Download The Old Kingdom, spanning the Third to Eighth Dynasties of Egypt

The Old Kingdom, spanning the Third to Eighth Dynasties of Egypt,
saw the prolific construction of pyramids but declined due to civil
instability, resource shortages, and a drop in precipitation.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES [ edit ]
Describe the key cultural characteristics of the Old Kingdom
Explain the reasons for the rise and fall of the Old Kingdom
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd millennium BCE when
Egyptian attained its first continuous peak of complexity and achievement, most notably in its
construction of pyramids.
The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where the first
notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, Djoser, established his court.
In the Third Dynasty, formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as Nomes,
who were ruled solely by the pharaoh. The former rulers of these states were subsequently forced
to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection.
Egyptians during this era worshipped their pharaoh as a god and believed that he ensured the
stability of the cycles that were responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile necessary for their
crops.
The Fourth Dynasty saw multiple large­scale construction projects under pharaohs Sneferu,
Khufu, and Khufu's sons Djedefra and Khafra, including the famous pyramid and Sphinx at Giza.
The Fifth to Eighth Dynasties experienced civil instability due to civil reforms, the overextension
of resources from building projects in the Fourth Dynasty, and a drop in precipitation which
resulted in decades of famine and strife.
TERMS [ edit ]
Nomes
subnational administrative division of Ancient Egypt.
nomarchs
semi­feudal rulers of Ancient Egyptian provinces.
pharaoh
the form of address for a person who was king and son of the Egyptian god Ra, originally meant
"Great House. "
Old Kingdom
encompassing the Third to Eighth Dynasties, the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd
millennium BCE when Egyptian attained its first continuous peak of complexity and achievement.
Djoser
an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Third Dynasty and the founder of the Old Kingdom.
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The Old Kingdom is the name commonly
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given to the period in the 3rd millennium
BCE when Egyptian attained its first continuous peak of complexity and achievement. The
Old Kingdom is the first of three so­called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of
civilization in the Nile Valley, and was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural
decline referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period.
The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis,
where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for
the large number of pyramids, which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial
places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "The Age of the
Pyramids. "
The Beginning: Third Dynasty
The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser (2630­2611 BCE) of the Third
Dynasty, who ordered the construction of the Step Pyramid in Memphis' necropolis,
Saqqara.
It was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known
as Nomes, who were ruled solely by the pharaoh. The former rulers of these states were
subsequently forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection.
Egyptians in this era worshipped their pharaoh as a god and believed that he ensured the
annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops. Egyptian views on the nature
of time during this period held that the universe worked in cycles, and the pharaoh on earth
worked to ensure the stability of those cycles. The Egyptians also perceived themselves as a
specially selected people, "the only true human beings on earth. "
Golden Age: Fourth Dynasty
The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty, which
began with Sneferu (2575­2551 BCE). Using a greater mass of stones than any other pharaoh,
he built three pyramids: a mysterious pyramid in Meidum (a failure), the famous Bent
Pyramid in Dahshur (another failure), and the small Red Pyramid, also in Dashur.
Sneferu was succeeded by his (in)famous son, Khufu (2551­2528 BCE), who built the Great
Pyramid of Giza. Later Egyptian literature describes him as a cruel tyrant, who imposed
forced labor on his subjects to complete his pyramid. After Khufu's death his sons Djedefra
(2528­2520 BCE) and Khafra (2520­2494 BCE) may have quarrelled. The latter built the
second pyramid and the Sphinx in Giza. Recent reexamination of evidence has suggested
that the Sphinx may have been built by Djedefra as a monument to Khufu.
The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built c. 2560 BCE by Khufu during the Fourth Dynasty. It was built as a
tomb for Khufu and constructed over a 20­year period. Modern estimates place construction efforts to
require an average workforce of 14,567 people and a peak workforce of 40,000.
The later kings of the Fourth Dynasty were king Menkaura (2494­2472 BCE), who built the
smallest pyramid in Giza, and Shepseskaf (2472­2467 BCE).
The Great Sphinx of Giza
Great Sphinx of Giza and the pyramid of Khafre
(Photograph 2005)
The Great Sphinx (The Terrifying One; literally: Father of Dread), commonly referred to as
the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a
lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile
in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the face of the
Pharaoh Khafra. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture and the largest monolith
statue in the world, standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 19.3 metres (63 ft) wide, and 20.22 m
(66.34 ft) high.
Colin Reader has proposed that the Sphinx was probably the focus of solar worship in the
Early Dynastic Period, before the Giza Plateau became a necropolis in the Old Kingdom (c.
2686–2134 BC). He ties this in with his conclusions that the Sphinx, the Sphinx temple, the
Causeway and the Khafra mortuary temple are all part of a complex which predates Dynasty
IV (c. 2613–2494 BC). The lion has long been a symbol associated with the sun in ancient
Near Eastern civilizations. Images depicting the Egyptian king in the form of a lion smiting
his enemies date as far back as the Early Dynastic Period.In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx
became more specifically associated with the god Hor­em­akhet (Hellenized: Harmachis) or
Horus at the Horizon, which represented the pharaoh in his role as the Shesep­ankh of the
god Atum. Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1427–1401 or 1397 BC) built a temple to the north east of
the Sphinx nearly 1000 years after its construction, and dedicated it to the cult of Hor­em­
akhet.
Decline and Collapse: Fifth­Eighth Dynasties
The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkhaf (2465­2458 BCE), who initiated reforms that
weakened the Pharaoh and central government. A period of civil wars arose following his
reign, since the powerful nomarchs (regional governors) no longer belonged to the royal
family. The worsening civil conflict undermined unity and energetic government and caused
famines. Additionally, the massive building projects of the Fourth Dynasty exceeded the
capacity of the treasury and populace and, therefore, weakened the Kingdom at its roots.
The final blow was a sudden and short­lived cooling in the region that resulted in a drastic
drop in precipitation between 2200 and 2100 BCE, which in turn prevented the normal
flooding of the Nile. The result was decades of famine and strife. An inscription on the tomb
of Ankhtifi, a leader of the First Intermediate Period, describes the state of the country at the
end of the Old Kingdom.
Art
Egypt's Old Kingdom was one of the most dynamic periods in the development of Egyptian
art. During this period, artists learned to express their culture's worldview, creating for the
first time images and forms that endured for generations. Architects and masons mastered
the techniques necessary to build monumental structures in stone.
Sculptors from this period created the earliest portraits of individuals and the first life­size
statues in wood, copper, and stone. They perfected the art of carving intricate relief
decoration and, through keen observation of the natural world, produced detailed images of
animals, plants, and even landscapes, thereby recording the essential elements of their world
for eternity in scenes painted and carved on the walls of temples and tombs.
These images and structures had two principal functions: to ensure an ordered existence and
to defeat death by preserving life into the next world. To these ends, over a period of time,
Egyptian artists adopted a limited repertoire of standard types and established a formal
artistic canon that would define Egyptian art for more than 3,000 years, while remaining
flexible enough to allow for subtle variation and innovation. Although much of their artistic
effort was centered on preserving life after death, Egyptians also surrounded themselves with
objects to enhance their lives in this world, producing elegant jewelry, finely carved and
inlaid furniture, and cosmetic vessels and implements made from a wide range of materials.