Ancient Egyptian Technology

Ancient Egyptian technology has witnessed a lot of technological advancements as far as the development of the civilization is concerned. Each felt the importance of the various technologies and the advent of new technologies were welcomed with all the more happiness and certainty of success. Ancient Egyptian technology includes the utilization of the wit presented by the god to the people. The people at civilization were prominent in finding out several new methodologies associated with the development in their day today life. These technologies were helpful in bringing back the lost sheen with most lucrative approach. 

Also one witnessed remarkable increase in the development as far as the comfort level of the person, who lives in that particular civilization. The technological advancements include advancements in medicine field. This has paved way for longer life expectancy of the people living in that particular locality. Medicine for various communicable diseases was meted out with shrubs and medicinal plants available in the locality. Technological advancements in the field of black smithy have paved way for remarkable improvement in the development of new weapons. The blacksmith at Ancient Egyptian Civilization had lot of work to be done in short duration of time. 

The importance of the eminent black smith is always essential to obtain good quality weapons for the military. The military bases are created all along the source of effective manpower and thereby rendering good supply of soldiers at the time of adversity and immediate cause. Also several technically sound weapons are created with the help of the newly found technologies. Emergence of composite type bow used as prominent weapon to attack the enemies. It provides much larger range with good accuracy with only disadvantage of individual manufacturing cost of the weapon. Also some of advancements include new formulae found in the field of mathematics. The civilization is gifted with certain naturally talented mathematicians. 

Ancient Egyptian Sports and Games

In the rich and vast civilization of Egypt, it may not be surprising to know that they gave high importance to sports too. It is a fact that many of the sports and games that we play today have been in existence several thousand years ago in the ancient Egyptian life. You might ask for evidences of existence of the ancient Egyptian sports and activities. The best evidence is the scenes depicted on the walls of the temples as well as pyramids. It clearly shows that Egyptians were people who knew to keep themselves fit. So it is predicted that sports and exercises must have been a part and parcel of the life of the Egyptians. 

Many of the scholars have revealed the interesting aspects of the practicing of sports by the Egyptians. Many games and sports formed the Egyptian sports. It would surprise or even shock you when you find that there have not been many differences in the games or sports that we play today and the games which they played those days. Pharaoh and his men had enjoyed several activities like the javelin throw or the wrestling game. This has been found from the paintings as well as murals which date back to ancient Egyptian period. 

Javelin throw is a sport for us today but for the Egyptians it was likely to be connected with hunting for the purpose of both sport as well as finding food. Archery is another sport which was a very popular recreation mode for the Egyptians. It seems than the royals have practiced archery for the greater purpose of entertainment than for the practical use of it. It would be obvious for anyone to guess that many of the sports in Egypt were related to water due to its location on banks of the greatest river Nile. It is true that the Egyptians showed interest in water related games like rowing as well as swimming. 

Ancient Egyptian Military

Military plays a major role in developing an effective civilization with modular culture of people living in that particular civilization. Ancient Egyptian military includes certain base camps situated at the beds of river Nile. Also the proficiency of the military back up is such that the enemies are inhibited to attack the civilization with utmost certainty. Hence military gives the civilization the grounds to grow up as eminent pack of people living stupendously well. Military was protecting the civilization from the periodic attacks from the eastern part of the Egypt. The ancient Egyptian military includes variety of the weapons that are required to foresee the dangers associated with the foreign invasion. 

Military back up is also needed during the time of the expansion of the civilization and dynasty over large area. The weapons include certain intricate and well-directed bows used to target the enemy from a longer distance. Spears are used to hit the enemy and tear the muscle off at a certain small distance. The blacksmith at Ancient Egyptian Civilization had lot of work to be done in short duration of time. The importance of the eminent black smith is always essential to obtain good quality weapons for the military. 

The military bases are created all along the source of effective manpower and thereby rendering good supply of soldiers at the time of adversity and immediate cause. Forts constructed at various parts of the civilization play an exceedingly important role in the development of ancient Egyptian military. Also the military outgrowth saw the emergence of composite type bow used as prominent weapon to attack the enemies. It provides much larger range with good accuracy. But the only limiting factor that was prominent was the cost of production of the weapon. It is by far exceeding much more than the production cost of simple bow. 

Economy During the Ancient Egyptian Times

The Ancient Egyptian has many aspects to there economy that makes there lives successful. Egyptians use the ways of trading, farms and there educated minds to make their everyday lives strive. If you are wondering, how their economy was during the old Ancient Egyptian days then you should read this exciting article. 

As you know, the way of the world has changed in the way of trading. The ancient Egyptians depend on the way of trading as there way of money. They had many farms and growing livestock to trade for their tools to make their food. This also means the other stuff they needed to live. The people also collect many different minerals that can be traded for foods. The metals and minerals that they trade can be traded around the Mediterranean Sea and red sea. The Egyptians have many things to trade to make there lives live a lot longer. The economy was made up of the trading of gold and wheat. 

The money to the people of the ancient Egyptians is the way of trading and that is how they survive for many years. If you go to Egypt, you should know that the economy is made up of trading still in most towns. All prices to a market place are a barging price and the ancient Egyptians use there trades to get the bargains they want. The other types of ways the ancient Egypt made it through life and that was having a job. The ancient Egyptians had many jobs that they needed to keep the economy and that is many of the jobs we have today. The Egyptians brought some of the best arts that are out there today. There where many anglers that were paid for how many fish they brought in and there were many hunters. The skins from the animals they hunted made many clothes they can wear. 

In the ancient Egyptians days the children grow up to learn the trades of the farther, making life when he gets older to help the family and his family when he has one. The economy was very good in those days and the people were very educated in school. They learned all about how to write and how to do the occupations they needed, as they get older. The ancient Egyptians have a king and queen like any country and they served the king by following him. Building the cities and the markets places kept the towns in very good shape and kept the economy going. 

Pharaohs in the New Kingdom (1570-1075 B.C.E.)

Pharaohs in the New Kingdom (1570-1075 B.C.E.)

During the New Kingdom period, the pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty pushed an invading group, the Hyksos, out of Egypt, subdued the Nubians in the South, and conquered Palestine and parts of Syria. The pharaohs in this period were warrior- kings and vastly expanded the Egyptian territory. They celebrated their triumphs with monuments and pyramids on a scale never before seen in the world. The conquering pharaohs brought home material wealth from territories they took over and used conquered peoples as slaves. These slaves helped build the opulent palaces and pyramids of the New Kingdom pharaohs.

The Egyptian Pharaohs used their status as warrior-god-kings to preserve their wealth and power. It was common for pharaohs to marry their close female relatives, often their sisters. By marrying their sisters, the pharaohs kept their power within the bounds of family allegiance. In some cases, pharaohs married more than one of their sisters, as well as other women for the purpose of cementing their power.

King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti

One of the most unusual pharaohs in this period was Akhenaten. Akhenaten was monotheistic, and believed in one god named Aton. Akhenaten believed that all other gods worshiped by the Egyptians were frauds. Akhenaten forced the people of Egypt to give up their worship of all other gods and to only worship Aton. In an effort to enforce his religious views, Akhenaten built a new capital city, as well as other monuments to glorify Aton. Akhenaten's religious beliefs were influenced by his wife, Nefertiti; however, the Egyptian people were not supportive of Akhenaten's religious views.

Bust of Akhenaten from the Musee National in Alexandria

After Akhenaten's death, Smenkhkare, one of his sons became pharaoh. Little is known about this period of time, though historians speculate that Nefertiti might have ruled with this largely unknown pharaoh. Some historians even believe that Nefertiti and Smenkhkare may have been the same person and that Nefertiti was the acting pharaoh during this period.

King Tutankhamen

In 1332 B.C.E. Tutankhaten, the son of Akhenaten and one of his sister wives, became the pharaoh. He was only 9 years old when he began his reign and he was highly influenced by his advisers. Tutankhaten, whose name meant 'living image of Aton', changed his name to Tutankhamen, meaning 'living image of Amon' early in his reign. King Tutankhamen, or King Tut as he is more commonly called, returned the Egyptian people to polytheism. He also returned the capital city of the pharaohs to its previous location in Thebes. Many images or descriptions of Akhenaten and Nefertiti were removed or destroyed during his reign. King Tut married his half-sister,Ankhesenamun but they were unable to have children.

Pharaohs in the Old Kingdom (2660-2180 B.C.E.)

Pharaohs in the Old Kingdom (2660-2180 B.C.E.)

The first pharaoh Menes united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom around 3100 B.C.E. The period of time after Menes unification of Egypt is called the Old Kingdom. Old Kingdom Egypt was a prosperous time in which Ancient Egyptians produced large quantities of art and developed a new religious belief system.

Bust of King Menes

The Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic; they believed in many gods, some of whom were more important and more powerful than others. The most powerful god in Ancient Egypt was Amon-Ra, the creator of life and the commander of the sky, earth, and the underworld. Amon-Ra was actually a combination of two different figures. Amon could control the cosmos with his thoughts and sustained the land and its people. Ra was the creator of life and was associated with another god, Horus. Horus was a falcon-like god who bestowed divinity on the Egyptian pharaohs.

Pharaohs were the focal point of Ancient Egyptian religious life. The Egyptians considered the pharaoh to be Horus in human form. The pharaoh was thus a living god on earth and had a powerful position as a mediator between the gods and the common people. The pharaohs, as gods on earth, required massive palaces during their lifetimes and opulent pyramids during death. These pyramids contained everything that the pharaoh would need during the afterlife and symbolized their power and connection to the gods. The Great Pyramids at Giza are an excellent example of an Old Kingdom monument to the pharaohs.

Women in Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt had one of the most progressive civilizations for women. The culture believed that happiness and joy were the goals in life and that family and home were important. Women in ancient Egypt had more rights than in other cultures of the time and were considered equals to men in many ways.

In many civilizations that existed during the time of ancient Egypt, women were considered to be of less value than men and in some cases were little more than domestic servants that cared for the children or property. Ancient Egyptian women were regarded as almost equal to men and were important in running the daily household, raising children and contributing to business.

In ancient Egypt women, poor women were not always educated but the middle class and wealthy families did send their girls to school. There are records that show some women even became physicians, so the opportunity was there for women to be well educated. Women in ancient Egypt also had rights to sign contracts, own property, act as a witness in court and even start divorce situations.

The kings of ancient Egypt were the pharaohs and in almost all cases were always men. This was passed down from father to son. Only in a few special situations were women allowed to be pharaoh. The Egyptian people preferred to have a woman of royal blood ruling the kingdom rather than a male who did not have royal blood. Most ancient Egyptian women didn’t have outside work, but those that did work outside the home earned the same pay as the men.

Married women in ancient Egypt that were not part of a royal household were called by the title “mistress of the house”. This means that she was in complete control to make sure everything ran properly on the day to day events and needs. Wealthy families and the royal family would have servants that helped with the duties. Women were not considered ‘property’ of either their husbands or their fathers, as they were in other cultures.

The process of marriage in ancient Egypt often included a ‘pre-nuptial’ contract. This usually stated that everything the woman brought to the marriage in the way of property would always belong to her. This was important in the case of divorce. Women could also start divorce proceedings, and in that case, she would take her belongings with her or given equal value at the end of the marriage.

A majority of women in ancient Egypt were of the peasant class and worked with their husbands. When the husband had to leave for a trip, the wife would run the business as well as the home.

Most of the musicians and dancers of ancient Egypt were women. There were many religious temples that only allowed female musicians. There were many occupations that women held: perfume-makers, acrobats, singers, dancers, artisans and musicians. Women of higher class or noble birth could also be a priestess in the religious temples that were devoted to their gods and goddesses.

Many of the ancient Egyptian goddesses were associated with life and nature. Relationships between the people and their goddesses included a lot of affection and love and this was carried down into the relationships between men and women. There are many pictures that have been found in Egypt that show that men and women respected and loved each other.

There are also images of women as part of the support of battles. While they don’t believe women actually fought in the wars, they are shown wearing clothes that would be worn in battle, firing arrows at the enemies and even executing prisoners. There are additional pictures that show women as the captains of sailing ships, guiding the ships to shore.