Civilization?! No - civilization! Oh, how much has been said, written, argued about her! How much Pride on the topic of its primacy in the civilizational series - both genuine and false - was shown by the brightest representatives of the most diverse Nations, Peoples, Nationalities, tribes, and

Ancient Egyptian pyramid structures remain a mystery to scientists to this day. Their age has not been reliably calculated, and this can only mean one thing: the age of the Egyptian civilization is also little known. Some artifacts found in Egypt and other countries confirm that the ancient Egyptian civilization is much older than modern people are used to thinking.

Officially, we believe that the ancient Egyptian civilization has existed since the fifth millennium BC.

Our scientists are accustomed to constructing the history of ancient civilizations in a way that suits them. The more mysteries arise in a particular civilization, the less facts about it official science has. For example, we are told that Ancient Egypt began its existence from the fifth millennium BC, but some historians, archaeologists and Egyptologists think differently.

The world famous Herodotus, who lived from 484 to 425 BC, wrote the following in the second part of his most famous historical manuscript:

To this day, the common people of Egypt and the elder priests have chosen to impart to me the knowledge of their people. They talked about past times, about the reign of the first Egyptian king, as well as the last one, on which everything ended. Between them (the rulers) passed 341 generations of people, as well as the same number of government officials. There were three generations for every century. 300 generations lasted for 10 thousand years. The remaining 41 generations existed for 13 thousand years.

The above data of Herodotus differ significantly from those recognized by official science. But scientists do not refute them, since the words of Herodotus are confirmed by a Byzantine historian living in the 18th century:

The ancient Egyptian people at one time built a slab, which they called the "Old Chronicle". On it, he displayed thirty dynasties for 113 generations, living for 35 thousand years. 1st dynasty "Aurita", 2nd - "Metroen", 3rd - Egyptian.

Diogenes, a great thinker, argued that Egyptian astronomers had everything they needed to study space objects before Macedonian appeared, or rather 49 thousand years before the appearance of this person. It should be noted that Macedonian was born in 356 BC.

The ancient Egyptians tried to preserve their knowledge in various ways. They wanted to convey the following to their descendants:

The high priest of the Lord's temple, located once in Heliopolis, who was called Manetho, lived in the third century BC. The aforementioned city was known for the fact that it was supposedly in it that the science of the ancient Egyptian civilization was born. The fact is that it was in that area that the maximum number of artifacts was stored: manuscripts, papyri, tablets with records, and so on. With the help of this information, Manetho compiled his History of Ancient Egyptian Civilization. In it, he listed all the kings, starting from the very first.

Unfortunately, Manetho's works were destroyed during fires in the infamous "Alexandria" library. From his descriptions, it was really possible to recover only a few small fragments. According to this thinker, the history of ancient Egyptian civilization developed in this way:

The first man in Egypt was Hephaestus, whom the people recognized as a deity, since it was he who gave them fire. The son of Hephaestus was Helios, who, in turn, had an heir, Sosis. After the above characters came to power: Kronos, Osiris, Typhon, the brother of Osiris, his son Horus. For more than a dozen thousand years, power passed from hand to hand without interruption. Then a ruler appeared, who was called Bidis. It began the reign of the demigods and gods, which lasted 1255 years. This period was replaced by another - for 1800 years, ordinary people again led. As a result, another 30 "Memphis" rulers led the country for more than 1.7 thousand years, and after them there were at least one dozen higher ranks who ruled for 350 years. And only then the “spirits of the dead” came to power, whose government lasted more than five thousand years.

These data do not at all correspond to those offered to us by our scientists. Why do they not pay attention to such interesting information?

The real history of Egypt was described in a papyrus from Luxor

The Turin papyrus was purchased in 1820 in the town of Luxor. After the acquisition, it was transported to Turin, which is why it is called so. To this day, it is kept in the local museum. It also tells the story of ancient Egypt, which, apparently, our modern scientists do not know.

Initially, the length of the papyrus was more than 170 centimeters, but during transportation it was very “battered”, so now only small fragments remain of it. The time when the papyrus was made could not be reliably determined. It is only known that on its reverse side was the name of Ramesses 3, whose reign was 1185-1153 BC. Obviously, the information described in the papyrus was copied from more ancient sources. All the kings and pharaohs of the ancient country are listed on an old sheet.

An interesting fact is that the list of rulers begins with the names of gods such as Ptah, Anubis, Amun and so on. Only in 2009, it was announced that the missing papyrus fragments, allowing to decipher the information, were found and delivered to the rest. This suggests that someone deliberately hid them.

Ancient Egyptian temple Dendera

The most interesting find, indicating that the ancient Egyptian civilization is much older than we think, was located in the Dendera temple. This sensational discovery was not quite an ordinary ceiling, which incredibly struck the French. The Europeans were so impressed by the find that they took it out not in fragments, but as a solid monolith. At the moment, the artifact is located in the Louvre, and a copied part of it was placed in the aforementioned temple.

On the surface of the temple, a zodiac circle-calendar of supernatural beauty was depicted. It is interesting that the stars and planets on it were placed in the position in which they were 90 thousand years BC. At least that's what astronomers and scientists said. The master who created this artifact clearly saw the sky a little differently.

Secretly stolen piece of the pyramid

According to official figures, the pyramid of Cheops was erected in 2540 BC. Recently, sensational news spread around the planet that two German tourists - lovers of antiquities secretly climbed into the pyramid and chipped off a relatively small piece from its wall. After they independently made an analysis, which showed that the age of the piece is at least twenty thousand years.

Hymn to God Hapi

Praying for prosperity for both banks, Prosper, prosper, Hapi, Prosper, With the gifts of the fields Reviving people and cattle. Prosper, prosper, Hapi, Prosper, prosper, you, beautiful with gifts.

North Africa, with its negligible amount of precipitation, is almost uninhabitable, but it was here that the Egyptian arose. The basis of this civilization was the Nile, which carries its waters from the Ethiopian highlands and Central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea. Thanks to the great river of ancient Egypt, as early as the 3rd millennium BC. e. turned into a prosperous state of the Eastern Mediterranean and remained so until the Roman conquest in 30 BC. e.

More than ten millennia ago, the climate of North Africa was less arid. Nomadic tribes of hunters and gatherers inhabited areas that are now swallowed up by the desert. The valley and delta of the Nile River, with marshy, flooded lands, was considered a treacherous place.

Centuries passed, the climate of the Sahara desert became drier and by the 2nd millennium BC. e. already almost did not differ from the weather conditions of the XXI century. n. e. As the drought intensified and the desert approached, people settled around water sources, making more intensive use of natural resources in the oases and near the Nile. Here their transition to agriculture took place in the 7th-5th millennium BC. e.

Gradually, with the expansion of arable land, the population of the valley and delta of the Nile grew. By the IV millennium BC. e. with different types of economy and rates of development. They developed in dissimilar historical and climatic zones: Merimda - in the delta region and Badarian - in Upper Egypt. The Merimdian culture developed faster, contacts with other countries were closer, and it was in the Nile Delta that the first cities appeared. In subsequent centuries, numerous cities with a district (nome, as the ancient Greeks called it) and their own rulers (nomarchs) arose along the entire course of the great river. And only by about 3000 BC. e. in the Nile basin, a single centralized state was formed, which included the entire Nile Valley - from the delta in the north to the first rapids in the south.

The political unity of the country was favored by Egypt's attachment to the Nile Valley. This valley, the unchanging core of the state, changed little in its size. Its growth depended not so much on the military successes of Egyptian weapons, but on progress in conquering the river itself: the ancestral lands of Egypt gradually included the Nile Valley to the second, and then the third and fourth rapids in the south. The country also grew due to the development of desert areas in the west and east of the riverbed. But, one way or another, the increments of territories were insignificant. A narrow strip of land along the banks of the great river, squeezed by deserts, is the "ridge" of the Egyptian. The framework, determined by nature itself, became the basis for the stability of a great power for three millennia. They determined all the features of this majestic civilization, which can rightly be called the civilization of the river.

Nile Valley

The warm climate of this state and the fertile soil of the Nile Valley predetermined. But the Nile is a wayward river. A feature of the water regime of the Nile are regular spills. Floods are caused by snowmelt in the Abyssinian Mountains, where the Blue Nile originates, and tropical downpours in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, where the White Nile originates.

This is how the ancients described the flood of the Nile. For four days, the bed of the "Green Nile" swells, filling with mud and mud, and then the "Red Nile" flows for another 15 days, full of fertile silt. By the beginning of August, the whole earth is flooded with water, and only cities and towns, like islands, rise from a huge, boundless swamp.

Features of the culture and worldview of the Egyptians are largely due to the Nile. Their picture of the world, unlike most other peoples, was oriented not to the north, but to the south, to the sources of the river. The calendar was determined by the Nile and the stars. The new year came in mid-July, when the water rose before the flood. The river also dictated the three seasons. Each of them consisted of four months: spill (July - October); revival (November - February) - water came down from the fields, and they began to process them; hot time (March - June) - the period of harvest and the lowest water level. The flood of the Nile - Hapi became the god of abundance. Pharaohs and local nobility compared themselves with Hapi in their wealth and power. He was portrayed as a fat man, bringing the gifts of the Earth to the gods. No temples were erected to him, and only once a year, at the beginning of the flood, where the ancient border of the state lay in the south and where the river came close to the mountains, they celebrated the Hapi holiday, brought gifts to the god and sang it in hymns.

The flood was a source of life, but without artificial structures, the Nile Valley would have remained a marshy swamp in the middle of the sands. The development of the river, i.e., digging irrigation canals and channels, making embankments, maintaining irrigation facilities in good order, began with the birth of agriculture with the help of simple tools - hoes and baskets for carrying the earth.

Crossed by irrigation facilities, Egypt already in the pre-dynastic period, in the 4th millennium BC. e., became a country of exceptional fertility. The word "region" ("nom") on the letter corresponded to a sign depicting the Earth, divided by an irrigation network into quadrangles.

But only large groups of people could pacify the river - it was beyond the power of individual communities. The conquest of the Nile was the root cause of the birth of the state in the valley.

Approximately simultaneously with the transition to the highest stage of sociality in the development of the early earthly communities of Mesopotamia, similar processes took place in the northeastern part of Africa, where the ancient Egyptian civilization consisted. The territory of modern Egypt has been inhabited since the Paleolithic. In that era, North Africa was a huge expanse of the steppe, while Europe lay bound by glaciers. Until the time of the emergence of the ancient Egyptian civilization, that is, 4 thousand years BC. e., the climate changed dramatically, turning the narrow Nile valley with a swampy delta into an oasis, surrounded on all sides by deserts. its main territory was not large - only 50 thousand square meters. km. Greek historian and traveler Herodotus in the 5th century. BC e. called Egypt "a gift from the Nile". Indeed, no other geographical factor had such a fundamental influence on the formation of the Egyptian order of life and history as this great river. The White Nile originates from the lakes of central Africa, and the Blue Nile from the mountains of Ethiopia, which merge at Khartoum and rush together to the north, where the delta leads them to the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike the Tigris in Mesopotamia, water rarely brought death and destruction, but, above all, acted as a force of creation. The Egyptians never feared their great river in the same way that the inhabitants of Mesopotamia feared their great gods.

If the Tigris and Euphrates, as well as their tributaries, cut Mesopotamia into isolated areas, then the Nile contributed to the unification of the country. The river served as the main route and facilitated communications throughout the valley. In the process of movement of certain groups of migrants to the lowlands, stable agricultural communities were formed. At 3100 BC. e. there were about 40 such communities, and they were in constant contact with each other. Thus the contact facilitated by the Nile ensured the early political unification of Egypt. This was facilitated by the fact that Egypt was inhabited by a single people who belonged to the Semitic-Hamitic group and spoke a single language with numerous dialects.

This country could boast of almost complete self-sufficiency. In addition to fertile soil, it had huge reserves of stone, which was a material for construction and sculpture. For pottery - a lot of clay, and for jewelry, in particular, jewelry - gold. The materials that were missing were within reach. The Egyptians could get copper from Sinai, wood from Lebanon. So, they had little reason to look to the outside world for their basic needs, which helps explain the isolation of Egyptian life.

Geography also contributed to isolation from the outside world. Deserts stretched east and west of the Nile Valley. The Nubian desert and the Nile rapids averted the threat of attack from the south. Only in the north did the Mediterranean leave Egypt vulnerable. Thus, geographical factors protected the country from external invasions and immigration. Unlike the inhabitants of Mesopotamia, whose history is full of turbulence with constant wars and transformations from conquerors to conquered, the Egyptians enjoyed centuries of peace and quiet, during which they could direct most of the resources to develop their own peculiar civilization. its history is marked by an almost unbelievable permanence for those times.

However, Egypt was not completely closed, there was a certain mutual exchange with other communities. In particular, scientists believe that already in the 4th millennium BC. e. some technologies and materials came here from Mesopotamia. The cuneiform writing system had its influence on Egyptian life (it is known that the Egyptian pharaohs conducted diplomatic correspondence using cuneiform writing). There were times when northern Egypt was ruled by foreign invaders (the Hyksosi from 1680 to 1560 BC). Thus, foreign influences, although episodic, enriched Egyptian culture without fundamentally changing it.

It was an ancient agricultural culture based on irrigation, since there was little natural rainfall, and in many parts of Egypt, rains in general are an unknown phenomenon. However, every summer the Nile flooded due to the melting of snow in the mountains. Annual floods have become the main mechanism that predetermined the functioning of the economy and set the pace for all life on the banks of the Nile. It was the flood of the great river that gave the Egyptians a natural starting point for the beginning of the year, and their 365-day calendar became the direct predecessor of the one used by the modern Westernized world.

The floods of the Nile brought a lot of water and fertile eluvial silt, but then the dry season came and it was necessary to distribute the water stored in advance to the lans. In the then sparsely populated world, the Egyptians, like ants, swarmed on their humus land. With hard work they overcame swamps overgrown with sedge and reeds, wild animals and predators that lived in the water and near it. They could overcome everything only by joining forces. The people who settled here early realized the importance of order and hard work: the one who does not dig and carry the soil along with everyone else, does not dig canals, does not build dams, will be crushed: the land will either get so much water that it will be the sown grain will perish, or the hall will be completely without water, and everything will dry up. Hard work paid off: the Egyptians had time to harvest two crops by the winter. They collected much more grain than was necessary to meet their own needs, so later the Greeks, Romans and other peoples received a significant part of their food supply from Egypt.

The population of Egypt began to engage in agriculture as early as the 5th millennium BC. The first cereal crops were barley and emer wheat. At the turn of the V-IV millennium BC. e. significant progress has been made in the development of the productive forces. The technical improvement of stone tools and the emergence of new metal tools, namely copper ones, made it possible to produce a much larger number of hoes, adzes, and axes from wood and stone, which were necessary for agricultural work in cutting bushes, which significantly increased labor productivity. Subsequently, real cultivated wheat was added to the first crops, which was successfully grown under conditions of an improved irrigation system, as well as lentils, beans, peas, sesame, and flax. Gardens and orchards were a real miracle of Ancient Egypt. They were located not on fertile soil, since all the lands available for natural and artificial irrigation were allocated for crops, but on the edge of deserts and in elevated areas. Water for irrigation was taken from artificially created ponds and wells.

The Egyptians also grew grapes and were engaged in beekeeping. They loved flowers, collected them in bouquets and decorated themselves with them, as well as donkeys. their favorite flowers were lotuses that covered ponds and lakes (this flower was considered sacred), as well as cornflowers growing in the fields. However, flowers were specially grown in gardens.

Of great importance in the Egyptian economy is little animal husbandry, in which dairy and meat directions stood out. In addition, working cattle was used in agriculture as a transport. The Egyptians raised cows and bulls, sheep, pigs, donkeys. From the 16th century BC e., began to use horses, but only for military affairs. They borrowed this practice from nomadic Asian tribes who broke into the country from Asia. From them, the Egyptians learned the science of breeding and keeping this valuable animal. The horse in ancient Egypt was never used as a pack or draft force in agriculture or construction. Even later - during the Persian rule, which began at the end of the 6th century. BC e., the Egyptians began to breed camels, which in modern Egypt have become the most common livestock. In addition, for the transport of goods, even in military affairs, donkeys were used - hardy animals, but sometimes stubborn, which was even reflected in the reliefs and paintings in the tombs. The peculiarity of ancient Egyptian animal husbandry was that in the herd, along with domestic animals, they kept tamed or tamed desert animals: gazelles, antelopes and even hyenas. Domestic poultry farming appeared and developed. For a long time, hunting and fishing were of great importance in economic life. Moreover, roast hyena meat was considered a dish for an aristocrat, and the fish that thunk was considered a poor man. In general, the diet of an ordinary Egyptian consisted mainly of grain and vegetable dishes, in which game, fish or poultry were occasionally added. It is believed that the ancient Egyptians were one of the healthiest peoples of the ancient world. However, infant mortality was very high, and quite common diseases - rickets, cancer, syphilis, as evidenced by burials.

In the middle of the 5th millennium BC. in the Nile Valley, there was a transition from an attractive to a vibrational way of farming, because the leading role was played not by gatherers and hunters, but by farmers and pastoralists. The improvement of labor tools, where copper was increasingly used, contributed to an increase in the level of skill. Soon bronze and iron appeared in Egypt, but iron was very rare for a long time. It was first invented by the Hittites, who for a long time tried to keep the secret of iron processing. The process of separating crafts from agriculture began, which is very important, given the transition to the stage of civilization, because behind this was the emergence of an early class city as its most diverse manifestation. Crafts developed in several directions. In addition to the processing of metals, wood and stone, construction, especially shipbuilding, became of great importance (important considering that the river served as the basis of communication in the country). In pottery, dishes were made not only from clay, but also faience and glass. Jewelry craftsmanship subsequently reached a high level, since both men and women of Ancient Egypt adorned themselves with various amulets, necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc. with pleasure. Jewelry performed not only aesthetic, but also magical functions and acted as signs of social status. For example, wide collars made of beads were worn by officials and priests as evidence of special merit.

An important sign of the social usefulness of a person was her marriage. It should be noted that in the society and family of the times of Ancient Egypt, a woman occupied a special place, had more independence and enjoyed a higher status than anywhere else. This is especially true for women from wealthy segments of the population. To a certain extent, this is evidenced by numerous images that have come down to us in ancient paintings and reliefs. On them - many beautiful women in exquisite jewelry with cosmetics (which, by the way, occupied an honorable place in the Egyptian trade) are depicted next to their men in throne rooms, on walks, in gardens, etc. Respect for a woman - mother and wife - is imprinted in many literary texts. Many tales of love and family life have survived, which suggests that the ideal standard for society was a relationship of subtle eroticism, relaxation and informality, something like the emotional equality of a man and a woman.

If in the Mesopotamian civilization a person could take a girl for a “marriage gift” to a future father-in-law without her consent, then in Egypt young people enjoyed freedom of choice. However, the marriage contract was also important here - a written agreement that protected the rights of each of the spouses. It provided for the possibility of divorce, and either party could initiate it. If a man acted in such a role, then he returned to his wife her dowry and part of what they had acquired in marriage together. If a woman, then she received only half of her dowry. It is difficult to generalize about such a long period as was the time of the Egyptian civilization, but it gives the impression of a society in which there was a possibility of personal expression of a woman, which cannot be found in many peoples who existed later.

Unlike the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians were cheerful, although they also faced the prospect of retribution for their sins, of which there were 42. The most terrible was the violation of the main commandments, namely:

o not to enter the temple in a sinful state and with an unclean body;

o not lie or slander anyone;

o do not steal, do not kill people, do not dissolve your hands;

o restrain your heart, close your mouth;

o do not betray with someone else's wife, etc.

For their behavior during their lives, as the ancient Egyptians believed, they would have to answer at the posthumous court in the god Osiris. It can be concluded that in their lives they were guided by certain established moral principles of coexistence. To deviate from moral norms meant dooming oneself to a miserable existence in the other world.

Ideas about life after death were part of the complex, sometimes conflicting religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, which were heavily influenced by little environment. The Egyptian climate is so stable that all changes are cyclical and regular. Although the summer heat bakes the earth, yet the Nile always overflows and revives it. Dry air retains much of what is doomed to decay by many other climatic conditions. Thus, the spirit of constancy reigned in Egypt, and the past did not differ much from the present.

This cyclical rhythm also permeated religious beliefs. According to them, Osiris, the god of fertility, by association with the Nile, dies every year. And every year his wife Isis brings him back to life (the theme of resurrection after death from this beautiful legend was later repeated in the sacraments present in other religions, in particular in the Christian one). Osiris became the king of the dead, who, according to ancient beliefs, weighed the human heart of each dead person in order to determine whether a person lived rightly in order to deserve eternal life after death. Osiris' guardianship over the dead was shared by Anubis, the jackal-headed god who annually helped Isis revive Osiris. Anubis was the god of mummification, an important part of funeral rites.

Unlike other peoples, the Egyptians believed in the possibility of a pleasant existence in the other world, so they paid great attention to preparing what might be needed "in life." Since ancient times, the Egyptians buried their dead not in the moisture-saturated lands of the Nile Valley, but on the edges of neighboring deserts, where the corpses wrapped in mats remained almost unchanged for a long time, because the sand dried them up. This probably contributed to the emergence of the belief that the afterlife of the soul is possible only if the body is preserved. The invisible double of the visible person - his soul - can return to the body, but dies when it has nowhere to return. To preserve the body of the deceased from decay, a complex procedure for embalming and making a mummy was developed. Mummies were thought to be the home of the "ka", the counterpart of the soul. According to the description left by the ancient Greek writer Diodorus, dated to the 1st century BC. n. e., when the king died, mourning was imposed on the whole country for 72 days. This duration is due to the duration of the embalming technology. For example, only in a special alkaline solution, the future mummy should be exactly 40 days. In addition, there are many other operations that should keep the flesh from decay. Among them are the extraction of internal organs and moving them into special vessels, pouring special resins into the body, wrapping long scrolls of cloth soaked in the necessary solutions that were supposed to prevent smoldering, putting a special mask on the face and laying the mummy in one or more sarcophagi. The mummy itself was moved to a special tomb, the construction of which spent more money than an ordinary residential building. The greatest tombs in the history of mankind were the pyramids of Ancient Egypt, which, according to most researchers and researchers, were built for the burial of the supreme rulers of the state - the pharaohs.

The Egyptians called their king Pharaoh. The word comes from per "o - in translation, a big house. The name and title of the Egyptian king were considered sacred, and therefore they were not called without a compelling need, but they spoke allegorically. Under his rule, a rather rapid political unification of the country took place, which was largely facilitated by geographical unity Egypt.An important circumstance - unlike Sumer, Egypt was easier to move to the management of large territories, because there were no city-states, as in Mesopotamia at the dawn of civilization.Egyptian primary "cities" were rather marketplaces for peasants, and the basis for the formation of later agricultural communities became provinces.Although politically Egypt was united seven centuries earlier, yet for a long time and later it had a very limited experience of city life.8 given that the influence of cities was not as strong as in Mesopotamia, the vast majority of the population was villagers who used cities and temples to as ritual centers, not places of residence. Ancient Egypt was a country of villages, small trading cities and a few religious and administrative centers such as Thebes and Memphis.

At the dawn of its history, Egypt consisted of separate regions or nomes, which eventually united into two kingdoms - the Upper (Nile Valley) and the Lower (Nile Delta). After a long war, usual for those times, the Upper Kingdom won. The details of the unification process are obscure, but it is known that a ruler named Min (Greek: Less) was able to create a single kingdom around 3000 BC. e. True, legends about the "beginning" and "end" have been preserved. They say that his own dogs drove Mina to Lake Merido, which lay near Shla. There he would have died, but the crocodile took him in his mouth and carried him to the other side. At the place where the king stepped onto land, he founded a city as a sign of his salvation and ordered crocodiles to be worshiped in it (in the Egyptian religion, as a relic of totemism, there were many cults of animals, birds and even plants). Strong dams protected the main city of the united state - Memphis - from the floods of the Nile. they were also ordered to be built by the first ruler. However, the river took revenge on the one who tried to conquer it: after the 60-year reign of the old pharaoh, a hippopotamus was dragged into the water. It should be noted that the image of Ming was left when he was digging the canal. This indicates that the main function of the ruler was to manage the economic life of the country. It was believed that it was the pharaoh who controls the annual rise and fall of the water in the Nile, that is, life itself. The first rituals were associated with agriculture: the fertility of the land, irrigation and the development of new sites.

Ming founded the first ruling dynasty, after which the ancient Egyptians shared their history with dynasties, of which there were 31. Subsequently, Egyptologists divided it into periods, the first of which was the Early Kingdom (XXX-XXVIII centuries BC), it accounts for the reign two dynasties. Already during the time of the kings of the first dynasty, the Egyptians began to move beyond the borders of their country, and during the time of the pharaoh of the second dynasty, Khasekhem, the country was finally united into a centralized state. The pharaoh became the focal point of religious and political life, the supreme steward of the wealth, resources and people of all of Egypt. The power of the pharaoh was such that the Egyptians considered him the human incarnation of the falcon-god Horus. The connection between the pharaoh and the god Thor was very important. On the one hand, Horus was the son of Osiris, the king of the dead, which meant: the pharaoh is a living god on earth, he became one with Osiris after death. On the other hand, the pharaoh played the role of not just an intermediary between the gods and the Egyptian people. He was the force that ensured the integration between gods and people, between nature and society, that is, the force that ensured peace and prosperity for the lands of the Nile. Thus, the pharaoh became a guarantor for his people, a guarantee that the gods of Egypt, unlike the gods of Mesopotamia, took care of their people.

In the XXVII century. BC e. (from about 2660 BC) the period of the Old Kingdom begins, which lasted until the XXII century. BC e. (2180 BC). At this time, the Egyptian kings of the third - sixth dynasties are constantly at war. Colossal power is concentrated in their hands, the economic basis of which was huge land funds, labor and food resources. The state acquired the character of a typical oriental despotism with an extensive bureaucracy. At the bottom rung of the socio-economic hierarchy stood the common people - peasants, artisans, slaves - who were in complete obedience to cruel and greedy officials. Nobody was happy about the arrival of the taxman. Firstly, because of the need to give away about a fifth of the crop, and secondly, the fiscals often behaved very rudely. On the other hand, everyone, no matter how low he stood in the system of social stratification, had the right to appeal. This was reflected in one of the most beloved ancient Egyptian legends - about the eloquent peasant. The hero of the story Hunanup was robbed by a servant of an official, and the victim had to complain to that official himself. When he postponed his decision, Hunanup openly accused him of neglecting his official duties. The pharaoh himself, as they say, ordered the official to pay tribute to the plaintiff, and the case was decided in favor of the peasant. This indicates that the fate of each official was completely in the hands of the pharaoh. An official who did not fulfill his task could lose everything, even his children became servants. Therefore, he was interested in his subordinates zealously and carefully doing their work, since his position, time and life itself depended on the good work of his subordinates. the highest official took their children to work only after he was convinced that they had the necessary training. Further advancement of the young official on the career ladder was determined by His abilities and knowledge.

It should be emphasized that education was a big divide in ancient Egyptian society: it was divided into educated people who could get into public service, and the rest. Among the officials themselves, not only their property differences were important, but, above all, their level of education. Getting an education in the schools that existed at the temples was a very difficult task. The training lasted 12 years. First of all, they taught to read, write and count. The common people remained illiterate. Among the officials, the attitude towards education was different, because in those days the pharaohs handed out positions and titles to their confidants for services to the state. These positions and titles were guaranteed for life and even remained in the family forever, therefore they were inherited. However, this did not happen if the person behaved unworthily, or if the heir did not have proper training. The training of people who were to be engaged in government, construction, treatment, in the old Egyptian civilization was approached very seriously. Officials must regularly keep records of everything collected in the fields and produced in the workshops, redistribute it, create laws, bring to the attention of the people the orders of the pharaoh and achieve their implementation, conduct court cases, draw up marriage contracts, manage work on the irrigation system and construction, etc. d.

The period of the Old Kingdom is characterized by the rapid development of stone construction, which culminated in the construction of the famous pyramids. This is the only one from the classic list of wonders of the world that has survived to this day. On the plateau west of the Nile, near Giza, rise the three main Great Pyramids. The first of them was built by the order of Pharaoh Khufu (Greek Cheops), the second - by his son or brother Khafre (or Khafre), the third - by the grandson of Menkaur (Mykerin). However, it should be noted that much more pyramids of different sizes were erected: in our time, a little less than a hundred of them have been discovered. Pyramids were built from the 18th to the 16th centuries, BC. e. Extreme simplicity, combined with gigantic size, still produces an amazing feeling of grandeur and eternity. Arab writer who lived in the 13th century. wrote: "Everything on earth is afraid of time, and time is afraid of the pyramids." Some argue that time inside the pyramids has its own movement, that the pyramids were supposed to stop the time of decay of the bodies of the pharaohs buried there. On the other hand, it was with the help of the pyramids that time was first measured. By measuring the shadow from the pyramid of Cheops, oriented to the cardinal points, the position of the Earth and the Sun, the length of the year and day were determined. The first year measured in this way was 2436 BC. e.

Initially, the pyramid of Cheops was 146.6 m high, but now it is 9 m lower, since its top has collapsed (the height of Khafre's pyramid was at first 136.5 m, and Menkaur's - 66 m). Each of the sides at the base is 233 m long. To get around it, you need to walk almost a kilometer. It is estimated that 2 million 300 thousand stone blocks were used for its construction, each weighing 2.5 tons. Thus, its total weight is 5,750,000 tons. These stones were delivered from remote areas. Herodotus said that the construction was carried out for almost 20 years. Every three months, the workers changed, their total number approached 100 thousand at the same time, and they worked for free. On the one hand, this indicates that the pharaoh could force them to do this. On the other hand, people themselves would like to take part in the construction, as if becoming involved in its immortality. The work was not only very difficult, but also very precise. The dimensions of each of the millions of blocks are maintained with an accuracy of 5 mm, and are so tightly fitted to each other that it was impossible to stick a knife blade between them. The sides of the pyramids are very equal: they do not bend more than a centimeter. Consequently, the builders of the pyramids possessed technologies that are still considered incredible today. On the other hand, modern scientists question this official calculation, because there was simply nowhere to take such a colossal number of stones, and the blocks placed on top of each other would simply crush themselves. It is also argued that not a single, even the most brilliant, foreman would place 100 thousand people on the construction site.

Until our times, the pyramids remain one of the most mysterious mysteries of history. Even ancient historians, in particular Joseph Flavin, suggested that the pyramids embody all the wisdom accumulated by the ancient Egyptians. According to the modern English scientist G. Taylor, the dimensions, proportions and other parameters of the Great Pyramid symbolically encoded the mathematical and astronomical knowledge of the ancient Egyptian priests. Indeed, they knew how to use mysterious structures, for example, bringing large crowds to ecstasy. In the XX - early XXI century. There are many versions regarding the origin and purpose of the ancient Egyptian pyramids, especially the largest of them. Among the most famous is the version that the pyramids were created by representatives of a different civilization than the earthly one; that they served as powerful energy generators or as part of an equally powerful irrigation system, etc. There are many unanswered questions. For example, why there are drains on the granite blocks of the temple in the Giza Valley near the pyramids. Why are they in a desert, arid climate? If they were made, were they necessary? It follows from this that the temple of the common complex was built before the radical climate change in this region. And this on the banks of the Nile could have happened no later than 8-10 thousand years ago (the time was established by the American geologist G. Schoch). But what about the pharaohs with their funeral cult? Modern Russian scientists, in particular A. Vasiliev, prove that the pyramid of Cheops is not made of stone blocks, but a rocky core lined on all sides. The inclined planes, along which the builders pulled the sandstone blocks up, were blocked and turned into those internal manholes that tourists can walk through today visiting the Great Pyramid. It is also proved that the so-called chambers of the king and queen were never the burial place of Cheops and his wife, and the sarcophagus that is now in the king's chamber is fake. Neither the thieves of the past, nor the Egyptologists of the last two centuries have found a real tomb. And Cheops is still in it.

However, the following assumption remains the most likely: behind the ancient ideas for the pharaoh in his house, both during life and after death, it is not enough to be worthy of a god, therefore the pyramids are considered royal tombs. They were supposed to demonstrate the power and high status of the pharaoh, and his ability to manage the resources and labor needed to create a huge pyramid fully demonstrates the absolute power of the king-god.

The religious importance of the pyramid is as impressive as the political one. The pharaoh in the role of god was the "earthly sun", and the pyramid that rested against the sky was supposed to help him rise to the sky after death. The pyramid had to keep the body from destruction, so that there was a "home" for the ka of the supreme ruler. As an additional measure, a statue of the pharaoh made of hard stone was erected. In case something happened to his mummy, the statue would help "save his ka". The need for similarity (so that the ka does not miss and hit where it should) explains the naturalism of the portraits. In the artistic depiction of the pharaohs, thoroughness is combined with the abstract in an attempt to capture the essence of a living person. This approach is due to the fascinating property of Egyptian sculpture: very vital portraits of people, full of solemn timeless peace.

To survive in the afterlife, the ka needed everything that the pharaoh used during his lifetime: food and drink, servants and guards, herds of cattle and precious jewelry. In ancient times, servants and shepherds, along with their flocks, were sacrificed at the tomb. During the Old Kingdom, artists replaced living people with statues of officials, scribes, soldiers, and servants. To remind ka of earthly life, the artists covered the walls of the tomb with images of various events: from agricultural work to feasts and religious holidays, from hunting trips to the delights of gardens and ponds. Designed for entertainment, all these murals, furniture models and figurines provided an opportunity to see the life of Ancient Egypt from a fairly close distance in four thousand years.

It turns out that at the dawn of its existence, the Egyptian civilization, like the Mesopotamian, was a land where one invention after another appeared: from a calendar of 365 days, to hieroglyphs and important geometric laws; from the large carrying capacity of papyrus ships to the nіlometer, with the help of which they accurately determined the water level in the river and assumed the expected harvest; from sledges, on which huge stone blocks were transported, to windows and doors (houses in Mesopotamia did not have windows, and instead of a door, a piece of cloth covered the entrance). Subsequently, however, various innovations appeared less and less frequently. People lived and worked like their fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, forefathers. For centuries, the usual ways of daily work have hardly changed. For example, "few people changed the polished flint tools to copper and bronze ones. After all, flint was easily located on the high banks of the Nile, and the extraction of raw materials and tools from copper and bronze was more difficult. Only at the end of the Old Kingdom in Egypt did the potter's wheel spread, which had long been It was only after the fall of the Old Kingdom that the Egyptians began to guess that a curved plow enters the ground better than a straight one, and grain grinders are easier to turn while standing than squatting, you just need to adjust the inclined tray, then the flour will definitely zsipatisya into the substituted under However, for centuries, weavers sat bent over and pulled their legs under them in front of low horizontal looms, and blacksmiths fanned the fire in the furnace with might and main through a thick pipe, instead of using bellows.The peasants did not know the devices for raising water that were already used in other countries.Thus, in the Egyptian lands, where traditions reigned and all ancient Noe, a lot of extra effort was spent in vain.

Around the middle of the thirteenth century BC e. the decline of the Egyptian state begins, the tendencies of internal decentralization are intensifying. The last pharaoh of the sixth dynasty was killed by conspirators. Instead of him, they put his sister on the throne, who thanked them: she invited them to celebrate the victory at a feast in the underground hall, into which they launched the water of the Nile. All conspirators died. However, conspiracies became a sign of the rule of the next, seventh dynasty, when through constant palace coups, the time of the reign of the pharaohs was measured in days. According to one source, the five pharaohs of this dynasty ruled, according to the total calculation, only 75 days, and according to another source, 70 pharaohs - 70 days. The internal tension in the country also increased. On the one hand, social contradictions are due to the overstrain of monumental construction, on the other hand, the strengthening of the nobility. During 2180-2080. BC e. political chaos reigns in the country and it breaks up into nepіvzalezhnі nomes. This is the first intermediate period, which accounted for the reign of the pharaohs of the seventh - tenth dynasties. During the fragmentation, the economy suffered especially, as the irrigation system was significantly disorganized. Sometimes it even led to hunger. Although the first cases of terror in history at the state level also played their role: for refusing to pay taxes on the orders of the pharaoh, the recalcitrant "turned off the water" (filled up the channels through which it flowed). It was real terrorism, because it was not the victims themselves that mattered, but those who learned about this way of dealing with resistance and imposing their will on others by intimidation, as the pharaohs did.

Under the Theban rulers Mentuhotepі And the country was reunited. The period of the Middle Kingdom began (2080-1640 BC - the eleventh and twelfth dynasties of the pharaohs). Egyptian society was an interesting combination of freedom and restrictions. Slavery did not become widespread until the beginning of the next period of the New Kingdom, although it was known already in the time of the Ancient. There was no caste system, as was the case from antiquity in Indian civilization. The factor of ethnicity did not matter. If a person had talent, despite her humble origins, she could rise to the highest positions. The most famous example that dates from the New Kingdom is the biblical story of Joseph, who arrived in Egypt as a slave, and became the second person after the pharaoh. However, the vast majority of the common people were serfs who could not leave the land of their own free will. The main creators of material wealth were "hemuu nisut" - royal hemuu, deprived of property rights even for tools and means of labor. The peasants were forced to work on the construction of canals and pyramids, because they used land and water, belonged to the pharaoh with the need to work off. Young men were taken into the army, which served as both a combat and labor force.

However, the ancient Egyptians perceived the system that existed without objection. For them, he embodied justice and order, harmony between the human, natural and divine. If the pharaoh was weak or allowed someone to challenge his unique position, he thus opened the way for chaos. Twice in history a pharaoh has failed to maintain rigid centralization. During these two days, known as the First and Second Intermediate Periods, Egypt was subjected to civil wars and foreign invasions. However, even in the most difficult periods, despotism survived. And each time, a strong pharaoh like Mentuhotep Yi emerged to put down the rebellion, drive out the invaders, and restore order.

However, the Middle Kingdom also ceased to exist in political chaos and dynastic strife. This was taken advantage of by the Hyksos who invaded from Asia. The time of their invasion became the second intermediate period (1640-1570 BC - thirteenth - seventeenth dynasties). In the history of ancient Egypt, this period is depicted as a terrible time. Although the Egyptians presented the Hyksos as a horde of brutal conquerors, they were probably nothing more than nomads who were looking for a better land. their penetration to the Nile Delta little gradual and relatively peaceful. The "invasion" of the aliens turned out to be one of those periods that enriched the history of Egypt, because new ideas and technologies were introduced into life. In particular, the Hyksosi brought with them new methods of producing bronze and casting tools and weapons from it, which soon became standard in Egypt. They thus brought Egypt completely into the culture of the Bronze Age of the Mediterranean world, to that culture in which the production and use of bronze became the basis of society. Bronze tools made agriculture more efficient than ever before, as they were sharper and more durable than the copper tools that had replaced them. The Hyksosivske use of bronze weapons and armor and horse-drawn chariots (the Egyptians used carts with donkeys), as well as the bow, which was made from specially processed wood and horn and was much more powerful than an ordinary wooden bow, made a real revolution in military affairs. Yet, despite the fact that the Egyptians learned a lot from the Hyksos, Egyptian culture gradually absorbed the newcomers: the Hyksos began to worship the Egyptian gods and build their state on the model of the Pharaohs.

Politically, Egypt was only in eclipse. The Egyptian sun of power shone again when the kings of the eighteenth dynasty rose to fight the conquerors. it was founded by the ruler of m. Thebes, Ahmose I, who managed to oust the Hyksos from the Nile Delta. The next period in the history of Ancient Egypt began - the New Kingdom (1570-1075 BC - the eighteenth - twentieth dynasty). After Ahmose, I Thutmose I conquered Nubia in the south, and Thutmose III, who was called Alexander the Great of Ancient Egypt (1490-1436 BC), made fifteen great campaigns beyond the old borders of Egypt, conquered Palestine and Syria, continuously fought with the Hurits, who, having migrated to the upper reaches of the Euphrates, created the kingdom of Mittanii there. The above-mentioned warrior pharaohs proclaimed the New Kingdom - the period was characterized by great wealth and conscious imperialism1. For the first time at this stage, widespread slavery became a characteristic feature of Egyptian life. The armies of the pharaohs returned home, bringing with them crowds of slaves, a large number of cattle, huge trophies. Of course, after a devastating invasion of one city, the rulers of others were in a hurry to present valuable gifts in order to avoid destruction. However, the warlike pharaohs took offerings, and the cities were devastated on occasion. Already in his first campaign, Amenhotep II led over 100 thousand prisoners from the states of the Near East, and hung seven of the killed rulers by their feet on the prow of his "falcon ship". Know he hung on the walls of the conquered cities. Slaves usually became the new labor force for imperial building projects as imperialism sought to make itself visible. Warrior kings celebrated their own successes with monuments of such grandiose proportions that can only be compared with the great pyramids. This was supposed to testify to the power of the New Kingdom.

The pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty created the first Egyptian empire, ruled Palestine and Syria through their governors, and incorporated the African region of Nubia. Egyptian beliefs and customs flourished in Nubia, which significantly influenced the then African culture in this and adjacent areas. A special role in this period was played by the first female pharaoh - Hatshepsut. It was also the first great female ruler in human history. A woman in Egypt could not inherit the throne, but power was transferred precisely through the female line: the husband of the pharaoh's daughter became the heir to the throne. Because of that royal son, they tried to marry his own sister. In an attempt not to release power from the family, they did not pay much attention to the unfavorable nature of such a marriage from the point of view of genetics, as a result of which weak descendants were often born. As the daughter of Thutmose I, Hatshepsut married Thutmose P, her father's son by another woman. Weak and weak-willed, he died young, Hatshepsut achieved regency under his son from a harem woman, who later became Thutmose Sh. In 1503 BC. e. she was crowned, as if embodying the will of the god Amon. It was an unprecedented audacity in a social system where men had absolute power. Perhaps, in order to emphasize her right to rule in the role of king, she, like male pharaohs, put on an artificial beard (the Egyptians shaved her chin).

She did not like to fight. During the 21 years of her reign, the borders of Egypt did not expand. But palaces and temples were erected, canals were built, sciences and arts flourished, economic ties were established through trade with distant lands. If anyone was dissatisfied with the reign of the queen, then these were the military leaders who were left without work. And the young Thutmose showed the makings of a capable commander. The smart ruler realized that any war could undermine her power: the victories would be attributed to her stepson, and the defeat would be blamed on her. However, after her death, the peaceful course was forgotten, just as the name of the female ruler was forgotten. her stepson, Pharaoh Thutmose III, having come to power, made efforts to erase the memory of Hatshepsut.

Of course, the rapid economic development that characterizes the period of the New Kingdom was largely due to the influx of huge quantities of raw materials, livestock, precious metals, all sorts of tribute and labor. At the same time, there was progress associated with the development of production technologies. In particular, during this period, an improved plow, leg bellows in metallurgy, and a vertical loom began to be widely used. And the main producer of material goods, as before, remained the working population of Egypt, weighed down by various types of duties.

Life in ancient Egypt may seem too archaic, shackled by strong traditions. However, he was also familiar with reform attempts. The most famous reforming pharaoh was Amenhotep IV, who took the name Akhenaten (1367-1350 BC) and was more concerned with religion than conquest. The exact nature of his religious beliefs remains debatable. During the life of Akhenaten, his religion was not popular among the population and the traditional priesthood. After her death, she was rejected and cursed. Accordingly, little is known about her. Most historians agree that Akhenaten was a monotheist, namely, he believed that the sun god Aten, whom he worshiped and wanted everyone else to worship, was everyone's favorite god. And the pharaoh considered all the other Egyptian gods and goddesses to be false and did not respect their worship. Consequently, his concepts and actions were in direct opposition to traditional Egyptian beliefs. The Egyptians have long revered a large number - more than two hundred - gods, the main of which was considered Amon-Ra. From the beginning, Amun and Ra were two different sun gods, but the Egyptians combined them and worshiped Amun-Ra as the king of the gods. In addition to him, they worshiped other gods, such as Osiris, his wife Isis and son Horus. The Egyptian religion left space for many gods and accepted new ones with ease.

Motives of the traditional priesthood were added to these religious feelings of the people. The priests, outraged by the monotheism of the pharaoh, were more worried about their own well-being, associated with one or another deity from the numerous pantheon. Thus, based on their own considerations, the priesthood, which should support the pharaoh, defied him. This resistance, in turn, provoked in Akhenaten a reaction of intolerance and persecution: he vengefully tried to eradicate the old gods and their rituals. After all, in his opinion, there was one god of the solar disk - Aton - understandable and visible. The very fact that a new deity was visible to the eye meant that there would be a fundamental change in people's ideas about gods. After all, God did not hide from people, people felt his closeness. Unlike the other secret gods, which no one saw, everyone could touch his beam. And the world should be ruled by two kings: the Sun-Aton and his son Akhenaten - "Pleasant to Aten".

The break with the past, which took place around 1362 BC. e., the pharaoh-reformer noted the construction of a new capital of the state - the city of Ehetaton, which means "Horizon of the Aten" (modern El-Amarna). There a huge temple was erected to Aten, where the corresponding honors were ruled. The cult of the new god focused on truth, as Akhenaten himself defined it, and the pursuit of the natural. Pharaoh demanded that naturalness be manifested in everything, in particular in art. Unlike the painting and art of earlier times, which combined the real and the abstract, the art of this period became thoroughly realistic. The sculptors reproduced the exact likeness of the pharaoh, despite his ugly features and shapeless body. Artists painted him in intimate family scenes, playing with his little daughter or nibbling on a meat patty. Akhenaten was portrayed as a mortal, not as a respected pharaoh of Egypt.

His monotheism was imposed from above and did not find a response among the people. The main reason for the failure of the reforming pharaoh was that his god had no connection with the past of the Egyptians, who trusted the old gods and felt comfortable praying to them. Ordinary Egyptians were no doubt thrilled and puzzled when their family gods were outlawed, as they were considered the heavenly powers that made Egypt powerful and unique. Fanaticism and persecution accompanied the new monotheism, completely rejecting the tradition of tolerant polytheism or the worship of multiple gods. This was a profound shock to Egypt.

Another shock, and for subsequent eras, was the beauty of Akhenaten's wife - Nifertiti, in translation - "The beautiful one has come." She became the first known beauty in the history of mankind. Many centuries later, people of other countries and times call their beauties by this name. Everyone knows her sculptural portrait, which can be trusted, since, as already noted, realism was cultivated. However, it is half present in the bust, as it is turned in profile. This is due to the fact that the second half of the face was left unfinished - not inlaid eyes, because it was believed that a completed portrait could "take away part of the soul." The queen's eyes are lined with dark paint. Of course, this gives her charm, but the Egyptians cared not only about beauty. The custom to circle the edge of the eye with powder from crushed malachite or other mixtures was intended to protect against frequent ophthalmic diseases (constant hurricanes, bad water, etc.). The power of action was attributed not to copper oxide, contained in malachite and had healing properties, but to the miraculous power of the stone. The Egyptians endowed precious stones with supernatural properties, they constantly wore various amulets as amulets to protect against evil forces.

During her lifetime, Nifertiti supported her husband in his struggle against the old religion. However, after his death, her name, just like the name Akhenaten, was outlawed. The chroniclers crossed out this time from the history of the country, and the priests destroyed their names everywhere, which was a sophisticated revenge: without this, the restless soul must wander forever in the darkness of the other world. The city of the Solar Horizon, its inhabitants left instantly, even leaving all things, as if they were fleeing. Only 12 years stood Akhetaten - a city that should become a city of the Sun, arts, love and joy. It was the first capital in history built on a completely empty site. It was also the first attempt in history to realize the dream of a utopia. However, history has not taught people to understand the illusory nature of such hopes. As well as the fact that in the struggle of ideas, political power is not always effective. Although, in the end, behind the struggle of ideas there is always a struggle for power. It is likely that Akhenaten did not so much bother with the introduction of a new faith, as he tried to limit the excessive power of the priesthood, which harmed his own power.

After the death of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare ruled for a short time - the husband of his eldest daughter, and the next in 1333 BC. e. the throne was taken by 9-year-old Tutankhaton, the son of a heretic king and his blood sister, married at the age of 12 to another daughter of Akhenaten, Ankhesenamun. That is, the "golden pharaoh" was a child of incest and, as is often the case in such cases, suffers from several diseases. Among them - necrosis of the bones of the foot, develops in infancy. The priests took advantage of the infancy and weakness of the pharaoh to put an end to religious innovation. The name was changed to Tutankhamun, the capital was again transferred to Thebes. It was previously believed that Tutankhamun died before he was 20 years old. However, a long-term study of his mummy ended with the publication in February 2010 of the results, which showed that he died at the age of 45-50 years. Previously, it was believed that he was poisoned or killed by a blow to the head. But DNA studies have proven that he died from a severe complication of malaria. His importance as a ruler was small. And even under such conditions, the wealth and luxury that were discovered in 1922 by English archaeologists, when they entered his burial chamber, which turned out to be not robbed in the Valley of the Kings, is amazing. Perhaps it was thanks to those treasures (over 5 thousand precious things, many of which were made of pure gold, in particular his funeral mask), that the name of Tutankhamun became the most famous among all the rulers of antiquity.

Soon after the death of Tutankhamen in Egypt, a new dynasty, the 19th dynasty, came to power, put forward famous conquering kings, the first place among which was taken by Ramses II. He conquered the Hittites and ruled for 67 years - from 1279 to 1212 BC. e. His military victories were accompanied by grandiose construction, which was facilitated by the influx of wealth from the conquered lands. They built a majestic complex, which included both the palace and the mortuary temple. The most famous among the cyclopean structures of those times - the temple carved into the rock of Abu Simbel, halls, columns, statues, including four 20-meter statues of Ramses II on the facade - hang from a huge rock massif. This temple was the last flash of Egyptian monumental genius.

After Ramses II and during subsequent dynasties, a period of heavy long wars began. In general, the peaceful situation in Egypt came to an end in the XI century. BC e., that is, at the end of the New Kingdom. This was due to the invasion of the "peoples of the sea", which put an end to the big days of Egyptian power. One scribe left a terrifying portrait of then-Egypt, dumbfounded and decapitated: “Egyptian land was abandoned, each person was his own zakov. For many years there was no leader who could speak for others. country. Anyone - big or small - could kill a neighbor. In grief and emptiness, people gathered in gangs to rob each other. They treated gods no better than people. And they stopped paying taxes on the temple." The disasters that threw the Egyptians into the hands of foreign conquerors made it impossible to continue to believe that the pharaoh was the god of the whole world. No longer capable of dreaming of foreign campaigns, Egypt suffered from its own insecurity. The Egyptians suffered a 400-year period of political fragmentation, which weakened them in the face of external conquerors. On the eve of the arrival of the "peoples of the sea" in the Middle East, numerous small kingdoms arose, and each fiercely defended its independence. For them, Egypt became only a memory. Foreign kings often met Egyptian officials with suspicion and even contempt, although in the days of Egyptian greatness they would never have dared to treat representatives of a great power with such contempt.

Destroyed from the inside and powerless from the outside, Egypt fell victim to the invasion of African neighbors. Libyans from North Africa penetrated to the Nile Delta, where they established independent dynasties. From 950 to 730 BC e. northern Egypt was ruled by the Libyan pharaohs. The Libyans built cities, and for the first time an active urban life arose here. Although the arrival of the Libyans changed the face of the delta, the newcomers sincerely admired the Egyptian culture, willingly borrowed the Egyptian culture and way of life.

At the same time, in southern Egypt, the decline of the pharaohs opened the way for the energetic Africans of Nubia, who extended their influence north through the Nile Valley. Nubian influence in those days, although powerful, was not destructive. From the imperial times of the eighteenth dynasty of the Egyptian pharaohs, the Nubians adopted many features of Egyptian culture. Now the Nubian kings and aristocrats accepted it as a whole. The very idea of ​​destroying the heritage of the pharaohs would seem to them senseless and barbaric. Thus, the Nubians and Libyans repeated a well-known phenomenon: new peoples conquered the old centers of political and military power, but nevertheless assimilated into the old culture.

The reunification of Egypt came late and unexpectedly. While Egypt was distracted by external raids and was disorganized, an independent African state of Kush with its capital in the city of Nepata grew up on the territory of modern Sudan. The locals also honored the Egyptian gods and used the Egyptian writing system. In the 8th century BC e. their king Yankhi walked through the entire Nile valley from Nepati in the south to the delta in the north. A reunited Egypt experienced a short period of peace during which the Egyptians continued to assimilate their conquerors. In the kingdom of Kush, Egyptian methods of management, economic accounting, crafts, arts, and methods of economic activity became common. However, the reunification of the territories did not result in a new Egyptian empire. In the centuries between the fall of the New Kingdom and the restoration of Egypt, a number of small but vibrant kingdoms took root and established themselves in the Ancient Near East. In the 7th century BC e. Egypt again became a strong kingdom, but not a powerful empire. In 525 BC. e. in the battle of Pelusius, the Persian army of King Cambyses inflicted a crushing defeat on the Egyptians, after which Cambyses was proclaimed king of Egypt - this was the seventeenth dynasty. Several times the country managed to achieve independence from the Persian masters, until it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. e. In his face, the Egyptians saw a liberator from the oppression of the Persians. The era of Hellenism began, and the time of the pharaohs was exhausted, although the last - thirty-first dynasty was founded by the Diadochus - the commander-successor of Alexander the Great Ptolemy Lag. The last ruler of this dynasty was the famous Cleopatra. Under her rule, the state was conquered by Rome and turned into a Roman province.

The ancient Egyptians considered their civilization created by the gods. The existence of the state was not thought without Maat. This is an abstract moral concept that Egyptologists explain as "the right order of things", Maat exists if everything is in the order established by the gods. This is something like the original and cosmic harmonizing force that arranges everything that exists in the right proportions. History shows that all ancient societies valued order and harmony - most of them had an autocratic system of government that highly valued discipline - but the concept of Maat shows a new way to influence morality. When a society is able to give a name to the abstract idea of ​​right order without attaching it to God, then in such a society there is a sophisticated way of thinking. The idea of ​​the correct order of the world certainly helped to maintain the unity of Egyptian society.

However, the civilization of Ancient Egypt eventually fell and went into oblivion. However, Egypt's legacy among its neighbors remained vibrant and rich. This is largely due to the long-standing invention and subsequent spread of hieroglyphic writing. Records were made on papyrus - the prototype of paper, made from vegetable raw materials (unused papyrus was found in the tomb of a nobleman of the I dynasty, dated to the 4th and 3rd millennium BC, that is, the Egyptians invented it at the dawn of their history). Many papyri have been preserved in their original form, the texts of others have come down to our time in later copies. Egyptian hieroglyphs were able to decipher in 1822 the outstanding French historian F. Champollion. He arrived in the country in the convoy of Napoleon Bonaparte and found the Rosetta stone, on which Egyptian records were duplicated in Greek. Subsequently, the scientist became the founder of Egyptology - a science that returns to the residents their forgotten history. The most ancient chronicle in the world, which covers more than five centuries, has also been preserved. However, no broad historical generalizations were made, and changes in the life of the state were explained by the will of the gods and the moral qualities of people. Although all types of mental activity in one way or another depended on religion, it was the priests who were engaged in the accumulation and systematization of information. They are well aware of the truth, which is currently formulated as follows: "He who has information, he has power." They really had power not only over ordinary people, but also over the pharaohs, skillfully using their knowledge for this. Often the priests did not shy away from fraud, performing "miracles" with the help of knowledge of physics, chemistry, mechanics, etc. People were shown strange things that should confirm their mediation in communicating with the gods, who in one way or another "expressed their will." For example, on the wall of the temple, suddenly, against the background of first red, then green, after the spells of the priests, the shadow of the god Osiris appeared. How could people know that the priests treated the wall in advance with nitrate salts and sulfuric antimony, which, under the influence of a special compound, began to glow? And only the unprocessed part, which behind the contours exactly coincided with the contour of the image of the god, remained dark. Seeing the shadow of an unmerciful god who could turn crops into ashes, people were ready to give half of the harvest to the granary of the priestly temple, and also to bring another tribute to the temple several times every day. In the end, the priests themselves suffered from their greed. In 2010, scientists from the UK, having examined 22 mummies of the priests of Ancient Egypt, found that 16 of them had atherosclerosis, which led to death. Cardiovascular diseases, from which the clergy most often died, were caused by the abuse of large amounts of fat and alcohol. As temple inscriptions testify, large quantities of fried meat and poultry, fatty sweets, as well as wine and beer were sacrificed to the gods three times a day. Salt was used as a preservative. At the end of the ceremony, the priests divided what they brought among themselves and ate, unaware of the harmfulness of this way of eating. Among other social strata of the population, these diseases almost did not occur, since they ate in a different way.

However, the priests accumulated and processed enormous amounts of information. Subsequently, other peoples borrowed a lot from the accumulated Egyptians in such areas as mathematics, astronomy and medicine. The principle of dividing the day into 24 hours, which has become the property of mankind, also comes from the ancient Egyptian civilization. In addition, we, without thinking about the origin of this or that thing, continue to use what first appeared in the ancient Egyptian civilization, for example, doors, windows, tables, chairs with backs, plates, glass, paper and much more. Even the most common plot in modern theater and cinema about Cinderella, who was found on a shoe, has its origin in Ancient Egypt.

The last hieroglyphic inscription dates back to 394, in 535 the temple of Isis on the island of Philae ceased to exist - the last pillar of Egyptian paganism. Ancient Egypt has become a myth. In our time, this country is included in the sphere of the Arab-Muslim civilization.

Over a long period in their development, people have made great strides forward: from primitive hunters to builders of civilizations. Large rivers created the necessary conditions for the emergence of settled life. Since the rivers posed different problems for different peoples, the development on the globe was not the same. Having subjugated the flora and fauna, people achieved impressive prosperity. Having satisfied their basic physical needs, they achieved much more in such areas as social associations, metallurgy, remote trade. The intellectual achievements of those centuries were impressive: advanced mathematics, monumental architecture, fascinating literature.

Although the early civilizations of the Ancient Near East suffered devastating blows, a great many of their achievements still survive. The great achievements of Mesopotamia and Egypt were improved by those who came after them.