Video: A visual representation of ancient Egyptian civilization
The author of "Minimalist Ancient Egyptian History" is a well-known archaeologist in India, she uses the latest archaeological achievements to record the chronology of important historical nodes and explain the special topics in a simple and simple way, telling the glorious and mysterious history of ancient Egypt, restoring the life of the pharaohs and the rise and fall of dynasties, as well as the secular life of the people at that time, and combining historical thinking with specific historical facts, the long and complex Egyptian history is systematically presented, so that readers can gain insight into the historical context of ancient Egypt. More than 300 precious and exquisite illustrations are selected in the book, and the historical scenes of ancient Egypt are restored with pictures and texts, so that readers can have an intuitive understanding of ancient Egyptian civilization at the visual level.
A Minimalist History of Ancient Egypt
[India] Sherlyn? Retnagar
Zhu Haizhong
Published by World Book Publishing Company
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pharaoh
We know the word "pharaoh" because the Old Testament of the Bible refers to the rulers of Egypt. "Pharaoh" comes from the word "per-'o", meaning "great house", from which all of Egypt came to rule. In the 2nd Millennium BC, "per-'o" began to refer to kings, but the convention in modern Egyptology is to refer to all rulers before Rome annexed Egypt as "pharaohs." In the sarcophagus inscription in the pyramid burial chamber of the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, Unas (2385 BC – 2355 BC), the goddess of the sky says to the king, "La-Atum, your son has defected to you, and this Unas has defected to you!" May you merge with darkness through the firmament, and may you rise up in the land of light that you shine! Because you are a lone star, you have to get your place among the stars of heaven. You will look down on Osiris, who controls the spirits in the underworld. ”
Divine incarnation
Although the pharaoh was considered sacred and deified after his death, he was never on par with great gods like Horus or Amun. The Egyptians believed that after becoming an eagle god, Phasana could fly to the sun god Ra and be crowned, that is, he was the embodiment of the god Horus and the sun god Ra, and had the right to use the title of "La-Horus of the Two Horizons".
Ramses II declared: "I was born of the god Ra, albeit raised by Setos. (Setos I was his father)
At the same time, when pharaohs and gods appear face to face in works of art at the same time, the former's posture is usually not creeping to the ground,
It is to receive the gift of life, or to sacrifice. The pharaoh was more of the image of Horus than of the god Horus himself. "Son of Ra" means that the pharaoh's status is lower than that of his father and protector "Ra". The ruler is undoubtedly a tangible living man, and after death he can become a god after he runs to the horizon and is absorbed by the sun god.
It was precisely because of his divine qualities that Pharaoh was considered to have "creative discourse" and "superhuman understanding" and, above all, to rule according to the "Maat", the principle of harmony of the universe (in short, the norms of nature). During the New Kingdom period, the heroism of the pharaoh who served as a war leader was commemorated in art and narrative works, but the pharaoh was essentially "the parent of all, unique, unmatched".
Change of kingship
Divine royal power is manifested in magnificent architecture, rich mythology, and the public sphere. At sunrise, immediately following Pharaoh's death, his successors are to participate in a ceremony symbolizing the restoration of the "Maat" (the prevalence of order, stability, truth, and justice). At his coronation, the pharaoh received his royal robes, ran along the marked path as a sign of his control over the kingdom, and chose a five-fold title that would mark his new monarchy. Before he was ready to tour the kingdom, he had declared his ascension to the throne, and his name (to which his subjects were now to swear an oath) was sent to the high-ranking officials of the states.
Some of the ceremonies in the coronation ceremony are repeated during the Festival of Side. The festival was usually celebrated thirty years after his accession to the throne as a symbol of the renewal of royal power. New obelisks were built to celebrate the festival, along with new halls for ceremonies and banquets. Idols of the gods of Upper and Lower Egypt were collected and rewarded to trustworthy "friends of kings" (priests and priests).
At the Opet festival in Luxor, a large procession followed the pharaoh to the door of the temple. Pharaoh and some priests entered the temple and came to the incense-smoked black room at the back of the temple and to the great god Amun. After the transformation, Pharaoh reappeared and had become a divine presence when he appeared before his subjects.
The residence of the royal family
The hieroglyph of the "palace" is a rectangular frame with a buttressed wall. In Memphis or Thebes, there are few archaeological remains of palaces. As the literature indicates, one of the reasons is that the king would relocate the royal residence during his reign, and the other reason is that the royal residence was not necessarily chosen in the city center.
Judging from the ruins of the palace built in Memphis by the later King Aprils (589-570 BC), the palace dominates the cityscape. It is well known that Amonofes III built a very beautiful artificial lake in the western city of Thebes, a pillar hall for gatherings, and an upper space that was likely to be used by women. The paintings on the roof are brightly colored and depict the joys of nature.
As kings continued to patrol their kingdoms, they could stop at the various palaces prepared for them on the banks of the river. Although these palaces are only temporary places to stay, they are still very luxurious. The local population has the obligation to provide the royal family with daily necessities.
There is a written record of the royal family collecting and storing goods for later deployment. Papyrus literature mentions that grain from various places was transported to the royal palace for storage, where hundreds of loaves of bread were baked (there was a high-ranking official who was in charge of royal baking). One article mentions 30 women grinding grain into flour and the remaining food being given to the "card" priest ("servant of the soul") to be offered to the dead.
King and court etiquette
The Pharaoh's Upper Egyptian White Crown and lower Egyptian Red Crown were carefully kept in a specific shrine when not in use. His royal symbols also included a long scepter or hook (symbolizing dominance), a power marker, a bull's tail, and a false beard symbolizing divinity. The tiara can be a snake symbol (uraeus), as well as a turban representing the goddess Wadjet and the goddess cobra. People could only see the king within the prescribed time. The king's personal daily life arrangements also had strict schedules. The king's jewelry, clothing and boxes were his exclusive possession and were enshrined as holy relics before use. Early paintings show the king accompanied by sandals and foot washers.
One could kiss the ground in front of Pharaoh's feet, and it would be a great privilege to kiss the king's feet. The king would walk around his city in a formal queue. He would "appear" on a balcony, looking down at the people who had expressed greetings and reverence to him and distributing gifts to the people. In certain public places, Pharaohs would make offerings to the gods.
The court had elaborate etiquette and hierarchical structures of personnel. "The only friend" has a higher status than "royal acquaintance". There are supervisory officials in both the royal palace and the main hall. During the New Kingdom period, the position of "royal scrivener" was in some sense equivalent to the king's secretary, and there was a position of "fan bearer" on the king's right. All high-ranking officials had to obtain high-quality slate (limestone, granite) to build their own mastaba with the permission of the king, and the inscriptions on all such cemeteries always began with the reference to the matter and always said "the favor given by the pharaohs". High-ranking officials were also given generous gold gifts or chariots when the king was pleased.
Posthumously honored
For the most part, Pharaohs kept their distance from the populace in their daily lives. As for death, the privilege and unique afterlife he enjoyed was best conveyed on the Great Pyramid of the Old Kingdom period. A text from the New Kingdom period shows that the "statue of the master (life, prosperity, health)" was kept in the shrine of his home by the treasurer. A stone tablet depicting Amonofes III and his queen was found in a dwelling in Amarna. The kings themselves could sacrifice to the kings in public. On many occasions, they would order the tombs of previous kings to be restored or protected. There is an engraving on the wall of the Temple of Abydos depicting the sacrifice of Cysos I (c. 1290 BC) and his son in the form of a bas-relief. Related texts indicate that these offerings were dedicated to 75 royal ancestors. The names of each of the kings were written in the king's name box, and Thessos' own name was written in the 76th king's name box. This is an ordinary temple ritual, as the offerings are dedicated to statues of the previous kings (here is the name dedicated to them).
An inscription on the temple wall during the reign of Pepi I (2343–2297 BC) shows the deification of the late pharaoh: "Son of Sosis, who controls the living, speaks for this Pepi and establishes a place in heaven for Pepi." Pepi is one of the four gods who liberates himself from the bondage of dust. ”
Private life
There are few works depicting the private life of the pharaoh. Much of this type of work deals with radical King Ehnathon, depicting family scenes when he was with his wife and daughters. However, the written literature does provide us with clues about the personal shortcomings of the pharaohs, such as cruelty, encouragement of flattery, anger at servants, indulgence, and secret escape from the palace late at night. There is also a literary genre known as "dynastic storytelling", in which a routine mentioned is that pharaohs consulted and discussed with their courtiers when unexpected circumstances occurred.
Author: [India] Sherlyn? Retnagar
Editor: Jiang Chuting
Editor-in-Charge: Zhu Zifen
Source: World Book Publishing Company