Nineteenth Century Egypt

Egypt has one of the longest histories of any nation in the world. Written history of Egypt dates back to about 5,000 years, the commencement of civilization. While there is divergence in relation to Early Egyptian times, it is said that Egypt came to be around 3200 B.C., during the reign of a king by the name of Menes and unified the northern and southern cities of Egypt into one government. In 1675 B.C., Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, people from the east, bringing along the very first of chariots and horses ever to come across Egyptian soil. Approximately 175 years later in 1500 B.C., the Egyptians had gotten rid of the Hyksos and driven them out. In 1375 B.C., Amenhotep IV had become the king of Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was a captivating and intricate civilization. Over the years, historians have found it easier to study this civilization, rather than other historical civilizations, because the Egyptians went through great lengths to record their history. Besides being decent record keepers, they were very religious, and “ahead of their time,” due to their technological and economic breakthroughs. Because of the aspects of this culture, it has to be one of the greatest civilizations of the world.

At the end of the Middle Kingdom, the Hyksos people invaded Egypt. The Hyksos most likely migrated from Western Asia in Syria-Palestine, but have no clear origin where they are from. The Egyptians called these people hikau-khausut which means "ruler of the foreign countries”. The Hyksos were technologically advanced and because of that they had a strong military. The Egyptians had been isolated from the growing and progressing world by the deserts which surround the country. Because of this isolation, the Egyptians were unprepared for any attack and had a weaker military force. Instead of protecting themself they relied on their natural borders to shelter them from invasion. When the Hyksos invaded Egypt, they left a lasting impact on Egypt’s lifestyle by introducing the Egyptians to different trade methods, diversifying their economy, and exposed exposing them to new military techniques.

“As a result of the Hyksos wars, Egypt was no longer isolated and before long began to play a full part in the developments and trade of the Eastern Mediterranean.” (Grimal)

Thesis: The Nile River undoubtedly shaped the Egyptian’s lives -- for the better. It affected every aspect of their lives, which included economics, government, culture, and agriculture.

This essay will discuss the conquering of Upper Egypt 200 year ruling and adaptation of the Hyksos over Egypt, during the second intermediate period. At the end of the twelfth dynasty after the reign of Sobekkare, there was a short time(period) where Egypt had no ruler because there was no heir to the throne. Unexpectedly from a region East to (of) Egypt, invaders of unknown ethnicity marched into Egypt with confidence.” They easily seized it without striking a blow”(Van Seters p.15). According to Manetho, they overpowered the rulers of the land, burned the cities, and tore many monuments down ruthlessly. They treated the civilians harshly, massacring many, and leading many others into slavery; eventually they took over the empire, making

Egypt’s subjection to Hyksos rule had disrupted their feelings of safety, and thus enabled their awareness of security. This is first seen in Ahmose I’s introduction of buffer regions between Egypt and its Asian enemies. Furthermore, Egypt’s subjugation of foreign threats in efforts to assure prevention of future invasion reflects their new mentality. These actions exemplify Egypt’s adoption of an imperialist policy, accomplished by their adoption of Hyksos weaponry. Accordingly, M. Hayes exemplifies the impact of the Hyksos in stating that the new “warrior pharaoh’s would conquer to the limits of the world to ensure Egypt was as safe as it had once been.” Thus, the Hyksos occupation had impacted the Egyptian’s political power and in turn influenced their policy on foreign powers.

Egypt is located on the northeast corner of Africa. Egyptians are the population who lived in Egypt. They created an advanced civilization, with cutting-edge systems such as medicine, writing, farming and irrigation.

After the repulsion of the Hyksos, meaning ‘rulers of the foreign land’ whom invaded Egypt in 1700 B.C.E. for the first time since the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Eighteenth Dynasty was established and led Egyptian civilization to reach the apex of its influence and grandeur.[i] This new dynasty was established through battle due to their new focus on imperial expansion.[ii] The Egyptian’s worldview and inward focusing culture was drastically altered. They began to look beyond the narrow Nile Valley and started to expand in to the world.[iii] This expansion led to the creation of a new class of nobles whom acquired wealth, lands, and even slaves to work them, through the pharaoh as rewards for their conquest in the Near East.[iv]

Egypt, in contrast to Palestine, was the leader of the Arab world. In the 1800s, Egypt, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali, began a campaign of “defensive modernization”; that is, an importation of military and economic principles of the West in an effort to rejuvenate the Arab world and its culture. The khedives (rulers) who succeeded Ali continued his campaign of modernization by constructing new facilities; the Suez Canal, an important position in trade between Europe and the Far East, was constructed in 1869. However, this modernization invited the imperialism that Egypt sought to avoid ; in 1883, Egypt became a “veiled protectorate” (an unofficial colonial dependency), and on the eve of World War I, a formal British protectorate was established until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Egypt had exploited Nubian for resources such as gold since the Old Kingdom, yet expansion of empire into Nubia wasn’t seen as a political and economical necessity until the New Kingdom. Expansion into Nubia politically protected Egypt’s southern borders from further threat, economically it meant safe trade routes and access to further resources that would allow the empire to flourish. From the Middle Kingdom forth, Egypt had built fortresses along the Palestinian border of the Sinai Desert. This ensured protection of their Northern border as well as the establishment of extensive trade routes that would aid economic stability and allow for further expansion North. Ahmose’s expulsion of the Hyksos not only created both the 18th Dynasty and New Kingdom, but lead to a new age of militarism with a succession of ‘warrior pharaohs’. His invasion of the Hyksos territory paved the way for Egypt’s northern expansion, with his conquest of Nubian Hyksos allies at Buhen allowing for expansion south. Evidence of Ahmose’s reign initiating expansion and early stages of the empire comes from the Biography of Ahmose son of

During 17th and 18th centuries, Egypt suffered an economic decline under the Ottoman Empire. In 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte landed on Egypt he hoped that if he occupied Egypt British links with India would be disrupted.

The Egyptians were not far behind the Sumerians in settling down to civilization and Empire. Like Rome they had a strong central government, a military structure, trade, a state religion and a civic structure. Rome was, however, superior to Egypt as well. Governmentally, the Pharaoh was an absolute ruler, as the Roman Emperor, but the Roman system was not reliant on a bloodline as was the Egyptian system, and was hence more likely to remain stable for long periods of time. The heir being intellectually picked and groomed greatly reducing the problems associated with hereditary rule. Militarily, Egypt was often strong enough to fight off invasion, but although they did project power, they did not conquer lands to expand their empire. Rome expanded their lands and grew more powerful, where the Egyptians seemed content with Egypt. Rome's policy of expansion helped fuel their trade routes and economy, boosting them past Egypt's limiting boarders. Egypt had a good infrastructure, largely an agrarian system of roads and irrigation, but it was nothing in comparison to the

Unfortunately, this pristine army was used entirely as a British commodity, without any Egyptian permission. The new army was composed of mostly high to upper class citizens. These citizens were chosen either because they had enough money to leave Egypt, or they were rebellious. The citizens were shipped to a British camp in Cairo where they were stripped of their money and clothes. They were given one uniform, a rifle, and a pair of shoes. The following day they would begin learning deadly techniques for battle. Throughout this process, the Egyptian citizens thought that they would be used for defensive purposes. Little did they know that the British were planning to use them to do their "dirty work" in battles that were totally non-Egypt related The Egyptians could do nothing to avoid this unfair ruling by the British. If decolonized, Egyptians could be rid of this problem and live in love, not fear.<br><br>Oddly enough, the only things that the British improved in Egypt were the health care, education, and improved farming methods. This improvement was not for the Egyptians however, but for the traders and merchants which stayed in Egypt while crossing the Suez Canal. Although the Egyptians did not benefit from these improved resources, they were still expected to pay for it in the form of taxes. <br><br>The economy of Egypt, according to the constitution of 1971, is one based on socialism, with the people controlling all means of production. The progress of

Ancient Egyptian civilization is known for its impressive achievements in art, architecture, scripture, medicine and more. In its earliest stages, geographical location and natural boundaries such as the Nile River, desert landscapes and Mediterranean Sea provided vital protection to ancient Egypt from any foreign invasion. Over the years, as threats became more apparent, and the ancient Egyptian civilization went through a series of militaristic restructures in order to become one of the most powerful civilizations in the ancient near east. “Warfare in Ancient Egypt” by Anthony Spalinger analyzes and explains the chronological development of warfare in ancient Egyptian civilization and their significance in the larger context of the ancient near east. Throughout his analysis, he develops the understanding of socio-political effects of the military system while expressing the idea that warfare developed Egypt as a centralized, hierarchical organization. As a result, the development of warfare in ancient Egyptian civilization led to the continuity of the civilization for years to come. In this essay, we will analyze “Warfare in Ancient Egypt” by asking three separate questions: Is the essay easy to understand? Is the essay informative? And finally, would you recommend this essay to another reader?