Читать книгу Western Civilization - Paul R. Waibel - Страница 13

About the time that cities and writing were appearing in Mesopotamia, civilization was emerging at the southern end of the Fertile Crescent along the Nile River. Ancient Egypt occupied 450 miles (724 km) of the Nile River valley from the first cataract⁴ to the Mediterranean Sea. The regular flooding of the Nile created a narrow band of cultivatable land that varied from 5 to 25 miles wide. It was possible to produce two crops per year. It was there, in that narrow band of fertile soil, the “Black Land,” that civilization developed. Beyond it on both sides were the vast barren oceans of desert sand, the “Red Land.”

Not only did the Nile make agriculture – and with it, civilized life – possible, it was easily navigated, thus providing a measure of unity between Upper (southern) and Lower (northern) Egypt. Relative isolation benefitted ancient Egypt. Invading armies had to either go down the Nile River, where they would be easy targets for defending forces, or cross the Sinai Peninsula, a wide desert. From the beginning of Egypt's history in c. 3100 BC, until it became a part of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, the sight of invading armies was rare. Thus, the Egyptians experienced a sense of regularity, permanence, and security unknown to the people of Mesopotamia.

Figure 1.3 Chronology of ancient Egypt.

Around 3100 BC, Upper and Lower Egypt were unified by Narmer, who became the founder of the first dynasty and thus the first king, or pharaoh, of Egypt.⁵ The history of ancient Egypt is divided into 31 dynasties beginning in c. 3100 BC and concluding in 30 BC, and further divided into the Early Dynastic Period, Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period, Middle Kingdom, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom (or Empire), and Post‐Empire.

The pharaohs of the Old Kingdom (c. 2700–c. 2200 BC) ruled from Memphis in Upper Egypt. Unlike the kings in Mesopotamia, who were servants of the gods, the pharaoh was a living god, often associated with the falcon‐headed god Horus. Upon death, the pharaoh became Osiris, god of the dead. In life, it was his duty to maintain Ma'at – harmony, continuity, unchanging order, justice, and truth. In so doing, the pharaoh guaranteed the safety and prosperity of the people. If he failed to rule wisely, chaos would return in the form of famine or some other disaster. As the possessor of Ma'at, the pharaoh was the source of law and justice. Hence, the Egyptians never developed a law code. There was no need for one.

During the Old Kingdom only the pharaoh, and those he chose to be with him, enjoyed an afterlife. It was important to preserve the pharaoh's body and to provide him with the things he would need in his afterlife. Pyramids of great size, and later tombs, were constructed and filled with the objects, or models of them, that the pharaoh would need. Scenes depicting hunting or other events that the pharaoh enjoyed in life were carved or painted on the walls. They would become reality in the afterlife.

The Egyptians developed a system of writing that combined pictographs and symbols representing sounds in a script referred to as hieroglyphs (“sacred carvings”), meaning “god's words.” By inventing the 24 signs for the sounds of consonants, the Egyptians invented the alphabet, or at least the principle of the alphabet. Because of the abundance of Cyperus papyrus, an aquatic plant that grew along the Nile especially in the Delta, the Egyptians were able to make a form of paper known simply as papyrus. Instead of having to make wedge‐shaped marks in clay tablets as in Sumerian cuneiform, the Egyptians could use pen and ink to write hieroglyphs on papyrus, as well as carve them or paint them on stone.

The construction of the pyramids during the Old Kingdom testifies to the absolute power of the pharaohs, as well as the engineering skills of the Egyptians. Contrary to the impression one may get from Hollywood, the pyramids were not built by slaves. During the three months each year when the flood waters of the Nile covered the arable land and farming ceased, thousands of peasants were put to work constructing the pyramids. By ensuring the preservation of the pharaoh's body, they were ensuring the continuity of the rhythm of life, especially the regularity of the Nile's flooding upon which life depended.

The pyramids are among the most impressive man‐made wonders in history. The first pyramid was built for Djoser (r. c. 2686–c. 2613 BC) at Saqqara, on the west bank of the Nile River opposite Memphis. It has six stepped layers of stone that reached a height of 204 ft. (62 m). The pyramid was surrounded by a 40‐acre (16‐ha) complex of temples and other buildings enclosed by a 30 ft. (9.1m) high wall. The Step pyramid, as it is called, was designed by history's first known architect, Imhotep (c. 3000–c. 2950 BC).

Most impressive of the pyramids built during the Old Kingdom is the Great Pyramid, built one century later for Khufu (or Cheops, r. c. 2589–2566 BC). It was the first and largest of the pyramids built at Giza on the west bank of the Nile River close to modern‐day Cairo, and is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.

Figure 1.4 The Great Pyramid of Khufu, or Cheops, completed c. 2560 BC.

Source: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.

To build the Great Pyramid, workers cut approximately 2.3 million limestone blocks at quarries 500 miles (804.7 km) away and brought them to Giza. Each block weighed an average of 2.5 tons (2.3 MT), though some were as heavy as 16 tons (14.5 MT). The base is 755 ft. (230.4 m) long on each side (570 000 sq. ft., or 52 954.7 sq. m). The stones are so accurately placed that there is no more than an 8‐in. (20.3 cm) difference between the lengths of the sides. The original height was 481 ft. (147 m), making the Great Pyramid the tallest manmade structure well into the nineteenth century AD. The pyramid was encased in smooth limestone. The outer stones fit together so well that a hair cannot be wedged between them. It is estimated that in order to finish the pyramid in 30 years, it would have been necessary to set in place one block every two and a half minutes. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote in The Histories (c. 430 BC) that the Egyptians told him it took 100 000 men 20 years to build the Great Pyramid.

A series of weak pharaohs toward the end of the Old Kingdom allowed much of the central government's power to slip into the hands of powerful regional nobles. The result was roughly one century of weak central government and general turmoil between c. 2150 and c. 2050 BC. Mentuhotep II (r. c. 2046–c. 1995 BC), who ruled from Thebes in Upper Egypt, reunited Egypt sometime around the 39th year of his 51‐year reign. He was the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, a period of stability and prosperity that lasted from c. 2050 to c. 1652 BC.

The pharaoh's role changed somewhat during the Middle Kingdom. His power over the whole of Egypt was restored, but he was no longer the absolute ruler that he was during the Old Kingdom. The age of the great pyramids was over. The pharaohs of the 11th and 12th dynasties undertook great building projects that benefitted the people by providing employment, but nothing on the scale of the Great Pyramid. It was the pharaoh's role as shepherd of his people that was emphasized. The conquest of Lower Nubia on the southern border of Upper Egypt and military expeditions north along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea enhanced the power of the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom.

During the latter part of the eighteenth‐century BC, Lower Egypt (the Delta region) was invaded by a people whom the Egyptians called the Hyksos (meaning “rulers of foreign lands”). The Hyksos spoke a Semitic language and migrated away from the Middle East after Indo‐Europeans migrated into it in the second millennium. The Hyksos kings, or pharaohs, ruled Lower Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period from their capital at Avaris in the eastern Delta.

The Hyksos invaders enjoyed the advantage of advanced military organization and technology. The Egyptian army was outdated both in its weaponry and its emphasis on infantry. They relied on their infantry organized into sections of spearmen, bowmen, and archers. Their main weapons were the mace, a solid shaft with a heavy round head used to bludgeon the enemy, and a simple bow. One can only imagine the fear that must have possessed the Egyptians when confronted with a mobile army of warriors with lightweight, horse‐drawn chariots. The Egyptians had never seen horses before. Furthermore, the Hyksos warriors had a new composite bow that could fire an arrow at least 200 yards further than the simple bows used by the Egyptians. They wore helmets and body armor and carried penetrating axes, swords, and quivers of arrows. Weapons made of bronze gave the Hyksos a decisive advantage on the battlefield, and subsequently brought Egypt into the Bronze Age.

The Hyksos controlled Lower Egypt, while Upper Egypt remained under a native Egyptian line that ruled from Thebes. Pharaoh Ahmose I (1570–1546 BC) eventually drove the Hyksos out of Egypt and pursued them north into Palestine as far as the Euphrates River. Ahmose I also led a campaign south into Nubia. Ahmose I's reign marks the beginning of the New Kingdom, or the Egyptian Empire (1550–1069 BC). His conquered lands were consolidated and expanded by his successors, Amenhotep I (1546–1526 BC), Thutmose I (1525–1512 BC), Thutmose II (1512–1504 BC), and Thutmose III (1504–1450). Babylon, Assyria, and the Hittite Empire were compelled to send tribute annually to Egypt.

One of the most interesting rulers of Egypt during the New Kingdom was Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1508–1458 BC). She was the daughter of Thutmose I and the half‐sister of her husband, Thutmose II, whom she married when she was only 12 years old. When Thutmose II died in 1479 BC, the heir was an infant son by one of his concubines. Hatshepsut assumed the role of regent for her stepson, Thutmose III. At some point, she assumed the role of pharaoh and co‐ruler with Thutmose III.

Hatshepsut's reign was a period of prosperity and peace for Egypt. She succeeded in restoring Egyptian culture and religion, which had been interrupted by the Hyksos, to their former glory. Her extensive efforts to expand Egypt's trade included an expedition she sent to the Land of Punt. The location of Punt is not known for sure, but is usually assumed to be the area of modern Somalia and Sudan. The expedition returned with live myrrh trees, frankincense, and other treasures. Trade between Egypt and Punt continued throughout the New Kingdom.

Upon the death of his stepmother in 1458 BC, Thutmose III became pharaoh in his own right. A gifted military commander, he led his armies north as far as Niya in northern Syria and south into Nubia as far as the fourth cataract. In all, Thutmose III led 17 campaigns during 20 years of his 46‐year reign. The Egyptian Empire reached its greatest extent under Thutmose III, who is referred to by some as “the Napoleon of Egypt.” He died at 90, a remarkable achievement even in the twenty‐first century AD.

If Hatshepsut has a rival for “most interesting of the pharaohs,” it is Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaten (r. c. 1353–c. 1336 BC). Amenhotep IV attempted to replace the various gods of Egypt with one god, Aten, represented as the sun disk. He changed his name from Amenhotep, which means “Amun is satisfied,” to Akhenaten, meaning “Effective Spirit of Aten.” Beginning in the first year of his reign, Amenhotep IV built several structures at Karnak dedicated to Aten, including a temple. During the fifth or sixth year he constructed a new capital, Akhetaten (“Horizon of Aten”) on the east bank of the Nile, 194 miles (312 km) south of modern Cairo.

Akhenaten's religious revolution gave birth to a new style in art, one more realistic than the stiff, formal style normally associated with ancient Egypt. Traditional artistic styles emphasized the eternal, unchanging nature of the universe that was central to the Egyptian worldview as far back as the Old Kingdom. Akhenaten's new religion and new capital, well away from Thebes and the old gods, ushered in a new artistic style called the Amarna Renaissance that was more realistic. Art from the period includes scenes of Akhenaten, his queen Nefertiti, and their children in everyday settings, playing together beneath “the Aten.” Nature in all its beauty likewise became the subject of art. One need only compare the famous bust of Nefertiti⁶ with any traditional bust or statue made before or after Akhenaten to see how radically new were the artistic styles.

Literature embraced the artistry of the Amarna period. Akhenaten himself is believed to have written a number of hymn‐poems to Aten. The “Great Hymn to Aten,” found on the west wall of the tomb of Ay, Akhenaten's chief minister and pharaoh after the death of Tutankhamun (Tutankhaten), is the primary source for the new religion.

O sole god without equal!

You are alone, shining in your form of the living Aten.

Risen, radiant, distant, and near.

(Great Hymn, 47 & 73–74)

The noted Egyptologist Toby A.H. Wilkinson (b. 1969) says that “it has been called ‘one of the most significant and splendid pieces of poetry to survive from the pre‐Homeric world’” (Darnell and Manassa 2007, p. 41).

Akhenaten's religious reforms may represent a power struggle between the pharaoh and the powerful priesthood of Amun (Amen, Amen Re) at Thebes. Ahmose I emphasized the worship of Amun when he drove the Hyksos out of Egypt, perhaps as an attempt to unify the Egyptian people after roughly one century of foreign rule in Lower Egypt. By the beginning of the reign of Akhenaten, the power of the priests of Amun in Thebes rivaled that of the pharaoh. The fact that Akhenaten changed his name, built a new capital and center for the worship of Aten, and attempted to erase the worship of Amun and the other traditional gods, supports the theory that his religious reforms were a part of an effort to restore the pharaoh's historic position as the sole ruler of Egypt. Also, it is worth noting that the new religion was not in fact true monotheism. Only Akhenaten and his family worshiped Aten. All others worshiped the pharaoh, Akhenaten. The pharaoh was the only access to Aten.

Akhenaten's attempt to establish the worship of Aten did not survive him. His obsession with his new religion meant he neglected his responsibility to rule and defend Egypt. The resulting chaos or appearance of chaos no doubt contributed to the abandonment of Atenism and the restoration of Amun and his powerful priesthood. Akhenaten's son, Tutankhaten (c. 1341–c. 1323), ascended the throne at age nine or ten. The worship of Aten was abandoned along with Akhetaten, which was left to eventually disappear beneath the sand. The temples to Aten were abandoned as well and became the source of building materials for new construction. In the third year of his reign, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun, meaning “Living Image of Amun.”

Tutankhamun was a minor pharaoh who likely would have been forgotten if the British archeologist Howard Carter (1874–1939) had not discovered his tomb in 1922. The discovery of the only intact tomb of a pharaoh was one of the greatest discoveries in the history of Egyptology. When one considers what was found in King Tut's tomb, one can only wonder what might have been found in the tomb of, say, Ramses II.

Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great (c. 1303–1213 BC), became pharaoh at 30 and reigned for 67 years. It is not just his longevity that makes him the most celebrated of Egypt's pharaohs. He reasserted Egyptian control over territories lost due to Akhenaten's neglect. He led successful campaigns north to Syria and south to Nubia. At the Battle of Kadesh (1258 BC) in Syria, Ramses II's forces engaged the Hittites led by King Muwatalli II (c. 1295–1272 BC). Ramses II hailed it as a great victory. He had his account of the battle carved on the walls of the great temple of Abu Simbel. Most scholars today believe the battle was indecisive. The Battle of Kadesh is significant because it resulted in the Treaty of Kadesh, the first known peace treaty in history.

Ramses II is considered by many the greatest pharaoh of the Egyptian Empire. When his mummy was sent to Paris in 1974 to be treated for a fungus, he was issued an Egyptian passport that listed his occupation as “King (deceased).” Upon arrival at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, his mummy was greeted with full military honors and a red carpet.⁷ After Ramses II's death, the Egyptian Empire began a steady, prolonged decline. Ramses III (1217–1155 BC) was the last great pharaoh of the New Kingdom. He reigned 1186–1155 BC, during a period of economic decline and foreign invasions.

The whole of the Middle East, indeed the whole of the Mediterranean world, was experiencing a tidal wave of migration and invasion between 1250 and 900 BC. Indo‐European‐speaking people swept down from the north destroying everything in their path. On the Greek mainland, the Mycenaean civilization, the Greece of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, was destroyed by the invaders. The powerful Hittite Empire also succumbed. The Egyptians were driven back into Africa, but were able to beat back repeated assaults by invaders referred to as the “Sea People,” some of whom may have been refugees from Greece.

Of those civilizations that were present in 1200 BC, only weakened Egypt survived the cataclysm. In the Middle East, there was a power vacuum. Between c. 1250 and 750 BC, no one power exerted hegemony over the area. This period before the rise of the empires of the Assyrians, Chaldeans (Neo‐Babylonian), and Persians is referred to as the “era of the small kingdoms.” The Phoenician (or Canaanite) city‐states flourished along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and the Hebrew Kingdom of Israel rose and fell.

The brief life of the Kingdom of Israel merits attention, for the ancient Hebrews provide one of the three streams of civilization that blend together to produce what we call Western, or European, Civilization. The other two are the Greco‐Roman, or Classical, and Germanic traditions. It is primarily to the Hebrews and the Greeks, not the Egyptians or other civilizations of the ancient Near East, that we look to for the spiritual roots of Western Civilization. The Hebrews broke radically with the other peoples of the ancient Near East in how they answered the perennial questions of the meaning and purpose of existence.