Egyptian Pyramids free essay sample

In 3100 B. C the Nile Valley and Delta joined to form the Nile. It was known as â€Å"The Gift of The Nile† because settlers were able to take advantage of the Nile’s annual floods. It turned into an especially productive Agricultural region that was capable of supporting a much larger population. It was â€Å"The Gift of The Nile† that made Egypt one of the richest and most powerful nations. Ancient Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt. Legendary conqueror, Menes, is responsible for the unification of Egypt. Menes is also the founder of Memphis, which was the cultural and political center of Egypt. Menes instituted the role of the Pharaoh. The Egyptian kings were called Pharaohs. They were absolute rulers and claimed to be a descent from the gods. (Factoidz. com, Egypt and the Rise of Fall of the Pharaohs. ) Some of the most influential Pharaohs were Tuthmosis III and his stepmother Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut was the first female Pharaoh and ruled in a time when women had more freedom then other ancient cultures. Hatshepsut married her half brother, Tuthmosis II, and had failed to have any male children so when Tuthmosis II passed, Hatshepsut co-ruled alongside her young stepson Tuthmosis III, being age ten at the time. Hatshepsut over did her role just as co-ruler and declared herself King. She disguised herself as a man, wearing false beards and male clothing. Tuthmosis III stood behind Hatshepsut most of his young life and spent time in the army. After the death of Hatshepsut, Tuthmosis III lead an army of twenty thousand men out of Egypt into Palestine. During his reign he personally led seventeen campaigns and dominated the coastal regions of the Eastern Mediterranean as well as North Africa. Tuthmosis III is widely known for his military successes while being Pharaoh. There were many Pharaohs that ruled ancient Egypt that were trying to leave an eternal legacy. The first was Menes and concluded with Cleopatra VII, who was the most known of the ancient Egyptian queens and had an affair with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony. It was after her suicide that Egypt became a province of Rome. Tyldesley, Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis: a royal feud?. ) It was during the Old Kingdom when the building of pyramids took place. The role of the pyramid was that it would be held as burial chambers for Pharaohs and a gateway to the afterlife. The pyramid is a symbol of the Pharaoh’s authority and divine status. They were also a testimony of the Pharaoh’s ability to marshal Egypt’s resources. The Egyptians began the custom of embalming to preserve the body for its life after death, also known as mummification. They believed they needed their body to last to throughout the afterlife. The mummies were placed in a sarcophagus, a stone coffin, and the translation of a sarcophagus is â€Å"flesh eater†. In the case of royalty, some were made in gold or silver. Also the Pharaoh’s gold and jewels were with them to make it through the journey with them. The largest Egyptian pyramid built for the Pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops. It took approximately twenty years to build, with one hundred thousand slaves, and is not only the largest but also the oldest pyramid standing. It also holds 2. 3 limestone blocks and has an average weight of two and a half tons. Pyramids hold our insight into most of what we know about ancient Egypt since their walls are filled with hieroglyphs. (Bentley, Chapter 3) Hieroglyphs, also known as â€Å"Holy Inscriptions†, was the Egyptian form of writing that appeared at least by 3200 B. C. E. Hieroglyphs were pictographic and supplemented with symbols that represented sounds and ideas. Hieroglyphs were used for formal writing and monument inscriptions but for common affairs as well, known as script. While not only found of monuments and a buildings, they used sheets of papyrus to write on. Papyrus was a long stemmed plant that flourished along the Nile. Some documents written on papyri were found in certain pyramid temples. They contained information such as lists of priests on duty, records of offerings brought to the temple, accounts, inventories of temple equipment and passes authorizing access to the temple. Hieroglyphs found carved onto the walls of tombs include scenes of everyday life on the estates and some even showed how rdinary people lived and worked. Historians say that we must not take these to accurately because the purposes of the hieroglyphs were to take in account for their afterlife and kings wished to last forever. This might not have been contemporary reality. Hieroglyphs are the main way of interpreting the ancient Egyptian society and it’s the main reason that we known so much about the rich and the royalty and not so much about ordinary life. Hieroglyphs interpreted sounds and ideas, which made an impact of the history of writing in the ancient times. Malek, â€Å"Primary Sources of the Old Kingdom. ) Today the pyramids of Egypt are one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Ancient Egypt brought the ideas of government, the beautiful work of art we call pyramids and another piece of art, hieroglyphs. The Egyptians were a society that flourished and used all their resources to their advantage. While learning more about Egypt or even getting the experience to go visit where the hundreds of slaves put together a bunch of heavy rocks, a person will think more of Egypt then just an empty sand filled desert.