The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

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While Harihur was seen as royal, it was Smedes who founded Egypt’s twenty-first dynasty. Nubia became independent once more during this time. Decline and Fall (ca 1,069–641 BCE):

Over a span of approximately one hundred years, unseasonably cold and dry weather affected Egypt. Colder weather stressed typically warm weather crops and low rainfall caused water levels in the Nile to fall. Both factors together caused widespread hunger and hundreds of thousands of Egyptians died from dehydration and starvation. The army was no longer a confederation of nome levies but a first-class military force ... organized into divisions, both chariot forces and infantry. Each division numbered approximately 5,000 men. These divisions carried the names of the principal deities of the nation. (170).

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Under the reign of Akhenaten, the capital was moved from Thebes to a new city, Akhetaten, designed and built by the king and dedicated to his personal god. The temples in all the cities and towns were closed and religious festivals abolished except those venerating his god, the Aten. The Egyptian economy relied heavily on religious practices as the temples were the centers of the community and employed a large staff. After the death of Ramses III, Egypt was ruled by a string of ineffectual pharaohs also named Ramses. (Ramses XI, who died around 1070 B.C., was the last pharaoh of the New Kingdom.) Archaeological records from this period give clues to why and how Egypt entered such a rapid decline. The eighteenth dynasty was killed off with Horemheb. In his place came another general remembered as Ramesses I, the founder of the nineteenth dynasty. After just a couple of years, he died and his son Sethos I (/Seti I) became Pharaoh. Ptolemy IX Soter II was the chosen successor, but after nine years on the throne, he was forced to share his position with his younger brother, Ptolemy X Alexander. First after the younger brother’s death in 88 BCE could the king once more rule alone. When Ptolemy IX died eight years later (80 BCE) Ptolemy XI Alexander II was chosen to become king, despite being son to Ptolemy X. The new king, though, was killed by a mob in Alexandra mere weeks later, meaning that Ptolemy XII Neos became ruler, an illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX Soter II.

The first dynasty probably lasted about 200 years and died out circa 2,890 BCE. The following dynasty’s seven kings ruled from that point until 2,686 BCE. Two further transformative factors now came into play. Christianity began spreading through Egypt and it brought with the Greek alphabet. Their new religion brought a halt to many ancient social practices such as the old religion and mummification. This had a profound effect on Egyptian culture. Pepi I then married two sisters, who became mothers to the next two kings; Merenre (sometimes known as Nemtiensaf I) and Pepi II. Following his half-brother’s early death, Pepi II took power and proceeded to rule for a whole ninety-four years. In 671 BC the aggressive Assyrian Empire invaded Egypt. They reigned there until c. 627 BC. Following the eclipse of the Assyrian Empire, in 525 BC the Achaemenid Persian Empire invaded Egypt. Egypt was to experience Persian rule for nearly a century.

Extract

The 19th Dynasty continued the successes of the 18th but, during the 20th Dynasty, the empire began to decline. Ramesses II and his successor, Merenptah (1213-1203 BCE) had both defeated invasions by the Sea Peoples – a coalition of different tribes who were responsible for weakening and destroying a number of civilizations at this time – but had not crippled their power. In the 20th Dynasty, under the reign of Ramesses III, the Sea Peoples returned in force and the king had no choice but to mobilize his army and mount a defense. Amenemhet II, and his two successors Sesostris III and Amenemhet III, all chose to build their grave-monuments in Dahshur, although the last project was a failure and he let build another in Hawara in the Fayyum province. This is known as another golden period. It was probably the most advanced and powerful civilization at the time.