actually identical to Itakayet (B) who was a daughter of Amenemhat II.</span> </div><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Neferusobek:</span> <span style="color:#006600;">A possible daughter of Senusert I. Known from an inscribed bowl found near his pyramid. It is possible however that this bowl was an offering by the lady Sobekneferu, the daughter of Amenemhat III and later female ruler of Egypt.</span> </div><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Neferuptah:</span> <span style="color:#006600;">A possible daughter of Senusert. Her name appears on an ivory wand, found near his pyramid. </span><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Nensed : </span><span style="color:#006600;">A possible daughter of Senusert. Her name appears on a fragment of a dish, found near his pyramid</span></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139350365329752066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjufxRLwooyMfCoaB4M4JlaO8yEEf9441UfCw8GMaWlIZ5Jl8MCQ2R8EBpVt_HPo1MQBA5R182ZZ_bMSPK9N3Dg9zI6KXn5zVpFTxqlfB9rtdAbiNoftNQ4f8HAyRZo_VGZe7S_Cy_ihCqX/s400/sesostris1_01.jpg" border="0" /> Senusret I was the second king of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a> and ascended to the throne after the murder of his father, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a>. There had apparently been a harem plot, and with good timing, Amenemhet I was assassinated in the absence of his son, who was fighting in Libya. It would seem that his son either swiftly left the campaign, or was already heading home at the time of the murder. However, this was not the first harem conspiracy, and Amenemhet I had performed his due diligence in respect to assuring a successful transition for his heir. For the first time that we know of in Egyptian history, Senusret I was made a co-regent in the 20th year of Amenemhet I's rule, and so was by the time of his father's death firmly established as the heir to the throne. Therefore, regardless of the intentions of the conspirators, he managed to ascend the throne with little difficulty.<br /><br /><div align="left">Senusret I was this king's birth name, and means "Man of goddess Wosret". However, it was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGCot9LgHKjgXdYdIEfWacooAIdUIlRiNFuCYVU614PVTvdHC1ttWZA36rkcfSVQPI92vPWuZWa77wA8GxzyJnIOLTUffwHiar_i6culSGW-ZXg4mdXgDWpZ5mzJkqp_x-6bUtSmIiYZb/s1600-r/senusret14.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139111363284631458" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="181" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdklCxJSvoFqb6TNCOYXpKqtB6DIaSSdRL5w34nSmFOH2EdsngzCbOSZevtr19N3J5dsRJuMiT5yaiJetouBqbJx6fq3-xo9uWKbxJlgNhOPBEioivXTJYss8CBhWuNRoWZAtviwbls7R/s400/senusret14.jpg" width="226" border="0" /></a>also the name, we believe, of his non-royal grandfather and so it may give little insight into his character. In references, he is also sometimes called Senwosret I, or Sesostris I (Greek). His throne name was Kheper-ka-re, which means, "The Soul of Re comes into Being". His mother was probably Neferytotenen (Nefrutoteen, Nefrytatenen), one of Amenemhet I's chief wives. He married a Queen Nefru, who was the mother of his successor son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2.htm">Amenemhet II</a>. Like his father, Amenemhet II was also made a coregent, but only perhaps three years prior to Senusret I's death. The coregency was recorded by a private stele of Simontu that is now in the British Museum. From her pyramid near her father's we also know that he had a daughter (or possibly a wife) by the name of Itakaiet. He may have had other daughters, including princesses Nefru-Sobek, Nefru-Ptah and Nenseddjedet.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">Senusret I probably ruled Egypt for a period of about 34 years after his father's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQBWxqQQTsldAv2mrMEbKH9MQQXd-gmrIcmCPuLLavH_Tqzsc6ZBdjYkokspZn-acdbP9E5OUpUfupuRJ7gERNP9egohq4LPmIuA6JsJkX8Oo8-MAJbnas_iNLCHofOkNLLFzkv404DOA/s1600-r/senusret15.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139110942377836402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 246px" height="319" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasVKExOKjJRhVF0YWC4eseQP-_OtamoMPFTcV49LqJ6TRtDJqmDycadUp630GKZo3YM7vV8WJutkIbrLFKE3FINVPUxkKO3mAnQwMr7aYu3DoZKSsIsX3qclpU7txzWpRvaZconc2tIXp/s400/senusret15.jpg" width="266" border="0" /></a>death during a period in Egypt's history where literature and craftsmanship was at its peek. We believe he may have been a co-regent of his father far perhaps another ten years. He probably ruled Egypt from about 1956 through 1911 BC.</div><br /><div align="left">It was a period of affluence, and a remarkable time for mineral wealth, gold and the fine jewelry produced with this abundance. Jewelry masterpieces have been found, particularly in the tombs of the royal ladies at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dhashur.htm">Dahshur</a> and Lahun, attributable to his reign. Considerable efforts were made to procure amethyst, turquoise, copper and gniess for both jewelry and sculptures. But it was also a time of great stability and development</div><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139107227231125314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2uZCnIcd9pgQpAhF4PbtY4pf3XaMXgOuuNpiXhYL7mpckKP13ADYILXs6WAOe-R96qIhZjVlfiEv9IZHqXw_9EOM7gJIhUE4l2WRLumX3pBs23R1fTlsmqjBcePiiIzcPDsI2x3Ztindc/s400/senusret117.jpg" border="0" /> <strong><em>Senusret I embraces the creator god, Ptah at Karnak</em></strong><br /></p><br /><p align="left">However, we also learn from letters of an old farmer named Hekanakhte to his family, that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTazOcqtwQSaX9O2WXXxQT2opeIsAqT1-X_pHCZ9vzuD81QMDwvk7XAviOeLgkgNtJn53Lhh0x33YuEsgbjS0W3rio0DWUrSokTqFYLfu6eMf6bJiVlSgqO-bt0fk6vANnXEtIdZpTh2HZ/s1600-r/senusret18.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139111367579598786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-VR3d4bJYRebNQOVE_oQ92KLvvKtmd2T7o2XR8paxGI4ghAsiJACS315d99wkYaG4O752U0esiuz9hhRbjAim4q-f9HPWZeS4pKVdDdc_51eyJ7sRDzLsyUhXGQbtU4xqQ6CodIZfGd1Q/s400/senusret18.jpg" border="0" /></a>there was apparently a famine during the time of Senusret, a fact that is also implied by an inscription in the tomb of a nomarch (governor) named Amenemhat at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/benihassan.htm">Beni Hassan</a>. But along with this news, we also are provided considerable insight into the life of the common Egyptians of this period by Hekanakhte's letters, and a better understanding of the details of <a href="http://touregypt.net/magazine/mag07012001/magf5.htm">agricultural</a>. </p><p align="left"><strong><em>Tablet attributable to Senusret I at Elephantine</em></strong><br /><br />He continued many of his father's policies, including the expansion in northern Nubia. We know that he sent one expedition to Nubia in his tenth year of reign, and that eight years later, he sent another army as far south as the second cataract. His general, Mentuhotep, went even deeper into <a href="http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/nubia.htm">Nubia</a>. However, Senusret I established Egypt's southern border at the fortress of Buhen near the second cataract, where he placed a garrison and a victory stele, thereby adding to the already substantial military presence established by his father. Now, there were at least 13 fortresses that extended as far as the Second Cataract, and while Egypt's border may have been at the Nile's second <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139110942377836418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 188px" height="221" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrW3jIoaWz_OG_vIibXEXBJE4n6y3Gys6d2Tgf7Rxsq9iweSZGg_5tNibe1j1AzqVWkZPSkBMpBAqrFc9K2UlTC9y9AcNZVYBTvDTGxRnMvd2_uTJIM1VEl9g5ukqYSaYbxhxwrJ9QHXL_/s400/senusret119.jpg" width="252" border="0" />cataract, he exercised control of Nubia as far as the Third Cataract. Inscriptions attributable to Senusret I can be found as far south as the island of Argo, north of modern Dongola. </p><div align="left"><strong><em>Jewelry from the reign of Senusret I</em></strong></div><br /><div align="left">He also protected the Delta region and the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag01012001/magf3.htm">Western desert Oases</a> from Libyan invasion by means of a series of military campaigns and by establishing control over oases in the Libyan Desert. Several of the expeditions also appear to have been lead by him personally.</div><br /><div align="left">However, he radically changed the policy towards Syria/Palestine by seeking stable commercial and diplomatic relations rather then a policy of expansion and control. Trading caravans passed between Syria and Egypt exchanging cedar and ivory for Egyptian goods. </div><br /><div align="left">Religiously, Senusret contributed considerable attention to the cult of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, and over his long rule, this deity's beliefs and practices flourished in Egypt. Osiris was a god of the people and in expanding this cult, Senusret I gave his subjects what John Wilson has described as the "democratization of the afterlife".<br /></div><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139110946672803730" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 220px" height="240" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiClVOjnjTAi9-anLz8H5gorTQ0Ea5OTH1JL56Fo3nrr__GOOPJmSAEUocFshs42EMAqKGH1DDapiU93N_LfYmwioLdu-flRcEWkZiyerQv61qVtNjEyd3CmGJS0Zd0XskLl3TBR9LQvo3A/s400/senusret113.jpg" width="254" border="0" />Senusret I had already established himself as a builder during the co-regency with his father by extending and and embellishing some majortemples, particularly at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>, where he is considered to have founded the temple of Ipet sut (Karnak), and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a>. As early as year two of his reign, he rebuilt the very important temple of Re-Atum at Heliopolis, a center of the sun cult. He probably even personally participated in the foundation ceremonies for the temple's reconstruction. He also had two, massive 20 meter (66 foot) red granite obelisks erected at the same temple on the occasion of his jubilee celebrating his 30th year in office. These monoliths would have weighed 121 tons each. One of the pair remains the oldest standing obelisk in Egypt. He also built the famous bark shrine, or <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/whitechapel.htm">White Chapel</a>, that has been reconstructed by Henri Chevrier in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Open Air Museum</a> at Karnak. It was built in order to celebrate his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/festival.htm">sed festival</a> (Jubilee) in the 30th year of his reign, but the blocks for the temple were reused to build the third Pylon at Karnak. A scene within the White Chapel records the coronation of Senusret I, and is the oldest such scene so far discovered.<br /></div><br /><div align="left">The more important projects included remodeling the temple of Khenti-amentiu-Osiris at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">A</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0c7_xMh5aeYXrF_XYy_b7yLwaw2UFZhXeWIqTv3p8CHPpAIos3rbMDwx1b8s1QQ38y25_EpyVRpKBGxSN4nLPm9nyrU4rczJIqfiak2Jdurgh5PpOplz03KmtJjMIr4s073NZ6P2QDw5/s1600-r/senusret16.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139110938082869090" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxKumShwsGdytGMOmDqcx21Vk7MIyP5rAyOlHDpjFZ89nVjLEGUb-qYtmSubMdTvC0FbQTjIpi2BeaLs0zPII6mOg1zU6haMpSpembEAnUkpDkptqNIY8einar6iNQLj7w0bc_7gDFVEK/s400/senusret16.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">bydos</a>. He also erected many memorial stele and small shrines, or cenotaphs, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, a practice that would be followed by many Middle and New Kingdom pharaohs. We also find temples built by Sunusret I at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elephantine.htm">Elepantine</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/tod.htm">Tod</a>. In fact, he is attested to at almost three dozen sites from <a href="http://touregypt.net/alexandria/">Alexandria</a> to <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a> and down into Nubia where he carried out building projects. </div><br /><div align="left">Senusret I also set up a program to build monuments in each of the main cult sites all over Egypt. This was really an extension of an <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> policy, but in reality he was following his fathers efforts to consolidate and centralize power. This move undermined the power bases of local temples and priests. </div><br /><div align="left">In order to facilitate these building projects, he sent expeditions to exploit the stone quarries of Wadi Hammamat, the <a href="http://touregypt.net/sinai.htm">Sinai</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/serabit.htm">Serabit el-Khadim</a>, Hatnub, where two expeditions were sent in years 23 and 31 of his reign for alabaster, and Wadi el Hudi. One of these expeditions extracted enough stone to make sixty sphinxes and 150 statues. Many of his statues did not survive the ages, but the <a href="http://touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm">Egyptian Antiquity Museum</a> includes a large collection of those that did. </div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139107222936158002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8n0r5nROsb57HtMCY1JQKnPOjRm1teTFJ0mlQJj4WvXP3pzbXPk2q3aZ7SSLyG8ZCWhCOo8HQSqy8h3Lr0Kh4r6iiV0H0ATp7w1TxZJ0WbmfQWkxwM0mBt9QIwuVIaPhhujMTSJlTjMLg/s400/senusret112.jpg" border="0" /> <em><strong>Fragment from Karnak pillar with King and Horus</strong></em><br /></p><br /><p align="left">He also built a large pyramid, very reminiscent of older complexes, at Lisht, near Itjtawy, the capital apparently founded by his father. His <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret1p.htm">pyramid</a> is located just to the south of his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1p.htm">father's pyramid</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/lisht.htm">el-Lisht</a>.</p><div align="left"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgivLtqi3MTd-sOxD95aCHny5CsNPyGCVFRIEWzbocslg_Dr9eeh5Lh-C5qU7UTA-lmjwsfIHVmg41L1B5FOeqtSSoGSfdze7kvPmTJs-rjzLp2s0pJTPW9dFRTDRwWfhd4LuDi8S1ceQES/s1600-r/senusret115.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139111371874566098" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZCsATh1_c-fLzWuhhEX-GJJvb4FnIF2WBZhI4hPgxEuFnUmxiBfLAdOpnE19AoAZuQKz9ijgU-tDDC1gTVlMPqRgQAIwTEcQ0V0dFLXqZOkUGCTfPF7UKLK4VWyCdbpVyR5ngmq8HaPU5/s400/senusret115.jpg" border="0" /></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139107227231125330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbZyXrPQIOavGBLVwOyyVO2MAYDNSLb8kHb7o-eJBjprv-32ML0_bqPn8tnOpKcWOXu9hiQ6ak0qwYv4IhoSsIu01lbt_Ji2nq5v7Dq9cAyfRe2hMu8RD6Z02hPwSXnPyrlR-ZrpW5shPx/s400/senusret19.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em><strong>Obelisks at the Fayoum and Heliopolis</strong></em><br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139350352444850146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7iio3i9pBxWsA2z9b-1RPv6dyEZ10FYrFKs8Pj8a3YLyJ2XeOlwk3u5LA_oDjowxQcXO88SmPRqbfjviPrhUlv-VXsIqqru1XGG9R_HXi7qO9hW405dJzO8er7UPjfwNebXZC0H2pnQQ/s400/obelisk-senwos1_low.gif" border="0" /> <em><strong>Obelisk of Senusret I, Kheperkare from HeliopolisFor better quality image see: </strong></em><a href="http://edoc3.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/lepsius/page/abt2/band4/image/02041180.jpg"><em><strong>Lepsius Abt II, Band 4, Bl 118</strong></em></a> </p><br /><div align="left"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139350365329752050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe6SsmUqOFGScUq7vsbvOPBlsc2QmP91mfXShwfDJl7dBcD1OB27R2gRvgRyTqrBFvzFats2qTzC45s56HZlWhjhAm3a6vhr1sH5xsg9Hxb2SGKbxsZq7dzIb5RtDkygVcMkvam_UxPCZf/s400/senusret1-fayum_low.gif" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em><strong>Obelisk of Senusret I, from the FayoumFor better quality image see: </strong></em><a href="http://edoc3.bibliothek.uni-halle.de/lepsius/page/abt2/band4/image/02041190.jpg"><em><strong>Lepsius Abt II, Band 4, Bl 119</strong></em></a> </p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354454138617890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOBtFwSvxF85bRJ70uvw6xnNygEzyINByR1pZY5cxbmAlH9VXkojlOzSJPs3EUtSAAiV5WehIiHqkgmc9241dRLKRAHwSXoYXVAmNV-NnstNXPuB1yY_z2YVL5oEPmH_Ba1K-SmsVOwrIi/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenemhet II</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>3rd King of the 12th Dynasty<br /></p></strong></span><br /><br /><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Parents:</span></strong> Senwosret I <span style="color:#000099;">and</span> Neferu III.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Wives:</span></strong> </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Senet:</span> Likely a wife of Amenemhat II and the mother of Senwosret II. Known from statues in the Delta.Titles: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t), King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), King’s Wife (hmt-nisw). </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Keminub:</span> Buried in tomb in her husband’s funerary complex in Dashur.Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw). </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Kanefru:</span> Probably a wife of Amenemhat. Mentioned on a seal with Amenemhat. Had the title Mistress of all women. </span><br /><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Sons:</span></strong> </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Amenemhat-ankh:</span> probably a son of Amenemhat. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Senusret II:</span> son and heir to the throne. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Daughters:</span></strong> </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Ita:</span> King's daughter. Owner of a Sphinx in Syria. Buried in double tomb with her sister Khnemet. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Itakayet B:</span> Probably a daughter of Amenemhat II. It is also possible she was his grand-daughter. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Itaweret:</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II and probably wife of her brother Senusret II. Buried in a double tomb wit Sithathormeryet in their father's pyramid complex. </span><br /><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemet:</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II and probably wife of her brother Senusret II. Buried in a double tomb wit Ita in their father's pyramid complex. </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Neferet II:</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II and wife of her brother Senusret II. Known from two statues and possible owner of a small pyramid in the funerary complex of Senusert II. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemetneferhedjet:</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II, and possibly identical with Khnemetneferhedjet I Weret, a wife of Senusret II. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Sithathormeryet:</span> A female relative of Amenemhat II (possibly his daughter?). Buried in a double tomb with Itaweret in their father's pyramid complex.</span> </p><p align="left">Amenemhet II was the son of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret1.htm">Senusret I</a> and one of his chiefqueens, Nefru. He was the third <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwSZxBHedcxBHujFbFlXetolB_nIosudYpzSJuGDFyxJM-lCHiEhXuNFgVj-vjsQ3o1-yMJHq-lfGKCBpvbwNqqwgrh_ez7rnCk-a9eVNtWveXCNApkY6urumhwXUO4eIXFm8LNXa-r_3/s1600-h/amenemhet211.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144314005348553890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwSZxBHedcxBHujFbFlXetolB_nIosudYpzSJuGDFyxJM-lCHiEhXuNFgVj-vjsQ3o1-yMJHq-lfGKCBpvbwNqqwgrh_ez7rnCk-a9eVNtWveXCNApkY6urumhwXUO4eIXFm8LNXa-r_3/s400/amenemhet211.jpg" border="0" /></a>ruler of Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>. Like his father, he served the first part of his reign as co-regent (perhaps for only two years) with Senusret I. His co-regency may have been short, but we are told that during this co-regency, Amenemhet II led a Nubian expedition. Apparently, Amenemhet II also took his son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn04.htm">Senusret II</a> as a co-regent, but also for only a brief time before his own death. Amenemhet II apparently ruled Egypt for a period of some 30 years after his co-regency. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt gives his reign as lasting from 1911 through 1877 BC, while Clayton gives it as 1926 through 1895 BC. </p><p>His birth name, Amenemhet, means "Amun is at the Head". He is also sometimes referred to as Amenemhat II, or Ammenemes II (Greek). His throne name was Nub-kau-re, which means "Golden are the Souls of Re". We are not sure of who exactly Amenemhet II was married to but at least one source lists Mereret I. However, this source also lists Kem-a'nub, who is now considered to have been a 13th Dynasty queen. There was also apparently a prince named Amenemhetankh and princesses Ita, Khnemet, Itiueret and Sithathormeret. Of course, another son was Senusret II, who succeeded his father on the throne. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144311844980003938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WgiHSXTefJyCZbvnsy7icjdZ8uWIyUy8AygleXnsBpA0ERGCsuGP20Ujxwo-v6J357GHE07g1bxcSnP8bdTM9U1uuIlmTYVXJQDLHn8HQcZRrJjhWkGOf0S6u_3gV6PoS6Su8aQsvILB/s400/Amenemhat-II-sphinx-louvre.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><strong>The Sphinx of red granite is from Tanis and is probably the face of Amenemhet II.<br /></p></strong><p align="left">We have considerable knowledge of Amenemhet II's reigns because of a number of important documents. Some historical information about the 12th Dynasty comes from a set of official records know as the genut, or "day-books". There were found in the temple at <a href="http://touregypt.net/tod.htm">Tod</a>. Some of Amenemhet II's buildings also contain parts of these annals. They describe the day to day process of running the royal palace. One very important set of annuals were discovered at <a href="http://touregypt.net/memphis.htm">Mit Rahina</a> (a part of ancient Memphis) that record detailed descriptions of donations made to temples, lists of statues and buildings, reports of both military and trading expeditions and even royal activities such as hunting. These documents not only provide information on Amenemhet II, but other kings of the period as well. </p><p align="left">Amenemhet II is probably best known for consolidating the work of his predecessors in foreign affairs. He exchanged gifts with other rulers in the Mediterranean (Levant) region. We find jewelry inscribed with his name in royal tombs at Byblos in Lebanon, as well as local copies of Egyptian jewelry. These items were particularly prevalent in the tomb of a local prince named Ipshemuabi. In addition, native rulers at Byblos even wrote short inscriptions in hieroglyphs, held the Egyptian title of count, and made references to Egyptian gods. They even acquired royal and private statuary.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144311844980003954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCVvkXBhjm2TOFPdsMZyqJZjPeaeUEuzDwHDaGM3fhjRMU5UiDuULJrRYJoik7Ba_ETX2QBq0j2LtZCb1i9ijONNrJGfMtqF3V1aSbKKTsHyg0lSYYLuhAdwnUGVvkSBtYqxGV-4preVfR/s400/amenemhet210.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><strong>Trove from the Montu Temple at Tod</strong><br /></p><p align="left">On the other hand, four bronze boxes found at the temple of Montu at Tod and inscribed on their lids with the name of Amenemhet II bore a large number of silver cups of Lavantine and Aegean origin. There were also cylinder seals and lapis Lazuli amulets from Mesopotamia. These items were probably either a gift, or tribute, and it is noteworthy that at the time, silver was more rare then gold in Egypt, so also more valuable. </p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144311149195301954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJebNJoqAYvgYuaHpX4bWRQKRommfTog1SuoB1OzRuOnEzKPQFurjv-GJtT6I_Ium13-c8YthgAl4YeBvW393DwyCkAq9I0CmQkfMWNopcwvrPP_ToAPQGqq3b1-1hpsshn7Yy-1AX0y3D/s400/amenemhet23.jpg" border="0" /><strong>Cylinder seal from of Mesopotamia origin</strong></div><br /><p align="left">In addition, Egyptian evidence from this period has been found in Crete at Knossos, and common Minoa pottery, called Kamares ware, has been found from this period at Lahun and in a tomb at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> in Egypt. There is also an increase in the mention of Levantine names, many of whom were possibly domestic servants, within Egypt. The annals found at Mit Rahina also identify the Syrian northern city of Tunip as an Egyptian trading partner. </p><p align="left">However, the annals mentioned above provide some evidence that the sweeping peace with the<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFPZYdO5cKt6p2EvXMCf2KyAUybf9jKsJAbbDywJhRLizV75xvtuo4el3eaIGmyp461jhQQH7BkGXmgRzXQg4s4hAZaYb23VG0xv0Oef5uwOOhtNuMsv7Eww6UHsLYQC-HuVMO-lSBQCM/s1600-h/Amenemhat-II-metmus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144314009643521234" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 227px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 317px" height="388" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFPZYdO5cKt6p2EvXMCf2KyAUybf9jKsJAbbDywJhRLizV75xvtuo4el3eaIGmyp461jhQQH7BkGXmgRzXQg4s4hAZaYb23VG0xv0Oef5uwOOhtNuMsv7Eww6UHsLYQC-HuVMO-lSBQCM/s400/Amenemhat-II-metmus.jpg" width="227" border="0" /></a> Levant was probably more selective then formerly believed, because apparently Egypt had treaties with only certain countries in the region. Herodotus even speaks of Asiatic wars about this time (or only slightly later).</p><p align="left">In fact, these same annals also refer to a small group of Egyptians who enter Bedouin territory (probably referring to the <a href="http://touregypt.net/sinai.htm">Sinai</a>) in order to "hack up the land", and two more campaigns were directed against unknown walled cities. These towns were referred to as "Aamu" (Asiatic), and 1,554 prisoners were reported to have been taken by the Egyptian forces. This may very well be the reason we find the increase in Levantine names working as domestic servants.</p><p align="left">There were also expeditions to the south and the biography in the tomb of a Amenemhet at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/banihasan.htm">Beni Hassan</a> mentions an expedition to Kush (Upper, or southern Nubia) and also a visit to the East African kingdom of Punt by the king's official, Khentykhetaywer. This trip was made in the 28th year of Amenemhat II's reign. </p><p align="left">One story during the time of Amenemhet II tells of the travels of a ship captain who had been to a magic island in the sea far south beyond Nubia. The sailor told the vizier (prime minister) about a tempest which arose suddenly and drove the ship towards a mysterious land. He suddenly heard a noise like thunder, and saw a huge serpent with a beard. Upon hearing that the sailor was sent by the pharaoh, the serpent let him go back, with gifts to "Amenemhet". It told him that it was Amon-Ra’s blessing that has made this island rich and lacking nothing. Upon hearing this amusing story, "Amenemhet II" ordered it to be documented on a papyrus. The story is known to historians as "The Shipwrecked Sailor".</p><p align="left">Domestically, Amenemhet II failed in one important respect. Under the rule of his predecessors, nomarchs, who were basically the governors of the various nomes (provinces), had been personally appointed by the king. This was a measure taken to assure the centralization of government. The <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hfirstin.htm">First Intermediate Period</a> was at least partially caused the chaos resulting from strong regional rulers who destabilized this central control. However, Amenemhat II apparently allowed this important office to revert back to a hereditary position.</p><p align="left">The nomarchs soon took advantage of this change by adapting pretentious titles sometimes imitating those of the royal court. However, Amenemhat did keep a firm hand on these matters and appears to not let these local rulers forget their allegiance to the crown. In return for royal favors, they were expected to help protect the Egyptian borders, to undertake expeditions for the king and to generally act as his deputies.</p><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144312137037780114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPSjjcTBarRY-Ofm9Kimyn1Pseklu6LKvM-EaQaEyZsBm72M_2JgNNEWfgeatg0niT225CmJiHayjSAbBp7qTjqimEshrjJPm6pv8gM8lq591dqFzuWnWMfpLvx8tfTGdUJuk34LC69ljp/s400/amenemhet25.jpg" border="0" /> <strong>Siltsone fragment with Amenemhet's Horus name, Hekenmaat</strong><br /></div><br /><div align="left">In fact, the nomarchs began to disappear during the time of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn05.htm">Senusret III</a> because of a practice that was probably initiated by Amenemhet II. The children of nomarchs were sent to the king for their training, afterwards being sent to diverse posts. This ended up dissipating the power of the local nomarchs.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMNwUwIxy1ryP7d2ePgJmI6vTNdHsz3DFaZEdm-Rc-D6kJ_Tjz2jxO-LGtQ2GQyTVL3kwTRtLyPlVzgji0gDoOmxn0SQiU6JzCWU3PvIz5RqqGRLqAsT1XEejFrQvm-z4cZKE8EmRjYwg/s1600-h/amenemhet2_01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5144314005348553906" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMNwUwIxy1ryP7d2ePgJmI6vTNdHsz3DFaZEdm-Rc-D6kJ_Tjz2jxO-LGtQ2GQyTVL3kwTRtLyPlVzgji0gDoOmxn0SQiU6JzCWU3PvIz5RqqGRLqAsT1XEejFrQvm-z4cZKE8EmRjYwg/s400/amenemhet2_01.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><p align="left">Amenemhet II does not appear to have done much building, unlike many of his predecessors. Little is known of any building works with the exception of his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2p.htm">Pyramid</a>, though some projects may have been usurped by future rulers. Amenemhet II built his pyramid in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dhashur.htm">Dahshure</a>, for reasons we do not know. His two immediate predecessors, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a> (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1p.htm">pyramid</a>) and Senusret I (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret1p.htm">pyramid</a>) had built their pyramids at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/lisht.htm">Lisht</a> near the <a href="http://touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a>. Arnold refers to Amenemhet II's pyramid as a new phase in pyramid development, that incorporates both ancient design with experimental components. </p><p align="left">His is also attested to by a stele with his name found in the Wadi Um Balad, a gateway at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hermopolis.htm">Hermopolis</a>, a large sphinx with his inscription now in the Louvre museum, and he is mentioned in several inscriptions near <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a>, together with his son.</p><p align="left">Amenemhet II built the "White Pyramid" to the east of Sneferu's pyramids in central Dashur. The mortuary temple was almost completely destroyed. Its ruins are located in front of the pyramid's east wall. The Valley Temple has not been found. The mortuary temple and the pyramid were enclosed by a large wall. Within this enclosure the tomb of Prince Amenemhat-ankh was found, as well as the tombs of the princesses Ita, Khnemet, Itaweret, and Sithathormeryet. These tombs still contained some tomb furnishings. The most spectacular discovery was however the jewelry from the double tomb of Ita and Khnemet. </p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145832984957293810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqWf1Qjyrfu-47jLvIvX9TKT-GLtH9bCesxbwjOfbBqvniZIUY_15WMbsihPc-f_77md1qi_dw56Vs3i3tiHi7LdCzAPrPqyZsTreuVSgGZjK8Y1A9cNBDhZJsIwvtvKHWaH7JJtj-3LUn/s400/amentwoplan.gif" border="0" />The pyramid of Amenemhet II at Dahshur was built within a narrow rectangular enclosure wall of third dynasty style. The massive pylons (green) were of fifth dynasty fashion and west of the monument were underground tombs (grey i the picture above) intended for his children.<br /></span></p><br /><p align="left"><strong><span style="color:#006600;"><em>Sinai (Serabit el-Khadim):</em></span></strong> <em>A statue fragment depicting Amenemhat II was found in the Sinai. The Global Egyptian Museum mentions:"Lower part of a roughly sculpted figure of a king seated on a block throne, with hieroglyphic inscription on the (figure's) left side of the throne identifying him as 'the son of Re Amenemhat, beloved of Hathor lady of turquoise(-land)', and on the right side as '... Nubkaura, beloved of Hathor lady of turquoise(-land)'. Nubkaura is the throne name of Amenemhat II, and this is the only surviving statue inscribed with that king's name. The figure is now much eroded, and the feet as well as the torso and head are missing, but the right lower arm appears to have lain flat on the lap. The figure was found by Flinders Petrie at the shrine of Hathor on the Sinai plateau at Sarabit el-Khadim."</em> </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145832980662326498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 478px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 52px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="31" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi98umPQ95DillExReEVdbTrjpo8yNkkaewB3jPOuvBX35HS_Z8Fs515uGcymVCMpYQKotMohktHQKsApfDvgHnsuGowGVUJurKMU1KxBp-1PhHC0dpqaQp6SMpKJTl479NiBmDfvchhjPE/s400/amenemh2-Sinai.png" width="463" border="0" /> Sinai Inscription (from GEM): Son of Re Amenemhat beloved of Hathor lady of turquoise(-land).... Hathor ... Nubkaura beloved of Hathor lady of turquoise(-land).<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354458433585202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqcermXXWP8UoCFqKh-5v7yq1TIqHY6HVzpp7iYdh6NU4jUOu7qDW6mrmegPqzZ5BWcvpAid53u_rLi3Ofg5BpfHLd_2LaWp6VDMLo8qdPBEgxmKXmFUdH-TaDASZTtu4q1Zw0qIzEpkRm/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><br /><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Senusret II</span></strong> </p><p align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">4th King of Egypt's 12th Dynasty</span></strong><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong></strong></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145841785345283410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBkLgUPZOCBv0Ll0n5_fSUvWDNhGaNk5l_pPHAgIx_BpOIgoERzd3SyagAtSTlZPJYr83gCiLEgTSao27DosMIIRIqo6fNYiBLL3QmHfRZW6oRsjnrmtqQY__DQqrAc6TR8ExqoHh0AzV4/s400/sentwo.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="left"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Parents:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Amenemhat II</strong></span> <span style="color:#000099;">and</span> <span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Senet</strong></span>.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnHKZe6d27_ob5JKjEifaWa2h3FSQryD0CGdPGTVdaAtGBdmc14PzLkq2lWiQ_3bVC749siw6OGznN75oSsuIvqe5OaXctREa8otG8rC9EW2rUalBTqD-dLhtgLqG1ypGivzY8suzDvbn/s1600-h/senusret27.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145842055928223106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnHKZe6d27_ob5JKjEifaWa2h3FSQryD0CGdPGTVdaAtGBdmc14PzLkq2lWiQ_3bVC749siw6OGznN75oSsuIvqe5OaXctREa8otG8rC9EW2rUalBTqD-dLhtgLqG1ypGivzY8suzDvbn/s400/senusret27.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Wives:</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Itaweret</span></strong> : Daughter of Amenemhat II and probably wife of her brother Senusret II. Buried in a double tomb wit Sithathormeryet in their father's pyramid complex. Titles: King’s Daughter (s3t-niswt), United with the White Crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt). </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Khnemet</strong> :</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II and probably wife of her brother Senusret II. Buried in a double tomb with Ita in their father's pyramid complex. Titles: King’s Daughter (s3t-niswt), United with the White Crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt). </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Neferet II</strong> :</span> Daughter of Amenemhat II and wife of her brother Senusret II. Known from two statues and possible owner of a small pyramid in the funerary complex of Senusert II. Titles: King’s Daughter of his body (s3t-niswt-nt-kht.f), Great one of the hetes-sceptre (wrt-hetes), Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy).<br /></span></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145841781050316082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYJvphPpIwu9Hca1R7r3ceDATKwHODp2E3X2i6Itp1m7YkmYUc7HvxbUuurbgNVWsTOaEXnbT35I5SW6Lt4SALhFnJSh74oWTbrv7vn18F_NGA7e7luJ4KRGe8txZHpri_zeO8ZVWdIQy/s400/senusret28.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Queen Nefret</strong></span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Khnemetneferhedjet I Weret :</strong></span> Wife of Senusret II, and mother of Senusret III. She was probably buried in a small pyramid in the funerary complex of her husband in Lahun. She owned a cenotaph in the pyramid complex of her son (Pyramid VIII). Titles: King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy), Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t), Great one of the hetes-sceptre (wrt-hetes), Great of Praises (wrt-hzwt), King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-nisw meryt.f), Foster Child of Wadjet (sdjtit-w3djt), Priestess of Sobek, lord of Sumenu (hmt-ntr-sbk-nb-swmnw), Daughter of Geb (s3t-Gb). </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145841785345283394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0PwqL8W5O4XiG2EA4GTIfHugFK7kvU2BOa4GwDYew87wcaAPh8BymHDBq0VM0NTnFdoZ-0ZisCEppwL6_9ZB6S5bB0-RgKUVKU3c7i1fk6FwGs7bMCFeuSvA6Zp8p3pz7WflUvVRxZIru/s400/weret.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Queen Weret</strong></span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Sons:</strong></span> </p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Senusret III</strong> :</span> son of Senusret II and heir to the throne. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Senusret-sonbe :</span></strong> Son of Senusret II. Known from a papyrus from Kahun. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Daughters:</span></strong> </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Itakayet C :</span></strong> Probably a daughter of Senusret II. Buried in pyramid III, in the funerary complex of her brother Senusret III at Dashur. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Neferet B :</span></strong> Possibly a daughter of Senusret II. Known from a papyrus from Kahun. </span><br /></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Sit-hathor-iunet :</span></strong> Daughter of Senusret II. Priobably married her brother Senusret III. Buried in Lahun. </span><br /></p><p align="left">Senusret II, the birth name of the fourth king of Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>, means "Man of Goddess Wosret". It was the name that seems to enter the royal linage because of this king's non-royal, great, great grandfather, the original Senusret and father of the founder of the Dynasty, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a>. Senusret II's name is also found in various references as Senwosret II, or the Greek form, Sesostris II. His throne name was Kha-khaeper-re, meaning "Soul of Re comes into Being". We are told that he succeeded his father, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2.htm">Amenemhet II</a> in about 1895 BC, after a short co-regency of at least three years. References differ on the length of his rule, varying between about seven and fifteen years. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt gives his reign as 1877-1870, while Clayton gives him a reign from 1897-1878 BC.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145842060223190418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc1EgaISsszpMu2l0qiFyUy9Pd9HhTg8FwtCMOSsKMZtn32rkiCnmy6fRz1rras137gaFqPpF1MGXbqHWALDPJGLkYieIgEujVbI4b-ygiw81h7kClnrGNT6Xu4J6RcPQDyEuDatVB3FNV/s400/senusret29.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="left">A group of statues was discovered, two of which had been usurped by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/19dyn03.htm">Ramesses II</a>, portraying Senusret II with wide, muscular shoulders like his father, but with a more vigorous face, lacking the blandness of older 12th Dynasty statuary. Indeed, this was a period of fine portraitures art, reflected in the distinctive broad cheekbones and other characteristics portrayed in the statues. In fact, even a number of private statues have been found that also reflect this high art, and the late 12th dynasty is seen as a milestone of human portraiture in Egyptian art. </p><p align="left">Better known then Senusret II's statues are a pair of of highly polished black granite statues of a lady Nefret, who did not carry the title of "Royal Wife", but who was probably either a wife of Senusret II's who died before he ascended the throne, or a sister. She did, however, have other titles usually reserved for queens. His principal royal wife was Khnumetneferhedjetweret (Weret), who's body was found in a tomb under the pyramid of her son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn05.htm">Senusret III</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dhashur.htm">Dahshure</a>. Senusret III would become Senusret II's successor, though so far their is no evidence of a co-regency with his father as their had been for every king from the time of Amenemhet I. Senusret II probably also had several daughters, one of which would have probably been Sathathoriunet (Sithathoriunet) , who's jewelry was discovered in a tomb behind the king's pyramid.</p><div align="left">Like his his father's, Senusret II's reign is at least considered to be a peaceful one, with more diplomacy with many neighbors then warfare. We are told that trade with the Near East was particularly prolific. His cordial relations with the regional leaders in Egypt is attested to at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/banihasan.htm">Beni Hassan</a>, for example, and especially in the tomb of Khnumhotep II, who he gave many honors. In fact, we are told of no military campaigns during his rule, though he undoubted protected Egypt's mineral interests and their expanded territory in Nubia. </div><br /><div align="left">His efforts seem to have been more directed at expanding cultivation within the <a href="http://touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> rather then making war with his neighbors and regional nobles. In the Fayoum, his projects turned a considerable area from marshlands into agricultural land. He established a Fayoum irrigation project, including building a dyke and digging canals to connect the Fayoum with a waterway known today as Bahr Yusef. </div><div align="left"></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145841789640250738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipsA4fdsxlFaDebbJGNPXoTO-8VY3-1dnx2JLttX5cBHqzmS_lrzkzMFuObNeSJV6Pwr9XKU4sQz8BhAHP_IKfGDDNzIVcYhU85Ecq6RJ1qhjMTkIrUHPOT6yejm6jpZsvc-hZhimRiyra/s400/senusret21.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="color:#006600;"><strong>A Stele of Senusret II in Brown Quartzite</strong></span> </p><p>He seems to have had a great interest in the Fayoum, and elevated the region in importance. Its growing recognition is attested to by a number of pyramids built before, and after his reign in or near the oasis (though the Fayoum is not a true oasis). It should also be remembered that kings usually built their royal palaces near their mortuary complexes, so it is likely that many of the future kings made their home in the Fayoum. These later kings would also continued and expanded upon Senusret II's irrigation projects in the Fayoum. Senusret II built a unique statue shrine of Qasr es-Sagha on the north eastern corner of the region, though it was left undecorated and incomplete. </p><div align="left">His father, Amenemhet II built his pyramid at Dahshure, but Senusret II built his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret2p.htm">pyramid</a> closer to the Fayoum Oasis at Lahun. His pyramid definitely established a new tradition in pyramid building, perhaps begun by his father. But, for example, beginning with Senusret II, the location of the door was less important from a religious then from a security standpoint, so rather then being on the north side of the structure, it was hidden in the pavement of the south side.<br /><br />To the south side of the pyramid Petrie excavated four shaft tombs that belonged to Senusret II's family and in one of these, discovered a fine, gold inlaid uraeus that may have come from the king's mummy.<br /><br />Senusret II is further attested to by a sphinx, now in the <a href="http://touregypt.net/egyptmuseum/egyptian_museum.htm">Egyptian Antiquity Museum</a> in <a href="http://touregypt.net/cairo/">Cairo</a> and by inscriptions of both he and his father near <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a>.</div><br /><div align="left">It should also be mentioned that the pyramid town associated with Senusret II's complex, known as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/kahun.htm">Lahun (Kahun)</a> after the nearby <a href="http://touregypt.net/ellahun.htm">modern village</a>, provided considerable information to archaeologists and Egyptologists on the common lives of Egyptians. Pyramid towns were communities of workmen, craftsmen and administrators that grew up around a king's pyramid project.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145841785345283426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZIjbeQvFx8ASr-iK9VijTS8_gd2Hi0upLTxE4RN3_RyYlyb6SP4toStDm8eFMJ5ITatNItE8eWyrJUWQf2cScgXTQWmtDC1lEPBl8TFm39z_dEUev0k_9uYWuPsxV5Bp8h2Py20P8m-K/s400/sentwoplan.gif" border="0" /><br />Pyramid of Senwosret II at Lahun Eight mastabas (brown) and a minor pyramid was situated by the north side and instead of a mortuary temple to the east a small chapel was placed there. Causeway and valley temple have not been found so far (2002) but may have once been there and was later dismantled for reusing, like the pyramid's casing of fine smooth white limestone.<br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354458433585218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TkWG4xYCUBeTIQ8FWlHVfyRvu6Cau7ZUK0HMC8lqdylZ0SuBATLSS2kVa24os5Fhbzij6oxuZUIAFIuMyNyaBXGmeiXWd3Iz1fjRbRcRpHrVJdjaApFG7KGZmaU-ed6YrfV2SjWk94GC/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Senusret III</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>the 5th King of the 12th Dynasty</strong></span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Son of <span style="color:#006600;">Senusret II</span> and <span style="color:#006600;">Queen Khnemetneferhedjet I Weret</span>.</strong></span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Wives:</strong></span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Sit-Hathor-Iunet:</span> Daughter of Senusret II. Priobably married her brother Senusret III. Buried in Lahun in the funerary complex of her father. Titles: King’s Daughter (s3t-niswt), King’s Wife (hmt-nisw) </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Meretseger:</span> Depicted in Semna in a temple built by Tuthmosis III in honor of her husband. Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), Great King’s Wife (hmt-niswt-wrt) </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemetneferhedjet II Weret:</span> Buried in Pyramid IX in Dashur. Known from statues. Her skeleton appears to be of a woman about seventy years old. Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), Great one of the hetes-sceptre (wrt-hetes).</span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemet-nefer-hedjet-khered:</span> Wife of Senwosret III. Khnemet-nefer-hedjet-“the child” is mentioned on a papyrus from Lahun. Possibly Khnemet-nefer-hedjet-khered II ? Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw) </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemet-nefer-hedjet:</span> Wife of Senwosret III. Possibly Khnemet-nefer-hedjet-khered II again? Known from a canopic jar and two scarabs. Titles: Hereditary Princess (iryt-p`t), King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy)</span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Neferhenut:</span> Buried in tomb II in Dashur. Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), United with the White Crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt). </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Son:</span></strong> Amenemhat III</span><br /></p><p><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Daughters:</span></strong><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Khnemet :</span> King's Daughter of his body. Known from her father's funerary complex in Dashur. </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Menet:</span> King's Daughter. Buried in Dashur </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Mereret B:</span> King's Daughter. Buried in Dashur </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Senetsenbetes:</span> King's Daughter. Buried in Dashur </span><br /></p><p><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Sithathor A. :</span> King's Daughter. Buried in Dashur</span> </p><p>Senusret III is probably the best attested king of the New Kingdom. He ruled the country for <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3433ta6OymHuiJ6nxRGHMFE71BLC2EEsjT8YWkHQrZm5vas0Hkr8uERYO6EMgiUdenPKBzWw2WSTHI1EkhCicuRKIZGdm4KLlQsIijj_0u7FADN1ZXX1JhELmVst6NXj52C8vDVdecG-B/s1600-h/senusret313.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146903432541378018" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3433ta6OymHuiJ6nxRGHMFE71BLC2EEsjT8YWkHQrZm5vas0Hkr8uERYO6EMgiUdenPKBzWw2WSTHI1EkhCicuRKIZGdm4KLlQsIijj_0u7FADN1ZXX1JhELmVst6NXj52C8vDVdecG-B/s400/senusret313.jpg" border="0" /></a>perhaps as long as 37 years as the 5th pharaoh of Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a> from around 1878 until 1841 BC. He is probably also the best known of the Middle Kingdom pharaohs to the public because of his many naturalistic statues showing a man with often heavy eye-lids and lined continence. Later statues seem to portray him with increasing "world-weariness". Taken along with contemporary text, these statues seem to wish us to believe Senusret III was a king possessed of a concerned, serious and thoughtful regard for his high office. </p><p>Egyptologists make a great deal out of Senusret III's statuary. It is much loser in terms of the rigid ideological representations of earlier kings and illustrates a shift in both the function of<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PuiI1ehOe6OKNWySUMkmbM9nZgdw_HWt_xJUzLeU2LOnG01PyL3_Z09XWTolpOgsPWfdg88tpvn3WZvSBMy-z07y06jbNR9StDwtratM53HwKlbMDe-SqRxx6T54VcEvtGL2ds3MA6EB/s1600-h/senusret32.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147381123099006866" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PuiI1ehOe6OKNWySUMkmbM9nZgdw_HWt_xJUzLeU2LOnG01PyL3_Z09XWTolpOgsPWfdg88tpvn3WZvSBMy-z07y06jbNR9StDwtratM53HwKlbMDe-SqRxx6T54VcEvtGL2ds3MA6EB/s400/senusret32.jpg" border="0" /></a> art and a change in the ideology surrounding the king. The human qualities of the statues give a sense of age and tension, rather then the all powerful king portrayed in older works. We see in these statues a shift away from the king as god, and more towards the king as leader. </p>Senusret was this king's birth name, which mean, "Man of Goddess Wosret". He is also sometimes referred to as Senwosret III and Senusert III, or by the Greeks, Sesostris III. His throne name was Kha-khau-re, meaning "Appearing like the Souls of Re". Senusret III was most surely the son of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret2.htm">Senusret II</a>, changing a trend of having alternate leaders named Senusret and Amenemhet. We know of no co-regency with his father, though most of the previous 12th Dynasty kings shared at least a few years of their reign with their sons, and a co-regency would clear up some questions about Senusret III's long reign. His mother may have been Khnumetneferhedjetweret (Khanumet, Weret), who we believe was buried in a tomb near his pyramid at Dahshur. He was married to a principle queen named Mereret, who probably outlived him, and may have also been married to his sister, Sit-Hathor. His son and successor was <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhet III</a>.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904119736145442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXVJGG05qCTIpKCNUUGGGDgvEbKWMXCxrYRRSqPtPf3jtIjA6iFT5j8wQCl7w6J-FG6efr6d4AvbEPFiedQsbgr6_2xiYWlZn8JnpGiCG-0PA8gQBX_JlTCchPhhK02itg7rAybMBS86Mz/s400/senusret311.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>A Papyrus commemorating Senusret III's Sed-festival</strong></div><br />Senusret III must have been a very dominant figure within his time. Manetho describes him as a great warrior, not surprisingly, because he also says he was "of great height at 4 cubits, 3 palms and 2 fingers" (over 6 ft, 6 in or 2 meters). In addition, he may also have been the model for the Sesostris of Maetho and Herodotus, who was probably a composite, heroic Middle Kingdom ruler who was suppose to be a model for future kings.<br /><br />While there had been fortifications built in Nubia, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2.htm">Amenemhet II</a> and Senusret II, Senusret III's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3toHNLqK_d-tEZ-nExxTpsL4UnIyR0Uc_HBk78ExgLXDcI0NKQwiPrqfbQibM1042ktVy1rZsToNsNF4pwLbm_tgUuOzOSmDEkbUDjK3TQmkh9sE3oy7xsQa11HRgu7210_l9bGJDtM-k/s1600-h/senusret31.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146903428246410674" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="362" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3toHNLqK_d-tEZ-nExxTpsL4UnIyR0Uc_HBk78ExgLXDcI0NKQwiPrqfbQibM1042ktVy1rZsToNsNF4pwLbm_tgUuOzOSmDEkbUDjK3TQmkh9sE3oy7xsQa11HRgu7210_l9bGJDtM-k/s400/senusret31.jpg" width="279" border="0" /></a>predecessors, had not been extremely active in Nubia militarily, and some Nubian groups had gradually moved north past the Third Cataract. Senusret III initiated a series of devastating campaigns in Nubia very early in his reign (perhaps year 6) in order to secure his southern borders and protect the trading routes and mineral resources. Apparently, the Nubians were a troublesome lot during his reign, for Senusret III would again have to mount campaigns in at least the years 8, 10, 16 and 19 of his reign. Regardless, these campaigns seem to have been for the most part successful, for the king had inscribed on a great stele at Semna erected in year 8 of his rule, now in Berlin, "I carried off their women, I carried off their subjects, went forth to their wells, smote their bulls; I reaped their grain, and set fire thereto". In other words, he killed their men, enslaved their women and children, burnt their crops and poisoned their wells. The stele also provides that no Nubians were allowed to take their herds or boats to the north of the specified border.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904128326080050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWEFrm49Y39BfJqSWmtG2hmnhaeFfJkV1lW4vQ_cDKMOePnCNb6PEIbVjq3yHzwpUt9DTgK3OSknC_wUB-xJwFRdswNNF_dRb1bHMWNVyoFPGmoZY59pPf1E2drvimJvuCe4UBdsyK0Sp/s400/senusret312.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Fortification at Buhen</strong><br /></div><br /><div align="left">To facilitate these military actions in Nubia, he had a an existing bypass canal around the First Cataract (rapids) at <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a>, originally dug in the Old Kingdom by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/merenre.htm">Merenre</a> (or <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pepi1.htm">Pepi I</a>) cleared, broadened and deepened. According to an inscription, he had it repaired again in year eight of his reign. This canal was near the island of Sehel. </div><br />His predecessors had also established a p<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5XiykXCyPzmrsCvPdZf1PfZ_89vNtKIWJcjH9zbORKgYZk0UbW-4wNTsXj3DxjPW45QbVYgwYI1dXFYCVI_IpYrprAvdTbESnM3H7QbyVXiB0ANX6A3GiLJQy9BlAY-gnEcG5z46kWs5/s1600-h/senusret37.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904819815814722" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 278px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 248px" height="324" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq5XiykXCyPzmrsCvPdZf1PfZ_89vNtKIWJcjH9zbORKgYZk0UbW-4wNTsXj3DxjPW45QbVYgwYI1dXFYCVI_IpYrprAvdTbESnM3H7QbyVXiB0ANX6A3GiLJQy9BlAY-gnEcG5z46kWs5/s400/senusret37.jpg" width="375" border="0" /></a>olicy of building fortresses in Nubia, but in order to further secure the area, Senusret III built more fortresses then any of the the other Middle Kingdom rulers. In the 64 km (40 mile) length of the Second Cataract in Lower (northern) Nubia there were no less then eight such fortresses between Semna and Buhen However, many Egyptologists disagree with exactly how many of these fortresses were built by Senusret III, or were instead, simply rededicated or enlarged.. These fortresses were in close contact with each other, and with the region's vizier, reporting the slightest movements of Nubians. At least some of the fortresses appear also to have been specialized. For example, the one at Mirgissa was more involved with trade, whereas others, such as the fortress at Askut, were used as supply depots for campaigns into Upper (southern) Nubia.<br /><br />Senusret III managed to expand Egypt's boarders further south then anyone ruler before him, of which he was proud. A stele at Semna with a duplicate at Uronarti records:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnA7biLElt3X9tOfhn9v3tF8P025TzaRjjTgUnCCdr55l4T1629PnPvHJOVAg4cHtBCd95xihy8On5b6U-MKBymbsssbbwO9L33PgeR4LXqNa_xdaqGrba_j_YG-snamK3BA_-tBWYzPit/s1600-h/sesostris3_01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904828405749346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnA7biLElt3X9tOfhn9v3tF8P025TzaRjjTgUnCCdr55l4T1629PnPvHJOVAg4cHtBCd95xihy8On5b6U-MKBymbsssbbwO9L33PgeR4LXqNa_xdaqGrba_j_YG-snamK3BA_-tBWYzPit/s400/sesostris3_01.jpg" border="0" /></a>I have made my boundary further south than my fathers,I have added to what was bequeathed me.I am a king who speaks and acts,What my heart plans is done by my arm.One who attacks to conquer, who is swift to succeed,ln whose heart a plan does not slumber.Considerate to clients, steady in mercy,Merciless to the foe who attacks him.One who attacks him who would attack,Who stops when one stops,Who replies to a matter as befits it.To stop when attacked is to make bold the foe's heart,Attack is valor, retreat is cowardice,A coward is he who is driven from his border.Since the Nubian listens to the word of mouth,To answer him is to make him retreat.Attack him, he will turn his back,Retreat, he will start attacking.They are not people one respects,They are wretches, craven-hearted.My majesty has seen it, it is not an untruth.I have captured their women,I have carried off their subjects,Went to their wells, killed their cattle,Cut down their grain, set fire to it.As my father lives for me, I speak the truth!It is no boast that comes from my mouth."</span></em><br /><br />In fact, he not only stabilized Egypt's southern border at Semna, his troops regularly penetrated the area beyond and we know of a record recording the height of the inundation as far south as Dal, many miles beyond Semna. This stele continues with an admonishes later kings, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMnXAxzHzOZKPHmoBhI8DuKdbxoJ-482CAicx95EP0MqhaINDGv7Xip-ljeYZrC6AC-MW1JRfBsW8QudAVrRycxA3VdmFOjdih-UoacHvT2IZVZcRpKAGGTPIOfwzGQCJxIx_wHtCncIt/s1600-h/amenemhet310.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147540548094745314" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 191px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px" height="289" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvMnXAxzHzOZKPHmoBhI8DuKdbxoJ-482CAicx95EP0MqhaINDGv7Xip-ljeYZrC6AC-MW1JRfBsW8QudAVrRycxA3VdmFOjdih-UoacHvT2IZVZcRpKAGGTPIOfwzGQCJxIx_wHtCncIt/s400/amenemhet310.jpg" width="234" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">"Now as for every son of mine who shall maintain this boundary, which My Majesty has made, he is my son, he is born of My Majesty, the likeness of a son who is the champion of his father, who maintains the boundary of him that begat him. Now, as for him who shall relax it, and shall not fight for it; he is not my son, he is not born to me." </span></em><br /><br />Certainly his son, Amenemhet III heeded this warning, and interestingly, Senusret III was later deified in Nubia as a god.<br /><br />However, we also know that, in what we believe to be his final campaign in Nubia in year 19 of his reign, his efforts were less successful. Apparently, due to a drop in the Nile's water level, his forces had to make a retreat to avoid being trapped.<br /><br />Most of Senusret III's military attention was directed towards <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146903432541378002" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 205px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 288px" height="325" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgQImstRf_bbMnRSFcXijkrZlYVSu59vjvGypFztkLl_lpxtn8YRmVcxxtA7bpoIFu9iXzGebW4uhZsxM4HOdh1DVzOg-O4LtgsKzARo0qKkHGdkef9D6gcMfON-8vYjXqFepMvJiwhmR/s400/senusret310.jpg" width="223" border="0" />Nubia, but he is also noted for a campaign in Syria against the Mentjiu, where rather then a goal of expansion, he seems to have been after retribution and plunder. We owe this information to a a stele belonging to an individual named Sobkkhu, who apparently also participated in the Nubian campaigns. The king apparently led this campaign himself, capturing the town of Sekmem, which may have been Shechem in the Mount Ephrain region.<br /><br /><strong>Right: Senusret III Stele </strong><strong>from Aswan</strong><br /><p>It was probably during Senusret III's reign that we also find the "Execration Texts". These were inscriptions found in Nubia and Egypt, usually inscribed either on magical figurines or on pottery. The inscriptions were usually a list of enemies of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSKMzORVSf1Zwk58-NRuydJhu0GoN3QPzqGEOgKLCnGEH8Esw1okZ-CLQcb0whtWfW2uHiNtHQoUzrCHExRfV1KeigtDBu63XgXm81-V7MR6KB4tJmZ4oqXlewAorxb6WSm3GSAVVbutP/s1600-h/sesostris-III-head-louvre.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904828405749362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSKMzORVSf1Zwk58-NRuydJhu0GoN3QPzqGEOgKLCnGEH8Esw1okZ-CLQcb0whtWfW2uHiNtHQoUzrCHExRfV1KeigtDBu63XgXm81-V7MR6KB4tJmZ4oqXlewAorxb6WSm3GSAVVbutP/s400/sesostris-III-head-louvre.jpg" border="0" /></a>Egypt. These objects were often ritualistically smashed, and the shards placed under the foundations of new building, thus "smothered", or nailed at the edge of the area they were meant to protect. </p>The plunder from the Nubian and Syrian campaigns was mostly directed towards the temples in Egypt, and their renewal. For example, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, an inscription by a local official named Ikhernofret states that the king commissioned him to refurbish <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>'s barge, shrine and chapels with gold, electrum, lapis lazuli, malachite and other costly stones. He also adorned the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">temple</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep2.htm">Mentuhotep II</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">Deir el-Bahari</a> (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> at <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>) with a series of six life size granite standing statues of himself wearing the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/reg.htm">nemes</a> headdress. They once lined the lower terrace.<br /><br />Religiously, we are told in a graffiti that, even though his capital, burial ground and other interests were in Northern Egypt, he also helped maintain a large number of priests associated with the cult of Amun in Upper (southern) Egypt at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>. He also had built a large temple to the old Theban war god, Montu, just north of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a> at Nag-el-Medamoud. While this temple was refurbished in the New Kingdom and again in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greek</a> and Roman period, nothing remains of it save two finely carved granite gateways that were discovered in 1920, along with some very splendid statues and a few inscriptions.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904119736145426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJZK57E1pNZql4Xx2modFpW2Kfoz8eq53Xy31DZyKOnPy4u2VSeoldRLF4qGhxbd23M24mVtDOSn0rX09UdS1-vz4spuiuIAD6KFJhf_3mAPDNg7wtPbJAw5GVCNOsZY2eVHxe-5L7q-GH/s400/senthreeplan.gif" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">The pyramid of Senwosret III at Dahshur. At first a mortuary temple was built by the east side (top) later to be replaced by a new and bigger within the expanded enclosured area to the south. Its plan has not been reconstructed.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-xRx8VfvtKv9NFpwNLQNnYOk3oUGFGlqpA4ltq1Sm6HKiyEOnmMHti84tiuIJWWrjWZkK70uiP0ADsf0lbuqeqYqUY6RVKw8MjsQgpD4zSHPkvtnN2wyZBKO3_eDfza1SiZHOU9QYJV8/s1600-h/senusret321.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904824110782034" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 329px" height="329" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN-xRx8VfvtKv9NFpwNLQNnYOk3oUGFGlqpA4ltq1Sm6HKiyEOnmMHti84tiuIJWWrjWZkK70uiP0ADsf0lbuqeqYqUY6RVKw8MjsQgpD4zSHPkvtnN2wyZBKO3_eDfza1SiZHOU9QYJV8/s400/senusret321.jpg" width="184" border="0" /></a><br />Domestically, Senusret III was able to carry on his military campaigns and building projects because he had matters at home largely under control. He divided the country into three administrative divisions (waret), including a North, South and the Head of the South (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elephantine.htm">Elephantine</a> and Lower Nubia), that were each administered by a council (djadjat) of senior staff who in turn reported to a vizier. This sufficiently weakened the power of local nomarchs (governors) and other high officials who had once again begun to challenge the central government and the monarch. Decentralization due to powerful local officials and nobles had, in the past, created chaos and ultimately led to the dark times of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hfirstin.htm">First Intermediate Period</a>. It would seem that most all of the Middle Kingdom rulers were aware of this threat, and were constantly on guard.<br /><br />This new administrative scheme apparently also had another effect, in that it promoted the rise of the middle class, many of whom were incorporated into the administration, and were no longer under the influence and control of the local nobles.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147540548094745298" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 182px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px" height="266" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBImgkJnMaRRF7WYyyj-kDe_hcJeSeYL17PPa0uXZtiMW0BFByUne5qOHl3NRhCN6N7qcN6j_1oLr0CcaNWpFncGC8GWQiqGRCgQnHlSsxBmbCSaVPd4LrFUIwv_SMv2VZ7t9zJI7TQHPd/s400/amenemhet39.jpg" width="196" border="0" /><br />Sunusret III had his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/senusret3p.htm">pyramid</a> built at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dhashur.htm">Dahshur</a>, a mostly Middle Kingdom necropolis. It was the largest of the 12th Dynasty pyramids, but like the others with mudbrick cores, after the casing was removed it deteriorated badly. In the excavation season of 1894-1895, Jacques de Morgan also found the tombs of Queen Mereret and princess Sit-Hathor near the northern enclosure wall of Senusret III's pyramid complex. Also found with these tombs were some fine jewelry, missed by earlier robbers.<br /><br />However, some Egyptologists doubt that Senusret III was buried in this pyramid. He also had an elaborate tomb and complex built in South <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>. This huge complex stretches over a kilometer between the edge of the Nile floodplain and the foot of the high desert cliffs that form the western boundary of the valley. This complex consists of an underground tomb which, at least at one time, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKjk46MrIq9FNEx1gQMJywfZSWVMCPhifz9yFlpmYC4vTvJiNGQqbXrgO864V3as68SRD0h1lCnHwFkDwNHIXZYjiQZkF3-5-0hmNkvYpbCVmNfpH9YVlMy0Rs97MVrRPnrANDU5WIM4K/s1600-h/senusret36.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146903428246410690" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 172px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 177px" height="229" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKjk46MrIq9FNEx1gQMJywfZSWVMCPhifz9yFlpmYC4vTvJiNGQqbXrgO864V3as68SRD0h1lCnHwFkDwNHIXZYjiQZkF3-5-0hmNkvYpbCVmNfpH9YVlMy0Rs97MVrRPnrANDU5WIM4K/s400/senusret36.jpg" width="224" border="0" /></a>was considered to be the largest in Egypt (that may have been eclipsed by the discovery of the Tomb of Ramesses II's Sons in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm">Valley of the Kings</a>). Other components include a mortuary temple at the edge of the cultivated fields and a town south of the tomb that supported the complex. The name of this funerary complex was "Enduring are the Places of Khakaure Justified in Abydos".<br /><br />Senusret III is further attested by blocks from a doorway found near Qantir and by his rock inscriptions near the island of Sehel south of Aswan that record the reopening of the bypass canal.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904115441178114" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK0DPkpsLgc70pAMVk1t2IsbZLIsoamuoTHDzPdic37H95CLRr79D6cRY6SMnXQe-Pe1nuv9qgKBL_OQ8DPafDa5Y_4Pv8e3-79cTYfk4CjvnLuIDMAsaNcSLNlzG6ghi5wQo5capbxvas/s400/semna001.png" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">Offering Table Inscription (Semna)Life (to) the Horus divine of forms, he of the Two Ladies Divine of births, the Golden Horus who has come into being, Dual King Khakaura, son of Ra Senwosret beloved of Dedwen lord of the Land of the bow, given life stability and power like Ra eternallybeloved of Khnum lord of the cataract and of Satet (?) lady of Elephantine, given life like Ra eternally.</span><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146904111146210802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9HpqhZ3A9JyBSyvvJIruNYnfoJp3uWPshs6Ft1a9FxPJQU7LIl13IyjVkto3x4bLviZaFCGlu5K2r9ZtHxsckE-z14TR8ifs8SADUsAFHMi6cYWIndb_5oWfahM18r2YFHO4lxS6Z8oNY/s400/karnak-lintel-sesostris-III.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#006600;">Lintel from Karnak showing the name of Senusert III</span></strong> </div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354462728552530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh1Qwc1iTbe8KfKyeX5ahrZeiOwdQj64_h0-xNIBgSVMWCAp85tiUwn2uqaTWBK0b1EuqrccARl50JfdIhyphenhyphenszj4g306mxvByh3Z01Slu86rGikuOVA6qqn9GYUnUw2gqR6mRCyK7BFOdSo/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenemhet III</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>the 6th Ruler of Egypt's 12th Dynasty</strong></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363749956294370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUxi2vPh2EGH7sh8bQ2febTgpv0CXpqMTmM773yIdRkBza3deu2nkIbvCHnS4zi7K-q3fxRsQ5UPBQSElsL4_m0CY3_1By5jx0RamvsUv8LZ9PTF8lLTQio_GePxArpXnoOyVEIjV0X0SY/s400/amenemhet34.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363406358910594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy21IgPAStoG1V9_63ekumsm8BP69NL-8ZtS0yMkmXL0A47EmaPkJyk8Q4AlpwqghqBPp0d8sUVquh8gY62KyZoH1ZzgStCPZOVBMPZr8z-St77iFocubUpy-5CvNnx1QL-jPRdC9i5Ws-/s400/amenemh3-hermtage001.png" border="0" /></p><br /><p align="center"><strong>The Younger God, Lord of Action Nimaatre, Son of Re Amenemhat</strong></p><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Wives:</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Aat:</span> She is reported to have died at the age of 35, and was buried in Amenemhat III's pyramid complex in Dashur. Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-nisw meryt.f), United with the White Crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt) </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Hetepi:</span> Mother of Amenemhat IV. Titles: King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), United with the White Crown (khnmt-nfr-hdjt), Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy) </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Sons:</strong></span> </span><span style="color:#000099;">Amenemhat IV</span><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Daughters:</strong></span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Neferuptah B:</span> Obtained a cartouche towards the end of her life. May have been groomed for the throne. Buried in her own pyramid in Hawara. Titles: Great one of the hetes-sceptre (wrt-hetes), King’s Daughter of his body (s3t-niswt-nt-kht.f) </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Sobekneferu:</span> King's Daughter, Later Ruled as King for 3 to 4 years</span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Hathorhetepet:</span> King's Daughter, probably of Amenemhet III. </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Nubhotepet:</span> King's Daughter, probably of Amenemhet III. </span><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000099;">Sithathor B:</span> King's Daughter, probably of Amenemhet III.</span><br /><br />Amene<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKZiEtVvJ95J9wZNbjWY1O4PEAR6oylJLi7KgxkeJ9wxzr0PRN9-bxkT2eAW6hORMZGSSKLmEgsh6eA4KKypSd38qSnljk4adaTmT3RUdTdmdEW-gvxxz2DjtxAM20oUg3xkULFN6mMyt/s1600-h/amenemhet313.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147365115755894610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsKZiEtVvJ95J9wZNbjWY1O4PEAR6oylJLi7KgxkeJ9wxzr0PRN9-bxkT2eAW6hORMZGSSKLmEgsh6eA4KKypSd38qSnljk4adaTmT3RUdTdmdEW-gvxxz2DjtxAM20oUg3xkULFN6mMyt/s400/amenemhet313.jpg" border="0" /></a>mhet III was the son of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn05.htm">Senusret III</a> and the last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom. Amenemhet III appears to have shared the throne with is father as co-regent for at least a while before the death of his father. The king's principle wives were buried in his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3p.htm">pyramid</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dhashur.htm">Dahshur</a> in their own chambers, a very unusual feature at this time. The Chief wife was probably Aat. The second queen we are unsure of. We also know of a daughter named Neferuptah and of course his successor who was probably his son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn07.htm">Amenemhet IV</a>. However, Amenemhet IV may have been a grandson, but in any event, Amenemhet III probably made him a co-regent. It is also possible that the queen who ruled as the last pharaoh of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn08.htm">Sobkhotpe IV</a>, was also his daughter.<br /><br />Every king before him or after him in the 12th Dynasty, with perhaps the exception of the last <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgZSkVSxYXXS5wVKv9DB6PExnw8vnE2Lbew0OQLcd-iys0S0mvRgGIjCovANCALuZ6nfYDBrnq9W2iykpJ8APoTrLydgHcLip77nvYCjMORvrz2joW_FMOioi6nkYXEPMg-8S8E-g3i1u/s1600-h/amenemhet35.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147364875237725970" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpgZSkVSxYXXS5wVKv9DB6PExnw8vnE2Lbew0OQLcd-iys0S0mvRgGIjCovANCALuZ6nfYDBrnq9W2iykpJ8APoTrLydgHcLip77nvYCjMORvrz2joW_FMOioi6nkYXEPMg-8S8E-g3i1u/s400/amenemhet35.jpg" border="0" /></a>female ruler, would either be named Amenemhet, as the dynasty's founder was, or Senusret, the first of whom was probably the non royal father of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemnet I</a>. This is the king's birth name, meaning "Amun is at the head". His throne name was Ny-maat-re, meaning "Belonging to the Justice of Re". To the Greeks, he was Ammenemes III. Amenemhet III was the 6th ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and may have reigned for as long as 45 years. According to Clayton he ruled from 1842 through 1797 BC.<br /><br />It was a good thing he ruled this long, because his first tomb, his pyramid at Dahshur, started collapsing about the time it was finished. It took about 14 or 15 years to build, and he had to start completely over with a new <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3hp.htm">pyramid</a> near to the <a href="http://touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> at Hawara. At Hawara, we believe the complexity and splendor of his mortuary temple made it commonly known as the Labyrinth. Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Pliny all make reference to this structure. According to Diodorus, Daedalus was so impressed by the temple that he built his own labyrinth for Minos in Crete based on Amenemhet III's temple.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363410653877906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_hTM4F25XbOwAgbSnXV6onr8hdZzu07xyBfOuMUyzM2JDZyso9Xbmq_eV1-yqZKySSlXpzd7uSxNwHHN0gLTlvvOgNMTB8HrF9dSm1DyLnd5H0HwqJkUCJO2RC_mXbkdDCKYnBIh-y7-l/s400/amenthreehawara.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="color:#006600;">Pyramid at Hawara</span></p><p><span style="color:#006600;">After the dismantling of the fine white casing stones the whole Hawara pyramid has decayed to a pile of mudbrick rubble. Under the sand are the scanty remains of the attraction that brought tourists here already in Roman times - The Labyrinth.This was the mortuary temple.</span> </p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363414948845218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaQXJpR_TibFs9oFXXg8J6wElr989-WCQp03K59Mql_taLHUyjxfTebiB8cI3xmBQSkDMKlTdbh9BgLiwtQivrXsvs-fwDzxsxUQNo3FyRK6HgfefakUeBQsZPWs03yN0UhfdezwcKTLj/s400/amthreedash.gif" border="0" /> <span style="color:#006600;">The Dahshur pyramid</span></p><p><span style="color:#006600;">has two entrances. The grave chamber (red) was never used for a burial and held the king's empty pink granite coffin. Two queens were buried within the pyramid (blue) and the other family members had tombs by the north side. One of them (green) was later used by </span><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/5main.htm#hor"><span style="color:#006600;">king Hor</span></a><span style="color:#006600;"> from the 13th dynasty.</span> </p>In some respects, the disaster associated with his first pyramid worked in this king's favor, for it provided him the opportunity to build his tomb closer to the region that he seemed to flourish with attention. Because of his interest in the agricultural economics of the Fayoum, his reign became perhaps the apex of the Middle Kingdom and he reciprocated with an interest in its needs, as well as founding temples and building statues.<br /><br />Building activity in the Fayoum, besides his pyramid, included the the <a href="http://touregypt.net/Narmuthis.htm">Temple</a> of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/sobek.htm">Sobek</a>, the principle local deity, in the city the Greeks called <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/medinetfayoum.htm">Crocidopolis</a>. (Kiman Faris or Faras). In the Fayoum, Sobek was closely related to a more national god, the falcon, Horus the Elder. He also built a chapel dedicated to <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/renenutet.htm">Renenutet</a>, the goddess of the harvest, at Medinet Maadi. He participated in agricultural projects in the Fayoum as well. For example, he built a barrage to regulate the flow of water into the large lake, <a href="http://touregypt.net/qarun.htm">Birket Qarun</a> from the Bahr Yousef canal. This reclaimed a large fertile area, perhaps as much as 17,000 acres, that was further protected by an earthen embankment. To celebrate this achievement, he erected two colossal statues of himself at Biyahmu. The statues stand upon very impressive bases, and overlook the lake. He was so much connected to the Fayoum that during the Greco-Roman era, during which time there was a revival of the area, he was probably worshipped as a god under the name Lamares.<br /><br />Probably because of the connecting mortuary temple, his pyramid complex at Hawara was world renown. The mortuary temple was complex with many columned courtyards, chambers and passages. It was known in antiquity to travelers as the Labyrinth. Herodotus wrote of it:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;">"To strengthen the bond between them, they decided to leave a common memorial of their reigns, and for this purpose constructed a labyrinth a little above Lake Moeris, near the place called the City of Crocodiles. I have seen this building, and it is beyond my power to describe; it must have cost more in labor and money than all the walls and public works of the Greeks put together - though no one would deny that the temples at Ephesus and Samos are remarkable buildings. The pyramids, too, are astonishing structures, each one of them equal to many of the most ambitious works of Greece; but the labyrinth surpasses them. It has twelve covered courts - six in a row facing north, six south - the gates of the one range exactly fronting the gates of the other, with a continuous wall round the outside of the whole. Inside, the building is of two stories and contains three thousand rooms, of which half are underground, and the other half directly above them. I was taken through the rooms in the upper story, so what I shall say of them is from my own observation, but the underground ones I can speak of only from report, because the Egyptians in charge refused to let me see them, as they contain the tombs of the kings who built the labyrinth, and also the tombs of the sacred crocodiles. The upper rooms, on the contrary, I did actually see, and it is hard to believe that they are the work of men; the baffling and intricate passages from room to room and from court to court were an endless wonder to me, as we passed from a court-yard into rooms, from rooms into galleries, from galleries into more rooms, and thence into yet more courtyards. The roof of every chamber, courtyard, and gallery is, like the walls, of stone. The walls are covered with carved figures, and each court is exquisitely built of white marble and surrounded by a colonnade. Near the corner where the labyrinth ends there is a pyramid, two hundred and forty feet in height, with great carved figures of animals on it and an underground passage by which it can be entered". </span></em><br /><br />Outsid<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa0-5Sb0WAEZ_O23hEQQU18pB0Aca-R5N64DuW0BM8xqFj4-xgnYtL6GkJ8ytlr3q1v3ffgCqi_gscVdlkMCOkInN5jMhfljvmz08I_jxfxTBog8Idkju01fjnOcKgjQRoYHsfDx0Ez2P/s1600-h/amenemhet312.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147365115755894594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 258px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 268px" height="325" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWa0-5Sb0WAEZ_O23hEQQU18pB0Aca-R5N64DuW0BM8xqFj4-xgnYtL6GkJ8ytlr3q1v3ffgCqi_gscVdlkMCOkInN5jMhfljvmz08I_jxfxTBog8Idkju01fjnOcKgjQRoYHsfDx0Ez2P/s400/amenemhet312.jpg" width="258" border="0" /></a>e of the Fayoum, we also know that he built a temple of Quban in Nubia and expanded the temple of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/ptah.htm">Ptah</a> at Memphis.<br /><br />Considering his building projects, it is not surprising that Amenemhet III was very active in various quarries. He was especially interested in the turquoise mines in <a href="http://touregypt.net/sinai.htm">Sinai</a> such as those at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/serabit.htm">Serabit el-Khadem</a>. He probably at least extensively rebuilt and enlarged the Temple dedicated to <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a> and other gods at Serabit el-Khadem. In fact, there were some 49 rock inscriptions there, as well as ten more at Wadi Maghara and Wadi Nasb in the Siani that record almost continuous mining operations between years two and forty-five of his reign. Yet within Egypt, is is curious that we actually have very few inscriptions from Amenemhet III. But he was also active at Wadi Hammamat, where alabaster is mined, in the diorite quarries of Nubia, at Tura for its fine while limestone, and other mining sites.<br /><br />What we do not see during Amenemhet III's time is a lot of military action, other then perhaps strengthening the defenses at Semna. The military activities of his predecessors allowed him a peaceful reign upon which to build, as well as to exploit the mineral wealth of the quarries. He does build, politically, reorganizing the domestic administration. He continued to reform the national administration as did his father. It was probably his father that divided the country into three administrative regions, controlled by departments based at the capital. This "federal bureaucracy" oversaw the activities of local officials, who no longer possessed any extensive power. Amenemhet III continued to refine this new administration.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363414948845234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3YgnmXPZF5SHbPetJ96aorWthgSZO4xsGUekpaEiUIzD2PLKL9q7nov2rVihNpY7pCafg8Jw4WksyYoLASjWdICXFbJ7OBU1zJjWFw9ZIFrjD0_6J7cwJdO8qqBG2ZvrASawWb7Tbc7b/s400/amenemhet-III-pyramidion.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><strong>Pyramidion from pyramid</strong><br /><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363749956294354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSYwCbPybn4eHeC3ww8Ym2ywDazLN_rvEa_HKc1zSmUuQWopAQzauMBwFLKRRo70jw18CHs1tFkiW0ezgLbfrZ-fPOSUdWXD_rb95YczzX1ksjR9Fxr_wAe8NY6pmnsKto2YsQi0yY-jX-/s400/neferuptah-collar.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><strong>Collar from the pyramid of Neferuptah at Hawara </strong><br /></p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147363414948845250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUu6aBBw9ANF7owHCDqK9eIAmrgSLW1s4qLTtK5EcVlaRt3_emyJ8wMpiuiKqbcfYrR-TZAUQtRDZGnfvYdc1hCZ5KLSSxKBWr0_eGZtiAYoqePq_LgALh7HzSJmdqP21dPjpcfSxrh4oC/s400/Sobek-Hawara-AmIII.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p align="center"><strong>Statue of Sobek from the temple at Hawara</strong><br /><br /></p>Apparently Amenemhet III was also able to continue with good foreign <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOPwEJ0HPQe7uznb_0Z9HdJpMeyFLNWt-AJIv4Yuk5uJSMTLsLOIvO8f-Fxpm7DDJdo8Abxk5dA5_7Mc9qUM42tfYlih5fmxNXzlr5uynA0245PGHWXmLMHpbEUrcRzZfYTJTmmcxOusP/s1600-h/amenemhat3_low.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147364875237725938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 314px" height="350" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOPwEJ0HPQe7uznb_0Z9HdJpMeyFLNWt-AJIv4Yuk5uJSMTLsLOIvO8f-Fxpm7DDJdo8Abxk5dA5_7Mc9qUM42tfYlih5fmxNXzlr5uynA0245PGHWXmLMHpbEUrcRzZfYTJTmmcxOusP/s400/amenemhat3_low.gif" width="146" border="0" /></a>relations also without much military action. It is said that he was honored and respected from Kerma to Byblos, and during his reign many eastern workers, including peasants, soldiers and craftsmen, came to Egypt.<br /><br />However, the extensive building works, together with possibly a series of low Nile floods, may have exhausted the economy by the end of his reign. Ironically, all of these foreign workers, many employed for building activities, may have also encouraged the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/hyksos.htm">Hyksos</a> to settle in the Delta, thus leading eventually to the collapse of native Egyptian rule. Upon the king's death, he was buried in his second pyramid at Hawara.<br /><br />Amenemhet III is also attested to by an unusual set of statues probably of Amenemhet III and Senusret III that shows the two in archaic priestly dress and offering fish, lotus flowers and geese. These statues are very naturalistic. but show the king in the guise of a Nile god.. There was also a set of sphinxes that were once thought to have been attributable to the later Hyksos rulers, but are now believed to have been built on the orders of Amenemhet III. Originally all these statues were discovered reused in the Third Intermediate Period temples at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tanis.htm">Tanis</a>. We also know of an inscription by the king at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/koptos.htm">Koptos</a> (Coptos).<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139354454138617874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2vPuT70nud6PACxjJw1s6INdh6EcdbXrR6OREIvjewGogw6r_lGXKacZaHkKgVQDx2zq2jEdZonFlaZly-ReC_OUfZusq0Z3HMxdW6gBmGzmZGXD2PNW3diQhiHT-BJ9YaVcso6Eoi5G/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Amenemhet IV</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Other spellings: Maakherure</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>the 7th Ruler of Egypt's 12th Dynasty</strong></span><br /></div><br /><div align="left">This seventh king of the 12th Dynasty was probably the son of Amenemhet III. He co-ruled with Amenemhet III and a temple at Medinet Madi in the Faiyum was probably built by both kings.<br /></div><br />Due to his father’s long reign, Amenemhet IV was old when he assumed the throne. According to some theories, he is suggested to have been the historical Moses.He was was preceded by <a href="http://lexicorient.com/e.o/amenem_3.htm">Amenemhet 3</a> and succeded by his half-sister, Sobeknefru.<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147508713797147122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcDuafdEUeLcv5CsTnTMlL7N9tffuF6V1ltbaFpKQz-MRI_HG36XBUmefOEDOm25evUqvyEJvR0EEIog5XWtp07ZwnjPBySLBJJkykACzposp5axOuQR3Bn4Qsonk3RtiKQUbFR85TDG0/s400/amenfourserek.jpg" border="0" />Amenemhet IV had the Horus name Kheperkheperu which means "Horus (is) the Multiple Transformer", seen within the serek in picture right. He was probably a son of his predecessor and had a brief period as pharaoh of about ten years at the most.He was married to his half sister (below) and poss- ibly built a pyramid at Mazghuna. No name of his has been found at the site and the estimated age of the monument has been made by looking at the architectural and technical details.<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><em>A small golden plaque of unknown provenance showing Amenemhet IV (at right) offering to creator god Atum. It is a so called openwork cutting made from a single sheet of gold. It measures only 3 by 2,8 cm and the details are made with a brilliant technique showing even the tiny feathers of the owl in the middle. Its purpose is not known but it was likely for decoration, possibly for a small jar containing ointment or perfumed oil. </em></span><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#006600;"></span></em><span style="color:#006600;"><em><br /></em></span><span style="color:#006600;"><em><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147508103911791058" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJl4CfmFn0WEs8LxBMKi7HS2IgrOB5FbwzQZ4D1OPTH_Y45AZMfRWVC6Yq4qr1fPjSITsPtYcNsiXpvDwrWgxVZu7TKm9-qoNgSbRKJe1axTWjiWcWuAjkddBMpJwwCuCVCjbucaphPrIz/s400/amenfourgold.gif" border="0" /><br /></em></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147365682691577714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuRON-7E0onqRfXqRrAOg1VMUZSnZFO0ZSGG_PeH8Rm2lK7vE8UrzeQHtxYdnek-L3Qa4L9euMklDIAaKDecDIShYLMNFipWKsCu6Uts4Seu5ouOTZupewVSCwa7T2nMeHn2mDvGvvS53/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">Sobekneferu</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The First Certain Female King of Egypt</span></strong><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzOpD19sG2rz4ITp_XgjoTeOUA5dD-BJFxAkJhOn8kGKt8LB_5CGyUe6ySIiN_8xOaV2mVpf3V9jZwbQ-m7sLdFctSAz5NAEgBcSBJhPUm3taaMD5aCc8VntgAS8GjSxX21tlc5J-pLfU/s1600-h/sobeknefrutorso.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147523170657065666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzOpD19sG2rz4ITp_XgjoTeOUA5dD-BJFxAkJhOn8kGKt8LB_5CGyUe6ySIiN_8xOaV2mVpf3V9jZwbQ-m7sLdFctSAz5NAEgBcSBJhPUm3taaMD5aCc8VntgAS8GjSxX21tlc5J-pLfU/s400/sobeknefrutorso.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Undoubtedly, the structuring of Egyptian royalty was meant to focus upon a male king, who was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGSqZYq3idI2lceRigg9SLnvUHx3nsMtd79lD2vdbv5eTdYKTjp_MlzLMxybSHhPib4riuX_l7HhMR9tAQwpwfMpvmZ2G8hBD8d3RH0LvMPulNnaqZwNYkPKbBTd6-SR_C9gk4JSKRZrW/s1600-h/firstqueen2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147522848534518370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRGSqZYq3idI2lceRigg9SLnvUHx3nsMtd79lD2vdbv5eTdYKTjp_MlzLMxybSHhPib4riuX_l7HhMR9tAQwpwfMpvmZ2G8hBD8d3RH0LvMPulNnaqZwNYkPKbBTd6-SR_C9gk4JSKRZrW/s400/firstqueen2.jpg" border="0" /></a>considered to be the earthly manifestation of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>, a male god. Normally, a king would be succeeded by his senior surviving son, but every so often in Egyptian history, a woman rose to power, sometimes acting as regent for a young son, but at other times taking the throne completely, as in the case of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn05.htm">Hatshepsut</a>. However, Hatshepsut was not the first nor the last woman to rule Egypt. In fact, the last ruler of a pharaonic Egypt is frequently considered to be <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/cleopatr.htm">Cleopatra</a>, prior to Egypt's fall into Roman hands.<br /><br />Perhaps the first woman to wield executive power in Egypt was Merytneith, a probable wife of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djet.htm">Djet</a> who acted as regent during her son's (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/den.htm">Den</a>) early years. However, few claim that she was a king in her own right.<br /><br />So who was the first woman to rule Egypt? The earliest candidate for an actual female king of Egypt is Khentykaues I, who lived at the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>. Her unusual tomb is located at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a>, and on its granite doorway is recorded a set of titles that can be read either as "Mother of Two Kings" or "King and Mother of a King". In support of the latter title is her image, which was altered to show her in a kingly pose, including a false beard.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147523166362098338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUMyBfS-GfSTzmZkEWp-HIafIrUgL4Dodu2UJPREh7thZuGUIwEgDKCCTzSjYXo60Yx9iZvsdbNi_wGaAcB1Y18tJPg4yar_7LkFrY9CVW-Sw1dTVxVMBfsmBRz1WBhO7MbYrcsVgeyL8/s400/firstqueen3.jpg" border="0" />Khentykaues I may have ruled during the youth of her presumed son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sahure.htm">Sahure</a>, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOP2o4QJYLZu-4jjLROCFnYXfh0q13cfPBQe3REeIbwx-Z-63Uzf0IDeWr9rpCfO70XUWOMaSserlPY5jq5B0nV9DeyllOtafwAZ7xWAk6Kf0MddXILx-3eNqZYRp7QDtA073En0oNTqA/s1600-h/firstqueen4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147522852829485682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoOP2o4QJYLZu-4jjLROCFnYXfh0q13cfPBQe3REeIbwx-Z-63Uzf0IDeWr9rpCfO70XUWOMaSserlPY5jq5B0nV9DeyllOtafwAZ7xWAk6Kf0MddXILx-3eNqZYRp7QDtA073En0oNTqA/s400/firstqueen4.jpg" border="0" /></a>possibly in conjunction with <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/userkaf.htm">Userkaf</a>, the founder of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>. However, despite the fact that she was apparently considered the ancestress of the 5th Dynasty and was commemorated in the mortuary chapel at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/abusir.htm">Abusir</a> of Khentykaues II, the wife of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/neferirkara.htm">Neferirkare</a> and mother of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/neferefre.htm">Reneferef</a> (and probably <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/niuserre.htm">Nyuserre Ini</a>), her name has never been found in a royal cartouche. It should be pointed out that most modern lists of Egyptian kings do not include Khentykaues I as a ruler.<br /><br />A more mysterious candidate for the first female king of Egypt is recorded many centuries later in the work of the Egyptian Historian, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a>. He, in an obvious error known to us today, says that Nitokris built the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaurep.htm">third pyramid</a>. <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/herodotu.htm">Herodotus</a> also mentions Nitokris, telling us that she killed hundreds of Egyptians to avenge the king, her brother, whom his subjects had killed. She accomplished this by constructing a huge underground chamber where she invited to a banquet all those she knew to be responsible for her brother's death. Then, when the banquet was underway, she let the river in on them through a concealed pipe. Afterwards, in order to escape her punishment, she was reported to have flung herself into a room full of embers. Interestingly, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/herodotu.htm">Herodotus</a> does not ascribe the third pyramid at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a> to this woman, but rather to another female courtesan of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn26.htm">26th Dynasty</a>.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KhjOPkqKCE1gz275AvXIGbOGYRAE8OZDIdkbpa82y5BovMN94GWik3iruv6slDWEmaLfkKbW4myk5oNszE5MZ2uUeh_EH90Thy29P2nh5OMQBoTpxX_C9heNKSCN0P9AzRcqCVkvov0H/s1600-h/Neferusobek-metmus.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147522857124453010" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7KhjOPkqKCE1gz275AvXIGbOGYRAE8OZDIdkbpa82y5BovMN94GWik3iruv6slDWEmaLfkKbW4myk5oNszE5MZ2uUeh_EH90Thy29P2nh5OMQBoTpxX_C9heNKSCN0P9AzRcqCVkvov0H/s400/Neferusobek-metmus.jpg" border="0" /></a>Nitokris is actually a Greek rendering of the Egyptian name Neitaqerti, and in the Turin king-list, which can be dated to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>, this Egyptian name appears on a fragment that seems to belong to the late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">6th Dynasty</a> portion of the papyrus. Initially, many scholars linked this name to the legendary queen. However, work on linking the misplaced parts of the papyrus during the mid 1990s has suggested that the Nitokris cartouche is actually part of the titulary of a clearly male king named Siptah. Furthermore, it has also been suggested that "Neitaqerti" is actually the result of a faulty transcription of the prenomen, "Netjerkare", which was assumed by a king on his accession.<br /><br />This would fit nicely with the only other kings-list, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, that covers the period. It places a "Netjerkare" in exactly the right spot, though it is clear that by the early <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>, when both lists were compiled, that there was some confusion that resulted in a "Neitaqerti" being inserted in some historical documents concerning the period after <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pepi2.htm">Pepi II</a>, though no others. This does give us one possibility for the link between Nitokris and the third pyramid at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a>. Three reigns after Pepi II, the Abydos list records a King Menkare, a name which is very close to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaure.htm">Menkaure</a>, the actual <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> builder of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaurep.htm">third pyramid</a> at Giza. Given <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a>'s claim that the third pyramid belonged to Nitokris, a transformation from Menkaure to Menkare to Neitaqerti coul<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv6em8LsahyPlUpxc2ptT29s4P0qVa9cg8u-bGAWhF4gig6batSM-21nzTfshMHCLzebDdGPnqNOPdjO0k9bX35ZeLo13iWHv8MVRJyPf5BYgBzHu7-M9sq9EWkFaTjBHQppQeMYcd1od/s1600-h/sobekneferu_low.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147522852829485698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="268" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv6em8LsahyPlUpxc2ptT29s4P0qVa9cg8u-bGAWhF4gig6batSM-21nzTfshMHCLzebDdGPnqNOPdjO0k9bX35ZeLo13iWHv8MVRJyPf5BYgBzHu7-M9sq9EWkFaTjBHQppQeMYcd1od/s400/sobekneferu_low.gif" width="306" border="0" /></a>d be used to suggest that the prenomen of Neitaqerti was Menkare. It is also possible that the Giza pyramid female connection might actually be with the tomb of Khentykaues I, the size of which has sometimes led to its being called the "fourth pyramid" at Giza.<br /><br />It should be note, however, that several sources list Nitokris (Nitiqret) as a king of Egypt, including the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Aidan Dodson's Monarchs of the Nile and Nicolas Grimal's A History of Ancient Egypt. However, it should be noted that each of these sources appears to rely completely on <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a> and the kings-lists. Other evidence for her rule is practically nonexistent, and there is no contemporary trace of a King Nitakris (the English term "queen" can mean both a female king and the wife of a king, but in Egyptian the terms for the two are completely distinct). Hence, her rule is very suspect.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Hzvq5An6mP5hU6n2NmtFLAJ94gRvws92wIjw0o_Jse6e5qpNJeen-i0KntxAht-i2pm8FqUwvevUGMV9rLIKL16I77hLOtZfowKJRUJXVPma-aQV_uTXngXRDKy6RwhZaTGIKRayfSla/s1600-h/firstqueen1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147522848534518354" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 303px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" height="201" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Hzvq5An6mP5hU6n2NmtFLAJ94gRvws92wIjw0o_Jse6e5qpNJeen-i0KntxAht-i2pm8FqUwvevUGMV9rLIKL16I77hLOtZfowKJRUJXVPma-aQV_uTXngXRDKy6RwhZaTGIKRayfSla/s400/firstqueen1.jpg" width="303" border="0" /></a><br />It is not until the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> that we find, for the first time, clear evidence for a female king of Egypt. Her name was Sobekneferu (Nefrusobk, Neferusobek, Sobekkara). The name 'Sobekneferu' means, "The beauties of Sobek", the crocodile god. The rulers of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a> established a religious and economic center in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> where the crocodiles were nurtured and worshipped.<br /><br />During the prosperity and innovations of this period, it is possible that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhat III</a> may have even contemplated a female as his heir. A daughter of the king named Nefruptah was invested with a cartouche around her name, something never before done for anyone other than a king, and she was given titles often used by a king's wife, though apparently she was never married to a king. After her death, she was first buried in her father's burial chamber, but was then reburied in her own pyramid some two kilometers away.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5147523170657065650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39maoDYeHqBf_Q4TC1eNzPx_KDExyvbap6exm0t82uc8n61lbesXqqW7kY1NNxbUD1S8OAQqo_8r9Jt_TxuSNsJR6E21T7KPNw5MH0WLWL7gGBVIxDPrhsxe0x-Wdb56MT_143lTopbQC/s400/firstqueen5.jpg" border="0" />However, she did not succeed Amenemhat III. After Amenemhat III's death, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn07.htm">Amenemhat IV</a> came to the throne, but he died early and was succeeded on the throne by a woman named Sobekneferu, who was presumably a sister of Nefruptah. She may have been the wife and sister of Amenemhat IV as well. Sobekneferu apparently ruled for only some four years, but is known from a number of monuments and artifacts, including five statues, fragments relating to the mortuary <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3hp.htm">temple of Amenemhat III at Hawara</a>, scarabs, seals and beads, as well as from a Nile inundation record. This latter document from the Nubian fortress of Kumma relates a poor flood of some 1.83 meters, and dates to Sobekneferu's last year.<br /><br />Usually, the queen uses feminine titles, but several masculine ones were also used. Three headless statues of the queen, discovered in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a>, and a few other items contain her name. In one damaged statue of the queen of unknown origin, the costume she wears is unique in its combination of elements from male and female dress, echoing her occasional use of male titles in her records. In another intriguing statuette of the queen now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the queen wears a sed-festival cloak and a most unusual crown, which may have resulted from an attempt to combine unfamiliar iconographic elements of male and female rulers. She contributed to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhat III</a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/Amenemhat%20III">'</a>s <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3hp.htm">Labyrinth</a>, and also built at Herakleopolis Magna.<br /><br />Generally, Sobekneferu is known as the last Egyptian king of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>, prior to the confusion of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hsecin1a.htm">Second Intermediate Period</a>. She is the last ruler prior to the New Kingdom to appear in the offering lists found at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a>, which suggests some kind of posthumous verdict that separates her from the kings who followed her with equally short reigns.<br /><br />Nothing is known of Sobekneferu's death or burial. Some have suggested that her burial might be one of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mazghunap.htm">pyramids at Mazghuna</a>, but this is very unlikely. Thus, one of the most powerful women of early world history final destiny remains a mystery to us.<br /><br /><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /><a href="http://lexicorient.com/e.o/amenem_1.htm">http://lexicorient.com/e.o/amenem_1.htm</a><br /><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/index.htm">http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/5egypt/index.htm</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/egyptianhtml/kings/Amenemhat_I.html">http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/egyptianhtml/kings/Amenemhat_I.html</a> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5139073150960598786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWiGsTWWUznBmX1ricC9UznMIQLeq9u8G_c_arXXAMPWR5srR4FMfJaxxzIGD9YZvTUPjOLi88iLdMjjOdyClR8T3O-fRV0pzMQtdaaiStkTvnINlf5LJb6fiMK3m_AgupPg-WlwhQcV3/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span> </p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-46190471066821926582007-11-24T10:35:00.000+02:002007-12-01T20:10:08.620+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>Dynasty 11</strong></span><br /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong> </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#663366;">Antef lived around 2130 B.C.</span></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#663366;">Mentuhotep (I)</span></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/11dyn01.htm">Inyotef I (Sehertawy) 2134 - 2117</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/11dyn02.htm">Inyotef II (Wahankh) 2117-2069</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/11dyn03.htm">Inyotef III (Nakhtnebtepnefer) 2069 - 2060</a><br /><span style="color:#660000;"><strong>MIDDLE KINGDOM</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep2.htm">Mentuhotep II 2055 -2004</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep3.htm">Mentuhotep III (Sankhkare) 2004 - 1992</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep4.htm">Mentuhotep IV (Nebtawyre) 1992 - 1987</a></div><div align="center"><span style="color:#663366;">Antef, Ibkhenetre, Segerseni</span> </div><div align="left"><br /><span style="color:#006600;">The rulers of dynasty eleven started the process of reunification of Egypt.They brought the lifestyle and local gods of the south to the whole country. In some charts this dynasty belongs to the Middle Kingdom and most charts have six rulers starting with Antef I. Since the dynasty only ruled the united Egypt for around 40 years at the end, it's not correct to put it in the Middle Kingdom. The kings called Mentuhotep can be three or four in different lists (even those made by scholars of the trade) depending on which Mentuhotep is concidered to be the founder. Their throne names is the best way for a correct identification.</span><br /><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Antef</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>"Prince of the South"</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>"Antef - son of Ikui"</strong></span></div><div align="left"><br />The earliest known leader from Thebes before this dynasty was formed was a curtain "Antef - <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4th2_RBxqxq-ds95AsD3UvEreacFVeCak0y02spJTFWXkl-U8zotaFzSpI0X7dtr_ojMT0BDYt4x2K-jLmFtCQRD0JGYc342h8zyTiYHBwN83TC4niG9wkr2-BC6lsq7QAmmuHZnA3yf/s1600-h/princeantef.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136860516340447714" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib4th2_RBxqxq-ds95AsD3UvEreacFVeCak0y02spJTFWXkl-U8zotaFzSpI0X7dtr_ojMT0BDYt4x2K-jLmFtCQRD0JGYc342h8zyTiYHBwN83TC4niG9wkr2-BC6lsq7QAmmuHZnA3yf/s400/princeantef.jpg" border="0" /></a>son of Ikui". (Antef can also have the spellings Intef and Inyotef). He must have lived around 2130 B.C. and is mentioned as predecessor of Mentuhotep (I) from the "Hall of an- cestors" in the Karnak temple from the 18th dynasty built by Thotmes III. He is there given the unusual title: "Count and Hereditary Prince." A stela from Drab Abu Naga calls him: "the Hereditary Price, Count of the Great Lord of the Theban Nome - Antef." A stela from Dendera describes him in asimilar way as: "The Great Prince of the South - Antef". Possibly he was related to the old royal family as he was given a prince-title, but the origin of his parents are unknown and a remark- able fact is that just his father's name is mentioned (several times) and not his mother's from whom he (if so) had inherited his title. There are no records telling if the following pharaohs were descendents of his, but since three of them were called Antef it may be the case. </div><br /><div align="center"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138312825171852034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWjjEpM-9_-61TY5stG-IfNosh69renfcidFDAxBN1U_MNrgklMAEvAojyIAaM0h9PMqmHYYO5Aw4ITvk9M67cBSh7WPXef4foLBBIBoozxwSxAzpJXk9YekR_3okC3dR3G5AU7pwaHC1/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span> </p><p align="center"> </p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Mentuhotep (I)</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>"Chief of Thebes "</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>"Supreme chief of Upper Egypt"</strong></span></div><br />This leader called himself "Supreme chief of Upper Egypt" and is in some modern lists numbered as Mentuhotep I and as such the founder of the dynasty. It is not known who his father was, but it might be the Antef mentioned above. No con- temporary remains tell that he ever claimed to be pharaoh over Egypt and his name has not been found written within sereks or cartouches from his own time. His son and follower on the other hand (below) called himself "King over the Two Lands". The Canon of Turin has for this 11th dynasty a row (first of six) where the name is lacking and this might indicate that he was concidered a king and had a throne name of his own, which now is lost. Whether he was the first pharaoh named Mentuhotep is therefor just a question of taste. By the total years given for the whole dynasty (just six rulers in the canon) his reign is estimated to have been around seven years. The place of his tomb has not been located, but may have been in the Western Thebes the mountain side like the other rulers of dynasty 11.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138312859531590466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_h28ALKbETQOyqCYz8Ch7i9ZTXi8p1WeME26gzMfBPO5Y85VOXMCT4rT_7ivx8rVb_7fhq8a6C5VoXsAOR-OScN3U4i9p_qBEAHg3I2IihlBqJrKEIfV4a4MNKae4yIoU9TXWBoY7X_jz/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Inyotef I</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(Sehertawy)</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2074-2064 B.C.</strong></span></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136860503455545778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="188" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBFiYD_9aJ85SxWHz4-ApG7PGRSzXp0oiJqNOgvRk3h1zSLsDHb0Vs2k-VV5AwpGs7AAkynNQ6peUFO-RFz_1JRUmlnpRso4zd1fj3sxd07trwsNVkHZ5esE9o347_w1xq2k0Q7NgZMll/s400/antefoneserek.gif" width="98" border="0" /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Nomen :</span> <span style="color:#006600;">Intef</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Horus name:</span> Sehertawy<br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Burial place :</span> Thebes (aff el-Dawaba)</div><span style="color:#3333ff;">Son of</span> <span style="color:#006600;">( Mentuhotep I )</span> <span style="color:#3333ff;">and</span> <span style="color:#006600;">( Neferu I )</span><br /><br />Inyotef I was the founder of the 11th Dynasty. He took Thebes as the Capitol of Egypt and ruled it from 2074 till 2064 BC. He was the son of Montuhotep I, the "elder". The king took over a divided Egypt and tried to reunite the north and the south under his power. Herakleopolitans ruled Northern Egypt during the period of the 9th and 10th Dynasties' kings. Inyotef was buried in Thebes in the mortuary complex that he built. His royal successors honored his mortuary complex and did not modify it.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJLUOq3BW1G0dB3jaNTf1oofREP0Fqv8JJIj_BR5tAQPEsD1pgZLEytAoyZ2xXN6KtrAmTw3Ut-duiqu2hUqIPEzT06GXBo4XFzqZkz6EZIG4YYXu0uJoz7RghGKw7Vi0o_3tg18Yaz7Z/s1600-h/rowtomb.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136870506434378386" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 135px" height="220" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkJLUOq3BW1G0dB3jaNTf1oofREP0Fqv8JJIj_BR5tAQPEsD1pgZLEytAoyZ2xXN6KtrAmTw3Ut-duiqu2hUqIPEzT06GXBo4XFzqZkz6EZIG4YYXu0uJoz7RghGKw7Vi0o_3tg18Yaz7Z/s400/rowtomb.gif" width="316" border="0" /></a><br />The "Saff tomb" made by the Antefs I-III and the last kings of dynasty 11. A courtyard was cut into the hillside ending with several tombs for the royal family hewn in to the bedrock. The length varied from 75 to 150 metres. Remains indicate that a small pyramid might have been placed in the yard.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138312850941655858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAamsplcodTgIGax899Sxi7BsyihnxsqcY2Agt1bu4t9dGzU1n-ieKeO6j3ohH4RfZqrYgva4RInp96feQUp1f9bX1DhHTYn4vopyGil-JBWya_gVOLeIGZ7bNuxEuIiTff6F3YjBa-Je/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Inyotef II </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(Wahankh)</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2117-2069</strong></span></div><br />Inyotef II was the second king of the 11th Dynasty. The king ruled Egypt from <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr79nVT65fiSTGXoucKXPat1r473mbG1GNsCP-xg22xef5T0dQqWiN-met5WUujCsY3oxZyPl-yhBQTy2SL6qWQo_NQqsUM2TmCVpnlufuRH3qgiv4ZSjmxohb4r3aNlg7ygxV3WQ3w5cU/s1600-h/anteftwoserek.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136860503455545794" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr79nVT65fiSTGXoucKXPat1r473mbG1GNsCP-xg22xef5T0dQqWiN-met5WUujCsY3oxZyPl-yhBQTy2SL6qWQo_NQqsUM2TmCVpnlufuRH3qgiv4ZSjmxohb4r3aNlg7ygxV3WQ3w5cU/s400/anteftwoserek.gif" border="0" /></a>2064 till 2015 <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7ybwYQVCNaa9GYVwRO0For1qPKIIHPzw3rzbzAkm-UNGFfGq-sqlaWLj9vBMJV-8StLkCJrp2AqyDVRzQE3I8Z-hM0Mssr0fBHwLSA5pbcZk_IhFiF875OS1POB3JPC92mOn0vlIAclm/s1600-h/intef2_1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136860507750513106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 168px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 204px" height="204" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT7ybwYQVCNaa9GYVwRO0For1qPKIIHPzw3rzbzAkm-UNGFfGq-sqlaWLj9vBMJV-8StLkCJrp2AqyDVRzQE3I8Z-hM0Mssr0fBHwLSA5pbcZk_IhFiF875OS1POB3JPC92mOn0vlIAclm/s400/intef2_1.jpg" width="230" border="0" /></a>B.C. and took Thebes as the capitol during his reign. He was the younger brother of Inyotef I. The king led an army against his Herakloplitan allies in Assyout. His enemies ruined the city of Thinis and desecrated its tombs. Inyotef captured the entire nome but did not continue to fight the Heraklopolitans. He decided to trade with them and maintain the integrity of the Southern Kingdom without further wars. Inyotef II's wife was Queen Neferukayet. He was listed in the Westcar Papyrus and was inscribed on a mortuary stela.<br /><br />Antef II, who was ruling the 7 provinces in the south of the country, struck back, and the front was moving many times from north to south before he finally manage to drive his opo- nents as far north as a good strech of valley north of Abydos up to the 13th province right at today's Asyut. By doing so half of Upper Egypt was in his hands, and the rest of his reign was peaceful. In the south he broke through to the first cataract at Aswan early in his reign. By this he regained Egypt's traditional southern border to the south and built a temple to the goddess Satet on the island Elephantine at the very same location.<br /><br />After his earthly deeds he was put to rest in a rock cut tomb next to his predecess<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCjdVfOuHG2WMinqk9O5vgV2lfrucIAGhceOgbfl-effcjzijXOrMg8WpYVm5AEm9QDsw7tY_t0xMOhh7GLeRAyzZdtJooZ4SuhSnJC_KKbwJEARTmGD32JYHqEks4aAgsu5cqhyphenhyphen7dxIg/s1600-h/antefdogs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136860499160578466" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 253px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 321px" height="346" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUCjdVfOuHG2WMinqk9O5vgV2lfrucIAGhceOgbfl-effcjzijXOrMg8WpYVm5AEm9QDsw7tY_t0xMOhh7GLeRAyzZdtJooZ4SuhSnJC_KKbwJEARTmGD32JYHqEks4aAgsu5cqhyphenhyphen7dxIg/s400/antefdogs.jpg" width="330" border="0" /></a>or's in the Theban necropolis. In his mortuary chapel was retrieved a magni- ficent limestone stela with high reliefs of the king's favourite dogs (picture left), standing by their master.<br /><br />Curiously this fine work of art was known to Egyptologist before it was found, because it had been written about in other records from the twentieth dynasty a thousand years after it was made.<br /><br />A necropolis inspector had come across it and considered it s very re- markable old work of art worth reporting to his chief about, and so he did which was a lucky strike for egyptology.<br /><br />Two of the dogs can be identified by the hieroglyphs beside them telling their Libyan names with the Egyptian translation at the side. The one in the middle probably had a name common for the two languages. From the top they are:<br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">1)</span> <span style="color:#006600;">BEHEKAY (Egyptian: Mahedj) meaning "gazelle".</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">2)</span> <span style="color:#006600;">ABAQER (no translation) meaning "greyhound", probably in both languages.</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">3)</span> <span style="color:#006600;">PEHETEZ (Egyptian: Kemu) meaning "Blackie".</span><br /><br />The last name has the same word root for "black" (kem) as Kemet (the black land) which was the Egyptians' name for their country.<br /><br />These three dogs (slightly adjusted in the picture) are probably the oldest in human history known by their names. Notable is the artist’s practical aim to get a straight vertical right end to his work, and this was achieved by ordering Blackie to sit down on his master's foot!<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138312842351721250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUa9OMymcKAvceNrWeNLCib2jIYXMogyGpkkSqca23KZtLy9l7lhbRw-rFn7Bg8IBjyn3NncQ5rsAZpaIXBHuH4GFbvC8BhpgOgjoZQNj7w7RbdCssBW28NCTR5A8TITG2FbyT98e8nCPb/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="color:#660000;"><span style="font-size:85%;">T.N.P</span><br /></span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Inyotef III</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(Nakhtnebtepnefer)</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2069 - 2060</strong></span></div><br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Son of :</span> Inyotef II Wahankh</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Wife :</span> Iah</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Son :</span> Mentuhotep II</span><br /><span style="color:#009900;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">Daughter:</span> Neferu II</span><br /><br />This king does not appear in any of the other sources for as far as I known.<br /><br />Inyotef was the third king of the 11th Dynasty. He ruled Ancient Egypt from 2015 till 2007 BC. As any 11th Dynasty king, he took Thebes as the capitol for his throne. Inyotef kept all the regions that his Theban predecessors left for him to rule. He defended the city of Abydos from many Herakleopolitan assaults. Inyotef's name is inscribed in the mountains of Silsileh. Queen Aoh was his main wife and the mother of his heir Montuhotep II. Inyotef's daughter Neferu married his heir. The king had a second queen in his reign called Henite.<br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138312838056753938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ATAZYT119JaV8CL1z6IAIxizJRaJt-RXISSGzxhHDCSJK5tYZoiNv7Ji9APqF320JsrXbt8zhxVLFS9156tcGhCWl07_Bauml5GT59wGpBJF16R08ezuAk4af8IDghlAF1lKzzt6B_VF/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;"> T.N.P</span><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>MIDDLE KINGDOM</strong></span> </div><br /><span style="color:#006600;">This period is marked with foreign trade and enormous building projects. There is a refinement in the making of jewelry. Prosperity and renaissance existed for a long period of time, but eventually, internal problems become apparent.</span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Mentuhotep II</strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>First Ruler of the Middle Kingdom</strong></span></div><div align="left"><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Son of Inyotef III and Iah :</span> <span style="color:#006600;">Winlock has Nebhepetre as the son of a king named Se’ankh-ib-<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelJFKXv0HgRkmgaqhTBrGO0SlZCChBNbEPfHDWXyoSrvWo3MdoFKAWqwUgwo7225TTHdX7FXrc-kM116EdR0PjbPR-NmhyphenhyphenKsxhO-YZJEniaix5JKM_DCLqh5-KRnf2IgAp-2n55ChFNAD/s1600-h/mentuhotep25.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136862255802202706" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjelJFKXv0HgRkmgaqhTBrGO0SlZCChBNbEPfHDWXyoSrvWo3MdoFKAWqwUgwo7225TTHdX7FXrc-kM116EdR0PjbPR-NmhyphenhyphenKsxhO-YZJEniaix5JKM_DCLqh5-KRnf2IgAp-2n55ChFNAD/s400/mentuhotep25.jpg" border="0" /></a>tawy Mentuhotep. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Wives:</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Amunet :</strong></span> Buried in the temple precinct of the temple at Deir el-Bahari.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>As : </strong></span>A concubine mentioned in the inscriptions of the temple at Deir el-Bahari <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136861968039393778" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigXEHBgAjuPIMpOJjMomAIIqhA-TtQdvqV7OX-9TZEN_Hc6IMBVxtB9nRDAl8fiKBQ8Yp8dLaEOlf8N6uTuCLVxPH7OQM2JE38md-oH9ZkqdMR-cLpRmY5ENUZwuNei9XnjBuaCOGIQMEI/s400/mentuhotep2_01.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Ashayet :</strong></span> Buried in tomb DBXI.17 within the mortuary temple of her husband. Her sarcophagus and mummy are in the Cairo museum.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Henhenet:</strong></span> Buried in tomb DBXI.15 within the mortuary temple of her husband. Died in child-birth.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Kawit :</strong></span> Buried in tomb DBXI.9 within the mortuary temple of her husband.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Kemsit :</strong></span> Buried in TT308. Title given as "sole adornment of the king"<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Ment:</strong></span> Royal Lady mentioned on bandages of Amunet<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Neferu II:</strong></span> Daughter of Inyotef III and Iah, sister-wife of Mentuhotep II. Buried in TT319 at Deir-el-Bahari.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Ten-net:</strong></span> Royal Lady mentioned on bandages of Amunet<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Sadhe:</strong></span> Buried in tomb DBXI.7 within the mortuary temple of her husband.<br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Tem :</strong></span> Mother of Mentuhotep III. Buried in tomb DBXI.15 within the mortuary temple of her husband.<br /><br />This king does not appear in any of the other sources for as far as I known.<br /><br />For everyone who studies Egyptian history, we like to point out occasionally the fallacy of accepting a single reference about many different ancient topics. One problem with experts is they have their own opinions, which they often state unequivocally, even though others disagree. References on the first ruler of the Middle Kingdom are a perfect example of this. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAI0OazeAtE4RrCLyBgti8lJeuhBiQnTn1Do6gQsDdFuoWepJjuVGSfCHCz6pLHbHVM7k2K2smthPf5YUmF1QD8VbXkOjsMzw4WDTMOsYe388jKacNUVR7SO_S5o2KfNIy7mnsFFb5ZoX/s1600-h/mentuhotep23.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136861976629328434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 259px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 303px" height="387" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAI0OazeAtE4RrCLyBgti8lJeuhBiQnTn1Do6gQsDdFuoWepJjuVGSfCHCz6pLHbHVM7k2K2smthPf5YUmF1QD8VbXkOjsMzw4WDTMOsYe388jKacNUVR7SO_S5o2KfNIy7mnsFFb5ZoX/s400/mentuhotep23.jpg" width="283" border="0" /></a><br /><br />His throne name was most certainly Neb-hetep-re, meaning "Pleased is the Lord Re", though we also find it spelled Nebhepetra. But this is not his common, or birth name, and here we run into problems. "Chronicle of the Pharaohs" by Peter A. Clayton refers to him as Mentuhotep I, and gives his reign as 2060-2010. However, the "Oxford History of Ancient Egypt" edited by Ian Shaw gives his name as Mentuhotep II, with a reign from 2055-2004 while Aidan Dodson in his book, "Monarchs of the Nile" refers to him as Montjuhotpe II, with a reign from 2066-2014. "A History of Ancient Egypt" by Nicolas Grimal calls him Mentuhotpe II, with a reign from 2040-2009, while "Who Were the Pharaohs" by Stephen Quirke simple calls him, as well as the following two kings Mentuhotep, without elaboration or dates.<br /><br />So much for Egyptology being consistent, but never fear, they are all talking about the same king, and they all place his rule as the first of the Middle Kingdom and within the 11th Dynasty. However one names him, his birth name, Mentuhotep, means "The God Montu is Content". It should be noted that Montu was a Theban god of war. Mentuhotep ruled Egypt from <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>, which until then, had not been as prominent as it later became.<br /><br />We believe he was the son or heir of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/11dyn03.htm">Intef III</a>, for a number of reasons. First, there is a relief located at Wadi Shatt el-Rigal, near Gebel es-Silsila, that incorporates a colossal figure of Mentuhotep II dwarfing three other figures believed to be he mother, Intef III and Khety his chancellor. There is also a masonry block found at <a href="http://touregypt.net/tod.htm">Tod</a> with reliefs portraying Mentuhotep II towing over three kings, named Inhtef, lined up behind him. However, Mentuhotep worked so diligently to enhance his reputation with his contemporaries with self-deification that some Egyptologists believe he may not have been a legitimate heir to the throne, though this might also be explained by his efforts to reunite Egypt.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCXMe0j_suk7KXp-NuzATzyvCEhQ0VPmhFTgD-Y6cMX78hRPzgm4iHh03YT9prUx7-xLThr2jMPmXnsmZtciWRo7wSKNe61szp5faPDxT24pTm6Ff-_XIfoLPYpR6SnNtOEoBE5zaU1r5/s1600-h/mentuhotep21.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136861972334361106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="235" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqCXMe0j_suk7KXp-NuzATzyvCEhQ0VPmhFTgD-Y6cMX78hRPzgm4iHh03YT9prUx7-xLThr2jMPmXnsmZtciWRo7wSKNe61szp5faPDxT24pTm6Ff-_XIfoLPYpR6SnNtOEoBE5zaU1r5/s400/mentuhotep21.jpg" width="286" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Part of the Jubilee celebration scene of Mentuhotep II from Armant.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Montuhotep's principle wife was Tem, but he had a number of lesser consorts. A second major wife was Neferu, who mothered his heir to the throne, and we also know of a wife named Henhenet who died in childbirth.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yXZVbhkie4Gx4QMicYu0y_SrGLT6_Mtv73VvPg2zAUXmNi3LOJZbmJCOLTjOL9Sm4fW9AlHloHNaPk5uTdyXPLumdHsJgSdukK76D_XRv0VAF6KyOHGsdW2eJhNfCYA50QVcPxez3gVz/s1600-h/mentuhotep24.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136862251507235394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 305px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 366px" height="375" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3yXZVbhkie4Gx4QMicYu0y_SrGLT6_Mtv73VvPg2zAUXmNi3LOJZbmJCOLTjOL9Sm4fW9AlHloHNaPk5uTdyXPLumdHsJgSdukK76D_XRv0VAF6KyOHGsdW2eJhNfCYA50QVcPxez3gVz/s400/mentuhotep24.jpg" width="305" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Though he reunited Egypt after the First Intermediate Period, he did not do this immediately, and we find him with a number of Horus names that follow a progression. First, he was "He who gives heart to the Two Lands", followed by "Lord of the White Crown" (Upper Egypt) and finally Sematuawy, "Uniter of the Two Lands", as he apparently unified Egypt. Indeed, in later inscriptions, the king was set alongside <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/01dyn01.htm">Menes</a> as being the second founder of the Egyptian State.<br /><br />At first, his reign was probably peaceful, but latter became most certainly a bloody one, and with a highly militaristic focus. Near his temple at Thebes, American archaeologist Herbert Winlock found a mass tomb in the 1920s with the bodies of 60 of his soldiers who were lain in battle. There place of burial near the King suggests that the battle they fought was an important one, but sources disagree on where they might have fought. In the tomb of a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQi0oShU6RRySE6irdtjQlD3kBisYqrLEeyu-d8jicyHewonPk6qmP1Xz7ln1tPpfHetdM2_KxJWOHIlSgNeFwB1YxM-RY0C3xSIeYayIea5u3GG_gY-PI3YQNdGEOntsuez9j4BYlfRL8/s1600-h/mentuhotep22.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136861972334361122" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="203" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQi0oShU6RRySE6irdtjQlD3kBisYqrLEeyu-d8jicyHewonPk6qmP1Xz7ln1tPpfHetdM2_KxJWOHIlSgNeFwB1YxM-RY0C3xSIeYayIea5u3GG_gY-PI3YQNdGEOntsuez9j4BYlfRL8/s400/mentuhotep22.jpg" width="293" border="0" /></a>local prince or general named Mesehti at <a href="http://touregypt.net/asyuttop.htm">Asyut</a>, we also find models of marching Egyptian soldiers and even in the tombs of common people, we find an increase in the inclusion of weapons among grave goods.<br /><br />In year 14 of his rule, we know that a revolt took place in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> area by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/hierakonpolis.htm">Hierakleopolitan</a> forces, and that he quickly crushed it. Afterwards, his armies slowly drove the Hierakleopolitan<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2D57Mnvqxfb91AgupWUEwsy1spYdomA_xkNM0WpqOay0WhsQkpJcundCcKP_C6MBGGxfhz4ELNvvIASnbcp5hmty27lG5eBwJ3gEHtZ6XRU2GezLTkauSUTy4KsvoO16YJs-e4WjJ7q4/s1600-h/mentulife.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136870497844443762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip2D57Mnvqxfb91AgupWUEwsy1spYdomA_xkNM0WpqOay0WhsQkpJcundCcKP_C6MBGGxfhz4ELNvvIASnbcp5hmty27lG5eBwJ3gEHtZ6XRU2GezLTkauSUTy4KsvoO16YJs-e4WjJ7q4/s400/mentulife.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136874805696641698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 301px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 229px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="255" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrWB02IY5MvHWnxfGNiqF6awrf1pLBxN1g8USlZ1fdrKcyc6rg2vSDqMxe_TXDJausG7vj5J7BGZFCGRh_lFohsiXt9mLL6gHSNpU4GYDmp4e3qdLimZoLdhuBzT6ucQxwNij6QJJ_v92e/s400/mentutemple.gif" width="301" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Reconstruction of the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep at Deir el Bahari in West Thebes. His tomb was cut deep into the bedrock behind and underneath the building. Right: a life size sandstone statue of the king.</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ_l12UcSm5G2HArF7-2bfNGGzeGnqptndStYp6KuIQy6al6JetmD3KsBEvCYZkRpe3DU8D6Mv9QSnUGqhLJ3UpBT_zBTf2SNRLFXKWbjPsdwo-IFzMtJ5ylBkOkje1rUkw9ECREuUt1P/s1600-h/mentuhotep2_02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136861972334361090" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 153px" height="172" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ_l12UcSm5G2HArF7-2bfNGGzeGnqptndStYp6KuIQy6al6JetmD3KsBEvCYZkRpe3DU8D6Mv9QSnUGqhLJ3UpBT_zBTf2SNRLFXKWbjPsdwo-IFzMtJ5ylBkOkje1rUkw9ECREuUt1P/s400/mentuhotep2_02.jpg" width="230" border="0" /></a>forces north eventually leading to his overall rule of Egypt, but even by year 39 of his rule, when the country was wellunder his control, he continued his military campaigns into Nubia. It would appear that there might have even been an Egyptian based local kingdom established in the area around <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/abusimbel.htm">Abu Simbel</a>, and so he apparently crushed these upstarts, as well as initiating other policing actions in Lower Nubia. One such expedition was led by his Chancellor, Khety, illustrating the importance Mentuhotep II placed on reopening Egypt's access to Nubia, and beyond.<br /><br />However, he did have a long reign, perhaps as long as 50 years, and peace did finally return to Egypt proper, along with prosperity. Mentuhotep II initiated a number of building projects, including in the areas of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elkab.htm">el-Kab</a>, Gebelein, Tod, Deir el-Ballas, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm">Dendera</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>, Abydos, <a href="http://touregypt.net/aswan/">Aswan</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/armant.htm">Armant</a>. His greatest building work, however, was his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">temple and tomb</a> on the west bank at Thebes (Modern <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>). It is located in the cliffs at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/bahari.htm">Deir el-Bhari</a>, next to the later and today more famous temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn05.htm">Queen Hatshepsut</a>. Many of his high officials are buried near him including his chancellor Akhtoy, his viziers Dagi and Ipi, and his chief steward Henenu.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138313572496161650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHJv5bL2ZAK9mn56UOv5TnjRy-1_v7YqVV8bgj70Tvhd-wP6Yj-rGiTE6B6HPjPAondqGtLEU0Pc76PFjLl3eYOeduxpTp1k1DhxD6ewwsyZpwEHOE-gSkpVJk8LljzEiFzl3j4Y2OxHe/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Mentuhotep III </strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>of Ancient Egypt's </strong></span><br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSCuViNGqrZgK8stVCudmS8kW-0OnuXKFpmoq4Acv8SOr9yhuJkHb0lNLpm-TojC-2ztFcXSPiHkaQauiyg_TEVSWi3-etnhnwuNVGNAg96dQWLOpAE8kUE6W8IgJ2SRLv-cNFfiB37uG/s1600-h/mentuhotep35.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138309990493436658" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSCuViNGqrZgK8stVCudmS8kW-0OnuXKFpmoq4Acv8SOr9yhuJkHb0lNLpm-TojC-2ztFcXSPiHkaQauiyg_TEVSWi3-etnhnwuNVGNAg96dQWLOpAE8kUE6W8IgJ2SRLv-cNFfiB37uG/s400/mentuhotep35.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Horus name:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Seankhtawyef</span> </div><p><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Nebty name:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Seankhtawyef</span><br /></p><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Golden Falcon name:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Hetep</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Prenomen:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Sankhkare</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Nomen:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Mentuhotep</span><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Son of:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Mentuhotep Nebhepetre</span><br /><br />Mentuhotep III (actually, the second Mentuhotep of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle </a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Kingdom</a> and sometimes referred to as Mentuhotep II), benefited from a strong <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7YaO7hnxwulMqmgi5vKF-GZqU57Xdjga2_i868jFh2oMqBKEjkWY41uY2VL8p1VKqeg0s8K-NACf-MJgVlJG53j9pmCiYG-LjI7v68avS4Z0N-VcORKF3-77d1tFbN5Rmpq3ayGXTfAl/s1600-h/mentuhotep31.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138309981903502018" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7YaO7hnxwulMqmgi5vKF-GZqU57Xdjga2_i868jFh2oMqBKEjkWY41uY2VL8p1VKqeg0s8K-NACf-MJgVlJG53j9pmCiYG-LjI7v68avS4Z0N-VcORKF3-77d1tFbN5Rmpq3ayGXTfAl/s400/mentuhotep31.jpg" border="0" /></a>and flourishing country upon the death of his father, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep2.htm">Mentuhotep II</a>. He used this to good advantage, though by the time he took the throne of Egypt in about 2010 BC he was relatively old and only ruled for about twelve years. Though an <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn11.htm">11th Dynasty</a> ruler, his order in this dynasty, perhaps as its fifty <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm">king</a>, differs according to any number of chronicles of the period, due to the inclusion or exclusion of previous kings.<br /><br />Mentuhotep, which means "The god <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/montu.htm">Montu</a> is Content" was this king's throne name. His throne name was Sankhkare, which means "Giving Life to the Soul of <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a>". We know little about his family. His father was presumably Mentuhotep II, and his mother is believed to have been Queen Tem.<br /><br />Mentuhotep III evidently continued with many of the policies of his predecessors, which included maintaining a defensive attitude towards his neighbors on the northern frontiers, and he was eager to extend trade beyond the First Cataract of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf4a.htm">Nile</a> to the south. In the north, he built a series of fortresses along the border of the eastern Delta, where a cult was later dedicated to himself and the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heracleum.htm">Herakleopolitan</a> ruler, Khety III at the site of el-Khatana.<br /><br />This king initiated a number of expeditions to gather raw material for his many building works, which included a number of <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/temples.htm">temples</a> and shrines. In Year 8 of his reign, we specifically learn, from a long inscription in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/wadihammamat.htm">Wadi Hammamat</a>, of an expedition led by his steward, <a href="http://touregypt.net/who/henenu.htm">Henenu</a>, from <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/koptos.htm">Koptos</a> to Wadi Gasus. The road they used had to be cleared of rebels prior to their departure, and with him, Henenu took some 3,000 soldiers. Wood was carried by his soldiers in order to build ships once they reached the <a href="http://touregypt.net/redsea.htm">Red Sea</a>, and along their journey, they sank twelve wells to support future expeditions. After having built their ships, they departed for the land of East Africa land of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/punt.htm">Punt</a>, the first such expedition we know of during the Middle Kingdom to do so. They acquired a number of products while in Punt, including perfume and gum. Upon their return, they apparently stopped in Wadi Hammamat in order to query stone.<br /><br />It is also interesting to note the care with which Henenu treated his men. Each soldier was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeoWMXMmf8GvEWcaKEpyKrTM9r7PdjUontfCB5r7rSeQ19NzpTP6RWaanXL_m6UzrTYLZKclXjR5gpemXxcnEzKxqOa4tq2OHBZ_1Eq93SC3pWgOQErcegf64iVbMosgzsu-DA3EDpuhE/s1600-h/mentuhotep32.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138309981903502034" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeoWMXMmf8GvEWcaKEpyKrTM9r7PdjUontfCB5r7rSeQ19NzpTP6RWaanXL_m6UzrTYLZKclXjR5gpemXxcnEzKxqOa4tq2OHBZ_1Eq93SC3pWgOQErcegf64iVbMosgzsu-DA3EDpuhE/s400/mentuhotep32.jpg" border="0" /></a>provided with a leather bottle, a carrying pole, two jars of water and 20 loaves a day. In addition, "the asses were laden with sandals" to provide for the troops in this harsh terrain.<br /><br />Mentuhotep III's building work is characterized by a certain amount of architectural innovation. For example, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/habu.htm">Medinet Habu</a> he built a triple sanctuary that foreshadowed the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th Dynasty</a> temple built for "family" triads of gods. He was also responsible for the temple atop <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thothhill.htm">Thoth Hill</a>, the highest peak overlooking the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm">Valley of the Kings</a>, not only had a triple sanctuary, but also incorporated the earliest extant temple pylons. Not far away lies the remains of another of his temples. He also apparently finished much of his father's building activities at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elkab.htm">Elkab</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/armant.htm">Armant</a>, <a href="http://touregypt.net/tod.htm">Tod</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elephantine.htm">Elephantine</a>.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1mGQHyGbArynEOHz4i75u0E31wP-yWY1xj3VfYKXTePRG67cBJgorrNRQi558Fz0Z25d0CFX7btDO3VzvRSufZf_CfHLKzINi1uenYLYTq6P4kY-A7EbcSxy_1HclPGGuDhAf2azq9u2/s1600-h/A+young+looking+selfconfident.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138309964723632818" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1mGQHyGbArynEOHz4i75u0E31wP-yWY1xj3VfYKXTePRG67cBJgorrNRQi558Fz0Z25d0CFX7btDO3VzvRSufZf_CfHLKzINi1uenYLYTq6P4kY-A7EbcSxy_1HclPGGuDhAf2azq9u2/s400/A+young+looking+selfconfident.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The artwork commissioned during the reign of Mentuhotep III was also innovative, and the relief work during this period is arguably the beast of the Middle Kingdom. Most of the stone carving is very fine, with raised relief conveying tremendous spatial depth with a differentiation of no more than a few millimeters of thickness within the stone. The subtlety of the portraiture and the details within the clothing on the reliefs from Tod are far better than the works commissioned by his father.<br /><br />Though overall, Mentuhotep III reign seems to have been very positive, we do learn from some correspondence from a man named Hekanakht, who was the funerary priest under the vizier Ipy at <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOxLS3YlzS0EqaguXhTm52c0o_t2jm6IdO-nDHu0ow5wYRxq4UyEoPOQaxDJMQm69H7_NicjgAnDw01PIvoike8RF6ROdZ6dDm3501kD2ciXlvMCcc7pPKoeucGEMyXRCoaK0mh8g3yUx/s1600-h/mentuhotep33.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138309986198469346" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHOxLS3YlzS0EqaguXhTm52c0o_t2jm6IdO-nDHu0ow5wYRxq4UyEoPOQaxDJMQm69H7_NicjgAnDw01PIvoike8RF6ROdZ6dDm3501kD2ciXlvMCcc7pPKoeucGEMyXRCoaK0mh8g3yUx/s400/mentuhotep33.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>, that towards the end of the king's reign, there was apparently the onset of famine in the Theban region.<br /><br />We believe that, upon his death in about 1998 (according to some sources, a few years earlier) BC, Mentuhotep III was probably buried in a bay in the cliffs to the south of his <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotept.htm">fathers monument</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bahri.htm">Deir el-Bahari</a>. Little remains of his mortuary temple beyond a causeway that apparently ends at a sloping passage going into the rock at Deir el-Bahari. His mortuary temple may have been intended to be similar to that of his fathers, but it was unfinished and uninscribed. In 1997, a Hungarian team led by Gyoro Voros found an early Middle Kingdom tomb below the peak of Thoth Hill on the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> at <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a> (ancient <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>), that very likely belonged to this king. Its architecture may have been the inspiration of the bab-tombs of the early 18th Dynasty.<br /><br />One wonders why Mentuhotep III's mortuary temple was unfinished, given his other monumental building activities. His successor, Mentuhotep IV could have usurped the throne, since he is missing from some king lists. His mother was apparently a commoner with no royal titles other than King's mother, so he may not have even been a member of the royal family.<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138313559611259746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigIeylAnvdWMFz3eEYupb9zUn3KFrRZY5btzKsT_3ku99wT1J3dP1zGfDaF3LaGN6-lltEEEzh7PswmSzxMvaKy1kB0MbfWmj3cGuIcJn1tmv5A6Wn9kxOOr8cQZvbbYmHCV-viLNyVxoB/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Mentuhotep IV Nebtawyre</strong></span></p><br /><p align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Horus name:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Nebtawy</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlT3TKE336NUt1B-zB5InKBvcA9-gL1lX8Nn0n0pHT3wa2puVlFu1tkDW6FQVoG-yxiBpol8M_grjZiUL8Aq1ku6332arIx3lZfzuQo9Kvb4uWjTysVMUNEzhGK0h3Pbaqa1poWAM4z6K/s1600-h/mentuhotep4.jpg"><span style="color:#006600;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138397762445097858" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlT3TKE336NUt1B-zB5InKBvcA9-gL1lX8Nn0n0pHT3wa2puVlFu1tkDW6FQVoG-yxiBpol8M_grjZiUL8Aq1ku6332arIx3lZfzuQo9Kvb4uWjTysVMUNEzhGK0h3Pbaqa1poWAM4z6K/s400/mentuhotep4.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong></strong></span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#3333ff;"><strong>Nebty name:</strong></span> <span style="color:#006600;">Nebtawy</span></p><p><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Golden Falcon name:</span></strong> <span style="color:#006600;">Netjeruneb</span><br /></p><p><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Prenomen:</span></strong> <span style="color:#006600;">Nebtawyre</span><br /></p><p><strong><span style="color:#3333ff;">Nomen:</span></strong> <span style="color:#006600;">Mentuhotep</span></p><span style="color:#006600;">Son of Mentuhotep III</span> and <span style="color:#006600;">the King’s Mother Imi.<br /></span><br /><p>Though <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/mentuhotep3.htm">Mentuhotep III Sankhkare (Mentuhotep II in a number of texts)</a> is said by both the <a href="http://touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> king lists as being the last of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn11.htm">11th Dynasty</a> rulers, followed immediately by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a> who founded the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a>, the fragmentary papyrus known as the Royal Canon of Turin says there was a period of seven years without a king after Mentuhotep III. Egyptologists believe that it was Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV who fit within this slot for a short reign of about six years. Mentuhotep was this king's birth name, meaning "The God Montu is Content". His Throne name, Nebtawyre, means "Lord of the Two Lands is Re". Unfortunately, no images of this king are known to us from reliefs or statuary.</p><p>Because his name is missing from all of these kings lists, many presume that he may have usurped the throne. His mother was a commoner with no royal titles other than "king's mother', so it is possible that he may not even have been a member of the royal family. We know virtually nothing about any other of his family members. It should also be noted that inscriptions from the Hatnub travertine quarry suggest that some of the nomarchs (provinces) in Middle Egypt might have been troublesome at about this time.</p><p>We should also note that the temple on the West Bank at Thebes cupped in a spectacular amphitheater of cliffs just a short walk from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/bahari.htm">mortuary temple</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn05.htm">Queen Hatshepsut</a>, which has traditionally been ascribed to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a>, is now believed by some scholars to be attributable to Mentuhotep IV. If so, this would be about the only building established by this king.</p><p>This is a shadowy king and records regarding his reign are rare. From the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet1.htm">Amenemhet I</a>, we find a fragment of a slate bowl discovered at Lisht in the first nome with both the name of Nebtawyre Mentuhotep and Amenemhet I. However, we do know that a vizier under Mentuhotep IV was one Amenemhet, who is well attested from a long inscription that he left in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/wadihammamat.htm">Wadi Hammamat</a>, He acted as Governor of the South under Mentuhotep IV, and most Egyptologists seem to believe that he is one and the same as King Amenemhet. </p><p>As vizier to Mentuhotep IV, he records that he went with an army of 10,000 (some sources say 1,000) men into the Wadi to seek and retrieve a fine flock of stone suitable for the lid of the king's sarcophagus. The text says that they were led to the block by a pregnant gazelle which, having dropped its young on to the stone to mark it, was immediately sacrificed on the block. A second miraculous event was also recorded when, after a ferocious rainstorm at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/wadihammamat.htm">Wadi Hammamat</a>, a well 10 cubits square was revealed that was full of water to the brim. In such barren terrain, this would certainly have been a spectacular discovery. </p><p>Apparently, the block was successfully detached from the surrounding rock and safely taken to Thebes. However, during their expedition, they were also charged with finding a more favorable port on the Red Sea. Apparently, the port they found was Mersa Gawasis (Kuser), which was not established until the reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet2.htm">Amenemhet II</a> as the embarkation point for expeditions to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/punt.htm">Punt</a>. </p><p>Regrettably, one of the reasons this king remains so obscure is that his tomb, and the sarcophagus made from the block as well as his mummy, has never been found. Perhaps Mentuhotep IV was never able to use the stone since it appears that Amenemhet, with the backing of his 10,000 (or 1,000) men, overthrew his master and proclaimed himself king, founding the 12th Dynasty. It has been suggested by Richard Tidyman tht the name of the new capital, Lisht, was a direct reference to this event, and that the literary texts known as the <a href="http://touregypt.net/propheciesofneferti.htm">Prophecy of Neferti</a> and the <a href="http://touregypt.net/teachingofammenemes.htm">Instruction of Amenemhat I</a> should be considered in the light of evidence for a civil war accompanying the takeover. However, there is really no direct evidence of such revolt and it is also possible that Mentuhotep IV simply died without an heir.<br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138398063092808594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLuEurbwBZoNNSDmm-v9pgwoKDIWJwAUGmpp9CEgff0MK4FIdREPl2Cu1PRrRccdfpitpPbGOi9Nq9Irc8WeGyGjg8NnOnJqZefxrOyfp8tKwqA657H6Rq8wCJQxbhyphenhyphenxPrHV2sZgAB7n2y/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><br /><br /></p><p align="left"></p><br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Antef, Ibkhenetre, Segerseni</strong></span></p><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>obscure rulers in the south<br /></div></strong></span><br /><p align="left"></p>At the very end of the eleventh dynasty the central power of Thebes seems to have declined for a while, at least where the authority over the province of Nubia was concerned. In nine cities an otherwise unknown "king" made his presence known by recording his name on rocks. He had both a throne name - Kakare, and a personal nomen - Antef. Maybe he was heading for the throne in Thebes but he obviously did not reach that far.<br /><br />Another ruler manifesting himself in Nubia was probably called Ibkhenetre and he only showed himself with a fancy cartouche (below).<br /><br />A third chief is known during the same period and he was called Segerseni with the throne name Menkhkare. He is attested for only in rock inscriptions near the town of Umbarakab in Lower Nubia.<br /><br />We don't know if these local chiefs ruled simultaneously or if they succeeded each other. Egyptologist von Beckerath advocates that their reigns were at the same time ruling different parts of Nubia.<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">When the eleventh dynasty was coming to an endEgypt had been at peace for 40 years.</span><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.phouka.com/">http://www.phouka.com/</a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /><a href="http://lexicorient.com/e.o/pharaoh.htm">http://lexicorient.com/e.o/pharaoh.htm</a><br /><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/4egypt/index.htm">http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/4egypt/index.htm</a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138313555316292434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1YLXy8W6T8oRfNcAVguRGEwpFCy_afi4VF9tlczWIC1bAfazfr6xw0mb9o05e6Sz9qCe_77QpgM4rH82nIPZHfGJTz73EAky_MjHWX4c0rox0-vXDtiOMr6DiiUzMgRz4U_uNi-S-rrt/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-23054843574265932042007-11-15T00:10:00.000+02:002007-11-15T00:15:26.346+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Why the Ancient Egyptians </strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Built PyramidsA matter of Religion</strong></span></div><div align="left"><br />We see Egypt's ancient <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a> as monumental structures that inspire our imagination with <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKlr-sw4UOrxVaAuiIMTKGMwVXtrHCviWVHJKaKrE3fZKSPqStYjusXyxi-s50rD9Qdu-ULs4VY40KrcOcUhgfekgHRDTXV57muembKqLAdk24rNoqhab67CpIzhEI5wpA3EqVIWJIop9h/s1600-h/pyramidreligion1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132805105184875010" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 284px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 277px" height="370" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKlr-sw4UOrxVaAuiIMTKGMwVXtrHCviWVHJKaKrE3fZKSPqStYjusXyxi-s50rD9Qdu-ULs4VY40KrcOcUhgfekgHRDTXV57muembKqLAdk24rNoqhab67CpIzhEI5wpA3EqVIWJIop9h/s400/pyramidreligion1.jpg" width="284" border="0" /></a>awe and wonder. They were monumental tombs for the kings, but why did the Egyptians go to so much trouble, toiling sometimes over many years in order to build them? In fact, while tombs indeed, the great pyramids were also fundamental to their religious beliefs. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">A part of ancient Egyptian life was the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nile.htm">Nile inundation</a>. As rains fell during the spring in the Ethiopian highlands the level of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf4a.htm">Nile River</a> in Egypt rose above its banks, flooding the Nile Valley between June and October. This turned much of the valley into large lakes, but as the waters receded, they left behind fertile silt from which new life would emerge, at first on the highest mounds of earth. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">It was almost certainly this annual experience that the Egyptians linked to their <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/creation.htm">concept of creation</a>. One of their earliest creation myths envisioned the first place in the world as a mound of earth emerging from the waters of a universal ocean. Here the first life form was seen as a lily, growing on the peak of the primeval mound. To the Egyptians, the lily was connected with a god named <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nefertem.htm">Nefertum</a>, whose name means "perfect and complete". Nefertum was honored as a h<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepdKQOvhCKxn2JlqlhzeJexuCXiZBoCL_E2hQSo_G9fZFqp4MsSoR2X20rdDWl3Kn0PFgf9PAOStJjT_q3NA0lBxVKNKbiOj6_NPJ8c_-oY6SEWT0prC9yz28A5b0P-tFAPzOludJyLk9/s1600-h/pyramidreligion2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806041487745618" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 197px" height="242" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepdKQOvhCKxn2JlqlhzeJexuCXiZBoCL_E2hQSo_G9fZFqp4MsSoR2X20rdDWl3Kn0PFgf9PAOStJjT_q3NA0lBxVKNKbiOj6_NPJ8c_-oY6SEWT0prC9yz28A5b0P-tFAPzOludJyLk9/s400/pyramidreligion2.jpg" width="323" border="0" /></a>arbinger of the sun, which rose from the lily's petals to bring life to the newly created world. Even the mound itself was deified as a god named <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/tatenen.htm">Tatjenen</a>, meaning "the emerging land". </div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">It seems that the earliest temples of Egypt, particularly in the north, sometimes incorporated a mound of earth as a symbol of the original site of all life. The earliest such mounds may have been a small hill of earth or sand, but the icon eventually took the form of a small pyramid carved from a single block of stone, known as a bnbn (benben). This name comes from the root, bn, which means to "sell up" or "swell forth". The benben also, because of the sun's part in creation, came to be an icon of both the primeval mound as well as the sun which rose from it. In fact, the Egyptian word for the rising sun is wbn, which comes from the same root as benben.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Thus, from the outset, the pyramid shape represented the idea of new life, emerging from a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTw0jmDBbHoFO8Jzg1sojQRMFzy8FL_98BnCvjSUmwXwH7Wq0fVLbYHMnhZtW4m4n5vMHCffHv2R8XlmBN2OojeabtPjw8yF7GrvqvirOm3VcGNnH_o5ZLcrS8NFrt9ByCwT2PBLvLIHw/s1600-h/dsteppyramid5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132805100889907698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 266px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 252px" height="338" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvTw0jmDBbHoFO8Jzg1sojQRMFzy8FL_98BnCvjSUmwXwH7Wq0fVLbYHMnhZtW4m4n5vMHCffHv2R8XlmBN2OojeabtPjw8yF7GrvqvirOm3VcGNnH_o5ZLcrS8NFrt9ByCwT2PBLvLIHw/s400/dsteppyramid5.jpg" width="266" border="0" /></a>mound of earth to be bathed in the light and warmth of the sun. However, to the ancient Egyptians, the benben was more than just an image. Like the primeval mound itself, the Egyptians thought that it somehow incorporated the very power of life itself and even the force that made it possible for new life to emerge after a period of dormancy. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Hence, it is not at all surprising that the Egyptians sought the power of the benben in their funerary monuments. In the ancient Egyptian mind, death was not an end of life but rather the beginning of a new form of existence, particularly for the king. Basically, to the ancient Egyptians, each human was made up of <a href="http://touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf3.htm">various elements</a>. Among these were the body, the ba and the ka. The body was the physical form that the living being inhabited. The ba was similar to our modern notion of the soul. It was the unique essence of each individual, while the ka was the energy of life itself, a force that was transferred from the creator to each l<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICIpQbiZz5sNnURpp3DS4Q4Nh_J-isdE7j_fzQk8ulJnc1Row5EI-SsIIZkBZH0Ycc8U546WoIFDEeyBw_z9cFYihw-kJY9maRMUhum6lAA54-qkH2XhbsOuvookT5TG1H0RjGcnY7jg6/s1600-h/kaitomb.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132809163928969890" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 174px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 270px" height="206" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICIpQbiZz5sNnURpp3DS4Q4Nh_J-isdE7j_fzQk8ulJnc1Row5EI-SsIIZkBZH0Ycc8U546WoIFDEeyBw_z9cFYihw-kJY9maRMUhum6lAA54-qkH2XhbsOuvookT5TG1H0RjGcnY7jg6/s400/kaitomb.jpg" width="154" border="0" /></a>iving person. In fact, death occurred when this force was separated from the ka and its body, but after death, the ba and the ka were thought to reunite. This union allowed the individual to continue living, but in a spiritual rather than physical form. This new form of life, called <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ankh.htm">akh</a>, was more or less eternal, though the Egyptians did believe in an end of time. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Thus, the benben was incorporated within the structure of the tomb and provided the power for the spiritual rebirth to take place. The tombs of early rulers, and later on, officials, were usually surmounted by a rectangular structure of mud brick known as a mastaba, but mounds of earth have also been found within these buildings above the burial chamber. However, the mastaba itself may have been seen as symbolizing the primeval mound. The <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/stepyram.htm">first known pyramid</a>, that of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn3.htm">3rd Dynasty</a> King, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djoser.htm">Djoser</a>, began as a mastaba but was made into a pyramid of six steps by the construction of five successively smaller mastabas on top of one another. This seems to have been a progression in the visualization of the primeval mound. In fact, this step structure can actually be found within earlier mastabas at Saqqara.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The true <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a> that began to be built in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> wee derived from the original step shape by filling in the steps to create four smooth faces, thus being large scale representations of the more common pyramidal benben. In fact, some recently discovered tombs of officials from the same period to the south of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/monument.htm#Giza">three Great Pyramids</a> of <a href="http://touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a> were surmounted by conical mounds that almost certainly served the same purpose of the monumental royal <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a>. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Outside of their power to give new life to the deceased, not much is known about the role that the earliest <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a> were thought to play in the afterlife. Nevertheless, there were successive changes to these structures and new innovations in their architecture and plan that suggest an evolution in Egyptian funerary theology. However, by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>, the layout of the chambers within the royal pyramid became standardized in a form that reflects a vision of the afterlife that characterized Egyptian thought from then on. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left">At this point, the typical interior plan of these later <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a> consisted of three main elements. These elements consisted of an antechamber beneath the apex of the pyramid, connected to the outside by an entrance corridor that opens into the pyramid's north face; a burial chamber to the west of the antechamber; and a stone sarcophagus at the west end of the burial chamber. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Initially, all three of these elements are first found in<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplo0Ww337OPO4hSwGa_2nzfuCpd3Z_u_H1YVu_Ivid31Lwpw4Z4fBT9vKtFtbME4-Pi27eybD5NzQpd1Yo2-XPppkq3RIBSRt3vQH5-Gku00NmLdHOooF_NGe2j-OOHxrvSt56gQedl25/s1600-h/mastabashepseskaf.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806032897810994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 242px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px" height="383" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplo0Ww337OPO4hSwGa_2nzfuCpd3Z_u_H1YVu_Ivid31Lwpw4Z4fBT9vKtFtbME4-Pi27eybD5NzQpd1Yo2-XPppkq3RIBSRt3vQH5-Gku00NmLdHOooF_NGe2j-OOHxrvSt56gQedl25/s400/mastabashepseskaf.jpg" width="347" border="0" /></a> the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/shepseskaf.htm">tomb of</a> <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/shepseskaf.htm">King Shepseskaf</a>, though his was, for the first time in 150 years, not a pyramid. He built instead a mastaba, perhaps designed to reflect those of Egypt's first kings at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> in Southern Egypt. Abydos was a cult center for Osiris, the Egyptian god most closely associated with the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Like the primeval mound, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> represented the force of new life. At first, he was probably more of a fertility god, with power over the transmission of life from one generation to the next and in the growth of new plants out of seemingly dormant seeds. However, he came to be integral to the Egyptian understanding of the daily solar cycle, and was thus closely connected to the sun god. Each night the sun sank, or to the ancient Egyptians, died in the west, yet in the morning it emerged again into the world, reborn to live once more. To the ancient Egyptians, this could only be possible if there were a force that regenerated the sun.<br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806299185783394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKD4SOFkckrM7jaU3j8yr_h7-tNUHLMdzYq_bYo3y0VNkQb52m07A1oVGzA5bMMEU-MUSDDqth7_UeqAH0EPvubpPFkFMzww4-v2-MH-QFSHhI0bvp-ujh1Gc0t2xruyWoOTJizggXGXF/s400/mastabashepseskaf10.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="center"><strong>A View of Shepseskaf's Mastaba Tomb</strong></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IboJnyepMh2noRWLgQqY9fXBpGz_hknn9xd98wXIuvdIEwx7tW7TJjiXKhIcExBPLAZkWnT3MHxhCpRauXoxQ1lh5X47DB6PGWDlu7_95gxqndkJ1NuwDQ6mipHM6VNrOp93gsxdXqoS/s1600-h/mastabashepseskaf12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132810426649354930" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 209px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px" height="257" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5IboJnyepMh2noRWLgQqY9fXBpGz_hknn9xd98wXIuvdIEwx7tW7TJjiXKhIcExBPLAZkWnT3MHxhCpRauXoxQ1lh5X47DB6PGWDlu7_95gxqndkJ1NuwDQ6mipHM6VNrOp93gsxdXqoS/s400/mastabashepseskaf12.jpg" width="325" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">There were actually two different myths that coexisted to explain this process. In one, the sun reentered the womb of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a>, the goddess of the sky, in the evening and was born again in the morning. However, in the other myth the sun sank into a netherworld, know as the Duat, where in the middle of the night, it merged with the mummy of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>. From this union it received the ability to come once again to life. While two different myths, together they combined the role of mother and father in the production of new life. And both of these concepts are reflected in the standardized layout of the interior chambers that were introduced by <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/shepseskaf.htm">King Shepseskaf</a> and adopted in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a> of his successors of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">6th Dynasties</a>. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806303480750706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19od1Ba1YVxf3Ibzwj6kcPNQLtPxYvGa6ToHWhL2htoC0n7PEg-OYY3NZXsGHMThbnjRZogTZJ0piuvP0tBv7Wp1Bhr3CENOuR9XHmoUU6uVZmejGR0D69L3Eop7p1oro4_yJcLDpSypb/s400/pyramidreligion4.jpg" border="0" /><strong>The night sky represented as the goddess Nut from the tomb of Ramesses VI<br /></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">We know this because of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramidtext.htm">Pyramid Texts</a>, a collection of funerary rituals and spells first inscribed on the walls of the interior chambers in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unasp.htm">Pyramid of</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unasp.htm">Unas</a>. They were also inscribed on his sarcophagi. Unas was the last king of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>, and these texts show that the king's afterlife was thought to parallel the daily solar cycle. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Each night, as the sun once again reentered the body of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a> and the netherworld, the king's spirit would come back to the interior of his tomb. The stone sarcophagus in the west end of the burial chamber was an analogue of Nut's womb. Within the sarcophagus, the king's mummy was both a fetus and an analogue of the mummy of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> lying in the Duat. The <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramidtext.htm">Pyramid Texts</a> refer to the burial chamber itself as the Duat, and the spells inscribed on the walls of this room refer to the king not only by his own name, but also as Osiris. As the sun united with the mummy of Osiris in the Duat, the king's spirit was thought to join with his own mummy in the Duat of his tomb and, like the sun, receive through this union the power of new life. </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMRX2FXfkWUFYAMrvULAuD5G7Fkxt4hUOr7Hd8VYbEBfQ1YXeRp7cnivt52YQy70GPeCqJA8TqvcXtSzsZn3VecYfQ0fTjKoXYxBnBIo2h1BoJ_mYZo-m7oQ3etmgoojLOPFHMvJiLPM2/s1600-h/pyramidtext1.jpg"></a></div><div align="left">In the burial chamber, the texts describe two funeral rituals. They beg<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMRX2FXfkWUFYAMrvULAuD5G7Fkxt4hUOr7Hd8VYbEBfQ1YXeRp7cnivt52YQy70GPeCqJA8TqvcXtSzsZn3VecYfQ0fTjKoXYxBnBIo2h1BoJ_mYZo-m7oQ3etmgoojLOPFHMvJiLPM2/s1600-h/pyramidtext1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132805126659711522" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 257px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 260px" height="357" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibMRX2FXfkWUFYAMrvULAuD5G7Fkxt4hUOr7Hd8VYbEBfQ1YXeRp7cnivt52YQy70GPeCqJA8TqvcXtSzsZn3VecYfQ0fTjKoXYxBnBIo2h1BoJ_mYZo-m7oQ3etmgoojLOPFHMvJiLPM2/s400/pyramidtext1.jpg" width="295" border="0" /></a>in with a ritual of offerings, always inscribed on the north wall of the burial chamber. The priests would repeat this spell each day in the mortuary temple attached to the pyramid, which would therefore continue to provide the king's ba with the necessities of daily life. The second ritual was for resurrection, intended to release the king's ba from its attachment to the body so that it could rejoin its ka and enjoy life once again. It begins by assuring the king that "you have not gone away dead: you have gone away alive," and then encourages him to "go and follow your sun...and be beside the god, and leave your house to your son of your begetting". It ends by reassuring the king that "you shall not perish, you shall not end: your identity will remain among the people even as it comes to be among the gods". </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">As the sun left the womb of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a> and the Duat, the king's spirit, now revitalized, proceeded from the pyramid's burial chamber to the antechamber. To the ancient Egyptians, this room corresponded to the Akhet, a zone between the netherworld and the day sky. In practical terms<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo3EHOwjhCl0agAi6CzvhsCvS_qXvhQ8_dFuY7IefGpANGlaOjXYQnzQbsiGI1w10tl5zi9WUU9TcLw_s6mqkTQDjijJhvu2LiNRRQS1NbdBvYrUsYs1Eir2_PrTncQCbAoTMlifOEHDo/s1600-h/mern4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806037192778306" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 269px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 204px" height="259" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivo3EHOwjhCl0agAi6CzvhsCvS_qXvhQ8_dFuY7IefGpANGlaOjXYQnzQbsiGI1w10tl5zi9WUU9TcLw_s6mqkTQDjijJhvu2LiNRRQS1NbdBvYrUsYs1Eir2_PrTncQCbAoTMlifOEHDo/s400/mern4.jpg" width="309" border="0" /></a>, this zone was an explanation of why the sun's light appears in the morning before the sun itself has risen above the horizon. The name Akhet means "place of becoming effective" and refers to the process through which, both the sun and the deceased, take on new life. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">While the texts within the burial chamber were meant to be repeated by the living priests on behalf of the king, the texts within the antechamber were mostly intended to be recited by the king himself, now once again alive. They provided him with the magical spells to overcome the hazards of his journey between the Duat and the world of the living. Various spells would help him overcome physical obstacles, to control and vanquish those entities that would stop him, to persuade the celestial ferryman to accept him as a passenger, and to encourage the gods to accept him in their company. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Now, the texts no longer identify the king with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, but only by his royal name. After <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDQ3hLTmQ16FXM4fmpi8TDctuAC7T-yydwPvIdyVXjMpIiEcRQxWgIYfM9aG5sUNv_NegjdGUOoACuydCzM2hVk0xHeHXKauRaK5EARTWDPHBAofUL4jGq56Oe5r7ThHuaEt7ocYuESMW/s1600-h/pyramidreligion3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132805113774809618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 343px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvDQ3hLTmQ16FXM4fmpi8TDctuAC7T-yydwPvIdyVXjMpIiEcRQxWgIYfM9aG5sUNv_NegjdGUOoACuydCzM2hVk0xHeHXKauRaK5EARTWDPHBAofUL4jGq56Oe5r7ThHuaEt7ocYuESMW/s400/pyramidreligion3.jpg" width="234" border="0" /></a>gives birth to the morning sun, the king's akh leaves his tomb. In the earliest <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a>, apparently he was thought to do so through the long corridor connecting the antechamber to the outside on the north of the pyramid, which seems to be an analogue of the birth canal. However, from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> onward, the pyramid complex included a mortuary temple on the east side of the pyramid with a false door adjacent to the pyramid through which the akh of the king could emerge in the direction of the rising sun to the east. Either way, the king was then able to enjoy life once again, journeying across the sky with the sun and visiting the world of the living. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Therefore, from at least the time of <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/shepseskaf.htm">King Shepseskaf</a>, we believe that the ancient Egyptians thought of the afterlife as a daily cycle of spiritual rebirth. The kings of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">6th Dynasties</a> reverted back to the pyramid shape of tomb, but kept Shepseskaf's layout of the interior chambers. They were, in effect, creating a strong magic that combined both the powers of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> and that of the primeval mound. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">While there are many mysteries yet to be solved about Egypt's ancient <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a>, it is clear that they were not simply monumental tombs, at least in the eyes of the Egyptian kings. They were also, and more fundamentally, resurrection machines, designed to produce and ensure eternal life.<br /><br />In Ancient Egypt, there were no tools to build with or trucks to move things with. The Egyptians had to use their hands to make big blocks out of different kinds of sand, clay, and stone. After they made the blocks, they pulled them up big ramps onto the pyramid. The largest pyramid ever built was over 450 feet high!! It is called Khufu, but most people just call it the Great Pyramid. It is taller than the Statue of Liberty!! Take a look... </div><div align="left"><br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132809052259820178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6cdViLi2RqQjjvjnvR3q5EF5vB8N2xZAGDlX08_CH-tcd8HLtS44IcDqxh2POxHYbl8Pwn-YeuhCrH3btSkliUSkDodhiZHniuYexRKUG9MpmQxoV7lBi_K3XWuY7JX1kWpTjzO0FKKQo/s400/height.gif" border="0" /> <p align="left">The pyramids are the last wonder of the ancient world - the only ones that haven't been destroyed by time. We can learn a lot about the Ancient Egyptians from what we find in the pyramids. </p><p align="center"> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/</a><br /><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/">http://www.nationalgeographic.com/</a><br /><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/age.html">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/age.html</a><br /><a href="http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/egypt/Pyramids.html">http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/egypt/Pyramids.html</a></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132806702912709250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBT23ihZFMdieIccFlv0EVQw5jSLu2ZxM-6YAsD3mvSynj5DtGjh3c8k-pUHEzh4nLtOt6vSu19enmcpcz6btEg9v75n_-VZWAOobOqsSEts4HxIl3Vbp6rmPVQP6ichf2y0Pef7_LP52/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-33083044720318788102007-11-13T04:13:00.000+02:002007-11-13T04:13:04.693+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>7th and 8th Dynasties</strong></span></div><br />This was a very troubled time. There was a breakdown of centralized government, with many kings having overlapping reigns. Montuhotep established order from his capital at Thebes.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Dynasty 7</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2150 - 2134</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">During this period chaos ruled the country and civil disorder split the nation into different centres of power. Thus the names of the pharaohs can be many since at times three had their reign simultaneously. The Turin Canon has few entries and notes this was 955 years after the unification by king Menes, a mythical event that in that case happened around 3150 BC.</div><br />Manetho uses a metaphor: <span style="color:#990000;"><strong>"70 kings ruled for 70 days"</strong></span>. The Abydos list has 17 kings (below) for dynasties 7-8. Other minor sources have given the names: Menkamin I/II, Neferkare V/VI, Ibi I, Sekhemkare, Iti, Imhotep, Isu and Iytenu. No one of these has been attested for by archaeological remains of subsance.<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;">Neterkare & Menkare</span></strong></div><br />These two kings are the first to be named at the Abydos list after the break down of dynasty 6. Manetho says that Nitokris (last of dynasty six) built the "third pyramid" probably meaning at Giza confused by Menkaure of the fourth dynasty. It's possible that Nitokris' throne name was Men-ka-re. No physical evidence has been found of Neter-ka-re and the duration of his reign is not known.<br /><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Neferkare II & Neferkare III Nebi</strong></span></div><br />NEFERKARE II ("Beautiful is the Ka (soul) of Re") is from the Abydos list solely. The common name might be an entry for another better-known ruler. No remains from him have been found. Neferkare NEBI ("The protector") was a son of King Pepi II. He is present in the Abydos list and twice mentioned in the tomb of his mother - queen Ankhesenpepi II. No remains from him have been found.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="khendu"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Djedkare Shemu & Neferkare IV Khendu</strong></span></a><br /></div><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="left">from the Abydos only comes Djedkare SHEMU ("Permanent is Ka (soul) of Re) and his birth name Shemu (or Shemai) possibly "nomad", shown by the hieroglyph of a man with a stick over his shoulder. No remains have been found that have confirmed this pharaoh. Neferkare KHENDU ("striding") is known only from the Abydos list. No remains from his reign have been found.<br /></div><div align="center"><a name="sneferka"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Merenhor & Sneferka</strong></span></a></div><br />Merenhor is in cartouche forty-six on the wall in Abydos and doesn't have solar god Re in his throne name. His name (from bottom): water waves, a mouth, a hoe and the old falcon god Hor (Horus). SNEFERKA comes only from the Abydos list cartouche number 47. His name doesn't contain a god and can possibly be read: The beautiful Ka (soul). No remains have been found from these kings.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Nekare & Neferka Tereru</strong></span></div><br />Abydos list number forty-eight notes NEKARE. He's not known from elesewhere and no remains have been found from him. Neferka TERERU is in position number forty-nine from the Abydos list. His personal name TERERU (or possibly Tererl), are the four hieroglyphs starting at the bottom and the meaning is possibly: "Respected by". No remains from these two kings have been found so far.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="neferkahor"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Neferkahor</strong></span></a></div><br />This king ruled in the break between the seventh and eighth dynasty and he obviously praised the old falcon god Hor(us). The parts tell that "the Ka (soul) of Horus is beautiful" instead of solar god Re. Horus from the Upper Egypt was the older of the two and represented pharaoh himself but since dynasty four Re (as a sun disk) had been within the cartouches marking the king's title as "Son of Re". Neferkahor and a few other rulers of this period temporarily broke this tradition. No remains of his have been found.<br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Dynasty 8</strong></span> </div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>2150 - 2134 BC</strong></span></div><div align="left"><br />By this time Egypt had been divided into at least three parts. The capital Memphis had no longer power over Upper Egypt (Herakleopolis) and parts of the delta. Aboute a dozen kings from Memphis are known, just by their names at the Abydos list and have left no traces from their reigns. From what's possibly dynasty 8 and onwards the Turin Canon hastwo notations similar to the Abydos list. The colour of the numbers below indicate where the entry comes from. The Abydos list only (blue numbers) or from the Turin Canon as well (black).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">1. NeferkarePepisneb.</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="color:#660000;">2. Sneferka-re Annu.<br />3. --- iw-kaure.<br />4. Nefer-kaure.<br />5. Nefer-kauhor.<br />6. Neferer-kare II.</span></strong><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Wadjkare </strong></span></div><br /><a name="tereru">King Wadjkare (meaning: "Prosperous is the Soul of Re") is known from a written remain from his exemption decree with a cartouche containing his throne name. A very long birth name (Demedjibtawy) has by some been considered his, and others claim that he (Wadjkare) actually was a king from dynasty nine. His residence was probably located in the capital Memphis and he is one of few kings from this time who have left archaeological remnants confirming his existence. </a><a name="qakare"></a><a name="ibipyr"></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a name="tereru"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Qakare Ibi </strong></span></a><br /></div><div align="left"><br />The ruler is confirmed by the Turin Canon and the Table of Abydos, plus a quite substantial amount<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sJykEp8BVPh1u1wexfShSInVEBxjQrkQG9Ab1_hxyukq9hgoppe7707AVo_a2Gjbla7OFa83yfZ6HSB3COwe5RMJqQfAsxnwXgqF6zk9NF6U-C61GYpmdGe7inRCMNl1ggXcEX5lGjO7/s1600-h/3ibipyrplan.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132114454601518274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 264px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 230px" height="286" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7sJykEp8BVPh1u1wexfShSInVEBxjQrkQG9Ab1_hxyukq9hgoppe7707AVo_a2Gjbla7OFa83yfZ6HSB3COwe5RMJqQfAsxnwXgqF6zk9NF6U-C61GYpmdGe7inRCMNl1ggXcEX5lGjO7/s400/3ibipyrplan.gif" width="295" border="0" /></a> of graffiti in a remote place called Tomas in Nubia. Nothing about his deeds during his short reign (possibly just a few years) is known. His throne name as pharaoh: Qakare Ibi means, "Strong is the Soul of Re" (in picture left) and his birth name was the shorter Ibi (picture right). He built a small <a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/3egypt/3bildsidor/ibipyrphoto.htm">pyramid</a> located at South Sakkara, near the same type of monument from Pepi II. It was the last to be built on this classical burial ground. It was investigated in the early 1800s by the German Egyptologist Lepsius who found it to be a true pyramid though it by then looked more like a mastaba in its ruined state. The identification of the builder has been made through reading hieroglyphic writings on the walls in the grave chamber, the latest so called "pyramid texts" known. Today they are protected by constructions made of concrete within the monument, which is just a three metre high pile of rubble. </div><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left">The pyramid of king Ibi is of a modest size compared to the monuments from the pyramid era.An entrance from the north side leads to the (red) burial chamber and the serdab - side chamber, (green).A small mortuary temple was builtat the east sid<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGrC0VuGAXQSJpJy8amoDH9ImLTZJqn-jd7wjA6Kf73XCu9TAbPxDd3AVVDdrxtw2if7l88Ws1lOSMMC3UVTN7kmRgLX2HDGwDihgpA9d0gqhqrJcSOa1LTF7mR5nNxhUI2bbGClAzVxL/s1600-h/ibipyrphoto.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132114583450537170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 263px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 226px" height="267" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOGrC0VuGAXQSJpJy8amoDH9ImLTZJqn-jd7wjA6Kf73XCu9TAbPxDd3AVVDdrxtw2if7l88Ws1lOSMMC3UVTN7kmRgLX2HDGwDihgpA9d0gqhqrJcSOa1LTF7mR5nNxhUI2bbGClAzVxL/s400/ibipyrphoto.jpg" width="321" border="0" /></a>e.<br /><br />Today the pyramid of king Ibi is hardly recognizable as a monument and a pile of stone rubble is all there is left.<br /><br />The whole complex was not oriented in the cardinal directions (see picture above) and the mortuary temple was built of bricks and hardly more elaborated in size than a small chapel. No causeway has been detected leading from it and there possibly never was one, and the same goes for a valley temple. The measures of the pyramid are roughly estimated but the sides are likely to have been 31,5 metres and the height of the building about 21 metres.</p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;"></span> </p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Dynasty 8 concluded the Old Kingdom and a period of social disorder followed. The Turin Canon notes eighteen kings from Herakleopolis, but does not divide them into two dynasties as Manetho does. This dusky era is called: </span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The First Intermediate Period</strong></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Dynasties 9 and 10.</strong></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>c. 2134 - 1970 B.C.</strong></span></p><p align="center"><span style="color:#006600;">Little is known about these two dynasties ruling simultaneously to dynasty 11.<br /></p></span><p align="left">The country was split into the North (Herakleopolis) and the South (Thebes) and for a short period the rulers from downstream seem to have control over the Nile Valley down to the Abydos area under one of their kings named Khety. The Theban dynasty seems to have been stable with half a dozen rulers known, but Herakleopolis saw about 18 kings, if the later list are correct. </p><p align="left">After a state of war for almost a century one king from Thebes conquered the rest of the country. The Abydos list leaves out these two dynasties and beneath follows the entries from the Royal Canon of Turin which is damaged in this place. Probably all kings mentioned are from Herakleopolis. </p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Neferkare Khety, Senen..., (...), Meribre?, Shed...y, H...several kings named Kheti</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Meri-Hathor (?)Merikare.</span></p><p align="left">plus 9 other kings whose names are lost. Then follows a summation ending at 18 pharaohs. Other records give further names, probably none from Thebes. The division into dynasties is not from contemporary documents and the names in total is about 18 just as in the the Turin Canon.</p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Meribre </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Khety Akhtoy (five kings)</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Neferkare Ankhtify</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Kaneferre</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Merykare </span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Neferkare(?)Akhtoy ?</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Meryhathor (possible founder of dynasty X)</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Wahkare Akhtoy</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Iytjenu (mentioned as a dyn. X personal name from Sakkara) Difficult to place:</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">Isu</span></p><p align="left"><span style="color:#660000;">and a mysterious king from Middle Egypt called:</span> </p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#660000;"><strong>Khui</strong></span> </p><p align="center"><strong><span style="color:#006600;">Obscure ruler with a big monument</span></strong> </p><p align="left">The name of Pharaoh Khui means "Protector" (seen within a cartouche right) and has only has been attested for once and it's in connection with quite an object for an unstable period like this. He built (or at least started) a big pyramid at the otherwise unknown site of Dara located 30 km north of Asyut in Middle Egypt.</p><p align="left">It was first investigated in the late 1940s and early 1950s by the French Egyptologists Raymond Weill. Its construction (remains) makes it doubtful whether it was a pyramid or a stepped mastaba, because the mud brick super- structure has sloping sides and is built in steps, a type of con- struction leaving both alternatives possible. Thus different opinions of its original/intended looks has been put forward. Its plan was almost square, with a base side of impressive 130 metres, making it truly a great pyramid/mastaba just about the size of king Djoser's Step Pyramid. An exclusive architectural detail was found - the corners were rounded, a rare feature in the Egyptian design of tombs and buildings in general. Today (2005) it's in a ruined state and it's difficult to say whether it was dismantled after once being finished, or if it was finished at all. The outer walls reach about four metres above the surrounding desert and more investigations are needed to get a grip of this unusual monument. A writing of its plan is shown below. </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132140155685817586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="200" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSC3sswaZTttJ9z9bcN-isk9ROWC5XG2kQJuM6gJMy2Lg3a9919lJuvdJM_4RqQ1nmy9wB66fyhAmy62zp2K4J7vvolFYZqqz7ZbQcjKm0qVCQathv-8RtBsk6zZLTepalf5ci7bL0TxId/s200/khui.jpg" width="233" border="0" /><br /><p align="left">When the grave chamber was entered nothing at all was found in it. What makes Khui to be the supposed builder is an inscription on a block of stone that possibly once was a part of the pyramid. It was found in a tomb just to the south and had an offering scene in relief carved in to it, plus his name written within a car- touche. This is up to now the only evidence telling that a ruler bearing this name has ever existed. </p><p align="left">The entrance corridor from the north side is at first horizontal and open and then becomes a descending vaulted tunnel ending at a single burial chamber at a level of about 9 metres below ground surface. It is lined with roughly hewn limestone, probably taken from dynasty 6 tombs in the neighbourhood. The outer structure on the other hand, is made purely of mud bricks and the sloping sides are still visible. It may have been intended to make a casing of stone. The material making the inner core was obviously just filling of gravel and sand indicating that the owner, despite the great size of his tomb, was a ruler of limited means.</p><p align="left">What seems to have been a mortuary temple has also been detected, but its general plan can't be determined. It consists of the outer part of massive mud brick masonry with a length of about 35 meters. Khui may have been a local ruler and the site is placed midway between the two centres at the time - Herakleopolis in the north and Thebes in the south. Regrettably there are few published illustrations/photos of the monument, at least on the Internet.<br /></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/index.htm">http://nemo.nu/ibisportal/index.htm</a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5132114798198901986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZMN4Iwy5NYaU4ZDr2OzwubLii5KcWitOjfaf5DBMg2JsK6yavMEicCISuZQBxl4F1EEPxmAwdwRDBu697rb3EpbWEj8cn9gL0-FJAhR3a1X00mJasU2YXBGlRuApEUzJA78Oa3RAsKV0O/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-38761581660853356592007-11-03T14:46:00.001+02:002007-11-03T15:09:08.309+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Sobekneferu</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The First Certain Female King of Egypt<br /></div></strong></span><span style="color:#990000;"></span><span style="color:#990000;"><div align="left"><br /></span>Undoubtedly, the structuring of Egyptian royalty was meant to focus upon a male king, who was considered to be the earthly manifestation of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>, a male god. Normally, <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpq8EsaolEpZbUbx-qZK_eWvrXTWCGLN0bioOkNe9FhfoUHzx0-QS3sBZ0ybO-YRWmO4YF_CTRzT9U6jOQ_qNHJ7xxpaEmOb5p4YGreluVUgwi1CiCayGBgtDr3FpCpg-RycgyxYcAyfQy/s1600-h/firstqueen2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128572825668241426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpq8EsaolEpZbUbx-qZK_eWvrXTWCGLN0bioOkNe9FhfoUHzx0-QS3sBZ0ybO-YRWmO4YF_CTRzT9U6jOQ_qNHJ7xxpaEmOb5p4YGreluVUgwi1CiCayGBgtDr3FpCpg-RycgyxYcAyfQy/s400/firstqueen2.jpg" border="0" /></a>a king would be succeeded by his senior surviving son, but every so often in Egyptian history, a woman rose to power, sometimes acting as regent for a young son, but at other times taking the throne completely, as in the case of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn05.htm">Hatshepsut</a>. However, Hatshepsut was not the first nor the last woman to rule Egypt. In fact, the last ruler of a pharaonic Egypt is frequently considered to be <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/cleopatr.htm">Cleopatra</a>, prior to Egypt's fall into Roman hands. </div><br />Perhaps the first woman to wield executive power in Egypt was Merytneith, a probable wife of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djet.htm">Djet</a> who acted as regent during her son's (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/den.htm">Den</a>) early years. However, few claim that she was a king in her own right.<br /><br />So who was the first woman to rule Egypt? The earliest candidate for an actual female king of Egypt is Khentykaues I, who lived at the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>. Her unusual tomb is located at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a>, and on its granite doorway is recorded a set of titles that can be read either as "Mother of Two Kings" or "King and Mother of a King". In support of the latter title is her image, which was altered to show her in a kingly pose, including a false beard.<br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKr860_AM7m8ZHMJCmWwjhh_I-i5udzJeL3pkJNwXv5S_LhSMTGegURJ995EamXi6_wCRKw4Hha1iOJ14pDFVtF_N6unsSe4_4Awy0G5SJYmsNu0kEignLM0xmw2Rjtgri7S_GmNVDYIFk/s1600-h/firstqueen3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128579070550689970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="270" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKr860_AM7m8ZHMJCmWwjhh_I-i5udzJeL3pkJNwXv5S_LhSMTGegURJ995EamXi6_wCRKw4Hha1iOJ14pDFVtF_N6unsSe4_4Awy0G5SJYmsNu0kEignLM0xmw2Rjtgri7S_GmNVDYIFk/s400/firstqueen3.jpg" width="274" border="0" /></a>Khentykaues I may have ruled during the youth of her presumed son, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sahure.htm">Sahure</a>, possibly in conjunction with <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/userkaf.htm">Userkaf</a>, the founder of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>. However, despite the fact that she was apparently considered the ancestress of the 5th Dynasty and was commemorated in the mortuary chapel at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/abusir.htm">Abusir</a> of Khentykaues II, the wife of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/neferirkara.htm">Neferirkare</a> and mother of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/neferefre.htm">Reneferef</a> (and probably <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/niuserre.htm">Nyuserre Ini</a>), her name has never been found in a royal cartouche. It should be pointed out that most modern lists of Egyptian kings do not include Khentykaues I as a ruler.<br /></div><br />A more mysterious candidate for the first female king of Egypt is recorded many centuries later in the work of the Egyptian Historian, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a>. He, in an obvious error known to us today, says that Nitokris built the <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128572847143077922" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgH3PlUkpI04FB91HGV4Unfp2IAnJUpaNf74hj6mQIz_XrLDxz0PHemQi6RhePN2NFeUJdjjjSc-5vhNa1RqEjSPNb30jEJkipNY0vpfFqKjdCxy5oXrZmTVXrDPZUn5aHTn_i7ihByNEx/s400/firstqueen4.jpg" border="0" /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaurep.htm">third pyramid</a>. <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/herodotu.htm">Herodotus</a> also mentions Nitokris, telling us that she killed hundreds of Egyptians to avenge the king, her brother, whom his subjects had killed. She accomplished this by constructing a huge underground chamber where she invited to a banquet all those she knew to be responsible for her brother's death. Then, when the banquet was underway, she let the river in on them through a concealed pipe. Afterwards, in order to escape her punishment, she was reported to have flung herself into a room full of embers. Interestingly, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/herodotu.htm">Herodotus</a> does not ascribe the third pyramid at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a> to this woman, but rather to another female courtesan of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn26.htm">26th Dynasty</a>.<br /><br /><div align="left">Nitokris is actually a Greek rendering of the Egyptian name Neitaqerti, and in the Turin king-list, which can be dated to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>, this Egyptian name appears on a fragment that seems to belong to the late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">6th Dyna</a><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn6.htm">sty</a> portion of the papyrus. Initially, many scholars linked this name to the legendary queen. However, work on linking the misplaced parts of the papyrus during the mid 1990s has suggested that the Nitokris cartouche is actually part of the titulary of a clearly male king named Siptah. Furthermore, it has also been suggested that "Neitaqerti" is actually the result of a faulty transcription of the prenomen, "Netjerkare", which was assumed by a king on his accession. </div><div align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72UvyqnMxGHBa4MRTRYE3IQO6cCuVf63ZIFVpbSnrOIUl8LEdkuHEdBqrAFmcqBe9Gf8n_HRTcgxND8G1dME69QiCK2xQibeVXYo7LzKKh5fFYrhgp9hT4ro-GdtxAaMKrf52abFN8kOR/s1600-h/uc14337.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128579074845657282" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 231px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" height="335" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72UvyqnMxGHBa4MRTRYE3IQO6cCuVf63ZIFVpbSnrOIUl8LEdkuHEdBqrAFmcqBe9Gf8n_HRTcgxND8G1dME69QiCK2xQibeVXYo7LzKKh5fFYrhgp9hT4ro-GdtxAaMKrf52abFN8kOR/s400/uc14337.jpg" width="231" border="0" /></a>This would fit nicely with the only other kings-list, at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, that covers the period. It places a "Netjerkare" in exactly the right spot, though it is clear that by the early <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>, when both lists were compiled, that there was some confusion that resulted in a "Neitaqerti" being inserted in some historical documents concerning the period after <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pepi2.htm">Pepi II</a>, though no others. This does give us one possibility for the link between Nitokris and the third pyramid at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/giza.htm">Giza</a>. Three reigns after Pepi II, the Abydos list records a King Menkare, a name which is very close to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaure.htm">Menkaure</a>, the actual <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> builder of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/menkaurep.htm">third pyramid</a> at Giza. Given <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a>'s claim that the third pyramid belonged to Nitokris, a transformation from Menkaure to Menkare to Neitaqerti could be used to suggest that the prenomen of Neitaqerti was Menkare. It is also possible that the Giza pyramid female connection might actually be with the tomb of Khentykaues I, the size of which has sometimes led to its being called the "fourth pyramid" at Giza.<br /><br />It should be note, however, that several sources list Nitokris (Nitiqret) as a king of Egypt, including the Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Aidan Dodson's Monarchs of the Nile and Nicolas Grimal's A History of Ancient Egypt. However, it should be noted that each of these sources appears to rely completely on <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/who/Manetho.htm">Manetho</a> and the kings-lists. Other evidence for her rule is practically nonexistent, and there is no contemporary trace of a King Nitakris (the English term "queen" can mean both a female king and the wife of a king, but in Egyptian the terms for the two are completely distinct). Hence, her rule is very suspect.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64RIulGqg3e4_UHP9QGKYJ7FZWobUNycW0so1UETEKfs0gjwVKWY50wxv2gbtbbT2QwBYgyWhegPIcWRbebCGAl5aP12Vfc_nA5T_2kBQ6E4EjL5vbCJC8SDYEgwyvLNbBS_qVIwWrYey/s1600-h/firstqueen1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128579061960755362" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 253px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 147px" height="201" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg64RIulGqg3e4_UHP9QGKYJ7FZWobUNycW0so1UETEKfs0gjwVKWY50wxv2gbtbbT2QwBYgyWhegPIcWRbebCGAl5aP12Vfc_nA5T_2kBQ6E4EjL5vbCJC8SDYEgwyvLNbBS_qVIwWrYey/s400/firstqueen1.jpg" width="253" border="0" /></a>It is not until the end of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> that we find, for the first time, clear evidence for a female king of Egypt. Her name was Sobekneferu (Nefrusobk, Neferusobek, Sobekkara). The name 'Sobekneferu' means, "The beauties of Sobek", the crocodile god. The rulers of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn12.htm">12th Dynasty</a> established a religious and economic center in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a> where the crocodiles were nurtured and worshipped.<br /><br />During the prosperity and innovations of this period, it is possible that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhat III</a> may have even contemplated a female as his heir. A daughter of the king named Nefruptah was invested with a cartouche around her name, something never before done for anyone other than a king, and she was given titles often used by a king's wife, though apparently she was never married to a king. After her death, she was first buried in her father's burial chamber, but was then reburied in her own pyramid some two kilometers away.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-5NUGeFIIS4bQyNN2OZqgshyZsxxRvR-RAKfOaWvO-Im0WunBDEDAX-m4vRRtncUoS0sxHAzaMFEZZqWl9R-GkRzKaW4lIdOjta0amKN8bB-XihvyOTHM9qjhN_DEB9xt6rK_VV-vopV/s1600-h/firstqueen5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128572898682685490" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 341px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-5NUGeFIIS4bQyNN2OZqgshyZsxxRvR-RAKfOaWvO-Im0WunBDEDAX-m4vRRtncUoS0sxHAzaMFEZZqWl9R-GkRzKaW4lIdOjta0amKN8bB-XihvyOTHM9qjhN_DEB9xt6rK_VV-vopV/s400/firstqueen5.jpg" width="250" border="0" /></a>However, she did not succeed Amenemhat III. After Amenemhat III's death, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/12dyn07.htm">Amenemhat IV</a> came to the throne, but he died early and was succeeded on the throne by a woman named Sobekneferu, who was presumably a sister of Nefruptah. She may have been the wife and sister of Amenemhat IV as well. Sobekneferu apparently ruled for only some four years, but is known from a number of monuments and artifacts, including five statues, fragments relating to the mortuary <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3hp.htm">temple of Amenemhat III at Hawara</a>, scarabs, seals and beads, as well as from a Nile inundation record. This latter document from the Nubian fortress of Kumma relates a poor flood of some 1.83 meters, and dates to Sobekneferu's last year.<br /><br />Usually, the queen uses feminine titles, but several masculine ones were also used. Three headless statues of the queen, discovered in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/fayoum.htm">Fayoum</a>, and a few other items contain her name. In one damaged statue of the queen of unknown origin, the costume she wears is unique in its combination of elements from male and female dress, echoing her occasional use of male titles in her records. In another intriguing statuette of the queen now in the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the queen wears a sed-festival cloak and a most unusual crown, which may have resulted from an attempt to combine unfamiliar iconographic elements of male and female rulers. She contributed to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3.htm">Amenemhat III</a><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/Amenemhat%20III">'</a>s <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amenemhet3hp.htm">Labyrinth</a>, and also built at Herakleopolis Magna.<br /><br />Generally, Sobekneferu is known as the last Egyptian king of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>, prior to the confusion of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hsecin1a.htm">Second Intermediate Period</a>. She is the last ruler prior to the New Kingdom to appear in the offering lists found at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a>, which suggests some kind of posthumous verdict that separates her from the kings who followed her with equally short reigns. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQhq2Imu_e7dscbfnx12B7U1lTWW9GK_VZEpbMxX_9VBQxbgE-YaBC_OLXQ1Bo-_IFMEFydhe2u_CgONfv4N2T-pLsRvMs_YOX7ERWacsH3R12edtT1l2kQ5RqH1RWO7YnFI27YEELviU/s1600-h/amenemhet3+father.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128580736998000882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 94px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 144px" height="384" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFQhq2Imu_e7dscbfnx12B7U1lTWW9GK_VZEpbMxX_9VBQxbgE-YaBC_OLXQ1Bo-_IFMEFydhe2u_CgONfv4N2T-pLsRvMs_YOX7ERWacsH3R12edtT1l2kQ5RqH1RWO7YnFI27YEELviU/s400/amenemhet3+father.jpg" width="159" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfc2IooEuQmQGncTY-y8TDSw3hFkJZw_0fH4qMeQ19wOT-DRQb8mWFWfJGfeekyA06GDBcxzF4L6IeY9mlpf3mf4RyhyyZlPbg1gZW5PZ1Y_lEz2T19pTR5qhGmk3aN5hiSpLNnVC0FtV/s1600-h/amenemhet4BrotherHusband.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128591534545783058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 141px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" height="210" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfc2IooEuQmQGncTY-y8TDSw3hFkJZw_0fH4qMeQ19wOT-DRQb8mWFWfJGfeekyA06GDBcxzF4L6IeY9mlpf3mf4RyhyyZlPbg1gZW5PZ1Y_lEz2T19pTR5qhGmk3aN5hiSpLNnVC0FtV/s400/amenemhet4BrotherHusband.jpg" width="232" border="0" /></a></div><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128580423465388242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 145px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="300" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPAlE4z_shyXkWbnDDnoPSRBO-W_Z4kypraaMPYhHVCaPXx7JZG9jkKJwshiS5wtnV0N0qavDtZ_o7Ok76fo95mriYZiONk5arLvFg-9E6VRPDXGNrPzaN4bdJ7AESa9uNMWP9sqHGByv/s400/sobekneferu.jpg" width="212" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#333399;">Amenemhet4 Brother Husband --<span style="color:#660000;">Sobekneferu</span>--Amenemhet3 father</span><br /><br />Nothing is known of Sobekneferu's death or burial. Some have suggested that her burial might be one of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/mazghunap.htm">pyramids at Mazghuna</a>, but this is very unlikely. Thus, one of the most powerful women of early world history final destiny remains a mystery to us.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#006600;">The Muzghuna Pyramids:</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQq__gqAz19f3OHYK9PTJTjD8LPLK87QDFCl7vHLPtOOa8vPD2GnOz4rL8Fa5nKVMKHyQgN-PIld-k0CyXT4MVVwLRmiDrb4cqQLp9-1VOudtve1Qvmh1IJH5zDxDqMA3UApZ8kN4HpyF/s1600-h/amenemhet4BrotherHusband.jpg"></a><strong>The South Mazghuna Pyramid -</strong> About 4.8 km south of Sneferu's Bent Pyramid, it was surrounded by a wavy wall of the kind that we begin to see in earlier middle kingdom monuments. The ruins of the pyramid, heavily damaged , were investigated by Ernest MacKay in 1910. Whereas the mudbrick core can still be discerned, no trace of the limestone casing has been found.. The inclination of the wall and the height of the pyramid thus remain unknown. Presumably, it basically resembled the pyramid at Hawara, though not in its dimensions. This view as well as as well as the attribution the Amenemhet IV are based on the ground plan of the substructure and the way the burial chamber was built. The entrance to the underground part of the pyramid was on in the middle of the south side. </p><p><br /></p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128575561562409106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWev2JQG2CeTJGSbD3TwxHpODNcQ6Yak1v_v9GGdtNGBICXtszx7TKwR1HXbxl0IlJkr_sKCBxYU2QW4mn8pxWVm4mMp7XkNfYZNjPNYbmQ7cKKdbvjRWo3tWqvhKsPIDzTCq29Wsk_pu/s400/The+Pyramid+of+South+Mazghuna+had+a+base+length+of+52.5+m.+Though+it+had+a+complicated+substructure,+the+superstructure+was+never+completed..jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#990000;">The Pyramid of South Mazghuna had a base length of 52.5 m. Though it had a complicated substructure, the superstructure was never completed. </span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#990000;"><br /></span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128575514317768834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq_g4msZjl3Sv0zJSt-MdV_zsJOUmbxIssiB621t20SibmMjqe9iTCC-rmyechfAZE1oPqW2UuyEVSNFmqMIyvrXTgGVV1rwePoESEuD7UZtj1wl0lWxzxBly4AWoAsRCI1bjxhbQCmQX/s400/The+North+Mazghuna+Pyramid+Sobekneferu+ground+plan.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#990000;">The North Mazghuna Pyramid (Sobekneferu?) ground plan</span></p><span style="font-size:85%;color:#990000;"></span><span style="font-size:85%;color:#990000;"><p align="left"><br /></span><strong>The North Mazghuna Pyramid -</strong> As in the case of the South Mazghuna Pyramid, the North Pyramid is attributed solely on the grounds of a few bits of structural and archeological evidence to Queen Sobekneferu. She reigned not quite four years, and her relationship to the previous rulers has not determined with certainty. It is assumed that she was Amemmehet III's daughter and the full or half sister- and possibly a consort- of Amemmehet IV. The North Mazghuna Pyramid was larger than the South Pyramid, and the plan of its substructure is more advanced from a typographical point of view.. Although the pyramids substructure was completed, no one was buried in it. Moreover, neither the pyramid's superstructures nor the complex as a whole was ever completed. </p><p><br /></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.aldokkan.com/">http://www.aldokkan.com/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/">http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://egyptphoto.ncf.ca/mazghuna.htm">http://egyptphoto.ncf.ca/mazghuna.htm</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobekneferu">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobekneferu</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/firstqueen.htm">http://touregypt.net/featurestories/firstqueen.htm</a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/Sobekneferu.html">http://euler.slu.edu/Dept/Faculty/Sobekneferu.html</a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5128580934566496514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwKsXT1xXN6lrcpFrYvKvaSTAphTQimLFEM4yhSc-jEz6Pa2xbLQ6AGkUwev3igNmcu6rlTJcUFNfDjcqQrtwOLLV2KekyzklXwxnTwDkKjFyJnIdKmaJbn5mokdBhVC6IR2iHyyslkwIR/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /></div><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-71008859939386035892007-10-28T21:26:00.000+02:002007-10-28T21:33:56.830+02:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The Temple of Alexander the Great</span></strong><br /></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color:#660000;">in the Bahariya Oasis</span><br /></div></span></strong><div align="left"><br />For some years, Egypt was under the control of the Persian King, and while other outside forces had ruled Egypt over the years, the Persians seem to have had few friends in Egypt. In fact, Egyptian elements had already mounted revolts, weakening the Kings hold over the country when <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/alexanderthegreat.htm">Alexander the Great</a> arrived at Egypt's border in the <a href="http://touregypt.net/sinai.htm">Sinai</a> during October of 332 BC. The Egyptians, apparently seeking any relief from the Persian ruler, seem to have almost welcomed Alexander with open arms, so his armies met little resistance. Soon, he arrived with his army in <a href="http://touregypt.net/memphis.htm">Memphis</a>, where he made an offering to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/bull.htm">Apis bull</a> and was crowned king of Egypt. He took as his Egyptian throne name, Setp n Ra Mery Amun. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlqHJVHz8-m_SRCLrS529flKkLwvNcvHimjjpsypn_yK56aU79KoLqFlCQQH_vVMe0PSAcj1jkCfTAPSxfTKcIrEp3Fd7VGEiYSaDYpzlgk48eZ7ZOJbtgaEuC-KfQfiIqjZp3MVBWx1x/s1600-h/philip.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124810444813427890" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 139px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" height="215" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLlqHJVHz8-m_SRCLrS529flKkLwvNcvHimjjpsypn_yK56aU79KoLqFlCQQH_vVMe0PSAcj1jkCfTAPSxfTKcIrEp3Fd7VGEiYSaDYpzlgk48eZ7ZOJbtgaEuC-KfQfiIqjZp3MVBWx1x/s400/philip.jpg" width="216" border="0" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxquo8rq0vVf6fsidAh8KGQpnK1n9VLEq7vuJC9xCyIBlNYbMxaH-NZALOWRLKrGcPKAMmQ7Q-MFKLSDVdVyU9JqK9DIuGnl6l7A_CvTEyNPttdNmg7zEUh171n3dLfgnuznZf0Gz86wT1/s1600-h/olympias.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124810126985847970" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 108px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 149px" height="226" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxquo8rq0vVf6fsidAh8KGQpnK1n9VLEq7vuJC9xCyIBlNYbMxaH-NZALOWRLKrGcPKAMmQ7Q-MFKLSDVdVyU9JqK9DIuGnl6l7A_CvTEyNPttdNmg7zEUh171n3dLfgnuznZf0Gz86wT1/s400/olympias.jpg" width="166" border="0" /></a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124811050403816642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 147px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 163px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="325" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorBFRvnu-KEb3sIHHB8Mp6CEjy1Pnt9ZgpcgfdtGs58Nol31MWrU-0Esx-b6YG34-eQSDzbCpsWfLSpfnaLN5RJKISTpbSjvOQdsh7jzYdL2jy6oxBUwD_QXYWygb11N5QbKBfKVguLhd/s400/alexander3.jpg" width="231" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#006600;">his mother olympias------------------------------------his father philip</span><br /><br />Alexander's visit to the Western desert <a href="http://touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa Oasis</a> to consult with the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/oracle.htm">Oracle</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>, where his kingship was made divine as the son of Amun, is well documented. But apparently, this great warrior who was also one of histories grandest politicians, gained considerable respect in other areas of the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag01012001/magf3.htm">Western Desert</a> as well. Some Egyptologists believe that he may very well have traveled through the <a href="http://touregypt.net/bahariya.htm">Bahariya Oasis</a> on the way back to his new capital, <a href="http://touregypt.net/alexandria/">Alexandria</a>, on Egypt's northern coast. This oasis prospered considerably during his rule, and counted among its population many Greeks.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124806321644823698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAumQ7fnXnhFXx4vocgCR1qQ-B3-TZqcVWWiDcJ6x_vx_CJksZmUE6JHIaF_SYIDnyAkUHsayAovoaVSLtM_0dGVkQsJW8C8G2gD5LROnjIA8usESgwewN2IVg5tqbljDGkkxWAkLG4G8v/s400/agt6.jpg" border="0" /><br />The temple of Alexander the Great located in the Bahariya <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-c0smwEiqpZr0gb7tD6wUrWiDPHD9zB_o5jyHTQlODn4gyzKcn3HLolZzIpWXOc0HXtqgfan7xkUoshr47sTfxwBFMEfj2CCLlM4Cpxd-wbgoKjXpXf6JV9roV3PFK2NBZ9FEd60FeUbm/s1600-h/agt2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124805840608486482" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px" height="257" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-c0smwEiqpZr0gb7tD6wUrWiDPHD9zB_o5jyHTQlODn4gyzKcn3HLolZzIpWXOc0HXtqgfan7xkUoshr47sTfxwBFMEfj2CCLlM4Cpxd-wbgoKjXpXf6JV9roV3PFK2NBZ9FEd60FeUbm/s400/agt2.jpg" width="276" border="0" /></a>Oasis has the distinction of being the Macedonian ruler's only known temple in Egypt. The temple was built during Alexander's lifetime and dedicated to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">Ahmed Fakhry</a> never found the stela of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tuthmosis2.htm">Tuthmose II</a> that he was searching for when he stumbled across the temple in 1938, but this discovery, very near the (then unknown) <a href="http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/golden.htm">Valley of the Golden Mummies</a>, most certainly made up for that failure. It was to be Fakhry's last day in the Bahariya Oasis and he was exploring a spring called Ain el-Tabinieh, about three miles west of El Qasr (<a href="http://touregypt.net/bawititop.htm">Bawiti</a>), that had been mentioned by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">Sir Gardner Wilkinson</a> in 1837. Here, he discovered a mound surrounded by stones that he thought might be a New Kingdom temple.<br /><br /><div align="left">He recorded the location of the ruins, but with<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGipGRjB9bg6VGTF1bDfZU49Aw5ncfR1EvrXF9pNLrgwqNabW9W3v410FwcPDDurKbpThDkoMk9oDDVawafl3s3yd-QjNV9K-qIo9pjBSNnkGyNaCJ_4c6xs61WMDEIkwBiRJkuacF45fs/s1600-h/agt4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124806158436066434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 234px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px" height="279" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGipGRjB9bg6VGTF1bDfZU49Aw5ncfR1EvrXF9pNLrgwqNabW9W3v410FwcPDDurKbpThDkoMk9oDDVawafl3s3yd-QjNV9K-qIo9pjBSNnkGyNaCJ_4c6xs61WMDEIkwBiRJkuacF45fs/s400/agt4.jpg" width="260" border="0" /></a> his funds depleted, he was forced to leave the Oasis. He would return in 1942 with enough resources to complete the excavation, and it was not until then that he discovered the true nature of his find from blocks carved with the cartouches of Alexander the Great. Later, from 1993 to 1994, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">Zahi Hawass</a>, the current chairman of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), re-excavated the site, including several rooms that had never been cleared. Some excavation of the temple appears to be ongoing, though it is now open to the public1.</div><br /><div align="left">The temple proper is fairly large by any standard, and certainly one of the largest in the Bahariya Oasis, with at least 45 chambers built of mudbrick and encased in sandstone. Located only three hundred yards from the Valley of the Golden Mummies, a necropolis that was probably situated purposefully near the temple, the entrance to the temple was on the south end of the structure, accessed through a gate. </div><br /><div align="left">Just outside the temple, a red granite altar was discovered. It should be noted that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/material.htm">red granite</a> is not found in any of the western oasis, so it must have been carried a great distance to the temple through the vast desert, presumably by donkeys. </div><br /><div align="left">Just to the right of the entrance to the temple is a scene that depicts, unfortunately, only the lower half of two individuals facing each other. It is probable that one of these individuals is Alexander the Great, dressed as a traditional Egyptian pharaoh, making offerings to a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIEHro-WMK2mGkNy4F7IQFPXBXqDDXu0foOYQcrDs0rIOBL678yUMKl1MuUURS1TrhWErfz-j-vMOYbJzhlcWdOeY-RWDj7W7LP-e2rlt3YnFa_GTpc3_bXaW_HrcXNsvsj5ZbkBl1sBj/s1600-h/agt1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124805836313519170" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 228px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 234px" height="283" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnIEHro-WMK2mGkNy4F7IQFPXBXqDDXu0foOYQcrDs0rIOBL678yUMKl1MuUURS1TrhWErfz-j-vMOYbJzhlcWdOeY-RWDj7W7LP-e2rlt3YnFa_GTpc3_bXaW_HrcXNsvsj5ZbkBl1sBj/s400/agt1.jpg" width="228" border="0" /></a>principle Egyptian deity. </div><br /><div align="left">However, on the lower register on the north wall of the second room which was covered by debris, Alexander is revealed. This relief, which retains some of its original colors, depicts Alexander offering two vessels that may contain Bahariya wine as an offering to <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a>. The god, Horus, and the goddess, Isis, both hold a scepter on one hand an the ankh symbol in the other. In the background a priest wearing a long robe stands, holding incense and an unknown tool, and an offering table bearing bread, meat, cucumbers, pomegranates and other fruits, along with vessels for ointments is also displayed. </div><br /><div align="left">In another carved relief, Alexander makes an offering of incense to the god, Amun, who is followed by vario<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KF2UhAEMuY-3fangfTebZz5yOVluJ_1a-rBIqPI8OettTALW1MlYpTQBN5ubXKRFbIYkFcTpZ-2iQ9wQHNqxdb-s40uT5ht9AR8l0wFbPg1IdoQJvQ-11z0bXUAqX1jmB1KP3CQt0AXY/s1600-h/agt3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124806154141099122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 216px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 316px" height="375" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KF2UhAEMuY-3fangfTebZz5yOVluJ_1a-rBIqPI8OettTALW1MlYpTQBN5ubXKRFbIYkFcTpZ-2iQ9wQHNqxdb-s40uT5ht9AR8l0wFbPg1IdoQJvQ-11z0bXUAqX1jmB1KP3CQt0AXY/s400/agt3.jpg" width="226" border="0" /></a>us goddesses, one of which is probably <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mut.htm">Mut</a>, Amun's consort. In this scene, the governor and high priest of the Oasis stand behind the pharaoh with offerings of incense. Just visible in the depiction is an offering table laden with bread, meat, vegetables, wine and flowers.</div><br /><div align="left">Surrounding the temple complex were auxiliary storage rooms and houses that were probably used by guards and priests. There is, on the east side of the temple, a building that was possibly used for administrative purposes. Only two of the buildings chambers were roofed with large limestone blocks, originally inscribed with Greek graffiti which is now lost.</div><br /><div align="left">One of perhaps the most interesting artifacts found in the temple complex is a bronze statue of a royal lady who Zahi Hawass believes may have been the wife of Alexander the Great. A small statue of a priest of <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a> was also discovered in one of the temple corridors. but a number of smaller artifacts were discovered in and about the temple, including Greek, Roman and Coptic pottery shards, painted vases, fragments of bronze statues, Greek amulets, and coins from the 5th and 6th centuries, AD. Some of the pottery discovered with rectangular marks and human figures appear to be of Semitic origin from Asia, while other shards and lamps are from the Coptic Period and later. These discoveries have led Egyptologists to believe that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/chiste0.htm">Christians</a> probably inhabited the temple until about the 12th century AD, and some chambers may have been occupied as dwellings into the Middle Ages.</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/">http://www.touregypt.net/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.minamar.com/">http://www.minamar.com/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.visualsunlimited.com/">http://www.visualsunlimited.com/</a><br /><a href="http://members.aol.com/tomstp9/alex.html">http://members.aol.com/tomstp9/alex.html</a></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5124801902123476018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtKWvWMmQDyikfXCOxspgZ2ZheHuhsvugq4n4m7b9LAouZn_DOSknMaS_ytynzjyDOz1PWhrrI8QA5xjvdDNkHYmZjnI-gQryXe63N_TBKCskm5v904cKxZX9vorpTKsutvDX-Bi6oIFE3/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-68250851720888644962007-10-16T20:29:00.000+02:002007-10-17T17:17:23.965+02:00<div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">The Columns</span></strong><br /></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;">of Ancient Egypt</span></strong></div><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982921813582770" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDUTu06kEfJAEmlDmpIxVpjRSN2LFoUzxtSxiARorx73ox052eysh8stNIuAz0mL0hCz4HcpcfxBpg_wWKh47MQIdsocw7JNSfrgFSPplhV8wikVv5706-85cL6UwJOYmIy4aORQH_-qLB/s400/columns17.jpg" border="0" />When we think of Egyptian temples, one of the principle architectural elements that comes to mind is the column. In fact, it is difficult to imagine a temple such as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/karnak.htm">Karna</a>k without thinking of its columned halls, and what many visitors will take away with them is visions of pylons, obelisks, statues and columns. Column shafts were often decorated with colorful depictions in painted, carved relief, and remain some of the most interesting architectural elements in Egyptian structures.<br /><br /><div align="left">Most people who have any familiarity with ancient Egypt will immediately recognize the form of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/lotus.htm">Lotus</a> and Papyrus style columns, but actually no less the about 30 different column forms have been isolated from temples of the various periods. Most of the time, the columns shafts were copies in stone of supports made from plants, resembling either a trunk or a bundle of stems of smaller diameter. Also the shape of the capital, the top of the column, also had a plant theme, and at the transition of the capital to the shaft, five bands might be found representing the lashing which held together the bundle of stems of which the earliest columns were made. Above the capital a low abacus usually connected the column to the architraves placed above it. However, there are exceptions to all of this. At least prior to the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Graeco</a>-<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis2.htm">Roman</a> Period, we also find columns with tent pole and the goddess <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor2.htm">Hathor</a> and other god or goddess motifs.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHg1H7MS5AomOn3uBwr4ihMlswHNImJ0wP1GihuGZtBzLmeswaXGGcmoZCkFy2ClS9oj5RoODYj1KvtQuYOh6Bqk5uhFO2QKy1FCemk5CzwkidUGJ35HNfmUFvL3PKfa1f69JpnknKkRf7/s1600-h/columns14.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982552446395266" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHg1H7MS5AomOn3uBwr4ihMlswHNImJ0wP1GihuGZtBzLmeswaXGGcmoZCkFy2ClS9oj5RoODYj1KvtQuYOh6Bqk5uhFO2QKy1FCemk5CzwkidUGJ35HNfmUFvL3PKfa1f69JpnknKkRf7/s400/columns14.jpg" border="0" /></a>Actually, the type of column was usually, but not always dictated by its placement within the temple, and therefore most temples actually employ more then one design. Most of the time, "Bud" style columns were used in the outer temple courts, particularly away from the central axis of the inner temple. "Open" style capitals were most often found in the temples central areas. However, as time passed, into the late antiquities period, there was considerably more variation in these themes. In the Graeco-Roman period, column styles became especially varied, and many Egyptian designs were exported to Greece and Roman, where they underwent further evolutionary changes.<br /><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Tent Pole style columns in the Festival Temple of Tuthmosis III at Karnak </span></strong></div><br /><div align="left">In the very earliest of Egyptian history, columns were often made from one large monolithic block. However, in all later periods columns were usually built up in sectional blocks that were then first shaped and then smoothed from the top down. They were then normally painted, and afterwards, were difficult to tell that they were not cut from a single piece of stone. </div><br /><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#660000;">Major Types of Columns and/or Capitals:</span></strong></div><br /><div align="left"><strong><span style="color:#006600;">Plant Style Columns:</span></strong></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="color:#000099;">Fluted Column:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDItd9bUCJf0cKO_Ru08RMUBPzC_HhGQcVqENa3FsEYg37XvoJBf1_czL9vjPAiYRJYYR51jzyFIBlF1cXuz5Pqg6KGW4qTiEAQR0PtX01ou9RhZwtqgK_VO5g-yjgxKzU_6hJ54pwPQd/s1600-h/columns1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121981886726464194" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDItd9bUCJf0cKO_Ru08RMUBPzC_HhGQcVqENa3FsEYg37XvoJBf1_czL9vjPAiYRJYYR51jzyFIBlF1cXuz5Pqg6KGW4qTiEAQR0PtX01ou9RhZwtqgK_VO5g-yjgxKzU_6hJ54pwPQd/s400/columns1.jpg" border="0" /></a></span></div><br />This early form of column first appears in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/stepyram.htm">Step Pyramid</a> enclosure of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/djoser.htm">Djoser</a>, but the form died mostly died out by the New Kingdom. However, their use continued in Nubia. These columns resembled and represented bundled reeds or plant stems, but during later periods, sometimes took the form of a polygonal column shaft.<br /><br />What is probably most interesting about fluted columns in Egypt is that they very probably represent the first columns made from stone in the world. While the fluted columns may have lost their popularity as an independent style many of the future columns incorporated design elements from them, in effect, simply incorporating a more complex capital.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Palmiform Columns:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNoO7gnPoVE367Z-Z_8dPPLIMuIFwb9Bd7tMDqqL49KVbHZ0RdPgCGgPWY3kXHyw2sOHwbu4B18IY-d0euq3r9zVtEGzCepA2D38_ToQt8X_KdJJQGpKzt2OSVMprcvPTaqvwEnizPeaR/s1600-h/columns4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121981895316398834" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDNoO7gnPoVE367Z-Z_8dPPLIMuIFwb9Bd7tMDqqL49KVbHZ0RdPgCGgPWY3kXHyw2sOHwbu4B18IY-d0euq3r9zVtEGzCepA2D38_ToQt8X_KdJJQGpKzt2OSVMprcvPTaqvwEnizPeaR/s400/columns4.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">The Palmiform Columns were also one of the earliest styles of columns in Egypt temple architecture. Example of this type of column were found, for example, in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a> <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unasp.htm">pyramid mortuary complex</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/unas.htm">Unas</a>. However, after the 5th Dynasty, these types of columns are rare, but continued to occasionally be used. Mostly we find examples during later periods at the Taharga temple in Kawa in Upper Nubia, and in some temples dating to the Graeco-Roman Period. However, they may also be found in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ramseum.htm">Ramesseum</a>. There, at the inner side of the court, are two rows of ten columns. The four middle columns in each row are Papyriform columns while the others are Palmiform. These columns obviously had a palm tree motif, but did not actually represent the tree itself, but rather eight palm fronds lashed to a pole.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Lotiform Columns:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_lBPOTKHK3HGpE4PIic35bpJw3lEYLCjL8M6tX9h-xbxsoCp-eHy34HhRIY4pTr_Xayti_o-eIz0OdZADe5ZHwr4cFttx_C23KtjISaxg5c-2P30U6_9RsMUaV9695S6WqMtauuNjnZA/s1600-h/columns3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121981895316398818" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2_lBPOTKHK3HGpE4PIic35bpJw3lEYLCjL8M6tX9h-xbxsoCp-eHy34HhRIY4pTr_Xayti_o-eIz0OdZADe5ZHwr4cFttx_C23KtjISaxg5c-2P30U6_9RsMUaV9695S6WqMtauuNjnZA/s400/columns3.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br />Lotiform columns were perhaps used in non-secular buildings then in the temples. However, this is not to say that they were not also sometimes employed in religious architecture. The simple, lotus bud form of the column is enjoyed widespread use in the Old and Middle Kingdom temples. Its use declined during the New Kingdom, but again found popularity during the Graeco-Roman Period. This column usually has ribbed shafts representing the the stems of the Lotus, and capitals in the form of a closed (bud) or open lotus flower.<br /><br />Just as a side note, Lotus plants specifically are not present in the earlier times of Egyptian antiquity. What we so often refer to as "Lotus" was in fact a type of water lily.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Papyriform Columns:</span><br /><br />There are several variations in this type of column. Some have circular sh<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoc8VGEhZ0cjlUwkICYA3C60MULa-7R8Q8lrAil1pC35njMAJ0ONxUYoy5CgHSCvBXkoZfC34_ziIxeY6eqLpdzctpsd8jbPvLsMnuB_c64-ObACh3zos23C6ke-w-ylFsJoprcT5j-gO/s1600-h/columns2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121981891021431506" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoc8VGEhZ0cjlUwkICYA3C60MULa-7R8Q8lrAil1pC35njMAJ0ONxUYoy5CgHSCvBXkoZfC34_ziIxeY6eqLpdzctpsd8jbPvLsMnuB_c64-ObACh3zos23C6ke-w-ylFsJoprcT5j-gO/s400/columns2.jpg" border="0" /></a>afts representing a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtCtrdD8ZV4KnVnD6EnHo9DgOHubyWHJf3yVGsbyXeqsz7YjF9Dq4Tfl1lSRdR0bWJoNzRHjJtFzThV5XBXeRBkSP4JEfa_y3pKYbMWN7B8N16sqQUOj_cGOTw5jCEtg2kM46EUklsDBV/s1600-h/columns5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121981895316398850" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqtCtrdD8ZV4KnVnD6EnHo9DgOHubyWHJf3yVGsbyXeqsz7YjF9Dq4Tfl1lSRdR0bWJoNzRHjJtFzThV5XBXeRBkSP4JEfa_y3pKYbMWN7B8N16sqQUOj_cGOTw5jCEtg2kM46EUklsDBV/s400/columns5.jpg" border="0" /></a>single plant, while others have ribbed shafts that represent a plants with multiple stems. The capitals could be closed (buds) or open in a wide, bell-shaped form. During the New Kingdom, the shafts of most papyriform columns taper upwards from bases decorated with triangular patterns representing stylized stem sheaths. The earliest examples we know of the circular shaft style columns can be found in Djoser's Step Pyramid enclosure at <a href="http://touregypt.net/sakkara.htm">Saqqara</a>. However, these are not free standing columns, but incorporated into other structures. Though the circular shaft form of the column seems to have been used throughout Egyptian history, they saw widespread use during the New Kingdom, along with both open and closed capital styles.<br /><br />We first find the multi-stemmed form of this column employed during the 5th Dynasty, but it was also frequently used during the New Kingdom. <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th Dynasty</a> columns are particularly fine, with considerable artistic detail. They became more stylized by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn19a.htm">19th Dynasty</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Coniform Columns:</strong></span><br /><br />This column style apparently quickly died out after their use in Djoser's Step Pyramid enclosure wall. It has not been found in later temples. The style is characterized by a fluted shaft surmounted by a capital representing the branches of a conifer tree.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Tent Pole Columns:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW-mvn4BDnwfN6Waed7V6cS9mJtdXYqFOdv7rMITO0NWksUiz6uMSgmuMMlXEwI8pOdfwcNs272pRyNirN8KYE-VZ4Tn1TYw6HVJFVToMr2WtGcTSaPZnQZoIwCeVAiubVQnNF8r38wA_/s1600-h/columns6b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982174489273106" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXW-mvn4BDnwfN6Waed7V6cS9mJtdXYqFOdv7rMITO0NWksUiz6uMSgmuMMlXEwI8pOdfwcNs272pRyNirN8KYE-VZ4Tn1TYw6HVJFVToMr2WtGcTSaPZnQZoIwCeVAiubVQnNF8r38wA_/s400/columns6b.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br />Though we probably know of other applications of this style from documentation, apparently the only surviving, known examples are found in the Festival Temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/tuthmosis3.htm">Tuthmosis III</a> at Karnak. It is possible that very early examples of the style were also constructed of brick. There is little doubt that this type of column made of stone was rare. The column is basically a representation in stone of the wooden "poles" used to support light structures such as tents, and sometimes shrines, kiosks or ships cabins.<br /><br />Why this tent pole design was used is perhaps somewhat of a mystery, though they certainly reflect back on the earliest of Egypt's structures and their wood counterparts. It is sometimes believe that the specific columns in Tuthmosis III temple were modeled after actual wooden poles of his military tent.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Campaniform Columns:</span><br /><br />Considerable variety existed in this style of columns. They sometimes took the shape of a floral column or pillar. Some had circular, ribbed or square shafts (pillars). They all had some form of flower shaped capital. Two of the best known of these are located in the Hall of Annals of Tuthmosis III at Karnak. At this temple, the, the structures take the shape of a pillar. They including two style of column, with one representing the heraldic plant of Lower (northern) Egypt, the Papyrus, and the other type representing the symbolic plant of Upper <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEL-VPZEBinYhVA6AZ62CDafuPVqS8ffQslavjpMMNa9J1ycmrgX9sAL17KXmdYC7hqz31Otlz22e0EEhIvG7IcLD4H3sPVWPfV9yi-lUqwTC3joB2ygWMUIQHDJBMjNMoENhMnLhrS_iS/s1600-h/columns7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982178784240418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEL-VPZEBinYhVA6AZ62CDafuPVqS8ffQslavjpMMNa9J1ycmrgX9sAL17KXmdYC7hqz31Otlz22e0EEhIvG7IcLD4H3sPVWPfV9yi-lUqwTC3joB2ygWMUIQHDJBMjNMoENhMnLhrS_iS/s400/columns7.jpg" border="0" /></a>(southern) Egypt, the Lotus. They are positioned symbolically on the northern and southern sides of the hall. Such placement was not unusual, and we see many examples of columns positioned in the north and south of courtyards with northern and southern motifs. This specific types of column is rare, but their more stylized forms appeared most frequently in the Graeco-Roman Period.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Composite Columns:</span><br /><br />These columns were common during the Graeco-Roman Period. Composite Columns were probably an evolutionary extension of the campaniform columns with capitals decorations including floral designs of any number of real, or even imagined plants. There variation could be endless, and they became so utterly stylized that the original floral motifs could hardly be recognized. In fact, this type of column continued to evolve in Greece and Rome, becoming very different then the Egyptian variety.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#006600;">None Plant Style Columns:</span></strong><br /><br />While natural plant columns were the most common in Egypt, other column and pillar types could represent deities or their attributes. Examples of these include:<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;">Hathoric Columns:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Li4-StzIRL_UfYY1VFxa_yRzIQ3_URb4iFwKplbnbSEYOkEIyjD0kttJkYray2Jvs_eNS1GvlvCmMPCe_CZjS5lcTds-vrhzB_ZEDPUGSaUmIlvVlEz3HYteCgYRHynooSf4bArfdfiv/s1600-h/columns8.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982183079207730" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Li4-StzIRL_UfYY1VFxa_yRzIQ3_URb4iFwKplbnbSEYOkEIyjD0kttJkYray2Jvs_eNS1GvlvCmMPCe_CZjS5lcTds-vrhzB_ZEDPUGSaUmIlvVlEz3HYteCgYRHynooSf4bArfdfiv/s400/columns8.jpg" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br />This type of column never appeared prior to the Middle Kingdom, and was probably originated in that period. They are usually instantly recognizable by their capital in the shape of the cow headed goddess, Hathor. They often had a simple, round shaft. All considered, they were fairly common, and examples may be found in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/asimbelhath.htm">temple</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ramesses2squeens.htm">Nefertari</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/abusimbel.htm">Abu Simbel</a> and within the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendhall.htm">hypostyle hall</a> of the Ptolemaic (Greek) temple at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/dendera.htm">Dendera</a>. The Dendera columns are probably the best known, where all twenty four columns have the head of this goddess on all four sides. We also know of several other temples with Hathor columns, including the temple of Nekhebet at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/elkab.htm">el Kab</a>. Sistrum columns are also associated with Hathor, but represent in the capitals and shafts the handles and rattles of the sistrum.<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Osiride Pillars:</strong></span><br /><br />All examples of this type of pillar are engaged, meaning that they are part of another architectural element. They appear to also have originated in the Middle Kingdom, and and take the form of a statue of the god <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> on the pillar's front surface.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoBZy3eEAvnCijsVk-quzETwtWBQfiv-p1YhqdgQVCy9_lvswOEXxnflpNKYpoMcYjdzy5Dj9jLwSORY4bcpBMmeEvSd5JlIMND8SJkitMneI7SxXvNQrlNe8ecFlvHSJJf7deQAZSrpY/s1600-h/columns13.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982552446395250" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaoBZy3eEAvnCijsVk-quzETwtWBQfiv-p1YhqdgQVCy9_lvswOEXxnflpNKYpoMcYjdzy5Dj9jLwSORY4bcpBMmeEvSd5JlIMND8SJkitMneI7SxXvNQrlNe8ecFlvHSJJf7deQAZSrpY/s400/columns13.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjI8hDmFHFdAFfgBtxzuCQpmRWhTvFp4bMD9y9qyK0Zt80kOOyO-YO_jcHp0qL8t3wR73xBMVktf8SjqapTlmtHtLnAWowdMAVY96JJCx2UPi9ajPwXGCK6a9JSMKruNVKTBxlR46ozrl/s1600-h/columns12.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Hathor Columns at Dendera</strong></div><strong></strong><strong></strong><strong><br /><br /><br /></strong><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjI8hDmFHFdAFfgBtxzuCQpmRWhTvFp4bMD9y9qyK0Zt80kOOyO-YO_jcHp0qL8t3wR73xBMVktf8SjqapTlmtHtLnAWowdMAVY96JJCx2UPi9ajPwXGCK6a9JSMKruNVKTBxlR46ozrl/s1600-h/columns12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982548151427938" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px" height="275" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjI8hDmFHFdAFfgBtxzuCQpmRWhTvFp4bMD9y9qyK0Zt80kOOyO-YO_jcHp0qL8t3wR73xBMVktf8SjqapTlmtHtLnAWowdMAVY96JJCx2UPi9ajPwXGCK6a9JSMKruNVKTBxlR46ozrl/s400/columns12.jpg" width="242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong>Lotiform Columns<br /></strong><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCrRXqx4h1JlM-Q7LUw8jEUVYnpR6rHVIuyB_4ksrWLA_9LNzd0oyhgIZktN2eBeIL6_wZhF6Z18B0UNKQrSXNh1Aa3HwdjK5S4RTtXIorhema54yBGr-kS3uBiGdW8yPr9RnHXemaiSj/s1600-h/columns11.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982191669142354" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 291px" height="275" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCrRXqx4h1JlM-Q7LUw8jEUVYnpR6rHVIuyB_4ksrWLA_9LNzd0oyhgIZktN2eBeIL6_wZhF6Z18B0UNKQrSXNh1Aa3HwdjK5S4RTtXIorhema54yBGr-kS3uBiGdW8yPr9RnHXemaiSj/s400/columns11.jpg" width="196" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong>A Closed (bud) Style Capital</strong></div><br /><p align="center"><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xw8N51yAfwFnbI3l-DK6eEKLlPuq9hnrvORs4SLQknyeQ4eVblXi7Vmr-4WUhOpjg9gsIg8Ou5tVEKLNbpHZc-MpWeQRkJakdDoE9jZ4nnXFR1ATqx3sILWYct9YDT2EfxD4IsIQI68g/s1600-h/columns15.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xw8N51yAfwFnbI3l-DK6eEKLlPuq9hnrvORs4SLQknyeQ4eVblXi7Vmr-4WUhOpjg9gsIg8Ou5tVEKLNbpHZc-MpWeQRkJakdDoE9jZ4nnXFR1ATqx3sILWYct9YDT2EfxD4IsIQI68g/s1600-h/columns15.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982556741362578" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px" height="275" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xw8N51yAfwFnbI3l-DK6eEKLlPuq9hnrvORs4SLQknyeQ4eVblXi7Vmr-4WUhOpjg9gsIg8Ou5tVEKLNbpHZc-MpWeQRkJakdDoE9jZ4nnXFR1ATqx3sILWYct9YDT2EfxD4IsIQI68g/s400/columns15.jpg" width="230" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xw8N51yAfwFnbI3l-DK6eEKLlPuq9hnrvORs4SLQknyeQ4eVblXi7Vmr-4WUhOpjg9gsIg8Ou5tVEKLNbpHZc-MpWeQRkJakdDoE9jZ4nnXFR1ATqx3sILWYct9YDT2EfxD4IsIQI68g/s1600-h/columns15.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xw8N51yAfwFnbI3l-DK6eEKLlPuq9hnrvORs4SLQknyeQ4eVblXi7Vmr-4WUhOpjg9gsIg8Ou5tVEKLNbpHZc-MpWeQRkJakdDoE9jZ4nnXFR1ATqx3sILWYct9YDT2EfxD4IsIQI68g/s1600-h/columns15.jpg"></a><br /><div align="center"><strong>An example of Open Capital engaged Columns<br /><br /><br /></div></strong><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><div align="center"><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982191669142338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="275" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s400/columns9.jpg" width="261" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjzfK7-7BTv5bwdygSO1QcVCFQqfLgsr0bgVNXBIRof_7Sf0sMK-LQqJH_MaBvW3P2dY_RI-Od7wNuGh40yy7ev9F-YVRqqmiIsH8mnext_Dhu6G2Syyj_6rL-p-othQuEDGiV2ISZaU6n/s1600-h/columns9.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><strong>Osiride Pillars, normally identifiable by the crossed arms</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8zM_aaeQAS5Y2PLnSc97pPcd3PVgHoFV6n5HNJ1FkzzsfxNTC0Fdwgx9t53Bby4AOACc4ix99dgUK-54khTGCKMb0IKvCI99UiySkEJAcgs6x_32K3n5Rd40pCVs4LhSP2rP39fyRLDa/s1600-h/columns16.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8zM_aaeQAS5Y2PLnSc97pPcd3PVgHoFV6n5HNJ1FkzzsfxNTC0Fdwgx9t53Bby4AOACc4ix99dgUK-54khTGCKMb0IKvCI99UiySkEJAcgs6x_32K3n5Rd40pCVs4LhSP2rP39fyRLDa/s1600-h/columns16.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982556741362594" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 288px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px" height="275" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8zM_aaeQAS5Y2PLnSc97pPcd3PVgHoFV6n5HNJ1FkzzsfxNTC0Fdwgx9t53Bby4AOACc4ix99dgUK-54khTGCKMb0IKvCI99UiySkEJAcgs6x_32K3n5Rd40pCVs4LhSP2rP39fyRLDa/s400/columns16.jpg" width="238" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong>An Open Papyrus Column</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjisBD2aXz1dTWio3s6WQMsqPsBmxcBYwvif8Q4IaFAxuhlFGxYAGmQB6INQho10Ye49f_SF623IWVwzCwyxUkDK9vOiyo-dOOvmhuvxLLF7JhkfqKMVllkD5PcHQEJNOLYVarAWDE6s1v/s1600-h/Court+of+Amenhotep+III+..jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjisBD2aXz1dTWio3s6WQMsqPsBmxcBYwvif8Q4IaFAxuhlFGxYAGmQB6INQho10Ye49f_SF623IWVwzCwyxUkDK9vOiyo-dOOvmhuvxLLF7JhkfqKMVllkD5PcHQEJNOLYVarAWDE6s1v/s1600-h/Court+of+Amenhotep+III+..jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982926108550098" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjisBD2aXz1dTWio3s6WQMsqPsBmxcBYwvif8Q4IaFAxuhlFGxYAGmQB6INQho10Ye49f_SF623IWVwzCwyxUkDK9vOiyo-dOOvmhuvxLLF7JhkfqKMVllkD5PcHQEJNOLYVarAWDE6s1v/s400/Court+of+Amenhotep+III+..jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjisBD2aXz1dTWio3s6WQMsqPsBmxcBYwvif8Q4IaFAxuhlFGxYAGmQB6INQho10Ye49f_SF623IWVwzCwyxUkDK9vOiyo-dOOvmhuvxLLF7JhkfqKMVllkD5PcHQEJNOLYVarAWDE6s1v/s1600-h/Court+of+Amenhotep+III+..jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong>Court of Amenhotep III .</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWMfi6spNVOvAOJwxahts9QXqxbGXj6oXHsoelbdAI7HhKPVt44Y3U1AhYsEWRCdYZCRSDJhCgscFw5jSgBCOurU83bGGzllAqMZQMwPnym-hqrpsn4evLVGS8OhMkVNbwPPFA-K0wLns/s1600-h/harbor_head_columns_dendera.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWMfi6spNVOvAOJwxahts9QXqxbGXj6oXHsoelbdAI7HhKPVt44Y3U1AhYsEWRCdYZCRSDJhCgscFw5jSgBCOurU83bGGzllAqMZQMwPnym-hqrpsn4evLVGS8OhMkVNbwPPFA-K0wLns/s1600-h/harbor_head_columns_dendera.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982930403517410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 324px" height="324" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWMfi6spNVOvAOJwxahts9QXqxbGXj6oXHsoelbdAI7HhKPVt44Y3U1AhYsEWRCdYZCRSDJhCgscFw5jSgBCOurU83bGGzllAqMZQMwPnym-hqrpsn4evLVGS8OhMkVNbwPPFA-K0wLns/s400/harbor_head_columns_dendera.jpg" width="356" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWMfi6spNVOvAOJwxahts9QXqxbGXj6oXHsoelbdAI7HhKPVt44Y3U1AhYsEWRCdYZCRSDJhCgscFw5jSgBCOurU83bGGzllAqMZQMwPnym-hqrpsn4evLVGS8OhMkVNbwPPFA-K0wLns/s1600-h/harbor_head_columns_dendera.jpg"></a></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong>harbor_head_columns_dendera</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrSmj432IGk3Unn_JlynjIgPpgWBU4ppv237AiDAcyXrwcNnSiUVP69Qu_PNgYe-A1MCG2BRwT4t8cR0U8QacbyvSRyEnx0xKNp6snI4XWdEVlhbH8FAN_B4gwUQW4D8Qe1usDoFANfMx/s1600-h/Hypostyle+Hall+in+the+Temple+of+Amun+at+Karnak..jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982930403517426" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrSmj432IGk3Unn_JlynjIgPpgWBU4ppv237AiDAcyXrwcNnSiUVP69Qu_PNgYe-A1MCG2BRwT4t8cR0U8QacbyvSRyEnx0xKNp6snI4XWdEVlhbH8FAN_B4gwUQW4D8Qe1usDoFANfMx/s400/Hypostyle+Hall+in+the+Temple+of+Amun+at+Karnak..jpg" width="259" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrSmj432IGk3Unn_JlynjIgPpgWBU4ppv237AiDAcyXrwcNnSiUVP69Qu_PNgYe-A1MCG2BRwT4t8cR0U8QacbyvSRyEnx0xKNp6snI4XWdEVlhbH8FAN_B4gwUQW4D8Qe1usDoFANfMx/s1600-h/Hypostyle+Hall+in+the+Temple+of+Amun+at+Karnak..jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrSmj432IGk3Unn_JlynjIgPpgWBU4ppv237AiDAcyXrwcNnSiUVP69Qu_PNgYe-A1MCG2BRwT4t8cR0U8QacbyvSRyEnx0xKNp6snI4XWdEVlhbH8FAN_B4gwUQW4D8Qe1usDoFANfMx/s1600-h/Hypostyle+Hall+in+the+Temple+of+Amun+at+Karnak..jpg"></a> </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong>Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak.</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a> </div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121982926108550082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 256px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 324px" height="324" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s400/columns_esna_nubia.jpg" width="246" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a> </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a> </div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXpumjAN3PBPBaAGUhD0ncQCUiSr_QIelUptIvQca3f4L4ru2OxQWVqOUeWG8-5C9eh-pzdjhOpSNreoxyRtKO6WVZd0T74v58UqFAPLjA1bsJ4xAhA0p0GVjAvb-PPJ2hMAycnc0G0m7z/s1600-h/columns_esna_nubia.jpg"></a> </div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong></div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong></strong> </div><div align="center"><strong>columns_esna_nubia</strong></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><br /><div align="center"></div><p></p><p><br /></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.alamy.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.alamy.com</span></a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.touregypt.net</span></a><br /><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.shutterstock.com</span></a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.culturefocus.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.culturefocus.com</span></a> </div><div align="center"><a href="http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/pic_valley_kings.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/pic_valley_kings.htm</span></a> </div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5121983252526064642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuPj8a25GekFSn-1_lQJ16Y5gFP6N9MYYJrzQ-C6EHwNfB1Ke4kHutqDjWk_KAnN-ohUM5ozMET7hojnzrIQxJA9j0FrWBHujWCSXPlpvt-3ln7QB2HJSgHw1jle-5iztMpfts72nDtLI/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span><a href="http://www.alamy.com/"></div></a>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-33202488915446401072007-10-10T07:46:00.000+02:002007-10-10T07:46:14.440+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>The Temple of the Oracle</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>(Temple of Amun)</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt</strong></span></div><br /><div><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">The Oracle:</span><br /></strong></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4WCij6PxFMtD-Ad-YfxFT6DeXCo58ndj1pZcTFkYVsqIctyGJFCMgXJuXh84zS_9nDjMvmkYjj7LjXvMROQKzi9q6U90UZE_gs7HjTCR18vNC4o9MXdhdDxXqNk2PPDoHrg8c45WKAq7/s1600-h/templeoracle2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782114616107538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 280px" height="353" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV4WCij6PxFMtD-Ad-YfxFT6DeXCo58ndj1pZcTFkYVsqIctyGJFCMgXJuXh84zS_9nDjMvmkYjj7LjXvMROQKzi9q6U90UZE_gs7HjTCR18vNC4o9MXdhdDxXqNk2PPDoHrg8c45WKAq7/s400/templeoracle2.jpg" width="291" border="0" /></a><br />In the mostly abandoned village of Aghurmi in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa Oasis</a> is a most famous temple of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>, now more known as the Temple of the Oracle because of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/macdyn01.htm">Alexander's</a> visit when he conquered Egypt. It is actually one of two temples dedicated to Amun at Siwa, the other being <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ummubaydah.htm">Umm Ubayda</a>. It sits atop a flat rock, and is a spectacular sight. Built during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn26.htm">26th Dynasty</a> (though the Oracle's origin is reputed to be much, much older), this temple and its Oracle flourished well into the Greek and Roman periods.<br /></div><div>There are a number of myths about the founding of this temple. One of them tells of two black priestesses from the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/templeofamun.htm">Temple of Amun</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (modern <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>) who were banished to the desert. In this tell, one of them founded the Temple of Dodona in Greece, where she became the voice of the Oracle. The second, after a time in Libya, came to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a> where she became the Oracle's sibyl.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozGP3K5biFzDKLXW8FcNtaTmHJJcNJtwLRCrypze9kLbVt9oKX81acRqAWQi8cEpOR-KN0fi3Z_lj9zHef3vXm8AvXhw9x115UpwKtxptscN2lJ_Sve-_BtgiALrJm-dawp6SfqH7Xz8G/s1600-h/templeoracle12.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782118911074882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 203px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 357px" height="377" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozGP3K5biFzDKLXW8FcNtaTmHJJcNJtwLRCrypze9kLbVt9oKX81acRqAWQi8cEpOR-KN0fi3Z_lj9zHef3vXm8AvXhw9x115UpwKtxptscN2lJ_Sve-_BtgiALrJm-dawp6SfqH7Xz8G/s400/templeoracle12.jpg" width="203" border="0" /></a><br />Another tell maintains that the temple existed as early as 1385 BC, and was built in honor of Ham, the son of Noah, by Danaus the Egyptian, while yet another legend relates the founding of the temple to the Greek god Dionysus. While lost in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/mag01012001/magf3.htm">Western Desert</a>, Dionysus was perishing of thirst when a man appeared and guided him to the spring at Aghurmi. In gratitude, Dionysus erected the temple.<br /></div><div><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/oracle.htm">Oracles</a>, manifestations of the gods, were very revered in the ancient world and their existence in Egypt dates back for beyond the Temple of the Oracle at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a>. Able to see into the future, they were consulted regularly prior to important decisions. Other important Oracles of the ancient world were located at Persia, Libya, Delphi, Cumae, Samos, Cimmeria, Erythrae, Tibur, Marpessa (on the Hellespont) and at Phrygia. Their abodes were typically close to a natural phenomenon. At Siwa, the temple was located at the spectacular Spring of the Sun. Sibyls, priestesses who spoke the Oracle's message, were believed to be endowed with prophetic powers often called upon to intercede with the gods.</div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEn1yfGI_TdGcoHsdROScqB67XftvH7Ks1EwzJfvuwojS4FvgcM2smyidXClxfYVGFFFVEqMRyZP-VgcNcRBO2jzg3Lf_iZnHo75g5h6LXbxy75g7ybwHZ8gzmNtKeXTHTvQW_H5F8QFI/s1600-h/templeoracle3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782771746103922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 245px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 205px" height="297" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEn1yfGI_TdGcoHsdROScqB67XftvH7Ks1EwzJfvuwojS4FvgcM2smyidXClxfYVGFFFVEqMRyZP-VgcNcRBO2jzg3Lf_iZnHo75g5h6LXbxy75g7ybwHZ8gzmNtKeXTHTvQW_H5F8QFI/s400/templeoracle3.jpg" width="307" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div>Various ancient sources, including Quintus Curtius and Diodorus, report that the original form of the Oracle at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a> was the bezel of a ring, which was embellished with gems including the elusive Siwan emeralds. Later, the form became the head of a ram, a symbol of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>. We are told that, unlike the great complex at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/karnak.htm">Karnak</a>, wealth was not important, and in fact, the Oracle at Siwa strove to maintain its primitive simplicity. </div><div>Today, we think of the Oracles most famous visitor as <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/macdyn01.htm">Alexander the Great</a>, but legend says there were others. </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUhHvs9kXAPJ6VE38Z9ySnQLnNLHzOakxY79lIKwQq6bz3U-lniIH3VNsSAwGk6C3d6UIf7S7kKpx9plSMI8j8BZpBrt4x5HMznLwVtn93y4qXHb5nsJD2v5tA1wFOyk1TPoKudQEH97M/s1600-h/amen_worshipped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118781169723302338" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="191" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihUhHvs9kXAPJ6VE38Z9ySnQLnNLHzOakxY79lIKwQq6bz3U-lniIH3VNsSAwGk6C3d6UIf7S7kKpx9plSMI8j8BZpBrt4x5HMznLwVtn93y4qXHb5nsJD2v5tA1wFOyk1TPoKudQEH97M/s400/amen_worshipped.jpg" width="201" border="0" /></a> The Oracle at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a> was held in such high favor in Greece that an Athenian galley was commissioned solely to convey envoys to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/marsamatruhtop.htm">Mersa Matruh</a>, then called Ammonia, where they would begin their desert trek to the oasis. The Greeks probably learned of the Oracle after they invaded the northern coast and established Cyrene (now Libya) in 637 BC. Afterwards, the Oracle was absorbed into Greek religion and associated with Zeus, who became associated with the Egyptian <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>. The Oracle is reputed to have cursed Andromeda and she was tied to a rock to be devoured by a sea-serpent. Perseus is said to have stopped off to visit the Oracle prior to beheading Medusa, and Hercules is though to have visited it before he fought Bursiris.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHWg787DiSqp1plvTJwnhepLKWY1IhkjM_DmTPba-m8DQvNqz8Oyd9QBMs0V5_DF6ISKzDwUIJzoElb3noNCjo17phKwTeau6_9bgJRKn38YAwUGs9FXpnF1gR6WSZ6u1AoVFbOsONOkT/s1600-h/templeoracle7.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782114616107570" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 204px" height="291" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHWg787DiSqp1plvTJwnhepLKWY1IhkjM_DmTPba-m8DQvNqz8Oyd9QBMs0V5_DF6ISKzDwUIJzoElb3noNCjo17phKwTeau6_9bgJRKn38YAwUGs9FXpnF1gR6WSZ6u1AoVFbOsONOkT/s400/templeoracle7.jpg" width="296" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/cambyses2.htm">Cambyses</a>, who ruled Egypt between 525 and 522 BC, wanted to destroy the Oracle, but he lost his army somewhere in the vast outreaches of the Western Desert. Pliny tells us that this was because the sacred stone at the temple was touched by sacrilegious hand, which caused a dreaded sand storm to rage. </div><br /><div>There is a legend that Pindar, the famous Greek poet who lived between 522 and 443 BC, wrote a poem about the Oracle that was kept under the alter for six centuries. </div><br /><div>Prior to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/macdyn01.htm">Alexander the Great</a>, Cimon, the Athenian general, stood at Cyprus in 449 BC awaiting word from the Oracle before attacking Egypt. It is said that when his emissaries reached the Temple, the Oracle spoke, "Cimon is already with me!". When they returned to Cyprus, the discovered that Cimon had died as they were speaking to the Oracle.<br /></div><div>Eubotas, the famous Cyrene athlete also stopped by, perhaps sometime around the year 409 BC. Around the same time, Lysander, the Spartan general, came to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a> twice to consult with the Oracle.<br /></div><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118781577745195506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOblyABBvEw0a8ZJHog_WQ7pRheVTbXU4bWQKiUHonOJi-5IC3VNFN3PxptxtJ23n727Rl0Bn_HcZcw6dksm58zqVhSFi6ZY9cb4rhOSe2p0yfW3wuY-9aYNoPLMIdf6tXfAWtd_fcEdLR/s400/temple-amun-500.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div></div><div>We are told that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/macdyn01.htm">Alexander the Great</a>, in 331 BC) consulted the Oracle in order to seek <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZU9GmcNSgOowaHcy3GOIAnB1sGYexRVKIHbmvSS3XRriD_n86HQBSiuu0su7LiCAYyEmXxGwFTA-MB96SX06UFAqzWgPOd6oefyR7aZ-xcUe1OytjXkM9UjEiBDef5eW0_MWjWBXKgwe/s1600-h/cutoff_hands.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118781169723302322" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="183" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ZU9GmcNSgOowaHcy3GOIAnB1sGYexRVKIHbmvSS3XRriD_n86HQBSiuu0su7LiCAYyEmXxGwFTA-MB96SX06UFAqzWgPOd6oefyR7aZ-xcUe1OytjXkM9UjEiBDef5eW0_MWjWBXKgwe/s400/cutoff_hands.jpg" width="248" border="0" /></a>confirmation that he was the son of Zeus (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>), and therefore a legitimate ruler of both Egypt and other lands that he conquered. When he and his entourage arrived after capturing Egypt, a manifestation of the Oracle was paraded through the city accompanied by eighty priests. After his visit to the Oracle, whenever his image appeared on coins, Alexander was shown with the horns of the ram, symbolic of the god Amun. We know that Alexander consulted the Oracle at least once, and probably more than one time. </div><br /><div></div><div>After <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/macdyn01.htm">Alexander</a>, Hannibal is reported to have visited the Oracle and the Elians were so deeply influenced by the Oracle that they kept a list of all their questions and answers provided by the Oracle, which they engraved in stone upon a temple wall. </div><br /><div></div><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">The Temple:</span></strong></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqbL-i2nHOcyGU_MTBWVJHVO40sxaUriUX8hpXiH3Qh3VhVyaruqnZ948UnPewHvWNp4PfQIw2RDBPPFrKxxZVwoHMsVeq7kDRac8lohz3zTpX3JYeWldqE9KAF0-xysE_VCtX3xGJfeL/s1600-h/templeoracle1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782771746103906" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 343px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqbL-i2nHOcyGU_MTBWVJHVO40sxaUriUX8hpXiH3Qh3VhVyaruqnZ948UnPewHvWNp4PfQIw2RDBPPFrKxxZVwoHMsVeq7kDRac8lohz3zTpX3JYeWldqE9KAF0-xysE_VCtX3xGJfeL/s400/templeoracle1.jpg" width="262" border="0" /></a>The ruins of the Temple of the Oracle still exits, but for how long is questionable. The rock upon which it sits is cracking, and from time to time parts of it, sometimes large pieces, slide down. Fissures are seen on all side and we know that in ancient times, the rock was much larger. There is considerable evidence of treasure hunters at work in the temple area. Nevertheless, the Temple remains fairly well-preserved, all considered. </div><br /><div></div><div>The temple is reached by climbing a well-marked path up the side of the rock it surmounts. The temple does not occupy the entire area. It sites within the village that was abandoned for the most part in 1926 after a heavy rainstorm. Until very recently, at least some families actually lived in the temple. </div><br /><div></div><div>The entrance is through the village gate. The ruins of an old mosque stand over the gate, its minaret still dominating the skyline. In front of the mosque is the ancient well with several niches that may lead to storage areas or subterranean passages. The temple is in the northwest corner of this area. Its walls abut the cliff at the edge of the rock and are in danger of falling into the precipice below. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118781577745195522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH5h-KWhzhC10GT6hk1Dqr9JlRx9AtIjGOVa7RbGMLF321VX5Lv9C511XQ8uu-jDVgIGjFezbIWUEzaej3vr34yWxxeHoq2GYOIw8bb8Y0_phzxk9cry-zbzdrvkUYofuOQJMVnLK4tTM2/s400/sanctuary-temple-amun-500.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4MqoaApJ4LEop56RGNDHffAx8EUCVxmVaO7SsRazJ-4FmmPPUasyWhhh0sYl6sjiA7oCxAt2tYc_L1I_q0vXFujsGVJ_rBQECGfFzgG5PGvUAkHe7yaMfRdsJ3NyU4kv3Z4CknzNkP-aQ/s1600-h/templeoracle5.jpg"></a></div><br /><div></div><div>The area in front of the temple was cleared of its mudbrick houses by Ahmed Fakhry in 1970. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3Xz25khnrJJLacWgO4k5UeJbybRiXJWD4mYfPNl-IWMHM-uv8Prgobm-5I-7odq22gJbzMsayyom-CFjQ8BJbgeJ3TNlhxx0Al9Hb7jEBe5cKFAs_Q0IirRhDXOfWEgPa9ZSrNhDH6eD/s1600-h/amen.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118781156838400418" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="322" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3Xz25khnrJJLacWgO4k5UeJbybRiXJWD4mYfPNl-IWMHM-uv8Prgobm-5I-7odq22gJbzMsayyom-CFjQ8BJbgeJ3TNlhxx0Al9Hb7jEBe5cKFAs_Q0IirRhDXOfWEgPa9ZSrNhDH6eD/s400/amen.jpg" width="108" border="0" /></a>The court in which the processions of the god took place stretches in front of the temple proper, but only the foundations of its northern and eastern walls still exist. The court is only a small distance from the edge of the rock, and therefore we have to suppose either that this area of the rock at its edge was filled in during ancient times, or that visitors had to climb a staircase if, as we might expect, the entrance of the court was in the axis of the temple. However, it is possible that the entrance to the court was on the east side and that it was reached as it is today by climbing the slope. </div><br /><div></div><div>The facade of the temple is easily distinguished. It stands about eight meters high. the entrance has a cornice measuring 2.22 meters wide, with no inscriptions. Later builders, apparently during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Ptolemaic period</a>, attempted to make it look like a Greek temple, adding a wall in front on which they build a half-column of the fluted Doric type to each side of the entrance. </div><br /><div></div><div>The facade leads to an interior of two large halls and a sanctuary with an entrance on the main axis. The first hall measures 7.74 by 4.95 meters. Its entrance is not precisely in the middle of the wall. The western side is slightly longer. there are two niches in the southern wall, one in each of the two corners. At floor level in the west wall there i<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtjTPRAOJXeZk07Uc-XiGVc2Vmtg9L4ia__lDn5ma5e1SMYdF2tH-qpKZDHxlVKmYHRd394SQ4wQbpYJpsWSC4w5QvhIsf42tcPL4AuuPTNOW54cnTHit81AdI-beGlGlZw3guH5Q1WT4/s1600-h/templeoracle4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782776041071234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 276px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 206px" height="295" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtjTPRAOJXeZk07Uc-XiGVc2Vmtg9L4ia__lDn5ma5e1SMYdF2tH-qpKZDHxlVKmYHRd394SQ4wQbpYJpsWSC4w5QvhIsf42tcPL4AuuPTNOW54cnTHit81AdI-beGlGlZw3guH5Q1WT4/s400/templeoracle4.jpg" width="328" border="0" /></a>s an entrance to a crypt. The second court is almost the same size as the first, but built a little higher. There are three entrances int he north wall of the second court, of which the middle and larger one leads to the sanctuary. The small entrance to the right of it, only 80 centimeters wide, leads to a narrow corridor which might have been used as an annex for storing the temple equipment or to assist in delivering the oracles. In the left wall of the corridor are three niches about 66 centimeters higher than the floor, and near the ceiling are two apertures for light. Fakhry wondered whether this might have been a secret area from which the priests could speak the words of the Oracle. </div><br /><div></div><div>Only the sanctuary has walls that are inscribed. The sanctuary measure <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVtqc4Yc4-As54gMZxUFLZQMZPZfqhTHB8-puLbGF-VjRuLth_ORgLTk9z8j-eU332Yl6Sb45lLRkFPQjHggLylo7K9A64qNiG-jyUl7ThTTz178s4PNgthgsxkfDM7NPKzBNvsfpG7cb/s1600-h/templeoracle14.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782118911074898" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 386px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVtqc4Yc4-As54gMZxUFLZQMZPZfqhTHB8-puLbGF-VjRuLth_ORgLTk9z8j-eU332Yl6Sb45lLRkFPQjHggLylo7K9A64qNiG-jyUl7ThTTz178s4PNgthgsxkfDM7NPKzBNvsfpG7cb/s400/templeoracle14.jpg" width="255" border="0" /></a>3.3 meters wide by 6.1 meters deep. Like the other rooms, it was once roofed over, and we even find near the top of the east and west walls tone projections on which the rafters rested. Unfortunately, the walls have been badly damaged by treasure hunters. </div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVtqc4Yc4-As54gMZxUFLZQMZPZfqhTHB8-puLbGF-VjRuLth_ORgLTk9z8j-eU332Yl6Sb45lLRkFPQjHggLylo7K9A64qNiG-jyUl7ThTTz178s4PNgthgsxkfDM7NPKzBNvsfpG7cb/s1600-h/templeoracle14.jpg"></a></div><div>The inscriptions being at the two sides of the entrance to this chamber, and continue on the side walls, though it seems that the back wall may never have been inscribed. To the right of the entrance is the figure of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amasis.htm">King Amasis</a>, in whose reign the temple was built and decorated, though his head and body have been chiseled out. The crown of the North upon his head was left intact. The king's name is written inside a cartouche in front of him. He offers rounded vases of wine to eight deities who stand facing him in a row, preceded by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a>, who are represented on the east wall. Other gods on the wall include Amun's consort, Amenre, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mut.htm">Mut</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/khonsu.htm">Khonsu</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mahes.htm">Mahesa</a>. The last deity is a female who wears the double crown, but her inscription is completely destroyed. The accompanying text reads, "I give life to the Chief of the desert-dwellers, Sutekh-irdes".</div><br /><div></div><div>To the left of the entrance of the sanctuary is depicted a governor of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/siwaoas.htm">Siwa</a>, completely destroyed except for the feather which was stuck in his hair and denotes his Libyan origin. While under Egyptian control, Herodotus tells us that its governors were called kings, perhaps because of its isolation. Hence, He is represented on the opposite side of the chamber, in the same position as the king of Egypt, and like him, he makes offerings to eight gods. The inscription tells us that this was Sutekh-irdes, who was "Chief of the Desert-dwellers". Among the eight deities on this wall are Amenre, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/mut.htm">Mut</a>, Dedun-Amun, the goddess <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/tefnut.htm">Tefnut</a>, Harsaphis, with a human body and ram's head, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a>, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/thoth.htm">Thoth</a>, depicted with the head of an ibis, and Hebenu of the Two Lands, Nehem'awa, the consort of Thoth. Behind the last deity, the wall is blank, because at one point a door here lead to the adjacent chamber. It was walled up at a later date. </div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMnqmF-2uWWpbb6udn9NiPoIJyYgvgwB1oDNYyfIZUgrEIf2R0TOxo5HDVWFs4r8VkiWsWr7JMyGVQGUo2h2xtuUTxQU7fLbBfjD2Q00DZTtjPn1COHXSwgOPDQwEcy9u6U-zCMSjNzOY/s1600-h/templeoracle10.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118782776041071250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 306px" height="370" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXMnqmF-2uWWpbb6udn9NiPoIJyYgvgwB1oDNYyfIZUgrEIf2R0TOxo5HDVWFs4r8VkiWsWr7JMyGVQGUo2h2xtuUTxQU7fLbBfjD2Q00DZTtjPn1COHXSwgOPDQwEcy9u6U-zCMSjNzOY/s400/templeoracle10.jpg" width="313" border="0" /></a>There was at least one chamber on the roof the temple. The staircase that led to the terrace roof was at the west side of the corner which fell down when this part of the rock slid off. </div><br /><div></div><div>There is a narrow corridor at the right (east side of the sanctuary) that leads around behind the back wall. Another large chamber is on the west side of the temple. The temple has apparently never been properly excavated, and without such work, it cannot be determined whether other parts of the temple are still hidden under the surrounding debris. Remains of walls southwest of the court are visible, and we can distinguish the outlines of some chambers built of stone. There are also stone walls among the remains of the falling houses at the east side of the temple, but without proper study, we do not know if any of these constructs are a part of the temple proper.</div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.touregypt.net</span></a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/religion/amen.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/religion/amen.htm</span></a><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/siwa_oasis_pictures.html"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://sacredsites.com/africa/egypt/siwa_oasis_pictures.ht</span>ml</span></a><br /></div><div align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118785675143996082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfX4JVMgetseCyJetV7SWcnZaLrxTdNY4wTlnR0pbOQNjFwnMeZhbvVyfUZv2iZ7YAcqINjlTqqOU9M2BQrUkkHpTqFU-KcfsfA1cpW_yrA1wFOXrX32PG7ZJfOAh8MeYqOLuj-PkpUEho/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-27235001604461547592007-10-07T02:33:00.000+02:002007-10-07T03:04:43.636+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>Re (Ra) and Re-Horakhty</strong></span></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"></span></strong> </div><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEVwlssW-Qtv8NworwZPZfOxT8sspcyRCxQ-2nQvfa8NjD5L5bTB2NwpidKUoclfsjobegpvBUkz7nj_-OBIr3cTt9v_YetcczXZoGhfqfHYIGhrVOjuwYSGfJ9IyXuGs5GkxzzaIL90r/s1600-h/raname.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117295593202580850" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpEVwlssW-Qtv8NworwZPZfOxT8sspcyRCxQ-2nQvfa8NjD5L5bTB2NwpidKUoclfsjobegpvBUkz7nj_-OBIr3cTt9v_YetcczXZoGhfqfHYIGhrVOjuwYSGfJ9IyXuGs5GkxzzaIL90r/s400/raname.jpg" border="0" /></a> Re (Ra) was the Egyptian sun god who was also often referred to as Re-Horakhty, meaning Re (is) Horus of the Horizon, referring to the god's character. The early Egyptians believed that he created the world, and the rising sun was, for them, the symbol of creation. The daily cycle, as the sun <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIU66M0J7aeEUZUyXyRSxzdZ_KHL5yLxcwZlj7DN92sDPYq6tZsjCmSZ5t-8Xc1aDx4e7wTNx1gOnkjOQvd3gi56Ckz4S2ig5bfV6zUlk9dyYFEW85JAErBNVPxqoBQp8ucI5puVgbzPO/s1600-h/raname2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117296138663427458" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIU66M0J7aeEUZUyXyRSxzdZ_KHL5yLxcwZlj7DN92sDPYq6tZsjCmSZ5t-8Xc1aDx4e7wTNx1gOnkjOQvd3gi56Ckz4S2ig5bfV6zUlk9dyYFEW85JAErBNVPxqoBQp8ucI5puVgbzPO/s400/raname2.jpg" border="0" /></a>rose, then set only to rise again the next morning, symbolized renewal and so Re was seen as the paramount force of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/creation.htm">creation</a> and master of life. His closest ally is <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/maat.htm">Ma'at</a>, the embodiment of order and truth.</p><p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMC3nfSFyLPhUB2Pt_Z6gMW-hHvN_B_g3ER-4rDNZodRBmTY7vxxsxnTE9cwqg81_E_N86bpN3VDutadIMZX1jbDPvKkcJ0neoiRHdRSGk3RF5EmH0myLAWidHVmzPdPhvBgps1Ymq-X5x/s1600-h/re4.jpg"><strong><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117296142958394802" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 246px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 328px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMC3nfSFyLPhUB2Pt_Z6gMW-hHvN_B_g3ER-4rDNZodRBmTY7vxxsxnTE9cwqg81_E_N86bpN3VDutadIMZX1jbDPvKkcJ0neoiRHdRSGk3RF5EmH0myLAWidHVmzPdPhvBgps1Ymq-X5x/s400/re4.jpg" width="246" border="0" /></strong></a><br /><strong>Re-Horakhty (right) and Osiris (left)</strong><br />Re was also closely connected to the Pharaoh, Egypt's king. While the king ruled earth, Re was the master of the universe so they were of the same nature and were in effect a mirror image of each other. Interestingly, up until the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn2.htm">2nd Dynasty</a>, there is an absence of references on Re, but his development began in the late 2nd Dynasty and matured through the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>. Re became more and more associated with the king, who was both human and a god at once, embodied in the falcon named <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> and by the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>, referred to as the son of Re. Hence, a relationship also developed between Horus and Re as they were merged in the symbol of a winged sun disk, an icon that remained constant in <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/temples.htm">Temples</a> and religious monuments through the end of Egyptian history.<br /><br />Re's early worship really became very significant during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>, when kings not only erected pyramids aligned to the rising and setting sun, but also built solar temples in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFt1XAnJ9ki7gy4nPEuFONfl1_JlLhPiVrYXPHbvrvdutHbpiy8re-eHpv4IyQZRA1dKx0JpMx5KCH2w-bQnnPJMM1etV4jHCE4EmNRFYRUqg9AfBwuunXrOIF-MLMGz6A0BuXEnW50Cp/s1600-h/ra1.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117295580317678898" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 139px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 247px" height="267" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFt1XAnJ9ki7gy4nPEuFONfl1_JlLhPiVrYXPHbvrvdutHbpiy8re-eHpv4IyQZRA1dKx0JpMx5KCH2w-bQnnPJMM1etV4jHCE4EmNRFYRUqg9AfBwuunXrOIF-MLMGz6A0BuXEnW50Cp/s400/ra1.gif" width="139" border="0" /></a>honor of Re. This sort of temple must have been a difficult conception for the Egyptians, because Re never had a sanctuary with a cult statue. Instead, his image was the sun itself, so the sun temples were centered upon an Obelisk over which the sun rose, and before the obelisk would be an alter for his worship. However, the most significant early solar temple was probably erected at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a>, where a pillar resembling an obelisk made up part of the hieroglyphs for the city's name, Iwn. Unfortunately, that structure is now completely destroyed.<br /><br />These <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a> rulers were also responsible for the first Pyramid Texts during the Old Kingdom, a collection of spells describing the journey of the dead pharaoh through the underworld. These texts were some of the first decorations inscribed in Pyramids, and are an important source of information on the sun god.<br /><br /><span style="color:#006600;"><strong>For example, one hymn states:</strong></span><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118379740604981602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHZPdsdyUe8AU1_GQ_6Mseu2ay3msXaEp4NjLAKam-Ra5prT2YTVAJSLTO7s8bqbAWyGqrLLCGculXqhiBZSMT1YGUOWOql5uGYfdAtwXbByCoVAvVfIUN4sAXj_xfBwmtaxXG0ti-ei4X/s400/raunderworld.gif" border="0" /><strong>"Homage to thee, O thou who risest in the horizon as Ra,"thou restest upon law unchangeable and unalterable. Thou"passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy"course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze. Thou dost"show thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day. The Sektet*"boat, wherein is the Majesty, goeth forth with light; thy beams"are upon all faces; the [number] of red and yellow rays"cannot be known, nor can thy bright beams be told. The lands"of the gods, and the lands of Punt* must be seen, ere that which"is hidden [in thee] may be measured. Alone and by thyself thou"dost manifest thyself when thou comest into being above Nu*."May I advance, even as thou dost advance; may I never cease to"go forward as thou never ceasest to go forward, even though it be"for a moment; for with strides thou dost in one little moment"pass over the spaces which would need millions and millions of"years [for men to pass over; this] thou doest and then thou dost"sink to rest. Thou puttest an end to the hours of the night, and"thou dost count them, even thou; thou endest them in thine"own appointed season, and the earth becometh light. Thou"settest thyself therefore before thy handiwork in the likeness of"Ra [when] thou risest on the horizon."</strong><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118379740604981634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiixVQaamL5pFdIIvAAG8F97JkUSPX-ChbeQd0n97Za2C2D7SfyoSKTMFQ3Glfv66RFnh2P7KkA38SOvEwLQtSQLsJ8socXWqEH0t_ukgcA4gxpIUEB9o_2Uj8cgaP8VmTVP6kqfNz230Bd/s400/Untitled4.jpg" border="0" /><br />The story of creation related in the Pyramid Text explains that Re, as Atum, rose in the beginning of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0WIL9NFVAEL4c7yfz9R6E6mCliR5ilezWGIFHGfmuAsNSP5I1wiqdY2jRPhyBCL6xtN0_8vesjHEh41GPcS6-OvV7Vu2AmAki8KYdZKr7xfkuuCWJkgkFx129ox-Y_lMRHiTosj0MXbp/s1600-h/ra3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118377996848259394" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 238px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 365px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx0WIL9NFVAEL4c7yfz9R6E6mCliR5ilezWGIFHGfmuAsNSP5I1wiqdY2jRPhyBCL6xtN0_8vesjHEh41GPcS6-OvV7Vu2AmAki8KYdZKr7xfkuuCWJkgkFx129ox-Y_lMRHiTosj0MXbp/s400/ra3.jpg" width="238" border="0" /></a>creation as a benben stone, an obelisk-like pillar, in the temple of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/benu.htm">Benu</a>-Phoenix in Heliopolis. He then spit forth <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/shu.htm">Shu</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/tefnut.htm">Tefnut</a>, who became the first godly couple, and who respectively, symbolized air and moisture. To them, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/geb.htm">Geb</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nut.htm">Nut</a>, were born, symbolizing the earth and sky. Geb and Nut, in turn, begot two divine couples consisting of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> - <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/isis.htm">Isis</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm">Seth</a> - <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/nephthys.htm">Nephthys</a>. Called the Ennead of gods, the combined attributes of this divine group were needed in order for the world to function.<br /><br />However, while Re is never paired with a goddess, he also bears several other off springs including, among others, his son the king, who becomes one with his father in death and the Goddess <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a>, who is often depicted with the solar disk in her headdress.<br /><br />The story continues with Osiris, who is murdered by his brother Seth. In this version of the story, Re resurrects Osiris to rule over the dead. The deceased pharaoh identifies with both Re and Osiris, thus forming a link between them. Though Re and Osiris might be seen as complete opposites, death was not seen by the ancient Egyptians to be the end of life, but rather its original source.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118378593848713554" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 247px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" height="284" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSKRLOOEkI2OGlIeNKoA8fYRiQg5pdk0lc5sJ9-Q64MpwCm1ByP1TevtifxfIavQQ1Sq9zpW8XSHD0ckk82zbVEtZFu1cOEeUwhVhoXVLaRwp3kRn2Ya1q8y04W1PLVTq7HCtQF0iMFWgW/s400/ra1.jpg" width="234" border="0" /><br />Thus, in the Pyramid Text, Re is perpetually resurrected in the mornings in the form of a scarab beetle, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/kephri.htm">Khepri</a>, which means the Emerging One. He rides on the primordial waters, called <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nun.htm">Nun</a>, in his sacred bark (boat) along with a number of other deities across the sky, where at sunset he becomes <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/atum.htm">Atum</a>, the "All Lord". At sunset, he is swallowed by the goddess Nut, who gives birth to him each morning again as Khepri. Therefore, the cycle continued with birth, life and death.<br /><br />By the Middle Kingdom (about 2055 BC - 1759 BC), Re's character evolved and now several hymns tell us that he created the earth solely for mankind, who are made in his image. Now, evil, the opposite of Ma'at, comes from mankind's own deeds. While in life, it is the king who controls humans, rewarding the obedient and destroying the disobedient and evil, in death, it is Re who fills this role.<br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118379740604981618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqSMBFuhcOBRGNXGunH7bhmaSOFv8Rt8ayKurlcs38tiu0bZRTRMg-dnIxn-YqQTF1G8T6PNoiAISOpGe499A6zXNFxrrqZE8bkBWfcM8vKwhbt4YLRbPrFEpAhVG9KrrA9x2i3FHPon-d/s400/Untitled1.jpg" border="0" />Furthermore, we find a newly defined relationship between Re and Osiris. Mo<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_zKABoZU7mJLbiPKKZGLFUwhIP6XzgYtA_RWfdErEf4B5NXs0igUCFeFrN_Dj5Yn9VVxpIeGSVV4rynzRLaxLO4LeUXnkGHxAj3gKMa4O2dwkt_YshoMuyYdDgjmjU7FOmycWf7QDvFw/s1600-h/re5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117296147253362114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="179" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi_zKABoZU7mJLbiPKKZGLFUwhIP6XzgYtA_RWfdErEf4B5NXs0igUCFeFrN_Dj5Yn9VVxpIeGSVV4rynzRLaxLO4LeUXnkGHxAj3gKMa4O2dwkt_YshoMuyYdDgjmjU7FOmycWf7QDvFw/s400/re5.jpg" width="251" border="0" /></a>rtals now become Osiris in death, a concept that would make Osiris very popular with common Egyptians who were rather excluded theologically from the prior myths. Re and Osiris travel through the underworld together at night, and the sun god's birth in the morning is symbolized by an amulet in the form of a scarab beetle that becomes very popular among Egyptians of this period.<br /><br />It is also at this time that Re takes on additional attributes by his combination with other gods. This is often seen as a political move to unite important gods of different regions, and so we see Re, who was most prominent in the north combined with another creator god, Amun of southern Egypt into <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun-Re</a>. He was also combined with a number of other creator gods.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCVnLL5Qo_tLG5CqrIF-wSb6rhyphenhypheni88yY1UPzP22G0qq9qeCKz0FePE3Ry3qAlbfPpWaa4L1ju8QvzGa6So0a5PrNnbQKQzI1kSlW3jDZ3hUbdUGPKTL_EIGCld25ApmUPSssf62c0hBnv/s1600-h/ra3.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117295593202580818" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCVnLL5Qo_tLG5CqrIF-wSb6rhyphenhypheni88yY1UPzP22G0qq9qeCKz0FePE3Ry3qAlbfPpWaa4L1ju8QvzGa6So0a5PrNnbQKQzI1kSlW3jDZ3hUbdUGPKTL_EIGCld25ApmUPSssf62c0hBnv/s400/ra3.gif" border="0" /></a><br />By Egypt's New Kingdom (about 1539 BC - 1069 BC), Re's reverence was at its peak. Now, the tombs of kings such as those in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kingtomb.htm">Valley of the Kings</a> on the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> of modern <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a> (ancient <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>) contained complex decorative themes depicting the various <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/underworld.htm">books of the underworld</a> describing the sun's nightly journey. Here, Re is depicted with the body of a human and the head of a ram. These books record the sun god's nocturnal voyage hour by hour. In the fifth hour, Re suffers death and is united with his corpse, Osiris. Yet at the same time, new life springs forth. In the twelfth hour, when the sun rises once more, Re is newly born as a scarab. Another text, called the Litany of Re, describes how the king is identified with some 75 different underworld figures of Re.<br /><br />We know much more of the theology of Re during the New Kingdom because of Papyri recounting his myths. Actually, there are two forms of the myth, with the first focusing on Re as an elderly and tired deity. In this theme, he organizes the world so that he is no longer required to intervene in human affairs and transfers his powers to Horus, the King, thus conceding the throne to his physical son.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JP_Q2_OSKlnXptIOT9WJmwRuzvIyj-TdF_DYc4M9G-wULQPja_52tA5fFdhIWRCLl88aXw8oa_ir5QsVG7lyiXMC2xf5JUdXtVInylqB2mNehHztI6avLgwKN_KkTCjvOD56KiAbJvmB/s1600-h/re3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117296142958394786" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="306" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3JP_Q2_OSKlnXptIOT9WJmwRuzvIyj-TdF_DYc4M9G-wULQPja_52tA5fFdhIWRCLl88aXw8oa_ir5QsVG7lyiXMC2xf5JUdXtVInylqB2mNehHztI6avLgwKN_KkTCjvOD56KiAbJvmB/s400/re3.jpg" width="265" border="0" /></a>However, some New Kingdom temples were built with an open courtyard with an alter for Re, where the priests, or theoretically the king himself, would recite one of twelve poetic hymns predicting the victorious course of the sun, each our of the day. In these temples, the rising sun is sometimes depicted as a squatting human infant, while the full, daylight sun takes on the form of a human adult.<br /><br />During this period, the king is very directly identified with Re. H <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn09.htm">Amenhotep III</a>, for example, calls himself "the dazzling sun", while <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm">Amenotep IV</a>, the heretic king who later called himself Akhenaten, even went so far as to make the cult of the solar disk, called <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/aten.htm">Aten</a>, a semi-monotheistic religion. And while Akhenaten's efforts were reversed after his death, Amun-Re nevertheless became a universal god, all encompassing, who maintained life for the sky, earth, the other gods and humans. However, it should be noted that at times, so powerful was the cult, particularly of Amun-Re, that the priests of the cult threatened the kingship.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118379744899948946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-HAK_Pn1rVIke5Bqx1Z2Gw5frcOUsUZ179wcq0Kb6NJdI6SNBhv6fYsSuYWCAwIHCrOGcJMRsBecANJM6AU5IwY1gguf7kEEaINm5n9aWhqV_T3VT9WUNQUSPQ8f6gs85C0W_tFKMzuB/s400/Untitled3.jpg" border="0" /><br />Towards the end of the New Kingdom, what was now Re-Horakhty-Atum became more closely associated with the mummiform shape of Osiris, who was generally seen as the nocturnal manifestation of Re. By now, Osiris had become a god of the people so that anyone could make the journey in Re's nocturnal bark, so we see in this merger a democratization of Egyptian religion.<br /><br />Hence, we find magical papyri from different social strata intending to protect both the living <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZA5HO-pyyv7wuq87MZZTDh8qEsD1MCJV-JxIod2e8pCUXofor8Y6SaWTqmEhwfvZtkD110dLHtIII_elfHdKh9EGb1biGr-ujzakRxbfC8g5Rfb6C8Hov80ic6zk_8kVXxkhyphenhyphengORnNd7/s1600-h/re2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117296138663427474" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="223" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZA5HO-pyyv7wuq87MZZTDh8qEsD1MCJV-JxIod2e8pCUXofor8Y6SaWTqmEhwfvZtkD110dLHtIII_elfHdKh9EGb1biGr-ujzakRxbfC8g5Rfb6C8Hov80ic6zk_8kVXxkhyphenhyphengORnNd7/s400/re2.jpg" width="268" border="0" /></a>and the dead, which relies on solar symbolism, in order to assure the believers resurrection. We also find many amulets placed on the mummies of both royalty and non-royalty to protect the dead. These solar symbols include the sun in the horizon, the sun disk, the celestial bark, the double lion and the obelisk. There was also a disk showing Re with four ram's heads, a nocturnal form called a hypocephalus.<br /><br />Though Re lived on in various forms into the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis1.htm">Greco</a>-<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/alexhis2.htm">Roman</a> period, his worship gradually deteriorated during the fist millennium. This decline was probably due to the weakening of the kingship under various foreign rulers. Though he continued to be a part of Egyptian theology, he was no longer a part of the peoples living faith. Devotion to Re became more and more limited to priests of the temple.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.osirisnet.net/">http://www.osirisnet.net/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.crystalinks.com/">http://www.crystalinks.com/</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ra.html">http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ra.html</a></div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcrgr1e.html">http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcrgr1e.html</a><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5118375432752783666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBIgYALrKqvyFPp-67w4DKAuxo8vOog7ZG-Fbsz9P3WP-THnFfK8Yx_ici8_7m2P21x7xL563PMb2iHjCQ5DsUTPrJHT46OPXvOS4gq8nnch0J4yhF04y4hj4ew3umssioZT08sIPH2c7q/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span></div>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2955261310303941560.post-58803746113597943862007-09-28T03:54:00.000+02:002007-09-28T04:17:02.554+02:00<div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>An Overview of</strong></span><br /></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#660000;"><strong>the Ancient Egyptian Religion</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolEUbUZO1kk21tQyxS_xQS9uSiolBP6l_Nt8dAOOO7pCDOVMWB5mEGXC-AyVxToIAW33R3k6qlCEpHIH_NTscDZ5LsjbjDKBe435YY-rte64GyX4XrhrzakVWwR3OYjuFe0fRILweWih_/s1600-h/religion1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113531314297740514" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 262px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" height="274" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgolEUbUZO1kk21tQyxS_xQS9uSiolBP6l_Nt8dAOOO7pCDOVMWB5mEGXC-AyVxToIAW33R3k6qlCEpHIH_NTscDZ5LsjbjDKBe435YY-rte64GyX4XrhrzakVWwR3OYjuFe0fRILweWih_/s400/religion1.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a>Without the ancient Egyptian Religion, there would probably be little reason for one to visit Egypt today. The great <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">Pyramids</a> would not exist, nor of course, would there be the fabulous temples, the tombs on the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/westbank.htm">West Bank</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a> (modern <a href="http://touregypt.net/luxor/">Luxor</a>) and their mummies, or the colorful decorations that adorn these structures that have lured travelers to Egypt over the past three thousand or so years. Behind every aspect of <a href="http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/lifeinegypt.htm">Egyptian life</a>, including the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/artoverview.htm">art</a>, the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/government.htm">political structure</a> and the cultural achievements one must see the religious forces that shaped the fabric of ancient Egypt.</div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswhSmaJ9vj-iZkV2tKB67HKx2i6XaaRkxFRlJiHpNjlaN1uMR5K5wJWxxehHtfUyThuX12pF2wguN3pe7GxYIM2cwR3J4lH41V37KdORjhSwsuaWlCWJMUdzsus23bm3NPLYnbyV0mDZj/s1600-h/nile6.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113541278621867410" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 303px" height="332" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswhSmaJ9vj-iZkV2tKB67HKx2i6XaaRkxFRlJiHpNjlaN1uMR5K5wJWxxehHtfUyThuX12pF2wguN3pe7GxYIM2cwR3J4lH41V37KdORjhSwsuaWlCWJMUdzsus23bm3NPLYnbyV0mDZj/s400/nile6.jpg" width="279" border="0" /></a><br />The spiritual world that was created by the ancient Egyptians was a richly fascinating one which remains unique in the history of human religion, but at the same time, somehow familiar in many ways. The character of that spiritual world was both mysterious and manifest, at once accessible and hidden, for although Egyptian religion was often shrouded in layers of myth and ritual, it nevertheless permeated the ancient civilization of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/magazine/mag05012001/magf4a.htm">Nile</a> and ultimately shaped, sustained and directed Egyptian culture in almost every way.</div><div align="left"><br />One thing that does seem familiar about their ancient religion was that people were very concerned about the afterlife. Furthermore, in order to avoid being counted among the damned of the afterlife, one had to not only venerate the Egyptian <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, but also live by a code of standards that would be <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/dead.htm">judged after death</a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdOf3YHULSdsSWIBGCjo154SBQTuKPcAiMwzl1mTUyk6dj7x9lfB44CdAb-d57K3GREB2LuLs2_7zTJnlVi4kYffxuykq6gwYZka6MjZehI28ID8EbPmemmHchgdCqITPjFXG04CDBjxP/s1600-h/religion4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113532113161657682" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" height="215" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAdOf3YHULSdsSWIBGCjo154SBQTuKPcAiMwzl1mTUyk6dj7x9lfB44CdAb-d57K3GREB2LuLs2_7zTJnlVi4kYffxuykq6gwYZka6MjZehI28ID8EbPmemmHchgdCqITPjFXG04CDBjxP/s400/religion4.jpg" width="328" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div align="left">Herodotus tells us that the Egyptians "are religious to a higher degree than any other people" Some six centuries later, in the Perfect Discourse, Hermes Trismegistos summed up the spirit of Egyptian religious beliefs for his disciple, Asclepius, in a striking metaphor:</div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /><strong>"[Egypt] has become the image of heaven, and what is more, the resting place of heaven and all the forces that are in it. If we should tell the truth; our land has become the temple of the world"</strong></div><div align="left"><br />Like the members of any other human culture, the ancient Egyptians were driven to find meaning in existence, but there were also other influences on their religion, such as the need to justify kingship, among others.</div><div align="left"><br />We cannot say with any certainty exactly when the foundations of Egyptian religion were actually laid, though it was certainly prior to recorded history. In fact, some of the important mythology, such as the <a href="http://touregypt.net/contendingshorusseth.htm">Contentings of Horus and Seth</a>, could have possibly been rooted in real events prior to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Early">Egypt's unification</a>.<br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQZX43jBYMmvohH41sd6e1CdG8MfdrCGE0xEBpXXR0tO7qNqIYEo2G3HSVnGLTRFmzg8xKs-Ae4CyVS4-fWrR6WdmEyDMpAsoD21X30FdYnHRv3jLOChkWOBQQ82rthWQuhugOErA5XAa/s1600-h/gods.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113542721730878882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 276px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 276px" height="276" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQZX43jBYMmvohH41sd6e1CdG8MfdrCGE0xEBpXXR0tO7qNqIYEo2G3HSVnGLTRFmzg8xKs-Ae4CyVS4-fWrR6WdmEyDMpAsoD21X30FdYnHRv3jLOChkWOBQQ82rthWQuhugOErA5XAa/s400/gods.jpg" width="358" border="0" /></a> We must be careful when examining the ancient Egyptian religion. Though there was a considerable amount of consistency between various areas of Egypt and over the religion's long existence, there were significant variations and over time, changes in the theology. For example, while some 1,500 <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> and goddesses are known by name from ancient Egypt, many of them were not worshipped at any one time or in any one place.</div><div align="left"><br />Over time, many changes took place, and some were very dramatic. The tell-tail signs of these changes were sometimes very obvious. For example, the burial practices of the Egyptians, which were certainly affected by their religious ideologies, went from simple mastabas in the very early periods and during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic Period</a>, to monumental pyramids during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old</a> and <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdoms</a>. </div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsMiQpiFKdB4s0NN2wAEcW_gPVHmqqiBn_kFPEqt13L1f0S5u78GeAelGL05CL6v1U4EPw4vEb8jhoNU4n9LriWL9d4nj1_cF-M5y3PEn_mM3ujGQ8bFXnAZNpPPjxBZXmAnNwklZDzb_/s1600-h/religion3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113531318592707842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 318px" height="349" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMsMiQpiFKdB4s0NN2wAEcW_gPVHmqqiBn_kFPEqt13L1f0S5u78GeAelGL05CL6v1U4EPw4vEb8jhoNU4n9LriWL9d4nj1_cF-M5y3PEn_mM3ujGQ8bFXnAZNpPPjxBZXmAnNwklZDzb_/s400/religion3.jpg" width="312" border="0" /></a>Then, after the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ahmose1.htm">first ruler</a> of Egypt's <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a> who built a <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ahmosep.htm">Pyramid</a> at <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/abydos.htm">Abydos</a>, the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm">Egyptian Kings</a> rather suddenly did away with superstructures altogether, preferring instead to have hidden tombs with no superstructures at all. Perhaps part of the reason for this was the security of the tomb and its content of valuables, though it did not do much to stop the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/robbery.htm">tomb robbers</a>. However, it also had much to do with the Egyptian religion's movement towards Osiris. The god <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a> also seems responsible for another major change in Egyptian religion through its long history, that is, it's popularization. Osiris was a democratic god who doubtless became more and more popular because the theology surrounding him allowed even common Egyptians the opportunity of immortality after their death. </div><br /><div align="left">Of course, some things did stay the same, to an extent. There seems to have always been a sun god from the earliest of times, but his worship too changed over time, and sometimes dramatically. The sun god <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a> was worshipped at Egypt's earliest shrines, and his veneration probably reached a high point during the late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a>, when kings not only built their pyramids, but also specialized temples to worship the sun god. </div><div align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9E6F_KdRl1z7k4jduYtsrfdvectlq54hyJX4zxCoNNIqJIFaknzgUkGsgB5K4UU1PPjLTFOxUBhdc2oKujjZLu_7aw2eYPCYA4kLtcugP8cyn75cB2PNtmKrCBdrP_GryMe-YpKf9LGjX/s1600-h/re2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113543993041198530" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 252px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 223px" height="223" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9E6F_KdRl1z7k4jduYtsrfdvectlq54hyJX4zxCoNNIqJIFaknzgUkGsgB5K4UU1PPjLTFOxUBhdc2oKujjZLu_7aw2eYPCYA4kLtcugP8cyn75cB2PNtmKrCBdrP_GryMe-YpKf9LGjX/s400/re2.jpg" width="270" border="0" /></a>Perhaps one of the most consistent aspects of ancient Egyptian religion was the role of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm">the King</a>, though even this did change over time. However, the king seems to always have been central to the ancient Egyptian religion. What changed was the perception of his role, though even this remained somewhat consistent particularly after the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Early">Early Dynastic Period</a>.</div><div align="left"><br />While <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptologists.htm">Egyptologists</a> may sometimes address the reasons for changes within the ancient Egyptian religion, this may be one of the most unknown aspects of the religion. Did priests have heated debates over theology which culminated in change? If they did, it must have been mostly narrative in nature, for we have little if any record of this. If such discussions did take place, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm">the King</a> must have been involved, because it is through his actions that most new religious foundations were created, and it was his funerary monuments that seem to have changed the most over time. </div><div align="left"><br />That theological discussions and probably discourse took place is almost certain, because the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rYS23gRm1tsm-NLe2fRhpjHacE-0qjD0lUwTK3s09EZQ43gAbrce75tBebPpRrNSN3OBeEX1M0H_U4yuS0r7kmB4T8Abuy7l60COQVaHCH_TqALFfe-ygFP7EPC3IgLWnic451Ao6_gD/s1600-h/karnako1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113532104571723058" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 274px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7rYS23gRm1tsm-NLe2fRhpjHacE-0qjD0lUwTK3s09EZQ43gAbrce75tBebPpRrNSN3OBeEX1M0H_U4yuS0r7kmB4T8Abuy7l60COQVaHCH_TqALFfe-ygFP7EPC3IgLWnic451Ao6_gD/s400/karnako1.jpg" width="300" border="0" /></a>mythology of the religion evolved, becoming more complete, sophisticated and more complex over time. This is particularly obvious from funerary texts, beginning with the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramidtext.htm">Pyramid Texts</a> and moving on to numerous texts particularly during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>. </div><div align="left"><br />On the other hand, it is very likely that changes took place also because of shifts in regional power. This certainly seems the case when, during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>, the center of religious activity shifted to <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/thebes.htm">Thebes</a>, where the state god, <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/amun-re.htm">Amun</a> rose to acclaim. Furthermore, the need of the common populous to be included also effected changes, particularly towards <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>.<br /><br />Religion has been defined as a belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. This is somewhat of an over simplification because religions usually include a system of values as well as various practices. Egyptian religion can be said to encompass their ancient <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, the mythology or accounts of those gods and other aspects of the religion such as creation, death and the afterlife, and the cults who worshipped the gods. However, there are certainly more complexities to the religion, such as how the king played into this structure of religion, and moral dogma concerning what the god's expected of humans (a system of values). </div><br /><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;">The Gods:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXsC6ar1ASxsaQ3omqayixU5O2gxv_7RbcyR4n95RdfH4eCe3UI1J4up-XokKbBTOS5eKa5PdVnEX7mL5uRDSm0v2GFdqlOODXGdyl1IISGA2a4C48rTQ6ij5QC3wocRHFduaSzVas8lm/s1600-h/re4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113543993041198546" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 241px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 371px" height="371" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRXsC6ar1ASxsaQ3omqayixU5O2gxv_7RbcyR4n95RdfH4eCe3UI1J4up-XokKbBTOS5eKa5PdVnEX7mL5uRDSm0v2GFdqlOODXGdyl1IISGA2a4C48rTQ6ij5QC3wocRHFduaSzVas8lm/s400/re4.jpg" width="286" border="0" /></a></span></strong><br /><br />Consistently, from the beginning of Egyptian religion to its final stand at the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/Philae.htm">Temple of Philae</a>, with possibly the exception of one brief period, most scholars agree that the religion was polytheistic. A number of attempts have been made to explain Egyptian religion in terms of monotheism, and certainly scholars of the nineteenth century, steeped in Christian tradition, tended to find traces of monotheism in Egyptian beliefs. The main evidence they sited was the anonymous "god" who the Egyptians referred to in literary and wisdom texts. Now, however, the anonymous god found in Egyptian texts is understood to represent a way of invoking any divine power emanating from any <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, or sometimes, a specific, assumed god worshipped by an individual or one in a specific region.</div><div align="left"><br />Even during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th Dynasty</a> reign of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm">Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)</a>, who apparently tried to introduce and promote a single god, the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/aten.htm">Aten</a>, Egyptian religion cannot be said to have been monotheistic, for while the king himself may have worshipped a single god, and even that is uncertain, his religion never caught on and for the most <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbwzyW8YBTkFImpKdWFwssy-vZvLPHYpIBOlmQMnh8zfqhx_wVcOJ4Sf01_yaeEE7nf5PMFHv6vg6L0qAEQWhxzZZ8vi4s2azNRJmGbA6xyFw9j1sWW5ugUpbUZG4kqeOEvjEDKHg7Gtg/s1600-h/ra1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113543958681460146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 255px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 221px" height="221" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCbwzyW8YBTkFImpKdWFwssy-vZvLPHYpIBOlmQMnh8zfqhx_wVcOJ4Sf01_yaeEE7nf5PMFHv6vg6L0qAEQWhxzZZ8vi4s2azNRJmGbA6xyFw9j1sWW5ugUpbUZG4kqeOEvjEDKHg7Gtg/s400/ra1.jpg" width="325" border="0" /></a>part, Egyptians in general continued to worship their traditional <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>. </div><div align="left"><br />However, several researchers have applied the concept of henotheism to Egyptian religion. This practice focuses on one god addressed in a particular time of worship. Essentially, henotheism is the belief in one god without denying the existence of others. The believer unites all known divine powers in his favorite god.</div><div align="left"><br />The situation with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> is further complicated by syncretism and other forms of combining them. The term "<a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/sync.htm">syncretism</a>" has a special meaning in Egyptology, referring to the combination or merging of aspects of one god in another. This feature first appeared in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a> with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/atum.htm">Atum</a>-<a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a> of <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/heliopolis.htm">Heliopolis</a> and by <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>, there were many such combinations. It has been shown that this was probably a temporary fusion of gods, each keeping their own characteristics. </div><div align="left"><br />Furthermore there is the matter of manifestation, a concept that is frequently misunderstood by the general public. Egyptians almost certainly did not worship statues, paintings of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> or, for that matter, animals. These objects were simply believed to be the manifestation, or temporary habitats of the gods who they worshipped. </div><br /><div align="left">It should also be noted that the Egyptians created personified conceptions, such as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/maat.htm">Ma'at</a> (truth, balance), or (<a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hapi.htm">Hapi</a> (the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nile.htm">inundation</a>), though these were always joined with a god or used as decorations.<br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Cults:</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE3oNBANp1TYF7OHoL5ShrzNZK9VH26SyPWB6KXeCh_3dRGkk-zJm8Wo5Tg0Ozr2mXAIMTByaYmKC5yDMopVud5OkhT8sbBIWf7hmLAphXcuGieJAlAuVb_YMRC6XmApFQuQMy2O8rptR/s1600-h/cults1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113531318592707858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 191px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 311px" height="312" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE3oNBANp1TYF7OHoL5ShrzNZK9VH26SyPWB6KXeCh_3dRGkk-zJm8Wo5Tg0Ozr2mXAIMTByaYmKC5yDMopVud5OkhT8sbBIWf7hmLAphXcuGieJAlAuVb_YMRC6XmApFQuQMy2O8rptR/s400/cults1.jpg" width="191" border="0" /></a><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/cults.htm">Cults</a> were the official structure used to worship the Egyptian <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>. In regards to ancient Egypt, this structure included the priests who carried out rituals associated with the gods, who were frequently manifest in the form of statues, within the cult temples. The center of the Egyptian cult was the temple, a sacred area enclosed by a wall, that excluded the profane. </div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/temples.htm">Temples</a> could be called a "house" or "chapel", or a "chapel of the god", which includes a section of the temple devoted to worldly needs. Inside the sanctuary of the temple was the cult statue, which served as the dwelling for the god worshipped in the cult center, though there could be and were more than one in many temples. </div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/cults.htm">Cult</a> rituals were actually a dialogue between the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, and therefore the king (or a priestly substitute for the king) acted in the divine performance as a god. </div><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy4dg_Yfde5GpB7s9SLEpl9SD4jLP0ph5ic4L2GEJayJgHKuIpeHeKjbYbLQ3wBWf-mLnbcQdYfYIa7Vk51nR5dO4WkE9myFuzq2VAayWokxpXonnxsgeNqm6c7DtTAL7xuj3Bu7Ebo2S/s1600-h/priest2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113545620833803746" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 275px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 241px" height="254" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSy4dg_Yfde5GpB7s9SLEpl9SD4jLP0ph5ic4L2GEJayJgHKuIpeHeKjbYbLQ3wBWf-mLnbcQdYfYIa7Vk51nR5dO4WkE9myFuzq2VAayWokxpXonnxsgeNqm6c7DtTAL7xuj3Bu7Ebo2S/s400/priest2.jpg" width="275" border="0" /></a>Until the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a>, the spheres of administration and cult were not separated, but in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn18a.htm">18th Dynasty</a>, a special <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/priests.htm">priesthood</a> was established. </div><div align="left"><br />Rituals centered around offerings, but there were certainly numerous other rituals, including many daily functions such as washing and clothing the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> (or at least the statue of the gods). Other rituals took the form of celebrations when, for example, one god might be taken to visit the cult center of another, and it was during these festivals that common Egyptians probably came closest to their gods, for at other times they were prohibited from the sanctuaries that housed the cult statues.</div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLqR6zWB7tYLXYPMPiU_n7kYSvUnA80RJu7Luswv_ji4mUuFg9T2Bd2F7YcMngktRquPgjT5ZT-w9QN_jsA6hyuza5TG-Pp170-Z3NGvvQlwmWL6uIiHRqJn4rNhABdZ0I9rJyF6S4ulb/s1600-h/priest4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113545620833803762" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 171px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 279px" height="322" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLqR6zWB7tYLXYPMPiU_n7kYSvUnA80RJu7Luswv_ji4mUuFg9T2Bd2F7YcMngktRquPgjT5ZT-w9QN_jsA6hyuza5TG-Pp170-Z3NGvvQlwmWL6uIiHRqJn4rNhABdZ0I9rJyF6S4ulb/s400/priest4.jpg" width="142" border="0" /></a><br />At first the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/cults.htm">cult</a>, and for that matter, the benefits of religion and the god's which it served was limited to the king for the most part, though many functions and rituals were performed by his substitutes (<a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/priests.htm">priests</a>). Common Egyptians could mostly only hope that <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/kings.htm">the King</a> took his religious duties seriously, or otherwise they might expect to suffer famine or other disasters or for that matter, any chance of an afterlife. As time passed, religion became much more popularized, so that in latter Egyptian history, common Egyptians demanded their own means of worshipping and being accepted by their <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>. More and more, common Egyptians built within their homes shrines for their personal worship, or at other times, small public shrines where they could worship and pray together. However, throughout <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm">Egyptian history</a>, common Egyptians were limited as to the scope that they could participate in the state cult centers. </div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Mythology:</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left">A myth may be defined as a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the worldview of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society:</div><br /><div align="left">Unlike many modern religions, there was no single (or only a few) textual source that bound up the religious ideology of the ancient Egyptians. There was no bible as such, nor could there have been, because the beliefs sometimes varied from region to region, and the mythology evolved over time. </div><div align="left"><br />Texts are known since the third dynasty that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeJneZP3Gxb6I3UN7ORa1-uDgNN1Ahg5C2I9AlnikVvQD4bJ_-Xa5jtdx2MUMyQaKfM48G36kClpDBhOa5ZWSdz3pBcjjuRUUajSvzV6Cnp5XWV-VvojOwuQ7sy20pU7TM4DzgWZnSmVJ/s1600-h/pyramidtext2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113532104571723074" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkeJneZP3Gxb6I3UN7ORa1-uDgNN1Ahg5C2I9AlnikVvQD4bJ_-Xa5jtdx2MUMyQaKfM48G36kClpDBhOa5ZWSdz3pBcjjuRUUajSvzV6Cnp5XWV-VvojOwuQ7sy20pU7TM4DzgWZnSmVJ/s400/pyramidtext2.jpg" width="253" border="0" /></a>make reference to the activities of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, usually within accounts of relations between nobles and the king. In fact, most of the known Egyptian myths concern the origins and nature of kingship as the central topic of interest. Narrative literature did not appear before the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Middle">Middle Kingdom</a> (to our knowledge), but myths certainly existed in oral tradition long before. Allusions to the deeds of gods are inserted in early ritual texts, such as the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramidtext.htm">Pyramid Texts</a>.</div><div align="left"><br />Because Egypt had many <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, they also had many myths. Some of them, such as those surrounding <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a>, the Sun God, particularly during the earlier periods, and later, such as the contention of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/set.htm">Seth</a>, became central to the Egyptian religion, perhaps mainly due to their relevance to Kingship. However, other myths involving, for example, <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/hathor.htm">Hathor</a> as a healer, were very important to more common Egyptians, as were myths concerning <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/bes.htm">Bes</a>, a goddess of childbirth and the home. There were certainly other myths, sometimes at odds with others, that explained creation, dealt with the afterlife, and even the end of times. </div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>System of Values:</strong></span></div><div align="left"><br />A value system (also see our articles on <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/egyptevil.htm">evils</a> and <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ethics.htm">ethics</a>) was important to the ancient Egyptians in much the same way that it is today. In fact, many of the values of our modern society were present in the Egyptian system. What is perhaps different is the exact relevance that the ancient Egyptians gave to their value system. Certainly, the value system had both a secular and religious side. On the religious side, then, as in many religions today, one was judged upon death for his or her actions during life, and either condemned to be a member of the damned or the blessed. </div><br /><div align="center"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113546978043469314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO4SemeEAA6fLZDh611MGoWoGQGHdrSfcv_Q-zzalOAmBxue6dZ_ke2CtUk5quWbYjs5c4hvBNiyJg0dtcMOA9EMlVy2LpYCexNNxylLdQca09FMuSzDIh_BrRWtkcie1QTSwudo9eaasM/s400/plate31c.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="left">However, a system of values was also important for social order, just as it is today, and then as well as now, a <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/law.htm">criminal system</a> was also available to punish offenders during their lifetime for certain offenses. </div><br /><div align="left">Somewhat different was the matter of <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/maat.htm">Ma'at</a>, a personified concept of truth, balance and order. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdUSTrFLr2ZHow28VEWCj28uzjaYFME8EC9gruRl-LF-r-8j_xB2f5yRqgwXmRpkz8Lz-F4IHtxRjOULdwTpxtxkK02svnYRyP27Rpqo-1ZbDb4RHAlWxHgbzcqf2km9x_lgBxkb38Tje/s1600-h/religion5.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113532113161657698" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQdUSTrFLr2ZHow28VEWCj28uzjaYFME8EC9gruRl-LF-r-8j_xB2f5yRqgwXmRpkz8Lz-F4IHtxRjOULdwTpxtxkK02svnYRyP27Rpqo-1ZbDb4RHAlWxHgbzcqf2km9x_lgBxkb38Tje/s400/religion5.jpg" border="0" /></a>An individual could violate Ma'at by his actions, but so too could the nation as a whole. In this regard, the king was always responsible for maintaining Ma'at on behalf of the country, usually by maintaining and supporting the cult centers, fending off foreign powers and in general by maintaining the system of values, for example, removing corrupt officials. The ancient Egyptians believed that failure to maintain Ma'at, as a country, could result in divine intervention, when the Egyptian <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> provided only low <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/nile.htm">Nile floods</a>, and thus famine, enemy incursions or even complete chaos within the country. </div><br /><div align="left">This notion of a national <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/maat.htm">Ma'at</a> is not lost to us today. Many people of religion continue to believe that a nation's fortunes are dictated by their adherence to both good deeds and a general belief in God. Biblically, there are more than a few examples of states finding the wrath of God due to a lack of values.</div><br /><div align="left">We know of the ancient Egyptian system of values from wisdom text, wall engravings, particularly autobiographies, and from various religious sources. </div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#006600;"><strong>Kingship:</strong></span></div><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://touregypt.net/historicalessays/lifeinegypt.htm">The King</a> represented Egypt before the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a>, and it is he who is depicted most often worshipping them while standing, kneeling or even crawling. In making offerings to the gods, the King atte<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgls9wI6CLpQYv5_2HEQo-HmUygUzFe_rqDdvVedwKsdVwmtJhVOQrK1jrr1YwUUTWaB42j5TyhtRWnn1jLyvyDKnafMCAPj-kys3Z5c1nIhN5W2dZBSReSJHj8tKbBoXnxFDMxtbMdwGQ5/s1600-h/ramesses3t4.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113531322887675170" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgls9wI6CLpQYv5_2HEQo-HmUygUzFe_rqDdvVedwKsdVwmtJhVOQrK1jrr1YwUUTWaB42j5TyhtRWnn1jLyvyDKnafMCAPj-kys3Z5c1nIhN5W2dZBSReSJHj8tKbBoXnxFDMxtbMdwGQ5/s400/ramesses3t4.jpg" border="0" /></a>mpts to secure order, or <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/maat.htm">Ma'at</a>, which is compulsory for gods as well as kings. </div><br /><div align="left">The king was the single link between the divine and the profane, as well as the representative of the <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> on Earth. Since the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Second">Second Intermediate period</a>, the doctrine of the king as god attempts to explain how a living being can acquire divine status, a concept that was first formulated in the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/coffintext.htm">Coffin Texts</a>, and possibly used earlier in the <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramidtext.htm">Pyramid Texts</a>. It may have originated in the union of the dead king with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, or that of the living king with <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a>. </div><br /><div align="left">The <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/titles.htm">first title</a> of an Egyptian king was his <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm">Horus</a> name, and there is a close connection of this deity and the king since at least the late <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ebph5.htm">Predynastic Period</a>. This basic concept was maintained during all periods, although in various royal representations, the proportions of the king to the god were eventually changed in favor of the god, and therefore making the king of less importance. </div><br /><br /><div align="left">The king's divine status has been explained by reference to his two natures. The king became an offspring of the Sun God, <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/re.htm">Re</a>, in the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn4.htm">4th Dynasty</a>, which is viewed as a loss in divine power. The dead king was seen as <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/osiris.htm">Osiris</a>, while the living king was the son of Re. Note that during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/hdyn5.htm">5th Dynasty</a>, the king's built <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/suntemples.htm">solar temples</a> (to Re), but had Osirian subterranean structures beneath their <a href="http://touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm">pyramids</a>, which show the close association of both Re and Osiris with kingship. </div><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8VZPCaRQ6q942EmpsrKJCBfKxvARQjV3OMXX__6yM1GN-x6vV4Hf6dcRAqc8DH_OWy1GQNAIXLZ1Zb3xg1ah-7rY076OHkTM66WeJQAzcHgCdbCyzQ_Upb6lAapDB-WKqD5HcDVSIth7/s1600-h/religion2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113531318592707826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 253px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" height="400" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8VZPCaRQ6q942EmpsrKJCBfKxvARQjV3OMXX__6yM1GN-x6vV4Hf6dcRAqc8DH_OWy1GQNAIXLZ1Zb3xg1ah-7rY076OHkTM66WeJQAzcHgCdbCyzQ_Upb6lAapDB-WKqD5HcDVSIth7/s400/religion2.jpg" width="323" border="0" /></a>So important was the king to ancient Egyptian religion that he was theoretically required to be the head of all ceremonies and rites throughout the country at the same time. The practical answer to this was for the king to elevate members of the royal family, during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#Old">Old Kingdom</a>, and nobles of his court later, so that they could represent him. This became the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/priests.htm">Egyptian priesthood</a>, which eventually developed its own independence and titles during the <a href="http://www.touregypt.net/ehistory.htm#New">New Kingdom</a>. </div><br /><div align="left">It is not unreasonable that our concept of how the Egyptians worshiped their many <a href="http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/">gods</a> might change extensively as we find more and more new information. Indeed, there have, over the years, been shifts in how Egyptology views the religion. One might consider the amount of material available on our modern religions, and how little we have on the Egyptian religion, to have an understanding of just how little we actually know about this complex and ancient belief system.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="left"></div><p></p><p align="center"><a href="http://www.touregypt.net/"><span style="font-size:85%;">www.touregypt.net</span></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5113534715911839090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dN4-2mqhs79IqDE5Lu3pDj7CKKoisl5Ht56OOH9XCqO54aSnbDQRBRcAAneBkh97GJx1IJkYkO2P14YAvMn-q12YTEQBTbiEx4_PLEDvsqYyimL86WZbQ-khkPKFrlOQ-iGQHO7VwV2-/s200/elwali.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#660000;">T.N.P</span> </p>The Nile pharaohhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16094188468902497536noreply@blogger.com5