GREAT UNIFIERS OF EGYPT

By: Mary Ankrah

According to the Egyptian history, Narmer was the first king of the first dynasty of Egypt. He was an ancient Egyptian “striker”, and Egyptian pharaoh who ruled in the 32^nd century BC.

Before he came in, the southern and northern Egypt was divided. As the southern king, he conquered the northern king and united the two kingdoms of the Upper and Lower Egypt. Narmer’s “tomb was thought to have been comprised of two joined chambers (B17 and B18) found in the Umm el-Qa’ab region of Abydos with.”[1]

Also, during the 17^th dynasty era, Queen Ahmose Nefetari was one of the remarkable women who helped unified Egypt and defeated the invaders. During this time, Egypt was known as “the second intermediate period when Lower Egypt was ruled by a group of invaders called Hyksos who were an Asiatic people.”[2]

She was known as the mother of the 18^th dynasty. Queen Ahmose Nefetari held many titles including the title of Second Prophet of Amen and title of Gods wife which was the most important one she cherished.

Another unifier of Egypt was King Piankhi. He was the ruler of the kingdom of Cush on the Upper Nile who inherited his father, Kashta, the founder of the Nubian Kingdom. His conquest of Lower Egypt brought to being the 25^th dynasty of pharaohs.

During his time, he supervised the refurbishment of some crumbling temples in Lower Egypt and introduced the Egyptian custom of building pyramids. After Piankhi’s death, Shabaka became pharaoh of Egypt and Kush. Historically, King Shabaka is said to have united the history of Nubian and Egyptian.

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[1] Crystalinks.Narmer.(Online)available http://www.crystalinks.com/narmer.html04/04/2011

[2] CMHypno.Queen-Ahmose-Nefertari.(Online) available http://www.hubpages.com/hub/Queen-Ahmose-Nefertari-Mother-of-the-Eighteenth-Dynasty-of-Ancient-Egypt 04/04/2011

THE WORLD’S GENIUS OF ANCIENT TIMES

By: Mary Ankrah

There have been many great and historical persons in the world but one of the world's most famous ancient successful multi-geniuses was Imhotep. He was a doctor, architect, priest, Scribe and Vizier to King Djoser, though this role is unclear to Djoser who reigned from 2630 to 2611 BC as the second king of Egypt's third dynasty.

Imhotep was believed to have lived under four kings and an inscription on one of the fours kings statues indicated Imhotep’s titles as the "chancellor of the king of lower Egypt, the first one under the king, the administrator of the great mansion, the hereditary Noble, the high priest of Heliopolis, the chief sculptor and finally the chief carpenter.”[1]

Although he was born a commoner, his genius, natural skills and commitments, made him rise through the ranks rapidly.

According to history, Imhotep is the first master of architect in the world who built the temple of Edfu, as well as Djoser’s Step Pyramid Complex at Saqqara which is recognized as the first monumental stone structure in Egypt. Aside being an architect, Imhotep is said to be the world's first doctor who described 90 anatomical terms and 48 injuries 2,200 years ago even before the Western Father of Medicine Hippocrate Papyrus.

After his death, Imhotep was worshipped as a deity and became a local god at Memphis. “2,000 years after his death, he was elevated to a full god, and replaced Nefertum in the great triad at Memphis.”[2]

In history, Imhotep and Amenhotep were the only mortals who rose to the status of a full god and he was worshipped together with Amenhotep-Son-of Hapus at the Ptolemaic temple to Hathor atf Dier el-Madina and at Karnak in Thebes.      

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[1] Jimmy Dunn. Imhotep. (Online) availablehttp://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/imhotep.htm

04/04/2011

[2] Wikipedia.Imhotep.(Online)availablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imhotep 04/04/2011

AMENHOTEP IV (AKHENATEN) AS A RELIGIOUS LEADER

By: Mary Ankrah

Among the Pharaohs of the 18^th dynasty of Egypt found Amenhotep IV who ruled for 17 years. In the early years of his reign, he discontinued all traditional religion in Egypt and established the Aten as the monotheistic of Egypt. He is said to be “traditionally raised by his parents, Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy (1382-1344 B.C) by worshipping Amen, Akhenaten, however, preferred Aten, the sun god that was worshipped in earlier times.”[1] As such, he also disbanded the priesthoods of other gods and diverted all the revenues from the cults of these gods to maintain the Aten.

In order to show his loyalty to the god of Aten, Amenhotep IV also changed his name to Akhenaten (He Who is of service to Aten) and renamed Nefertiti his wife and queen to Nefer-Neferu-Aten (Beautiful is the Beauty of Aten). It was said also that Akhenaten built “some of the most massive temple complexes in ancient Egypt. In these new temples, Aten was worshipped in the open sunlight, rather than in dark temple enclosures as had been the previous custom”.[2]

According to history, few years later in his reign, Akhenaten and his wife with two of his daughters left Thebes, their old settlement to a new capital in middle Egypt, an uninhabited place where he reated his new city and named it Akhenaten-The Horizon of the Aten which is now known as Amarna. It is also believed that only the Upper echelons of the society which embraced the new religion that Akhenaten brought. Also, in reference to the rendition found in the tomb of Ay, the chief minister of Akhenaten, Akhenaten is also believed to have composed the “Hymns to the Aten”.[3]

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[1] AmenhotepIV.(online)availablehttp://touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm 07/04/2011

[2] Wikipedia.Akhenaten(Online)avaliablehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhenaten 07/04/2011

[3] AmenhotepIV.(online)availablehttp://touregypt.net/18dyn10.htm 07/04/2011