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more than sixty-one million people live in Egypt. Egypt is
located in northeastern Africa. On the north it borders the
Mediterranean Sea, on the east the Red Sea and the State of
Israel in the Sinai desert. Most of the |
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is concentrated in the Nile Valley, which is only
a very small part (six percent) of Egyptian territory. Almost
all the rest of the country is desert. |
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HISTORY
Archaeological evidence shows us that hunters lived in Egypt more
than 250,000 years ago when the region was a green grassland. Around
25,000 BC, climate changes turned Egypt into a desert. The people
survived by hunting and fishing and through agriculture.
In 3100 BC, King Menes joined the two parts of the land into one
kingdom. The Dynasty that he founded, together with the one after
it, are now called the "Archaic Period". Egypt soon evolved into
a centralized and well organized kingdom. Egypt gained a growing
influence in the ancient world and its power came to dominate the
Near East for more than 500 years. The construction of the great
pyramids of the 4th dynasty (about 2575 - 2465 BC) took place during
this time. The new kingdom expanded rapidly and the country was
quite stable internally. Ancient Egypt and its culture had a tremendous
impact on what is now the Western World.
After the death of Tutankhamon the fourth, the Dynasty and the power
of the king weakened. A period of decline followed and Egypt was
invaded by the Assyrians and the Persians, and opened its borders
to the Greeks for the first time. The arrival of Alexander the Great
in 332 BC put an end to Ancient Egyptian history. For 250 years
Egypt was ruled by Greeks; Alexandria, rather than Athens, became
the center of learning and culture. The Greeks also introduced new
agricultural techniques and restored older temples.
In 30 BC the Romans conquered Egypt. This led to an increase in
prosperity in the beginning. But Rome did not give any local autonomy
to Egypt and, in the long run, its rule was harmful to Egypt's interests.
During the reign of the Roman emperor Nero in the first century,
Christianity was brought to Egypt and it spread throughout the country.
The Arab conquest of Egypt that began in 639, however, put an end
to the dominance of Christian religion. Arab newcomers and the conversion
of people to Islam reduced the Christian population. Arabic also
became the major language. Egypt then became part of the Muslim
world and until the 19th century Egyptian history was linked to
the general developments of Islam in the region.
The construction of the Suez Canal in the mid-19th century put Egypt
into deep financial debt. In order to solve their financial problems,
the Egyptian government had to give up control of the country to
other powers, especially Great Britain. The British strengthened
their control at the end of the 19th century. During World War I,
Great Britain declared Egypt to be a British protectorate.
Egypt received its independence in 1923. This happened after adopting
a constitution that made Egypt a kingdom under Fuad. A parliament
also came into existence. During World War II, Egypt remained officially
neutral. However, Egypt helped the British where possible and several
battles were fought on Egyptian soil . |
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RELIGION
Religion played a central role in the life of ancient Egypt.
The Pharaoh was considered a descendent of gods, and therefore a
deity himself. People were dedicated to their gods, and worshipped
them daily. They trusted the goodness of the gods and of their divine
son, the king. Every event had spiritual meaning. As Pharaohs grew
more powerful they built splendid temples for their gods, with decorations
on the walls, stone and wooden statues, and works of art with precious
materials. As the Egyptian religion grew, priests became more and
more influential in Egyptian society, to the point that in some
periods of history they governed the country together with the pharaoh.
Magical texts were also written in tombs to protect the dead against
would-be robbers. Magical spells and religious rituals were also
used to treat the sick or injured. If the magic did not work it
was considered the will of the god, and not a failure of the magic.
Burying the dead was an important religious event in Egypt. The
Egyptians believed in the existence of the life-force that they
called Ka. The Ka occupied and accompanied the body throughout life.
After death the Ka left the body to take its place in the kingdom
of the dead. The Ka, however, could not exist without the body;
therefore every effort had to be made to preserve the corpse. For
this reason bodies were embalmed and mummified according to traditional
methods. Also, wood or stone replicas of the body were put into
the tomb in case the mummy was destroyed. The greater the number
of statue-duplicates in one's tomb, the more chances the dead person
had of resurrection. As a final protection, elaborate tombs, built
in stone, were put up to protect the dead body.
Egyptians believed that after arriving in the kingdom of the dead,
the Ka was judged by Osiris, the king of the dead, and by his assistants.
The dead person's heart was weighed against a feather (Maat), to
see if they had been as pure during their lifetime. If the judges
decided that the dead person had been a sinner, the Ka was condemned
to hunger and thirst. If the decision was favorable, the Ka went
to the heavenly realm that was described as an improved version
of life on earth. |
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SOCIETY,
ECONOMY AND POLITICS
Most people in Ancient Egypt lived in villages and towns in the
Nile Valley and the Nile Delta. Houses were normally built of mud
brick. In ancient Egypt, as now, the favorite location for settlements
was on slightly raised ground near the riverbank, where transport
and water were easily available and flooding was unlikely.
Until 1000 BC Egypt had only a few urban centers, notably Memphis
and Thebes. These cities attracted many people and particularly
the elite, while the rest of the Egyptians lived in the countryside
and worked in agriculture. Most of the land belonged to the king.
In the feudal system land was given to high officials to provide
them with an income. The people who lived and worked on the land
were not free to leave.
Slavery was common in Egypt. Captives and foreigners, or people
who were forced by poverty or debt to sell themselves into service
were slaves. Some slaves were fortunate enough to marry members
of their owners' families, so that they could eventually become
free.
In the early periods of Egypt the king ran the country as his own.
Later, the Pharaoh, who was given god-like qualities, was the supreme
ruler. The lower levels of the government were formed by local rulers
and officials.
The ancient temples had both an economic and religious function.
The Egyptians were able to organize agriculture in useful ways,
with simple means and techniques that tended to originally come
from Asia. Also their stone building and figurative arts were of
a very high level. The technical and organizational skills developed
by Egyptians were indeed remarkable, especially their architecture.
The construction of the great pyramids has yet to be fully explained
and would be a major challenge to this day.
Women in ancient Egyptian society had a position that was only slightly
inferior to that of men. They could own and sell property, and they
could also divorce their husbands. They almost never had government
jobs, but they became more and more involved in religious affairs
as priestesses or "chantresses."
Today Egypt (whose official name is the Arab Republic of Egypt)
is a parliamentary democracy. The country's industry has developed
a great deal in the 20th century, especially since 1952. This is
when Egypt (long a monarchy) became a republic. The state owns much
of the economy and plays a key role in economic planning. Beautiful
weather, wonderful sandy beaches, and many archeological sites account
for the fact that tourism is a main industry that plays an important
role in the Egyptian economy.
The major manufactured goods are refined petroleum, chemicals, fertilizers,
textiles, clothing, processed foods, construction materials (especially
cement), iron and steel, and metal products. The country's farmland
is intensively cultivated. However, only 5% of Egypt's total land
area is suitable for agriculture. Nonetheless, agriculture is an
important economic sector that employs nearly one third of Egypt's
workers. The principal crop is cotton (Egypt is the world's sixth
largest cotton exporter). Rice, corn, wheat, tomatoes, sugarcane,
citrus fruit, dates are also produced.
Cairo, one of the oldest and most famous cities of the world, is
the capital. Together with Alexandria, Cairo is also one of the
main industrial centers.
About 95% of Egyptians are Muslims, and the official language is
Arabic. English is the second language. |
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CULTURE
Egypt has been at the crossroads of different major civilizations.
It is indeed one of the most interesting archeological sites of
the world because of this.
The invention of writing was essential for the system of government
that evolved in ancient Egypt and for the preservation of Egyptian
culture. The two basic forms of writing, hieroglyphs, which were
used for monuments, and the cursive form (known as hieratic), were
invented at about the same time (around 3000 BC). Initially, writing
was mainly used for administration, later it was used for gathering
important traditional information medical texts.
Those who could read and write were called scribes, and they had
an important role in ancient Egypt. Their knowledge of writing gave
them power over those who could not read or write (the large majority).
Ancient texts have been found that encouraged young people to learn
to write. Works of literature, mathematical texts, astronomy, medicine,
and magic, as well as different religious texts that were written
on papyrus, have been preserved by the dry Egyptian climate. They
provide us with a great amount of information about this ancient
civilization.
The arts are as important in modern Egypt as they were in ancient
times. Egypt has produced many great writers. Naguib Mahfouz is
perhaps the most famous. Mahfouz has written some 40 novels and
short story collections, as well as 30 screenplays and several plays.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1988 - the first
Arab writer to receive this prize. |
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| "The
Big Myth" © Distant Train 2002 |
