Portal:Ancient Egypt

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

THE ANCIENT EGYPT PORTAL

Showcased content about Ancient Egypt

The golden funeral mask of king Tutankhamun, a symbol for many of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa. It was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River, situated in the place that is now the country Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (often identified with Narmer). The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as “Intermediate Periods.” The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age, or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and a sizable portion of the Levant. After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, Ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Achaemenid Persians, and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. Egypt remained under Roman control until the 640s AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate.

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.^[1]

The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites. Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. (Full article...)

Learn more about Ancient Egypt...

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Thinis (Greek: Θίνις Thinis, Θίς This ; Egyptian: Tjenu; Coptic: Ⲧⲓⲛ; Arabic: طين ) was the capital city of pre-unification Upper Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho, who cites it as the centre of the Thinite Confederacy, a tribal confederation whose leader, Menes (or Narmer), united Egypt and was its first pharaoh. Thinis began a steep decline in importance when the capital was relocated to Memphis, which was thought to be the first true and stable capital after the unification of Egypt by Menes. Thinis's location on the border of the competing Heracleopolitan and Theban dynasties of the First Intermediate Period and its proximity to certain oases of possible military importance ensured Thinis some continued significance in the Old and New Kingdoms. This was a brief respite and Thinis eventually lost its position as a regional administrative centre by the Roman period.

Due to its ancient heritage, Thinis remained a significant religious centre, housing the tomb and mummy of the regional deity. In ancient Egyptian religious cosmology, as seen (for example) in the Book of the Dead, Thinis played a role as a mythical place in heaven. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Credit: Maison Bonfils (Beirut, Lebanon)

The Great Sphinx of Giza, partially excavated, with two pyramids in the background.

Read more...

More pictures...

edit

Did you know...

... that the entrance of Djoser’s pyramid complex features columns fashioned to resemble bundled reeds and ceiling blocks carved into the shape of tree trunks (pictured)?

... that, according to Herodotus, Pharaoh Psamtik I conducted an experiment to discover the origin of language, and found that Phrygian was the oldest language?

... that Ancient Egyptians were shocked by the Greco-Roman practice of infanticide, and would rescue abandoned babies from manure heaps?

More did you know facts

edit

News

5th September 2018. Rock-cut Tomb discovered in a 4,000-year-old Elite Cemetery

August 2018: in the tomb of the mayor of Memphis Ptahmose who dates around 1300 BC was found well preserved cheese, more than 3000 years old. [1]

Selected biography - show another

Ring of Ptolemy VI wearing an Egyptian pschent

Ptolemy VI Philometor (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr; 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. He is often considered the last ruler of ancient Egypt when that state was still a major power.

Ptolemy VI, the eldest son of King Ptolemy V and Queen Cleopatra I, came to the throne aged six when his father died in 180 BC. The kingdom was governed by regents: his mother until her death in 178 or 177 BC and then two of her associates, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, until 169 BC. From 170 BC, his sister-wife Cleopatra II and his younger brother Ptolemy VIII were co-rulers alongside him. Ptolemy VI's reign was characterised by external conflict with the Seleucid Empire over Syria and by internal conflict with his younger brother for control of the Ptolemaic monarchy. In the Sixth Syrian War (170–168 BC), the Ptolemaic forces were utterly defeated and Egypt was twice invaded by Seleucid armies. A few years after the Seleucid conflict ended, Ptolemy VIII succeeded in expelling Ptolemy VI from Egypt in 164 BC. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
Amenhotep I Ahmose I Akhenaten Philitas of Cos Darius the Great Artaxerxes III Thutmose I Tutankhamun Djedkare Isesi Atlanersa Neferefre Unas Menkauhor Kaiu Nyuserre Ini Userkaf Isis Sheshi Hathor Neferirkare Kakai Ramesses VI Ptolemy II Philadelphus Sneferu Seth-Peribsen

General images

The following are images from various ancient Egypt-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1An Osiris statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 2Colossal depictions of Ramesses II at one of the Abu Simbel temples. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 3Greywacke statue of the pharaoh Menkaure and his queen consort, Khamerernebty II. Originally from his Giza temple, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 4Bull palette, Naqada III (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 5Egyptian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 470 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 6Carved catfish bones, and jar discovered in Maadi (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 7Aterian point from Zaccar, Djelfa region, Algeria. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 8Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 9Merimde culture clay head, circa 5,000 BC. This is one of the earliest known representations of a human head in Egypt. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 10Nabta Playa "calendar circle", reconstructed at Aswan Nubia museum. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 11Clapper discovered in Maadi, Louvre Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 12Naqada figure of a woman interpreted to represent the goddess Bat with her inward curving horns. Another hypothesis is that the raised arms symbolize wings and that the figure is an early version of the white vulture goddess Nekhbet, c. 3500–3400 B.C.E. terracotta, painted, 11+1⁄2 in × 5+1⁄2 in × 2+1⁄4 in (29.2 cm × 14.0 cm × 5.7 cm), Brooklyn Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 13Ancient Egypt Predynastic Stone Vessels. Louvre Museum, Paris (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 14Statuette of Merankhre Mentuhotep, a minor pharaoh of the Sixteenth Dynasty, reigning over the Theban region c. 1585 BC. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 15Possible prisoners and wounded men of the Buto-Maadi culture devoured by animals, while one is led by a man in long dress, probably an Egyptian official (fragment, top right corner). Battlefield Palette. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 16Egypt and its world in 1300 BC. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 17Tasian beaker, found in a Badarian grave at Qau; tomb 569, around 4000 BC; Upper Egypt; British Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 18Map of Lower Egypt, and location of the Faiyum oasis (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 19Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 20Ancient Badarian mortuary figurine of a woman, held at the Louvre (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 21Stela of the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Nebra, displaying the hieroglyph for his Horus name within a serekh surmounted by Horus. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 22A guardian statue which reflects the facial features of the reigning king, probably Amenemhat II or Senwosret II, and which functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut. Made of cedar wood and plaster c. 1919–1885 BC (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 23Mesopotamian king as Master of Animals on the Gebel el-Arak Knife, dated to the Naqada II period circa 3300-3200 BC, Abydos, Egypt. Louvre Museum, reference E 11517. This work of art both shows the influence of Mesopotamia on Egypt at an early date, and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography during the Uruk period. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 24Arrowheads from Al Fayum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 25The prisoners on the Battlefield Palette may be the people of the Buto-Maadi culture subjected by the Egyptian rulers of Naqada III. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 26A Gerzeh culture vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 27Ovoid Naqada I (Amratian) black-topped terracotta vase, (c. 3800–3500 BC). (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 28A typical Naqada II pot with ship theme (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 29Portrait of "Black Pharaoh" Taharqa, Louvre Museum reconstruction (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 30Ring with engraved portrait of Ptolemy VI Philometor as Pharao (3rd–2nd century BCE). Louvre Museum. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 31Map of Egypt (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 32Evolution of Egyptian prehistoric pottery styles, from Naqada I to Naqada II and Naqada III (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 3325th Dynasty (from History of ancient Egypt)

edit

Related portals

All Africa-related portals

edit

WikiProjects

History
- Ancient Near East
  - Ancient Egypt
    - Religion work group
- Archaeology

edit

Main topics

Ancient Egypt

Notable Pharaohs

Ancient Egyptian religion

Ancient Egyptian offering formula
Pantheon
- Osiris
- Ptah
- Amun
- Isis
- Horus
- Set
- Montu
- Ra
- Ma'at
- Sekhmet
- Nepthys
- Anubis
Bastet
- Shu
- Tefnut
- Geb
- Ammit
- Bes
Religious concepts
- Ba
- Ka
- Akh
- Duat
- Atenism
- Egyptian soul
- Ennead
Ancient Egyptian funerary texts

Sites

Egyptologists

edit

Recognized content

This is a list of recognized content, updated weekly by JL-Bot (talk · contribs) (typically on Saturdays). There is no need to edit the list yourself. If an article is missing from the list, make sure it is tagged (e.g. {{WikiProject Ancient Egypt}}) or categorized correctly and wait for the next update. See WP:RECOG for configuration options.