Ancient
Egyptian civilization is the oldest and most significant in the World. Discuss
Civilization
is often regarded as a white man’s concept, the white man’s magic[1]
however this is so because Europe largely underdeveloped Africa to an extent
that even Africans themselves lacked the belief that an advancement in humanity
such as civilization came from Africans let alone ones living in Africa .
Information suggests otherwise because Egypt is the oldest and most consistent
civilization of the world.
Civilization
or civilization generally refers to state polities which combine three basic
institutions: a ceremonial center (a formal gathering place for social and
cultural activities), a system of writing, and a city. The term is used to
contrast with other types of communities including hunter-gatherers, nomadic
pastoralists and tribal villages. Civilizations have more densely populated
settlements, characterized by ruling elite, and subordinate urban and rural
populations, which, by the division of labour, engage in intensive agriculture,
mining, small-scale manufacture and trade. Civilization concentrates power,
extending man's control over both nature, and over other human beings[2] .
Egyptian civilization rose due to some factors; The Nile river, which formed
the focus of ancient Egyptian civilization, originates in the highlands of East
Africa and flows northward throughout the length of what are now Sudan and Egypt.
Northwest of modern-day Cairo, it branches out to form a broad delta, through
which it empties into the Mediterranean Sea. Because of seasonal rains farther
south in Africa, the Nile overflowed its banks in Egypt every year. When the
floodwaters receded, a rich black soil covered the floodplain. This natural
phenomenon and its effects on the environment enabled the ancient Egyptians to
develop a successful economy based on agriculture[3],
the Nile also acted as a mode of transport and a constant source of life giving
water. In addition to all this Egypt had natural barriers that protected them
from hostile neighbors for instance The
desert to the west, the seas to the north and east, and the Nile 's rapids, or
cataracts, to the south prevented frequent hostile attacks.[4]
The ancient Egyptians processed thin flat sheets from the papyrus, a plant that
grew along the Nile, and on these paper-like sheets they wrote their texts.
Their earliest script, now known as hieroglyphs, began as a type of picture writing
in which the symbols took the form of recognizable images[5]
Within
the long sweep of Egyptian history, certain events or epochs have been crucial
to the development of Egyptian society and culture. One of these was the
unification of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt sometime in the third millennium
B.C. The ancient Egyptians regarded this event as the most important in their
history, comparable to the "First Time," or the creation of the
universe. With the unification of the "Two Lands" by the legendary, if
not mythical, King Menes, the glorious Pharaonic Age began. Power was
centralized in the hands of a god-king, and, thus, Egypt became the first
organized society[6]
.
Elements of
civilization present in Ancient Egypt
Class structure
The class structure was like a pyramid, in the
social pyramid of ancient Egypt the pharaoh and those associated with divinity
were at the top (Aristocrats) , and servants and slaves (peasants) made up the
bottom. The Egyptians elevated some human beings to gods. Their leaders, called
pharaohs, were believed to be gods in human form. They had absolute power over
their subjects. After pharaohs died, huge stone pyramids were built as their
tombs. Pharaohs were buried in chambers within the pyramids.[7]It
can be described that the aristocrats were tall and slender people whereas the
peasants were cheerful and hardworking music lovers who were short and plum. In
the most basic social unit this is the family women and men enjoyed
similar/equal privileges for instance both wives and husband had equal
responsibilities thus if a king passed on the queen resumed his position as the
ruler of Egypt.
Modern day manifestation
In
Kenya today there is a sharp segregation in terms of class; wealth. We have the
the wealthy the rich living in the posh suburbs of the town, driving big cars
such area are Karen and Muthaiga e.t.c and we also have the poor who live in
absurd poverty, their meals; from hand to mouth they live in informal
settlements such as Kibera, Kawangware e.t.c, this is just like the ancient
Egyptian structure of peasants and aristocrats. And mind you this not only
applies to Kenya but to the capitalist nations of the world.
Education system
In
ancient Egypt Reading, writing and arithmetic were introduced at the age of
four years, at the elementary school children were taught through music , dance
and swimming. After elementary school they moved to ‘Ordinary writing schools’[8]after
which they moved to universities or special departmental schools. What’s
outstanding about their education sector was mathematics. What we are taught
today they taught those days for instance texts such as the Rhind Mathematical
Papyrus and the Moscow Mathematical Papyrus show that the ancient Egyptians
could perform the four basic mathematical operations—addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division—use fractions, compute the volumes of boxes and
pyramids, and calculate the surface areas of rectangles, triangles, and
circles. They understood basic concepts of algebra and geometry, and could
solve simple sets of simultaneous equations [9]
Modern day manifestation
In
Kenya education normally begins at the age of 3 – 5 based on the learners
capability, we have an 8-4-4 system that should soon be scrapped out whereby,
one undergoes 2 years in kindergarten, joins primary school where they do 8
years and move on to high school where they study for 4 years after here much
like the special departmental schools and universities of Egypt Kenya also has
universities where high school leavers specialize based on their interests and
professional ambitions.
Mechanical Science
Legacy
of ancient Egypt is well known as they erected colossal statutes for example
the pyramids, tombs, statutes, portraits and the sphinx. They used the wheel to
construct the temples, tombs and inclined planes to construct the pyramid this
is more than substantial evidence that they possessed mechanical knowledge and
technical skills. The culture and monuments of ancient Egypt have left a
lasting legacy on the world. The cult of the goddess Isis, for example, became
popular in the Roman Empire, as obelisks and other relics were transported back
to Rome[10].
In
modern day Kenya we have also erected colossal statutes of our political
heroes, namely the Tom Mboya statute in town,we have in that we have constructed
numerous monuments at Uhuru park inter alia.
Architecture
Among African nations Egypt was and still is well
known for its architecture, they constructed big palaces as well as personal
monuments such as the sphinx however, the most remarkable of all and the most
tangible symbols of this period of greatness are the three enormous pyramids
built as the tombs of kings at Giza between 2600 and 2500. The largest, Khufu
(called Cheops by the Greeks), was originally 481 feet high and 756 feet long
on each side. Khufu was made up of 2.3 million stone blocks averaging 2.5 tons
each. In the 5th century B.C. the Greek historian Herodotus tells us that the
pyramid took 100,000 men and twenty years to build. The pyramids are remarkable
not only for their technical engineering expertise, but also for what they tell
us about royal power at the time. They are evidence that Egyptian kings had
enormous wealth as well as the power to concentrate so much energy on a
personal project.[11]
Modern
day manifestation
Kenya
is well known when it comes to architecture especially in the tourism sector
where we have hotels that look like palatial palaces for the filthy rich
buildings such as the K.I.C.C, internationally the Eiffel tower and the leaning
building of pisa showcase architectural skill that originated from ancient
Egypt.
Religion
Religion
was integral to Egyptian life. Religious beliefs formed the basis of Egyptian
art, medicine, astronomy, literature and government. The great pyramids were
burial tombs for the pharaohs who were revered as gods on earth. Magical
utterances pervaded medical practices since disease was attributed to the gods.
Astronomy evolved to determine the correct time to perform religious rites and
sacrifices. The earliest examples of literature dealt almost entirely with
religious themes. The pharaoh was a sacrosanct monarch who served as the
intermediary between the gods and man. Justice too, was conceived in religious
terms, something bestowed upon man by the creator-god. The Egyptians developed
an ethical code which they believed the gods had approved.[12]Finally
the Egyptians believed in life after death, at first this was only exclusive to
the pharaoh and his royal family, this explains why pharaohs were mummified and
buried along with wealth in the form of objects of luxury and servants
including women who would serve him in the afterlife. Eventually life after
death included the aristocrats and many years later the peasants could hope for
immortality.
Modern day manifestation
In
Kenya we have polytheistic as well as monotheistic faiths, it is believed that
it is in ancient Egypt where the first religion that believed in life after
death emerged they believed in sun gods and life after death where the pharaoh
as well as his citizens were buried alongside their treasure so that they may
use them in the after-life in some extreme circumstances pharaoh was buried
with his servants so that they may serve him in the after life, in Kenya Islam
believes in life after death and refers to it as paradise; Jannah whereas Christianity believes in life after death, heaven.
Medicine
Ancient
Egypt was considered a pioneer in the healthcare industry because of having
great specializations in the medicine sector in that there were eye
specialists, dentists etc. Medical problems for the peasants mostly emerged
from living and working close to the Nile, The diets of the aristocrats were
rich in sugars, which promoted periodontal disease .Despite the flattering
physiques portrayed on tomb walls; the overweight mummies of many of the upper
class show the effects of a life of overindulgence. Adult life expectancy was
about 35 for men and 30 for women, but reaching adulthood was difficult as
about one-third of the population died in infancy despite the flattering
physiques portrayed on tomb walls, the overweight mummies of many of the upper
class show the effects of a life of overindulgence.[13]
Ancient Egypt medicine practitioners were so famous that one only needed to say
that he studied medicine in Egypt to be recommended as a doctor. The Medicine
schools trained anatomy, physiology, botany, Pharmacy (where they made medicine
from herbs and barks of trees, it was considered a branch of priesthood),
surgery and therapeutic aid. Healthcare was intertwined with religion and
Egyptians, contrary to their life expectancy boasted of being the healthiest of
all mortals because of the best doctors.
In
modern day
The
medicine industry in modern day world has grown rapidly and even subdivided
itself into different categories such as pharmacy which deals with the study of
medicine application, surgery which involves corrective or improvementive
operation e.t.c
Different
countries are endowed with different levels of expertise for example India is
the world’s leading best in child healthcare.
Engineering Skill
Hydraulic
engineering is the type of engineering skill that involves harnessing energy
from water, it remains unsurpassed to this day, ancient Egyptians had an
organized canal system, they put a lot of effort into this because Egypt is a desert
and the only source of water is the river Nile. The canal system led to the
construction of the Suez Canal and the Aswan High Dam. The Suez Canal, Arabic Qanāt al-Suways, sea-level waterway running north-south across
the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas. The
canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest
maritime route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western
Pacific oceans. It is one of the world’s most heavily used shipping lanes.[14]
Aswan High dam, for many centuries, people in Egypt suffered from either too
little water or too much. Some years
there would be drought, and there was not enough water to grow the crops or to
use for everyday life. Other years there
was so much water that the great Nile River would flood, destroying the crops
and washing away the fertile land. The
people of Egypt needed to find a way to manage the water from the Nile River so
that they had just the right amount all the time. The answer to these problems
was the dam. The dam would did three
things: controlled the floods of the Nile River, stored the water from the
floods so that it could be released at a slower rate, and generated
hydroelectric power for the nation[15]
Modern day Manifestation/applications
Due
to the hydraulic engineering technology that ancient Egyptians formulated Kenya
has been able to construct dams such as Masinga dam, Kindaruma , Rusinga ,
NDakaini. Internationally Aswan High dam in Egypt, Kariba dam between Zimbabwe
and Zambia (Nigeria, Niger)
Water
distribution Networks, in Nairobi and most of the other towns (atleast ¾ of
Kenya) there is piped water and everyone enjoys clean safe water for home as
well as industrial use
Water
collection methods in Kenya it has been a personal initiative to insert
drainage material as well as a government policy to adopt methods used by
ancient Egyptians to collect water as it is a vital source of life and
nourishment
Sewage
collection in Kenya most areas have moved from traditional methods of sewage
collection e.g pit latrines to modern day toilets on which you sit on and which
has a main pipe that connects each house using hydraulic engineering technology
in correlation with gravity and pressure inter alia
Storm water management
methods? Storm water harvesting is the collection, accumulation, treatment or
purification, and storing of storm water for its eventual reuse. It differs from
rainwater harvesting as the runoff is collected from drains or creeks, rather
than roofs. It can also include other catchment areas from man made surfaces,
such as roads, or other urban environments such as parks, gardens and playing
fields. Water that comes in contact with impervious surfaces becomes polluted
and is denominated surface runoff. As the water travels more distance over
impervious surfaces it collects an increasing amount of pollutants.The main
challenge stormwater harvesting poses is the removal of pollutants in order to
make this water available for reuse.
Geotechnical
engineering .
Equations
that were used in ancient day hydraulic engineering by the Egyptians were
further derived giving rise to sub disciplines called fluid mechanics and hydrodynamics..
Hydrodynamics
is the sub discipline that deals with fluid flow. Concepts that have been used
in fluid flow have been applied to modern day life in Kenya where traffic
police apply traffic engineering, this is a concept that treats the cars as
fluids and the various turns and roundabouts as outlets.
This
concepts have also been applied in a sub discipline known as aerodynamics which
is the study of air and gases in motions.
The
concepts have further applied to a discipline known as cyrosphere science which is the study of
the earth’s surface where water is in solid form. This has helped the world
understand and appreciate the necessity for there to be areas that are
completely frozen in that if all the ice in the world was to melt and it is bound
to melt because of the rising rates in global warming the entire world would
flood and the earth would be covered by water.
State Organization
In
ancient Egypt there were Subnational administrative divisions of Upper and
Lower Egypt were known as Nomes. The pharaoh was the ruler of these two
kingdoms and headed the ancient Egyptian state structure. The pharaoh served as
monarch, spiritual leader and commander-in-chief of both the army and navy. The
pharaoh was believed to be divine, a connection between men and gods. Below him
in the government, were the viziers (one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower
Egypt) and various officials. Under him on the religious side were the high
priest and various other priests. Generally, the position was handed down from father
to eldest son but it was through the female that power was actually inherited,
so it was marriage to the king's eldest daughter that sealed succession.
Occasionally a woman assumed power and quite often Queens were powerful figures
in their own right. Governance was closely associated with the duty of ruling
with justice and of preventing chaos by maintaining harmony and balance. The
priests especially the High Priest of Amen-Ra exercised considerable power
partly because of the wealth of the cults and also because they had the final
say in determining the succession. Akhenaten's break with the traditional cults
followed a power struggle between Pharaoh and the priesthood[16](laws)
Govt & laws Manifestation
Egypt
had one ruler who exercised with full discretion, although limited by the
constitution and international law Kenya has one ruler the president who leads
the nation forward, he is also a national symbol just like in Egypt.
Egyptians
had codified their laws in 8 books whereas Kenya we have codified our laws in
one book namely the constitution.
Pharaoh
was the commander in chief of the Egyptian forces whereas in Kenya we have our
president as the commander in chief of the armed forces. Pharaoh protected the
nations interests by declaring war on other nations same way our president sent
the army to Somalia to protect our countries interests abroad.
Taxation,
in ancient Egypt the government as well as the army was maintained by the taxes
that the citizens paid likewise the Kenyan government as well as all other
governments of the world survive greatly on taxation.
Ancient
Egypt satisfied their unequal distribution of resources by trading with their
neighbors nations of the world engage in trading due to the uneven distribution
of national resources, we have traded to the extent that greater nations
devised sinister plans to control other nations through trade.
In
ancient Egypt Pharaoh was assisted in making laws with the the help of some
sort of legislative committee, likewise in the modern world the concept of
having an arm of government that creates law was borrowed from the Egyptians.
In
ancient Egypt labor was organized for the efficient management of the
government and the nation, in the world today specifically Kenya there are
different government personell ,e.g the president, deputy president, cabinet,
each handling different roles.
Ship Building.
Egyptians
were accomplished sailors. They had sufficient knowledge of the seaways and
could navigate easily. Early Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into
a ship hull and had mastered advanced forms of shipbuilding as early as 3000
BC. Some of the oldest ships yet unearthed are known as the Abydos boats. These
are a group of 14 discovered ships in Abydos that were constructed of wooden
planks "sewn" together.[17]
Woven straps were found to have been used to lash the planks together and reeds
or grass stuffed between the planks helped to seal the seams. Because the ships
are all buried together and near a mortuary belonging to Pharaoh Khasekhemwy[18]
Professions
In
ancient Egypt there were professions and occupations .the most rewarding and
highest ranked being the military profession. Each soldier was given acres of
land and special training from childhood to adulthood to ensure hardiness. The
military had made advancements in weapon technology this explains why Egypt was
a force to reckon with during war in those days and how they were able to
enslave the Israelites for so long. The major advance in weapons technology and
warfare began around 1600 BC when the Egyptians fought and finally defeated the
Hyksos people who had made themselves lords of Lower Egypt. It was during this
period the horse and chariot were introduced into Egypt, which the Egyptians
had no answer to until they introduced their own version of the war chariot.
The Egyptians then improved the design of the chariot to suit their own
requirements. That made the Egyptian chariots lighter and faster than those of
other major powers in the Middle East. Egyptian war chariots were manned by a
driver holding a whip and the reigns and a fighter, generally wielding a
composite bow or, after spending all his arrows, a short spear of which he had
a few of them[19]
Agriculture
In
ancient Egypt agriculture rose rapidly due to two main reasons, the constant flow
of the river Nile provided water for the irrigation of crops, they invented
irrigation methods based on the water level of the Nile, when the Nile water
was high canal irrigation was used when the water were low the shadoof method
of irrigation was used . The other reason why agriculture boomed was because
when the Nile over flooded it left fertile silk soil at the banks ultimately
boosting agriculture. Today this irrigation methods have been adopted all over
the world the most popular being the canal irrigation methods that helps people
manage excessive water at once.
Gender Equality
This
is a fundamental feature of a modern day constitutional democracy and in
ancient Egypt women and men were regarded the same socially politically as well
as economically and in fact it is rumored that more than five of the pharaohs
Egypt had were women one was named Merit Neyith among others[20]
in today’s modern world thanks to feminists, women and men are the same we
enjoy both the same political, social and economic rights.
Fall of Egypt
This
occurred during 664-323 B.C During these years, Egyptian culture was under
pressure from major civilizations of the eastern Mediterranean and the Near
East. The socioeconomic system, however, had a vigor, efficiency, and
flexibility that ensured the success of the nation during these years of
triumph and disaster. Throughout this Period, Egypt made a largely successful
effort to maintain an effectively centralized state, which, except for the two
periods of Persian occupation was based on earlier indigenous models. Late
Period Egypt, however, displayed certain destabilizing features, such as the
emergence of regionally based power centers. These contributed to the revolts
against the Persian occupation but also to the recurrent internal crises.
During this period Psammethichus I, made Egypt a powerful and united kingdom.
His dynasty, which ruled from 664 to 525 B.C., represented the last great age
of Pharaonic civilization. The dynasty ended when a Persian invasion force
under Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, dethroned the last pharaoh.
Cambyses established himself as pharaoh and appears to have made some attempts
to identify his regime with the Egyptian religious hierarchy. Egypt became a
Persian province serving chiefly as a source of revenue for the far-flung
Persian (Achaemenid) Empire[21].
[1]
Ngugi Wa Thiongo , The river Between
[2] Michael
Mann, The Sources of Social Power, Cambridge University Press, 1986, vol.1
pp.34-41.
[4]
Ibid
[5]
Ibid
[6] http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Egypt.html
[8]
Same as modern day primary and high school
[9] Clarke,
Somers; R. Engelbach (1990). Ancient
Egyptian Construction and Architecture. New York, New York: Dover Publications,
Unabridged Dover reprint of Ancient Egyptian Masonry: The Building Craft
originally published by Oxford University Press/Humphrey Milford, London,
(1930).
[10] Siliotti,
Alberto (1998). The Discovery of Ancient Egypt. Edison, New Jersey: Book Sales,
Inc.
[12]
Ibid
[13] Filer,
Joyce (1996). Disease. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press
[14] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/571673/Suez-Canal
[15] http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-africa/kaymur/LINK.htm
[16] David
Peter Silverman, Ancient Egypt, February 6, 2011.
[17] Discovered
by Egyptologist David O'Connor of New York University
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egypt#cite_note-200
[19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_of_ancient_Egypt
[20] http://www.ancientnile.co.uk/pharaohs-women.php
[21] http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Egypt.html
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