FREE ESSAY ON EGYPT

EGYPT

Egypt
Historians divide Egyptian history into thirty - one dynasties, regrouped into four
periods of political centralization: pre- and early dynastic Egypt (3150-2770 BC), the
Old Kingdom (2270-2200 BC), the Middle Kingdom (2050-1786 BC), and the New Kingdom
(1560-1087 BC). The time gap between kingdoms was periods of disruption and political
confusion. 
Women of ancient Egypt were more independent and involved in public life than those of
Mesopotamia. Egyptian women owned property, conducted their own business, entered legal
contacts, and brought lawsuits. They shared in the economic and professional life of the
country at every level except one: Women were apparently excluded from formal education.
The professional bureaucracy was open only to those who could read and write. As a
result, the primary route to public power was closed to women, and the power remained in
the hands of men.
During the Old and Middle Kingdoms, great pyramid temple - tomb complexes were build for
the kings. Within the temples, priests and servants performed rituals to serve the dead
kings just as they had served the kings when they were alive. The founder of the Old
Kingdom, King Zoser, who was an approximate contemporary of Gilgamesh, build the first
pyramid - temple, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. In the Old Kingdom population has been
estimated at perhaps 1.5 million, more than 70,000 workers at that time were employed in
the building these great temple - tombs. Gradually the power of the king declined. The
increasing demands for consumption by the court and the cults forced agricultural
expansion into aeries where returns were poor, which resulted decreasing the flow of
wealth. As bureaucrats increased their efforts to supply the needs of living and dead
kings and their attendants, they neglected the maintenance of the economic system that
supplied their needs. By around 2200 BC, Egyptian royal authority collapsed entirely,
leaving political and religious power in the hands of provincial governors. 
Ahmose I, the Theban founder of the Eighteenth Dynasty, forged the empire. He and his
successors used their newfound military to extend the frontiers of Egypt south up the
Nile beyond the fourth cataract and well into Nubia. Most Important was the Egyptian
expansion into Canaan. Here Egyptian chariots crashed their foes as kings pressed on as
far as the Euphrates. Thutmose I (91506-1494) proclaimed " I have made the boundaries of
Egypt as far as that which the sun encircles" Tutmose's immediate successors were his
children, Thuthmose II (1494-1490B.C.) and Hatshepsut (1490-1468 BC) , who married her
brother. After the death of Thutmose II, Hatshepsut ruled both as regent for her stepson
Tutmose III (1490-1436 BC) and as co - ruler. She was by all accounts a capable ruler,
preserving stability and even personally leading the army on several occasions to protect
the empire. In spite of the efforts of Hatshepsut and her successors, the Egyptian Empire
was never as grand as its kings proclaimed.