Some African History from 2000-1500BC

Statue of Thutmose I

This is a quick overview of African history from the year 2000BC to the year 1500BC. Due to the nature of the sources it will be rather focused on Egypt. This is unfortunate, but somewhat inevitable, as Egypt is the one of the best documented places in the world at this time.

Outside of Egypt there were sophisticated cultures in Nubia and Punt. The lower edge of the Sahara had seen the development of agriculture, although there is no record of extensive bronze metalworking from this period. This is to be expected as tin was very scarce in the ancient world and there were no easy trade routes past the Sahara at this time.

Further south of the equator humans still lived as hunter-gatherers, as their distant ancestors had done for millennia. This was more to do with the sophistication of their hunting techniques than anything else. Unlike other parts of the world they had not had the need to develop agriculture and their culture was perfectly adapted to its surroundings. However, if farming groups were to arrive in the area from outside, this would change the balance of the environment and tip the scales in favour of the agricultural groups. Near the Niger Delta agriculture was being developed by speakers of what are now known as Proto-Bantu languages. This group would eventually expand and change the linguistic makeup of the continent when it began to expand.

Ruins of the city of Kerma, in present-day Sudan

In Egypt the 11th Dynasty was founded by Mentuhotep II. This is held to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, after the relative chaos of the First Intermediate Period. The 11th Dynasty was centred on the southern city of Thebes. The new dynasty brought stability and prosperity to Egypt. Mentuhotep II led armies south into the lands that they now referred to as Kush. He also sent trading missions to the Land of Punt, probably in what is now northern Somalia. These missions would continue intermittently for the next two hundred years.

The “Kushite” kingdom was probably the large polity to the south of Egypt. This was centred on the city of Kerma. The culture of the region at this time is also referred to as the Kerma culture, but their rulers are barely known in comparison to the Pharaohs to the north.

Further to the south, a Neolithic culture referred to as the Savannah Pastoral Neolithic Culture flourished in Kenya and Tanzania. They may have been influenced by settlers from the Nile Valley further to the north. It is suspected that these peoples may have spoken Cushitic languages and that their economy was focused on pastoral cattle farming.

Cave paintings from the Brandberg Mountain region
in Namibia

Far to the south, in the lands that are now Namibia, a series of cave paintings were created by the local hunter-gatherers. The dating of these is extremely hard to identify precisely and the paintings were created over a period of millennia anyway. But it seemed important to mention them and this date is probably approximately correct for them.

It was after supper, when night had fallen, and I had spent an hour of happiness. I was asleep upon my bed, having become weary, and my heart had begun to follow sleep. When weapons of my counsel were wielded, I had become like a snake of the necropolis. As I came to, I awoke to fighting, and found that it was an attack of the bodyguard. If I had quickly taken weapons in my hand, I would have made the wretches retreat with a charge! But there is none mighty in the night, none who can fight alone;
Instructions of Amenemhat

Ruined pyramid of Amenemhat

During the 1900’s BC the 11th Dynasty ended in Egypt and the 12th Dynasty began, probably with a palace coup. During this century Egyptian culture and technology blossomed. Literary works such as the Instructions of Amenemhat were written around this time. The Instructions of Amenemhat was written as if the dead Pharaoh Amenemhat was counselling his son in a dream. Amenemhat had been murdered in a conspiracy and wanted to prevent his son from the same fate.

Also around this time in Egypt, glass was invented. This was coloured glass, used for decorations, but the clear glass that we normally associate with glass was not invented until later. It was still a major technological leap for humanity.

In the 1800’s BC the literary trends of Egypt continued, with texts such as the Eloquent Peasant, the Admonitions of Ipuwer, and the Berlin Papyrus 6619 all dating from around this period.

Would that there were an end of men, without conception, without birth! Then would the land be quiet from noise and tumult be no more.
Admonitions of Ipuwer, c1800’s BC

The Eloquent Peasant was a light-hearted tale of a scheming official who deprived a peasant of his property using a trick. The peasant appealed for justice and eventually receives it, but only after being made to wait, while the court enjoy listening to his pleas. The Admonitions of Ipuwer is a darker piece of royal propaganda. It gives a terrifying description of a world descending into chaos while the righteous suffer. We are missing the end of the poem, but it is likely that the coming of a king to end the suffering would have been prophesied, thus glorifying the Pharaoh who commissioned it. The Berlin Papyrus 6619 was a mathematical treatise that demonstrated knowledge of the Pythagorean Theorem.

Papyrus fragment showing
Tale of Sinuhe

But the glory of Egyptian literature is the Tale of Sinuhe. This is the story of Sinuhe, an Egyptian courtier who, upon hearing a dangerous conversation, flees Egypt. He finds his way to Canaan where he builds a new life and becomes a great man in the local lands. But his heart misses Egypt and finally a decree arrives from the Pharaoh, allowing Sinuhe to return home. His newfound greatness cannot overcome his longing for Egypt and he returns to be welcomed back to his native land, where a tomb was prepared for him so that he could face the afterlife with his head held high.

And I was clad in soft linen, and anointed with fine oil; by night I lay upon a bed. I gave up the sand to them that dwell therein, and oil of wood to him who smears himself with it.
The Tale of Sinuhe, written c1800’s BC

During this time, the powerful ruler Senusret III ruled Egypt. He expanded the Middle Kingdom to the height of its power and engaged in campaigns in Libya and against the Kushites to the south. He also became involved in the politics of Canaan. His campaigns would go on to become legendary and his name would live on as the legendary Sesostris, who was said to have been a great Egyptian conqueror who subjugated lands near and far.

The unusual face of Senusret III

Senusret III completed huge building projects, including a canal that allowed passage of the First Cataract of the Nile. He also began work to create the Great Canal that would allow the Faiyum Depression to act as a storage area for the waters of the Nile. This gigantic project was eventually finished by his son. Strangely, the statues of Sesostris III seem to show the face of a ruler who is saddened, lonely and bitter, which is most unusual for the statues of a Pharaoh.

Eventually, late in the century, the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty, Queen Sobekneferu, passed away, possibly in a coup and the 13th Dynasty came to power. The chronology of this dynasty is not well known at all and even the names of the rulers and the order in which they ruled are uncertain. Egypt appears to have begun to decline at this point.

In the century of the 1700’s BC the 13th Dynasty reigned in Thebes, in Upper Egypt. In the later years of the century the 14th Dynasty began to rule concurrently at Avaris, in Lower Egypt. These Pharaohs may have had connections with the kingdom of Kush and with the city-states of Canaan and Syria. With two competing dynasties Egypt was disunited and weak.

Statue of an Asiatic man from Avaris

While Egypt was weak, the Kingdom of Kerma, as Nubia/Kush is known at this point, was strong. This time seems to have been the zenith of the power of the rulers of Kerma.

In the century of the 1600’s BC foreign invaders from Syria, known as the Hyksos, took Avaris and founded the 15th Dynasty of Egypt. The Hyksos may have been responsible for the introduction of horses into the continent of Africa, and their horse drawn chariots may have been the secret to their success. Another dynasty, known as the 16th Dynasty, ruled in Thebes, but was subordinate to the Hyksos in Avaris. A third, even smaller, dynasty ruled a tiny buffer state between Avaris and Thebes and are known as the Abydos Dynasty. The Kingdom of Kerma took advantage of this to attack the southern frontiers of Egypt.

Far to the south and west of Egypt, in the region now known as Nigeria, the Nok Culture arose. At this point they were a Neolithic culture and their great cultural flourishing would not occur for many centuries but they were nevertheless laying the foundations for their later prosperity at around this time.

Mummified body of Ahmose
Founder of the 18th Dynasty and the
New Kingdom

In the century of the 1500’s BC the 17th Dynasty of Egypt, based at Thebes, finally cast out the Hyksos, who had invaded Egypt in the previous century and founded what we refer to as the New Kingdom. This ended the Second Intermediate Period and would bring Egypt to its greatest period of strength. Ahmose I, who had finally expelled the Hyksos, founded a new dynasty, known as the 18th Dynasty. Ahmose was to construct the last pyramid built by native Egyptian rulers. Under the son and grandson of Ahmose I (Amenhotep I and Thutmose I) the Kingdom of Kerma was conquered by Egypt and Egyptian power now stretched far south along the Nile, far to the west across the oases of the Sahara and as far north as the Euphrates River, to which the Egyptian Pharaohs would occasionally campaign.

In a very different type of expansion, the speakers of Bantu languages seem to have begun to spread outwards. These speakers had probably been close to the mouth of Niger River. Perhaps the technologies and organisation of the Nok Culture aided this expansion. But we know from analysing linguistic drift that around this time the language speakers split into two groupings; East and West. The western Bantu speakers went along the Atlantic coast, towards the Congo Valley, while the eastern Bantu speakers went inland to the south-east towards central Africa and the lakes.

Some have speculated that the Nok culture had discovered iron-smelting at this point and that this fuelled both the rise of the Nok culture and the Bantu expansion. This is perhaps plausible, but it is not likely, as this would probably have led to a much faster expansion at this stage. Only Egypt and Kerma were known to be using bronze at this stage of African history, so iron weapons and tools would have been a great advantage indeed against the stone tool users elsewhere.

Pottery from Kerma

Thus the period draws to a close, with the chaos of the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period at an end and the beginnings of the New Kingdom. The Kingdom of Kerma was destroyed around this time by the resurgent Egyptians. Meanwhile in western Africa, the Nok culture was beginning to grow and the Bantu speakers were beginning to spread east and west, along the coasts, towards the lakes and into the equatorial forests.

This is of course only the barest of outlines, a mere historical sketch. There is so much more that could be said but I have tried to give a map that others can use to search for further detail and discover more of the history of Egypt, of Sudan, of Nigeria and of Africa as a whole.

Related Blog Posts:
Some African History from 4000-3000BC
Some African History from 3000-2000BC
Some African History from 2000-1500BC
Some African History from 1500-1000BC
Some African History from 1000-750BC
Some African History from 750-500BC

Ancient Egyptian History

Cleopatra (left)

When people think of ancient civilisations one of the first that springs to mind is the Egyptian civilisation. It left behind some of the worlds' most impressive monuments and has very distinctive culture and art. Television history channels love to show documentaries about periods of Egyptian history and most of us have a vague knowledge of the names of some of the pharaohs. However, ancient Egyptian culture lasts for over three thousand years and it can be very easy to think of the entire civilisation as one static unity. This was not the case and in this blog I shall try and give some rough outlines on Egyptian history that will hopefully allow you to make more sense of it overall and enable you to find your place the next time you see a documentary on the Egyptians on TV.

Firstly, Egyptian artwork is a bad thing to go on. I have shown pictures of the first Pharaoh (Narmer) and the last one (Cleopatra VII). As you can see, the artwork, while not identical, is very similar indeed, despite the fact that the two monarchs are separated by nearly three thousand years.

Narmer

Roughly around 3000 BC Egypt was comprised of two kingdoms. The first king to unite the two kingdoms and form Egypt, as we know it was a king known as Narmer. Egyptian history was relatively uneventful for the next few hundred years. The period between 2700 BC and 2200 BC is known as the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is most notable for the way it buried it's kings. They invented and perfected the art of pyramid building and the great pyramids at Giza and elsewhere were built almost entirely during the Old Kingdom. It's unclear why they stopped building them thereafter, but if you see a documentary dealing with pyramid building in Egypt you can be almost sure that it is dealing with the Old Kingdom.

Old Kingdom pyramids at Giza

In the period 2200-2000 BC it seems that social order broke down. Kings still reigned but they had little power and there are few great buildings or writings from this time. This is referred to as the First Intermediate Period, a sort of Dark Ages. Of course, this is based on our source material. If more source material comes to light it may emerge that conditions were not as bad as was said.

From around 2000-1600 BC the Middle Kingdom reigned. The Middle Kingdom was a period of order but they were not great builders like the rulers of the Old Kingdom and their kings have not been known in popular culture. Their greatest contribution to world heritage is the creation of a book known as the Tale of Sinuhe, which is probably the finest work of ancient Egyptian literature, despite being difficult to read because of cultural differences.

An Egyptian Scribe

In the 1600's BC the Middle Kingdom broke down and invaders from Syria migrated to Egypt and ruled the land for around one hundred years. These invaders were known as the Hyksos and the technology they brought allowed them to conquer Egypt. The most significant technological advantage they brought to Egypt was the chariot. If you see an Egyptian temple with a picture of a chariot you can be almost sure that it is not older than the time of the Hyksos. Many commentators have tied the tale of the Hyksos to the narratives in Genesis about the tale of Joseph but the connection is as yet unproven. This period is also referred to as the Second Intermediate Period.

The Hyksos never fully conquered the land and a king from the southern city of Thebes was able to eventually throw out the invaders. The newly unified Egypt was now strengthened by the technology the Hyksos had brought and the next three hundred years saw Egypt reach the height of its power and influence. Notable pharaohs were Hatshepsut (the brilliant woman pharaoh), Tuthmosis III (the conqueror), Rameses II (the greatest temple builder of the pharaohs), Akhenaten (the heretic), Tutankhamun (whose tomb later became famous) and Rameses III who saved Egypt from invasion.

A Picture of an Egyptian Chariot

Egypt created a large empire stretching down into what is now Sudan and comprising what is now Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and parts of Syria. Many of the famous monuments in Luxor and Karnak were built at this time, as the New Kingdom pharaohs embellished their southern capital. They did not however bury their pharaohs in pyramids. Instead, to prevent robbery they made tombs in the western desert, in what is now known as the Valley of the Kings.

The one great exception to Egyptian art occurred at this time, when the heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten moved the capital and changed the royal artwork. Instead of the idealised identical faces and bodies of traditional art, Akhenaten chose to have himself portrayed with a drawn face and distended stomach. The brief time of Akhenaten's reign (1353-1336 BC: worth a post in its own right) is referred to as the Amarna Period because he moved his capital to what is now Amarna so if you come across this you know when it is from.

Valley of the Kings

Around 1200 BC the great Bronze Age civilisations began to break down all across the Near East. The last notable Pharaoh of the New Kingdom, Rameses III spent most of his reign fighting constant invasions of migrating peoples. In the 1100's BC the New Kingdom broke down.

From this point onwards Egypt goes into decline. At various points the kingdom was ruled by pharaohs from what is present day Libya and Sudan. These kings were often very successful but Egypt was no longer able to control the newly independent kingdoms in Syria and the Levant or compete with the rising empires of Assyria or Babylon. This is known as the Third Intermediate Period.

Akhenaten

Around 671 BC the fearsome Assyrian Empire conquered Egypt but could not hold it for long. The Egyptians left in charge of the province became independent almost immediately and ruled successfully until 525 BC when the Persian Empire conquered Egypt. This period of independence is referred to as the Late Period.

Persian rule was deeply unpopular and Egyptian princes revolted against the Persians with the aid of Greek mercenaries and the city of Athens. Some of the rebellions were successful, but eventually the Persians regained control. Alexander the Great passed through Egypt in 332 BC while conquering the Persian Empire and added it to his own empire.

After Alexander's death his Macedonian generals seized portions of the empire and Egypt was taken by an enterprising general called Ptolemy. His descendants ruled Egypt for the next 300 years and are referred to as the Ptolemaic Dynasty (partly because all of their kings were unimaginatively named Ptolemy). They portrayed themselves as Egyptian pharaohs to the Egyptians, building traditional temples and writing in hieroglyphics. But they also facilitated Greek culture and built the famed Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the ancient Wonders of the World. The dynasty went into decline and survived by playing a dangerous diplomatic game with the Roman Republic. The last Ptolemaic ruler, Cleopatra VII (the only Ptolemaic Pharaoh who bothered to learn Egyptian) was defeated along with her Roman allies by Caesar Augustus at the Battle of Actium (31 BC). Antony (the Roman general) and Cleopatra committed suicide shortly afterwards and Egypt was absorbed as a province in the Roman Empire.

A much later picture of the Battle of Actium

This has been a very long blog post but it has been a summary of over three thousand years of history so it is difficult to keep it short. I hope that this is of some help to people in understanding the broad trends of Egyptian history.