What don't you know about the birthplaces of the four major civilizations in the world? Nile civilization

Nile civilization generally refers to ancient Egyptian civilization, which is not as complicated as many civilizations established in different historical periods in the two river basins. Let's first look at the geographical location of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Ancient Egypt is located in the northeast of Africa, spanning Asia and Africa (the Sinai Peninsula in its territory is located in Asia according to the present regional division). It borders the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the Red Sea in the east, the Sahara Desert in the west and Nubia in the south. Including the whole of Egypt today, the Nile runs through the whole of ancient Egypt from south to north, forming the Nile Delta near the Mediterranean. The Nile River is formed by the confluence of the White Nile, which originated in Central Africa, and the Blue Nile, which originated in Sudan today. The Nile, which flows through forests and grasslands, floods regularly every year, flooding the dry land on both sides. Sediment containing a lot of minerals and humus flows down the river and gradually deposits on both banks, becoming fertile black soil. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, once said, "Egypt is a great gift given by the Nile. Therefore, in the eyes of the world, Egyptian civilization is always associated with the Nile.

So how do we divide the ancient Egyptian civilization in time? The history of ancient Egypt began from 3 100 BC to 332 BC. In the 4th century BC, Manetho, a dynasty priest at that time, divided the history of ancient Egypt into 3 1 dynasty, which is also a common historical staging method for modern scholars to study ancient Egypt.

First, during the first and second dynasties (3 100 BC-2700 BC), there were two great dynasties in Egypt, one in upper Egypt and the Nile valley, and the other in lower Egypt and the delta region. The prehistoric times in Egypt are called pre-dynasties, namely the first and second dynasties. The kingship appeared in the late pre-dynasty, and the regional culture gradually unified. During this period, the Nalmai palette and the scorpion kingship header are the most important witnesses. During the archaeological excavations in Yerakompolis from 65438 to 0897, the most famous cultural relics unearthed were the scorpion crown head and the Narmai palette. Their excavation provided some evidence for "who was the first king after reunification".

Narmai palette is not the kind of small palette used to grind cosmetics, but it is obviously very important and expresses important events in Egyptian history. Narmai wore a white crown symbolizing upper Egypt, showing the appearance of conquering the north, indicating that the king unified two parts of the country, upper Egypt and lower Egypt, that is, the Nile valley and the delta region. The king is obviously from the Nile valley, because he wears the crown of Egypt. On the reverse side, he wears a red crown symbolizing lower Egypt, so on the front and back, he wears a white crown and a red crown respectively, which is the first historical portrayal of Egypt's reunification in 3000 BC. The characters appearing on the Nalmai palette have become a fixed technology and law used in ancient Egypt for thousands of years.

The head of scorpion kingship depicts a figure in the shape of a king, wearing a white crown symbolizing kingship and a oxtail tied around his waist. The image is much taller than that of ordinary people, and it seems that there are signs of leading the people in production activities and foreign conquest. At the same time, there are scenes of slave labor and signs that farmland represents civilians. So many scholars think that this king is Narmai or Oha, that is, menes.

Second, the third to eighth dynasties were the ancient kingdom period (2686 BC-2 BC180).

Egypt finally completed and consolidated its political unity, and the absolute monarchy was very developed. Known as one of the seven wonders of the world, the Egyptian pyramid is a symbol of the powerful royal power in this period and the highest embodiment of the development of material civilization. Therefore, the ancient kingdom period is also called the pyramid age. The first person to build a pyramid as a tomb was Zuo Saier of the third dynasty. It is said that his trapezoidal pyramid was designed by a man named Iman Hotep, who was later regarded as the god of medicine by the Egyptians. Although the third dynasty made brilliant progress and achievements, the fourth dynasty was the golden age of a powerful monarchy in Egyptian history. During this period, three most famous pyramids were built in the suburbs of Giza (located in the west of Cairo).

Snefru, Khufu, khalaf and Menkara, the first four kings of the fourth dynasty, lived under one roof for four generations, and the pyramids of the three generations were bigger than one. In later folklore, we know that Snifferu was a very low-key king. There are several evidences. First of all, people say that he calls his subjects brothers and friends. There is also some evidence that the king was regarded as a god by later people and craftsmen in Sinai, while Khufu and khalaf were the images of tyrants in people's minds. The most important evidence is that Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, mentioned in his history that in order to build his own pyramid, Khufu asked his daughter to sell her body in exchange for the stones needed for the pyramid.

By the fifth and eighth dynasties of the ancient kingdom, the ancient kingdom had gone into decline. There are many reasons for the decline of ancient kingdoms. One is the natural disaster caused by the low water level of the Nile, the other is the development of local forces, which aggravated the threat to dynasty rule, and the other is the interruption of foreign trade. Another reason is that Pepy II, the last king of the sixth dynasty of this dynasty, reigned for a very long time, and he ruled for more than 90 years. The king succeeded to the throne at the age of eight or nine and lived to be over one hundred years old, so his long-term rule caused various social problems. Finally, the ancient kingdom was replaced by the middle kingdom.

Third, the period from the 9th dynasty to the 7th dynasty was the Middle Kingdom (2 18 1- 1567 BC).

The two famous kings in the Middle Kingdom were King Majnik I of the Twelve Dynasties and King Majnik III.

The first father-son rule. The former presided over the internal affairs in the palace, and the prince was the heir and the highest military attache, commanding the troops to be stationed at the border. Once the king dies or is murdered in civil strife, the prince with military power can immediately ascend to the throne and quickly stabilize the situation. Amenemkht I seem to have the foresight to prepare for his future accident, and he later died of murder. There is also Amenemcht III, who allowed Asian immigrants to enter the Delta region and provided sufficient labor for his mining industry and water conservancy projects. However, these ambitious water conservancy projects and mining activities were related to the frequent flooding of the Nile in the late period of his rule, which overdrawn the economy and accelerated the decline of the country. Around14th century BC and13rd century BC, foreign Asian immigrants began to control the delta and even established the Hyksos dynasty.

4. During the period from 18 to the 24th dynasty of the new kingdom (BC 1567- BC 1085), the rulers of the 17 dynasty from Thebes in southern Egypt expelled the Hyksos from Egypt, and Egypt entered a period of external expansion and imperial development. The empire expanded to Syria and Palestine in the northeast and Nubia in the south. Many kings of Thutmose I family in 18 dynasty and ramses family in 19 dynasty have made great achievements. Pharaoh is the title of king of Egypt, which originally refers to the place where members of the royal family live. Just like China called his majesty the emperor in ancient times, they all evolved from place names. Starting from the new kingdom, Pharaoh began to appear as a military hero, and his personal talents and exploits were dramatically exaggerated. During the dynasties of 18 and 19, Egypt and Hittites fought intermittently for hegemony for a century. Hittite is located in today's Turkey, and the feud between Egypt and Hittite has a long history.

Until Ramses II, one of the most famous pharaohs in Egyptian history, finally settled the dispute with the Hittites. This process lasted for sixteen years, during which there were fierce wars and complicated diplomatic strategies. The Battle of Kadesh before 1274 BC was the biggest confrontation. In 1259 BC, Egypt and Hittites finally concluded the Hittites Treaty of Egypt, which stipulated that the two countries would be permanently friendly, non-aggression, attack and defend the alliance, and extradite fugitives to each other. This is the first peace treaty in human history that truly embodies the principle of equality.

The late kingdom (65438 BC+0085 BC-332 BC) was from the 25th dynasty to the 3rd1dynasty.

During this period, ancient Egyptian civilization went downhill completely. Ancient Egypt has always been a very rich country with a population of only two or three million. The country is big and rich, and it is surrounded by enemies because of its geographical position. Whenever Egypt's national strength is weak, neighboring countries will wait for an opportunity to invade. Egypt was occupied by Libya, Nubia, Iraq and Syria in the two river basins, and later neighboring countries occupied ancient Egypt. In 332 BC, the ancient Egyptian civilization was finally destroyed by Alexander the Great from the Greek civilization circle.

Egyptian pyramids and temple buildings;

Among the ancient buildings preserved in Egypt. There are two kinds of best preserved, one is tombs and the other is temple architecture. At that time, houses and even palaces inhabited by civilians were very poorly preserved. Because people at that time used the best materials and the best stones to build their permanent residence, that is, tombs, and their places of worship-temples, while their own houses, including the king's palace, were built of mud bricks. Mud bricks are very cheap and easy to manufacture, but not easy to preserve, which is why the buildings preserved in ancient Egypt are either tombs or temples, and there are few houses and palaces.

There are many theories about how the pyramids were built. In recent years, archaeologists have inferred the slopes used by the Great Pyramid of Egypt (pyramid of khufu, whose original height was 146 m, but now it is 137 m because its top has been weathered). Slope is used to push and pull stones upward, and the slope increases with the height of the pyramid. Now there are basically two theories, one is that the slope is straight and the other is that the slope is straight. There is also a saying that the pyramids were built by aliens, which has no scientific basis.

On the east side of the Hafra Pyramid is the Sphinx, which Arabs call the father of terror. It is generally believed that it was carved from huge stones left over from the construction of pyramids. No one knows what the Sphinx is. It is generally believed that this is a stone left by King khalaf after he built his own pyramid with stones collected nearby. It looks like a lion with a head, but it is actually used to represent the face of a king with a lion's body. Later, every king began to imitate it and described himself as the Sphinx, but how it originated in the first place is still unknown. I don't know its significance in Egyptian mythology. What is the Sphinx? The king can describe himself as a lion, but in Egyptian mythology, it has no magic and is not the object of worship. There have been several times in history to clean up the colossus of the Sphinx buried by yellow sand. The most widely known is the legend of Thutmose IV. It is said that when he was a prince, he dreamed of the Sphinx one day and complained to him that he was buried in the sand. If he can clean it up, he will be blessed to be king. The young prince cleaned up the sand on the Sphinx, and later he became a successful king. Thutmose IV carved the story on a stone tablet. Scholars who saw the Dream Monument in the early years said that the inscription mentioned that King khalaf had cleaned the sand on the Sphinx, but now the name of khalaf on the Monument has been blurred, so it is impossible to verify it.

In the later period of the ancient kingdom, the construction of the pyramids was interrupted for about half a century. After the reunification of China, construction resumed and entered a short period of revival. After the new kingdom period, the tombs took the form of grotto tombs, and the pyramids disappeared. There are different opinions about the reasons for adopting grotto tombs. Some scholars speculate that it is the reason for the decline of national strength, while others believe that it is to prevent grave robbery. ) There is another phenomenon. All the pyramids are built on the west bank of the Nile. This is because the ancient Egyptians thought that the west was the world after death, just like the sun setting in the west.

About Egyptian characters and mummies:

1987, the German archaeological team found the tomb of a former ruler in Abedos, recovered hundreds of bone fragments, and found a full scale of Egyptian hieroglyphics. These bone fragments are dated to 3 150 BC. This is the earliest document considered as Egyptian hieroglyphics so far.

The Rosetta Stone was discovered by a French captain Pierre in the Egyptian port city of Rosetta during Napoleon's expedition to Egypt in 1799. 180 1 In the Anglo-French War, Napoleon was defeated and the stone tablet was handed over to Britain. Since 1802, it has been kept in the British Museum for public display. The Rosetta Stone is engraved with three language versions of the same imperial edict from top to bottom, and the top is 14 lines of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (also called holy books, representing the words dedicated to the gods). The beginning and end of the sentence have disappeared; In the middle is 32 lines of Egyptian cursive script (also known as secular script, used by Egyptian civilians at that time), which is an Egyptian papyrus document; Then there are 54 lines of ancient Greek (representing the language of the rulers, because Egypt had surrendered to Alexandria at that time, and the rulers demanded that all such documents in the ruling territory should be translated into Greek), and finally half of them are incomplete. The Rosetta Stone was made by a group of priests who lived in Ptolemy dynasty in Egypt BC, as a commemoration of the first anniversary of the coronation of King Ptolemy V, who was only 13 years old at that time. Its content mainly describes the legitimacy of Ptolemy V's capture of the throne from his father Ptolemy IV, as well as his many good deeds, such as tax reduction, erection of statues in temples and other acts of strongly supporting temples and priests.

Champollion, a French scholar, was the first to study Egyptian hieroglyphics. Egyptian hieroglyphics have always been considered to express meaning by form, and originally had the function of expressing sound. This great discovery later became the key clue to interpret all Egyptian hieroglyphics. It is for this reason that the Rosetta Stone is called the key foundation for understanding the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Later, on the basis of previous studies by philologists, it took champollion nearly 20 years to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphics of 1830, which was a great progress for the newly born Egyptology.

The ancient Egyptians' belief in the afterlife was also reflected in their custom of processing mummies. Preserving the body is a very important part of the Egyptian view of the afterlife. Egyptians believe that the soul of the dead must be able to recognize the body and then return. They spend a lot of time trying to preserve the body of the dead, making it look alive, so that the soul can come back. The main preservative used to preserve corpses is soaking alkali, which is a natural salt in Egypt. The word mummy comes from Arabic, which means asphalt. Because the mummy's skin is very dark, Arabs regard it as asphalt, from which the word mummy we use now comes.

There is a 70-day interval between the death and burial of the deceased, during which mummification and related ceremonies will be completed. First, the body was sent to the mummy house, where the first step of mummification was carried out. Anubis, the protector of the mummy maker, often appears in the murals of graves to help dispose of the bodies. The process of mummification is actually the process of dehydration. Egyptians realized that the soft tissue of the corpse would rot because it contained water. So it's important to keep fit. First cut open the body, take out the internal organs, and then put it in four canopies. The lids of the four jars are different, representing the four sons of Horus, namely Imseti guarding the liver, Hapi guarding the lungs, Mrs. Dewasmes guarding the stomach, and Kebersenuf guarding the intestines. The cavity was cleaned with coconut wine and spices and preserved with dry soda. They let the body dry like a piece of meat. They took out the internal organs, dried the corpse with soaking alkali, and then used natural substances such as soaking alkali and resin to preserve the corpse permanently. It takes 40 days to complete these tasks, and then the body is sent to the clean room again, where it is washed with Nile water, covered with molten resin, closed pores and protected the surface, and finally wrapped with linen. This is a very delicate job. Carefully wrap your body in linen to make it look plump. Because the body will shrink when it is dry, the linen lining makes it more like when he was alive. In Roman times, these patterned bandages became a very important feature of mummy's appearance decoration. In this process, we should keep chanting, and each part of the package should read a paragraph, ending on the 52nd day and entering the coffin from the 68th to the 70th day. The ancient Egyptians' belief in the afterlife is very specific, which can be shown in their funerals. The most important part of the funeral is resurrection, that is, bringing the body of the deceased back to life. Then it is reflected in the funeral, that is, there is a ceremony called opening your mouth. There are two priests. One priest lifted the coffin containing the mummy, and another priest touched the mummy's mouth with a strange tool, and then read some spells in his mouth, indicating that it would bring him back to life. Then the whole family * * * enjoyed a sumptuous feast with music and dance. It seems that the deceased are enjoying it. The deceased has regained the ability to speak and eat, and will attend this ceremony with his family and enjoy the last meal before burial with the whole family. After the feast, the mummy was slowly put into the tomb, and finally a priest dressed as Tutu cleaned the floor and wiped away all the footprints. Everything that came into contact with the mummy, including antiseptic materials, should be collected and buried not far from the tomb, and the funeral was finally completed.

The ancient Egyptians left the dry desert to the dead and the Nile black soil suitable for survival to themselves, so the ancient Egyptian civilization is also called the death civilization or the grave civilization. It is precisely because of their persistent pursuit of eternal afterlife that pyramids and mummies have become symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization.