(R.SQUARE)History of Egyptian civilization

 Background:

Egypt is a country located in the northeastern part of the African continent. From 5000 to 3200 BC, a prosperous settlement emerged in the Nile basin. From this time on, Egypt began to make various important contributions to ancient civilization. For example, the reign of the first dynasty started from 3200 AD. From this time to the historical era of Egypt is the beginning. At the same time, Normar or Menes became the first Egyptian monarch and priest. He also became the first Pharaoh. Since then, under the Pharaohs, Egypt has been able to make one significant contribution after another to the progress of the ancient world civilization.

Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Geographical Location:

The geographical location of Egypt, which is surrounded by three continents, is very important. The country is located on the coast of the Mediterranean, surrounded by the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea to the east, the Sahara Desert to the west, Sudan to the south, and other African countries. Its total area is about four lakh square miles.

Duration:

Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 2500 years. The uninterrupted and long history of ancient Egypt began in 5000 BC. Especially in the Neolithic era. However, the foundations of Egyptian civilization were laid under the leadership of Menes, who shone in glory for nearly three thousand years. In the tenth century BC, a barbaric nation of Libya seized the throne of the pharaohs. 670-662 BC. The Assyrians dominated Egypt. When Persia conquered Egypt in 525 BC, ancient Egypt. The sun of civilization is setting.

State and society:

In the pre-dynastic era, Egypt was divided into several small city-states. These were called ‘nom’. The first Egyptian king or pharaoh (Menes or Normar) united the whole of Egypt in 3200 BC and formed a kingdom, with Memphis in southern Egypt as its capital. Since then, a United Kingdom and dynasty has emerged in Egypt. The word pharaoh originated from the Egyptian word ‘per-o’. The pharaohs were extremely powerful. They considered themselves descendants of the sun

god. The term pharaoh was hereditary. That is, Pharaoh's son was Pharaoh by inheritance.

Egyptians can be divided into several classes based on occupation. Such as- royal family, priests, aristocracy, scribes, traders, artists and peasants and the slave class.

Egypt's economy was largely dependent on agriculture. Notable among the crops produced were wheat, barley, cotton, onion, peach etc. Egypt was also a pioneer in trade and commerce. Wheat and linen produced in Egypt were exported to Crete, Phenicia, Palestine and Syria. The Egyptians imported gold, silver, ivory, wood, etc. from different countries.

Nile River:

The Nile River in Egypt originates from Lake Victoria in Africa. From there, the river flows through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea. Herodotus, the father of history, rightly said, "Egypt is the gift of the Nile." Without the Nile, Egypt would have become a desert. In ancient times, the Nile River flooded every year. If the water receded after the flood, the soil would fall on both banks and the land would become fertile. Various types of crops are grown in the frozen soil.

Egyptian Contribution to Civilization: There is no denying the contribution of Egyptians to ancient civilization. Religious. Thoughts, art, sculpture, writing methods, paper inventions, knowledge science — everything is rich in their contribution. One of the characteristics of the Egyptians was that their lives were influenced by religious thoughts and beliefs.

Egyptian religion:

Probably no other nation, according to the ancient Egyptians, was so influenced by religious rules and regulations in all areas of life. That is why many ideas, customs, rituals and ceremonies of human civilization were born in ancient Egypt. They worshiped inanimate objects, idols, and even animals. Their beliefs have changed at different times. The Egyptians had the idea that the sun god ‘Ray’ or ‘Aman Ray’ and the god of natural energy, grain and blue river ‘Osiris’ combined ruled the whole world. However, the importance of the sun god 'Ray' in their lives was much higher.

Feeding Cats in an Ancient Egyptian temple

The Egyptians thought that the dead man would live again one day will rise. That's why they used mummies to keep the body fresh. They built a pyramid to protect the mummy from this thought. Pharaohs ruled the country as representatives of the Creator. They were high priests and they also appointed other priests.

Art:

Egyptian painting is diverse and historically important. Like other countries, painting developed from religious beliefs. They started painting while decorating tombs and temple walls. Their favorite colors were black and white. Tombs, pyramids, temples, palaces, amusement parks, and ordinary houses have been painted by Egyptian painters. The stories tell the story of the political, religious, social and family life of contemporary Egypt.

Ancient Egyptian artists also excelled in craftsmanship. Furniture, pottery, gold, silver, precious stone inlaid utensils, ornaments, mummy masks, daily necessities, ivory and metal ware bear witness to the craftsmanship of the Egyptian craftsmanship.

Sculpture:

No one else in the sculpture industry has been able to impress like the Egyptians. Influenced by the vastness, diversity and religious ideology, the huge stone statues bear witness to their excellence in the sculptural art. Each sculpture was influenced by religious ideas, rituals, ideologies. Every art was in fact a religious art. The greatest sculpture is the incomparable Sphinx of Giza. The Sphinx is an idol whose body is like that of a lion, but whose face is like that of a human. The largest pyramid in Egypt is the Pharaoh Khufur Pyramid. The temples reflect the magnificent Egyptian sculptural architecture.

Writing and Paper Discovery: One of the main features of Egyptian civilization was the script discovery. With the development of urban civilization came the emergence of the Egyptian writing system. Five thousand years ago, they first discovered the alphabet of 24 consonants. At first, they used to express their thoughts through pictures. The name of this writing system was hieroglyphics.

These hieroglyphics are called 'hieroglyphic' or sacred letters. The Egyptians learned to make paper from the stems of reeds. They wrote on that paper. The Greeks named this paper 'Papyrus'. Origin of the word English paper from this word. It is worth mentioning here that during the conquest of Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte, a stone known as Rosetta Stone was discovered. So much was written in Greek and hieroglyphic languages, from which much of the information about ancient Egypt is known.

Science:

Egyptian civilization was dependent on agriculture. That is why the size of the land was more important to them than the flooding of the Nile, the navigability, the size of the water flow, the tide, etc. Astrology and mathematics had a deep connection with all this. As a result, they mastered these two sciences out of necessity. They also introduced two branches of mathematics, geometry and arithmetic. The people of Egyptian civilization knew the use of addition, subtraction and division. 4200 BC they discover the first solar calendar. They are also the inventors of this calculation in 365 days a year. The inhabitants of ancient Egypt invented sundials, shadow clocks, and water clocks to determine time.

The Egyptians were interested in science because of their religion. They believed in the afterlife and that the pharaohs would be kings in the next life. So, they invented a way to keep the pharaohs' bodies fresh. This is why mummy making started. Egyptian scientists were able to protect the body from decay through chemical processes.

The ancient Egyptians also made great strides in medicine. They knew how to diagnose diseases of eyes, teeth, stomach. They also knew how to treat through surgery. They could detect bone marrow transplantation, heart rate, and pulse rate.

The Egyptians practiced philosophy and literature. There was no expression of sadness in their writings. They were asbestos. Happiness has always been seen in their writings.

AUTHOR-M. ZAMAN(RASEL)