The term " high priest " usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler - priest , or to one who is the head of a religious organisation.
201-830: In ancient Egypt , a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods revered by the Egyptians. The High Priest of Israel served in the Tabernacle , then in the Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem . The Samaritan High Priest is the high priest of the Samaritans . The Epistle to the Hebrews refers to Jesus as high priest. In Christianity , a high priest could sometimes be compared to
402-469: A corvée system. Artists and craftsmen were of higher status than farmers, but they were also under state control, working in the shops attached to the temples and paid directly from the state treasury. Scribes and officials formed the upper class in ancient Egypt, known as the "white kilt class" in reference to the bleached linen garments that served as a mark of their rank. The upper class prominently displayed their social status in art and literature. Below
603-400: A ganzibra . The head of all of the high priests within a Mandaean community is known as a rishama . The phrase is also often used to describe someone who is deemed to be an innovator or leader in a field of achievement. For example, an 1893 publication describes ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes as having been "the high-priest of comedy". Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was
804-417: A nomarch , who was accountable to the vizier for his jurisdiction. The temples formed the backbone of the economy. Not only were they places of worship , but were also responsible for collecting and storing the kingdom's wealth in a system of granaries and treasuries administered by overseers , who redistributed grain and goods. Much of the economy was centrally organized and strictly controlled. Although
1005-606: A Greek cultural and political center in the Mediterranean region along with Ptolemaic Egypt , the Seleucid Empire , and the Attalid kingdom . Important cities such as Pella , Pydna , and Amphipolis were involved in power struggles for control of the territory. New cities were founded, such as Thessalonica by the usurper Cassander (named after his wife Thessalonike of Macedon ). Macedonia's decline began with
1206-636: A Hellenic league in the same vein as Philip II's League of Corinth, he managed to defeat Sparta at the Battle of Sellasia in 222 BC. Sparta was occupied by a foreign power for the first time in its history, restoring Macedonia's position as the leading power in Greece. Antigonus died a year later, perhaps from tuberculosis , leaving behind a strong Hellenistic kingdom for his successor Philip V. Philip V of Macedon ( r. 221–179 BC ) faced immediate challenges to his authority by
1407-444: A balanced relationship between people and animals was an essential element of the cosmic order; thus humans, animals and plants were believed to be members of a single whole. Animals, both domesticated and wild , were therefore a critical source of spirituality, companionship, and sustenance to the ancient Egyptians. Cattle were the most important livestock; the administration collected taxes on livestock in regular censuses , and
1608-555: A brief but spirited resurgence in the economy and culture, but in 525 BC, the Persian Empire, led by Cambyses II , began its conquest of Egypt, eventually defeating the pharaoh Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium . Cambyses II then assumed the formal title of pharaoh, but ruled Egypt from Iran, leaving Egypt under the control of a satrap . A few revolts against the Persians marked the 5th century BC, but Egypt
1809-547: A brother and cousin of Perdiccas II who had rebelled against him. Thus, two separate wars were fought against Athens between 433 and 431 BC. The Macedonian king retaliated by promoting the rebellion of Athens' allies in Chalcidice and subsequently won over the strategic city of Potidaea . After capturing the Macedonian cities Therma and Beroea , Athens besieged Potidaea but failed to overcome it; Therma
2010-595: A campaign in Magna Graecia (i.e. southern Italy ) against the Roman Republic known as the Pyrrhic War , followed by his invasion of Sicily . Ptolemy Keraunos secured his position on the Macedonian throne by giving Pyrrhus five thousand soldiers and twenty war elephants for this endeavor. Pyrrhus returned to Epirus in 275 BC after the ultimate failure of both campaigns, which contributed to
2211-550: A civilization of ancient Northeast Africa . It was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River , situated within the contemporary territory of modern-day Egypt . Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology ) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under pharaoh or king Menes (often identified with Narmer ). The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as
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#17327662958182412-518: A coalition against Perdiccas in a civil war initiated by Ptolemy's seizure of the hearse of Alexander the Great . Perdiccas was assassinated in 321 BC by his own officers during a failed campaign in Egypt against Ptolemy, where his march along the Nile River resulted in the drowning of 2,000 of his men. Although Eumenes of Cardia managed to kill Craterus in battle, this had little to no effect on
2613-710: A confident, eloquent style. The relief and portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical sophistication. The last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III , allowed Semitic -speaking Canaanite settlers from the Near East into the Delta region to provide a sufficient labor force for his especially active mining and building campaigns. These ambitious building and mining activities, however, combined with severe Nile floods later in his reign, strained
2814-627: A large degree of autonomy and was never made a satrapy (i.e. province) of the Achaemenid Empire, it was expected to provide troops for the Achaemenid army . Alexander I provided Macedonian military support to Xerxes I ( r. 486–465 BC ) during the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480–479 BC, and Macedonian soldiers fought on the side of the Persians at the 479 BC Battle of Platea . Following
3015-576: A large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun , whose growing cult was based in Karnak . They also constructed monuments to glorify their own achievements, both real and imagined. The Karnak temple is the largest Egyptian temple ever built. Around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened when Amenhotep IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaotic reforms. Changing his name to Akhenaten , he touted
3216-445: 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 assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities
3417-525: A new regent (since Philip III was considered mentally unstable), in effect bypassing the council of the army as well. Forming an alliance with Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Lysimachus , Cassander had his officer Nicanor capture the Munichia fortress of Athens' port town Piraeus in defiance of Polyperchon's decree that Greek cities should be free of Macedonian garrisons, sparking the Second War of
3618-576: A period of economic and cultural renaissance known as the Middle Kingdom . The kings of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's stability and prosperity, thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumental building projects. Mentuhotep II and his Eleventh Dynasty successors ruled from Thebes, but the vizier Amenemhat I , upon assuming the kingship at the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty around 1985 BC, shifted
3819-508: A piece of papyrus or an ostracon . A combination of favorable geographical features contributed to the success of ancient Egyptian culture, the most important of which was the rich fertile soil resulting from annual inundations of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians were thus able to produce an abundance of food, allowing the population to devote more time and resources to cultural, technological, and artistic pursuits. Land management
4020-625: A possible second wife Gygaea: Archelaus, Arrhidaeus, and Menelaus . Philip II had Archelaus put to death in 359 BC, while Philip II's other two half brothers fled to Olynthos, serving as a casus belli for the Olynthian War (349–348 BC) against the Chalcidian League. While Athens was preoccupied with the Social War (357–355 BC) , Philip II retook Amphipolis from them in 357 BC and
4221-561: A pro-Athenian democracy , the Athenian navy was able to form a blockade against Macedonian seaports and invade Chalcidice in 417 BC. Perdiccas II sued for peace in 414 BC, forming an alliance with Athens that was continued by his son and successor Archelaus I ( r. 413–399 BC ). Athens then provided naval support to Archelaus I in the 410 BC Macedonian siege of Pydna , in exchange for timber and naval equipment. Although Archelaus I
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#17327662958184422-740: A queen who established herself as pharaoh, launched many building projects, including the restoration of temples damaged by the Hyksos, and sent trading expeditions to Punt and the Sinai. When Tuthmosis III died in 1425 BC, Egypt had an empire extending from Niya in north west Syria to the Fourth Cataract of the Nile in Nubia , cementing loyalties and opening access to critical imports such as bronze and wood . The New Kingdom pharaohs began
4623-724: A resurgent Rome should seek revenge against either Macedonia or Carthage. Although the Macedonians were perhaps only interested in safeguarding their newly conquered territories in Illyria, the Romans were nevertheless able to thwart whatever grand ambitions Philip V had for the Adriatic region during the First Macedonian War (214–205 BC). In 214 BC, Rome positioned a naval fleet at Oricus , which
4824-565: A revolt against Macedonian authority known as the Chremonidean War (267–261 BC). By 265 BC, Athens was surrounded and besieged by Antigonus II's forces, and a Ptolemaic fleet was defeated in the Battle of Cos . Athens finally surrendered in 261 BC. After Macedonia formed an alliance with the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II , a peace settlement between Antigonus II and Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt
5025-608: A rival dynasty in the delta arose in Leontopolis , and Kushites threatened from the south. Around 727 BC the Kushite king Piye invaded northward, seizing control of Thebes and eventually the Delta, which established the 25th Dynasty . During the 25th Dynasty, Pharaoh Taharqa created an empire nearly as large as the New Kingdom 's. Twenty-fifth Dynasty pharaohs built, or restored, temples and monuments throughout
5226-662: A series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as "Intermediate Periods". The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age , the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age , or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age . Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and
5427-662: A series of vassals who became known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty . By 653 BC, the Saite king Psamtik I was able to oust the Assyrians with the help of Greek mercenaries, who were recruited to form Egypt's first navy . Greek influence expanded greatly as the city-state of Naucratis became the home of Greeks in the Nile Delta. The Saite kings based in the new capital of Sais witnessed
5628-645: A shortage of provisions in winter. In 424 BC, Arrhabaeus , a local ruler of Lynkestis in Upper Macedonia, rebelled against his overlord Perdiccas, and the Spartans agreed to help in putting down the revolt. At the Battle of Lyncestis the Macedonians panicked and fled before the fighting began, enraging the Spartan general Brasidas , whose soldiers looted the unattended Macedonian baggage train . Perdiccas then changed sides and supported Athens, and he
5829-808: A sizable portion of the Levant . After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos , the Nubians , the Assyrians , the Achaemenid Persians , and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great . The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom , formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra , it fell to
6030-710: A staged banquet of reconciliation between Persians and Macedonians. Alexander perhaps undercut his own rule by demonstrating signs of megalomania . While utilizing effective propaganda such as the cutting of the Gordian Knot , he also attempted to portray himself as a living god and son of Zeus following his visit to the oracle at Siwah in the Libyan Desert (in modern-day Egypt) in 331 BC. His attempt in 327 BC to have his men prostrate before him in Bactra in an act of proskynesis borrowed from
6231-519: A system of mathematics , a practical and effective system of medicine , irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature , and the earliest known peace treaty , made with the Hittites . Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to be studied, admired or coveted in
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6432-459: A system still used today. He began his official history with the king named "Meni" (or Menes in Greek), who was believed to have united the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt . The transition to a unified state happened more gradually than ancient Egyptian writers represented, and there is no contemporary record of Menes. Some scholars now believe, however, that the mythical Menes may have been
6633-503: Is also the period when many animals were first domesticated . By about 5500 BC , small tribes living in the Nile valley had developed into a series of cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry , and identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs, bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in upper (Southern) Egypt was the Badarian culture , which probably originated in
6834-505: The tagus (supreme Thessalian military leader) Alexander of Pherae , capturing the city of Larissa . The Thessalians, desiring to remove both Alexander II and Alexander of Pherae as their overlords , appealed to Pelopidas of Thebes for aid; he succeeded in recapturing Larissa and, in the peace agreement arranged with Macedonia, received aristocratic hostages including Alexander II's brother and future king Philip II ( r. 359–336 BC ). When Alexander
7035-538: The Aegean Sea . He improved Macedonia's currency by minting coins with a higher silver content as well as issuing separate copper coinage . His royal court attracted the presence of well-known intellectuals such as the Athenian playwright Euripides . When Archelaus I was assassinated (perhaps following a homosexual love affair with royal pages at his court), the kingdom was plunged into chaos, in an era lasting from 399 to 393 BC that included
7236-531: The Amarna Period . Around 1279 BC, Ramesses II , also known as Ramesses the Great, ascended the throne, and went on to build more temples, erect more statues and obelisks, and sire more children than any other pharaoh in history. A bold military leader, Ramesses II led his army against the Hittites in the Battle of Kadesh (in modern Syria ) and, after fighting to a stalemate, finally agreed to
7437-657: The Balkans , the Persian general Megabazus used diplomacy to convince Amyntas I to submit as a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire , ushering in the period of Achaemenid Macedonia . Achaemenid Persian hegemony over Macedonia was briefly interrupted by the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BC), yet the Persian general Mardonius brought it back under Achaemenid suzerainty . Although Macedonia enjoyed
7638-616: The Battle of Cynoscephalae . Rome then ratified a treaty that forced Macedonia to relinquish control of much of its Greek possessions outside of Macedonia proper, if only to act as a buffer against Illyrian and Thracian incursions into Greece. Although some Greeks suspected Roman intentions of supplanting Macedonia as the new hegemonic power in Greece, Flaminius announced at the Isthmian Games of 196 BC that Rome intended to preserve Greek liberty by leaving behind no garrisons and by not exacting tribute of any kind. His promise
7839-577: The Cadmea , Alexander left the Illyrian front and marched to Thebes, which he placed under siege . After breaching the walls, Alexander's forces killed 6,000 Thebans, took 30,000 inhabitants as prisoners of war , and burned the city to the ground as a warning that convinced all other Greek states except Sparta not to challenge Alexander again. Throughout his military career, Alexander won every battle that he personally commanded. His first victory against
8040-693: The Danube , forcing their surrender on Peuce Island . Shortly thereafter, the Illyrian chieftain Cleitus , son of Bardylis , threatened to attack Macedonia with the aid of Glaucias , king of the Taulantii , but Alexander took the initiative and besieged the Illyrians at Pelion (in modern Albania ). When Thebes had once again revolted from the League of Corinth and was besieging the Macedonian garrison in
8241-467: The Dardanian Kingdom , invaded Macedonia and defeated an army of Demetrius II shortly before his death in 229 BC. Although his young son Philip immediately inherited the throne, his regent Antigonus III Doson ( r. 229–221 BC ), nephew of Antigonus II, was proclaimed king by the army, with Philip as his heir, following a string of military victories against
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8442-584: The Gallic ruler Bolgios and driving out the raiding party of Brennus , Sosthenes died and left a chaotic situation in Macedonia. The Gallic invaders ravaged Macedonia until Antigonus Gonatas , son of Demetrius, defeated them in Thrace at the 277 BC Battle of Lysimachia and was then proclaimed king Antigonus II of Macedon ( r. 277–274, 272–239 BC ). In 280 BC, Pyrrhus embarked on
8643-501: The Great Kenbet , over which the vizier or pharaoh presided. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented
8844-577: The Greek victory at Salamis in 480 BC, Alexander I was employed as an Achaemenid diplomat to propose a peace treaty and alliance with Athens , an offer that was rejected. Soon afterwards, the Achaemenid forces were forced to withdraw from mainland Europe , marking the end of Persian control over Macedonia. Although initially a Persian vassal, Alexander I of Macedon fostered friendly diplomatic relations with his former Greek enemies,
9045-465: The Hellespont in anticipation of an invasion into Achaemenid Anatolia . In 342 BC, Philip II conquered a Thracian city in what is now Bulgaria and renamed it Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv ). War broke out with Athens in 340 BC while Philip II was engaged in two ultimately unsuccessful sieges of Perinthus and Byzantion , followed by a successful campaign against
9246-433: The Italian peninsula . In 216 BC, Philip V sent a hundred light warships into the Adriatic Sea to attack Illyria, a move that prompted Scerdilaidas of the Ardiaean Kingdom to appeal to the Romans for aid. Rome responded by sending ten heavy quinqueremes from Roman Sicily to patrol the Illyrian coasts, causing Philip V to reverse course and order his fleet to retreat, averting open conflict for
9447-428: The King of Epirus and the Molossians . This marriage would bear a son who would later rule as Alexander III (better known as Alexander the Great ) and claim descent from the legendary Achilles by way of his dynastic heritage from Epirus . It is unclear whether or not the Achaemenid Persian kings influenced Philip II's practice of polygamy, although his predecessor Amyntas III had three sons with
9648-401: The Levant was established during Naqada II ( c. 3600–3350 BC ); this period was also the beginning of trade with Mesopotamia , which continued into the early dynastic period and beyond. Over a period of about 1,000 years, the Naqada culture developed from a few small farming communities into a powerful civilization whose leaders were in complete control of the people and resources of
9849-578: The Macedonian Wars and the rise of Rome as the leading Mediterranean power. At the end of the Third Macedonian War in 168 BC, the Macedonian monarchy was abolished and replaced by Roman client states . A short-lived revival of the monarchy during the Fourth Macedonian War in 150–148 BC ended with the establishment of the Roman province of Macedonia . The Macedonian kings, who wielded absolute power and commanded state resources such as gold and silver, facilitated mining operations to mint currency , finance their armies and, by
10050-747: The Mouseion . The Lighthouse of Alexandria lit the way for the many ships that kept trade flowing through the city—as the Ptolemies made commerce and revenue-generating enterprises, such as papyrus manufacturing, their top priority. Hellenistic culture did not supplant native Egyptian culture, as the Ptolemies supported time-honored traditions in an effort to secure the loyalty of the populace. They built new temples in Egyptian style, supported traditional cults, and portrayed themselves as pharaohs. Some traditions merged, as Greek and Egyptian gods were syncretized into composite deities, such as Serapis , and classical Greek forms of sculpture influenced traditional Egyptian motifs. Despite their efforts to appease
10251-433: The Near East . The New Kingdom pharaohs established a period of unprecedented prosperity by securing their borders and strengthening diplomatic ties with their neighbours, including the Mitanni Empire, Assyria , and Canaan . Military campaigns waged under Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III extended the influence of the pharaohs to the largest empire Egypt had ever seen. Between their reigns, Hatshepsut ,
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#173276629581810452-415: The Nubians to the south of Egypt, but failed to defeat the Hyksos. That task fell to Kamose's successor, Ahmose I , who successfully waged a series of campaigns that permanently eradicated the Hyksos' presence in Egypt. He established a new dynasty and, in the New Kingdom that followed, the military became a central priority for the kings, who sought to expand Egypt's borders and attempted to gain mastery of
10653-412: The Persians and was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. The administration established by Alexander's successors, the Macedonian Ptolemaic Kingdom , was based on an Egyptian model and based in the new capital city of Alexandria . The city showcased the power and prestige of Hellenistic rule, and became a centre of learning and culture, that included the famous Library of Alexandria as part of
10854-444: The Pope in the Catholic Church , to a patriarch in the Oriental Orthodox Churches , the Church of the East and the Eastern Orthodox Churches (the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is a primus inter pares ) or to a primate in the Anglican Communion (the Archbishop of Canterbury is a primus inter pares ), but it is traditional to refer to it only to Jesus Christ as the only high priest of Christianity. Throughout
11055-595: The Pythian Games . Athens initially opposed his membership on the council and refused to attend the games in protest, but they eventually accepted these conditions, perhaps after some persuasion by Demosthenes in his oration On the Peace . Over the next few years, Philip II reformed local governments in Thessaly, campaigned against the Illyrian ruler Pleuratus I , deposed Arybbas in Epirus in favor of his brother-in-law Alexander I (through Philip II's marriage to Olympias), and defeated Cersebleptes in Thrace. This allowed him to extend Macedonian control over
11256-416: The Roman Empire and became a Roman province . Egypt remained under Roman control until 642 AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate . The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture . The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported
11457-486: The Roman Republic negotiated the Treaty of Phoenice in 205 BC, ending the war and allowing the Macedonians to retain some captured settlements in Illyria. Although the Romans rejected an Aetolian request in 202 BC for Rome to declare war on Macedonia once again, the Roman Senate gave serious consideration to the similar offer made by Pergamon and its ally Rhodes in 201 BC. These states were concerned about Philip V's alliance with Antiochus III
11658-403: The Roman consul Titus Quinctius Flamininus managed to expel Philip V from Macedonia in 198 BC, forcing his men to take refuge in Thessaly. When the Achaean League switched their loyalties from Macedonia to Rome, the Macedonian king sued for peace, but the terms offered were considered too stringent, and so the war continued. In June 197 BC, the Macedonians were defeated at
11859-545: The Seleucid Empire , and Lysimachus ( r. 306–281 BC ), King of Thrace , defeated the Antigonids at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, killing Antigonus and forcing Demetrius into flight. Cassander died in 297 BC, and his sickly son Philip IV died the same year, succeeded by Cassander's other sons Alexander V of Macedon ( r. 297–294 BC ) and Antipater II of Macedon ( r. 297–294 BC ), with their mother Thessalonike of Macedon acting as regent. While Demetrius fought against
12060-442: The Strymon River near the Kingdom of Macedonia, where the colonial city of Amphipolis was founded in 437/436 BC so that it could provide Athens with a steady supply of silver and gold as well as timber and pitch to support the Athenian navy . Initially Perdiccas II did not take any action and might have even welcomed the Athenians, as the Thracians were foes to both of them. This changed due to an Athenian alliance with
12261-414: The Susa weddings in 324 BC. Meanwhile, in Greece, the Spartan king Agis III attempted to lead a rebellion of the Greeks against Macedonia. He was defeated in 331 BC at the Battle of Megalopolis by Antipater, who was serving as regent of Macedonia and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth in Alexander's stead. Before Antipater embarked on his campaign in the Peloponnese , Memnon,
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#173276629581812462-437: The Thirtieth , proved to be the last native royal house of ancient Egypt, ending with the kingship of Nectanebo II . A brief restoration of Persian rule, sometimes known as the Thirty-First Dynasty , began in 343 BC, but shortly after, in 332 BC, the Persian ruler Mazaces handed Egypt over to Alexander the Great without a fight. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt with little resistance from
12663-444: The Thracian Odrysian kingdom through conquest and diplomacy. With a reformed army containing phalanxes wielding the sarissa pike, Philip II defeated the old powers of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. Philip II's son Alexander the Great , leading a federation of Greek states , accomplished his father's objective of commanding the whole of Greece when he destroyed Thebes after
12864-427: The Wadi Natrun for mummification , which also provided the gypsum needed to make plaster. Ore-bearing rock formations were found in distant, inhospitable wadis in the Eastern Desert and the Sinai, requiring large, state-controlled expeditions to obtain natural resources found there. There were extensive gold mines in Nubia , and one of the first maps known is of a gold mine in this region. The Wadi Hammamat
13065-461: The Western Desert ; it was known for its high-quality ceramics, stone tools , and its use of copper. The Badari was followed by the Naqada culture : the Naqada I ( Amratian ), the Naqada II ( Gerzeh ), and Naqada III ( Semainean ). These brought a number of technological improvements. As early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia , used to shape blades and other objects from flakes . Mutual trade with
13266-451: The chaff from the grain, and the grain was then ground into flour, brewed to make beer, or stored for later use. The ancient Egyptians cultivated emmer and barley , and several other cereal grains, all of which were used to make the two main food staples of bread and beer. Flax plants, uprooted before they started flowering, were grown for the fibers of their stems. These fibers were split along their length and spun into thread, which
13467-517: The comitia centuriata finally voted in approval of the Roman Senate's declaration of war in 200 BC and handed their ultimatum to Philip V, demanding that a tribunal assess the damages owed to Rhodes and Pergamon, the Macedonian king rejected it. This marked the beginning of the Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC), with Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus spearheading military operations in Apollonia. The Macedonians successfully defended their territory for roughly two years, but
13668-506: The commander-in-chief ( strategos autokrator ) of a forthcoming campaign to invade the Achaemenid Empire. Philip's plan to punish the Persians for the suffering of the Greeks and to liberate the Greek cities of Asia Minor as well as perhaps the panhellenic fear of another Persian invasion of Greece, contributed to his decision to invade the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians offered aid to Perinthus and Byzantion in 341–340 BC, highlighting Macedonia's strategic need to secure Thrace and
13869-459: The composite bow and the horse-drawn chariot . After retreating south, the native Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Canaanite Hyksos ruling the north and the Hyksos' Nubian allies, the Kushites , to the south. After years of vassalage, Thebes gathered enough strength to challenge the Hyksos in a conflict that lasted more than 30 years, until 1555 BC. The kings Seqenenre Tao II and Kamose were ultimately able to defeat
14070-496: The diadochi were declared kings of their respective territories. The beginning of Hellenistic Greece was defined by the struggle between the Antipatrid dynasty , led first by Cassander ( r. 305–297 BC ), son of Antipater, and the Antigonid dynasty , led by the Macedonian general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ( r. 306–301 BC ) and his son, the future king Demetrius I ( r. 294–288 BC ). Cassander besieged Athens in 303 BC, but
14271-476: The legend that the Macedonian kings of the Argead dynasty were descendants of Temenus , king of Argos , and could therefore claim the mythical Heracles as one of their ancestors as well as a direct lineage from Zeus , chief god of the Greek pantheon . Contradictory legends state that either Perdiccas I of Macedon or Caranus of Macedon were the founders of the Argead dynasty, with either five or eight kings before Amyntas I. The assertion that
14472-480: The region of Macedonia in modern Greece . It gradually expanded into the region of Upper Macedonia , inhabited by the Greek Lyncestae and Elimiotae tribes, and into regions of Emathia , Eordaia , Bottiaea , Mygdonia , Crestonia , and Almopia , which were inhabited by various peoples such as Thracians and Phrygians . Macedonia's non-Greek neighbors included Thracians, inhabiting territories to
14673-516: The rise of Rome because Greek cities in southern Italy such as Tarentum now became Roman allies. Pyrrhus invaded Macedonia in 274 BC, defeating the largely mercenary army of Antigonus II at the 274 BC Battle of Aous and driving him out of Macedonia, forcing him to seek refuge with his naval fleet in the Aegean. Pyrrhus lost much of his support among the Macedonians in 273 BC when his unruly Gallic mercenaries plundered
14874-489: The tyrannies installed in Greece were to be abolished and Greek freedom was to be restored. When Alexander the Great died at Babylon in 323 BC, his mother Olympias immediately accused Antipater and his faction of poisoning him, although there is no evidence to confirm this. With no official heir apparent , the Macedonian military command split, with one side proclaiming Alexander's half-brother Philip III Arrhidaeus ( r. 323–317 BC ) as king and
15075-523: The vizier and his court for redress. Although slaves were mostly used as indentured servants, they were able to buy and sell their servitude, work their way to freedom or nobility, and were usually treated by doctors in the workplace. Both men and women had the right to own and sell property, make contracts, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, and pursue legal disputes in court. Married couples could own property jointly and protect themselves from divorce by agreeing to marriage contracts, which stipulated
15276-529: The war elephants of King Porus of the Pauravas threatened Alexander's troops, he had them form open ranks to surround the elephants and dislodge their handlers by using their sarissa pikes. When his Macedonian troops threatened mutiny in 324 BC at Opis , Babylonia (near modern Baghdad , Iraq ), Alexander offered Macedonian military titles and greater responsibilities to Persian officers and units instead, forcing his troops to seek forgiveness at
15477-557: The Aegean Sea against increasing Achaemenid encroachment, as the Persian king Artaxerxes III further consolidated his control over satrapies in western Anatolia . The latter region, yielding far more wealth and valuable resources than the Balkans, was also coveted by the Macedonian king for its sheer economic potential. When Philip II married Cleopatra Eurydice , niece of general Attalus , talk of providing new potential heirs at
15678-569: The Antipatrid forces in Greece, Antipater II killed his own mother to obtain power. His desperate brother Alexander V then requested aid from Pyrrhus of Epirus ( r. 297–272 BC ), who had fought alongside Demetrius at the Battle of Ipsus, but was sent to Egypt as a hostage as part of an agreement between Demetrius and Ptolemy I. In exchange for defeating the forces of Antipater II and forcing him to flee to
15879-684: The Argeads descended from Temenus was accepted by the Hellanodikai authorities of the Ancient Olympic Games , permitting Alexander I of Macedon ( r. 498–454 BC ) to enter the competitions owing to his perceived Greek heritage. Little is known about the kingdom before the reign of Alexander I's father Amyntas I of Macedon ( r. 547–498 BC ) during the Archaic period . The kingdom of Macedonia
16080-572: The Assyrians. The effects of external threats were exacerbated by internal problems such as corruption, tomb robbery, and civil unrest . After regaining their power, the high priests at the temple of Amun in Thebes accumulated vast tracts of land and wealth, and their expanded power splintered the country during the Third Intermediate Period. Following the death of Ramesses XI in 1078 BC, Smendes assumed authority over
16281-606: The Athenian and Spartan -led coalition of Greek city-states. His successor Perdiccas II ( r. 454–413 BC ) led the Macedonians to war in four separate conflicts against Athens, leader of the Delian League , while incursions by the Thracian ruler Sitalces of the Odrysian kingdom threatened Macedonia's territorial integrity in the northeast. The Athenian statesman Pericles promoted colonization of
16482-522: The Black in 328 BC is described as "vengeful and reckless" by Dawn L. Gilley and Ian Worthington. Continuing the polygamous habits of his father, Alexander encouraged his men to marry native women in Asia, leading by example when he wed Roxana , a Sogdian princess of Bactria. He then married Stateira II , eldest daughter of Darius III, and Parysatis II , youngest daughter of Artaxerxes III , at
16683-697: The Chalcidice, and Amphipolis in return for the release of the enslaved Athenians as well as guarantees that Philip II would not attack Athenian settlements in the Thracian Chersonese . Meanwhile, Phocis and Thermopylae were captured by Macedonian forces, the Delphic temple robbers were executed, and Philip II was awarded the two Phocian seats on the Amphictyonic Council and the position of master of ceremonies over
16884-476: The Christian emperor Theodosius introduced legislation that banned pagan rites and closed temples. Alexandria became the scene of great anti-pagan riots with public and private religious imagery destroyed. As a consequence, Egypt's native religious culture was continually in decline. While the native population continued to speak their language , the ability to read hieroglyphic writing slowly disappeared as
17085-435: The Delta, seized control of Egypt and established their capital at Avaris , forcing the former central government to retreat to Thebes . The king was treated as a vassal and expected to pay tribute. The Hyksos ('foreign rulers') retained Egyptian models of government and identified as kings, thereby integrating Egyptian elements into their culture. They and other invaders introduced new tools of warfare into Egypt, most notably
17286-516: The Diadochi (319–315 BC). Given a string of military failures by Polyperchon, in 317 BC, Philip III, by way of his politically engaged wife Eurydice II of Macedon , officially replaced him as regent with Cassander. Afterwards, Polyperchon desperately sought the aid of Olympias in Epirus. A joint force of Epirotes, Aetolians, and Polyperchon's troops invaded Macedonia and forced
17487-510: The Egyptians, the Ptolemies were challenged by native rebellion, bitter family rivalries, and the powerful mob of Alexandria that formed after the death of Ptolemy IV . In addition, as Rome relied more heavily on imports of grain from Egypt, the Romans took great interest in the political situation in the country. Continued Egyptian revolts, ambitious politicians, and powerful opponents from
17688-555: The Great of the Seleucid Empire, which invaded the war-weary and financially exhausted Ptolemaic Empire in the Fifth Syrian War (202–195 BC) as Philip V captured Ptolemaic settlements in the Aegean Sea. Although Rome's envoys played a critical role in convincing Athens to join the anti-Macedonian alliance with Pergamon and Rhodes in 200 BC, the comitia centuriata (people's assembly) rejected
17889-504: The Greeks towards the Egyptians, some traditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods continued. The art of mummy portraiture flourished, and some Roman emperors had themselves depicted as pharaohs, though not to the extent that the Ptolemies had. The former lived outside Egypt and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration became Roman in style and closed to native Egyptians. From
18090-720: The Illyrian Dardani and Aetolian League. Philip V and his allies were successful against the Aetolians and their allies in the Social War (220–217 BC) , yet he made peace with the Aetolians once he heard of incursions by the Dardani in the north and the Carthaginian victory over the Romans at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in 217 BC. Demetrius of Pharos is alleged to have convinced Philip V to first secure Illyria in advance of an invasion of
18291-647: The Illyrians in the north and the Aetolians in Thessaly. Aratus sent an embassy to Antigonus III in 226 BC seeking an unexpected alliance now that the reformist king Cleomenes III of Sparta was threatening the rest of Greece in the Cleomenean War (229–222 BC). In exchange for military aid, Antigonus III demanded the return of Corinth to Macedonian control, which Aratus finally agreed to in 225 BC. In 224 BC, Antigonus III's forces took Arcadia from Sparta. After forming
18492-545: The Late Period, the worship of the gods in their animal form was extremely popular, such as the cat goddess Bastet and the ibis god Thoth , and these animals were kept in large numbers for the purpose of ritual sacrifice. Egypt is rich in building and decorative stone, copper and lead ores, gold, and semiprecious stones. These natural resources allowed the ancient Egyptians to build monuments, sculpt statues, make tools, and fashion jewelry . Embalmers used salts from
18693-452: The Late Period. There is also evidence to suggest that elephants were briefly used in the Late Period but largely abandoned due to lack of grazing land. Cats , dogs, and monkeys were common family pets, while more exotic pets imported from the heart of Africa, such as Sub-Saharan African lions , were reserved for royalty. Herodotus observed that the Egyptians were the only people to keep their animals with them in their houses. During
18894-460: The Macedonian throne. Amyntas III was forced to flee his kingdom in either 393 or 383 BC (based on conflicting accounts), owing to a massive invasion by the Illyrians led by Bardylis . The pretender to the throne Argaeus ruled in his absence, yet Amyntas III eventually returned to his kingdom with the aid of Thessalian allies. Amyntas III was also nearly overthrown by
19095-514: The Macedonians. Demetrius II also lost an ally in Epirus when the monarchy was toppled in a republican revolution . Demetrius II enlisted the aid of the Illyrian king Agron to defend Acarnania against Aetolia, and in 229 BC, they managed to defeat the combined navies of the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues at the Battle of Paxos . Another Illyrian ruler, Longarus of
19296-490: The Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a full system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian - Akkadian civilization of Mesopotamia and of ancient Elam . The third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of kings from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties,
19497-585: The Near East made this situation unstable, leading Rome to send forces to secure the country as a province of its empire. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of Mark Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian (later Emperor Augustus) in the Battle of Actium . The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments from Egypt, and the Roman army , under
19698-518: 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 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the arid climate of Northern Africa had become increasingly hot and dry, forcing
19899-474: The Nile valley, including at Memphis, Karnak, Kawa, and Jebel Barkal. During this period, the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom. Egypt's far-reaching prestige declined considerably toward the end of the Third Intermediate Period. Its foreign allies had fallen under the Assyrian sphere of influence, and by 700 BC war between
20100-549: The Nile valley. Establishing a power center at Nekhen (in Greek, Hierakonpolis), and later at Abydos , Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile . They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the western desert to the west, and the cultures of the eastern Mediterranean and Near East to the east. The Naqada culture manufactured a diverse selection of material goods, reflective of
20301-582: The Old Kingdom, and provided both honey and wax. The ancient Egyptians used donkeys and oxen as beasts of burden , and they were responsible for plowing the fields and trampling seed into the soil. The slaughter of a fattened ox was also a central part of an offering ritual. Horses were introduced by the Hyksos in the Second Intermediate Period . Camels, although known from the New Kingdom, were not used as beasts of burden until
20502-405: The Old Kingdom. Under the direction of the vizier , state officials collected taxes, coordinated irrigation projects to improve crop yield , drafted peasants to work on construction projects, and established a justice system to maintain peace and order. With the rising importance of central administration in Egypt, a new class of educated scribes and officials arose who were granted estates by
20703-423: The Persian kings was rejected as religious blasphemy by his Macedonian and Greek subjects after his court historian Callisthenes refused to perform this ritual. When Alexander had Parmenion murdered at Ecbatana (near modern Hamadan , Iran ) in 330 BC, this was "symptomatic of the growing gulf between the king's interests and those of his country and people", according to Errington. His murder of Cleitus
20904-531: The Persians in Asia Minor at the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC used a small cavalry contingent as a distraction to allow his infantry to cross the river followed by a cavalry charge from his companion cavalry . Alexander led the cavalry charge at the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, forcing the Persian king Darius III and his army to flee. Darius III, despite having superior numbers,
21105-598: The Roman Senate decided in 184/183 BC to force Philip V to abandon Aenus and Maronea , since these had been declared free cities in the Treaty of Apamea. This assuaged the fear of Eumenes II that Macedonia could pose a threat to his lands in the Hellespont. Perseus of Macedon ( r. 179–168 BC ) succeeded Philip V and executed his brother Demetrius , who had been favored by
21306-415: The Roman Senate's proposal for a declaration of war on Macedonia. Meanwhile, Philip V conquered territories in the Hellespont and Bosporus as well as Ptolemaic Samos , which led Rhodes to form an alliance with Pergamon , Byzantium , Cyzicus , and Chios against Macedonia. Despite Philip V's nominal alliance with the Seleucid king, he lost the naval Battle of Chios in 201 BC and
21507-555: The Romans but was charged by Perseus with high treason . Perseus then attempted to form marriage alliances with Prusias II of Bithynia and Seleucus IV Philopator of the Seleucid Empire, along with renewed relations with Rhodes that greatly unsettled Eumenes II. Although Eumenes II attempted to undermine these diplomatic relationships, Perseus fostered an alliance with the Boeotian League , extended his authority into Illyria and Thrace , and in 174 BC, won
21708-512: The Ruler ", to defend against foreign attack. With the kings having secured the country militarily and politically and with vast agricultural and mineral wealth at their disposal, the nation's population, arts, and religion flourished. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom displayed an increase in expressions of personal piety. Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written in
21909-637: The Scythians along the Danube and Macedonia's involvement in the Fourth Sacred War against Amphissa in 339 BC. Thebes ejected a Macedonian garrison from Nicaea (near Thermopylae) , leading Thebes to join Athens, Megara , Corinth, Achaea , and Euboea in a final confrontation against Macedonia at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC. After the Macedonian victory at Chaeronea, Philip II installed an oligarchy in Thebes, yet
22110-765: The Seleucids in the 191 BC Battle of Thermopylae as well as the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, forcing the Seleucids to pay a war indemnity , dismantle most of its navy, and abandon its claims to any territories north or west of the Taurus Mountains in the 188 BC Treaty of Apamea . With Rome's acceptance, Philip V was able to capture some cities in central Greece in 191–189 BC that had been allied to Antiochus III, while Rhodes and Eumenes II ( r. 197–159 BC ) of Pergamon gained territories in Asia Minor. Failing to please all sides in various territorial disputes,
22311-525: The Seleucids by divorcing Stratonice of Macedon . Although the Aetolians formed an alliance with the Achaean League as a result, Demetrius II was able to invade Boeotia and capture it from the Aetolians by 236 BC. The Achaean League managed to capture Megalopolis in 235 BC, and by the end of Demetrius II's reign most of the Peloponnese except Argos was taken from
22512-528: The Upper Macedonian aristocracy as well as the Illyrian princess Audata to ensure a marriage alliance. To establish an alliance with Larissa in Thessaly, he married the Thessalian noblewoman Philinna in 358 BC, who bore him a son who would later rule as Philip III Arrhidaeus ( r. 323–317 BC ). In 357 BC, he married Olympias to secure an alliance with Arybbas ,
22713-499: The administration, aside from the royal high priestesses, apparently served only secondary roles in the temples (not much data for many dynasties), and were not so probably to be as educated as men. The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, who was responsible for enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order, a concept the ancient Egyptians referred to as Ma'at . Although no legal codes from ancient Egypt survive, court documents show that Egyptian law
22914-557: The ancient Egyptians did not use coinage until the Late period , they did use a type of money-barter system, with standard sacks of grain and the deben , a weight of roughly 91 grams (3 oz) of copper or silver, forming a common denominator. Workers were paid in grain; a simple laborer might earn 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 sacks (200 kg or 400 lb) of grain per month, while a foreman might earn 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 sacks (250 kg or 550 lb). Prices were fixed across
23115-531: The behest of Larissa ended in two disastrous defeats by the Phocian general Onomarchus . Philip II in turn defeated Onomarchus in 352 BC at the Battle of Crocus Field , which led to Philip II's election as leader ( archon ) of the Thessalian League, provided him a seat on the Amphictyonic Council, and allowed for a marriage alliance with Pherae by wedding Nicesipolis , niece of
23316-802: The city and treated the inhabitants cordially, unlike the Potidaeans, who had been enslaved. Philip II then involved Macedonia in the Third Sacred War (356–346 BC). It began when Phocis captured and plundered the temple of Apollo at Delphi instead of submitting unpaid fines, causing the Amphictyonic League to declare war on Phocis and a civil war among the members of the Thessalian League aligned with either Phocis or Thebes. Philip II's initial campaign against Pherae in Thessaly in 353 BC at
23517-476: The city revolted. During Alexander's subsequent campaign of conquest , he overthrew the Achaemenid Empire and conquered territory that stretched as far as the Indus River . For a brief period, his Macedonian Empire was the most powerful in the world – the definitive Hellenistic state, inaugurating the transition to a new period of Ancient Greek civilization . Greek arts and literature flourished in
23718-410: The complaint, testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference. Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of fines, beatings, facial mutilation, or exile, depending on the severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. Punishment could also be extended to
23919-452: The control of a prefect appointed by the emperor, quelled rebellions, strictly enforced the collection of heavy taxes, and prevented attacks by bandits, which had become a notorious problem during the period. Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome. Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than
24120-401: The country and recorded in lists to facilitate trading; for example a shirt cost five copper deben, while a cow cost 140 deben. Grain could be traded for other goods, according to the fixed price list. During the fifth century BC coined money was introduced into Egypt from abroad. At first the coins were used as standardized pieces of precious metal rather than true money, but in
24321-403: The country's economy. Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and the ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet despite difficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the king, used their new-found independence to establish a thriving culture in the provinces. Once in control of their own resources,
24522-541: The court of Lysimachus in Thrace, Pyrrhus was awarded the westernmost portions of the Macedonian kingdom. Demetrius had his nephew Alexander V assassinated and was then proclaimed king of Macedonia, but his subjects protested against his aloof, Eastern-style autocracy . War broke out between Pyrrhus and Demetrius in 290 BC when Lanassa, wife of Pyrrhus , daughter of Agathocles of Syracuse , left him for Demetrius and offered him her dowry of Corcyra . The war dragged on until 288 BC, when Demetrius lost
24723-421: The criminal's family. Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major role in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or "no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue. The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgement by choosing one or the other, moving forward or backward, or pointing to one of the answers written on
24924-572: The economy and precipitated the slow decline into the Second Intermediate Period during the later Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties. During this decline, the Canaanite settlers began to assume greater control of the Delta region, eventually coming to power in Egypt as the Hyksos . Around 1785 BC, as the power of the Middle Kingdom kings weakened, a Western Asian people called the Hyksos , who had already settled in
25125-642: The episcopal body, except in the Anglican and Lutheran communions, bishops may also be referred to as high priests, since they share in or are considered earthly instruments of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ. High priest is an office of the priesthood within the Melchizedek priesthood in most denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement . A high priest in Mandaeism is known as
25326-553: The extent to which his ideas were influenced by his adolescent years of captivity in Thebes as a political hostage during the Theban hegemony , especially after meeting with the general Epaminondas . The Macedonians, like the other Greeks, traditionally practiced monogamy , but Philip II practiced polygamy and married seven wives with perhaps only one that did not involve the loyalty of his aristocratic subjects or new allies. His first marriages were to Phila of Elimeia of
25527-450: The far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has 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
25728-524: The financial obligations of the husband to his wife and children should the marriage end. Compared with their counterparts in ancient Greece, Rome, and even more modern places around the world, ancient Egyptian women had a greater range of personal choices, legal rights, and opportunities for achievement. Women such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra VII even became pharaohs, while others wielded power as Divine Wives of Amun . Despite these freedoms, ancient Egyptian women did not often take part in official roles in
25929-555: The first recorded peace treaty , around 1258 BC. Egypt's wealth, however, made it a tempting target for invasion, particularly by the Libyan Berbers to the west, and the Sea Peoples , a conjectured confederation of seafarers from the Aegean Sea . Initially, the military was able to repel these invasions, but Egypt eventually lost control of its remaining territories in southern Canaan , much of it falling to
26130-427: The floodwaters had receded, the growing season lasted from October to February. Farmers plowed and planted seeds in the fields, which were irrigated with ditches and canals. Egypt received little rainfall, so farmers relied on the Nile to water their crops. From March to May, farmers used sickles to harvest their crops, which were then threshed with a flail to separate the straw from the grain. Winnowing removed
26331-417: The following centuries international traders came to rely on coinage. Egyptian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed. Farmers made up the bulk of the population, but agricultural produce was owned directly by the state, temple, or noble family that owned the land. Farmers were also subject to a labor tax and were required to work on irrigation or construction projects in
26532-469: The following year recaptured Pydna and Potidaea, the latter of which he handed over to the Chalcidian League as promised in a treaty. In 356 BC, he took Crenides , refounding it as Philippi , while his general Parmenion defeated the Illyrian king Grabos II of the Grabaei . During the 355–354 BC siege of Methone, Philip II lost his right eye to an arrow wound, but managed to capture
26733-462: The forces of the Chalcidian city of Olynthos , but with the aid of Teleutias , brother of the Spartan king Agesilaus II , the Macedonians forced Olynthos to surrender and dissolve their Chalcidian League in 379 BC. Alexander II ( r. 370–368 BC ), son of Eurydice I and Amyntas III, succeeded his father and immediately invaded Thessaly to wage war against
26934-617: The formation of the Achaean League in 251 BC pushed Macedonian forces out of much of the Peloponnese and at times incorporated Athens and Sparta. While the Seleucid Empire aligned with Antigonid Macedonia against Ptolemaic Egypt during the Syrian Wars , the Ptolemaic navy heavily disrupted Antigonus II's efforts to control mainland Greece. With the aid of the Ptolemaic navy, the Athenian statesman Chremonides led
27135-412: The government, who relied on a bureaucracy of officials to manage his affairs. In charge of the administration was his second in command, the vizier , who acted as the king's representative and coordinated land surveys, the treasury, building projects, the legal system, and the archives . At a regional level, the country was divided into as many as 42 administrative regions called nomes each governed by
27336-484: The governor of Thrace, was dissuaded from rebellion by use of diplomacy. Antipater deferred the punishment of Sparta to the League of Corinth headed by Alexander, who ultimately pardoned the Spartans on the condition that they submit fifty nobles as hostages. Antipater's hegemony was somewhat unpopular in Greece due to his practice (perhaps by order of Alexander) of exiling malcontents and garrisoning cities with Macedonian troops, yet in 330 BC, Alexander declared that
27537-484: The increasing power and wealth of the elite, as well as societal personal-use items, which included combs, small statuary, painted pottery, high quality decorative stone vases , cosmetic palettes , and jewelry made of gold, lapis, and ivory. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience , which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase,
27738-572: The induction of Corinth into the Achaean League. Antigonus II made peace with the Achaean League in 240 BC, ceding the territories that he had lost in Greece. Antigonus II died in 239 BC and was succeeded by his son Demetrius II of Macedon ( r. 239–229 BC ). Seeking an alliance with Macedonia to defend against the Aetolians, the queen mother and regent of Epirus, Olympias II , offered her daughter Phthia of Macedon to Demetrius II in marriage. Demetrius II accepted her proposal, but he damaged relations with
27939-484: The institution of the army, while a few municipalities within the Macedonian commonwealth enjoyed a high degree of autonomy and even had democratic governments with popular assemblies . The name Macedonia ( Greek : Μακεδονία , Makedonía ) comes from the ethnonym Μακεδόνες ( Makedónes ), which itself is derived from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός ( makednós ), meaning "tall, slim", also
28140-532: The king Narmer , who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the ceremonial Narmer Palette, in a symbolic act of unification. In the Early Dynastic Period, which began about 3000 BC, the first of the Dynastic kings solidified control over lower Egypt by establishing a capital at Memphis , from which he could control the labor force and agriculture of the fertile delta region, as well as
28341-411: The king in payment for their services. Kings also made land grants to their mortuary cults and local temples , to ensure that these institutions had the resources to worship the king after his death. Scholars believe that five centuries of these practices slowly eroded the economic vitality of Egypt, and that the economy could no longer afford to support a large centralized administration. As the power of
28542-593: The kingdom's capital to the city of Itjtawy , located in Faiyum . From Itjtawy, the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty undertook a far-sighted land reclamation and irrigation scheme to increase agricultural output in the region. Moreover, the military reconquered territory in Nubia that was rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers built a defensive structure in the Eastern Delta, called the " Walls of
28743-528: The kings diminished, regional governors called nomarchs began to challenge the supremacy of the office of king. This, coupled with severe droughts between 2200 and 2150 BC, is believed to have caused the country to enter the 140-year period of famine and strife known as the First Intermediate Period. After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the administration could no longer support or stabilize
28944-441: The lucrative and critical trade routes to the Levant . The increasing power and wealth of the kings during the early dynastic period was reflected in their elaborate mastaba tombs and mortuary cult structures at Abydos, which were used to celebrate the deified king after his death. The strong institution of kingship developed by the kings served to legitimize state control over the land, labor, and resources that were essential to
29145-464: The mid-first century AD, Christianity took root in Egypt and it was originally seen as another cult that could be accepted. However, it was an uncompromising religion that sought to win converts from the pagan Egyptian and Greco-Roman religions and threatened popular religious traditions. This led to the persecution of converts to Christianity, culminating in the great purges of Diocletian starting in 303, but eventually Christianity won out. In 391,
29346-751: The name of a people related to the Dorians ( Herodotus ), and possibly descriptive of Ancient Macedonians . It is most likely cognate with the adjective μακρός ( makrós ), meaning "long" or "tall" in Ancient Greek . The name is believed to have originally meant either "highlanders", "the tall ones", or "high grown men". Linguist Robert S. P. Beekes claims that both terms are of Pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology, however Filip De Decker rejects Beekesʼ arguments as insufficient. The Classical Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides reported
29547-420: The new conquered lands and advances in philosophy , engineering , and science spread across the empire and beyond. Of particular importance were the contributions of Aristotle , tutor to Alexander, whose writings became a keystone of Western philosophy . After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the ensuing wars of the Diadochi , and the partitioning of Alexander's short-lived empire, Macedonia remained
29748-405: The nobility were the priests, physicians, and engineers with specialized training in their field. It is unclear whether slavery as understood today existed in ancient Egypt; there is difference of opinions among authors. The ancient Egyptians viewed men and women, including people from all social classes, as essentially equal under the law, and even the lowliest peasant was entitled to petition
29949-682: The north, while a rival clan based in Thebes , the Intef family , took control of Upper Egypt in the south. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control northward, a clash between the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around 2055 BC the northern Theban forces under Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II finally defeated the Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands. They inaugurated
30150-405: The northeast, Illyrians to the northwest, and Paeonians to the north, while the lands of Thessaly to the south and Epirus to the west were inhabited by Greeks with similar cultures to that of the Macedonians. A year after Darius I of Persia ( r. 522–486 BC ) launched an invasion into Europe against the Scythians , Paeonians , Thracians , and several Greek city-states of
30351-616: The northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis . The south was effectively controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes , who recognized Smendes in name only. During this time, Libyans had been settling in the western delta, and chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy. Libyan princes took control of the delta under Shoshenq I in 945 BC, founding the so-called Libyan or Bubastite dynasty that would rule for some 200 years. Shoshenq also gained control of southern Egypt by placing his family members in important priestly positions. Libyan control began to erode as
30552-494: The other siding with the infant son of Alexander and Roxana, Alexander IV ( r. 323–309 BC ). Except for the Euboeans and Boeotians, the Greeks also immediately rose up in a rebellion against Antipater known as the Lamian War (323–322 BC). When Antipater was defeated at the 323 BC Battle of Thermopylae , he fled to Lamia where he was besieged by the Athenian commander Leosthenes . A Macedonian army led by Leonnatus rescued Antipater by lifting
30753-407: The outcome of the 321 BC Partition of Triparadisus in Syria where the victorious coalition settled the issue of a new regency and territorial rights. Antipater was appointed as regent over the two kings. Before Antipater died in 319 BC, he named the staunch Argead loyalist Polyperchon as his successor, passing over his own son Cassander and ignoring the right of the king to choose
30954-450: The populations of the area to concentrate along the river region. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was much less arid than it is today . Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates . Foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs, and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl . Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this
31155-467: The possible role of Alexander III "the Great" and his mother Olympias in the assassination of Philip II, noting the latter's choice to exclude Alexander from his planned invasion of Asia, choosing instead for him to act as regent of Greece and deputy hegemon of the League of Corinth, and the potential bearing of another male heir between Philip II and his new wife, Cleopatra Eurydice. Alexander III ( r. 336–323 BC )
31356-477: The previously obscure sun deity Aten as the supreme deity , suppressed the worship of most other deities, and moved the capital to the new city of Akhetaten (modern-day Amarna ). He was devoted to his new religion and artistic style . After his death, the cult of the Aten was quickly abandoned and the traditional religious order restored. The subsequent pharaohs, Tutankhamun , Ay , and Horemheb , worked to erase all mention of Akhenaten's heresy, now known as
31557-559: The provinces became economically richer—which was demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes. In bursts of creativity, provincial artisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribes developed literary styles that expressed the optimism and originality of the period. Free from their loyalties to the king, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control and political power . By 2160 BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt in
31758-407: The reign of Philip II, a Macedonian navy. Unlike the other diadochi successor states , the imperial cult fostered by Alexander was never adopted in Macedonia, yet Macedonian rulers nevertheless assumed roles as high priests of the kingdom and leading patrons of domestic and international cults of the Hellenistic religion . The authority of Macedonian kings was theoretically limited by
31959-475: The reign of four different monarchs: Orestes , son of Archelaus I; Aeropus II , uncle, regent , and murderer of Orestes; Pausanias , son of Aeropus II; and Amyntas II , who was married to the youngest daughter of Archelaus I. Very little is known about this turbulent period; it came to an end when Amyntas III ( r. 393–370 BC ), son of Arrhidaeus and grandson of Amyntas I, killed Pausanias and claimed
32160-420: The role of the Egyptian temple priests and priestesses diminished. The temples themselves were sometimes converted to churches or abandoned to the desert. In the fourth century, as the Roman Empire divided, Egypt found itself in the Eastern Empire with its capital at Constantinople . In the waning years of the Empire, Egypt fell to the Sasanian Persian army in the Sasanian conquest of Egypt (618–628). It
32361-458: The royal cemetery of Aigai. Pyrrhus pursued Antigonus II in the Peloponnese, yet Antigonus II was ultimately able to recapture Macedonia. Pyrrhus was killed while besieging Argos in 272 BC, allowing Antigonus II to reclaim the rest of Greece. He then restored the Argead dynastic graves at Aigai and annexed the Kingdom of Paeonia . The Aetolian League hampered Antigonus II's control over central Greece , and
32562-443: The royal family, King Alexander IV and the queen mother Roxana. The conflict that followed lasted until the winter of 312/311 BC, when a new peace settlement recognized Cassander as general of Europe, Antigonus as "first in Asia", Ptolemy as general of Egypt, and Lysimachus as general of Thrace. Cassander had Alexander IV and Roxana put to death in the winter of 311/310 BC, and between 306 and 305 BC
32763-478: The siege. Antipater defeated the rebellion, yet his death in 319 BC left a power vacuum wherein the two proclaimed kings of Macedonia became pawns in a power struggle between the diadochi , the former generals of Alexander's army. A council of the army convened in Babylon immediately after Alexander's death, naming Philip III as king and the chiliarch Perdiccas as his regent. Antipater, Antigonus Monophthalmus , Craterus , and Ptolemy formed
32964-402: The size of a herd reflected the prestige and importance of the estate or temple that owned them. In addition to cattle, the ancient Egyptians kept sheep, goats, and pigs. Poultry , such as ducks, geese, and pigeons, were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them. The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish . Bees were also domesticated from at least
33165-430: The southwest, Illyria to the northwest, Paeonia to the north, Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south. Before the 4th century BC, Macedonia was a small kingdom outside of the area dominated by the great city-states of Athens , Sparta and Thebes , and briefly subordinate to Achaemenid Persia . During the reign of the Argead king Philip II (359–336 BC), Macedonia subdued mainland Greece and
33366-524: The support of the Macedonians and fled the country. Macedonia was then divided between Pyrrhus and Lysimachus, the former taking western Macedonia and the latter eastern Macedonia. By 286 BC, Lysimachus had expelled Pyrrhus and his forces from Macedonia. In 282 BC, a new war erupted between Seleucus I and Lysimachus; the latter was killed in the Battle of Corupedion , allowing Seleucus I to take control of Thrace and Macedonia. In two dramatic reversals of fortune, Seleucus I
33567-538: The surrender of Philip III and Eurydice's army, allowing Olympias to execute the king and force his queen to commit suicide. Olympias then had Nicanor and dozens of other Macedonian nobles killed, but by the spring of 316 BC, Cassander had defeated her forces, captured her, and placed her on trial for murder before sentencing her to death. Cassander married Philip II's daughter Thessalonike and briefly extended Macedonian control into Illyria as far as Epidamnos (modern Durrës , Albania). By 313 BC, it
33768-403: The survival and growth of ancient Egyptian civilization. Major advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the Old Kingdom , fueled by the increased agricultural productivity and resulting population growth, made possible by a well-developed central administration. Some of ancient Egypt's crowning achievements, the Giza pyramids and Great Sphinx , were constructed during
33969-459: The time being. In 215 BC, at the height of the Second Punic War with the Carthaginian Empire , Roman authorities intercepted a ship off the Calabrian coast holding a Macedonian envoy and a Carthaginian ambassador in possession of a treaty composed by Hannibal declaring an alliance with Philip V. The treaty stipulated that Carthage had the sole right to negotiate the terms of Rome's hypothetical surrender and promised mutual aid if
34170-438: The two states became inevitable. Between 671 and 667 BC the Assyrians began the Assyrian conquest of Egypt . The reigns of both Taharqa and his successor, Tanutamun , were filled with constant conflict with the Assyrians, against whom Egypt enjoyed several victories. Ultimately, the Assyrians pushed the Kushites back into Nubia, occupied Memphis, and sacked the temples of Thebes . The Assyrians left control of Egypt to
34371-399: The tyrant Jason of Pherae . Philip II had some early involvement with the Achaemenid Empire, especially by supporting satraps and mercenaries who rebelled against the central authority of the Achaemenid king. The satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia Artabazos II , who was in rebellion against Artaxerxes III , was able to take refuge as an exile at the Macedonian court from 352 to 342 BC. He
34572-436: The wedding altogether and exiled Alexander's advisors Ptolemy , Nearchus , and Harpalus . To reconcile with Olympias, Philip II had their daughter Cleopatra marry Olympias' brother (and Cleopatra's uncle) Alexander I of Epirus, but Philip II was assassinated by his bodyguard, Pausanias of Orestis , during their wedding feast and succeeded by Alexander in 336 BC. Modern scholars have argued over
34773-449: The wedding feast infuriated Philip II's son Alexander, a veteran of the Battle of Chaeronea, and his mother Olympias. They fled together to Epirus before Alexander was recalled to Pella by Philip II. When Philip II arranged a marriage between his son Arrhidaeus and Ada of Caria , daughter of Pixodarus , the Persian satrap of Caria , Alexander intervened and proposed to marry Ada instead. Philip II then cancelled
34974-429: 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 . The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying , surveying , and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids , temples , and obelisks ;
35175-722: Was a notable source of granite, greywacke , and gold. Flint was the first mineral collected and used to make tools, and flint handaxes are the earliest pieces of evidence of habitation in the Nile valley. Nodules of the mineral were carefully flaked to make blades and arrowheads of moderate hardness and durability even after copper was adopted for this purpose. Ancient Egyptians were among the first to use minerals such as sulfur as cosmetic substances. Macedon Macedonia ( / ˌ m æ s ɪ ˈ d oʊ n i ə / MASS -ih- DOH -nee-ə ; Greek : Μακεδονία , romanized : Makedonía ), also called Macedon ( / ˈ m æ s ɪ d ɒ n / MASS -ih-don ),
35376-460: Was able to put down Arrhabaeus's revolt. Brasidas died in 422 BC, the year Athens and Sparta struck an accord, the Peace of Nicias , that freed Macedonia from its obligations as an Athenian ally. Following the 418 BC Battle of Mantinea , the victorious Spartans formed an alliance with Argos , a military pact Perdiccas II was keen to join given the threat of Spartan allies remaining in Chalcidice. When Argos suddenly switched sides as
35577-482: Was accompanied in exile by his family and by his mercenary general Memnon of Rhodes . Barsine , daughter of Artabazos, and future wife of Alexander the Great, grew up at the Macedonian court. After campaigning against the Thracian ruler Cersobleptes , in 349 BC, Philip II began his war against the Chalcidian League, which had been reestablished in 375 BC following a temporary disbandment. Despite an Athenian intervention by Charidemus , Olynthos
35778-408: Was again forced to flee the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. The Persian king was later captured and executed by his own satrap of Bactria and kinsman, Bessus , in 330 BC. The Macedonian king subsequently hunted down and executed Bessus in what is now Afghanistan , securing the region of Sogdia in the process. At the 326 BC Battle of the Hydaspes (modern-day Punjab ), when
35979-569: Was also able to make peace with the Illyrians who had threatened his borders . Philip II spent his initial years radically transforming the Macedonian army . A reform of its organization, equipment, and training, including the introduction of the Macedonian phalanx armed with long pikes (i.e. the sarissa ), proved immediately successful when tested against his Illyrian and Paeonian enemies. Confusing accounts in ancient sources have led modern scholars to debate how much Philip II's royal predecessors may have contributed to these reforms and
36180-437: Was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece , which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece . The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal Argead dynasty , which was followed by the Antipatrid and Antigonid dynasties. Home to the ancient Macedonians , the earliest kingdom was centered on the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula , and bordered by Epirus to
36381-631: Was assassinated by his brother-in-law Ptolemy of Aloros , the latter acted as an overbearing regent for Perdiccas III ( r. 368–359 BC ), younger brother of Alexander II, who eventually had Ptolemy executed when reaching the age of majority in 365 BC. The remainder of Perdiccas III's reign was marked by political stability and financial recovery. However, an Athenian invasion led by Timotheus , son of Conon , managed to capture Methone and Pydna, and an Illyrian invasion led by Bardylis succeeded in killing Perdiccas III and 4,000 Macedonian troops in battle. Philip II
36582-400: Was assassinated in 281 BC by his officer Ptolemy Keraunos , son of Ptolemy I and grandson of Antipater, who was then proclaimed king of Macedonia before being killed in battle in 279 BC by Celtic invaders in the Gallic invasion of Greece . The Macedonian army proclaimed the general Sosthenes of Macedon as king, although he apparently refused the title. After defeating
36783-443: Was assaulted along with Apollonia by Macedonian forces. When the Macedonians captured Lissus in 212 BC, the Roman Senate responded by inciting the Aetolian League, Sparta, Elis , Messenia , and Attalus I ( r. 241–197 BC ) of Pergamon to wage war against Philip V, keeping him occupied and away from Italy. The Aetolian League concluded a peace agreement with Philip V in 206 BC, and
36984-423: Was based on a common-sense view of right and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a complicated set of statutes. Local councils of elders, known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. More serious cases involving murder, major land transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to
37185-454: Was blockaded at Bargylia by the Rhodian and Pergamene navies. While Philip V was busy fighting Rome's Greek allies, Rome viewed this as an opportunity to punish this former ally of Hannibal with a war that they hoped would supply a victory and require few resources. The Roman Senate demanded that Philip V cease hostilities against neighboring Greek powers and defer to an international arbitration committee for settling grievances. When
37386-479: Was captured by Philip II in 348 BC, and its inhabitants were sold into slavery , including some Athenian citizens . The Athenians, especially in a series of speeches by Demosthenes known as the Olynthiacs , were unsuccessful in persuading their allies to counterattack and in 346 BC concluded a treaty with Macedonia known as the Peace of Philocrates . The treaty stipulated that Athens would relinquish claims to Macedonian coastal territories,
37587-421: Was crucial in ancient Egypt because taxes were assessed based on the amount of land a person owned. Farming in Egypt was dependent on the cycle of the Nile River. The Egyptians recognized three seasons: Akhet (flooding), Peret (planting), and Shemu (harvesting). The flooding season lasted from June to September, depositing on the river's banks a layer of mineral-rich silt ideal for growing crops. After
37788-504: Was delayed by negotiations with the Spartan king Nabis , who had meanwhile captured Argos, yet Roman forces evacuated Greece in 194 BC. Encouraged by the Aetolian League and their calls to liberate Greece from the Romans, the Seleucid king Antiochus III landed with his army at Demetrias , Thessaly, in 192 BC, and was elected strategos by the Aetolians. Macedonia, the Achaean League, and other Greek city-states maintained their alliance with Rome. The Romans defeated
37989-411: Was faced with some internal revolts and had to fend off an invasion of Illyrians led by Sirras of Lynkestis, he was able to project Macedonian power into Thessaly where he sent military aid to his allies. Although he retained Aigai as a ceremonial and religious center, Archelaus I moved the capital of the kingdom north to Pella , which was then positioned by a lake with a river connecting it to
38190-446: Was finally struck in 255 BC. In 251 BC, Aratus of Sicyon led a rebellion against Antigonus II, and in 250 BC, Ptolemy II declared his support for the self-proclaimed King Alexander of Corinth . Although Alexander died in 246 BC and Antigonus was able to score a naval victory against the Ptolemies at Andros , the Macedonians lost the Acrocorinth to the forces of Aratus in 243 BC, followed by
38391-417: Was forced to retreat to Macedonia when Demetrius invaded Boeotia to his rear, attempting to sever his path of retreat. While Antigonus and Demetrius attempted to recreate Philip II's Hellenic league with themselves as dual hegemons, a revived coalition of Cassander, Ptolemy I Soter ( r. 305–283 BC ) of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty , Seleucus I Nicator ( r. 305–281 BC ) of
38592-424: Was immediately proclaimed king by an assembly of the army and leading aristocrats, chief among them being Antipater and Parmenion. By the end of his reign and military career in 323 BC, Alexander would rule over an empire consisting of mainland Greece , Asia Minor , the Levant , ancient Egypt , Mesopotamia , Persia , and much of Central and South Asia (i.e. modern Pakistan ). Among his first acts
38793-420: Was lenient toward Athens, wishing to utilize their navy in a planned invasion of the Achaemenid Empire. He was then chiefly responsible for the formation of the League of Corinth that included the major Greek city-states except Sparta. Despite the Kingdom of Macedonia's official exclusion from the league, in 337 BC, Philip II was elected as the leader ( hegemon ) of its council ( synedrion ) and
38994-425: Was never able to overthrow the Persians until the end of the century. Following its annexation by Persia, Egypt was joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia in the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Persian Empire . This first period of Persian rule over Egypt, also known as the Twenty-Seventh Dynasty , ended in 402 BC, when Egypt regained independence under a series of native dynasties. The last of these dynasties,
39195-536: Was retaken by the Illyrian king Glaucias of Taulantii . By 316 BC, Antigonus had taken the territory of Eumenes and managed to eject Seleucus Nicator from his Babylonian satrapy, leading Cassander, Ptolemy, and Lysimachus to issue a joint ultimatum to Antigonus in 315 BC for him to surrender various territories in Asia. Antigonus promptly allied with Polyperchon, now based in Corinth, and issued an ultimatum of his own to Cassander, charging him with murder for executing Olympias and demanding that he hand over
39396-409: Was returned to Macedonia and much of Chalcidice to Athens in a peace treaty brokered by Sitalces, who provided Athens with military aid in exchange for acquiring new Thracian allies. Perdiccas II sided with Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, and in 429 BC Athens retaliated by persuading Sitalces to invade Macedonia, but he was forced to retreat owing to
39597-401: Was situated along the Haliacmon and Axius rivers in Lower Macedonia , north of Mount Olympus . Historian Robert Malcolm Errington suggests that one of the earliest Argead kings established Aigai (modern Vergina ) as their capital in the mid-7th century BC. Before the 4th century BC, the kingdom covered a region corresponding roughly to the western and central parts of
39798-405: Was the burial of his father at Aigai. The members of the League of Corinth revolted at the news of Philip II's death, but were soon quelled by military force alongside persuasive diplomacy, electing Alexander as hegemon of the league to carry out the planned invasion of Achaemenid Persia. In 335 BC, Alexander fought against the Thracian tribe of the Triballi at Haemus Mons and along
39999-419: Was then recaptured by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (629–639), and was finally captured by Muslim Rashidun army in 639–641, marking the end of both Byzantine rule and of the period typically considered Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The king was the supreme military commander and head of
40200-453: Was twenty-four years old when he acceded to the throne in 359 BC. Through the use of deft diplomacy, he was able to convince the Thracians under Berisades to cease their support of Pausanias , a pretender to the throne, and the Athenians to halt their support of another pretender . He achieved these by bribing the Thracians and their Paeonian allies and establishing a treaty with Athens that relinquished his claims to Amphipolis. He
40401-420: Was used to weave sheets of linen and to make clothing. Papyrus growing on the banks of the Nile River was used to make paper. Vegetables and fruits were grown in garden plots, close to habitations and on higher ground, and had to be watered by hand. Vegetables included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition to grapes that were made into wine. The Egyptians believed that
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