Ancient Egypt. Egyptian civilization, formed by 3000 B.C.E.
, benefited from contacts with
Mesopotamia, but produced a very different society. Egyptian civilization flourished for 2000
years before beginning to decline around 1000 B.C.E.
Egyptian Civilization. Egyptian civilization emerged in northern Africa along the Nile River by
about 3000 B.C.E. It benefited from trade and influences from Mesopotamia, but it also produced
its own distinct social structures and cultural expressions. Unlike Mesopotamian civilization,
Egyptian civilization featured very durable and centralized institutions.
Mathematical achievements and impressive architectural structures also characterized Egyptian
civilization. From 2700 B.C.E. onward, the Egyptian pharaohs directed the building of the
pyramids, which were to function as their tombs. However, the building of these massive
architectural monuments could only be accomplished with the use of an abundance of slave labor.
On Being a God King. Egypt’s rulers, pharaohs, were contacts between gods and people,
indeed they became gods after death. It remains unclear how their people reacted to their
claimed status, while priests often controlled rulers.
Basic Patterns of Egyptian Society. Farming had developed along the Nile River, assisted by
regular floods, by 5000 B.C.E. Before 3200 B.C.E., the Egyptians, with trade and commercial
influence from Mesopotamia, formed their distinct civilization. Largely because of the unifying
influence of the desert-surrounded Nile, the Egyptians moved directly from sedentary agricultural
communities to large governmental units without experiencing city-states. Political organization
remained authoritarian and centralized. The unified state created in 3100 B.C.E. lasted for 3000
years. The three major periods, the Old, Intermediate, and New Kingdoms, were characterized by
a pharaoh thought to possess the power to assure the prosperity of the Nile agricultural system. An
extensive bureaucracy trained in writing and law upheld his authority. Appointed regional
governors supervised irrigation and the building of great public works. One pharaoh, Akhenaton,
without success attempted to replace the many gods with a monotheistic religion. The pyramids
were constructed to commemorate the greatness of pharaohs. They were the result of impressive
human organization since Egyptians were not very technologically advanced.
Women in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Mesopotamia and Egypt differed
considerably in their treatment of women. In general, women in Mesopotamia
suffered under greater restrictions, and were veiled and their movements restricted.
In Egypt, on the other hand, although women were considered inferior to men, their
range of action was much greater. Nefertiti, living in the early 1300s B.C.E. is an
example of a powerful Egyptian queen. Also, Egypt was rare among contemporary
cultures in not practicing female infanticide.
Egyptian Ideas and Art. The Egyptians developed their own hieroglyphic alphabet
based upon pictograms, and using papyrus instead of clay tablets. The complex system
was monopolized by priests and never developed an epic literary tradition. Egyptian
science, focused on mathematics and astronomy, was less advanced than in
Mesopotamia, but they were the first to establish the length of the solar year, dividing
it into 12 months. Important advances were made in medicine. Religion was the pillar
of Egyptian culture. Many gods were worshipped. Elaborate funeral rituals and
mummification were part of a distinctive focus on death and a satisfactory afterlife.
Art, in unchanging and stylized form, focused upon the gods.
Continuity and Change. Changes did occur in this stable society. Invasions from
Palestine about 2200 B.C.E. ended the Old Kingdom and brought disorder and rival
kingdoms. The Middle Kingdom restored unity and spread settlements into present-
day Sudan. New invasions and social unrest led to the New Kingdom, around 1570
B.C.E. Commercial and diplomatic contacts spread Egyptian influence in the Middle
East and eastern Mediterranean. Slavery became a formal institution. After 1150
B.C.E., invasions and internal disorder brought steady decline.
Egypt and Mesopotamia Compared. The two civilizations had important
differences and similarities. In political life, the Mesopotamians developed regional
city-states while the Egyptians lived under a strong, centralized government. Both had
stratified social classes.
Mesopotamia developed an epic literary tradition lacking in Egypt. With better access
to building materials, the ability to organize masses of laborers, and a strong belief in
an afterlife, the Egyptians focused more on monumental structures than did the
Mesopotamians. Both societies traded widely, but Mesopotamia’s trade contacts were
more extensive, and greater attention was given to the merchant class and commercial
law. Because of its more difficult environment, Mesopotamia produced more
technological advances. Egypt’s different environment contributed to its stable
civilization and cheerful outlook both of life and the afterlife. In social organization,
women probably held higher status in Egypt. Both societies had a noble land-owning
class, powerful priesthoods, and masses of peasants and slaves. In science, both
emphasized astronomy and mathematics. Aided by relative regional isolation, the two
conservative civilizations resisted change until pressured by natural disaster or
invasion.
Women in Patriarchal Societies. Agricultural societies were patriarchal, awarding
men primary position in political, economic, and cultural life. Egyptian society
allowed upper-class women more influence than they held in Mesopotamia, but they
clearly remained a subordinate group. The decline in the status of women probably
occurred because their labor became less important than it had been in hunting-and-
gathering and early agricultural societies. Some women achieved influence through
religious functions, by the emotional hold gained over husbands and sons, and through
their important role in managing household operations.
Civilization Centers in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean . A number of
partially separate civilization centers developed between 20,000 and 1000 B.C.E.
Although influenced by the achievements of the major civilizations, they
developed their own lasting characteristics.
Kush and Axum: Civilization Spreads in Africa. Kush, the first known African state,
developed along the southern reaches of the Nile, on the frontiers of Egyptian
influence. Kush was an independent polity by 1000 B.C.E.; by 730 B.C.E. it conquered
and ruled Egypt. When the Assyrians invaded Egypt, Kush turned southward and
established a capital at Meroë during the 6th century. The kingdom’s greatest period
was from 250 B.C.E. to 50 C.E. Kush became a key center of iron technology, using iron
tools to extend cultivation. Kushite writing and political organization were influenced
by Egypt. The kingdom traded extensively with other African regions, but its influence
outside the area of the upper Nile is unknown. Kush was defeated by Axum around 300
C.E.
Cultures in the Mediterranean Region. Many small centers sprang up after 1500
B.C.E., mixing their cultures with Mesopotamian influences. Some of the smaller
cultures had major influences in other world regions.
The Hebrews and Monotheism. The Hebrews, a Semitic people influenced by
Babylonian civilization, moved into the southeast corner of the region around 1600
B.C.E. Jewish tradition relates that Moses led them from Egypt to Palestine in the 13th
century B.C.E. Their distinctive achievement was the development of a monotheistic
and ethical religion. They regarded themselves as a chosen people under their god
Yahweh’s guidance. Their religious ideas were written down in the Torah and other
writings. Two important features were the idea of an overall divine plan in history and
the concept of a divinely ordered morality. The Jews were not important politically,
but their written religion enabled them, even when dispersed, to retain cultural
identity. The Jews did not try to convert other peoples, but the later proselytizing
faiths of Christianity and Islam incorporated their ideas.
The Minoans. A civilized society developed in Crete around 1600 B.C.E. They traded
with Egypt and Mesopotamia. Egypt influenced Minoan architectural forms,
mathematics, and writing, and with Mesopotamia, influenced centralized, bureaucratic
political forms. The Minoans conquered parts of the Greek mainland and established
its first civilization at Mycenae. Both Crete and Greece were conquered by Indo-
Europeans around 1000 B.C.E., but the Minoan legacy influenced later Greek
civilization.
The Phoenicians. Around 2000 B.C.E. the Phoenicians settled on the Lebanese coast.
Primarily a maritime commercial society, they absorbed important influences from
major civilization centers. Around 1300 B.C.E. they devised a simplified alphabet that
became the ancestor of the Greek and Latin lettering systems. Phoenician traders
established colonies on the shores of the Mediterranean; the North African settlement at
Carthage later became a major political and economic power. They sailed into the Atlantic,
settling on the Iberian coast, and even went as far as Britain, trading in the tin the island
provided. The Phoenician cities fell to the Assyrians by the 6th century B.C.E., but their
colonies long survived.
