A Peek into Ancient Egyptian Civilization
When you hear the word „Egypt“, surely what comes to your mind is the pyramids, sphinxes, and mummies. The Ancient Egyptian Civilization was a large civilization located in present-day Egypt, mainly along the Nile River Valley. This civilization has developed long before other ancient civilizations were born such as the Greeks, Romans and Mesopotamians.
According to thelibbymuseum Along the Nile River Valley or the banks of the river that originates at Mount Kilimanjaro is famous for being fertile, contrasting with the area in the form of a dry and barren desert. So it’s no wonder that many dynasties have sprung up to build empires as well as develop civilizations, because every year Egypt has an abundance of floods from the Nile river, leaving a fertile area.
Building Arts
As one of the oldest civilizations in the world, the Ancient Egyptian civilization can be said to be one of the most advanced human civilizations. This can be seen from the art heritage of the building which is still popular today. Where the art of building the results of Ancient Egyptian civilization, among others, can be seen in the Pyramids, Sphinx, obelisks, and the Abu Simbal temple.
- The pyramid is a rectangular prism-shaped structure made of stone. The pyramids were used as tombs for the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. The famous pyramid is the Pyramid of Cheops at Giza which was founded around 2700 BC and reaches 137 meters high.
- The Sphinx is a lion statue with a human head which is usually found on the right and left of the pyramid. The Sphinx is a mythological creature whose job is to protect the pyramids from evil spirits.
- Obelisk is a memorial made of red granite. The obelisks were used to worship the sun god (Ra) and are not far from the pyramids or sphinxes.
- The Abu Simbel Temple, which is a complex of two temples built by the Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II. In the temple there are 4 giant statues of Ramses II as high as 20 meters. Not far from the complex there is a shrine to the goddess Hathor dedicated to queen Nefertari.
Agricultural and Irrigation Systems
Agriculture was the main life of the Ancient Egyptians and wheat was the main crop and was supported by other crops in the form of rice, corn and vegetables. So fertile are the fields in Egypt, that in good seasons they can produce a surplus of crops which are able to meet the food needs of the people in that region and some are stored for reserves in the dry season.
Farming activities in the Ancient Egyptian civilization were supported by a number of fairly advanced tools such as plows, hoes, and baskets. Even irrigation techniques had been applied around the 1780s BC by digging using dug wells and shaduf techniques, which proved to produce an abundant annual harvest.
Besides agriculture, the civilization of Ancient Egypt was also quite superior regarding astronomy (astrology). Where, this knowledge is used to calculate one year into 12 months and each month consists of 30 days, they also recognize leap years every four years.
Government
In the Ancient Egyptian civilization, politics and religion were inseparable. The pharaoh was the head of state as well as the representative of the gods on earth. Government and religion play a role in bringing order to social life through building temples and pyramids, enforcing laws, taxation, work organization, trading activities, and national defense.
Pharaohs began to rule Egypt from 3100 BC, and since then Egypt has entered a period of 2500 years of dynastic rule. During that time, 30 dynasties consisting of 170 pharaohs ruled Ancient Egypt.
As for some of the famous Pharaohs, among others; Khufu (2589 BC-2566 BC), Amenhotep (1525 BC-1504 BC), Hatshepsut (1498 BC-1483 BC), Thutmosis III (1479 BC-1425 BC), Tuthankhamun (1334 BC-1325 BC).
Belief System
The belief system of the ancient Egyptians was in the style of polities and pantheons, where many worshiped gods and goddesses. The highest god worshiped was Ra (sun god) who was considered the leader of the gods, Osiris (god of death and resurrection), Isis (goddess of life and death), Anubis (god of protector of the dead), anhur (god of war and hunting), and ken (love goddess).
The ancient Egyptians believed that the human soul was still alive as long as the body was intact. Therefore, they made mummies, namely bodies preserved with balsam, usually among the nobility who died would be mummified. The bodies are placed on the mastaba and inserted into the pyramid.