Ancient Egyptians 

Introduction

Egyptian civilization is one of the ancient and most fascinating civilization. The pyramid of Giza has world's tallest and oldest surviving pyramid. Today we see logos and signs everywhere from fashion industries to car brands depicting their brand with one symbol to public washrooms with one symbol indicating gender specific restroom. The ancient Egyptians not only used symbols in writing but hieroglyphics played an important role in their lives. In this blog I will share with you why is the ancient Egyptian civilization so fascinating? What role did the Nile River play in shaping the Egyptian civilization? What role did King Narmer play in shaping Egypt? What's so special about the Giza pyramid? And What is the Egyptian hieroglyphic and what's so special about the Egyptian hieroglyphic? 

Why Is The Ancient Egyptian Civilization So Fascinating?

The ancient Egyptian empire is one of the oldest and longest lasting empire. There are many things about their civilization which are fascinating but I will share with you a few of them. While there are mummies found in other parts of the world such as Africa, Asia, and Europe. The Egyptians were expert and came up with perfect ways in preserving the dead ones and mummifying them. They believed body was the home of the soul or the spirit. They preserved the dead body by dehydration and protecting it against pests such as insects. They would remove the internal organs of the body, dry them out then replace them inside the body either individually in jars or wrap it inside the body. 

The other important part of the Egyptian civilization is their architectural designs. They didn't use one style but rather different styles to build their pyramids, temples, tombs and fortresses. They used mathematical skills to build lintel constructions, columns, and massive walls and used technical drawings to decorate their buildings with hieroglyphics.  

Furthermore, the ancient Egyptians are also famous for their artistic skills. They did not use art for the sake of art. The main focus of their art was religious or spiritual purpose. Their drawings were intended to honor their deities or lead the dead ones to the afterlife. They used clear and simple lines combined with shapes and portrayed an unrealistic view of the world. 

Nile River

Nile river played an important role in the ancient time and still today it is important to Egypt. Because the shores of the river made the land ideal for agriculture; the nomadic people made it their permanent home and put down agricultural settlements. With these settlements, door to trade and business of buying and selling opened and class structure arose.  As the interaction between different settlements became more frequent, there was also a growth in artists and craftsmen. People of ancient Egypt started to move closer to these settlements.

The other significant event was the climate change. The climate in the ancient Egypt started to change and the land further away from the Nile river was becoming hotter and drier which forced people to move to the banks of the river. It contributed to push the limit of people’s abilities of producing food. 

What Role Did King Narmer Play In Shaping Egypt?

The neighboring kingdoms were competing and fighting for resources and built walls and used other defensive tactics to protect themselves. These kingdoms were competing and fighting for food, trade, and gold etc. King Narmer was one of the kings who was fighting these wars and won the war. He put an end to these conflicts and unified the lower and the upper Egypt and became the first ruler of Egypt. Before the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. Narmer is considered to be the founder of the first national state in the history. He established a government system and the Egyptian gained national identity. He also created icons for royalty such as the crown ordered constructions to show importance of the royal family.

Egyptian Hieroglyphic 

Hieroglyphics is an earliest form of writing in ancient Egypt. Instead of using a letter, it uses a single character to represent an idea or a word. It is found in the ancient Egyptian tombs, architectures, monuments and art. Egyptian kings or the pharaohs were all-powered in Egyptian society. Kings were seen as Horus- a link between human and the gods. Therefore the ruler was given a divine status. The written hieroglyphics were initially a form of keeping records and were used for commerce but later became a way for royal scribes to keep track of the names and titles of the rulers and their lineage and key events of the royals. 

The meaning of the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics was once a mystery until the discovery of the Rosetta stone. The Rosetta stone which is also known as the Rashid stone is named after the city in which it was found. French forces led by Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and France was later defeated by the British and it handed over the Rosetta stone to the British along with other dozens of antiquities. The British rule in Egypt came to an end but Rosetta stone is still kept in the British museum in London. The Rosetta stone was engraved with a message that was written in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphics, Egyptian Demotic and Greek. Egyptologist (the scientific study of ancient Egypt) who knew Greek, were able to decipher the message and decode the hieroglyphics. 

Pyramid of Giza 

Pyramid of Giza is the largest ever built pyramid. It is one of the oldest pyramids and the only ancient one of the seven wonders that still exists today. It still exists today because of the geomorphology, the nature of the solid rocks that they used and tectonic events. The pyramid of Giza remained the tallest man built structure on earth for a very long time. It was deigned to protect the pharaohs' tomb. As the ancient Egyptians believed death is a journey to the afterlife. The proper care of a king was needed so he can perform his duties as a king of the dead.  A common custom was to bury valuable treasure in a king's tomb and to prevent it from getting robbed, the Egyptians put a lot of effort in protecting the tombs. Despite their efforts, nearly all of the tombs were robbed.   

There was no valuable treasure found in the pyramid of Giza. But the mind-blowing engineering which was used to built the pyramid was discovered. The ancient Egyptians put a tremendous amount of work and effort to build the pyramid. The entrance of the pyramid was 24 foot off the center of the center of the pyramid and the purpose was to make it tricky for anyone to find it. On the top of the entrance was a 130 foot tall passage for a pulley system of ropes that dropped three enormous granite slabs, which could seal off the entrance to the burial chamber. There were additional three giant granites that could slip off and close the grand staircase entrance. The exact construction technique that they used is still a mystery but considering that there were no modern day equipment available they relied on ropes, copper tools and unlimited supply of Egyptian labors.