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163-602: From the 3rd century BC to 3rd century AD, northern Nubia was invaded and annexed to Egypt, ruled by the Greeks and Romans . This territory was known in the Greco-Roman world as Dodekaschoinos . Kush's collapse in the fourth century AD was preceded by an invasion from the Ethiopian Kingdom of Aksum and the rise of three Christian kingdoms: Nobatia , Makuria and Alodia . Makuria and Alodia lasted for roughly

326-658: A Greek polis founded by Alexander, became the capital city and a major center of Greek culture, learning, and trade for the next several centuries. Following the Syrian Wars with the Seleucid Empire , a rival Hellenistic state, the Ptolemaic Kingdom expanded its territory to include eastern Libya , the Sinai , and northern Nubia . To legitimize their rule and gain recognition from native Egyptians,

489-408: A Ptolemaic queen deified Arsinoe II as Hera. Coins from this period also show Arsinoe II with a diadem that is solely worn by goddesses and deified royal women. The Statuette of Arsinoe II was created c. 150–100 BC, well after her death, as a part of her own specific posthumous cult which was started by her husband Ptolemy II. The figure also exemplifies the fusing of Greek and Egyptian art. Although

652-761: A Roman woman). Their union produced three children; the twins Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios , and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphos . Mark Antony's alliance with Cleopatra angered Rome even more. Branded a power-hungry enchantress by the Romans, she was accused of seducing Antony to further her conquest of Rome. Further outrage followed at the donations of Alexandria ceremony in autumn of 34 BC in which Tarsus , Cyrene , Crete , Cyprus , and Judaea were all to be given as client monarchies to Antony's children by Cleopatra. In his will Antony expressed his desire to be buried in Alexandria, rather than taken to Rome in

815-463: A common "Saharan-Sudanese culture", and drew their reinforcements from the same great source, even though, as time went by, they also absorbed a number of wanderers from the Near East". Biological anthropologists Shomarka Keita and A.J. Boyce have stated that the "Studies of crania from southern predynastic Egypt , from the formative period (4000-3100 B.C.), show them usually to be more similar to

978-480: A continuation of developments based on Egyptian art tradition from the Thirtieth Dynasty . Such behavior expanded the rulers' social and political capital and demonstrated their loyalty toward Egyptian deities, to the satisfaction of the local people. Temples remained very New Kingdom and Late Period Egyptian in style though resources were oftentimes provided by foreign powers. Temples were models of

1141-485: A declination of −36.51 degrees, for a rising azimuth exactly on the C-line average". However, according to Malville, Schild et al. (2007) the dates proposed by Brophy are inconsistent with the archaeological evidence, and "inference in archaeoastronomy must always be guided and informed by archaeology, especially when substantial field work has been performed in the region". They also concluded that, on closer inspection,

1304-576: A large circular dwelling, and a palace-like structure. Classic Kerma rulers employed "a good many Egyptians", according to the Egyptian Execration texts. Kerma culture was militaristic, as attested by many archers' burials and bronze daggers/swords found in their graves. Other signs of Nubia's military prowess are the frequent use of Nubians in Egypt's military and Egypt's need to construct numerous fortresses to defend their southern border from

1467-590: A lasting legacy that was merged with indigenous C-group customs. Egyptians remaining at the garrison towns started to merge with the C-group Nubians in Lower Nubia. The C-group quickly adopted Egyptian customs and culture, as attested by their graves, and lived together with the remaining Egyptians in garrison towns. After Upper Nubia annexed Lower Nubia around 1700 BC, the Kingdom of Kush began to control

1630-619: A long but minor presence in Egypt long before Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria. It began when Greek colonists, encouraged by many Pharaohs, set up the trading post of Naucratis . As Egypt came under foreign domination and decline, the Pharaohs depended on the Greeks as mercenaries and even advisors. When the Persians took over Egypt, Naucratis remained an important Greek port and

1793-677: A military occupation of Thebes to the High Priest, which later led to the Civil war in Thebes. By 1082 BC, Ramesses XI finally sent help to the High Priest. Panehesy continued his revolt and the city of Thebes suffered from "war, famine, and plunderings". Panehesy initially succeeded and the High Priest fled Thebes. Panehesy pursued the High Priest as far as Middle Egypt before Egyptian forces pushed Panehesy and his troops out of Egypt and into Lower Nubia. Ramesses sent new leadership to Thebes: Herihor

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1956-619: A millennium. Their eventual decline started not only the partition of Nubia, which was split into the northern half conquered by the Ottomans and the southern half by the Sennar sultanate , in the sixteenth century, but also a rapid Islamization and partial Arabization of the Nubian people . Nubia was reunited with the Khedivate of Egypt in the nineteenth century. Today, the region of Nubia

2119-497: A misnomer as the spaces between the pairs of stones in the gates are a bit too wide, and the distances between the gates are too short for accurate calendar measurements." An inventory of Egyptian archaeoastronomical sites for the UNESCO World Heritage Convention evaluated Nabta Playa as having "hypothetical solar and stellar alignments." Astrophysicist Thomas G. Brophy suggests the hypothesis that

2282-751: A monumental scale." At Karnak, the Sacred Lake structures, the kiosk in the first court, and the colonnades at the temple entrance are all built by Taharqa and Mentuemhet. In addition to architecture, the Kingdom of Kush was deeply influenced by Egyptian culture. By 780 BC, Amun was the main god of Kush and "intense contacts with Thebes" were maintained. Kush used the methods of Egyptian art and writing. The Nubian elite adopted many Egyptian customs and gave their children Egyptian names. Although some Nubian customs and beliefs (e.g. burial practices) continued to be practiced, Egyptianization dominated in ideas, practices, and iconography. The cultural Egyptianization of Nubia

2445-597: A new, more organised group began to use the site, burying cattle in clay-lined chambers and building other tumuli. Around 4800 BC a stone circle was constructed, with narrow slabs approximately aligned with the summer solstice, near the beginning of the rainy season. More complex structures followed during a megalith period the researchers dated to between about 4500 BC to 3600 BC. Using their original measurements, complemented by satellite imagery and GPS measurements by Brophy and Rosen, they confirmed possible alignments with Sirius, Arcturus , Alpha Centauri , and

2608-451: A palace built by Caesar in their honor. In 44 BC, Caesar was murdered in Rome by several Senators . With his death, Rome split between supporters of Mark Antony and Octavian . When Mark Antony seemed to prevail, Cleopatra supported him and, shortly after, they too became lovers and eventually married in Egypt (though their marriage was never recognized by Roman law, as Antony was married to

2771-679: A practice that, while pleasing to the Egyptian population, had serious consequences in later reigns. The material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height under Ptolemy II. Callimachus , keeper of the Library of Alexandria , Theocritus , and a host of other poets, glorified the Ptolemaic family. Ptolemy himself was eager to increase the library and to patronise scientific research. He spent lavishly on making Alexandria

2934-403: A puppet king. Philometor's younger brother (later Ptolemy VIII Physcon ) was installed as king by the Ptolemaic court in Alexandria. When Antiochus withdrew, the brothers agreed to reign jointly with their sister Cleopatra II . They soon fell out, however, and quarrels between the two brothers allowed Rome to interfere and to steadily increase its influence in Egypt. Philometor eventually regained

3097-536: A range from idealistic to realistic. An example of realistic portrayal is the Berlin Green Head, which shows the non-idealistic facial features with vertical lines above the bridge of the nose, lines at the corners of the eyes and between the nose and the mouth. The influence of Greek art was shown in an emphasis on the face that was not previously present in Egyptian art and incorporation of Greek elements into an Egyptian setting: individualistic hairstyles,

3260-482: A research centre located in the royal sector of the city. Its scholars were housed in the same sector and funded by Ptolemaic rulers. The chief librarian served also as the crown prince's tutor. For the first hundred and fifty years of its existence, the library drew the top Greek scholars from all over the Hellenistic world. It was a key academic, literary and scientific centre in antiquity. Greek culture had

3423-461: A series of civil wars and feuds between the members of the Ptolemaic dynasty started and lasted for over a century. Philometor was succeeded by yet another infant, his son Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator . But Physcon soon returned, killed his young nephew, seized the throne and as Ptolemy VIII soon proved himself a cruel tyrant. On his death in 116 BC he left the kingdom to his wife Cleopatra III and her son Ptolemy IX Philometor Soter II . The young king

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3586-540: A series of small kingdoms. There is debate over whether the C-group people, who flourished from 2500 BC to 1500 BC, were another internal evolution or invaders. O'Connor states "a transition from A group into a later culture, the C-group, can be traced" and the C-group culture was typical of Lower Nubia from 2400 to 1650 BC. Although they lived in close proximity to each other, Nubians did not acculturate much to Egyptian culture. Notable exceptions include C-group Nubians during

3749-472: A series of towns below the Second Cataract with heavy fortresses that had enclosures and drawbridges. Sesotris III relentlessly expanded his kingdom into Nubia (from 1866 to 1863 BC) and erected massive river forts including Buhen , Semna , Shalfak and Toshka at Uronarti to gain more control over the trade routes in Lower Nubia. They also provided direct access to trade with Upper Nubia, which

3912-564: A team of archaeologists, excavated a series of Holocene pottery from Nabta Playa which represented the earliest phase of ceramic production in the Saharan region and were described as "relatively sophisticated bowls decorated with a toothed wheel". Also, they argued that the pottery from the region had an important role in shaping the cultural development of the Eastern Sahara during the early Holocene period. The authors concluded that it

4075-479: A typical Egyptian Pharaoh and actively supported the Egyptian priestly elite through donations and temple construction. Ptolemy III had introduced an important innovation in 238 BC by holding a synod of all the priests of Egypt at Canopus . Ptolemy IV continued this tradition by holding his own synod at Memphis in 217 BC, after the victory celebrations of the Fourth Syrian War. The result of this synod

4238-485: Is indicative of her role as a goddess of resurrection, since black is both the color of the fertile land of Egypt and that of the underworld. However, there is no known depiction of her painted during her lifetime (she is represented with the same light skin as other represented individuals in tomb TT15, before her deification); the earliest black skin depiction appears in tomb TT161, c. 150 years after her death. Egyptologist Barbara Lesko wrote in 1996 that Ahmose-Nefertari

4401-515: Is made of Cleopatra and Antony's sons in the known historical texts of that time, but their daughter Cleopatra Selene was eventually married through arrangement by Octavian into the Mauretanian royal line, one of Rome's many client monarchies. Through Cleopatra Selene's offspring the Ptolemaic line intermarried back into the Roman nobility for centuries. With the deaths of Cleopatra and Caesarion,

4564-484: Is separated from other scenes by two vertical columns of texts. The figures in the scenes are smooth, rounded, and high relief, a style continued throughout the 30th Dynasty. The relief represents the interaction between the Ptolemaic kings and the Egyptian deities, which legitimized their rule in Egypt . In Ptolemaic art, the idealism seen in the art of previous dynasties continues, with some alterations. Women are portrayed as more youthful, and men begin to be portrayed in

4727-543: Is split between Egypt and Sudan. The primarily archaeological science dealing with ancient Nubia is called Nubiology . Historically, the people of Nubia spoke at least two varieties of Nubian languages , a subfamily that includes Nobiin (the descendant of Old Nubian), Dongolawi , Midob and several related varieties in the northern part of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan . The Birgid language

4890-477: Is the fifth millennium alignments of stele to bright stars. They conclude their report by writing that "The symbolism embedded in the archaeological record of Nabta Playa in the Fifth Millennium BC is very basic, focussed on issues of major practical importance to the nomads: cattle, water, death, earth, sun and stars." In 2011, Maciej Jórdeczka, Halina Królik, Mirosław Masojć and Romuald Schild,

5053-477: The 10th millennium BC , this region of the Nubian Desert began to receive more rainfall, filling a lake. Early people may have been attracted to the region due to the source of water. Archaeological findings indicate the presence of small seasonal camps in the region dating to the 9th – 8th millennia BC . Fred Wendorf , the site's discoverer, and ethno-linguist Christopher Ehret have suggested that

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5216-657: The 5th millennium BC these peoples fashioned what may be among the world's earliest known archeoastronomical devices (roughly contemporary to the Goseck circle in Germany and the Mnajdra megalithic temple complex in Malta). These include alignments of stones that may have indicated the rising of certain stars and a " calendar circle" that indicates the approximate direction of summer solstice sunrise. "Calendar circle" may be

5379-480: The 6th millennium BC , evidence of a prehistoric religion or cult appears. From 5500 BC the Late Neolithic period began, with "a new group that had a complex social system expressed in a degree of organisation and control not previously seen." These new people were responsible for sacrificial cattle burials in clay -lined and roofed chambers covered by rough stone tumuli. It has been suggested that

5542-562: The C-Group culture and the Blemmyes ) spoke Cushitic languages before the spread of Eastern Sudanic languages from southern or Upper Nubia . Nubia was divided into three major regions: Upper, Middle, and Lower Nubia, in reference to their locations along the Nile . "Lower" referred to regions downstream (further north) and "upper" to regions upstream (further south). Lower Nubia lay between

5705-679: The First Dynasty of Egypt buried at Abydos were of Nubian origin. However, several biological anthropological studies have shown the Badarian and Naqada people to be closely related to the Nubian and other, tropical African populations. Also, the proto-dynastic kings emerged from the Naqada region. A uniform culture of nomadic herders, called the Gash group , existed from 3000 to 1500 BC to

5868-955: The Medjay ( mḏꜣ ,) arriving from the desert east of the Nile river. One feature of Pan Grave culture was shallow grave burial. The Pan Grave and C-Group definitely interacted: Pan Grave pottery is characterized by more limited incised lines than the C-Group's and generally have interspersed undecorated spaces within the geometric schemes. In 2300 BC, Nubia was first mentioned in Old Kingdom Egyptian accounts of trade missions. The Egyptians referred to Lower Nubia as Wawat, Irtjet, and Setju, while they referred to Upper Nubia as Yam. Some authors believe that Irtjet and Setju could also have been in Upper Nubia. They referred to Nubians dwelling near

6031-601: The Musaeum was supplemented by a second library built in the Serapeum . He was said to have had every book unloaded in the Alexandria docks seized and copied, returning the copies to their owners and keeping the originals for the Library. It is said that he borrowed the official manuscripts of Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides from Athens and forfeited the considerable deposit he paid for them in order to keep them for

6194-516: The Nile Valley . The people of Nabta Playa had villages with 'planned' layouts, with deep wells that held water year-round. Findings also indicate that the region was occupied only seasonally, most likely only in the summer , when the local lake had adequate water for grazing cattle . Comparative research suggests the indigenous inhabitants may have a significantly more advanced knowledge of astronomy than previously thought possible. By

6357-470: The Roman Senate . The main Roman interest in Egypt was always the reliable delivery of grain to the city of Rome. To this end the Roman administration made no change to the Ptolemaic system of government, although Romans replaced Greeks in the highest offices. But Greeks continued to staff most of the administrative offices and Greek remained the language of government except at the highest levels. Unlike

6520-518: The Seleucid Empire when his sister, Queen Berenice , and her son were murdered in a dynastic dispute. Ptolemy marched into the heart of the Seleucid realm, as far as Babylonia , while his fleets in the Aegean Sea made fresh conquests as far north as Thrace . This victory marked the zenith of the Ptolemaic power. Seleucus II Callinicus kept his throne, but Egyptian fleets controlled most of

6683-582: The Sudanese region . Pottery decorations included complex patterns of impressions applied with a comb in a rocking motion. Joel D. Irish (2001), reported in "Holocene Settlement of the Egyptian Sahara", based on osteological and dental data suggested a mainly sub-Saharan African affinity and origin at Nabta (with sub-Saharan tendencies most commonly detected), but also possible North African tendencies, concluding that, "Henneberg et al. suggest that

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6846-750: The Twelfth Dynasty had strong Nubian features, due to the origin of the dynasty in the Aswan region of southern Egypt. He also identified the pharaoh Sequenre Tao of the Seventeenth Dynasty , as having Nubian features. Many scholars in recent years have argued that the mother of Amenemhat I, founder of the Twelfth Dynasty was of Nubian origin. After a period of withdrawal, the Middle Kingdom of Egypt conquered Lower Nubia from 2000 to 1700 BC. By 1900 BC, King Sesostris I began building

7009-505: The battle of Panium in 200 BC transferred Coele-Syria from Ptolemaic to Seleucid control. After this defeat Egypt formed an alliance with the rising power in the Mediterranean, Rome . Once he reached adulthood Epiphanes became a tyrant, before his early death in 180 BC. He was succeeded by his infant son Ptolemy VI Philometor . In 170 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt and captured Philometor, installing him at Memphis as

7172-497: The nomads had contact with extra-galactic aliens are inconsistent with the archaeological record." They propose that the area was first used as what they call a "regional ceremonial centre" around 6100 BC to 5600 BC with people coming from various locations to gather on the dunes surrounding the playa where there is archaeological evidence for gatherings that involved large numbers of cattle bones, as cattle were normally only killed on important occasions. Around 5500 BC

7335-464: The 15th Dynasty, isolated Nubian communities in Egypt, and some bowmen communities. C-Group pottery is characterized by all-over incised geometric lines with white infill and impressed imitations of basketry. Lower Nubia was controlled by Egypt from 2000 to 1700 BC and Upper Nubia from 1700 to 1525 BC. From 2200 to 1700 BC, the Pan Grave culture appeared in Lower Nubia. Some of the people were likely

7498-535: The 25th Dynasty's founder and "central to a myth of the origins of the kingdom". Alara's sister was the priestess of Amun, which created a system of royal secession and an "ideology of royal power in which Kushite concepts and practice were united with contemporary Egyptian concepts of kingship". Later, Kashta's daughter, the Kushite princess Amenirdis, was installed as God's Wife of Amun Elect and later Divine Adoratrice (effectively governor of Upper Egypt), which signaled

7661-470: The Belt of Orion. They suggest that there are three pieces of evidence suggesting astronomical observations by the herdsmen using the site, which may have functioned as a necropolis . "The repetitive orientation of megaliths, stele, human burials and cattle burials reveals a very early symbolic connection to the north." Secondly, there is the orientation of the cromlech mentioned above. The third piece of evidence

7824-459: The C-group in Upper Nubia vanish by 2000 BC and Kerma culture began to dominate Upper Nubia. The power of an independent Upper Nubia increased around 1700 BC and Upper Nubia dominated Lower Nubia. An Egyptian official, Harkhuf, mentions that Irtjet, Setjet, and Wawat all combined under a single ruler. By 1650 BC, Egyptian texts started to refer to only two kingdoms in Nubia: Kush and Shaat. Kush

7987-513: The C-line of megaliths "consists of stones resting on the sides and tops of dunes and may not represent an original set of aligned stele". They also criticised suggestions made by Brophy in his 2002 book The Origin Map that there was a representation of the Milky Way as it was in 17,500 BC and maps of Orion at 16,500 BC, saying "These extremely early dates as well as the proposition that

8150-584: The Early A-Group culture , arose in Lower Nubia. They were sedentary agriculturalists, traded with the Egyptians and exported gold. This trade is supported archaeologically by large amounts of Egyptian commodities deposited in the A-Group graves. The imports consisted of gold objects, copper tools, faience amulets and beads, seals, slate palettes, stone vessels, and a variety of pots. During this time,

8313-655: The Egyptian Nile Valley during these periods, which may be due to problems in site preservation. Several scholars have argued that the African origins of the Egyptian civilization derived from pastoral communities which emerged in both the Egyptian and Sudanese regions of the Nile Valley in the fifth millennium BCE. Dietrich Wildung (2018) examined Eastern Saharan pottery styles and Sudanese stone sculptures and suggested these artefacts were transmitted across

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8476-422: The Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, with many of their line ruling jointly with their spouses, who were also of the royal house. This custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the later Ptolemies were increasingly feeble. The only basilissa - regnant or female Pharaohs to officially rule on their own were Cleopatra II , Berenice III and Berenice IV . Cleopatra V did co-rule, but it

8639-461: The Egyptian gods Apis and Osiris with the Greek deities Zeus, Hades, Asklepios , Dionysos, and Helios; he had powers over fertility, the sun, funerary rites, and medicine. His growth and popularity reflected a deliberate policy by the Ptolemaic state, and was characteristic of the dynasty's use of Egyptian religion to legitimize their rule and strengthen their control. Nabta Playa Nabta Playa

8802-631: The Egyptian military as scouts and minor workers before being incorporated into the Egyptian army. In the army, the Medjay served as garrison troops in Egyptian fortifications in Nubia and patrolled the deserts as a kind of gendarmerie , or elite paramilitary police force, to prevent their fellow Medjay tribespeople from further attacking Egyptian assets in the region. The Medjay were often used to protect valuable areas, especially royal and religious complexes. Although they are most notable for their protection of

8965-424: The Egyptian occupation of Nubia, there were temple towns with Egyptian cults, but "production and redistribution" was based mostly on indigenous social structures. The El Kurru chiefdom likely played a major role in the development of the Kingdom of Kush due to its access to gold producing areas, control of caravan routes, more arable land, and participation in international trade. "There can be no doubt that el-Kurru

9128-626: The Egyptian or the Hellenistic style, but over time, these characteristics began to combine. The continuation of the Egyptian art style evidences the Ptolemies' commitment to maintaining Egyptian customs. This strategy not only helped to legitimize their rule, but also placated the general population. Greek-style art was also created during this time and existed in parallel to the more traditional Egyptian art, which could not be altered significantly without changing its intrinsic, primarily-religious function. Art found outside of Egypt itself, though within

9291-432: The Egyptian people and recognized the importance of their religion and traditions. During the reign of Ptolemies II and III, thousands of Macedonian veterans were rewarded with grants of farm lands, and Macedonians were planted in colonies and garrisons or settled themselves in villages throughout the country. Upper Egypt , farthest from the centre of government, was less immediately affected, even though Ptolemy I established

9454-496: The Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion , but he appointed Macedonians to virtually all the senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria , to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the rest of the Achaemenid Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia . He left Cleomenes of Naucratis as

9617-858: The First and the Second Cataracts within the current borders of Egypt, Middle Nubia lay between the Second and the Third Cataracts, and Upper Nubia lay south of the Third Cataract. Archaeological evidence attests to long histories of fishing-hunting-gathering, and later herding, throughout the Nile Valley. Affad 23 is an archaeological site located in the Affad region of southern Dongola Reach in northern Sudan , which hosts "the well-preserved remains of prehistoric camps (relics of

9780-451: The Great conquered Persian-controlled Egypt in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Achaemenid Empire . His death in 323 BC was followed by rapid unraveling of the Macedonian Empire amid competing claims by the diadochi , his closest friends and companions. Ptolemy, a Macedonian who was one of Alexander's most trusted generals and confidants, won control of Egypt from his rivals and declared himself its ruler. Alexandria ,

9943-442: The Greek colony of Ptolemais Hermiou to be its capital. But within a century, Greek influence had spread through the country and intermarriage had produced a large Greco-Egyptian educated class. Nevertheless, the Greeks always remained a privileged minority in Ptolemaic Egypt. They lived under Greek law, received a Greek education, were tried in Greek courts, and were citizens of Greek cities. The first part of Ptolemy I 's reign

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10106-420: The Greeks, the Romans did not settle in Egypt in large numbers. Culture, education and civic life largely remained Greek throughout the Roman period. The Romans, like the Ptolemies, respected and protected Egyptian religion and customs, although the cult of the Roman state and of the Emperor was gradually introduced. Ptolemy I, perhaps with advice from Demetrius of Phalerum , founded the Library of Alexandria ,

10269-402: The Hellenistic Greek ideology of the victorious king and his ruler cult. Misrule by the Pharaoh in Alexandria led to a nearly successful revolt, led by a priest named Hugronaphor . He proclaimed himself Pharaoh in 205 BC, and ruled upper Egypt until his death in 199 BC. He was succeeded by his son Ankhmakis , whose forces nearly drove the Ptolemies out of the country. The revolutionary dynasty

10432-468: The Kushite conquest of Egyptian territories. The Napatan Empire ushered in the age of Egyptian archaism, or a return to a historical past, which was embodied by a concentrated effort at religious renewal and restoration of Egypt's holy places. Piye expanded the Temple of Amun at Jebel Barkal by adding "an immense colonnaded forecourt". Shabaka restored the great Egyptian monuments and temples, "unlike his Libyan predecessors". Taharqa enriched Thebes on

10595-426: The Library rather than returning them. The most distinguished scholar at Ptolemy III's court was the polymath and geographer Eratosthenes , most noted for his remarkably accurate calculation of the circumference of the world . Other prominent scholars include the mathematicians Conon of Samos and Apollonius of Perge . Ptolemy III financed construction projects at temples across Egypt. The most significant of these

10758-449: The Nabta Playa people may have been most similar to Negroes from south of the Sahara. The present qualitative dental comparison tentatively supports this conclusion.". Some researchers, including Christopher Ehret, have suggested a Nilo-Saharan linguistic affinity for the Nabta people. Archaeological discoveries reveal that these New Stone Age peoples seem to have lived more organized lives than their contemporaries nearer to and in

10921-402: The Naqada people and the Nubian A-Group people were from different cultures. Kathryn Bard states that "Naqada cultural burials contain very few Nubian craft goods, which suggests that while Egyptian goods were exported to Nubia and were buried in A-Group graves, A-Group goods were of little interest further north." According to anthropologist Jane Hill, there is no evidence that the pharaohs of

11084-411: The New Kingdom pharaohs brought all of Nubia under Egyptian rule from 1500 to 1070 BC. After 1070 BC, there were continued hostilities with Egypt, which led Nubians to concentrate in Upper Nubia. Within 200 years, a fully formed Kushite state, based at Napata, began to exert its influence on Upper (Southern) Egypt. When the Middle Kingdom Egyptians pulled out of the Napata region around 1700 BC, they left

11247-402: The Nile Valley and influenced the pre-dynastic Egyptian culture in the Neolithic period. The poorly known " pre-Kerma " culture existed in Upper (Southern) Nubia on a stretch of fertile farmland just south of the Third Cataract . Nubia has one of the oldest civilizations in the world. This history is often intertwined with Egypt to the north. Around 3500 BC, the second "Nubian" culture, termed

11410-444: The Nile while attempting to flee with his remaining army. In the summer of 47 BC, having married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV , Cleopatra embarked with Caesar for a two-month trip along the Nile. Together, they visited Dendara , where Cleopatra was being worshiped as pharaoh, an honor beyond Caesar's reach. They became lovers and had a son, Caesarion . In 45 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion left Alexandria for Rome, where they stayed in

11573-680: The Nubians began creating distinctive black topped, red pottery. The A-Group population have been described as ethnically “very similar” to the pre-dynastic Egyptians in physical characteristics. Around 3100 BC, the A-group transitioned from the Early to Classical phases. "Arguably royal burials are known only at Qustul and possibly Sayala." During this period, the wealth of A-group kings rivaled Egyptian kings. Royal A-group graves contained gold and richly decorated pottery. Some scholars believe Nubian A-Group rulers and early Egyptian pharaohs used related royal symbols; similarities in A-Group Nubia and Upper Egypt rock art support this position. Scholars from

11736-542: The Nubians. Despite assimilation, the Nubian elite remained rebellious during Egyptian occupation. There were numerous rebellions and "military conflict occurred almost under every reign until the 20th dynasty". At one point, Kerma came very close to conquering Egypt: Egypt suffered a serious defeat at the hands of the Kingdom of Kush . According to Davies, head of the joint British Museum and Egyptian archaeological team,

11899-509: The Ptolemaic Kingdom, sometimes used Egyptian iconography as it had been used previously, and sometimes adapted it. For example, the faience sistrum inscribed with the name of Ptolemy has some deceptively Greek characteristics, such as the scrolls at the top. However, there are many examples of nearly identical sistrums and columns dating all the way to Dynasty 18 in the New Kingdom. It is, therefore, purely Egyptian in style. Aside from

12062-404: The Ptolemaic claim to rule the whole of Nubia. The aforementioned inscription regarding the priests of Mandulis shows that some Nubian leaders at least were paying tribute to the Ptolemaic treasury in this period. In order to secure the region, the strategos of Upper Egypt, Boethus , founded two new cities, named Philometris and Cleopatra in honour of the royal couple. After Ptolemy VI's death

12225-465: The Ptolemaic empire. During the reign of Ptolemy II, Arsinoe II was deified either as stand-alone goddesses or as a personification of another divine figure and given their own sanctuaries and festivals in association to both Egyptian and Hellenistic gods (such as Isis of Egypt and Hera of Greece). For example, Head Attributed to Arsinoe II deified her as an Egyptian goddess. However, the Marble head of

12388-649: The Ptolemies adopted the local title of pharaoh , alongside the Greek title of basileus , and had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress; however, the monarchy otherwise rigorously maintained its Hellenistic character and traditions. The kingdom had a complex government bureaucracy that exploited the country's vast economic resources to the benefit of a Greek ruling class, which dominated military, political, and economic affairs, and which rarely integrated into Egyptian society and culture. Native Egyptians maintained power over local and religious institutions, and only gradually accrued power in

12551-455: The Qustul rulers adopted or emulated the symbols of Egyptian pharaohs. According to David Wengrow , the A-Group polity of the late 4th millenninum BCE is poorly understood since most of the archaeological remains are submerged underneath Lake Nasser. Frank Yurco also remarked that depictions of pharonic iconography such as the royal crowns, Horus falcons and victory scenes were concentrated in

12714-479: The Romans in order to regain and secure his throne following the rebellion and brief coup led by his older daughters, Tryphaena and Berenice IV . Both daughters were killed in Auletes' reclaiming of his throne; Tryphaena by assassination and Berenice by execution, leaving Cleopatra VII as the oldest surviving child of Ptolemy Auletes. Traditionally, Ptolemaic royal siblings were married to one another on ascension to

12877-534: The University of Chicago Oriental Institute excavated at Qustul (near Abu Simbel in Sudan), in 1960–64, and found artifacts which incorporated images associated with Egyptian pharaohs. Archeologist Bruce Williams studied the artifacts and concluded that "Egypt and Nubia A-Group culture shared the same official culture", "participated in the most complex dynastic developments", and "Nubia and Egypt were both part of

13040-834: The Upper Egyptian Naqada culture and A-Group Nubia. He further elaborated that "Egyptian writing arose in Naqadan Upper Egypt and A-Group Nubia, and not in the Delta cultures, where the direct Western Asian contact was made, further vitiates the Mesopotamian-influence argument". The archaeological cemeteries at Qustul are no longer available for excavations since the flooding of Lake Nasser . The earliest representations of pharaonic iconography have been excavated from Nag el-Hamdulab in Aswan ,

13203-595: The area. At this point, C-group Nubians and Egyptians began to proclaim their allegiance to the Kushite King in their inscriptions. Egypt conquered Lower and Upper Nubia from 1500 to 1070 BC. However, the Kingdom of Kush survived longer than Egypt. After the Theban 17th Dynasty New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1532–1070 BC) expelled the Canaanite Hyksos from Egypt, they turned their imperial ambitions to Nubia. By

13366-770: The associated cattle cult indicated in Nabta Playa marks an early evolution of Ancient Egypt 's Hathor cult . For example, Hathor was worshipped as a nighttime protector in desert regions (see Serabit el-Khadim ). To directly quote professors Wendorf and Schild: ... there are many aspects of political and ceremonial life in prehistoric Egypt and the Old Kingdom that reflects a strong impact from Saharan cattle pastoralists  ... Rough megalithic stone structures buried underground are also found in Nabta Playa, one of which included evidence of what Wendorf described as perhaps "the oldest known sculpture in Egypt." In

13529-423: The astronomer Aristarchus . Ptolemy is thought to have commissioned Manetho to compose his Aegyptiaca , an account of Egyptian history, perhaps intended to make Egyptian culture intelligible to its new rulers. Ptolemy's first wife, Arsinoe I , daughter of Lysimachus , was the mother of his legitimate children. After her repudiation he followed Egyptian custom and married his sister , Arsinoe II , beginning

13692-566: The attack was so devastating that, if the Kerma forces had chosen to stay and occupy Egypt, they might have permanently eliminated the Egyptians and brought the nation to extinction. During Egypt's Second Intermediate period, the Kushites reached the height of their Bronze Age power and completely controlled southern trade with Egypt. They maintained diplomatic ties with the Thebans and Hyksos until

13855-467: The attacks of Antiochus III the Great on Coele-Syria, and the great Egyptian victory of Raphia in 217 BC secured the kingdom. A sign of the domestic weakness of his reign was the rebellions by native Egyptians that took away over half the country for over 20 years. Philopator was devoted to orgiastic religions and to literature. He married his sister Arsinoë , but was ruled by his mistress Agathoclea. Like his predecessors, Ptolemy IV presented himself as

14018-400: The backpillar and the goddess's striding pose is distinctively Egyptian, the cornucopia she holds and her hairstyle are both Greek in style. The rounded eyes, prominent lips, and overall youthful features show Greek influence as well. Despite the unification of Greek and Egyptian elements in the intermediate Ptolemaic period, the Ptolemaic Kingdom also featured prominent temple construction as

14181-519: The bureaucracy, provided they Hellenized . Beginning with Ptolemy I's son and successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus , the Ptolemies began to adopt Egyptian customs, such as marrying their siblings per the Osiris myth and participating in Egyptian religious life . New temples were built, older ones restored, and royal patronage lavished on the priesthood. From the mid third century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt

14344-474: The circle was constructed and used circa the later date, and the dual date representation was a conceptual representation of the motion of the sky over a precession cycle. Near the Calendar Circle, which is made of smaller stones, there are alignments of large megalithic stones. The southerly lines of these megaliths, Brophy argues, aligned to the same stars as represented in the Calendar Circle, all at

14507-562: The city. Facing certain death at the hands of Octavian , Antony attempted suicide by falling on his own sword, but survived briefly. He was taken by his remaining soldiers to Cleopatra, who had barricaded herself in her mausoleum, where he died soon after. Knowing that she would be taken to Rome to be paraded in Octavian's triumph (and likely executed thereafter), Cleopatra and her handmaidens committed suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Legend and numerous ancient sources claim that she died by way of

14670-423: The coalition against him. In 312 BC, allied with Seleucus , the ruler of Babylonia , he defeated Demetrius , the son of Antigonus, in the battle of Gaza . In 311 BC, a peace was concluded between the combatants, but in 309 BC war broke out again, and Ptolemy occupied Corinth and other parts of Greece, although he lost Cyprus after a naval battle in 306 BC. Antigonus then tried to invade Egypt but Ptolemy held

14833-510: The coasts of Anatolia and Greece. After this triumph Ptolemy no longer engaged actively in war, although he supported the enemies of Macedon in Greek politics. His domestic policy differed from his father's in that he patronised the native Egyptian religion more liberally: he left larger traces among the Egyptian monuments. In this his reign marks the gradual Egyptianisation of the Ptolemies. Ptolemy III continued his predecessor's sponsorship of scholarship and literature. The Great Library in

14996-581: The colonist population were used as mercenaries by both the rebel Egyptian princes and the Persian kings, who later gave them land grants, spreading Greek culture into the valley of the Nile. When Alexander the Great arrived, he established Alexandria on the site of the Persian fort of Rhakortis. Following Alexander's death, control passed into the hands of the Lagid (Ptolemaic) Dynasty; they built Greek cities across their empire and gave land grants across Egypt to

15159-547: The cosmic world with basic plans retaining the pylon, open court, hypostyle halls , and dark and centrally located sanctuary. However, ways of presenting text on columns and reliefs became formal and rigid during the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Scenes were often framed with textual inscriptions, with a higher text to image ratio than seen previously during the New Kingdom . For example, a relief in the temple of Kom Ombo

15322-447: The country became a de facto protectorate of Rome, which had by now absorbed most of the Greek world. Ptolemy XI was succeeded by a son of Ptolemy IX, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos , nicknamed Auletes, the flute-player. By now Rome was the arbiter of Egyptian affairs, and annexed both Libya and Cyprus . In 58 BC Auletes was driven out by the Alexandrian mob, but the Romans restored him to power three years later. He died in 51 BC, leaving

15485-521: The crania of ancient Nubians, Kushites, Saharans, or modern groups from the Horn of Africa than to those of dynastic northern Egyptians or ancient or modern southern Europeans." Archaeological evidence has attested that population settlements occurred in Nubia as early as the Late Pleistocene era and from the 5th millennium BC onwards, whereas there is "no or scanty evidence" of human presence in

15648-476: The death of their father, Cleopatra VII and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the throne and were married. Their marriage was only nominal, however, and their relationship soon degenerated. Cleopatra was stripped of authority and title by Ptolemy XIII's advisors, who held considerable influence over the young king. Fleeing into exile, Cleopatra attempted to raise an army to reclaim the throne. Julius Caesar left Rome for Alexandria in 48 BC in order to quell

15811-529: The desert roamed far to the north. The culture of Upper Egypt , which became dynastic Egyptian civilization, could fairly be called a Sudanese transplant." British Africanist Basil Davidson outlined that "The ancient Egyptians belonged, that is, not to any specific Egyptian region or Near Eastern heritage but to that wide community of peoples who lived between the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, shared

15974-608: The discovery of a wealth of papyri and ostraca written in Koine Greek and Egyptian . In 332 BC, Alexander the Great , King of Macedon , conquered Egypt, which at the time was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire later called Egypt's Thirty-first Dynasty . He visited Memphis , and travelled to the oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis . The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun. Alexander conciliated

16137-622: The dynasty of Ptolemies and the entirety of pharaonic Egypt came to an end. Alexandria remained the capital of the country, but Egypt itself became a Roman province. Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome and began converting it into a monarchy, the Roman Empire . Under Roman rule, Egypt was governed by a prefect selected by the emperor from the Equestrian class and not a governor from the Senatorial order, to prevent interference by

16300-598: The east and west of Nubia. In Lower Nubia, the A-group moved from the Classical to Terminal phase. At this time, kings at Qustul likely ruled all of Lower Nubia and demonstrated the political centralization of Nubian society. The A-Group culture came to an end sometime between 3100 and 2900 BC, when it was apparently destroyed by the First Dynasty rulers of Egypt. There are no records of settlement in Lower Nubia for

16463-534: The economic, artistic and intellectual capital of the Hellenistic world. The academies and libraries of Alexandria proved vital in preserving much Greek literary heritage. Ptolemy III Euergetes ("the Benefactor") succeeded his father in 246 BC. He abandoned his predecessors' policy of keeping out of the wars of the other Macedonian successor kingdoms, and began the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC) with

16626-573: The end of Thutmose I 's reign (1520 BC), all of Lower Nubia had been annexed. After a long campaign, Egypt also conquered the Kingdom of Kerma in Upper Nubia and held both areas until 1070 BC. The Egyptian empire expanded into the Fourth Cataract, and a new administrative center was built at Napata , which became a gold and incense production area. Egypt became a prime source of gold in the Middle East. The primitive working conditions for

16789-598: The end of his reign as a result of the Second Syrian War . In the 270s BC, Ptolemy II defeated the Kingdom of Kush in war, gaining the Ptolemies free access to Kushite territory and control of important gold deposits south of Egypt known as Dodekasoinos. As a result, the Ptolemies established hunting stations and ports as far south as Port Sudan , from where raiding parties containing hundreds of men searched for war elephants. Hellenistic culture would acquire an important influence on Kush at this time. Ptolemy II

16952-489: The event of his death, which Octavian used against Antony, sowing further dissent in the Roman populace. Octavian was quick to declare war on Antony and Cleopatra while public opinion of Antony was low. Their naval forces met at Actium , where the forces of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa defeated the navy of Cleopatra and Antony. Octavian waited for a year before he claimed Egypt as a Roman province. He arrived in Alexandria and easily defeated Mark Antony's remaining forces outside

17115-574: The extreme southern region of Egypt which borders the Sudan, with an estimated dating range between 3200 and 3100 BC. Writing developed in Egypt around 3300 BC. In their writings, Egyptians referred to Nubia as " Ta-Seti ", or "The Land of the Bow," as the Nubians were known to be expert archers. More recent and broader studies have determined that the distinct pottery styles, differing burial practices, different grave goods, and site distribution all indicate that

17278-596: The first Nubian kingdom to unify much of the region arose. The Classic Kerma culture, named for its royal capital at Kerma , was one of the earliest urban centers in the Nile region and oldest city in Africa outside of Egypt. The Kerma group spoke either languages of the Cushitic branch or, according to more recent research, Nilo-Saharan languages of the Eastern Sudanic branch. By 1650 BC (Classic Kerma phase),

17441-487: The forces of disorder led by the god Set . In return, the priests undertook to erect a statue group in each of their temples, depicting the god of the temple presenting a sword of victory to Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III. A five-day festival was inaugurated in honour of the Theoi Philopatores and their victory. The decree thus seems to represent a successful marriage of Egyptian Pharaonic ideology and religion with

17604-473: The frontier against him. When the coalition was renewed against Antigonus in 302 BC, Ptolemy joined it, but neither he nor his army were present when Antigonus was defeated and killed at Ipsus . He had instead taken the opportunity to secure Coele-Syria and Palestine, in breach of the agreement assigning it to Seleucus, thereby setting the scene for the future Syrian Wars . Thereafter Ptolemy tried to stay out of land wars, but he retook Cyprus in 295 BC. Feeling

17767-558: The great East African substratum". Williams also wrote that Qustul "could well have been the seat of Egypt's founding dynasty". David O'Connor wrote that the Qustul incense burner provides evidence that the A-group Nubian culture in Qustul marked the "pivotal change" from predynastic to dynastic "Egyptian monumental art". However, "most scholars do not agree with this hypothesis", as more recent finds in Egypt indicate that this iconography originated in Egypt instead of Nubia, and that

17930-547: The growing dominance of the Roman Republic . With one empire after another falling to Macedon and the Seleucid empire, the Ptolemies had had little choice but to ally with the Romans, a pact that lasted over 150 years. By Ptolemy XII's time, Rome had achieved a massive amount of influence over Egyptian politics and finances to the point that he declared the Roman senate the guardian of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. He had paid vast sums of Egyptian wealth and resources in tribute to

18093-433: The kingdom to his ten-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter, Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Cleopatra VII , who reigned jointly as husband and wife. Cleopatra VII ascended the Egyptian throne on 22 March 51 BC upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. She reigned as queen "philopator" and pharaoh with various male co-regents from 51 to 30 BC. The demise of the Ptolemies' power coincided with

18256-464: The kingdom was now secure, Ptolemy shared rule with his son Ptolemy II by Queen Berenice in 285 BC. He then may have devoted his retirement to writing a history of the campaigns of Alexander—which unfortunately was lost but was a principal source for the later work of Arrian . Ptolemy I died in 283 BC at the age of 84. He left a stable and well-governed kingdom to his son. Ptolemy II Philadelphus , who succeeded his father as pharaoh of Egypt in 283 BC,

18419-502: The kings of Kerma were powerful enough to organize the labor for monumental town walls and large mud brick structures, such as the Eastern and Western Deffufas (50 by 25 by 18 meters). They also had rich tombs with possessions for the afterlife and large human sacrifices . George Andrew Reisner excavated sites at the royal city of Kerma and found distinctive Nubian architecture , such as large pebble covered tombs (90 meters in diameter),

18582-538: The last independent Hellenistic state . Roman Egypt became one of Rome's richest provinces and a center of Greek culture. Greek remained the language of government and trade until the Muslim conquest in 641 AD. Alexandria remained one of the leading cities of the Mediterranean well into the late Middle Ages . The Ptolemaic reign in Egypt is one of the best-documented time periods of the Hellenistic era , due to

18745-554: The late 7th millennium BC goats and sheep , apparently imported from Western Asia, appear. Many large hearths also appear. Early pottery from the Nabta Playa- Bir Kiseiba area has characteristics unlike pottery from surrounding regions. This is followed by pottery with characteristics found only in the Western Desert . Later pottery from c. 5500 BC (Al Jerar phase) has similarities with pottery from

18908-477: The late 7th millennium BC, originating from cattle domesticated in the Euphrates valley . Larger settlements began to appear at Nabta Playa by the 7th millennium BC , relying on deep wells for sources of water. Small huts were constructed in straight rows . Sustenance included wild plants, such as legumes , millets , sorghum , tubers , and fruit. Around 6800 BC they began to make pottery locally. In

19071-399: The looming civil war, as war in Egypt, which was one of Rome's greatest suppliers of grain and other expensive goods, would have had a detrimental effect on trade with Rome, especially on Rome's working-class citizens. During his stay in the Alexandrian palace, he received 22-year-old Cleopatra, allegedly carried to him in secret wrapped in a carpet. Caesar agreed to support Cleopatra's claim to

19234-425: The most venerated woman in Egyptian history", was thought by some scholars such as Flinders Petrie to be of Nubian origin because she is most often depicted with black skin. The mummy of Ahmose-Nefertari 's father, Seqenenre Tao , has been described as presenting "tightly curled, woolly hair", with "a slight build and strongly Nubian features". Some modern scholars also believe that in some depictions, her skin color

19397-407: The name of the king, there are other features that specifically date this to the Ptolemaic period. Most distinctively is the color of the faience. Apple green, deep blue, and lavender-blue are the three colors most frequently used during this period, a shift from the characteristic blue of the earlier kingdoms. This sistrum appears to be an intermediate hue, which fits with its date at the beginning of

19560-483: The next 600 years. Old Kingdom Egyptian dynasties (4th to 6th) controlled uninhabited Lower Nubia and raided Upper Nubia. The pre-Kerma developed into the Middle phase Kerma group. Some A-group people (transitioning to C-group) settled the area and co-existed with the pre-Kerma group. Like other Nubian groups, the two groups made an abundance of red pottery with black tops, though each group made different shapes. Traces of

19723-603: The oldest open-air hut in the world) and diverse hunting and gathering loci some 50,000 years old". In southern Nubia (near modern Khartoum) from the ninth to the sixth millennia cal BC, Khartoum Mesolithic fisher-hunter-gatherers produced sophisticated pottery. By 5000 BC, the people who inhabited what is now called Nubia participated in the Neolithic Revolution . The Sahara became drier and people began to domesticate sheep, goats, and cattle. Saharan rock reliefs depict scenes that have been thought to suggest

19886-691: The origins of the Kushite kings of the 25th Dynasty: some scholars believe they were Nubian officials that learned "state level organization" by administering Egyptian-held Nubia from 1500 to 1070 BC, such as the rebel Viceroy of Kush, Panehesy, who ruled Upper Nubia and some of Lower Nubia after Egyptian forces withdrew. Other scholars believe they are descended from families of the Egyptianized Nubian elite supported by Egyptian priests or settlers. Children of elite Nubian families were sent to be educated in Egypt then returned to Kush to be appointed in bureaucratic positions to ensure their loyalty. During

20049-433: The oval face, "round [and] deeply set" eyes, and the small, tucked mouth closer to the nose. Early portraits of the Ptolemies featured large and radiant eyes in association to the rulers' divinity as well as general notions of abundance. When Ptolemy I Soter made himself king of Egypt, he created a new god, Serapis , to garner support from both Greeks and Egyptians. Serapis was the patron god of Ptolemaic Egypt, combining

20212-685: The people who occupied this region at that time may have been early pastoralists , or like the Saami practiced semi-pastoralism. This is disputed by other sources as the cattle remains found at Nabta have been shown to be morphologically wild in several studies, and hunter-gatherers at the nearby Saharan site of Uan Afada in Libya were penning wild Barbary sheep , an animal that was never domesticated. According to Michael Brass (2018) early cattle remains from Nabta Playa were wild hunted aurochs , whilst domesticated cattle were introduced to northeast Africa in

20375-511: The presence of a cattle cult , typical of those seen throughout parts of Eastern Africa and the Nile Valley even to this day. Nubian rock art depicts hunters using bows and arrows in the neolithic period, which is a precursor to Nubian archer culture in later times. Megaliths discovered at Nabta Playa are early examples of what seems to be one of the world's first astronomical devices, predating Stonehenge by almost 2,000 years. This complexity as expressed by different levels of authority within

20538-455: The reliefs on the great pylon were finished in the reign of Ptolemy XII . In 221 BC, Ptolemy III died and was succeeded by his son Ptolemy IV Philopator , a weak king whose rule precipitated the decline of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. His reign was inaugurated by the murder of his mother, and he was always under the influence of royal favourites , who controlled the government. Nevertheless, his ministers were able to make serious preparations to meet

20701-692: The river as Nehasyu. From Aswan , the southern limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. Relations between the Egyptians and Nubians showed peaceful cultural interchange, cooperation, and mixed marriages. Nubian bowmen that settled at Gebelein during the First Intermediate Period married Egyptian women, were buried in Egyptian style, and eventually could not be distinguished from Egyptians. Older scholarship noted that some Egyptian pharaohs may have had Nubian ancestry. Richard Loban expressed

20864-656: The royal palaces and tombs in Thebes and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were deployed throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; they were even used during Kamose 's campaign against the Hyksos and became instrumental in turning the Egyptian state into a military power. After the First Intermediate Period of Egypt , the Medjay district was no longer mentioned in written records. From the Middle Kerma phase,

21027-496: The ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Alexander would never return to Egypt. Following Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, a succession crisis erupted among his generals. Initially, Perdiccas ruled the empire as regent for Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon , and then as regent for both Philip III and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV of Macedon , who had not been born at

21190-399: The same epoch, circa 6270 BC. Brophy argues that the Calendar Circle correlation with Orion's belt occurred between 6400 BC and 4900 BC, matching radio-carbon dates of some campfires in the area. A 2007 article by a team of University of Colorado archaeoastronomers and archaeologists (Malville, Schild, Wendorf and Brenmer, three of whom had been involved in the original discovery of

21353-476: The site and its astronomical alignment) responded to the work of Brophy and Rosen, in particular their claims for an alignment with Sirius in 6088 BC and other alignments which they dated to 6270 BC, saying that these dates "are about 1500 years earlier than our best estimates for the Terminal Neolithic and the construction of megalithic structures" at Nabta Playa. The Sirius alignment in question

21516-529: The slaves are recorded by Diodorus Siculus . One of the oldest maps known is of a gold mine in Nubia: the Turin Papyrus Map dating to about 1160 BC; it is also one of the earliest characterized road maps in existence. Nubians were an integral part of New Kingdom Egyptian society. Some scholars state that Nubians were included in the 18th Dynasty of Egypt 's royal family. Ahmose-Nefertari , "arguably

21679-590: The society there likely formed the basis for the structure of both the Neolithic society at Nabta and the Old Kingdom of Egypt . American anthropologist, Joseph Vogel wrote that: "The period when sub-Saharan Africa was most influential in Egypt was a time when neither Egypt, as we understand it culturally, nor the Sahara, as we understand it geographically, existed. Populations and cultures now found south of

21842-400: The southerly line of three stones inside the Calendar Circle represented the three stars of Orion’s Belt and the other three stones inside the calendar circle represented the shoulders and head stars of Orion as they appeared in the sky. These correspondences were for two dates – circa 4800 BC and at precessional opposition – representing how the sky "moves" long term. Brophy proposes that

22005-589: The surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322–301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of basileus and pharaoh . As Ptolemy I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years. All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy, while princesses and female rulers preferred the names Cleopatra , Arsinoë and Berenice. The Ptolemies also adopted

22168-577: The throne. In 145 BC, he was killed in the Battle of Antioch . Throughout the 160s and 150s BC, Ptolemy VI has also reasserted Ptolemaic control over the northern part of Nubia . This achievement is heavily advertised at the Temple of Isis at Philae , which was granted the tax revenues of the Dodecaschoenus region in 157 BC. Decorations on the first pylon of the Temple of Isis at Philae emphasise

22331-485: The throne. Ptolemy XIII and his advisors fled the palace, turning the Egyptian forces loyal to the throne against Caesar and Cleopatra, who barricaded themselves in the palace complex until Roman reinforcements could arrive to combat the rebellion, known afterward as the Siege of Alexandria . Ptolemy XIII's forces were ultimately defeated at the Battle of the Nile and the king was killed in the conflict, reportedly drowning in

22494-399: The throne. These marriages sometimes produced children, and other times were only a ceremonial union to consolidate political power. Ptolemy Auletes expressed his wish for Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII to marry and rule jointly in his will, in which the Roman senate was named as executor, giving Rome further control over the Ptolemies and, thereby, the fate of Egypt as a nation. After

22657-468: The time of his father's death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy , one of Alexander's closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Great's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and

22820-437: The venomous bite of an asp , though others state that she used poison, or that Octavian ordered her death himself. Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar, nominally succeeded Cleopatra until his capture and supposed execution in the weeks after his mother's death. Cleopatra's children by Antony were spared by Octavian and given to his sister (and Antony's Roman wife) Octavia Minor , to be raised in her household. No further mention

22983-598: The veterans of their many military conflicts. Hellenistic civilization continued to thrive even after Rome annexed Egypt after the battle of Actium and did not decline until the Islamic conquests . Ptolemaic art was produced during the reign of the Ptolemaic Rulers (304–30 BC), and was concentrated primarily within the bounds of the Ptolemaic Empire. At first, artworks existed separately in either

23146-699: The view that Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty "was quite possibly of Nubian origin" and cited historical evidence which mentioned that Amenemhet I , founder of the 12th Dynasty, "had a Ta Seti or Nubian mother". Dietrich Wildung has argued that Nubian features were common in Egyptian iconography since the pre-dynastic era and that several pharaohs such as Khufu and Mentuhotep II were represented with these Nubian features. Frank Yurco wrote that "Egyptian rulers of Nubian ancestry had become Egyptians culturally; as pharaohs, they exhibited typical Egyptian attitudes and adopted typical Egyptian policies". Yurco noted that some Middle Kingdom rulers, particularly some pharaohs of

23309-516: The western Egyptian desert is totally dry, this was not always the case. There is good evidence that there were several humid periods in the past (when up to 500 mm of rain would fall per year), the most recent one during the last interglacial and early last glaciation periods which stretched between 130,000 and 70,000 years ago. During this time, the area was a savanna and supported numerous animals such as extinct buffalo and large giraffes, varieties of antelope and gazelle. Beginning around

23472-506: Was "sometimes portrayed by later generations as having been black, although her coffin portrait gives her the typical light yellow skin of women." In 2009, Egyptologist Elena Vassilika, noting that in a wooden statuette of the queen (now at the Museo Egizio ) the face is painted black but the arms and feet are light in color, argued that the reason for the black coloring in that case was religious and not genetic. In 1098–1088 BC, Thebes

23635-541: Was "the scene of a civil war-like conflict between the High Priest of Amun of Thebes Amenhotep and the Viceroy of Kush Panehesy (= the Nubian)". It was chaotic and many tombs were plundered. Instead of sending soldiers to restore order, Ramesses XI put Panehesy in control of that area's military and appointed him Director of Granaries. Panehesy stationed his troops in Thebes to protect the city from thieves, but it resembled

23798-617: Was a peaceful and cultured pharaoh, though unlike his father was no great warrior. Fortunately, Ptolemy I had left Egypt strong and prosperous; three years of campaigning in the First Syrian War made the Ptolemies masters of the eastern Mediterranean, controlling the Aegean islands (the Nesiotic League ) and the coastal districts of Cilicia , Pamphylia , Lycia and Caria . However, some of these territories were lost near

23961-613: Was an Ancient Greek polity based in Egypt during the Hellenistic period . It was founded in 305 BC by the Macedonian general Ptolemy I Soter , a companion of Alexander the Great , and ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Reigning for nearly three centuries, the Ptolemies were the longest and final dynasty of ancient Egypt , heralding a distinctly new era for religious and cultural syncretism between Greek and Egyptian culture. Alexander

24124-422: Was an eager patron of scholarship, funding the expansion of the Library of Alexandria and patronising scientific research. Poets like Callimachus , Theocritus , Apollonius of Rhodes , Posidippus were provided with stipends and produced masterpieces of Hellenistic poetry, including panegyrics in honour of the Ptolemaic family. Other scholars operating under Ptolemy's aegis included the mathematician Euclid and

24287-624: Was at its highest levels at the times of both Kashta and Piye. Kashta peacefully became King of Upper and Lower Egypt with his daughter Amendiris as Divine Adoratrice of Amun in Thebes. Rulers of the 23rd Dynasty withdrew from Thebes to Heracleopolis, which avoided conflict with the new Kushite rulers of Thebes. Under Kashta's reign, the Kushite elite and professional classes became significantly Egyptianized. Ptolemaic Kingdom The Ptolemaic Kingdom ( / ˌ t ɒ l ɪ ˈ m eɪ . ɪ k / ; Koinē Greek : Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία , romanized:  Ptolemaïkḕ basileía ) or Ptolemaic Empire

24450-522: Was centered at Kerma and Shaat was centered on Sai island. Bonnet posits that Kush actually ruled all of Upper Nubia, since "royal" graves were much larger in Kush than Shaat and Egyptian texts other than the Execration lists only refer to Kush (and not Shaat). C-group Nubians resettled Lower Nubia by 2400 BC. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. Nubia was divided into

24613-401: Was dominated by the Wars of the Diadochi between the various successor states to the empire of Alexander. His first objective was to hold his position in Egypt securely, and secondly to increase his domain. Within a few years he had gained control of Libya , Coele-Syria (including Judea ), and Cyprus . When Antigonus , ruler of Syria , tried to reunite Alexander's empire, Ptolemy joined

24776-444: Was driven out by his mother in 107 BC, who reigned jointly with Euergetes's youngest son Ptolemy X Alexander I . In 88 BC Ptolemy IX again returned to the throne, and retained it until his death in 80 BC. He was succeeded by Ptolemy XI Alexander II , the son of Ptolemy X. He was lynched by the Alexandrian mob after murdering his stepmother, who was also his cousin, aunt and wife. These sordid dynastic quarrels left Egypt so weakened that

24939-512: Was finally defeated in 186, and a stele celebrating this event was historically significant as the famous Rosetta Stone . Ptolemy V Epiphanes , son of Philopator and Arsinoë, was a child when he came to the throne, and a series of regents ran the kingdom. Antiochus III the Great of The Seleucid Empire and Philip V of Macedon made a compact to seize the Ptolemaic possessions. Philip seized several islands and places in Caria and Thrace , while

25102-416: Was independent and increasingly powerful during this time. These Egyptian garrisons seemed to peacefully coexist with the local Nubian people, though they did not interact much with them. Medjay was the name given by ancient Egypt to nomadic desert dwellers from east of the Nile river. The term was used variously to describe a location, the Medjay people, or their role/job in the kingdom. They became part of

25265-410: Was named the new High Priest of Thebes (and effectively King of Southern Egypt) and Paiankh was named the new Viceroy of Kush. Paiankh recaptured former Egyptian holdings in Lower Nubia as far as the second Nile cataract, but could not defeat Panehesy in Lower Nubia, who ruled the area until his death. Herihor's descendants became rulers of Egypt's 21st and 22nd Dynasties. There are competing theories on

25428-522: Was once a large endorheic basin in the Nubian Desert , located approximately 800 kilometers south of modern-day Cairo or about 100 kilometers west of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt , 22.51° north, 30.73° east. Today the region is characterized by numerous archaeological sites. The Nabta Playa archaeological site, one of the earliest of the Egyptian Neolithic Period , is dated to circa 7500 BC. Although today

25591-459: Was originally proposed by Wendorf and Malville, for one of the most prominent alignments of megaliths labelled the "C-line", which they said aligned to the rising of Sirius circa 4820 BC. Brophy and Rosen stated in 2005 that megalith orientations and star positions reported by Wendorf and Malville were in error, noting that "Given these corrected data, we see that Sirius actually aligned with the C-line circa 6000 BC. We estimate that 6088 BC Sirius had

25754-522: Was spoken north of Nyala in Darfur , but became extinct as late as 1970. However, the linguistic identity of the ancient Kerma culture of southern and central Nubia (also known as Upper Nubia ), is uncertain; some research suggests that it belonged to the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages , while more recent studies indicate that the Kerma culture belonged to the Eastern Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan languages instead, and that other peoples of northern or Lower Nubia north of Kerma (such as

25917-419: Was the Raphia Decree , issued on 15 November 217 BC and preserved in three copies. Like other Ptolemaic decrees , the decree was inscribed in hieroglyphs , Demotic , and Koine Greek . The decree records the military success of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III and their benefactions to the Egyptian priestly elite. Throughout, Ptolemy IV is presented as taking on the role of Horus who avenges his father by defeating

26080-432: Was the Temple of Horus at Edfu , one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian temple architecture and now the best-preserved of all Egyptian temples. Ptolemy III initiated construction on it on 23 August 237 BC. Work continued for most of the Ptolemaic dynasty; the main temple was finished in the reign of his son, Ptolemy IV, in 212 BC, and the full complex was only completed in 142 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII , while

26243-481: Was the burial place of the ancestors of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty." The early el-Kurru burials resemble Nubian Kerma/C-group traditions (contracted body, circular stone structures, burial on a bed). However, by 880–815 BC, Nubian burials at el-Kurru became more Egyptian in style with "mastabas, or pyramid on mastabas, chapels, and rectangular enclosures". Alara, the first el-Kurru prince, and his successor, Kashta , were buried at el-Kurru. Later documents mention Alara as

26406-445: Was the wealthiest and most powerful of Alexander's successor states , and the leading example of Greek civilization. Beginning in the mid second century BC, dynastic strife and a series of foreign wars weakened the kingdom, and it became increasingly reliant on the Roman Republic . Under Cleopatra VII , who sought to restore Ptolemaic power, Egypt became entangled in a Roman civil war , which ultimately led to its conquest by Rome as

26569-433: Was with another female, Berenice IV. Cleopatra VII officially co-ruled with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator , Ptolemy XIV , and Ptolemy XV , but effectively, she ruled Egypt alone. The early Ptolemies did not disturb the religion or the customs of the Egyptians . They built magnificent new temples for the Egyptian gods and soon adopted the outward display of the pharaohs of old. Rulers such as Ptolemy I Soter respected

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