Egyptian Civilization | Meaning & Concept [Explained]

We explain what Egyptian civilization was and what its religion and architecture was like. In addition, its characteristics and discoveries.

Table of Contents show

What is Egyptian civilization?

Egyptian civilization was a Ancient age society that developed between 3300 a. C. and 332 a. C. in the Nile River Valley, to North Africa. The richness of its natural resources and geographical isolation allowed it to become a very powerful civilization.

In his long history, He maintained a cultural tradition that gave him unity in the moments of political and social crisis . In the state boom periods, the kingdom of Egypt was unified under the command of a pharaoh whose power was legitimized through religious beliefs.

The priests They decorated their temples with artistic representations and a hieroglyphic writing That, only in the nineteenth century, specialists could decipher. The great pyramids, the tombs with rich trousseau and the beautiful temples of the Egyptian cities marveling at the rest of the populations throughout history.

Characteristics of Egyptian civilization

The main characteristics of the Egyptian civilization were:

He lived the valleys of the Nilo River, to North Africa, between 3300 and 332 a. C.
He had a long history, marked by periods of unification and dispersion of the kingdom of Egypt.
He organized the State around the figure of the pharaoh, who was an absolute sovereign legitimized by religious beliefs.
Its economic organization was controlled from the State, through a system of taxation and redistribution of products and services.
He established a polytheistic religion, whose main gods were Osiris, Isis, Horus and Seth.
He had a hierarchical society, with privileged classes that lived from the tribute paid by the majority of the population.
He developed a complex writing system that evolved over time.

Geographic location of Egyptian civilization

Egypt - Egyptian civilization — The Egyptians called their land *Kemet*which meant “black and fertile land.”

Egyptian civilization It was established on the Nile River Valley, in North Africa . The Nile River was born in Lake Victoria, runs north and flows into the Mediterranean Sea, where it forms a delta. Throughout its course, the Nile has six cataracts. The region between the first cataract and the Delta is called Alto Egypt, and the Delta region is known as Bajo Egypt.

The Nile Valley is a very fertile region in the middle of the desert, and feeds on the flood of its flow in spring. The Egyptians called this land Kemet, which meant “black and fertile land.”

History of Egyptian civilization

The origin of the Egyptian people is not known with certainty. Specialists consider that It was probably a town that came from the Arabian Peninsula and that settled in the Nile Valley. At first, the Egyptians organized in family clans called Nomos. Over time, Nomos They grew and unified their power to form two great kingdoms: one in Alto Egypt and another in bass Egypt.

The specialists divide the history of ancient Egypt into great periods, in which Alto Egypt and Bajo Egypt were unified or separated into several independent kingdoms:

Archaic period of Tinis (3300-2800 BC) . The High Egypt achieved the triumph over bass Egypt, under the leadership of King Scorpion (a legendary character, of which the archaeologists know little). King Nemes proclaimed Pharaoh of unified Egypt and established the capital in the city of Tinis, from where they ruled the first two pharaoh dynasties.
Ancient Empire of Memphis (2800-2100 BC) . The third dynasty moved the capital to the city of Memphis and undertook large constructions throughout the kingdom. Throughout the period, the different dynasties were expanding the kingdom and incorporating new territories through conquests and commerce. The pharaohs Keops, Kefrén and Micerino built the great pea pyramids. The new attached territories were governed by Visires under the orders of the pharaoh. Towards 2300 a. C., the Visires stayed with the power of their territories and Egypt lost their unity.
Average Thebes (2100-1580 BC) . The Princes of Upper Egypt gathered the territory and established their capital in Thebes. However, disputes were generated between the north and south by the government and, the villages of the desert invaded different parts of the kingdom. The crisis divided the empire into different kingdoms and Egypt lost its unity again.
New Empire of Thebes (1580-1100 BC). The Princes of Thebes managed to defeat the peoples of the Libyan Desert and reunified Egypt. The Pharaohs Amenophis II and Ramses II resumed the territorial expansion and conquered territories of Asia.
Bajo de Sais period (1100-332 BC). New conflicts between the upper classes of military and priests bosses led to a political crisis, to which the invasion of the Assyrians joined. Towards the eighth century a. C., The Pasmetic Pharaoh I managed to centralize power again and established the capital in Sais, a city of the Delta. Then, the Persians invaded the kingdom and the pharaohs depended on their alliances with foreign kingdoms to maintain their independence. In 332 a. C., Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, invaded Egypt, who was no longer independent again.

Political organization of Egyptian civilization

Throughout its history, the political organization of Egyptian civilization was changing. In the periods in which Egypt was unified as a great kingdom, political power was in the hands of a pharaoh that controlled all aspects of the administration of the Kingdom.

Dynasties were formed (families of rulers who inherited the crown of the pharaoh) that legitimized their power in a theocratic way. The Egyptians They considered that the pharaoh acted as a link between the gods and the people . His power had been granted by the gods and was honored in a religious and ceremonial way.

Pharaoh was surrounded by a court, made up of his family and personal advisors . The kingdom established different officials for administration, and the Nomos (Provinces within the Kingdom) were governed by Visires under the Pharaoh command.

To maintain their power, the pharaohs They had an army that was mostly composed of mercenary troops (Foreign professional soldiers who were paid a salary). In this way, Pharaoh kept the Egyptian population unarmed and busy in productive tasks.

Social organization of Egyptian civilization

Throughout their history, the Egyptian people were governed by a dominant social class that lived from the taxes paid by the rest of the population . To this class belonged to the pharaoh and his family, the members of the Court, the noble families, the groups of priests and administrative officials who had different level of power according to their functions.

The Egyptian State maintained some officials for the need for its offices in the administration of the Kingdom. For example, The scribes were the people who knew how to read, write and count . They were employed in palaces and temples, and had to register tax collection and administer government riches.

The majority of the population was dedicated to agriculture which he practiced in his small or medium plots of land. The peasants had to deliver part of their production as payment to the pharaoh, to the noble families or the priests, who were the owners of all the lands of Egypt.

Besides, In the cities there were artisans and people who were dedicated to various trades : masons, weavers, merchants, potters, etc. There were tasks that were considered more worthy than others. For example, the sculptors who made the statues that decorated the temples and palaces were better socially accepted. On the other hand, the embaliers (people dedicated to the mummification of the bodies) had to live in remote neighborhoods because they were considered impure.

The Egyptian society had certain egalitarian features in terms of gender. Men could only marry a woman unlike other ancient societies. The marriage was not carried out through the purchase of a wife, but through a religious ritual of common agreement. In addition, women could exercise political positions and at different times in history it was pharaones who ruled Egypt.

Egyptian Civilization Economy

The economy of Egyptian civilization was controlled from the state throughout its history. As the base of the production was agricultural and depended on the Nile River, The State had the need to distribute water through channels and control productive resources.

Pharaoh was the owner of all lands and delegated them to the priests and government officials. These, in turn, designated the peasants to work them in exchange for the payment of a tribute. Agricultural production was based on wheat, barley, fruits and vegetables. In addition, they took advantage of the papyrus to play and obtained gold, copper, amethyst and turquoise from the mountainous chains.

Egyptian religion

The Egyptian religion He was polytheistic, that is, they venerated many gods . It was constituted as the result of different local cults of the peoples that inhabited the entire Nile Valley. These beliefs focused on the existence of divinities identified with different phenomena of nature, stars and animals. Many times, divinities were represented with human forms or with a combination of human and animal features. With the unification of the kingdom of Egypt, the priests created a unified pantheon.

Founding myth

The founding myth of religion said that Osiris (god of the sun and creator of everything) was married to ISIS (goddess of fertility and magic) And, together, they had engendered Horus (god of heaven, protector of Egyptian royalty). Seth (God of the Desert, brother of Osiris) had killed Osiris and usurped the throne of Egypt. When Isis cried the death of her husband, she caused the first overflow of the Nile River And then, he decided to mummify the body of Osiris.

It was helped by Anubis (God of death) and Toth (God of Wisdom), and since then, Osiris returned to life and governs the kingdom of the dead. To avenge his father, Horus faced Seth and occupied the throne of Egypt. The eternal struggle between Seth and Horus represented for the Egyptians the fight between light and darkness, which was repeated daily with the succession of the day and night.

The cults of Amun and Aton

Throughout its history, Egyptian religion was influenced by political events . The political preeminence of the priests of some important city intensified the cult of the patron of that city.

For example, around 1500 a. C., Pharaona Hatshepsut ruled with the help of Thebes of Thebes that they venerated the god Amun. Then, Pharaoh Amenophis IV wanted to become independent of the influence of these pharaohs. For that, he established stunned as the only God, discarded the cult of the other gods and pursued the priests and believers of the God. However, years later, his son Tutankatón restored the cult of Amun and, over time, the polytheistic religion was practiced openly.

The cult of the dead

The Egyptians They believed that each person was made up of three elements: the body, the soul and the ka . The KA was a vital force that gave identity to people, directed and protected them. When he died, the KA came out through his mouth and undertook a long trip to the Osiris court, where his acts were judged. The God Anubis put the heart of the deceased in a balance along with a pen, and valued the actions of past life. If the balance was kept in balance, the KA could live with Osiris or return to its grave. Otherwise, it was devoured by Ammyt, a beast that would make it disappear forever.

To allow the KA’s trip, the Egyptians practiced different funeral rituals. The mummification of the body allowed to keep the body in good condition so that the ka had where to live if he decided to return to the grave. In the sarcophagi, elements were left to guide KA on their trip (such as the roll of Book of the Deadthat gave moral teachings on how to address Osiris). In addition, a ritual was practiced in which a priest carried an Anubis mask and returned to the ka the senses he had in life; View, taste, ear and smell.

Egyptian civilization culture

Egyptian civilization - Pyramids — The Egyptian pyramids were built with gigantic stone blocks.

The main cultural elements of Egyptian civilization were:

Egyptian architecture

Pyramids constitute one of the main icons of Egyptian architecture. They consist of majestic stone constructions that functioned as tombs and that allowed the soul of the pharaoh to undertake his journey to another life. They had a complex system of corridors and bedrooms. In the main chamber, more difficult to access, they placed the mummified body along with numerous belongings, food, drink and value objects that could be useful to the soul in another life.

The great Guiza pyramid was commanded by Pharaoh Keops Around the year 2570 AC, and its base measures 440 elbows x 440 elbows (equivalent to 230.56 meters x 230.56 meters). It is estimated that its construction lasted 20 years and that it required the work of some 10,000 men. He is currently the oldest of the seven wonders in the world.

Most pyramids have been looted throughout history due to the amount of value objects they contained. However, archaeologists have been able to know amazing details thanks to the hieroglyphic writings that abound in the walls of these temples.

Egyptian writing

The Egyptians developed a hieroglyphic writing system. Through signs, called hieroglyphs, they represented ideas and concepts . The oldest hieroglyphs were ideographic signs. Each sign represented the object that illustrated and should be read in the context that was used. For example, a human figure could mean “man” or “power.”

This system began to develop towards 3200 a. C., and evolved throughout Egyptian history, incorporating greater complexity. The same signs began to be used phonetically: Each represented a sound and several were combined to form a word . The same sign could have an ideographic, phonetic or combined value. As it was a very complex system, only priests trained in hieroglyphic writing used it. The priests recorded the beliefs and Egyptian rites on the walls of the temples, the tombs, the monuments and the palaces.

Over time, Another writing system was developed to write in papyri which was simpler: the hieratic. It was used by the scribes of the palaces and temples to write administrative texts and account for resources. It was also used by priests or wise who developed scientific and religious knowledge. In the last period of Egyptian history, another writing system known as demoticeven simpler than hieratic.

Egyptian numbering

Due to their advanced knowledge in mathematics and measurements, the Egyptians They handled the numbers and calculations like no other civilization . They created a measurement form called “elbow” that was calculated by measuring the length of the forearm (from the elbow to the tip of the fingers).

Subsequently developed the Calculation in “Real Codo” that amounted to 0.524 meters in length and subdivide in 7 sections of 4 fingers each (with a total of 28 fingers per unit of measurement).

Egyptian medicine

Religious beliefs about death and resurrection, added to knowledge about anatomy and chemistry, made civilization stand out in the field of health.

The Egyptians believed that The diseases were sent as punishment for the gods or that they were evil spirits that were in the body and had to be expelled through rituals or spells.

Due to the tradition of mummifying, They developed skills to know the different parts of the body and associate them with certain diseases. They managed to identify up to 28 different types of injuries, and have come to perform surgeries, of which traces were found in some mummies (such as skull perforations or tumor removal).

References

Grimal, N. (2004). History of ancient Egypt (Vol. 184). Akal editions.
Stead, IM, & Stead, M. (1998). Life in Ancient Egypt (Vol. 1). Akal editions.
Trigger, BG, KEMP, BJ, O’Connor, D., & Lloyd, AB (1983). Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge University Press.
“Ancient Egypt” at https://www.youtube.com/
“Ancient Egypt” at https://www.britannica.com/
“Ancient Egyptian Beliefs” at https://collections.dma.org/
“The medical practices of ancient Egypt that are still used” at https://www.bbc.com/