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The first civilization (from the end of 4000 BC to the beginning of 2000 BC)

Early Egypt

First, the occurrence of Egyptian civilization.

Natural Environment and Residents Egypt is located in the northeast of Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea in the north, the Red Sea in the east, Nubia (now Ethiopia and Sudan) in the south and Libya in the west. Geographically speaking, both sides of Egypt are deserts, and there are several large shoals in the south, so it is difficult to communicate with the outside world. Only through the Sinai Peninsula in the northeast can we communicate with West Asia more conveniently. Therefore, ancient Egypt was isolated.

The Nile runs through Egypt and is formed by the confluence of the White Nile originating in Central Africa and the Blue Nile originating in Sudan. The Nile, which flows through forests and grasslands, floods regularly from July to June every year, 165438+ 10, 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. The ancient Egyptians therefore called their country "Kemet" (meaning "black land"). Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian, said, "Egypt is a gift from the Nile."

Since ancient times, Egypt has been geographically divided into narrow valley areas (Upper Egypt) and relatively open and flat Nile Delta areas (Lower Egypt). It hardly rains all the year round in the valleys of Egypt, and the climate is very dry. Water for production and living depends entirely on the Nile. Only the northern delta is affected by the Mediterranean monsoon.

In the arid areas of western Egypt, aquatic plants were probably abundant and livable in the past. /kloc-in the 9th century, a German scientist named Bleicken Horn speculated that there might have been a big river in the desert of western Egypt, and gravel was an ancient river. In recent years, aerial photography has found that there is indeed a trace of an ancient river in southwest Egypt. It is speculated that this may be the ancient channel of the Nile. However, after the ice age, due to the dry climate, this area gradually became a desert, so people gradually moved to the present Nile to settle down.

The creator of ancient Egyptian civilization is a mixture of Ham-speaking North African aborigines and Sem people from West Asia. Their languages belong to Ham Sem family. As for when they began to merge, it is still inconclusive, but this kind of integration obviously started very early and went through a long historical process.

From a large number of sculptures and paintings left by ancient Egypt, we can see that the ancient Egyptians are characterized by tall figure, dark hair, low forehead, thick eyelashes, dark eyes, straight nose, wide face, wide shoulders, dark skin and strong physique. Their body shape and appearance are different from those of ancient Libyans and Nubians, and they are also different from those of ancient Asians, and they have their own unique characteristics.

The occurrence of civilization Egypt is one of the cradles of human civilization, which experienced its own Paleolithic and Mesolithic times. Egyptian Neolithic culture (Merimda culture on the western edge of the delta, Fayong culture in central Egypt, Tasa-Badali culture, etc. ) is a mixed culture of agriculture and animal husbandry. Although it is still controversial when and where Egypt's agriculture originated, its agricultural culture was quite developed in 6000-5000 BC, and the use of bronzes laid the foundation for the early emergence of its civilization.

In the following pre-Egyptian dynasty I, namely the Nigada culture I (also known as Amrat period, about 4000-3500 BC), private ownership and class relations sprouted in Egypt. Some symbols were engraved on the pottery found in some tombs belonging to this period; Each tomb has its own unified symbol, which is probably the symbol of its private rights. At the end of this period, an image of the red crown (with cobra as its symbol), one of the symbols of kingship, was found on a black-topped pottery jar in the tomb of Nigada 16 10. On a piece of pottery found in a grave (Tom Bunol. At the turn of the first phase of Negada culture and the second phase of Negada culture, there is an image of an Horus eagle, which symbolizes the kingship (this is also one of the symbols of kingship). This shows that the kingship has also sprouted. In Dior Spogli? Palver also found a model of a city wall, which shows the growth of social unrest and even the existence of war.

By the second generation of the pre-dynasty, that is, the second generation of Nigada culture (also known as Grce period, about 3500-3 BC100 BC), private ownership was gradually established in Egypt and classes were gradually formed. As can be seen from the tombs at this time, in some places, class differentiation is very fierce. Painted graves were found in Nigada and Sheila Campoli, which were very different from the simple graves of ordinary people. For example, Sheila Campoli's painted tomb is made of bricks with paintings on the wall. Its content is about the war scene (land and water war), which may reflect some activities of the tomb owner (scholars think it may be the king) before his death. The painting on a piece of textile fragments found in Gerberlin also reflects the class differentiation. There are some boats painted on this textile. Some people are paddling and another is sitting on it. This man is obviously a nobleman. The Scorpion King wears a white crown symbolizing kingship (symbolized by an eagle) on his head and a oxtail on his waist, which is much higher than ordinary people. At this time, the ivory board left behind has the image of prisoners of war with their hands tied, and these prisoners of war will become slaves. On the head of scorpion kingship, there are also scenes of slave labor. This kind of blessing with a national flag hanging on the head of power is regarded by scholars as an ideographic symbol representing civilians. Characters appeared in the second phase of Nigada culture, but they were still primitive.

In the second late period of Nigada culture, with the establishment of private ownership and the formation of class, a country appeared in Egypt. At this time, the country is very small and the population is not large. The Egyptians called this small country Spatz, and its hieroglyphic symbol is, indicating a land intertwined with irrigation canals. In Egypt at that time, there were several such small countries. Among these small countries, there is a city centered on government agencies, palaces and temples. Its hieroglyphic symbol is. It means that the city is built on the main road, surrounded by walls and becomes a fortress. There are many sculptures and paintings that reflect the existence of war in this period. In addition to the marine maps in the above tombs, there are also marine maps on ivory handles unearthed in Arak, battlefield palettes and so on. At this time, the kingship has been formed, like the scorpion king on the head of the scorpion king, who may be both a chief executive and a military leader, and also serve as a priest, presiding over sacrifices, leading agriculture and building water conservancy projects. However, at this time, the Egyptian state has just formed, and the power of the nobility is definitely still very strong. The power of the king is probably bound by the nobility, and the king is not an absolute monarch.

In Sheila Campoli, cultural relics of two kings at the end of the former dynasty, Scorpion King and Kaka King, were discovered. Regarding the Scorpion King, a cultural relic named after him was also found in Tula, near Cairo in northern Egypt. Combined with the inscription on the head of Scorpion King Quan, scholars speculate that he may have conquered the north and even controlled this area, which is the earliest evidence of Egyptian reunification.

Attachment: Table of Archaeological Culture of Pre-Egyptian Dynasty

According to: Scholars have different views on the age of Egyptian culture in the pre-dynasty period. This table is based on Hoffman's book Egypt before Pharaoh. See page 16 of this book.

In the early dynasties, according to Manetto, an Egyptian priest who lived at the turn of the 4th-3rd century BC, the first dynasty was founded by the ancient Egyptian king menes. Since then, Egypt has experienced 3/kloc-0 dynasties (before the Greek conquest). Modern egyptologists divide the history of ancient Egypt into several periods, each of which includes several Manieto dynasties. The early dynasties included the 1-2 dynasty, which lasted about 3 100-2686 BC.

According to Manetto, menes was not only the founder of the first dynasty, but also the founder and unifier of the Egyptian state. After establishing his own country in the south, he conquered the delta in the north. In order to consolidate his rule in the north, he established a fortress city-Memphis (formerly known as Baicheng, as the Greeks called it) at the junction of the river valley and the delta, and its patron saint was Puta (the creator of the world, the patron saint of art and handicrafts). Modern archaeology has not found any physical evidence about the existence of menes. Therefore, modern Egyptian antiquarians often regard Narmai or Aha with cultural relics as one person with menes, while some scholars doubt the authenticity of menes.

/kloc-at the end of 0/9 and the beginning of 20th century, archaeologists excavated in Sheila Campoli, Abedos and other places, and excavated in Sakala on the west bank of the Nile near Cairo in 1930s and 1950s, which provided rich cultural relics for studying the history of early dynasties. These data reflect that the unification of Egypt and the establishment of absolute monarchy are gradually completed.

The Nalmai palette and Nalmai title discovered by Sheila Campoli reflect that King Nalmai fought a successful war in the northern delta, bringing back a large number of prisoners of war and other trophies (including cattle and sheep). For example, on the header of Naermai Spring, it is engraved that he captured 6.5438+0.2 million people from the north, 400,000 large livestock and 6.5438+0.42 million small livestock. There is also a Libyan tribute palette, which reflects Narmai's success in the Libyan war. On the front of Narmai palette, the king wears a white crown symbolizing the upper kingship of Egypt, and on the back of the palette, a red crown symbolizing the lower kingship of Egypt, which also shows his ruling power over the south and the north. However, Narmai did not actually complete the conquest of the north and completely unified the country.

Some of the cultural relics left by other kings of the first dynasty after Narmai were related to their unified war. For example, a cultural relic of King Ahab is engraved with the scene of prisoners and has the inscription "Go to Upper and Lower Egypt"; Aha also established a Nite Goddess Temple in the Delta, which was dedicated by Shea Si Nuo. For another example, in the sculpture during the reign of Deng, the fifth king of the first dynasty, King Deng wore a white crown and a red crown at the same time, and for the first time adopted a dual title symbolizing the royal power of upper and lower Egypt. He may want to show that he is the king of upper and lower Egypt.

But until the end of the second dynasty, the words "47,209 enemies in the north" and "48,205 enemies" were engraved on the pedestal of a statue of a king named Hatcheheim, which showed the huge scale and cruelty of the war against the North. It was probably through these wars that he finally conquered the north and unified the whole country. Therefore, his successor, Hacheheim Wei (some scholars believe that the two kings are one person) adopted the dual title of "Horus and Seth", and his more complete names were added with "Two Gods Living in Harmony", which obviously meant the unification of the two parts of Egyptian legend (Upper Egypt represented by Seth and Lower Egypt represented by Horus).

Unification was the requirement and inevitable result of the political, economic and cultural development of Egypt at that time. Unification makes the Nile a link to strengthen the communication between the north and the south of Egypt, which is also conducive to the wider use of the Nile and the development of irrigated agriculture, thus greatly promoting the economic and cultural development of Egypt. The record of the annual rise of the Nile on the Palermo stone tablet is a proof.

With the unification of the country and the intensification of class contradictions, the original state machine of small countries and few people is too weak to meet the needs of the ruling class. So at the beginning of the dynasty, many state organs were newly established in Egypt. These newly established state organs are obviously centered on the king, which shows the gradual strengthening of royal power. The absolute monarchy is gradually taking shape: the hereditary system of the throne has emerged, the deification of the royal power has been obviously strengthened, and the king has accumulated a lot of land and wealth (in the tomb of King Ahab, there is a model of royal real estate as evidence), which constitutes the royal economy. Modern scholars generally refer to the first dynasty and its subsequent Egyptian kings as pharaohs (however, some scholars believe that strictly speaking, they may not be called pharaohs until the New Kingdom period), that is, they are regarded as autocratic monarchs.

The royal tombs and noble tombs in the early dynasty clearly reflected the expansion of monarchical power and the increasing concentration of national wealth in the hands of the ruling class headed by the king. The last form of the development of the kings' tombs in the pre-dynasty period was the painted tombs of Nigada and Sheila Campoli, both of which had only one tomb and no buildings on the ground. However, in the first dynasty, the tomb of the king and the tomb of the nobility, Mastaba, not only had many tombs underground, but also buildings on the ground (it was named after a bench named Mastaba in the courtyard of modern Arabs). Many tombs in Mastaba's tomb are used to house not only the remains of the king, but also the remains of people buried with him: the king's wife, concubines and servants, and some of them are as many as 100 or 200 people. In addition, there are graves for food, utensils, clothes and other things. The ancient Egyptians believed that these things could be enjoyed by the dead through magic. In the first dynasty, a tomb named Haimaka covered an area of 1500 square meters, which exceeded the tombs of many kings. It is particularly noteworthy that most kings of the first dynasty had two tombs (one in Abedos and one in Sakala). There are different opinions about which is the real tomb and which is the memorial tomb.

Second, the ancient kingdom period and the first intermediate period.

The socio-economic situation of the ancient kingdom, including the 3rd-6th dynasties, was about 2686-2 18 1 year BC, and its capital was Memphis. The construction of the pyramids began in this period, and the largest pyramid was also built in this period, so the ancient kingdom period is also called the pyramid period.

The ancient kingdom period was a period of great development of slavery economy in ancient Egypt. The unification of the country has created a relatively stable environment for social and economic development; The construction of larger-scale irrigation system provides important conditions for the development of agriculture. All major crops (such as barley, wheat, flax, grapes, figs, etc. What later generations planted in Egypt was already planted during the ancient kingdom. In terms of farm tools, slave owners used heavy plows pulled by two cows economically, which was much more advanced than using simple wooden plows to cultivate land. From the paintings in the tombs of nobles, it can be seen that the agricultural technology is relatively primitive as a whole, but because the silt deposited after the Nile flooded is very fertile, the grain output can still feed the huge ruling class state machine and the vast number of craftsmen in the ancient kingdom.

The development of agricultural production provides important conditions for the development of handicrafts. During the ancient kingdom, Egypt had a variety of handicrafts: construction, mining, metallurgy, metal processing and manufacturing.

Shipping, pottery making, wine making, textile, arts and crafts, etc. Are well developed. In recent years, hundreds of bronze statues unearthed at the entrance of the pyramid of Ushekafo, the king of the Fifth Dynasty, show that the handicraft industry in the ancient kingdom period was very developed, and Egypt may have entered the Bronze Age at this time. The pyramids and their affiliated buildings (temples) not only illustrate the superb architectural level at this time, but also illustrate the development of mining and transportation. It can be seen from the names of some kings in the ancient kingdom left by Sinai that at least at this time, the Egyptians had been mining copper in Sinai.

Animal husbandry, which mainly raised pigs, sheep, cows and donkeys, occupied a certain position in the economy of the ancient kingdom. Especially in the delta area rich in aquatic plants, there are good conditions for developing animal husbandry.

National unity and social and economic development provide conditions for the development of domestic and foreign trade. However, the domestic trade of the ancient kingdom remained at the level of barter. The street barter scene painted in the Tomb of the Noble can be used as evidence. The housing sales contract left at this time is also an example of this situation. The wages of craftsmen are paid in kind, such as oil, bread, vegetables, clothes, etc. Occasionally, there is copper, but not as money, but like other physical objects, it is mentioned in the inscriptions of many noble tombs. Foreign trade is controlled by the state, and the state or the king often sends caravans abroad. This foreign trade is often combined with foreign plunder.

In the economy of the ancient kingdom, the royal family economy, the temple economy and the bureaucratic aristocratic slave owner economy accounted for a large proportion, which can be said to be dominant. They occupy a large amount of land and labor and have extremely strong economic strength. In their economy, including agriculture, handicrafts, animal husbandry, fisheries, gardening and other parts, they are basically a self-sufficient whole, rarely need to go to the market to buy goods, and have little contact with the market.

In the ancient kingdom, there were roughly the following types of land occupation: land occupied by the state (including Nome), land occupied by kings, land occupied by temples, and land occupied by bureaucrats and nobles. There is no direct information about small producers or rural communes. The inscription on the tomb of Mei Teng, a great official who lived at the turn of 3-4 dynasties, said that he got 200 figurines of cultivated land (1 figurine is equal to 2375 square meters) from Nisutiu ("people of the king"). It is speculated that these Nissuti people may be small producers or commune members, but they can't say anything exact because of the lack of more information.

The income from land occupation by the state (including Nome) should be used for administrative expenses. It is not yet known whether the official salary and military supplies are given to land or in kind (there was no money at that time). The king's land is used to support the royal family. The land of the temple is used both as a sacrifice and as a reward for priests. Bureaucratic aristocrats' land comes from inheritance, purchase, reward and newly reclaimed land, and their income is basically used for their own consumption (except for daily food, clothing, housing and transportation, a lot of wealth is used to build graves and sacrifice). Data show that countries, kings, temples, bureaucrats and nobles occupy a lot of land. Palermo stone tablet records that the king (possibly representing the country) gave the temple 1700 Dosta special farmland at one time; Senior official Mei Teng owns at least 260 stadt cultivated land; In addition to the large amount of land normally occupied by Hoeby, the king also gave him 203 pieces of Stanton land. The land occupied by various slave owners is not necessarily concentrated in one place, but scattered around. In order to manage real estate, supervise and manage workers, they use a large number of bookkeepers and housekeepers.

All kinds of slave owners not only exploit slaves, but also exploit other workers who have lost the means of production. In the ancient kingdom, they mainly exploited a laborer named Maite. Due to economic development and other reasons, a large number of workers lost their land, or went to work on the land of slave owners to get rations and clothes, or rented the land of slave owners and paid taxes. In the tombs of nobles, farmers were tied up and hanged because they could not pay the rent, which shows that the situation of workers is very miserable. Farmers in the ancient kingdom had to perform hard labor and military service, and their burden must be very heavy.

Monarchical autocracy In the ancient kingdom period, the autocratic monarchy in Egypt began to be established, which can be seen from many aspects.

King's control over executive power: In the ancient kingdom, the king was the symbol and representative of state power. Under the king, there is a Prime Minister (called Visir by modern Egyptian scholars in Arabic), who presides over daily affairs and is in charge of administrative, judicial, economic and religious affairs, with considerable power. But the decision is not in the hands of wiesel, but in the hands of the king. Visil also has no military power. Vesil was appointed by the king, as were other senior officials. These officials are all responsible to the king and thank him for his favor.

The king's control over the national economy: In the ancient kingdom, the king not only directly occupied a lot of wealth such as land and labor, but also controlled the country's land, irrigation system and foreign trade, and all the spoils were also owned by the king. Inscriptions such as Palermo Stone Tablet record that kings donated land and labor to temples and land to nobles during the ancient kingdom. Kings can even use the manpower and material resources of the whole country to build pyramids for themselves and their loved ones. I am a country, and the economic performance is to put the national finance under the control of the king.

King's control over the army: The ancient kingdom had a relatively strong army, which was the main material force of absolute monarchy. This army is not only used for internal repression and rule, but also for foreign wars. This army is under the direct command of the king. During the war, the king often used his private expeditions. Sometimes, although he sent people to lead the expedition, he often reported to the king or asked him for instructions. The army is probably composed of two parts: the standing army and the temporarily recruited troops. Most of the troops stationed in the border fortress are standing troops. The Biography of Minister Wu Ni clearly recorded the temporary recruitment in wartime.

The king's control over judicial power: there are no legal documents such as codes handed down from ancient Egypt. Although some materials have mentioned the scrolls, modern people have never seen them. In ancient Egypt, the king's word was the law. The king can issue decrees equivalent to laws, and some decrees about the temple economy in the late ancient kingdom have been preserved. There were two kinds of courts in ancient Egypt: secular courts and temple courts. Visier is the highest judge of the secular court, and he hears general major cases. But the king can intervene in judicial trials, and he can appoint judges to try some cases himself. In the Biography of Minister Wu Ni, it is said that the king appointed Wu Ni as a judge to try secret cases in the inner palace. Temple courts generally only deal with minor civil disputes.

The king's control over local administration: The most important administrative unit in the ancient kingdom was Nome (state), and its chief executive was Normal Herr (governor). The governor is hereditary and appointed by the king. A hereditary governor can also be formally appointed or approved by the king. Some people can be Mr. Normal with two nouns. Nome manages local administration, commands local troops, maintains local public security, collects state taxes, manages the royal economy and Nome's state real estate, manages local temple affairs and maintains local irrigation systems. During the ancient kingdom, the normal Hector was an old local aristocrat and had a great influence in Bennome. In the early days of ancient kingdoms, kingship could still control them; By the end of the ancient kingdom, the autocratic monarchy was greatly weakened, and the kingship depended on them in many ways, and senior officials were also selected from them. Some local aristocrats even married the king and served as senior officials such as wiesel. Therefore, some normal hector showed great separatist tendencies, and they even enriched themselves by weakening the royal economy. Between Nome and the central government, there was an official residence in Upper Egypt at the end of the 5th dynasty, and Minister Wuni served as the chief official of the official residence in Upper Egypt. Some researchers believe that the official residence in Lower Egypt was established later, probably in 1 1 dynasty. However, the official positions of the leaders of upper and lower Egypt and the leaders of upper and lower Egyptian monks are mentioned in the Biography of Minister Uni, which seems to indicate that the ancient kingdom also established the official residence of lower Egypt. The governor of Upper Egypt was obviously appointed by the king. Judging from the situation of Wuni, its authority includes: collecting taxes on behalf of the state, directing local temporary recruitment in wartime, and so on. May also play the role of monitoring the local normal representative of King hector.

The royal family controls state affairs: the autocratic monarchy in the ancient kingdom period was not only manifested by the king himself directly controlling the main power of the country, but also by the royal family controlling state affairs, and most senior officials were members of the royal family. In the fourth dynasty, most of wiesel's positions were held by princes. Even in the 5th-6th dynasties, a prince held the post of wiesel. In Sakala, one of the six tombs of princes in the 5th-6th dynasties, as Vesil, both of them served as the head of royal affairs and military commanders. At the end of the ancient kingdom, the kingship weakened and local nobles rose. Some local nobles served as Wessel. For example, in the Sixth Dynasty, a wiesel man named Zawu turned out to be a local aristocrat. However, the reason why Zawu can hold the post of wiesel may be related to his two sisters becoming queens.

The king has unlimited authority over his subjects: in ancient Egypt, the king was above the country and all his subjects seemed to be his slaves. When the subjects see the king, they can only kiss the dust at his feet, and it will be a great honor for a man to be allowed to kiss the king's feet. The attitude towards the king reflected in the inscriptions of some officials in the 5-6 Dynasty (such as Wu Ni and others) fully explained the nature of the relationship between monarch and minister at that time. However, the relationship between officials and kings at the turn of 3-4 dynasties reflected in Mei Teng's epitaph seems to be different, and the inscriptions of Henku and Eby in 5-6 dynasties also seem to show that the relationship between local nobles and kings is different. Perhaps, people like Wu Ni are all cronies appointed by the king, so their attitude towards the king is quite different from that of the local nobles.

The kingship was further deified: the autocratic monarchy strengthened the kingship with theocracy and strengthened the rule of the slave owner class. In the early days and before the ancient kingdom, Horus, the eagle god, was the main protector of kingship. The statue of King Ha Fula of the Fourth Dynasty was created by Horus spreading his wings to protect his head. At that time, the king also had the name (title) of Horus. However, during the ancient kingdom, the worship of the sun god La gradually developed and gained the upper hand in the Fifth Dynasty. According to Weist Karl papyrus, the first three kings of the Fifth Dynasty all claimed to be the sons of Rashin, that is, the descendants of Rashin. Since the third dynasty, the king's name has been written in an oval frame. This frame symbolizes the area where the sun shines, and it also means that the king is protected by the sun god. In the ancient kingdom, many kings had Dora's name at the end of their names. In order to get the support of theocracy, the kings of the ancient kingdom donated a lot of land and labor to the temple. Deifying kingship is not only the requirement of kingship itself, but also the need of the ruling class at that time. The deification of kingship also means the deification of the slave owners' class regime. Therefore, it is also tolerated by the slave owner class. To this end, the slave owners in ancient Egypt kept a whole priestly regiment.

The pyramids are the tombs of ancient Egyptian kings. Because of their Chinese character "Jin", China people call them "pyramids". The construction of the pyramids began with Jorsell, the first king of the Third Dynasty. At that time, he asked the famous architect Eamon Hotep to design a grave for him. Eamon Hotep originally designed and built a huge stone tomb in Sakala. But Jossel and Eamon Hotep are not satisfied with themselves and feel that they are not serious enough. So Eamon Hotep added five Mastaba smaller than each other, which became the hierarchical pyramid of Jossel that can still be seen now. It is 61.2m high, 0/23.3m long from east to west at the bottom and 0/07.4m long from north to south. There are corridors and tombs at the bottom of the pyramid, a memorial temple is built next to the pyramid, and the whole building complex is surrounded by walls.

Snefru, the first king of the fourth dynasty, built three pyramids. His first pyramid was in Maidumen, which was originally a hierarchical pyramid. Later, the steps of each floor were filled in to form a pyramid-shaped pyramid; Later, he ordered someone to build a real pyramid in Dashuer, but due to design mistakes, he found that the angle in the middle of the building was too large and had to change the angle, thus becoming a diamond pyramid or an arc pyramid. Of course, Snefru was not satisfied with this, so he ordered another pyramid with a real pyramid to be built in Big Shure. It can be said that the Snefru period was the transition period from hierarchical pyramid to real pyramid.

The largest pyramid was built by Khufu, the king of the fourth dynasty (the Greeks called him Qi Hoops), and its architect was Khufu's brother Hemian, whose address was chosen in Kize, on the west bank of the Nile near Memphis. The height of the pyramid is146.5m, and each side is about 230m long. It is said that the pyramids used about 2.3 million stones of different sizes, each weighing about 2.5 tons on average. The mausoleum was originally built at the bottom of the tower, and later a mausoleum was built in the middle of the tower. The entrance of this pyramid is triangular in the north of the tower 13 meters from the ground, so that the weight of the tower body is evenly dispersed and the passage opening will not be crushed.

According to Herodotus, it took 30 years to build pyramid of khufu. Roads and catacombs for transporting stones were built in the first 10 year, and the pyramids themselves were built in the last 20 years, employing 65,438+10,000 people every year.

Next to pyramid of khufu, there are pyramids of two kings of this dynasty, Havela (the Greeks called him Zvlin) and Menkaure (the Greeks called him MacKay Linnus). There is a sphinx of the king not far from the Havla Pyramid, which is about 20 meters high and 50 meters long. It is said that its face is carved in the image of Ha Fula. The ancient Egyptians believed that lions were the guardians of the entrance to heaven.

Around these pyramids, there are also many aristocratic masters, which symbolically embodies the supremacy of absolute monarchy to its vassals.

Why did the king of ancient Egypt build a pyramid-shaped tomb? There are two ways to say this. Traditionally, this burial form is the result of the natural development of Egyptian burial forms, that is, from the painted tombs of the previous dynasties to the Mastaba of the early dynasties, to the hierarchical pyramids of Jossel, and finally to the pyramids of the pyramids. Edwards, a British scholar, put forward another explanation in the book Pyramid. He believes that the construction of the pyramids is related to the religious worship in ancient Egypt. Because the ancient Egyptians believed that the soul would ascend to heaven after death, and the ladder of the hierarchical pyramid was the ladder of the king's soul ascending to heaven. 1954 The big wooden boat found underground next to pyramid of khufu was also used to transport the king's soul to heaven. The pyramid of the pyramid symbolizes the worship of the sun god, because the four ridges of the pyramid are like the rays of the sun. He believes that the Snefru period is a transitional period for these two different religious concepts.

There were about 80 pyramids in ancient Egypt, starting from the 3rd dynasty and ending in the second middle period (in the new kingdom, the king's tomb was no longer in the form of pyramids, but in the form of rock tombs). They are distributed on the west bank of the Nile near Memphis.

Pyramid is the symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization and the crystallization of ancient Egyptian people's wisdom. However, the construction of the pyramids increased the burden on the people, consumed the country's manpower and financial resources, aggravated the domestic class contradictions, and weakened the power of absolute monarchy. Herodotus and odola both recorded that people were angry about building pyramids, and there might even be a people's uprising. The fifth dynasty may have been established after the people's uprising. No wonder the new dynasty relied more on theocracy to maintain its rule.

The decline and end of the ancient kingdom in the first middle period, due to the intensification of class contradictions, kingship was more dependent on theocracy and local aristocrats. The king gave more and more wealth, such as land and labor, to temples and local nobles, exempting them from taxes, which made the influence of temples and local nobles more expansive and accelerated the decline of kingship. After the long-term rule of King Pepy II of the 6th Dynasty (it is said that he ascended the throne at the age of 6 and lived for 100 years), the unification of the ancient kingdom was finally unable to be maintained, and the absolute monarchy ceased to exist. In the 7th dynasty, Egypt was in a state of division and chaos. According to Maneteau's remnant 23, the 70 kings of the 7th dynasty only ruled for 70 days (and many of them may coexist at the same time, instead of inheriting each other); According to his last article 24, he ruled five kings for 75 days. The confusion and differences recorded in the fragment reflect the confusion of the actual situation at that time. From the 7th dynasty, Egypt was full of small countries, and almost one Nome became a small country. Every normal person feels that he is the king of an independent kingdom and the ruler of his own independent city. They often put the names of local gods in their titles. In order to expand their territory, they fought with each other, which made the situation more chaotic.

Due to the disappearance of the unified situation