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Comparative Civilizations 12
Demise of Egyptian Civilization
Class Notes Mrs. Lewis
Egyptian civilization
reached its pinnacle
during the New Kingdom
era (1550BCE- 1069BCE).
This was
considered the
Golden Age of
Egypt.
During this period, there
were several larger than
life characters who ruled
Egypt. The included the
following:
•Hatshepsut
•Tuthmosis III•Tutankhamun
•Ramses II
•Nectanebo- the last
pharoah
Hatshepsut- one of four female
pharaohs
•long and prosperous. She was successful in
warfare early in her reign, but is generally
considered to be a pharaoh who inaugurated a
long peaceful era.
•She re-established trade lost during a foreign
occupation and brought great wealth to Egypt.
•That wealth enabled Hatshepsut to initiate
great and notable building projects- i.e Great
Temple of Karnuk
•Tutmosis III
•he created the largest empire Egypt had ever
seen
• no fewer than seventeen campaigns were
conducted, and he conquered from Niy in north
Syria to the fourth waterfall of the Nile in Nubia.
•After his years of campaigning were over, he
established himself as a great builder pharaoh as
well.
•Tutmosis III was responsible for building over fifty
temples in Egypt and building massive additions
to Egypt's chief temple at Karnak.
•New levels of artistic skills were reached during
his reign, as well as unique architectural
developments never seen before and never again
after his reign.
•Officially, Tutmosis III ruled Egypt for almost fiftyfour years
•Akhenaton- rebel king
• Amonhotep IV change his name – worshiped
Aton instead of Amon-Re. Moved capital from
Thebes.
•Married to Nefertiti .His son was Tut.
•Monotheistic- believed in one god Amon—Re
•plagues, pandemics.
Tutankhamun was only eleven years old when
he became pharaoh, and reigned for
approximately ten years.
In historical terms, Tutankhamun's significance
stems from his rejection of the radical religious
innovations introduced by his predecessor
Akhenaton and that his tomb in the Valley of
the Kings was discovered by Carter almost
completely intact -- the most complete ancient
Egyptian tomb ever found.
As Tutankhamun began his reign at such an
early age, his vizier and eventual successor Ay
was probably making most of the important
political decisions during Tutankhamun's reign.
Early in his life, Ramses II embarked on
numerous campaigns to return previously
held territories back to Nubian hands and
to secure Egypt's borders.
He was also responsible for suppressing
some Nubian revolts and carrying out a
campaign in Libya.
Although the famous Battle of Kadesh
often dominates the scholarly view of
Ramses II's military prowess and power,
he nevertheless enjoyed more than a few
outright victories over the enemies of
Egypt.
Egypt’s Military
Egyptians were the least warlike people in ancient times.
They had to defend rather than invade territories.
Egypt provided them with everything they needed.
Hyksos invasion alerted them to the need of a strong army.
The Army was highly trained.
Wars were fought with great pomp and ceremony. They
invoked the powers of gods.
These war campaigns were terrifying to Egyptians because
there was nothing more frightening than dying away from
home and being buried in a foreign land.
The Demise of Ancient Egyptian Civilization
Prosperity and stability could not last forever.
•A series of weak leadership and Pharaohs
created independent leaders and a rise in
power of the priesthood.
•Political weakness opened the door to rapidly
evolving civilizations surrounding Egypt’s
borders.
•Influence and invasion from other civilizations
such as Persians, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans
•Shift from economic prosperity to poverty.
Lavish lifestyles left economy bankrupt.
•Mass exodus of Israelites out of Egypt- freed
from bondage and free to worship one god.
Nectanebo was placed on the
Egyptian throne by the Spartan king
Agesilaus II, who helped him
overthrow .
After a reign of 17 years, he was
defeated by the Persian king
Artaxerxes III, and fled first to
Memphis then into Upper Egypt, and
finally into exile in Nubia, where he
vanishes from history.
With Nectanebo's flight, all organized
resistance to the Persians collapsed,
and Egypt once again was reduced to
a part of the Persian Empire.
The decline of the Egyptian civilization resulted
from the complex interplay of these factors
including:
 economic conditions,
weakening of leadership,
and warfare by other complex societies.
This lead to a slow decline and ended with Egypt becoming
part of Roman Empire (after suicide deaths of Anthony and
Cleopatra VII) in 30 BCE.
Hints for Unit test on Egypt. What you need to know:
•Make sure that you have read and done chap. 2 questions that were assigned.
•Know The Creator story and who the first Gods were
•Name the three spiritual duplicities- ka/ba/akh what Ma’at is
•Know some of the key Pharaohs ie , Hatsheptut, Tut, Ramses, Menes
•What contributed to the demise of Egypt
•Environmental factors that kept Egypt isolated
•Mummification process.
•M/C, T/F, fill in the blanks, short answers , point form. 40 marks.