Egyptian civilization / ഈജിപ്ഷ്യൻ സംസ്കാരം
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is
now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations globally to arise independently.
Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower
Egypt under the first pharaoh. The history of ancient
Egypt occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated
by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age,
the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age and the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, in the
Ramesside period where it rivalled the Hittite Empire,Assyrian Empire and Mitanni Empire, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was invaded or
conquered by a succession of foreign powers (such as the Canaanites/Hyksos, Libyans, Nubians, Assyria, Babylonia, Achaemenids and Macedon/Greece) in the Third
Intermediate Period of Egypt and Late Period. In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter,
established himself as the new ruler of Egypt. This Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt
until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell
to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province.
The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its
ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley. The predictable
flooding and controlled irrigation of the
fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population,
and social development and
culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored
mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development
of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects,
trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to defeat foreign
enemies and assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and
organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious
leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the
cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate
system of religious beliefs.
.jpg)
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the
quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that supported the building of
monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system
of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first
known ships, Egyptian faience and glass
technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace
treaty, made with Hittites.Egypt left
a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely
copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. Its
monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for
centuries. A new-found respect for antiquities and excavations in the early
modern period by Europeans and Egyptians led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian
civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy.
The Nile has been the lifeline of its region
for much of human history. The fertile floodplain of the Nile gave humans the
opportunity to develop a settled agricultural economy and a more sophisticated,
centralized society that became a cornerstone in the history of human
civilization. Nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley
through the end of the Middle
Pleistocene some
120 thousand years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the arid climate of Northern
Africa became increasingly hot and dry, forcing the populations of the area to
concentrate along the river region.
