Country, population. Egypt is located in the valley of the lower reaches of the Nile River, in northeast Africa. Due to its natural borders, Egypt was a closed area, fenced off by deserts from neighboring countries.

Egypt is a typical irrigation region, irrigated by one river - the Nile (in ancient Egyptian "Hapi"), which originates in Central Africa.

The Nile Valley was rich in minerals and building materials, as a result of which the country did not experience a special need for the development of exchange for a long time, and the natural form of economy was preserved in it longer than in the Southern Mesopotamia.

The population of Egypt was formed from a mixture of African-Hamitic Libyans, ancient Nubians and Asian Semites.

The need to regulate the irrigation of the Nile Valley required the creation of large irrigation facilities. This required a large amount of manpower and centralized management of work. This circumstance explains the early appearance of slavery and the formation of a powerful, relatively centralized state.

Formation of the Egyptian state. The emergence of the state in Egypt occurs approximately in the fifth millennium BC. e., as a result of the decomposition of the tribal society, the separation of the tribal nobility (elders and leaders) and the emergence of slavery.

In the fifth millennium BC. e. in Egypt, several dozen primitive formations are created - nomes, which, after long wars in the middle of the fourth millennium, first united into two kingdoms - Lower Egypt and Lower Egypt (South and North). And then, after a bloody war, they formed by the end of the fourth millennium BC. e. one centralized state.

The formation of nomes, their grouping into two kingdoms and their subsequent unification into one state, were caused by the growing class stratification and the need for centralized management of the irrigation system.

The opinion about the creation of a single centralized state in Egypt under the pharaoh Menes (about 3000 BC) has been criticized in modern scientific literature. The unification of the state cannot be considered a one-time act of this pharaoh. It was the result of the actions of a number of rulers over the years, and it was a painful, bloody, violent process.

Similar processes took place in ancient Mesopotamia and other states of the Ancient East. And also in Ancient Greece and in Rome.

Egypt became the second in chronology, after Sumer, the center where ancient civilization, culture and statehood were formed, which had a powerful influence on the Mediterranean civilizations of the subsequent period and on the entire world history. Unlike Mesopotamia, the ancient Egyptian statehood was practically not interrupted, laying down a single tradition of organization that has changed little for more than two millennia.

public administration system. The foundations of the ancient Egyptian state organization were already formed in the Old Kingdom and later remained almost unchanged. The central institutions of this organization were the royal power and a special system of relations between the center and individual regions of the country.

The ruler of Egypt (insibaya - of the ancient era, pharaoh - of the New Kingdom) belonged to royal power, sacred in origin and almost unlimited in its powers; pharaohs were the most pronounced carriers of the principles of the ancient Eastern monarchy as a type of state. According to the Egyptian doctrine, the power of the pharaoh was created and strengthened by the gods, the ruler is the bearer of their will in the country. He conducts religious ceremonies, regulates administration, intervening in conflicts between administration and customs (he does not govern himself!), restores temples, sends expeditions, organizes work, appoints chief administrators. In management, the pharaoh manifests the will of the god Thoth by issuing decrees, but in the idea, everything must comply with ancient customs and canons. Therefore, one of the pillars of power is the archives of temples. The ruler was considered the guarantor of the country's unity; in the field of foreign policy, he supported the "cosmic order". Traditionally, power was considered hereditary, but the Egyptian dynasty was a broader concept. It was allowed to inherit the throne by women (moreover, their subsequent husband took the title of ruler from them), other relatives. Inheritance by male relatives (brothers) was considered natural; in order to transfer the throne to his son, it was necessary to justify this politically - as a rule, the still reigning pharaoh held the coronation of his heir.

The main figure of the administration was, chati - the great ruler, whose position arose in the Old Kingdom; from about the 22nd century, it was trusted only to the relatives of the king. He was considered the treasurer of the gods, "secret adviser to barbarian countries", the head of all work and assignments - that is, almost all the full control belonged to him, and not to the king. Chati was also the supreme judge - the head of the so-called. "6 great chambers". In Egyptian rules, the Chati should be aware of all the affairs in the country: “The Governor should be informed about the closing of places at such and such an hour, and about their opening. They report to him about the fortresses of the south and north, and about everything that goes out of the royal house, and about everything that enters there, for everything enters and leaves through his messenger; the governors report to him about themselves, then they go to the king for advice ... "

The palace administration was little specialized. The chief distributor of bread, the cupbearer, quartermasters, the supreme magician, the keeper of the seal stood out; one of the important positions was the title of head of the book chamber and archives of the king, who controlled all state acts. But these positions were rather honorary titles and duties entrusted to nobles.

Egypt was administratively divided into regions - nomes, nomes - into districts-tops, then into communal districts. The ruler of the nome had administrative and financial powers, he was also the great priest of one of the cults. The nomarchs lived in the capital, and their official deputies were in charge of affairs. Assistants were scribes and royal judges. Next to the nomarchs were the leaders of the military detachments.

The main figure of the ancient Egyptian administration was the scribe. The scribes conducted all the paperwork, carried out administrative assignments, distributed food, collected taxes, and supervised public works. They were a whole estate, which was difficult to get into, and this position was given, along with state status, and the right to rent, land holdings, even slaves. The Egyptian nobility was generated by public service, and the nobleman could not be imagined without a service post, functions, and powers of office.

military organization. Another feature of the ancient Egyptian state system there was an early separation and a strong development of the military organization. Nominally, the supreme leader of the army was the pharaoh, but since ancient times, next to him was the position of the highest military commander responsible for recruiting, equipping, and training troops. A standing army appeared already in the period of the Early Kingdom, although it was armed only with copper hatchets and shields. Under the pharaohs of the 12th dynasty (XIX-XVIII centuries BC), a kind of guard guarded the king and the capital; the position of mayor of the capital appeared. The army was divided into two parts: a foot army and a chariot army (there was no cavalry, although the Egyptians mastered horseback riding around 1500 BC). Half of the army was permanently stationed in the south of the country, half in the north. The tactical unit was a detachment of 50-200 soldiers with their own banner; every 5 warriors obeyed their elder. The weapon was state-owned and was issued only for the campaign (in the infantry there were archers and spearmen). Chariot troops were in a special position. The chariot corps was a kind of military-diplomatic academy, it was necessary to pass it in order to get high positions in the army. In the XII century. BC e. a professional fleet appeared.

Ancient Egypt gave the history of law perhaps the first example of special military legislation attributed to Pharaoh Sesostris. Received in military service became an estate of warriors, they were obliged to live together, constantly practice in the possession of weapons and in military skill. Warriors did not have the right to do other things, they should not be absent from their locations. Disobedience to superiors, deliberate desertion was considered a serious criminal offense.

Court and laws. The Egyptian court was significantly isolated in its organization, and this was also an important feature of the entire political system. Justice as a whole was based on two principles: 1) the unshakable preservation of the privileges of royal power; 2) the traditional privileges of the priesthood. Judicial activity was closely associated not with the administration (although the chief steward was the supreme judge), but with the traditions of priestly power, which bears the characteristic features of a slave-owning society of this stage of development.

At present, science does not have accurate data regarding ancient Egyptian legislation. But it seems to me that chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead can act as a prototype for future legislation. This is a collection of religious dogmas that regulate relations and life between the ancient Egyptians based on local religious traditions. In a later period, the content of chapter 125 was transformed into moral laws, which later became the basis of customary law.

The trial was free for the subjects. The main category of cases of the nome courts were financial and tax cases. Since every year, all the Egyptians were required to declare their name, place of residence, property and income in the region - food or in-kind duties were calculated from this (before 1 thousand, BC, the Egyptians did not know money in the proper sense of the word) . Criminal cases were considered by special or higher courts: "6 great chambers". At the head of the entire higher system was the Supreme Court of 30 judges (during the Late Kingdom). The chairmen wore special signs - golden chains. The Egyptian court decided cases without motivation: only "yes" or "no" in response to the accusation. Giving evidence was conditional on taking an oath. There are known cases of judicial torture (beating with sticks) for compulsion to “tell the truth”. In applying the law, judges had to be guided by customs and traditions. The idea of ​​the conformity of the court decision with the exact prescription of the law, apparently, did not yet exist. Although there were codified (i.e., combined into a code and systematized) laws in Egypt. The legendary beginning of such laws was attributed to the god Thoth (Hermes Trimegistus of the Greek tradition): even at the foundation of the state of antiquity, he allegedly handed over 42 sacred books to the priests, of which books 2-13 were devoted to the prerogatives of the king and the laws of government. By the 19th century BC e. is the publication of a special code by Pharaoh Bokhoris, where a large place was given to the regulation of transactions, trade turnover, and various kinds of contracts (very peculiar in Egyptian law). The “scrolls” codes were contained as the greatest shrine in the archives of “6 chambers”: in one of the ancient Egyptian literary works that described the ups and downs of the 1st transitional period, the death of these scrolls was said to be the greatest tragedy.

The administrative system of the Ancient Egyptian state was distinguished by the greater and independent role of the temple administration, closed in the nomes; it was she who mainly performed, through scribes, economic, distribution and financial functions.

Ancient Kingdom (XXVIII - XXIII centuries BC)

The first long period of stable and effective central power in Egypt falls on the years of the third - sixth dynasties, this is the period of the so-called Old Kingdom (according to the periodization of Manetho). It was at this time that the ancient Egyptian state was finally formed and consolidated, as a single and cruel economic organism to the limit. Within the framework of which, the horticultural and cattle-breeding north was successfully combined with the agricultural south, and the water regime set by the regular floods of the Nile was everywhere maintained, with annual and generous soil fertilization with silt, the capital of the country was Memphis, based at the junction of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Pharaohs, starting with the rulers of the third dynasty, were no longer just deified kings - they were considered equal to the gods. There was a strict ritual to worship them. It was these considerations that formed the basis for the construction of those giant pyramids, which, up to our days, are majestic symbols of ancient Egypt - the genius of craftsmen, the work of builders, the omnipotence and the divine status of rulers. The pyramids of the pharaohs of the third and fourth dynasties of Djoser (Jeser), Snefru (Snefru), Cheops (Khufu), Khafre (Khafre) and a number of others are striking in their size: the largest of them, the Cheops pyramid has a kilometer in perimeter at the base and reaches a height of 147m., this pyramid was built, according to the legends recorded by Greek historians, about 100 thousand years ago. person for 20 years.

Starting from the Fifth Dynasty, the construction of large pyramids declined sharply - apparently, the centralized administration began to weaken and could no longer easily mobilize tens of thousands of people and spend huge amounts of money on prestigious and expensive buildings. The pyramids of the pharaohs of the fifth and sixth dynasties were small and poorly built, but the tombs of the nobles began to shine with wealth, which indirectly indicates the strengthening of the position of the local nobility.

The high degree of centralization of administration, which arose at a very early stage in the development of society and the state, shifted many of the usual accents and played a significant role in shaping the specific features of the ancient Egyptian structure, which is by no means known to science in all its important details. It is worth mentioning here that the nature of the sources - much more meager than what happened in Mesopotamia with its hundreds of thousands of economic reporting documents inscribed on clay tablets - does not allow drawing far-reaching conclusions. On the contrary, it forces one to make assumptions and make reservations even when it comes to the most basic things, for example, about the forms of economy. About the organization of production and even about the way of life of the population.

It can be assumed that at one time, at a very early stage of the existence of statehood, the form of organization and way of life of the population was - as it always and everywhere happened - an agricultural community, that is, a collective of farmers who cultivated a common land divided into family plots, connected by mutual assistance, a system reciprocal obligations and paid taxes to the authorities. But in the ancient Egyptian documents there is no evidence of the existence of this kind of socio-economic structures, even in relation to the past. Most likely, this was due to the fact that in those times that are described in the texts, there was no longer a community, there were no full-fledged community members independent of the authorities and not controlled by it, such as those that always numerically prevailed in Mesopotamia.

It seems that the ancient Egyptian community, for some weighty reasons, one of them should be considered the very nature of the economy in a narrow strip along the Nile with a constant dependence on its floods and the need for collective, and led from the center of work to overcome the consequences of these floods, were almost completely absorbed by the government. Which was incorporated into the system of royal temple and noble households.

As for the structural characteristics of all the large farms mentioned, they, judging by the available information, were in principle of the same type and similar in type to the temple and state farms of Mesopotamia at that time, when the level of centralization of administration and regulation of work was maximum there. So, there is reason to believe that in the ancient Egyptian farms there were large fields cultivated by detachments of workers, “servants of the king”, the harvest from which went to state barns. The “servants of the king” themselves received either renditions from state barns, or allotments, for the use of which they, perhaps, also paid taxes. There are references that the “servants of the tsar” received tools from the warehouses of the economy, used state-owned working cattle, seed grain, etc. In terms of legal capacity, the “servants of the tsar” clearly did not belong to the number of full-fledged ones. Among them were not only farmers, but also artisans of various specialties. There are many scenes in the images, colorfully depicting work in various workshops, from jewelry and weaving to bakeries and breweries, and all of them are subordinate to the bosses, often depicted with whips, sticks and other non-ambiguous symbols of their power. These paintings raise the question of whether there were full rights in the Egyptian society of the Old Kingdom at all? It seems to be as difficult to answer as the closely related question of the community.

The Egyptian state of the period of the Old Kingdom was a powerful and well-organized apparatus of power, based on the general principle of power-property. The state economy dominated indefinitely: all those involved in power, precisely because of their official position, owned their property, including not only official, but also personal possessions. The data on sale and purchase and on private acquisitions of a market nature in relation to the Old Kingdom are literally few, and some of them are at least debatable. But still, by the end of the period, the structure described above, under the influence of the privatization process, began to deform. started new period.

Middle Kingdom (XXI - XVIII centuries BC)

The internal policy of the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom was initially carried out under the sign of a fierce struggle between the authorities of the center and separatist tendencies on the ground.

During the reign of the twelfth dynasty, and especially Senusret III, the service bureaucracy came to the fore noticeably, replacing the hereditary noble nobility and even somewhat pushing the influential priesthood. The army also began to play a big role at the court. Soldiers and their superiors received official allotments and generous rewards for their service. All this contributed to the strengthening of the power of the center, the creation of an effective administration, which was manifested with the greatest force in the example of the construction of a giant reservoir in the Fayum region. During the reign of Amenemhet III, a huge natural basin in the area of ​​the Fayum oasis was turned into Lake Merida, a large artificial reservoir, with the help of a series of dams, dams, canals and locks. Allowed to accumulate excess waters of the Nile during the floods and thereby regulate the level of its waters, irrigate numerous new fertile lands in the area. This grandiose project, as well as the huge labyrinth built here, next to the tomb of the pharaoh, were later considered by the Greeks as masterpieces of the building art of the Egyptians.

The New Kingdom (XVI - XI centuries BC) and the heyday of Ancient Egypt.

The successors of Ahmose, especially Thutmose I and Thutmose II, and then the latter's widow, Queen Hatshepsut, were strong and powerful rulers, under whom an active foreign policy and conquest of Egypt was launched, both in the north and in the south. Across the country, grandiose construction, primarily temple, unfolded. The ruined by the Hyksos and the decayed temple buildings were replaced by new and majestic stone masses, among which the metropolitan temple complex of the sun god Amun in Thebes stood out for its splendor and size. Thutmose III, the son of Thutmose II, who ruled after the death of his stepmother, consolidated the achievements of his predecessors by conquering Syria and Palestine, expanding the southern borders of the country to the fourth Nile threshold. His large and well-organized army, the main force of which was horse-drawn war chariots, practically did not know defeat. Colossal military booty, including captives, flowed in a powerful stream to Egypt, where it settled in the storerooms of temples, in the households of the king and his dignitaries. The successors of Thutmose III actively continued his policy, the success of which brought to life the need for some reforms.

The reforms affected, first of all, the management system. The country was divided into two parts, north and south, headed by governors subordinate to the pharaoh, vested with broad powers. The recently independent nomarchs turned into officials, each of whom had his own office with scribes and employees and was responsible for managing the nome. Special chiefs ruled over cities and fortresses, as well as conquered areas (as governors). The activities of all administrators were strictly determined by special norms and instructions, the content of which is known from the texts preserved in the tombs. There are also references in the texts to 40 leather scrolls, which, perhaps, beat something like a code of laws and regulations, by which officials were obliged to be guided (this code itself has not reached us).

Having become a strong military power, an empire in which the conquered peoples were included, and borders that reached north to the Euphrates, Egypt entered into active foreign policy relations with other states of the Middle East. With the Mitannian and Hittite kingdoms, with the Kassite rulers of Babylonia, moreover, from this era in the Egyptian archives, many valuable diplomatic documents (Tell Amarna archives) have been preserved, allowing us to present a picture of the international relations of that time.

Late Kingdom: Egypt under foreign rule.

The accumulation of Libyans in the north of the country and the use of many of them as mercenary soldiers led, at the turn of the 2nd - 1st millennium BC, ambitious Libyan military leaders who actively intervened in the internal struggle of the pharaohs with growing local nobility. This intervention ended with the fact that one of the commanders, Sheshonk, in the middle of the tenth century. BC, seized power and laid the foundation for the 22nd Libyan dynasty - the first of a series of foreign dynasties that ruled Egypt.

An important new feature of the social structure of Egypt in the Late Kingdom is the strengthening of corporatism. The essence of this phenomenon, already familiar to the New Kingdom, was reduced to an ever greater isolation of wealthy strata, whether they were priests, warriors, or artisans of various specialties. The heredity of occupations contributed to the isolation of the respective corporations, internal communications and mutual assistance among which were especially important in the conditions of developing commodity-money relations, with a clear weakening of the centralized administration. Temple farms still existed and had considerable power, but now they more and more clearly became the farms of priestly-cult institutions and were thus excluded from the sphere of state economy and, accordingly, had no great political value.

The state apparatus of Hellenistic Egypt was characterized by a combination of the traditions of the pharaonic administration with Greco-Macedonian principles. With the exception of a few policies, such as Alexandria, the rest of the country was traditionally divided into nomes, ruled by strategist officials. The nomes were subdivided into toparchies, and those into settlements, koma. At the head of the administration was a dioiket minister, who was in charge of the economy and the treasury. It was to him that the aforementioned provincial administrators were subordinate.

The judicial system was reorganized in accordance with Greek law.

Summing up, all of the above, it should be noted that the Egyptian version of development differs from other examples in its total involvement of the producer in the state economy, and because of this, the pace of privatization is extremely slow.

Completion of the tribal system in Egypt. With the transition to settled life and the development of irrigation agriculture, the life of the Nile tribes changed significantly. They began to turn into rural neighborhood communities. Former tribal leaders and tribal elders retained the right to govern the communities.
The land of the tribe was divided among the individual families. They had their own tools and animals. They cultivated their fields and harvested their own crops. Part of it was donated to the benefit of the community.
Under the leadership of leaders and elders, irrigation facilities are being created and updated.
The emergence of the first states. Soon the Nile Valley was populated. The population grew more and more. There were rich and poor tribes. Between them, cruel bloody wars for wealth and land begin.
From this time, drawings on stone plates have been preserved. They show military clashes on land and water, herds of captured animals, strings of bound captives. Previously, prisoners were killed. Now they were turned into slaves and forced to work. The Egyptians called them "the living slain."
In this long, stubborn struggle, strong tribes subjugate weak neighbors. There are large associations of tribes headed by the leader of the strongest of them. He turns into the king of a small state. The fortified city became the center of the state. It had a royal palace, a temple of the main god of this area, a market. Craftsmen lived and worked here, and the royal troops were stationed here.
Total to the end IV millennium BC. e. there were more than forty such kingdoms in Egypt. Their population consisted of noble people, free citizens and slaves.
The emergence of a unified Egyptian state. The continuous wars of many Egyptian states continued for several centuries. They ended with the creation of two powerful states that divided the whole country. These are Lower Egyptian and Upper Egyptian kingdoms. The first belonged to the delta, and the second all of southern Egypt.
The kings of the northern kingdom wore a red crown, while those of the south wore a white one. With the creation of a single power, the united red and white crown of these kingdoms became a sign of royal power until the end of Egyptian history.
Around 3000 B.C. e. The king of southern Egypt, Mina, captured the Lower Egyptian kingdom. Thus a single Egyptian kingdom arose.
To the south of the delta, Mina built the capital, the city of Memphis. From the second name of this city - Het-ka-Ptah - the word "Egypt" comes from.
According to the Egyptians, their king was a living earthly god. Therefore, the personal name of the king was considered sacred and it was forbidden to pronounce his name aloud. The king was called a pen, which means "Big House", or "royal palace". The word "pharaoh" comes from the pen. This is the name of the ancient Egyptian kings.
The pharaohs had unlimited power. Their orders were carried out by thousands of officials.
The construction of the pyramids. Silent witnesses of the unusual power of the Egyptian rulers are the pyramids. These are structures where the dead pharaohs were buried. Each Egyptian pharaoh began to build a pyramid immediately after coming to power. And they have been building for decades. Even the oldest of them have been preserved in good condition. Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was considered by the Greeks as the first miracle ancient world. The pyramid has a height 146 m and is composed of 2300 thousand huge faceted blocks. The lightest of them weigh at least 2.5 tons. The weight of the heaviest reaches 15 T.
Impressive is not only the size of this hulk, but also the perfection of the work of its builders. The stones are so precisely fitted one to one that it is impossible to move even the blade of a knife between them. Until now, it remains a mystery how, with the help of copper, stone and wooden tools, the Egyptians managed to build such huge structures.

The ancient historian Herodotus wrote about how the pyramid of Cheops was built. All Egyptians were forced to build pyramids. Temples were even closed and services to the gods were interrupted. The stone mined in the quarries on the east bank of the Nile, people were obliged to drag to the river. There he was loaded onto ships and transported to the opposite bank of the Nile. From there, the stones were moved to the construction site. Constantly worked 100 000 people. Every three months they were replaced with new ones.
Only ten years paved the road, which brought the stone from the quarries. The pyramid itself was built 20 years.

Nowadays, one can go through a narrow passage to the room where Cheops was buried. Now it's empty. Almost all the tombs were plundered in antiquity.
Not far from the pyramids is a sphinx carved from the rock - a statue of a lion with a human head. The Sphinx is over 20 m, and body length - 57 m. He has a frightening expression on his face. Since ancient times, he has been called the "father of fear."

Memoirs of an official about participation in the construction of the pyramid
His highness the pharaoh ordered me to bring a large stone slab from the south of Egypt. I went and for just 17 days delivered the slab from the quarries to the banks of the Nile. There's more for 17 days I built a ship a length of 30 and width in 15 m. Through 17 days I brought the slab to the site of the construction of the pyramid.

In Egypt, earlier than in other countries, a class slave-owning society developed and a state arose for the first time in the world. When the first state formations appeared there, it is not known for certain, but by the 3rd millennium BC. e. state in Egypt existed.

The disintegration of the communal order proceeded slowly in this country, and thus the development of private-property relations and the slave-owning system was hampered.

By the time the unified Egyptian kingdom was formed, there were approximately 40 separate regions (nomes) on its territory, headed by rulers - nomarchs. The nomarchs tried to extend their power over the entire country by waging bitter wars with their neighbors.

Initially, the nomes united into two independent states - Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. The first unification of Egypt took place during the Early Kingdom and was carried out by the pharaoh Menes.

The history of the ancient Egyptian state is divided into several periods: Early, Ancient, Middle, New and Late kingdoms.

Early kingdom

Little is known about the history of the Early Kingdom. The Egyptian state of this period still resembles an ancient rather primitive tribal union. The communities actually owned the land on the basis of communal land tenure, but the state power considered itself the supreme owner of all the land and levied in its favor a part of the income of the free population of the communities. The population consisted mainly of free communal peasants.

Along with the royal extensive economy, there were other large farms. The king, although he was at the very top of the social ladder, did not yet stand out among the powerful nobles. As a result of numerous wars that were fought during the period of the Early Kingdom, captive slaves were supplied, used in large farms.

During the period of the Early Kingdom, the conquest of Lower Egypt by Upper Egypt took place, and as a result, a dual kingdom was formed. However, this unity was fragile, and the entire history of the Early Kingdom is permeated with the struggle between the Upper Egyptian conquerors and Lower Egypt.

The king was at the head of the state. He was surrounded by a numerous courtyard, consisting of many court officials and various servants. The significance of royal power was emphasized by the complete deification of its bearers. The slave-owning nobility held important positions in the royal economy itself. This period is characterized by the formation of the state apparatus.

One of the main tasks of the state of this period was the organization of irrigation in the Nile Valley. The supreme management of irrigation work was in the hands of the state

A permanent army was just being formed, although the state waged numerous wars with neighboring tribes.

ancient kingdom

The Old Kingdom covers the period around 2700-2400 BC. BC e. At this time, the first strong centralized slave state was formed in Egypt. The ancient kingdom was distinguished by a high level of economic development. A well-organized army of workers provided the country's population with everything necessary. The standard of living of various segments of the population had already been clearly defined. At the top of the social ladder stood a large slave-owning nobility, which possessed huge land holdings. Large landowners occupied important positions at court and in state administration.

Priests played a special role in Egyptian society. They were surrounded by universal reverence, since it was believed that the priests had knowledge of the afterlife. The most important of this knowledge was recorded in the Book of the Dead, sacred to the Egyptians. In addition, the importance of the priests increased due to the fact that they mastered the art of healing, the construction of complex architectural structures, and were able to calculate the area of ​​land. The priests served as a pillar of royal power, glorifying the pharaohs; the latter, in turn, freed the temple households from taxes and working off for the state.

The main labor force in the state were communal peasants. They united in "working detachments", used not only for work in agriculture, but also for the construction of various structures, when laying roads, and digging canals. The pharaoh controlled the "working detachments" through his officials.

In the era of the Old Kingdom, there were still few slaves, although there was a slave market, people were bought and sold. Slavery was widespread not only at the top of society, but also in the middle strata of the population. Slaves were used, as a rule, for work in the household.

The state system of the Old Kingdom is characterized by the centralization of government. With the help of the religious ideology of the deification of the king and his deeds, the authority of the pharaoh was strengthened. All legislative, executive and judicial power was concentrated in his hands. The attention of the pharaohs was drawn to all the important affairs of the state. Irrigation measures, courts, appointments and awards, the imposition of duties and exemption from them, military campaigns, navigation measures, state building and development of the earth's interior - everything was carried out according to the orders of the king.

The most important positions in the state - supreme dignitaries, military commanders, treasure keepers, chiefs of work, high priests - were, as a rule, occupied by members of the royal house.

The first person in state administration after the king was the supreme dignitary (jati). He directed the activities of the supreme judicial bodies, was in charge of local government, managed various state workshops, supervised all the work of the king, and various state storage facilities were in his charge. Sometimes the supreme dignitaries transferred part of the functions to other dignitaries.

Warfare reached significant development in the Old Kingdom. A number of ranks of military leaders are known. The Egyptian army consisted of two parts: a small detachment of specially trained and well-trained soldiers and a large militia of peasants who were recruited into the army for several months and temporarily released from field work. Police functions were performed by special detachments.

During this period, the most important departments of the state were created: the military, the department of public works, financial and tax, judicial.

The ancient communal courts were increasingly supplanted by representatives of royal jurisdiction. The highest court - "six great houses" - was located in the capital. The pharaoh was considered the bearer of the highest jurisdiction, who in urgent cases appointed special judges from among the most trusted persons to deal with secret cases related to crimes of national importance. The royal courts also included the board of thirty, the courts of the nomes, the courts of the cities. Temple courts are known.

The nomarchs, who were at the head of the regions, carried out the economic management of the region and gave orders to prepare the fields for sowing, build new dams, lay channels, monitor the harvest and distribute it among the population.

This form of socio-political structure, in which the head of state, who has full power, is deified, management is carried out with the help of a bureaucratic apparatus, and the free population of the country is burdened with various state duties, is called oriental despotism.

By the end of the era of the Old Kingdom, the power of the pharaohs began to weaken. Nominally, the entire land of the country was considered the property of the pharaoh. In reality, the royal estates were reduced due to donations distributed as a reward for court and other service. Surrounding the pharaoh, the army of hangers-on increased, which led to the devastation of the royal treasury. The nobles sought exemption from paying taxes, from the maintenance of those passing through them. the land of persons who were in the service of the pharaoh, from the parcel; their people for public works. In many places, the rule of the nomes was inherited from father to son.

The decline of royal power leads to the onset of the "Time of Troubles" in Egypt. Numerous palace coups testify to a political crisis followed by an economic crisis. The ancient kingdom collapsed. But after a transitional period of turmoil, a new kingdom arises on its ruins - the Middle Kingdom. The country got out of chaos, and Egypt again found itself entirely, as before, under the rule of one pharaoh. He bore the title "divine".

middle kingdom

From the end of the 3rd millennium to 1600 BC e. the era of the Middle Kingdom continues.

In the second half of the era of the Old Kingdom, new sovereign families began to emerge in the localities. By the end of this era, the importance of the local nobility is increasing. It is supported by a wide range of people. As a result, the country breaks up into semi-independent regions. The general Egyptian power of the pharaohs is in decline.

The liberation of the regions from the central government caused a revival of local economic activity.

Public relations in the heyday of the Middle Kingdom (XVIII century BC) are marked by two important features: on the one hand, there is a significant increase in slavery in private households and the position of landowners is changing, on the other hand, the stratification of rural communities leads to the formation of a layer of small owners - nedzhes ("small"). Prosperous landlords and small peasants stood out among the nedjes. The wealthy representatives of the middle stratum of the population penetrated the environment of the priesthood and bureaucracy, became scribes, merchants and even landowners. They were called strong nejes. They were opposed by the poor nedjes, in their position little different from the slaves. The importance of the average words of the townspeople in the life of society is growing. The city is a community that has been legal entity who owned slaves and land.

The beginning of the era of the Middle Kingdom was marked by the almost unlimited power of the nomarchs. During the heyday of the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs, striving to unite the state and strengthen the central power, try to limit the power of the nomarchs, replacing the old, independent rulers of the regions with new ones, subordinate to the royal authority. The main support of the king was the courtier, serving the nobility, as well as the army guarding the king.

In the reign of Ammenemhet III, the power of state power is strengthened. He managed to weaken the power of the nomarchs, but this did not eliminate the contradictions that torn Egyptian society during the Middle Kingdom, which contributed to the conquest of Egypt at the end of the Middle Kingdom by the Hyksos.

new kingdom

With the defeat and expulsion of the Hyksos, the period of the New Kingdom begins, which lasts about 500 years (1575-1087 BC).

As a result of the wars, the territory of Egypt increases, and it becomes a huge power. This was the second golden age of Egypt.

Numerous wars contributed to the development of slavery. Slave-owning relations in Egypt during the period of the New Kingdom penetrated relatively deeply into society. Slaves were owned even by people of modest social status - shepherds, artisans, gardeners, etc. The development of slavery can be explained by the increased need of small farms for slave labor, which was no longer used only in the household. Stonemasons, stone carriers, blacksmiths, weavers, builders and other artisans came out of the slave environment.

Among the farmers, obviously, there were many community members. Only a few of them became rich, while the bulk of the communal farmers became poorer. Farmers were forcibly used on royal and temple lands. There were also cultivators who were used by private individuals. Some wealthy farmers had their own working cattle, working equipment. Temple farmers could have slaves. Reviews of people, livestock, poultry were periodically held in order to impose various hardships, assign them to one or another job.

feature public relations in the New Kingdom is the rise of the priesthood. With the growth of the wealth of the high priesthood, it is freed from dependence on the central government. The priesthood turns into a closed hereditary caste.

The state system is characterized by the strengthening of the system of centralized bureaucratic management. The country was divided into two administrative districts: Upper and Lower Egypt, which, in turn, were divided into regions (nomes). At the head of each district was a special governor of the pharaoh, which further contributed to the centralization of management. All power in the nomes was concentrated in the hands of the tsarist officials. Cities and fortresses were headed by chiefs appointed by the pharaoh.

A distinctive feature of the state system of this period is the fact that the pharaoh patronizes the dignitaries who came from the bottom, as opposed to those who inherited the rank and wealth from their ancestors. Thus, the serving nobility overshadows the aristocratic nobility.

The first and highest dignitary was the vizier. He was in charge of the establishment of court ceremonial in the palace, all the offices, the administration of the capital, disposed of the entire land fund of the country and the entire water supply system; in his hands was the highest military power, concentrated supreme judicial supervision and control over all tax and local administration.

Important officials were the chief treasurer and the head of all royal works. Numerous scribes wrote down orders, oversaw the work of farmers and artisans, and counted the revenues going to the treasury.

The aggressive policy of the pharaohs left a special imprint on the entire system of government in Egypt, giving it a military character, strengthening the role of military commanders in the field of economic management.

In the XII-XI centuries. BC e. The new kingdom is in decline. The opposing social forces, concentrated in the north and south, not being able to overcome each other, led the country to break up into two parts. The unified state power under these conditions became nominal.

Late kingdom

The history of the Late Kingdom begins in 7th century BC e. and continues until the 6th century. BC e.

At that time, the division of society into free and slaves became clearer than before. Transactions of self-sale into slavery became widespread. The impoverishment of broad sections of free people grew. A significant part of the population was still dependent on the treasury, temples, and the nobility. The situation of artisans worsened.

The privileged class, along with the priesthood, is military. The military support of the pharaohs was made up of foreign mercenaries.

The backbone of the local nobility, as before, consisted of nomarchs and city rulers. Other representatives of the bureaucratic nobility differed little from their predecessors: they were the supreme dignitary, keeper of the treasury, custodians of the treasury, supervisors of work, judges, etc. Military leaders occupied a special place.

1 .1.2 The main features of the law of Ancient Egypt

The source of law in ancient Egypt was originally a custom. With the development of the state, the legislative activity of the pharaohs becomes active. There is information about the compilation of codifications, but none of them has reached the present day.

Ownership. In Egypt, there were several types of land holdings. There were state, temple, private and communal lands. Large landownership arose quite early. Temples and royal nobles acted as large landowners. They could make various kinds of transactions with land (donate, sell, transfer by inheritance). In the countryside, the development of private property proceeded rather slowly. The community acted as a deterrent here. However, sources show that already in the period of the Old Kingdom, communal lands passed from hand to hand.

Movable property - slaves, working cattle, inventory - much earlier passed into private hands and was the subject of various transactions.

Commitments. Ancient Egyptian law knew a number of treaties. Among them are a loan agreement, hiring, sale and purchase, land lease, luggage, partnerships.

Due to the great value of the land in Egypt, a special procedure was created for its transfer from hand to hand. This procedure provided for the commission of three acts: the first was to reach an agreement between the seller and the buyer on the subject of the contract and making payment; the second act was of a religious nature and consisted in the seller taking an oath confirming the contract; the third act was the introduction of the buyer into possession, which led to the transfer of ownership of the land. Gradually, the second act ceased to be performed.

Marriage and family relations. Marriage was concluded on the basis of an agreement, on behalf of the husband and wife. The contract also determined the legal regime of property brought by the wife in the form of a dowry: it remained the property of the wife. It was also allowed to transfer to the wife all the property of the family. In Egypt, for a long time there were remnants of matriarchy, which affected the relatively high position of women in the family. Over time, as the rights of the husband are strengthened, he becomes the head of the family, and the woman, despite the fact that in general her position was quite high, loses her former equality with her husband. Divorce was free for both parties in Egypt.

Egyptian law knew inheritance by law and by will. The legal heirs were children of both sexes. A will could be made by both husband and wife.

Criminal law and process. Egyptian law was aware of a fairly wide range of acts recognized as crimes. Encroachments on the state and social system were considered the most serious (such were considered treason, conspiracies, rebellions, disclosure of state secrets). In such cases, all family members were responsible along with the immediate culprit. Crimes of a religious nature were severely punished (the murder of sacred animals - cats, owls; sorcery).

Among the crimes against the person sources name murder; parricide was especially condemned and severely punished. Violation of the established rules of medical art in the event of the death of a patient was considered a grave crime.

Among the property crimes, sources call theft, measuring, weighing.

The crimes against honor and dignity included adultery and rape.

Severe punishments pursued the goal of intimidation. The death penalty was a very common punishment. In addition, self-mutilating punishments were used - cutting off the nose, ears; beating with sticks; imprisonment, enslavement; monetary fines.

Process for criminal and civil affairs carried out in the same way and began on the complaint of the victim.

Testimony and oaths served as evidence. Torture was used. The proceedings were in writing.

Task number 22. Fill in the missing words

Egypt - that was the name of the country that was located (on the banks of which river? From which place and to which sea?) along the banks of the Nile River from the first rapids to the Mediterranean Sea(on which continent? In what part of it?) in northeastern Africa.

The city became the first capital of the Egyptian state Memphis.

The kings of ancient Egypt are called Pharaoh

Task number 23. Answer the questions and complete the task

In the ancient Egyptian "Tale of Two Brothers", the older brother says to the younger: "Let's prepare a plow and a team of bulls, because the grain field has come out of the water..."

Explain these words of the elder brother. What does he propose to do? In what month, according to our calendar, the fields in ancient Egypt were freed from water? What natural phenomenon was this associated with? Describe it

He offered to plow. In July, the Nile began to flood, which is associated with the season of tropical rainfall in the areas of the river's sources. The current brought decayed tropical plants and salt precipitation, which served as excellent fertilizer. By November, the water was subsiding and it was time to plow

Task number 24. Complete the task on the drawing of our time

An ancient Egyptian text says: “Woe to the farmer! He is bound, his wife and children are bound."

Describe the drawing of tax collection in Egypt. Guess who this Egyptian is in white robes and with a staff in his hand. What kind of people accompany him (on the right)? What is a cross-legged man sitting on the ground doing? To the right of it are two empty baskets: what will they be filled with? Who was put on their knees and why (center)? Who is this woman with children (on the left)? Why what is happening became a grief for the farmer?

A tax collector is depicted in white clothes. He is accompanied by armed guards and porters. A scribe sits on the ground, in whose documents it is written how much grain should be withdrawn, for which they prepared baskets depicted to the right of the scribe. The peasant, probably, cannot hand over the grain, because he was put on his knees. On the left we see his wife and children. Even in ancient Egypt natural disasters were not exempted from the tax and the peasant faces severe punishment

Task number 25. Fill in the "timeline"

Mark on the "timeline" the year of the formation of a single state in Egypt. Calculate how many years ago that was. Do the calculations in writing

3000+2013=5013 (years)

Answer: It was 5013 years ago

Task number 26. Fill in the contour map "Ancient Egypt"

1. Inscribe the name of the river that flows through Egypt and mark the 1st threshold on it

2. Paint over in green agricultural areas in Egypt (the borders of the areas are indicated by a dotted line)

3. Write the names of the two seas closest to Egypt

4. Fill in the circle representing the ancient capital of Egypt and write its name

5. Mark the area with the pyramids

Task number 27. Fill in the missing dates

A single state in Egypt was formed around 3000 BC

Pyramid of Pharaoh Cheops was built around 2560 BC

Pharaoh Thutmose's conquests were made around 1500 BC

Task number 28. Fill in the contour map "Military campaigns of the pharaohs"

1. Designate with arrows the directions of the aggressive campaigns of the Egyptian troops

2. Trace the boundaries of the Egyptian kingdom around 1500 BC.

3. Inscribe the name of the Asian river, which reached the borders of the Egyptian kingdom in the north (Euphrates)

4. Fill in the circle indicating the city in Asia, which was besieged by the troops of Pharaoh Thutmose for more than six months, and write the name of this city (Megiddo)

5. Fill in the circle indicating the capital of Egypt during the time of Pharaoh Thutmose, and write the name of this city (Thebes)

6. The countries and the peninsula conquered by the pharaohs outside of Egypt are indicated on the map by numbers. Write their names

2. Sinai Peninsula

3. Palestine

4. Phoenicia

Task number 29. Fill in the missing words

The largest conquests were made by 1500 BC Pharaoh by name Thutmose.

Among the Egyptian warriors spearheads, hatchets and blades were made of bronze. This is the name of the alloy of two metals: copper and tin.

The armies of the pharaohs conquered a country rich in gold in Africa Nubia, in Asia - rich in deposits of copper ore Sinai peninsula and countries:

1. Palestine

2. Phoenicia

3. Syria

The borders of the Egyptian kingdom in Asia reached the river Euphrates, and in Africa up to 5 rapids on the river Nile

Task number 30. Fill in the "timeline"

Mark on the "timeline" the dates associated with the reign of the pharaohs Cheops and Thutmose. Could these rulers of Egypt know anything about each other? Explain why you think so

Only Thutmose could know about Cheops, since he lived after him

Task number 31. Fill in the missing letters in the names of the gods and sacred animals revered by the ancient Egyptians

Amun - god of the sun

Apop - the god of darkness

Geb - god of the earth

Nut - goddess of the sky

Thoth is the god of wisdom

Bastet - patroness of women and their beauty

Apis - sacred bull

Set - god of the desert

Osiris - pharaoh and judge in the realm of the dead

Horus is the patron god of the pharaoh ruling in Egypt.

Isis - goddess - wife of Osiris

Anubis - the patron god of the dead

Maat - Goddess of Truth

Task number 32. Remember the myths about the gods and answer the questions

1. How did the Egyptians call the Cat and the Serpent, depicted in the first drawing of our time? Who always wins in a fight between the Cat and the Serpent? Where does it take place? How long does it take?

In the form of a cat, the god of the sun Ra is depicted, in the form of a snake - the god of darkness and evil Apep. Every night they fight underground and Ra always defeats Apophis

2. Describe the second picture of our time. What is shown on it? Whose names of those depicted in the picture do you know? What do you know about each of them? What is the purpose of the wooden box?

According to the myth, Set brought a sarcophagus to the house of Osiris and invited the guests to find out who he would be in height. When Osiris lay down in the sarcophagus, Seth slammed it shut and threw it into the Nile. Osiris and Set were brothers. Osiris then became the king of the underworld, and Set the god of chaos, destruction, war, became the personification of evil, Satan

Task number 33. Answer the questions

Remember the tales of the gods. Who could say such words about himself? For what reason?

1. I hid him, I hid him out of fear that he would not be killed. I called the inhabitants of the swamps to help me. One wise woman told me: “Do not be discouraged and do not be afraid! Your child is inaccessible to his adversary: ​​the thickets are impenetrable, death does not enter through them!

Isis. After the death of her husband, Osiris, Isis was forced to hide with her son Horus in order to save him from Set.

2. Envy and malice torment me. The one whom I envy is handsome, kind, commands thousands of people. They all curse and hate me. For the sake of seizing power in the country, I will do anything, up to murder

Set. He was the brother of Osiris, who ruled Egypt. Seth was jealous of his brother and sought to seize power

3. My name is Amamat, which means "Eater". Those of you who have not done evil and have not been the cause of other people's tears need not be afraid of my sharp teeth. But woe to envious people, liars and thieves! Sooner or later we'll meet them

A mythical creature in the form of a hippopotamus with the paws and mane of a lion and the head of a crocodile. Lived in the underworld. At the trial of Osiris, she devoured the souls of sinners

Task number 34. Answer the questions to the drawing of our time

Night ... Where are two Egyptians sneaking? "I fear the wrath of the gods!" one trembles with fear. "Don't be a coward - we will propitiate the gods with sacrifices! Hurry, I know how to get inside!” - hurries another.

What are they up to? What attracts them to stone masses? You will give an answer if you remember what archaeologists found in the unplundered tomb of Tutankhamun, carved into the rocks on the west bank of the Nile

They make their way to the pyramids to rob them. After the death of the pharaoh, they buried in a sarcophagus, which was made of pure gold, but in addition to the sarcophagus itself, the tomb was filled with jewelry, jewelry, and valuables.

Task number 35. Answer the questions

In ancient Egypt, there was a huge number of hieroglyphs (more than 500), the writing system was very complex, so learning it seemed to be a huge task.

2. Who found it easier to learn to read and write: a boy in ancient Egypt or a Russian schoolchild today? Explain why you think so

It is easier for a student of our days. There are 33 letters in the Russian alphabet, and in addition to consonants, there are vowels. In Egyptian writing, there were no hieroglyphs denoting vowels, in addition to this, the number of hieroglyphs was huge, and, in addition, special signs were used to correctly read combinations of hieroglyphs. All of this made writing much more difficult.

3. On what and with what did the students of Egyptian schools write?

At first they wrote on shards of pottery. When a student mastered writing, he was given papyrus to write. They wrote with a thin reed stick, using black and red paint.

4. Why could the Egyptians who graduated from school afford to wear white clothes, and they did not have calluses on their hands?

The profession of a scribe was considered prestigious and very profitable, they were part of the court of the pharaohs and were exempt from taxes, military service and any kind of physical work.

Task number 36. Solve an ancient problem and answer questions

In the ancient Egyptian task book written on papyrus for the school, there is the following task: “There were seven houses, each with seven cats, each cat ate seven mice, each mouse ate seven spikelets, each ear eaten could give seven measures of grain. Find the sum of the total number of houses, cats, mice, ears of corn and measures of grain"

1. Let's find this amount together.

How many cats lived in seven houses? 7x7=49

How many mice did the cats eat? 49х7=343

How many spikelets did the mice eat before they were eaten by the cats? 343х7=2401

How many measures of grain would the spikelets eaten by mice give? 2401x7=16807

Now add up the numbers:

spikelets 2401

measures of grain 16807 So, what is the total amount? 19607

2. Cats were revered by the Egyptians as sacred animals. If not for them, then the entire population of Egypt would be threatened with starvation. Think why.

They exterminated rodents, the eternal enemies of the crop, for which they were especially revered by the Egyptians.

3. Who did the graduates of the school in ancient Egypt become? Where could they use the ability to multiply, add, subtract, and divide every day?

Scribes, who then served at the court of the pharaohs, noble nobles, at temples and were mainly engaged in accounting for taxes and fees. Literacy opened the way to high government positions

Task number 37. In your textbook, the sun god is called Amon-Ra. In other books, the same god is called differently - Amun-Ra. Do we know how to pronounce ancient Egyptian names correctly? If not, why not?

Most likely we do not know, since in the ancient Egyptian writing there were no hieroglyphs denoting vowel sounds. All words were written in consonants only.

Task number 38. Solve the chainword "On the banks of the Nile"

1. The god of darkness, whose appearance is reproduced by the chainword (Apop). 2. The oldest writing material made from the Nile reed (papyrus). 3. A papyrus book rolled up into a tube (scroll). 4. A stone pillar supporting the ceiling in the temple (column). 5. Sacred bull with a white mark on his forehead (Apis). 6. A richly decorated coffin made of wood or stone (sarcophagus). 7. The son of Osiris, who defeated the evil Set (Horus). 8. One of the names of the sun god (Ra). 9. Another name for the sun god (Amon). 10. Goddess of the sky (Nut). 11. The famous conquering pharaoh (Thutmose). 12. A huge stone figure depicting a lion with a human head (Sphinx). 13. Number of small states that originally emerged in Egypt (forty). 14. An animal in the guise of which the god Amon-Ra fights every night with a ferocious serpent (cat). 15. God of wisdom, who taught people to write (Thoth). 16. Pharaoh, whose tomb archaeologists found unlooted (Tutankhamen). 17. Pharaoh's wife, whose sculptural portrait has survived to this day (Nefertiti). 18. Egyptian letter icon (hieroglyph). 19. The word by which the rulers of Egypt are called (pharaoh). 20. River in Egypt (Nile)

Task number 39. Solve the crossword "In Ancient Egypt"

If you solve the crossword puzzle correctly, you will read the name of a French scientist who solved the mystery of hieroglyphs at the beginning of the 19th century in the horizontally framed cells

Vertically: 1. A special device with which the Egyptians watered high-lying gardens and orchards (shaduf). 2. Goddess of truth (Maat). 3. The first capital of the Egyptian kingdom (Memphis). 4. A literate Egyptian in the service of the pharaoh or his noble (scribe). 5. Pharaoh, for whom the largest tomb (Cheops) was built. 6. Particles of half-decayed plants and rocks remaining on the banks of the Nile after the flood (silt). 7. An area in northern Egypt that looks like a huge triangle (delta). 8. One of the stone pillars that stood in front of the entrance to the temple (obelisk). 9. Jackal-headed god of the dead (Anubis)

Task number 40. Solve the crossword puzzle by remembering the words from the ancient Egyptian text "Instruction of scribes to students." If you have forgotten this text, look it up in your textbook.

Determine which words are missing in the following passages from the "Instruction of the Scribes to the Disciples". Write these words in the cells of the crossword puzzle in the same number and case in which they should be in the text

Horizontally: 1. Be a scribe - he is freed from work as a hoe. 5. Read your book daily. 7. Solve problems silently. 8. Do not spend a single day in idleness. 9. If you wander the streets, you will be beaten with a hippopotamus whip. 11. The monkey understands the words too. 13. The scribe will not be flogged with rods.

Vertical: 2. You will walk around in white clothes. 3. Be a scribe so that your body is smooth. 4. Be a scribe - you will not carry baskets. 6. I'm tired of repeating instructions to you. 7. The boy's ears are on his back. 10. Even lions are trained, but you do it your way. 12. I will hit you a hundred times

Task number 41. Answer the questions

Who do the Egyptians think said these words? To whom were they told?

1. I didn't kill, I didn't steal, I didn't lie, I didn't envy

These are the words of the deceased, which he uttered in the face of Osiris at the trial in the kingdom of the dead.

2. Do not spend a single day in idleness, otherwise they will beat you. The boy's ears on his back

Scribes instructing their students

3. You are like a pig that eats its own pigs.

God of the earth Geb. The Egyptians represented the stars as the children of the sky goddess Nut and Geb. Every morning Nut swallowed the stars, and Geb was angry with her husband, saying these words

4. I take the shortest route to Megiddo to surprise my enemies

Pharaoh Thutmose. Upon learning that the opponents had joined forces, Thutmose decided to take the shortest route through the gorge and caught the enemy by surprise.

5. The son of the sun invites his nobleman to return: you will not die in a foreign land. You will have a stone tomb

The words of Pharaoh Senusret I, addressed to the nobleman Sinuhe, who lived in Syria for many years

Task number 42. Find the bugs

One liar and braggart claimed that with the help of the "time machine" he visited Ancient Egypt

When I got to this country, - he told his friends, - I learned that the Egyptians great sorrow. The Nile has not flooded for several years and has become quite shallow. All the other rivers of Egypt could be forded... The sailors took me up the Nile to the first threshold. I generously paid with it, took change - a handful of small coins and went down to the right bank. In this place, the largest of the pyramids was erected, in which, as everyone knows, Tutankhamen is buried. As soon as I went to the pyramid, a downpour poured down, and I had to hide from him in an oak grove. After waiting for the rain, I began to look for the entrance to the pyramid. However, the Egyptians told me that the tomb of Tutankhamen had been plundered for a long time and not a single thing had been preserved ...
- Stop inventing, - listeners interrupted the narrator, - you have never been to Ancient Egypt! There are a dozen historical errors in your story

Describe these errors

a) The Nile flooded every year, b) The Nile is the only river in Egypt, c) there was no money in ancient Egypt, as such, no coin was minted, d) the tomb of Tutankhamun was located in the Valley of the Kings west of Thebes, it is much north of 1- e) the largest pyramid in Egypt - Cheops and was located in the north near Memphis, f) Tutankhamun himself was almost unknown for a long time and the discovery of his tomb in 1922 is the greatest discovery of archeology, g) rainfall in southern Egypt is an extremely rare occurrence nature and lasts only a few minutes, h) oak does not grow in Egypt, and) Tutankhamun's tomb was not plundered and has survived to our time in its original form, j) items from the tomb are now in museums around the world

Task number 43. Think of an ending to the story

In ancient Egypt, a fairy tale about an enchanted prince was created. Its end has not survived. Here is the beginning of this story:

“There was a pharaoh. A son was born to him. This was the only and long-awaited son whom the pharaoh begged from the gods. But the prince is bewitched, and already at his birth the goddesses predict that he will die young either from a crocodile, or from a snake, or from a dog. Such is the fate that no one can change.
But the prince's parents want to outwit fate. They separated their son from all living things - they placed the boy in a large tower and assigned a faithful servant to him.
Years pass. The boy grows and begins to take an interest in the world around him. Somehow he notices some strange creature on four legs downstairs ... "It's a dog," the servant explains to the surprised child. “Let them bring me the same one!” - asks the prince. And they give him a puppy, which he raises in his tower.
But now the boy becomes a young man, and his parents are forced to explain to him why he lives alone, strictly guarded, in this tower. The prince convinces his father that fate cannot be avoided. And he lets him go on a long journey.
Accompanied by his faithful servant and a dog, the prince on a chariot reaches the country of Syria. Here, too, a beautiful princess lives in a high tower. It will go to the one who shows heroic strength and jumps to a height of 70 cubits right into the window of the tower, from which the princess looks out.
No one succeeds, and only our hero makes a jump and gets to her. At first sight they fell in love with each other. But the father of the princess does not want to give his daughter as a wife to some obscure Egyptian. The fact is that the bewitched prince hid his origin and pretended to be the son of a warrior who fled from an evil stepmother. But the princess does not want to hear about anyone else: “If this young man is taken away from me, I will not eat, I will not drink, I will die at the same hour!” My father had to give in.
Young people got married. They're happy. But the princess began to notice that her husband was sometimes sad. And he reveals a terrible secret to her, speaks about the prediction of the goddesses: "I am doomed to three destinies - a crocodile, a snake, a dog." Then his wife said to him: "Order to kill your dog." He answered her: "No, I will not order to kill the dog, which he took as a puppy and raised."
The princess decides to prevent the terrible fate that hangs over her husband, and she succeeds twice. The first time she saves him from a snake that crawled into the bedroom. Anticipating the danger threatening the prince, the princess put a cup of milk in the bedroom, and the snake, before stinging the prince, attacked the milk. Meanwhile, the princess woke up, called a maid for help, and together they crushed the reptile.
The newlyweds go to Egypt, and here the princess again saves her husband - this time from a crocodile. And then the next day came...

At this point the text on the papyrus breaks off. How do you think the story ended? Suppose that in your answer the end of the fairy tale takes place in Egypt. Remember that the young wife of the prince was in this country for the first time. What could strike her in the nature of Egypt? What buildings, what statues could the heroes of the fairy tale see? What kind of reception in the palace could their father-pharaoh give them? What did he look like? Finally, did the prince die or survive?

Once in Egypt, the princess was struck by the Nile, she had never seen such a big river. As if at a miracle, she looked at the huge pyramids, at the formidable sphinx, as if guarding the peace of the deceased pharaohs. She was struck by the majestic temples and splendor of the palaces of the pharaoh. The father joyfully received his son and his young wife. The next day the prince went for a walk with his dog. "Are you capable of betraying me?" - asked the prince. Suddenly the dog bared its teeth and rushed at the prince. But the young wife saved her husband here too by stabbing the dog with a knife. She was very smart and protective of her husband. So several years passed. The prediction began to be forgotten. One day, an empty quarrel arose between the spouses and the wife pushed the prince away, he stumbled and, falling, hit his head on a stone. "You, who delivered me from three fates ..." - he whispered and expired

Task number 44. Look at the painting from the ancient Egyptian tomb on the front cover of the notebook, answer the questions, fill in the missing words

1. Which of the Egyptian gods is depicted on the right? What did this god look like according to the ideas of the Egyptians? To what place will he one day lead every person living on earth?

God of Ancient Egypt Anubis, with the head of a jackal and the body of a man. He was the guide of the dead to the afterlife

2. What oath were the Egyptians preparing to take at this place? How, according to their beliefs, was it known if they were lying?

The Egyptians swore that they did not commit sins. The heart of the deceased, that is, the soul, was weighed on the scales by Thoth and Anubis. On the other side of the scale lay the feather of the goddess of truth, Maat. If the soul was lighter than a pen, then the Egyptian was telling the truth

3. Determine by the headdress who the person depicted on the left was. Describe his clothes and jewelry

This is the pharaoh. He wears a loincloth with an ornate apron. Jewelry on the shoulders - a necklace-mantle and bracelets on the arms

4. Guess why there are small drawings on the wall of the tomb. Who or what do they represent? Why are some of them surrounded by an oval box?

The Egyptians believed that everything depicted on the walls accompanied the deceased in the afterlife, therefore they depicted themselves, their home, family and everything that surrounded a person during life. Only the names of the pharaoh and his wives were circled in an oval frame.

5. Remember how in Egypt it was customary to depict a person on reliefs and murals. We kind of look at it from different points of view. On some parts of his body - in front (on which ones exactly?): On the shoulders and eyes, and on others - on the side (on which ones?)

On the head and legs

Task number 45. Look at the ancient Egyptian statues on the back cover of your notebook, complete the tasks and answer the questions

1. Why were the statues of the nobleman and his wife placed in the tomb? Why did the statues have to look like people buried in a tomb?

According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, the soul of the deceased from time to time returns from the kingdom of Osiris and moves into the mummy. If the soul, arriving in the tomb, does not find the mummy, it will die and its afterlife will end. Therefore, a stone or wooden statue of the deceased was placed in the tomb, exactly reproducing his appearance. They believed that the soul can move into the statue if the mummy is not preserved

2. Suggest why the nobleman and his wife are depicted as young people, although they may have died in old age

According to the Egyptians, in the "fields of Osiris", that is, in paradise, everyone is young and beautiful.

3. Describe each of the statues. What are the positions of the nobleman and his wife? What position are their arms and legs in?

The statues are in a sitting position, legs are placed together, and right hand on the heart

4. Why are the nobleman and his wife depicted with skin of different colors?

It has to do with painting technique. Men have always been depicted with darker skin.

Based on the facts obtained during archaeological excavations on Egyptian territory in recent decades, it can be concluded that the process of state formation took place in Ancient Egypt from 3600 to 3100 BC. Modern Egyptologists call this era the "Predynastic period"383. In the ancient Egyptian society of this time, inequality already existed, stable groups of people with a higher status and material well-being stood out: these were clan associations that monopolized in their hands and made managerial and religious ritual functions hereditary. They constituted the upper class of ancient Egyptian society. The middle class was embodied by free farmers, skilled artisans, merchants, and persons who held low positions in the emerging administrative apparatus. The lower class included servants of representatives of the upper and middle classes, ordinary workers who for some reason lost their personal freedom, prisoners of war turned into slaves. The Nile created exceptionally favorable conditions for farming, especially in the southern part of its valley. Periodic floods of this river fertilized and moistened the soil, allowing you to get abundant harvests using the simplest tools, primitive irrigation systems and with minimal human effort. On the other hand, the territory adjacent to the Nile was rich in clay, which allowed the development of pottery. At the same time, the space of Ancient Egypt was convenient for the development of trade: there were many points on it where trade routes from one country to another converged. In these places, the first ancient Egyptian urban settlements arose, which became the political and religious centers of the original state formations. The nature, climate and geographical position of Ancient Egypt made it possible to obtain a surplus product at a rather primitive level of economic development. Therefore, here, earlier than in other countries, the opportunity arose for the liberation of numerous groups of people from productive labor and their transition to the category of professional managers and religious ministers. The materials of archaeological excavations show that the formation of the initial statehood on the territory of Ancient Egypt was a complex process, the content of which was fundamental changes not only in the social structure and mechanisms of society management, but also in its spiritual culture: in religious beliefs, ideology and psychology. The new social system, which assumed noticeable differences in the property status and status of various groups of people, as well as the monopolization of the administrative function by a certain clan, could become stable only if it was recognized by the majority of members of society. To ensure such recognition, an ideology had to arise that justifies social inequality, giving the bearers of public power qualities that elevate them above ordinary people. The formation of mechanisms for the exercise of public power in ancient Egypt stimulated the appearance of writing here. According to Egyptologists studying ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, many of these signs were used even in predynastic times. The earliest ancient Egyptian written documents that have come down to us describe the solemn ceremonies of the rulers and the most significant events of their reigns, fix the volumes of grown crops, olives and other products produced in one way or another1. Writing becomes necessary for the exercise of public power, especially when one of its most important functions is control over the production, distribution and expenditure of material products. The appearance and rapid spread of writing in one or another ancient society therefore serves as clear evidence that the state apparatus began to take shape in it. The natural and climatic features of Ancient Egypt determined the uneven course of the processes of class formation and state formation on its territory. In the southern part of this country - in the so-called Upper Egypt - these processes began earlier and proceeded more rapidly than in its northern part - in Lower Egypt. It was on the territory of Upper Egypt that appeared in the middle of the 4th millennium BC. the first state formations. Among them, the most influential were those that had as their political and religious centers urban settlements called Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) 384 385, located in the south, closest to the source of the Nile, Naqada, located further down the Nile, and Thinis - the northernmost of the metropolitan settlements. In the Nile Delta, such centers were the urban settlements of Maadi386 and Buto. Approximately in 3200 BC. there was a merger of the two main state formations of Upper Egypt - Naqada and Nekhen (Ierankonpolis) into one political community. At its head was the ruler, who began to wear a double crown: red - the leader of Nakada and white - the leader of Nekhen. The god Nekhen Khor was declared the supreme deity of the new state association. Whether this merger was the result of Nekhen's conquest of Naqada, or the result of a political agreement between the two communities, it is difficult to say. Be that as it may, from that moment the process of unification of small ancient Egyptian state formations into one large state began. Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) was located at the crossroads of trade routes that connected the Nile Valley with its delta and the territory adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, with Nubia, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, with the Red Sea coast, Mesopotamia. The favorable geographical position of this city contributed to the rapid enrichment of the ruling clans and increased their power. Most likely, it was for this reason that Nekhen became the first political and religious center of a unified state that was formed on the territory of Ancient Egypt. Until recently, the historical literature was dominated by the opinion that the main factor that forced the small ancient Egyptian state formations to unite into one large state headed by a monarch was the need to create and maintain a single irrigation system for the whole country. This opinion was repeatedly expressed in their works and letters by K. Marx and F. Engels. Many historians built their explanations of the process of formation of a single state in ancient Egypt on it. So, S. F. Kechekyan wrote, for example, in 1944 in the first part of a textbook on the general history of state and law, citing K. Marx’s article “British Raj in India”: “Thus, the organization of irrigation “imperiously demanded the intervention of the centralizing power of the government ". The ruling class, in order to extract the surplus product, had to organize public works, i.e., create a system of irrigation facilities”387. A similar view was expressed by the historian I. V. Vinogradov: “It was extremely difficult for individual nomes, and even larger associations, to maintain at the proper level the entire irrigation economy of the country, which consisted of small, unrelated or weakly connected irrigation systems. The merging of several nomes, and then the whole of Egypt into a single whole (achieved as a result of long, bloody wars) made it possible to improve irrigation systems, constantly and in an organized manner to repair them, expand canals and strengthen dams, jointly fight for the development of the swampy Delta and, in general, rationally use water Nile. Absolutely necessary for the further development of Egypt, these measures could only be carried out by the joint efforts of the whole country after the creation of a single centralized administrative administration. The opinion that the main factor in the emergence in Ancient Egypt of a single state with an extensive administrative apparatus was the need to centrally manage an extensive irrigation system is also common among foreign historians. Carl Wittfogel put it this way: “If irrigated agriculture depends on the efficient handling of large water resources, the distinctive quality of the water - its tendency to collect in mass - becomes fundamentally decisive. Large quantities of water can only be placed in canals and kept within boundaries through the application of mass work, and this mass work must be coordinated, disciplined and directed. Thus, many farmers, eager to master the arid lower reaches and plains, are forced to create organizational tools that, on the basis of home-machine technology, will give them success only in one case: if they work in cooperation with their comrades and submit themselves to the governing authority ”388 389. statements have one thing in common: they are based not on facts, but on a speculative idea of ​​​​ancient Egyptian agriculture. Their authors proceed from the fact that it required the creation of a centralized and large-scale system of irrigation facilities. At the same time, it is assumed that the ancient Egyptian society could not do without such a system, and hence the conclusion is drawn that it really was created and existed. But who could create a centralized and large-scale system of irrigation facilities, except for a centralized state with a strong supreme power and an extensive administrative apparatus? Such a state in ancient Egypt actually existed, but this is the only reliable fact in the statements of those who consider the main reason for its emergence to be the need to create and maintain a single irrigation system for the whole country. There is a lot of convincing evidence that the main method of irrigating cultivated lands in ancient Egypt was natural irrigation, which was carried out spontaneously during the flooding of the Nile. Artificial irrigation with the help of constructed structures for irrigating the soil was most often only a side effect, supplementing the natural one where it was required. Only in times of drought, when the river became shallow and its overflows were not enough to irrigate the soil, artificial irrigation could be the main one. However, at the same time, the arrangement and maintenance of irrigation facilities were, as the facts show, under the jurisdiction of local rulers. Accordingly, an irrigation system common to the entire country was not created in Ancient Egypt. Information about the ancient Egyptian state administration that has survived to this day does not give grounds to believe that it provided for bodies and officials specifically involved in organizing the construction of irrigation facilities and maintaining their functioning390. The contemporary researcher of ancient Egyptian agriculture, J. D. Hugh, points out in his article on the use of irrigation facilities in it that the mask of the ruler of the first dynasty named "Scorpion", depicting him digging a canal, has survived, but recent research has found, in his words, that "most of irrigation work was under the control of local officials”1. “There is no indication,” writes the modern Egyptian geographer Fekri Hasan, “that the main function of the centralized government in Egypt or its bureaucracy was the management of artificial irrigation. Despite references to occasional waterworks in response to droughts and the digging of local canals to drain or irrigate uplands, the scale of waterworks in ancient Egypt is hardly comparable to that undertaken by Muhammad Ali in the nineteenth century. The centralized government in Egypt was more interested in tax collection and more concerned with the monumental display of royal power and religious institutions than with irrigation. Basin irrigation locally was more than enough to meet the needs of the early populations of ancient Egypt... Although the creation of artificial canals may have been practiced locally from the early dynastic period (3000-2700 BC), if not before of this, there is no sign of a state-controlled irrigation system. It is surprising that devices for lifting water - such as the simple shaduf (based on the principle of a lever) used - were not known before the New Kingdom, 1550-1070. BC. Irrigation work was thus undertaken on a local or regional scale, and could take on particular importance when the water level of the Nile fell.391,392,393 It was organized locally rather than nationally, but the ease and success of the process always depended on the high waters of the Nile, which varied considerably in antiquity,” notes A. B. Lloyd. In works on the economic history of Ancient Egypt, published in recent years, the prevailing idea is that irrigation activity in Ancient Egypt was not associated with the existence of a single state. “The connection between the centralized state and the irrigation of the land in Egypt was always not direct”394 395, such a conclusion was made, for example, by the modern Egyptologist Joseph Manning. The latest discoveries of archaeologists have made it obvious that the formation of a single state in ancient Egypt was a process that was carried out under the influence of many different factors. And which of them was the main one, it is hardly possible to establish. Only one thing can be confidently stated: the unification of small state formations occurred as a result of the emergence of their needs, which could only be satisfied within the framework of a large centralized state. In the historical literature, the opinion prevails that the process of this unification led first to the emergence of two independent states - Upper Egyptian and Lower Egyptian396. The residence of the rulers of the first, southern, was Nekhen, the capital of the second, northern, - allegedly a settlement called "Pe", located in the northwestern part of the Nile Delta1. A single ancient Egyptian state arose as a result of the victory of Upper Egypt over Lower. There are some grounds for such an idea, but they all lie exclusively in ancient Egyptian mythology. The existence of an independent state in the Nile Delta is not confirmed by the materials of archaeological excavations. These materials rather testify to the fact that Lower Egypt, until its entry into the common Egyptian state, was not united under the auspices of any one ruler, remaining fragmented into several state formations, and, therefore, a single state arose in Ancient Egypt from one political and religious center - a city called Nekhen (Hierakonpolis). After the subjugation of Nakada, the ruler of Nekhen extended his power to Thinis. The new state association formed as a result of this continued its expansion to the north, annexing more and more new lands, as a rule, those along which trade routes passed. It is natural in this regard that the residence of the supreme rulers of the state expanding in this way was transferred further and further north - first to Thinis, and then to Memphis. When, at what moment this political association turned into the state of Upper and Lower Egypt, it is impossible to determine with accuracy. One can only assume that this happened in the pre-dynastic period. Such a state, apparently, already existed in ancient Egypt under the monarch, whose name consisted of the sounds "n", "m" and "r" (N'r-mr). Egyptologists called him by the code name "Narmer". Some of the materials that have come down to us (and, above all, the “Palette of Narmer”397 398) give reason to believe that it was he who united or reunited Upper and Lower Egypt. One of the symbols of monarchical power is, as a rule, the crown. Narmer had two crowns: a white one - the crown of Upper Egypt, in which he was depicted on the front side of the palette, and a red one - the crown of Lower Egypt, in which he appeared on reverse side palettes. A similar symbol has already been used before and also to express power over the united territories. True, at that time these were the territories of Upper Egypt - state formations with centers in Naqada and Nekhen (Hierakonpolis). It was in Naqada that the earliest image of the crown was discovered during archaeological excavations. On a black ceramic fragment, the relief of this royal insignia showed through, and its appearance corresponded to the appearance of the red crown399. The white crown appeared obviously later. The earliest of her images found by archaeologists is given on the Narmer palette. Since the red crown was older, it was revered by the Egyptians as more sacred than the white one. This fact makes one strongly doubt that a single ancient Egyptian state arose through the victory of Upper Egypt over Lower Egypt. If such a course of events is allowed, then how can one explain that the crown of the defeated ruler prevailed over the crown of the victor? All this suggests that the double crown of the ancient Egyptian ruler reflected not so much the real event of the conquest of the territory of Lower Egypt by the ruler of Upper Egypt, but the idea of ​​a wide area of ​​his power, covering both parts of Ancient Egypt - the Nile Valley and the delta. From this point of view, the presence of a red and white crown in Narmer is an obvious sign that he was already the supreme ruler of a single ancient Egyptian state. In any case, it was such at the moment when a skilled craftsman unknown to us was carving a palette with his image from a stone. The idea of ​​a double crown of the monarch, dualism in the space of his power was supported throughout the history of ancient Egyptian statehood. It became an integral element of the official political ideology and was embodied in a number of rituals and, above all, in the solemn ceremony of the appearance of the monarch in public. During it, the future bearer of the supreme state power appeared first in a white, Upper Egyptian crown, then in a red, Lower Egyptian one, and this action was considered as an act expressing the unity of all Egypt. Thus, according to the short chronicle of the ancient Egyptian monarchs of the first five dynasties, inscribed on the "Palermo Stone", the last monarch of the second dynasty1 made a public appearance in the first, second and fourth, penultimate years of his reign. His first appearance in public was most likely associated with the coronation. The record of this event on the "Palermo Stone" denoted not only the ritual actions of the monarch, but also their meaning. The Appearance of the Monarch of Upper Egypt. The emergence of the monarch of Lower Egypt. The unification of two lands”400 401 - such was its content. In relation to the second year of the reign, the appearance of the monarch in the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt was also spoken of, but after recording this, his entry into the double temple was reported. Similar ritual actions were performed by the last ruler of the fourth dynasty named Shepseskaf (Shepseskaf)402. And the formula that indicated these actions on the "Palermo stone" was similar. The Appearance of the Monarch of Upper Egypt. The emergence of the monarch of Lower Egypt. The unification of the two lands”403, she read. After that, it was reported that the monarch made a detour of the "Wall"1. The ruler of the fifth dynasty, by the name of Neferirkare, was called "the monarch of Upper and Lower Egypt, the favorite of two goddesses" (hereinafter, their names were given in the title). The solemn ceremony, performed by him on the seventh day of the second month of the first year of his reign (apparently, it was the ceremony of accession to the throne), was indicated on the “Palermo Stone” by the formula: “The birth of the gods. The unification of two lands”404 405. Such examples (and there are many) clearly indicate that the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt into one state was considered by the Egyptians as a ritual function of the supreme ruler, carried out by each of them throughout his reign. This idea reflected the merger of various parts of Ancient Egypt into a single political community that actually happened in the past, but it did not contain information about how and when this merger happened, which of the ancient Egyptian rulers did it. The memory of a real historical event was erased by an abstract political ritual. The fact that the political unification of Ancient Egypt took place under the auspices of the Upper Egyptian ruler was quite natural. Upper Egypt was ahead of Lower Egypt in economic, political and cultural development - this is evidenced by many data. And Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) was the main center of economic growth. In the middle of the IV millennium BC. the main branch of its economy was agriculture, based on the use of the waters of the Nile. The local communities were so wealthy and well organized that they could build river dams and build and maintain irrigation facilities. The managerial function here, therefore, early acquired increased importance, and the people who carried it out quickly acquired a privileged social status. The agricultural idyll ended around 3200 BC. The Nile became shallow and ceased to nourish the soils of Nekhen with its floods. The construction and maintenance of irrigation facilities has become very difficult and costly. Rains could not provide agriculture with water. A sharp deterioration in the conditions for successful farming forced the inhabitants of Nekhen to turn to crafts. Here, workshops for the manufacture of various clay vessels, other household utensils, faience vases, figurines, ceremonial palettes, etc. began to appear. This change in the nature of the economy led to a change in the politics of the ruling elite of Nekhen. The favorable conditions for farming that previously existed on the territory of this state formation tied its rulers and population to it. The main functions of the ruling elite were also associated with this territory: plots of cultivated land were located on it, irrigation facilities were built to feed them with water. Protecting a given territory from foreign incursions, maintaining order within communities, ensuring the proper operation of the irrigation system - these and other similar public functions harbored too little incentive for the expansion of a state entity with a center in Nekhen to other lands. The decline of agriculture sharply weakened the connection of its rulers and population with a certain territory. The promotion of handicraft production in the economy of Nekhen gave this state formation extraordinary mobility. For the development of crafts, at least three conditions are always necessary: ​​skilled craftsmen, raw materials, and markets for the products produced. There were skillful craftsmen in Nekhen - this is evidenced by at least the “Narmer palette”, which is not just a product, but a real work of art. This is also indicated by many other items made by craftsmen of Nekhe-n, which were discovered by archaeologists during excavations in the named area. But the other two conditions were missing. The orientation of the state formation with its center in Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) towards external expansion was laid down in its economy and in the structure of society that corresponded to its nature. This economy assumed, however, expansion rather peaceful than military. Moreover, Nekhen had more opportunities for peaceful expansion. Therefore, even if the conquest of Upper Egypt by Lower Egypt really took place during the formation of a single ancient Egyptian state, it could not be the main factor in this process. The materials of archaeological excavations of recent years show that the Nile Valley and its delta were not lands isolated from one another. Before both of these parts of Ancient Egypt merged into one political community, there was an intensive exchange of material and spiritual values ​​between the Upper Egyptian and Lower Egyptian communities, and as a result, there was a rapid process of interpenetration of their cultures. Under these conditions, the emergence of a single state on the territory of Ancient Egypt was only a political formation of a naturally formed social, economic and cultural community. On the other hand, the political unification of the Nile Valley and Delta contributed to the further strengthening of the social, economic and cultural foundations of this community. * * * The formation of the social foundation and organizational framework of a unified state was completed on the territory of Ancient Egypt in the era of the "Early Kingdom", when the main institutions of state power and the fundamental dogmas of the state ideology were formed. The beginning of this era coincides with the beginning of the annalistic dynastic history of Ancient Egypt. The years of the reign of the first two dynasties of the ancient Egyptian monarchs constitute the time frame of this era. Of course, the concept of “dynasties” in this case is very conditional - the groups of monarchs called dynasties consisted not only of blood relatives, but the hereditary principle of transferring supreme state power within one blood-related association was still the rule, it was he who was most often used when changing one monarch to another. According to the papyrus “Turin List” and the Abydos table of cartouches with the names of ancient Egyptian monarchs carved on the wall of the temple of the pharaoh of the 19th dynasty Seti I1, the first ruler of all Egypt was Menes. The ancestor of the first dynasty of ancient Egyptian rulers, he was also called the "History" of Herodotus and the "Egyptiac" of Manetho. “Min, the first Egyptian king, according to the priests, erected a protective dam near Memphis”407 408, wrote Herodotus. “The first dynasty,” Manetho noted, “consisted of eight monarchs, the first of which was Menes from Thinis; he reigned for 62 years and died from a wound received from a hippo."409 Modern Egyptologists are inclined to believe that Menes was a real historical person. In 1896, the French archaeologist Jacques Jean Marie de Morgan (1857-1924) discovered a large tomb during excavations in the area of ​​Negada, located south of Abydos. It contained an ivory tablet on which was carved the name "Hor-Aha (Hor-fighter)" along with the name "Menes"410. This tomb belonged to a woman named Neithhotep, who, apparently, was the wife of Narmer and the mother of Menes. According to ancient Egyptian legend, Hor-Aha, having become the ruler, moved his residence to a new place, located on the western bank of the Nile, north of Thinis. The walls of this city were built of white stone, hence the name Ineb Hedj (“White Walls”). Its second name was a word that sounded approximately like "Ankhtardi", that is, "connecting two lands." During the reign of the Sixth Dynasty, a Temple was erected here in honor of Ptah, and the city, as the center of this god, became known as the "House of the Soul of Ptah." In the language of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, this sounded approximately like "Hat-kyu-Ptah." In ancient Greek, this was written as “Ai ui nroq” (Ai-gyu-ptos): later the name of the country in European languages ​​\u200b\u200bwas from here - Egypt, Egypt. By the name of the pyramid of the ancient Egyptian ruler Pepi I, the city was also called the word Men-nefer or Menfi. The Greeks began to call him the word Metzf ^ (Memphis), and this name later became generally accepted in Europe. Memphis was located approximately in the middle between Lower and Upper Egypt, and, having arranged his residence on this place, Hor-Aha strengthened the unity of the Egyptian lands. In any case, it can be assumed that he played some very significant role in the formation of a unified ancient Egyptian state. This is also indicated by the choice of a second royal name for him: the word "Menes" meant "installer". The fact that the reign of Hor-Aha opened a new period in the development of Ancient Egypt is also evidenced by other facts. Since that time, the ancient Egyptian official chronology originates. True, it was conducted then in a rather primitive way - each year of the reign of the monarch received a name according to what happened during its most remarkable event. For example, one year could be designated as "the year when the troglodytes were beaten", another - as "the year of the second case of counting all the large and small livestock of the North and South", the third - "the year of the seventh case of counting gold and lands"411. Menes was generally not the first ruler in ancient Egypt, but he became the first among those of whom information has been preserved in the ancient Egyptian chronicles inscribed on papyrus or carved on stone. After Khor-Ahi (Menes), the throne of the supreme ruler was inherited by his son named Jer. In the Egyptiac of Manetho he is called Athotis. After Djer, his son, whose name sounded something like "Jet" or "Zet", became the supreme ruler of Egypt. Manetho called him Kenkenos. These facts indicate that in ancient Egypt there was an orderly system of changing one monarch to another. According to the "Egyptiac" in the arrangement of Julius Africanus, the period of the reign of the first and second dynasty took 555 years1, in the version of Eusebius Pamphilus - 549 years 412 413. Modern Egyptologists assign 400-450 years to the era of the "Early Kingdom". The last ruler of the second dynasty, whose main royal name was the word that sounded like Khasekhemui, left behind such majestic monuments, which were not left by any monarch who ruled in Ancient Egypt before him414. This fact is a clear evidence that the ancient Egyptian state during the reign of the first two dynasties followed the path of transformation into an organization capable of concentrating solid material resources at its disposal.

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