The Amarna Period

In his third year of rule, Amenhotep IV held aheb-sed, a traditional festival that re-affirmed his fitness to rule. Oddly, no gods except his favorite, the Aten, were included. The Aten, a winged sun disk, was an obscure god in whom Amenhotep’s parents had taken an interest, but only as one god among many. The heb-sed shrines featured only Amenhotep IV beneath the Aten disk. Even Amun-Re was excluded.

By his fifth year as ruler, Amenhotep had promoted the Aten to official state god. Support that used to flow to Amun-Re temples and priests went to the Aten cult, which quickly grew rich. Temples of Amun-Re closed for lack of funds. The king declared that the Aten was the one true god, and banned all others—a staggering change in a land where 2,000 gods were worshiped.

Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten (“Living Spirit of the Aten”) and moved his capital to a new city, Akhetaten (“Horizon of the Aten”) on the east bank of the Nile, halfway between Thebes and Memphis—modern Tell elAmarna. The brief era of Akhenaten’s radical religious upheaval is called the Amarna Period.

Within four years, Akhetaten, the city, was fully functional. It became both the religious and political capital of Egypt. Buildings were decorated with art in the new Amarna style, with charming scenes of Akhenaten, the king, his wife Nefertiti (which means “a beautiful woman has come”), and their six daughters.

The elite found it wise to swiftly convert. But almost everyone else continued to quietly wor- ship their traditional gods and goddesses. The Aten religion, actually a cult formed around the personality of the king, never caught on outside the king’s closed circle.

In the 12th year of Akhenaten’s reign, several members of his family died suddenly, possibly of plague. Nefertiti vanished. She may have died, or she may have been “retired” because she produced no sons. Akhenaten married at least one of his surviving daughters—but still got no sons. He became increasingly intolerant of the persistent interest in the old gods, traditional religion, and anybody who disagreed with his radical religious notions. After ruling for 17 years, he died.

Massive confusion followed. The identity of his immediate successor is a hot topic of scholarly controversy. Tutankhaten, the king who followed the mystery successor, changed his name to Tutankhamun and moved the capital back to Thebes. He demolished the Aten’s temples, and erased the names of Akhenaten and Nefertiti from monuments. Amun-Re ruled once more.

Akhetaten was abandoned. With its residents gone and valuables removed, it sank back into the desert sands, until it was rediscovered by archaeologists in the early 1800s.

The kings who followed Akhenaten tried to erase the heretic king, his wife, and the entire embarrassing episode from history. In spite of their efforts, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are among the best-known icons of ancient Egypt—and the Amarna Period is one of the most intensively studied and fascinating eras of Egyptian history.

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Perfume and Cosmetics

A wealthy woman during Egypt’s imperial age, dressed for a party or festival, might have stepped from the pages of a modern fashion magazine (except for that odd white cone atop her head). Her pleated, embroidered linen gown, fringed wool shawl, elaborate wig, and flashy jewelry would be the pride of
a Paris designer.

Modern beauties would recognize her routine. She took a leisurely bath, washing with a refreshing solution of natron (a drying mineral) and fragrant oil. A cleansing cream made of oil mixed with lime (a mineral power) toned and softened her skin. She applied a wrinkle-fighting potion, custom-made from a secret recipe from the king’s personal physician.

She rubbed a deodorant made of ground carob (crushed pods from the carob tree, with a chocolate fragrance) onto her body. An edible perfume of natron, cinnamon oils, and a “secret ingredient” from Punt sweetened her breath.

She opened her make-up kit, surveying tiny jars of gold, translucent stone, ivory, and glass in the shapes of animals and birds, filled with powders, oils, unguents, and perfumes. (Unlike modern alcohol-based perfumes, hers were oil-based, scented with exotic ingredients such as cinnamon, myrrh, frankincense, cardamom, wine, and honey.) She selected a miniature gold spoon for mixing oils, her carved black kohl stick, several make-up palettes, and a polished copper hand mirror carved in the form of Hathor, the goddess of beauty.

Using her kohl stick, she applied thick black lines around her eyes. A touch more defined and lengthened her brows. She patted her cheeks with a dusting of powdered red ochre, then mixed a bit of it with oil to make colored lip gloss. She applied henna (a reddish dye extracted from the rose-scented loosetrife plant) to parts of her wig, her feet, the palms of her hands, and her fingernails.

Her servants helped her wiggle into a tight-fitting, pleated linen sheath, topped
with an embroidered wool shawl. She donned her fashionably long, braided wig, adding a circlet (crown-shaped hair ornament) of gold with tiny gemstone flowers. From her over- flowing jewelry case, she selected heavy gold earrings with dangling beads, several rings (one shaped like the ankh, symbol for life),
and a three-row beaded collar of gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and amethyst. Finally, she donned five gold bracelets—one on each upper arm and three for her dainty wrists.

At the door, she slipped into delicate leather sandals decorated with fresh flowers. She added a few fresh flowers to her wig. Just before leaving, she placed a cone of scented fat atop her wig. Over the evening, the heat would gradually melt the fat, releasing its scent and running a cooling stream of perfume down her wig, face, and neck.

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Building a Superpower

The first king to use ships for major troop movements, Thutmose III launched campaigns against Syria each summer for 18 years. In his most brilliant victory, he marched to Gaza in 10 days and took the city. He proceeded to Meggido and drove off the enemy after a daringly clever surprise attack.

Unfortunately, his soldiers could not resist the temptation to do some looting. This gave the enemy time to build up their defenses in Meggido. (A seven-month siege finally dislodged them.) Thutmose III conquered more than 350 cities in the Near East, from the northeast border of Egypt to the Euphrates River. The temples of Amun-Re got most of the spoils, as well as large shares of the tributethat flowed in from conquered provinces.

Thutmose I had already pretty much conquered Nubia, enabling Thutmose III to concentrate on Asia. His primary opponent was the Mittani Empire in northern Syria, which eventually fell to Egypt. The court of Thutmose III was luxurious beyond anything we can imagine today. During his 54-year reign, nothing was too good for his hundreds of wives (including many foreign princesses) and military generals. Tombs and grave goods from his era are remarkable for their high quality and abundance.

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Imperial Egypt

THE 350 YEARS OF DYNASTIES 18 AND 19 WERE THE WORLD’S first great empire. A series of brilliant military pharaohs extended Egypt’s domain from the fourth cataract deep in Nubia in the south, to the Euphrates River in the Near East. Egypt’s empire was much smaller than the later Persian and Roman empires, was built up gradually, and took shape not entirely by design. Egypt’s greatest general-kings appeared when much of the rest of the Mediterranean world was unstable and weak. Still, Egypt was the world’s first superpower.

The imperial age brought vast wealth and a new, cosmopolitan outlook to Egypt. Previously isolated in their narrow valley, Egyptians now subdued a multitude of nations, adopted their gods and goddesses, and imported their fashions and technologies.

Sons of the leaders of conquered territories in Nubia and Asia were compelled to live in Egypt, study in temple schools, and learn Egyptian ways. Foreign princesses joined the royal harem—the king’s group of wives. Harems could be quite large, with hundreds of wives. Although these foreigners lived in luxury, their marriages were strictly diplomatic—their presence kept the tribute and gifts flowing, and discouraged revolt.

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Models and Magic

The tomb of Meketre, chancellor to Eleventh Dynasty king Mentuhotep II, held a secret missed by the looters who otherwise stripped it. In a sealed chamber, Meketre had placed 25 exquisitely detailed models of daily life and activities that his spirit could magically activate to brew his afterlife beer, catch fish for him, clean his house, serve his meals, bake his bread, haul water, care for his animals, fight off invaders, weave linen, build him a Nile yacht—any task that would need doing in the afterlife.

A model of the cattle census is complete with animals, herdsmen, village officials, and royal tax collectors. There are models of granaries (buildings for storing grain), boats of different sizes, and Meketre’s house and garden.

There are miniature workshops for bakers, butchers, brewers, weavers, and woodworkers Meketre added model serving girls to carry water, and battalions of tiny archers and soldiers, ready to fight if the need arose. Some of the models from Meketre’s tomb can be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (the rest are in the Cairo Museum).

The tradition of placing such models, and other servant figures, such as ushabtis (“answerers”), in tombs was a typical Egyptian response to a practical problem. With fewer resources available to build and stock huge, lavish tombs, even the king relied on magical servant figures, and paintings, figurines, and menus that could be magically activated as needed.

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The Second Intermediate Period

The horror of having their throne seized by foreigners caused the Egyptians to see the Hyksos in the worst possible light. But in many ways, Hyksos rule was the best thing that could have happened to Egypt. It rescued Egypt from political turmoil and cultural decline. The Hyksos brought fresh ideas and new technologies to a land that had become fixed in its outlook.

They introduced Egypt to superior bronze-age technology, already in wide use elsewhere. They introduced new military strategies, tactics, and equipment: the chariot and horse, the composite bow, scale armor (armor with solid, overlapping tabs of metal, rather like metal fish scales), and im- proved daggers and swords. Without these innovations, it is doubtful Egypt could have become an imperial superpower.

The Hyksos also introduced fresh ideas to the arts and everyday life. The vertical weaving loom, stringed musical instruments (lute and lyre), the oboe, the tambourine, the olive and pomegranate trees—all came to Egypt with the Hyksos. This 107-year period (1630 to 1539 B.C.E.) spans Dynasties 15 to 17.

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The Middle Kingdom - Part 2

When Senwosret I took the throne, he continued his military activities, securing Egypt’s southern border at the second cataract with 13 forts. He sent mining expeditions to Nubia, Syria, and the western oases. He built a magnificent solar temple at Heliopolis.

The 34-year reign of his son, Amenemhet II, saw great achievements. The king widened and deepened the canal that fed the Faiyum from the Nile, expanding hunting, fishing, and agriculture. He sent trade expeditions to Punt, the Red Sea, Lebanon, and the Levant. He carried on a thriving trade with the Mediterranean island of Crete.

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The Middle Kingdom - Part 1

After years of fighting, the family in Thebes prevailed. They reunited Egypt under Mentuhotep II, leader of the last phase of the struggle against the Herakleopolitans. On becoming king, Mentuhotep took the kingly title “He who gives heart to the two lands.” (This kingly title was called a Horusname, after Horus, the falcon-headed god who was the traditional protector of Egyptian kings. The king is the physical embodiment of Horus-on-earth. To the ancient Egyptians, he was Horus.) In his 14th year of rule, he crushed a major rebellion in Abydos, securing his control of Upper Egypt. He changed his Horus-name to “Lord of the white crown.”

It was not until his 39th year of rule that he reunited Upper and Lower Egypt. He changed his Horus-name to “Uniter of the two lands.” So began the Middle Kingdom, which lasted 350 years and encompassed Dynasties 11 (late) to 14 (1980 B.C.E. to 1630 B.C.E.).

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The First Intermediate Period

The god-king no longer enjoyed exalted status. Local rulers and nomarchs had grabbed much of his authority. When the collapse finally came, it was sudden and complete.

While general disorder and the independence of local rulers helped bring about the collapse of the Old Kingdom, many scholars believe that climate change in Africa and the Near East had at least as much to do with it. Changes in the patterns of monsoon rains over the Abyssinian highlands caused widespread drought and a series of low Niles. Food production abruptly declined. Hot winds blew from the south for weeks at a time, according to some ancient texts. Sandstorms and dust storms hid the sun for days. Already dry farms turned to dust. In some places, the Nile was so shallow that it could be crossed on foot. Drought and famine in the Near East drove bands of starving, desperate refugees to Egypt’s borders, putting additional pressure on food and water supplies.

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The Old KingDom - Part 3

But there was rumbling on the borders. Soldiers often had to be sent to Nubia to protect trade routes and to recruit mercenaries (soldiers for hire) for the army and police forces. A major fort was established at Buhen, near the second cataract. Libyan raiders made repeated incursions from the western desert.

The Fifth Dynasty ended in confusion. The first king of the Sixth Dynasty, Teti, settled things down. But the power and influence of the king was severely declining. Local nobles no longer felt it necessary oreven desirable to be buried near the king. They built tombs for themselves and their families in their own districts.

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