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SYSTEMATIC PLAN OF EDUCA- TION. EMBRACING THE WORLD'S PROG- RESS AND DEVEL- OPMENT OF THE LIBERAL ARTS
COUNCIL OF REVIEW
Very Rev. J. K. Brennan Missouri
CiSLE EoTiiNE, jr. A. - - - University of Minnesota
Chas. II. Caffin New York
James A. Craio, M.A., B.D., Ph.D., University of Michigan
Mrs. Sarah Platt Decker Colorado
Alcee Fortier, D.Lt. ... - Tul.ine University
RoswELi, Field Cliicago
HrucE G. Kingsley - Royal College of Organists, England
D. D. LuckEnbili,, A.B., Pn.D - University of Chicago
Kenneth McKenzie, Ph.D -
Frank B. Marsh, Ph.D. -
Dr. Hamilton Wright Mabie
W. A. Merrill, Ph.D., L.II.D.
T. M. Farrott, Ph.D. - -
Grant Siiowerman, Ph.D. -
II. C. ToLMAN, Ph.D., D.D. -
I. K. WiNC.M.A. - - -
Yale University
University of Texas
New York
University of California
Princeton University
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University
Michigan
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VOL. I
THE DELPHIAN SOCIETY
Copyright 1913
BY
THE DELPHIAN SOCIETY
Chicago
Revised 1916
Revised 1919
Revised 1922
COMPOSITION. ELECTBOTYPINO. PRINTIN* AND BINDING BY THE
W. B. CON KEY COMPANY Hammond, Indiana
Page
The Delphian Movement viii
Prehistoric Man; Customs and Occupations. Dawn of Civilization. ..xiv
EGYPT. Prefatory Chapter 13
Chapter I. Its Antiquity; Story of Joseph, Physical Geography, Prehistoric Egypt 20
Chapter II. Sources of Egyptian History; Herodotus' Account of Egypt 31
Chapter III. Pyramid Age; Early Egyptian Kings; Construction of Pyramids 37
Chapter IV. Age of Darkness ; Middle Empire ; Reigns of Amenemhet I. and III. ;
Description of Labyrinth 43
Chapter V. Egypt under the Shepherd Kings; Beginning of the New Empire; Conquests of Thutmose 1 51
Chapter VI. First Egyptian Queen ; Temple of Hatshepsut ; Expedition to Punt .... 57
Chapter VII. Military Kings; Hymn of Victory; Worship of the Solar Disk; Temple of Karnak 64
Chapter VIII. Nineteenth Dynasty; Egypt under Ramses the Great; Twentieth Dj^nasty ; Priest Rule ; Ethiopian Kings 72
Chapter IX. Social Life in Egypt ; Houses, Dress, Family Life 85
Chapter X. Sports and Recreations 96
Chapter XL Agriculture and Cattle Raising; Arts and Crafts; Egyptian Markets;
Military Affairs 109
III
18722-^2
IV TABI*E OF CONTENTS — PART I.
Chaptes XII.
Page Schools and Education ; Egyptian Literature 112
Chapter XIII. Religion of Ancient Egypt; Hymn to the Nile; Egyptian Temples and Ceremonies 119
Chapter XIV. Art and Decoration 133
Chapter XV. Tombs and Burial Customs 188
Chapter XVI. Excavations in Egypt; Discoveries of W. M. Flinders Petrie 144
Descriptions of Egypt.
Description of the Nile 153
Feast of Neith 155
Karnak 159
Memphis 161
Hymn to the God Ra 163
Egyptian Literature.
An Old Kingdom Book of Proverbs 164
The Voyage of the Soul 16K
The Adventures of the Exile Sanehat 171
The Song of the Harper 179
Present Day Egypt.
Alexandria 181
Cairo 182
Egyptian Museum 185
Suez Canal 187
BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA. Prefatory Chapter 193
Chapter I. Early Civilization of Asia; Recovery of Forgotten Cities 201
Chapter II. Sources of Babylonian and Assyrian History; Physical Geography... 211
Chapter III. Prehistoric Chaldea; Charms and Talismans; Semitic Invasion 218
Chapter IV. City-States Before the Rise of Babylon; Hymn to the Moon-God 227
Chapter V. Dominance of Babylon 232
TABLE OF CONTENTS — PART I. V
Chapter VI.
Page Beginnings of Assyrian Empire; Conquest of Asshumatsirpal 237
Chapter VII.
Assyria a Powerful Empire; Hebrew Account of the War with Assyria 245
Chapter VIII.
Last Years of Assyrian Dominance 256
Chapter IX. Chaldean Empire in Babylonia 264
Chapter X. Social Life in Mesopotamia. The Babylonian and Assyrian Compared ;
Their Houses and Family Life 270
Chapter XI. Morality of the Ancient Babylonians 276
Chapter XII.
Literature and Learning ; Deluge Story 283
Chapter XIII. Clothing Worn by Assyrians and Babylonians; Their Food 293
Chapter XIV. Architecture and Decoration 300
Chapter XV. Religious Customs 307
Chapter XVI. The Laboring Classes ; Professions 317
Chapter XVII. The Medes 328
Chapter XVIII. Condition of Persia Before the Age of Cyrus ; Cyrus the Great and the Persian Empire 332
Chapter XIX. War with Greece 340
Chapter XX. Manners and Customs of the Persians; Their Religion 346
Chapter XXI. Contributions of Babylonia, Assyria and Persia to Modem
Civilization 357
VI TABI,^ Ot CONTENTS — PART I.
Assyrian Literature,
Page
Chaldean Account of the Deluge 361
Descent of Ishtar to Hades 367
Gyges and Assurbanipal 871o
Purity 371c
Zoroaster's Prayer 371rf
THE HEBREWS AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
Chaptee I.
Syria 872
Chaptee II. The Land of Phoenicia; Reign of Hiram; Invasion of Asshurbanipal 378
Chaptee III. Phoenician Colonies and Commerce 390
Chapter IV. Occupations and Industries; Literature and Learning; Religion 399
Chapter V. Physical Geography of Palestine; Climate and Productivity 408
Chapter VI. Effects of Geographical Conditions upon the Hebrews 418
Chapter VII. Sources of Hebrew History 426
Chapter VIII.
Condition of the Hebrews Prior to Their Occupation of Canaan 434
Chapter IX.
Era of the Judges 441
Chapter X.
Morality of the Early Hebrews 448
Chapter XL Causes Leading to the Establishment of the Kingdom. David's Lament; His Reign. Solomon Rules; King Solomon and the Bees 453
Chapter XII.
After the Division of the Kingdom ;" End of Israel 469
Description of Illustrations 483
FULL PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
PART I.
Page
Illuminated Missal Frontispiece
Distant View of the Pyramids 44
Near View of Pyramids and Sphinx 68
Tourists Scaling the Great Pyramid 92
Column and Pylon of Karnak 124
Beautiful Island of Philea 148
Windows of a Harem 172
Ship of the Desert (Photogravure) 192
Winged Lion 236
Musicians and Attendants in the Garden of Asshurbanipal 284
Sword-Maker of Damascus 348
The River Jordan 392
Jappa Harbor 432
Roses of Sharon 464
Map of Ancient Egypt vi
«n
THE DELPHIAN MOVEMENT
wo THOUSAND years before the sight of a new world burst upon the view of the Genoese mariner, there existed in north-central Greece a sanctuary famous in three continents. Located in mountainous Phocis, in a natural amphithe- ater, overhung by frowning rocks and reached only through mysterious caves, was the Oracle of Delphi. Here in remote times Apollo was believed to reveal his wishes to men through the medium of a priestess, speaking under the in- fluence of vaporous breath which rose from a yawning fis- sure. Her utterances were not always coherent and were interpreted to those seeking guidance by Apollo's priests.
As its fame spread, the number of visitors to Delphi in- creased. More priests were needed to counsel and advise. Although the first blind faith in earlier deities lessened, the prestige of Delphi was nevertheless preserved. Apollo's priests became better versed in the affairs of Greece and the surrounding countries; their assistants became familiar with all vital issues, and thus intelligent replies were given to un- ceasing inquiries. In time the Greek divinities were almost forgotten and Christianity became the state religion, yet the Oracle of Delphi continued to draw men unto it until the fifth Christian century.
Ancient writers have left us abundant accounts of jour- neyings made thither by potentates and kings, and have de- scribed at length the rich offerings left by them in gratitude. The humble were seldom mentioned by early writers and it remained for the last few years to bring to light little leaden tablets — valueless from the standpoint of plunderers, earth- covered and revealed only by the excavator's spade — silent testimonials of appeals made to the oracle by the common people.
VIII
THE DELPHIAN MOVEMENT IX
Perhaps at first thought we find the influence which the Delphian oracle exerted for more than a thousand years throughout Greece unaccountable, but upon reflection we per- ceive that it held its power because it was the best answer that epoch could give to man's eternal need for greater wisdom than his individual experience can provide. It may fittingly be compared to the influence of the Church in the Middle Ages. To it were referred alike questions of international policy, and the private affairs of humble citizens.
There is no doubt but that implicit faith directed the first visitors to Delphi, and beyond question this faith to some extent survived. The peasant accepted literally the presence of deity, but there have been in all ages the discerning who have distinguished between the symbol and that symbolized, and certainly the keen, alert Greeks did not remain blind adherents of antiquated conceptions. The wisdom of the Delphian priests was revered and their judgments accepted much in the same way as were those of the seers who taught the children of Israel at the city gates, so that the Oracle of Delphi still remained potent — a name with which to con- jure— long after the belief that the deity himself was present had given place to another.
Today, the number who ask "Whence cometh wisdom, and where is the place of understanding?" is more than all who ever sought the offices of the priestess on her tripod. We have learned that not gaseous exhalations, but a thorough under- standing of the past, will reveal the secrets of the future, and that these "oracles" are best interpreted by thoughtful groups, instead of by one frenzied prophetess. The name Delphian was chosen for this national educational movement because we too are seekers for wisdom, and we would not lose the spell of the storied past, as we renew the age-old quest.
E^ch new decade brings new needs, and the conditions of fifty years ago were wholly different from those confronting us today. Ours is an age characterized by intensity, strenuous effort and tireless exertion. Leisure seems to have disap- peared from our national life and to be remembered only when reviewing pleasant stories of other times. Educators complain that we are neglecting the wisdom of the past — that the enduring thoughts of men as preserved to us in their
X th^ worijj's progress.
writings have ceased to be familiar. The thoughtful deplore the loss of culture, courtesy and old-time chivalry. Fre- quently the critics fail to look beneath the surface for reasons leading to the very evident result The truth is that in no previous age have the hearts of people been more sensitive to injustice, more united for fair dealing between man and man, more eager for the best the world can offer. It is only that the cultural methods which served in the past are unsuited to our machine-driven civilization. Of course time will adjust this, but we who are living in the transition period must meet modern conditions with modern methods.
At present people accumulate fine libraries and rarely read them; for their shelves they seek the best — for their di- version the lightest and most transient literature. Few are there who do not dream of a happy time when it shall be their delight to browse among their books and find com- panionship in them. Still the years fly by relentlessly and many who are not mere theorists are sounding a warning: This time so fondly anticipated will never come to many of the present generation; seize today; snatch a brief moment for the consideration of enduring thoughts; do not rrierely provide for the temporal wants and leave the soul famishing. Dr. Eliot, late president of Harvard, in repeated lectures and addresses has voiced this crying need.
"From the total training during childhood there should result in the child a taste for interesting and improving read- ing, which should direct and inspire its subsequent intellectual life. That schooling which results in this taste for good reading, however unsystematic or eccentric the schooling may have been, has achieved a main end of elementary education ; and that schooling which does not result in implanting this permanent taste has failed. Guided and animated by this impulse to acquire knowledge, and exercise his imagination through reading, the individual will continue to educate him- self all through life. Without that deep-rooted impulsion he will soon cease to draw on the accumulated wisdom of the past and the new resources of the present, and, as he grows older, he will live in a mental atmosphere which is always growing thinner and emptier. Do we not all know many people who seem to live in a mental vacuum — to whom, in-
THE DELPHIAN MOVEMENT XI
deed, we have great difficulty in attributing immortality, be- cause they apparently have so little life except that of the body? Fifteen minutes a day of good reading would have given any one of this multitude a really human life/'^
To meet this condition, which prevails throughout the length and breadth of our land, to stimulate a deeper interest, quicken a latent appreciation and facilitate the use of brief periods of freedom for self-improvement, the Delphian So- ciety was organized and the Delphian plan of education mapped out.
Believing that only a comprehensive course could meet the requirements of the day and prove acceptable to a large number of people, the Delphian Society has included those subjects which are now offered in the curriculums of our leading colleges and universities — history, literature, phil- osophy, poetry, fiction, drama, art, ethics, music. Mathe- matics, being in its higher forms essential to few, has been omitted; languages, requiring the aid of a teacher, and such sciences as make laboratories necessary, are not included. None of these subjects possesses purely cultural qualities. Technical information has no place whatever in such a scheme. The branches of human interest which remain are those of vital importance to everyone.
Not only is the list of subjects widely inclusive, but the method of treatment has been carefully considered. Finding the beginnings of most modern activities in antiquity, the Delphian Course presents the gradual unfoldment of each subject from earliest times to our own. The distance be- tween an imitation of the hunt, as found among the diver- sions of primitive people, and a modern play is great, and yet no complete idea of the latter can be acquired without some conception of dramatic origins. The crude picture drawn upon the sooty hide which formed a hut in early times and the crowning masterpiece of a Raphael present extremes, and yet he who would follow the gradual growth of painting realizes that each has its place in the progress of art. Only in comparatively recent times has the value of each link which forms the long chain of development been understood. No amount of heterogeneous reading can compare with the
* Eliot: Educational Reform.
XII THE WORI,d's progress.
systematic tracing of one subject from its early manifesta- tions to its present forms.
Correlation of topics presents wonderful possibilities. If we become interested, for example, in society as portrayed in the earliest English novels, how much more shall we then appreciate the canvases of Hogarth, which depict the same social conditions. If the age of idealism in literature be under consideration, the productions of contemporaneous artists grow to have for us a new significance.
It is a mistake to imagine that relaxation and diversion are obtainable only from reading matter of the day. Oscar Kuhms calls attention to the fact that "to spend hours over illustrated magazines, Sunday newspapers, and the majority of popular novels, has very little to do with the art of read- ing in its larger sense." To a far greater extent than is gen- erally imagined, the inordinate reading of magazines accounts for the host of superficial readers of our generation. To see how temporary is their interest one needs only to examine journals three or four years old.
The pleasures of travel may be greatly enhanced by defi- nite knowledge of countries visited — their recorded past, the manner of life of those who dwelt within them and* those now populating them ; ruins, old temples, surviving art, make slight appeal to those wholly unfamiliar with the ages that produced them. The enjoyment of a play is more poignant for the one who has in mind the changes which plays and playhouses have witnessed. There is something impressive in the thought that for ages audiences have been thus held spellbound. Four centuries before the Christian era impos- ing dramas and keenly satirical comedies were given before larger assemblies than modern theatres could accommodate. Only in modern times has a curtain separated the players and spectators. Formerly the favored sat upon the stage it- self; in the Elizabethan playhouse the majority stood throughout an entire performance. Sentences in Shakes- peare's plays are meaningless without taking these facts into account. Some extended acquaintance with pictures would put an end to comments made not infrequently by critics that the spectacle of groups of people today in attendance upon an art exhibit supplies an astonishing sight. The majority —
THE DELPHIAN MOVEMENT XIII
SO it has been stated — find a number in their catalogues, search frantically about for a picture so designated, and when they discover it, sigh with satisfaction and begin the search for another — "for all the world as though they were indulg- ing in a simple hunting game!" Why Raphael painted so many Madonnas, why Watteau seems to have known only the gay and carefree — these are simple questions which many might find perplexing to explain adequately.
The traveler whose time in a foreign land is limited does not seek the commonplace and unattractive; he does not try to compass all a city might have to show in the brief period he can spend there ; rather, he obtains the guidance of those more familiar with the locality, and gives his attention to the best it has to offer. So if our time for reading and self-im- provement must be brief, we shall find small satisfaction in wasting it blindly searching for what may satisfy. Educa- tors are usually less pressed by insidious cares and more free to give their devotion to favorite subjects.
Finally, let us remember that we are not reading chiefly for information. We read to develop our insight into the mystery of life ; to gain an individual viewpoint ; to establish our stand- ards of conduct and modify our standard of judgment. Read- ing which is mere diversion can never bestow this power. It is for this reason the Delphian plan concentrates upon the knowl- edge whose value has been proved by time. This is the infor- mation which will provide the true perspective for the drama, the art, the Hterature and the history of our time. From the vantage point of familiarity with it, we can discern more clearly the merits of what is new, and best of all, we shall make the pleasing discovery that through ceasing to read only for diversion, all of our reading has become more diverting.
The Delphian chapter programs have been planned to bring about individual development through group activity. Through the group are gained, poise, practice in self-expres- sion, and the broadened outlook of differing viewpoints. The ideal of the society is that each Delphian chapter shall be a means for broadening and deepening the interests of every member in all things which build up the community, in higher education, personal improvement and social progress.
PRIMITIVE DRAWING OF llAN.
PREHISTORIC MAN
fj^ HE word prehistoric means, literally, before his- ^*^ tory begins, and by prehistoric man we mean those human beings who lived upon the earth before records were kept. History, properly so called, does not begin until civilization is 'reached. The roaming of savage people over land in search of food has little or no importance for the student of history, although knowledge of a people in its savage state may throw some light upon its future development. While prehis- toric ages are the concern of the archaeologist rather than the historian, we shall find that historic ages owe a great debt to prehistoric ages, and with this aspect of the matter the historian has deep interest.
The science of geology teaches us that the earth has not always possessed its present familiar appearance. On the con- trary, countless years were consumed in molding it to its pres- ent shape, and even yet it is undergoing constant change. It is supposed that in the beginning all was a chaotic heap of Mat- ter. In the words of a familiar story : "The earth was with- out form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep."
Whether the first cause of motion was direct Divine will or the working out of purely scientific law is not our province to determine here. Speaking in terms of geological record, the whole chaotic mass grew rounder and rounder, flattening slightly at the poles, or the ends of the axis. Gradually the surface of the mass cooled, and cooling, formed the earth's crust. Because it did not cool evenly, but shrunk to fit the still molten mass, this surface or crust was left with deep crevasses and higher ridges. This marked irregularity was further increased by mighty upheavals caused by pressure of heat from within. Thus were many of the mountains formed.
XIV
PREHISTORIC MAN- XV
This process, so slightly indicated here, extended over a vast period of time. It is supposed that later, for a protracted period, rain fell. When the age of rain had passed, the deep depressions in the earth's surface were left filled with water — our present oceans and some of the seas. It would be im- possible for us to review rapidly all the stages through which the earth passed in its making. Suffice it to say that conditions upon it were not always favorable to* life as we know it. In course of long geological ages — ^perhaps millions and millions of years — forests of trees, plants, shrubs and flowers sprang up and covered the bare earth. Last of all, probably, man appeared. How all these things came about no one under- stands, but it is generally accepted that they occurred in an order similar to that just given. It would be useless for us to inquire into all the reasons that have led to these conclusions, but the most important one has been evidences within the earth itself.
Men who work deep down in mines know that as they descend lower and lower, the temperature rises, until there is a noticeable difiference between the temperature at the entrance of a mine and at its lowest point. Moreover, not infrequently volcanoes pour forth streaming lava, smoke and fire accom- panying the eruption. While such evidences lead to the con- clusion that the temperature of its interior is very high, still there are many reasons for believing that the earth is a solid mass. From the examination of the various earth strata, their composition and the evidences each bears of the conditions under which it was formed, we learn of periods of rain, heat and cold prevailing. All these facts belong to the realm of geology how- ever, and concern us here only as they have concerned the pro- gress of mankind. These same earth layers or strata which pre- serve eloquent testimony regarding the earth's development, con- tain also remains of prehistoric men — men who lived in the far away time before records were made and of which the rocks alone give testimony.
Of the beginnings of the human race we know little. Many scientists, notably Darwin and his followers, have sought to show that man evolved from some lower animal life, in a way similar to that in which we find some plant or flower perfected from inferior origin. Whether the theory of man's evolution from some lower animal will ever be shown to be true the future
XVI THE world's progress.
alone can tell, even though the scholarly world today has gen- erally accepted the evolutionary view of life and the world.
Buried within the earth along river-beds, around cliffs, in mounds and many other places, have been found remains of primitive man. While the beginnings of the human race, as has been said, are utterly unknown, the earliest stage of which we have knowledge has been called the Paleolithic Age, — the age of the River-drift Man.
Whether we accept the theory of man's evolution from the lower animal kingdom or not, we must admit that the earliest Paleolithic people of whom we have knowledge differed but little from the wild beasts. They lived in caves along rivers, — natural retreats where wild animals might have taken refuge. They lived on berries, roots, fish and such small game as they could kill by blows. They did not cook their food, but devoured raw meat much as did the wild beasts. They did not even bury their dead. From the stones accessible to them they selected their weapons, chipping them roughly. The crude weapons of this period have given it the name of the Rough Stone Age.
The Paleolithic man, or man of the Rough Stone age, did not try to tame the beasts he encountered. He stood in great fear of those with whose strength he was not able to combat. He feared especially strange beings like himself, and with his family dwelt apart from others so far as possible. He did not plant nor gather stores for the future ; thus when food failed in his vicinity, he was obliged to roam on until he came upon a fresh supply of acorns, berries, roots and small animals. Any cave served for his dwelling. He protected himself from cold by a covering made from the skin of the beast he had slain. He had few belongings and these were scarcely valued, being easily replaced.
It is not difficult to see why the man of the Rough Stone Age preferred to live by the side of some river. In early times, before paths were worn through the forests, travel was easiest along the river bed. Food was more abundant here, for fish inhabited the streams and thither also animals came to drink, and in the reeds by the river's side, birds and wild fowl breeded. Morever, man was a timid creature and feared to venture far inland.
From all this we see that man in his primitive state gave
PREHISTORIC MAN. XVII
little promise of his future development. For how long a time he continued in this stage, we cannot estimate. Yet we find a decided improvement in the latter part of this Paleolithic Age, for fire and its uses became known. This brought about a wonderful change.
The man of the Paleolithic or Rough Stone Age was fol- lowed by the man of the Neolithic Age — ^the cliff dweller. He exchanged a home by the river for one higher up ; secure in some elevated cliff, the Neolithic man lived, away from molest- ing beasts. Again, the stone weapons were greatly improved. No longer were they rough ; on the contrary, they were now polished smooth. Ingenious from the beginning, man found that sharp edges of stone were more useful than blunt ones, that smooth handles were more convenient than irregular stones with no handles at alL For this reason, this period has been called the Smooth Stone Age. Other improvements no less momentous had been wrought. Food was now cooked, and as a result, man grew a little less ferocious. He had less fear of the wild beasts than before, and domesticated some of them. No longer was he wholly dependent upon such food as nature provided, for he had learned how to sow grain and gather it. He had learned how to fashion bowls and other receptacles of clay. He now buried his dead with weapons and other useful articles, proving that he believed that the dead still had need of such things. We must not, however, suppose that he believed in immortality, for the evidence shows that his conception of a hereafter was very vague. In most cases the care for and fear of the dead ceased a few years after their burial. Before the close of this period men had journeyed far from abject savagery. Finally we come to the Metal — sometimes called the Bronze — Age. The discovery of metal proved the greatest boon, for now it was possible to make sharp tools and weapons. Hitherto the mere cutting down of a tree had taken a prodigious time. With a bronze ax, it could be quickly accomplished. Progress made rapid strides after this invaluable discovery. Nor this alone. Having learned to domesticate the beasts, men passed from a purely hunting into a pastoral stage. Sow^ ing and reaping made it desirable and it became convenient to have a fixed habitation. Instead of dwelling apart, it proved safest to settle in hamlets or villages. In other words, man had become civilized, and with the dawn of civilization we find the dawn of history.
I — 2— Sept. 23
XVIII THE WORLD S PROGRESS.
From this cursory view of the three important stages in prehistoric times, it is possible to derive mistaken notions. For example, there was never a time when stone was the only material available to man. Wood, ivory and shell were probably always known and frequently procurable. Neither is it to be supposed that each of these periods broke off abruptly or that they extended over all lands simultaneously. Quite on the contrary, stages in human development are never abrupt, and changes come about unnoticed. In nature results are slowly attained and there are no sharp distinctions between them. The three divisions of Rough and Smooth Stone and Metal Ages refer to conditions of progress — not to periods of time. The Egyptians had passed through all three stages before the dawn of history ; the American Indians were in the Smooth Stone Age when Columbus discovered America ; and in Central Australia there are tribes today just emerging from the Smooth Stone period. The rapidity with which a tribe passes from one to another of these stages depends upon the natural conditions of the country, contact with outside peoples and many other factors.
When written records enable us to weigh the true and the false, to sift out fact from fiction and legend from verified event, several nations had come into possession of a very fair degree of civilization. They had settled homes in towns and villages, recognized some form of government, understood the uses of fire, planted crops and garnered them, spun, wove and made pottery ; they had attained considerable skill in the working of metals, had domestic animals and cultivated plants ; they possessed a spoken, and sometimes a written, language and had attained no little skill in decorative art. A rich legacy was this for historic ages. Surely there Is interest for the his- torian in this remote time that lies clouded still by much uncertainty. Let us consider some of these more important attainments and try to see how naturally men grew to master them and how in obscure ages the human race travelled so far on the high road to progress.
Discovery oe Fire.
We have already noted that there was a time when fire was unknown. How then could the Paleolithic man, thrown wholly
PREHISTORIC MAN. XIX
upon his own observation and resources, come upon this dis- covery, which was to work such changes for the future ? Only from his observance of natural phenomena. When storms swept over desert and plain, vivid lightning flashed, and oc- casionally some tree was struck by the bolt and flamed up, greatly to the astonishment and alarm of the unknowing mind. At other times, volcanic eruptions occurred, and dry leaves and forests caught on fire from flying cinders. In the natural course of events, men soon found that the warmth of burning wood was agreeable, that fire at night allowed them to keep watch over possible invaders — whether man or wild beasts — and that the interior of a tree's trunk could be more easily removed by burning than by laborious scraping out with stone implements. After man had tasted roast flesh, a desire for cooked food was probably developed. Such a valued possession as fire proved, needed to be carefully tended, and when it was exhausted, human ingenuity set to work to create it anew. It is not unlikely that sparks occasionally struck out from flint when it was being chipped into shape for a weapon or imple- ment. Necessity and desire have always worked wonders, and primitive man learned shortly to produce the vital spark, both by friction and by drilling.
The art of fire-making once mastered, many innovations were consequent upon it. Some fixed habitation was necessary if the coals were to be kept covered from day to day, and from meal to meal. Cooked foods gradually took the place of raw ones ; in cold weather the family grew to gather around the fire, where meals were prepared and warmth was to be found. When the family, clan or tribe removed to a new home, coals were carried to kindle the fire upon the new hearth. When men journeyed abroad in the night, they carried torches to guide them ; when they labored at home, fire grew indispensable for baking their clay pottery, smelting their ore, and manifold purposes.
While fire became one of man's aids, it wrought a decided change in the position of woman. Before its discovery, man and woman had probably gone side by side, sharing alike dan- gers and hardships. With its acquisition, some one was re- quired to stay to watch lest it go out, and thus was developed the fireside and the home. " The fire has made the home. We
XX THE world's progress.
have heard much in these later days about woman's position. We are assured that she has not all her rights. Now, there can be little doubt that the primitive woman had all her rights. It is probable that she was as free as her husband to kill the wild beasts, catch fish, fight her savage neighbors, eat the raw meat which she tore by main strength from the carcass of the lately slain beast. The beginning of woman's slavery was the discovery of the fire. The value of fire known and the need of feeding it recognized, it became necessary that someone should stay by it to tend it. Notwithstanding the fact that woman had all her rights and was free to come and go as she would, it was still true that, on account of children and certain physical peculiarities, the woman was more naturally the one who would remain behind to care for the feeding of the flame. Before that, men and women wandered from place to place, thoughtless of the night. After that, a place was fixed to which man returned after the day's hunt. It was the beginning of the home."^
The House.
The man of the Paleolithic Age crept into any cave that offered shelter from the storm and molesting beasts. Such caves were plentiful along the river's bank. Here today, else- where tomorrow, little heed was given to the particular shelter in which he took refuge. With the possession of fire, a fixed home became desirable. Even so, caves still remain the homes of men for a long period of time.
The Neolithic man sought an abode farther away from the main highway — the river. In cliffs towering above the river bed — sometimes away from streams altogether, he scooped out a cave similar to the ones occupied by his ancestors. Thus in many countries remains are found of a race of cliff-dwellers. In ancient Greece, for example, have been found evidences of people living thus, and Indians in Mexico and Arizona three thousand years later were discovered in similar dwellings.
With a settled life, and cultivation of the soil, man fre- quently was forced to provide a home for himself. The material from which he made it depended upon the re- sources of the locality. In Egypt and Babylonia, sun-baked
» Starr : Some First Steps in Human Progress, p. 28.
PREHISTORIC MAN. XXI
mud huts afforded the simplest, least expensive structures, both in point of time and labor. Among pastoral tribes, tents formed of animal skins sewed together were easiest to provide. This was the usual shelter also of the American Indians and other hunting tribes. The Laplander found cakes of ice suited for his home, w^hile man in the tropics quickly constructed a shelter from the huge palm leaves, available on every hand.
" Of all places for studying construction of huts, Africa is the very best. There one may see samples of everything that can be thought of in the way of circular houses; built of straw, sticks, leaves, matting ; of one room or of many ; large or small ; crude or wonderfully artistic and carefully made. They may be permanent constructions to be occupied for years or temporary shelter for a single night ; they may consist of frameworks made of light poles over which are thrown mats or sheets of various materials and which after using can be taken apart, packed away, and transported."^
From lightly built, temporary dwellings, it was but a short step to the more substantial, more enduring ones. Stone houses, dwellings made of timber and of brick, as the country afforded, replaced the earlier homes, and when written records bring the full light of knowledge upon the life of nations, in the matters of constructing dwelling places, several peoples had become proficient.
Food.
It would be difficult to discover any plant or animal life which had not served at some period for food. Primitive man knew nothing about harmful plants, and only by long experience did he learn to avoid such as worked him woe. No insect or animal is so repulsive but that it has been appro- priated by the food-hunter in some age and country, and things today which we would refuse in time of distress were used as a matter of course by earlier people.
Nature supplied acorns, berries, roots, fruits, fish and plenty of game. All these articles were at first eaten in their native state. When fire became well known, cooked foods grew in favor. It is supposed that these were at first roasted. To sus- pend meat over a fire or make a large opening in the ground
» Starr ; Some First Steps in Human Progress, p. 151.
XXII THE world's progress.
cover the floor with stones, heat these very hot, then remove the fire and bake the food, these are the most primitive — as well, perhaps, as the most satisfactory-v -ways known to us. Boiling was probably a later method, and this was not done as we boil food today. Rather, stones were heated very hot and tossed into kettles of water. In this way the water was brought to a boiling point and the food cooked.
Cultivated Plants.
Before men learned to cultivate plants and to domesticate animals, subsistence was always an uncertain matter. They roamed about in one vicinity until nature could no longer sup- ply their needs, then left the exhausted land to recover itself while new territory afforded means for satisfying hunger. After fire became such a potent factor, as we have seen, a fixed abode was desirable. It fell to the lot of women to stay and tend the hearth. Shut off from the long expeditions undertaken by men, they soon learned to make as much as possible of the space around about their homes. Sticks were sometimes placed around plants or bushes to protect them from the careless step until their fruits matured. Occasionally plants were dug up and replanted nearer the hut. The garden and grain field were but natural results of this spirit of husbanding the stores provided by mother earth.
While women were the first to domesticate plants in the simple way just indicated, not much came of it until men adopted the idea and carried it further. With sharp sticks they scratched the soil and with the help of animals they trod in the seeds. Irrigation was sometimes needed — as in Egypt — to insure good crops. Thus from slight beginnings de- veloped the agriculture of the world. With reasonable labor and painstaking, the tiller of the soil could be sure of a living for himself and his family, and before historic records illumine the life of several nations, farming was well understood. Indeed it is safe to say that until very recent times methods followed by tillers of the soil in quite a number of countries advanced very little upon those of the prehistoric man.
It is interesting to trace the history of present day foods, grains, vegetables and fruits, with the attempt to ascertain where each was native. All have been greatly improved by
PREHISTORIC MAN. XXIII
cultivation and not alone our varieties, but even distinct fruits and plants have resulted from man's propagation. Often the original species have been vastly improved. For example, the potato was a native of Chili. Found there in the sixteenth century of our era, it was described as " watery, insipid, but with no bad taste when cooked." It is supposed that it was taken from some Spanish ship to Virginia, and in the latter part of the same century carried to Europe. Its cultivation has spread over many countries, and from a small, watery tuber it has been brought to large size, mealiness and taste agreeable to the palate. Even today it flourishes in its wild state in Chili and Peru.
The cabbage was once a weed, growing on rocks by the seashore. By man's care it has been developed to the vegetable widely used today ; moreover, its blossom has been exag- gerated until a wholly new vegetable in the form of the cauli- flower is the result.
" When we visit a vegetable garden or see fresh, attractive fruits offered in market or inspect the wonders shown upon the tables of county fairs and agricultural shows, we seldom realize how truly they are all the work of man. . . .
" One of the most wonderful illustrations of what man can do in changing nature is seen in the case of the peach. Some time, long ago, perhaps in Western Asia, grew a wild tree which bore fruits, at the center of which were the hardest of hard pits, containing the bitterest of kernels ; over this hard stone was a thin layer of flesh — ^bitter, stringy, with almost no juice, and which, as it ripened, separated, exposing to view the contained seed ; such was nature's gift. Man taking it found that it contained two parts which might by proper treatment be made of use for food — the thin external pulp and the bitter inner pit. He has improved both. Today we eat the luscious peaches with their thick, soft, richly-flavored juicy flesh — they are one product of man's patient ingenuity. Or we take the soft shelled almond with its sweet kernel ; it is the old pit improved and changed by man : in the almond, as it is raised at present, we care nothing for the pulp and it has almost vanished. The peach and almond are the same in nature ; the differences they now betray are due to man."*
"Starr: Some First Steps in Human Progress, p. 80.
XXIV THE world's progress.
Many of the grains were known and grown by prehistoric man. Millet, wheat and barley were known in earliest recorded times in Egypt; these grains were also cultivated before his- toric times. Oats and rye were early plant products. Corn was native to America and unknown to the antiquity of the Old World. Several of our vegetables, such as the radish, carrot, turnip, beet and onion, were early grown for food. The lemon, orange, fig and olive were all native to Asia. Many flowers are mentioned by early writers and they too were unquestionably carefully tended in remote times. It is a subject for pleasant investigation to find out where flowers, cultivated in some countries, grow wild in others.
Domestication oe Animals.
Desiring to provide food for time of want, primitive man learned to keep a wounded animal instead of at once killing it. Quite naturally it might come about that such a creature would grow less wild and become a pet. To secure a supply of meat without exertion, enclosures were probably thrown around herds of goats, deer or sheep. Ingenious man soon seized upon these half tamed beasts to help him in his work. Their use being proven, he would not rest until he had tamed them to his hand. The dog was the first dumb friend of men, accompanying them upon the hunt and aiding in bringing game to bay. The oldest friend, the dog, has also proven the most faithful of the animal kingdom. When history dawned, the dog, cow, sheep, goat, donkey, and pig were already domesticated. The horse was less commonly known in remote times. All these animals were originally small and not to be compared with their present day descendants.
Dress in Prehistoric Times.
Among primitive people dress is invariably a simple matter. In warm countries little clothing is needed, and even in colder lands, ornaments are valued above mere protection from the elements. It has been well established that love of decoration has been a powerful factor with primitive tribes, and that to this passion the habit of wearing clothing can largely be traced. Skins of wild beasts were often used by early men as protection from the cold, but it will be remembered that the
PREHISTORIC MAN. XXV
Indians found by early discoverers in America were ver> scant- ily clad, although furs were available on every hand. Yet the Indian, who braved the winter's blast unclad, was eager to barter his all for glass beads, scarlet cloth, or little trinkets with which he could ornament himself. The habits of dif- ferent tribes and peoples have differed considerably ; some have adopted clothing earlier than others ; some still go un- clad. Generally speaking, we may note that during the hunting stage, if men have worn clothing except for ornamentation, it has been the skins of animals ; as spinning and weaving have become known, coarse, home-made stuffs have come into use. In Egypt, linens were early woven; in northern countries, woolen stuffs were made. Feathers, furs, fabrics woven of grasses or reeds, leaves, shells, teeth, tusks and metal ornaments have held varying favor for decorative pur- poses.
Art.
At first thought it seems surprising that art can be ulti- mately traced back to the self-ornamentation of the savage ; yet this is probably true. The earliest people of whom we know loved to paint their bodies ; the American Indians made ready for feast or war by painting their bodies in startling colors, and the tribes lowest today in the social scale — tribes of Central Australia — have a similar practice. Dark skinned tribes have frequently painted themselves with white ; fair skinned tribes with dark colors. The use of colors among primitive peoples is an interesting study, and it is significant to note that red has always been a favorite.
" Red — and particularly yellowish red — is the favorite color of the primitive as it is the favorite color of nearly all peoples. We need only observe our children to satisfy our- selves how little taste on this point has changed. In every box of water colors the saucer that contains the cinnabar red is the first one emptied ; and 'if a child expresses a particular liking for a color, it is nearly always a bright dazzling red. Even adults, notwithstanding the modern impoverishment and blunting of the color sense, still, as a rule, feel the charm of red.' ... It may be questioned whether the strong effect of red is called out by the direct impression of the color, or
XXVI THE world's progress.
by certain associations. Many animals have a feeling for red similar to that of man. Every child knows that the sight of a red cloth drives oxen and turkeys into the most passion- ate excitement. . . . As to the primitive peoples, one circumstance is here significant above all others. Red is the color of blood, and men see it, as a rule, precisely when their emotional excitement is greatest — in the heat of the chase and of the battle. In the second place, all the ideas that are associated with the use of the red color come strongly into play — recollections of the excitement of the dance and combat. Notwithstanding all these considerations, painting with red would hardly have been so generally diffused in the lowest stages of civilization if the red coloring material had not been everywhere so easily and so abundantly procurable. Probably the first red with which the primitive. man painted himself was nothing else than the blood of the wild beast or the enemy he had slain. At present most of the decoration is done with a red ochre, which is very abundant nearly everywhere, and is commonly obtained through exchange by those tribes in whose territory it is wanting."*
The difficulty found in this means of decoration is that it is not lasting. However skillfully the savage covers himself with solid coloring or design, a short time only and his labor is effaced. To overcome this trouble, tattooing was devised. By this means the color was placed beneath the skin and thus not subject to change. Very elaborate patterns were some- times worked out and the man so ornamented was far more attractive in the eyes of his fellowmen.
Next to the personal adornment of primitive peoples comes the decoration of their weapons and implements and the pat- terns in their handicrafts, such as basketry and mattings. Gen- erally speaking those are in imitation of nature, and more, imi- tation of human and animal forms. Heretofore it has not been unusual to dismiss these as merely geometrical designs. Surely they were never such in the mind of the ancient worker. He copied things that he saw around him — copied them awkwardly no doubt, but nevertheless certainly. Some of these patterns we can recognize ; others defy us. For example, the waving line has been interpreted to represent the course of the serpent ;
• The Beginnings of Art, Grosse, p. 61.
PREHISTORIC MAN. XXVH
the herring bone pattern originated as a copy of the feather. Sometimes the patterns copy the skin markings of some animal or serpent ; sometimes they imitate the scales of a fish. Very seldom have these early artists attempted to copy plants or flowers. Sometimes the bone knife bears an excellent draw- ing of a bird or fish ; occasionally the whole object has been given the form of some living creature, as, for example, bone needle cases have come to us which have the form of fish or birds. Shields, knives, bows and arrows, and weapons of whatever sort often bore some picture, more or less decorative. Such a picture upon an arrow enabled the savage to identify as his game some animal that died some distance from where it was wounded. Clubs and throw-sticks remain whereupon is scratched the picture of some familiar animal — a kangaroo, a snake, or a fish. But the pictures painted by primeval man were not limited to those which adorned their weapons and implements. The hide pictures, or pictures painted or scratched upon hides are very interesting. Generally the hide used for this purpose was a portion of the hut. During times when inclement weather forced the early tribesman to remain inside for shelter, it may be, merely for diversion he occupied him- self by scratching some picture upon the soot-covered skin that formed his hut. A tooth or bit of flint furnished him with a tool. Or again, a piece of charcoal, snatched from the hearth, furnished him means of picturing some scene upon a fresh skin. Figures of men and animals, drawn in outline, make up the picture. Now a battle, now a hunting scene may be delineated. The Eskimo brings into his picture some of the round snow huts, with the animals which he hunts — bears, walruses, and the like. In detail and accuracy of outline the tribes still in the hunting stage greatly excel those which have developed into a settled farming people. Nor is this difficult to understand. The success of the hunter depends in no small degree upon his ability to follow the faint foot-prints of the game. He must be susceptible to many indications wholly unseen by the casual eye. The keen vision of the uncivilized hunter is well recognized. When he no longer needs this wonderful sight to accomplish his daily tasks, it disappears. For this reason we find a fidelity to nature in the pictures of the early hunting peoples which is missed in the productions of more highly developed peoples.
XXVIII THE world's progress.
Finally we may gather these conclusions from the facts known of primitive art — or of art among primitive peoples. While no great masterpieces remain as models for future generations, it is among prehistoric men that art had its be- ginnings. Nor is it possible to sweep aside the art of this remote period, relegating it to the realm of the curious alone. Recent scholarly investigators in this field have reached far different conclusions, finding here the indications of man's artistic possibilities and the promise for the future.
"The agreement between the artistic works of the rudest and of the most cultivated peoples is not only in breadth but also in depth. Strange and inartistic as the primitive forms of art sometimes appear at the first sight, as soon as we examine them more closely, we find that they are formed according to the same laws as govern the highest creations of art. . . . The emotions represented in primitive art are narrow and rude, its materials are scanty, its forms are poor and coarse, but in its essential motives, means, and aims, the art of the earliest times is at one with the art of all times.'"
Religion of Prehistoric Men.
It is naturally very difficult to trace the religious belief of the people of earliest times. Of their art, their dress, their food, their dwelling places, we may conjecture with some degree of accuracy because of the evidences they have left behind. But how shall we gain any worth-while knowledge of their ideas when they had no means of communicating them in indelible forms? We must judge of primitive man's thoughts by what he did. In the earliest times man did not bury his dead, but by the Smooth Stone Age there is such advance in this respect that it is probable the Neolithic man received his first glimmerings from his Paleolithic brother. He buried his dead with weapons and implements which he imagined would be as useful in the next world as they had proven during the earthly life.
It is impossible to state clearly without better evidence just what his imagination pictured for his dead friend or relative. The living man was dimly conscious of a Great Spirit, whose voice and temper were discernible to him in nature. To this Great Spirit he committed his dead friend.
5 The Beginnings of Art, Grosse, p. 307.
PREHISTORIC MAN. XXIX
It could not be said the living man had anything approaching a conscious faith in the unseen; he dimly felt a duality of existence. His friend had entered into this other part. It is not improbable that dreams helped to awaken in man this sense of dual existence. That "inner voice" which has forever prompted man seemed to tell him of another self. This "other self" very naturally seemed to tell him of an existence outside himself, and to this "outside spirit" he gave elementary venera- tion through the forces of nature this spirit appeared to employ.
The early man who had developed a religious sense, wor- shipped two different kinds of forces; the forces of nature, and his ancestors. The savage bowed down to the stick that tripped him in the forest. He could not understand how such a small object could possess power to throw him and since it apparently did possess it, he worshipped it. The sun brought light and warmth. By its presence man was benefited. There- fore, primeval man worshipped the sun.
Ancestor worship was inspired by quite different motives. If it were true that the dead lived on, then it must be possible for them to work one's weal or woe. If the dead were cared for and ministered unto, they would be appeased and would have no desire to bring trouble or misfortune upon the sur- vivor.
The taboo held an important place in early religious be- liefs and practices. A taboo is a prohibition laid upon some object or some performance, with the superstitious idea that injury will follow if the object be used or the performance done. Some of the tribes of Central Australia, today in the Smooth Stone stage of development, hold the idea that the meat of the emu may be eaten only by the elders of the tribe. For women, therefore, there is a taboo on this meat, and its use by them would be regarded as a great sacrilege. The early Hebrews had a similar taboo, recorded in the earliest set of commandments preserved by them. It was " Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk." This does not mean one of many foolish meanings worked into it, but rather that the early Hebrews for some reason had placed this taboo on kid cooked in milk. The use of beans was similarly tabooed by Pythagoras and forbidden to his followers. A study of the taboo is interesting indeed.
XXX THE world's progress.
The totem was important to the primitive man. A totem is an animal or species of animal from which a social circle derives its origin. One clan owed its being to a black hawk, another to an eagle, and so on. No one of a clan would kill its totem, or in other words, there was a taboo placed upon the totem. Of course this taboo affected only the one clan.
Early religion consisted for the most part in certain ob- servances— not so much in formulated beliefs. To be sure, the primeval man believed that harm would overtake him if he failed to perform certain ceremonies, but it was the per- formance or the refraining from the performance that was im- portant.
Among the earliest people associated into tribes there were distinct moral requirements. There were some people who were not to be killed, except upon due provocation, while to kill those of other tribes brought great glory. Again, it was not right to lie to those of one's own tribe, but to others one might lie at all times. " An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth," was the primitive way of viewing injury, and yet when history sheds its light upon certain nations of antiquity, some of them had already come into the transition state, where damages might be given if satisfactory to the injured. The Babylon- ians afford an excellent example of this condition.
CoNCIvUSION.
Each individual passes through many of the stages through which the race has come. A child may pass in a week or a month through a stage covering centuries in the development of the race, but nevertheless he experiences it clearly for the time being. The savage personified everything around him. If he struck himself against a tree, he was angry with the tree that had hurt him, and he tried to hurt the tree in revenge. The child today falls against a chair and hits the chair that hurt him. Now just as the child by such experiences, scarcely noted by others, realized far less by himself, comes into the clear vision of manhood, so by similar experiences the whole race has come to its present development. We are too prone to smile at the conceptions of the primitive world, and, grown wise with the flight of centuries, cast aside the bdiefs of early ages when men adjusted themselves to life. Let us reflect then
PRKHISTORIC MAN.
XXXI
upon the attainments of prehistoric man and attempt to fathom how great a debt historic peoples owe him. In view of his achievements, we must grant that by his efforts civihzation was greatly aided. The stepping stones on which he rose from abject savagery to higher things stand out sharply in spite of absence of records and scant remains. The rough pioneering had been done, in a great measure, and not alone the rudiments of civilization but evidences of culture were plainly visible at the dawn of history, properly so-called.
ABORIGINAL ROCK-CARVINGS.
i
EGYPTIAN AFTERGLOW.
** 'Tis sunset Kour on Egypt's arid plains.
Each mighty pyramid, with purpling crest. Looms dark against the glory in the wesL
Swiftly the heaven's beauty dies and wsuies.
Till sudden dsu'kness its rich splendor stains.
Then slowly, dawn^like, on the shadows rest Fsdnt crimsons, violets, tint to tint soft pressed;
They brighten, glow, then fade and darkness reigns-
P. F. Gamp.
12
EGYPT
PREFATORY CHAPTER
HERE never was a time when men were so in- tensely interested in origins and development as they are today. Our biologists are studying life in all its forms, from the single cell to the highest mammal. Our psychologists are studying mind — what consciousness is; how attention, habit, memory are formed. Our physicists, not content with studying gravitation, heat, light, electricity, etc., are inquiring into the very nature of matter itself, and, together with the astronomers and geol- ogists, are telling us not only how the earth, but also how the universe came to be. Our anthropologists, ethnologists and sociologists are just as actively and patiently inquiring into the origins of customs, institutions, law, religion, society. The historian is no longer content to rehearse a story because it is interesting; he insists upon getting at the original documents, at the facts in the case, not at theories. The savage, when asked why he observes a certain custom or performs some cere- mony whose meaning he does not know, replies that his an- cestors did the same. To inquire beyond this seems to him more than useless. Until the beginning of our modern scientific age the answer to similar questions among ourselves — as it still is among the Chinese, would have been, "it is written," "thus saith the Lord," "Aristotle, Plato or St. Augustine thought so and so about the matter." But today all is difTerent. We are no longer content to knoAV what is written, or what somebody thinks about a subject, we insist upon demonstrating or having some one demonstrate for us, the proposition put forward. We want the "facts." Our whole system of education encourages pupils to perform experiments and thus verify the statements they may find in their text-books on chemistry, physics and other sut>jects.
14 THE WORIJ)'S PROGRESS.
It is the inductive method which gives the pupil the facts and encourages him to draw his own conclusions.
But what has Egypt to offer the modem man ? Does it inter- est any but specialists and archaeologists ? Apparently it does, for every year sees an increase of tourists in the Nile valley. It is true many go there because of the ideal climate or because it has become the fashion to do so. But if we look at the mat- ter more closely, do we not see other, deeper reasons? Is it not true that many go because in their youth they had read about the pyramids and the wonderful temples of Egypt, and because now when they have the opportunity they desire to see these for themselves? The architect, the engineer, the con- tractor, all are interested in these masses of masonry. Again, when we are beginning to reclaim the desert areas in our west- em states, Egypt with its system of irrigation, older than his- tory, arouses a new interest. The fact is that in spite of our practical nature, as some would put it, or rather, as we prefer to have it, because of our intensely practical nature, we are beginning to feel the necessity of inquiring into the activities of other peoples, be they past or present, not only because such inquiry will satisfy our curiosity or enliven VDur dull moments, but because of the lasting benefit we derive from it. We insist upon knowing the people who have achieved, who have accom- plished things, and surely the pyramids alone would demon- strate that the ancient Egyptians belonged to this class.
Man attained to civilisation for the first time in the Nile valley. We study the natives of Australia and Africa for social origins. It is here we can gather most information about the primitive forms of marriage and the growth of the family ; about the beginnings of dress and ornament ; about primitive warfare, magic, religion and early forms of tribal government. Just as we pay special attention to the development of the mind of the child in the study of psychology, so we feel that the best way to study the complex features of our civilization is to observe the simpler life of the savage. But the child becomes a man while the savage has not yet developed a civilization before our eyes. The growth of the race is slow. It is only when we are able to observe a race through a period of thousands of years that it is possible to see it grow from infancy to manhood. We can follow our own ancestors from the time they had advanced
EGYPT. 15
little beyond the stage of savagery, but it is to be observed that they did not develop but borrowed their civilization. Of the beginnings of the Greeks and Romans, whose civilization our ancestors took over, we know but little, but in the case of the Egyptians matters are different. We are able, by means of archaeological, monumental and inscriptional remains to follow them as they developed in the Nile valley, unassisted by any outside civilization — for none existed, the world's first great civilized state.
"It may appear paradoxical to affirm that it is in arid districts, where agriculture is most arduous, that agriculture began ; yet the affirmation is not to be gainsaid but rather supported by history, and is established beyond reasonable doubt by the evi- dence of desert organisms and organizations."^ This lesson drawn from the life of the Papago Indians might just as well have been drawn from Egyptian life. Egypt is practically rainless, but the soil of the Nile valley, ever renewed by the silt deposited by the yearly inundation, yields enormous returns provided only man uses his energy and ingenuity. Long be- fore our written records begin the Egyptians had developed an extensive system of irrigation. Thus by arduous toil, organ- ized and watched over by the growing state, Egypt developed an enormous agricultural wealth — the foundation upon which her civilization was built. With Egypt it was not a question of the "conservation" but of the development of her natural re- sources. The Egyptian was forced to keep up a continuous struggle with nature and as a result he was always practical. Egypt has been called the mother of the mechanical arts. It is not surprising that the imaginative Greeks, when they became acquainted with the material civilization of Egypt, her pyra- mids and temples, her system of irrigation, her craftsmanship, conceived an exaggerated opinion of the wisdom of the Egyp- tians. Even today we hear surmises of "lost arts" which were used in the construction of the pyramids. But we know better. The pyramids were built by the brawn of tens of thousands of serfs, without the use, it would seem, of even a pulley ; not even the roller seems to have been known. On the other hand, we have only to visit the museums here and abroad — especially
* W. J. McGee, "The Beginning of Agriculture," American Anthropo- logist, 8, 375.
i6 THE world's progress.
the one in Cairo, to realize the marvellous skill the Egyptian workman acquired in the carving of wood, ivory and stone, and in the working of metals. Our architects are studying the prod- ucts of the greatest geniuses Egyptian culture produced, and our students of design may learn many a lesson from the work- manship of her artisans.
Not long since it was not unusual to see ridicule heaped upon the theories of the "high-brows" by our farmers, manu- facturers and other "practical" men. Probably our system of education was at fault. Nevertheless, these same farmers, manufacturers and other practical men are beginning to realize the importance of the researches and investigations of the specialists. We cannot hope to compete with the industries of the Germans which rest upon a scientific basis, as long as ours are conducted by "rule-of-thumb" methods. There is no better opportunity offered anywhere for observing the limita- tions of an exclusively practical system of education than the study of Egyptian learning.
The Egyptian regarded learning as a means to an end, and that end was never the increase of the sum of human knowledge or the advancement of humankind, but always freedom from manual labor. Next to a few folk songs, preserved in the decora- tions of Fifth Dynasty tombs — ^by mere accident, for a scribe would never have thought of preserving them, the oldest litera- ture of the Egyptians which has come down to us consists of the precepts of Kagemni and Ptah-hotep.^ This wisdom of the viziers of the Pharaohs of the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, is similar to that of the books of instruction from all periods of Egyptian history, and consists largely of rules of conduct. The sole object of an education was to obtain a position as scribe or secretary of higher or lower rank in the government service, and this could only be done by gaining and keeping the favor of the Pharaoh or of one of his officials. These scribes never weary of telling of the superiority of their calling over that of the man who must labor with his hands, who is like a heavily laden ass driven by the scribes. Of course we too recognize the g^lf fixed between the educated and the unlettered, but we try to bridge it. It is not probable that many of the laboring classes knew more than the barest elements of reading and
'See page 164.
EGYPT. 17
writing". The Egyptian script was exceedingly cumbrous, and probably few would have seen any use in mastering it, even if they had had the time, unless they intended to enter upon a scribal career. Of course many such careers were open, for the elaborate bureaucratic system of administration demanded the services of a host of secretaries and overseers. In time these constituted a distinct middle class, largely recruited, we may be sure, from the laboring class below. The Egyptian was always ready to recognize and reward ability, no matter where it was found. Now a Vv'ord about the limitations of such a view of education. As already indicated, the object of an education was to gain a government position. In Egypt, as elsewhere, the chief end of government, in the eyes of the officials at least, was the col- lection of revenues. Taxes were in kind and as a result the work of the scribe consisted in finding out the amount of the harvest and deducting the king's share. The extensive mining and building operations conducted by the Pharaohs required the services of hundreds of scribes and overseers to superin- tend the work and distribute the rations of the armies of work- men employed in these projects. In this work the scribe developed a remarkable facility with figures. But he never advanced beyond concrete examples. Multiplication and divi- sion in our sense of th". terms were unknown to him, their places were taken by addition and subtraction. For example : to multi- ply seven by nine, the Egyptian scribe would proceed, i • 7 7, 2.7=14, 2 . 14 = 28, 2 . 28 = 56, etc. That is he always doubled the last figure. It was nothing but addition. He wrote his results as follows:
|
I |
7 |
|
2 |
14 |
|
4 |
• 28 |
|
8 |
56 |
|
16 |
112 |
and then found which of the numbers of the first column added together would give the sum 9. These were 8 and i. He then added the corresponding numbers in the second column and got the result, 56 + 7 = 63. So 50-^-7 would have looked like this: 50 — 28 = 22; 22 — 14 = 8; 8 — 7=i. The result was (4 4-2-}- i) sevens with i as remainder. The
1 8 THE world's progress.
Egyptian scribe could not handle fractions other than those with one as numerator. Two-thirds was the only exception. The Egyptian knew that the area of a rectangle was to be found by multiplying the two adjacent sides together, and that the area of a right angled triangle was equal to half the area of a rect- angle whose base and altitude were equal respectively to the sides adjacent to the right angle. When his problem was to find the area of an isosceles triangle he applied the same rule, that is, multiplied the base by one of the sides and divided by two. Here theory might have helped him, had he been able to develop it. He never reached the conception of base and altitude. His rule for finding the area of a circle is worth men- tioning. He took the diameter, subtracted one-ninth of it therefrom, and squared the result. In a word, he had not come far from the correct value of '^. But the Egyptian always dealt with concrete examples, he never was able to generalize and carry his mathematics into the theoretical. As a result he never attained scientific accuracy. Not that he did not set himself difficult problems. Indeed many of them are so compli- cated that they required an immense amount of reckoning, by his methods, to solve. Without giving his solution, let me add one more of his problems : "A man owns 7 cats ; each cat eats 7 mice daily ; each mouse eats 7 ears of grain ; each ear contains 7 grains; each grain gives a sevenfold return in the harvest. What is the sum of the cats, mice, ears and grains ?"
The Egyptians observed the stars. They had names for all of the principal constellations; knew the circumpolar stars from those which at times disappeared below the horizon, but they never seem to have noticed the difference between fixed stars and planets. They invented a calendar with a year of 365 days as early as 4241 B.C. This was based upon the heliacal rising of Sirius (Sothis) coincident with the beginning of the inundation. But they never discovered, or if they did, never bothered about the fact that their year was one- fourth of a day too short. They were deeply interested in medicine, and their recipes prescribe everything that can be swallowed. Many of these were borrowed by the Greeks and from them have come down into the folk-medicine of modern Europe. No doubt many of their remedies were helpful, but magic always played the most important role in their medicine, as it does among aU
EGYPT. 19
primitive peoples and as it did in our own until the beginning of our modern scientific age.
The progress made by the Egyptians in the development of a purer conception of religion will be discussed at length in the body of this volume, especially on pages 131 and following. The Egyptians were not far from monotheism.
But the Egyptian culture must be studied as a whole. Time was when the study of the civilization of Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria, together with that of the Hebrews, was regarded as a sort of introduction to the study of history, which began with the Greeks and Romans. Much was said of the immovable East. It was supposed that progress was exceedingly slow there as compared with that in the West. But our wider knowledge of the history and life of these peoples shows how false this conception was. We can trace Egyptian civilization from its beginnings in the palaeolithic and neolithic ages ; see it develop from many petty states into an absolute monarchy; follow it as it emerges after a period of anarchy into a Feudal Age, and as it rises after two centuries of foreign oppression into a mighty empire pushing its southern frontier away into Nubia and its northern one to the Euphrates. Meanwhile we are not neglecting to study the economic and intellectual forces at work. Society has been developing steadily. A monotheistic religion has been growing up. But Egypt has reached her zenith and the age of decline sets in. In time she falls before foreign invasion, because chc has used up her vital-" ity. Her civilization is not to be studied as a preliminary to anything else, but as the achievement of a gifted race. Of course we are to compare her progress with that of other peo- ples, to see the faults of, but also to appreciate the good in, her culture.
THE SPIRAL DECORATION OF SCARABS.
EGYPT.
CHAPTER I.
Its Antiquity.
MONG Old Testament stories familiar through- out the Christian World, a general favorite with boys and girls from their earliest years is the story ot Joseph — a seventeen year old lad, the son of his father's later life, and most loved of all his children. In Genesis we may read how his brothers be- came jealous of Joseph because of Jacob's care for him, and their anger increased when the boy related a dream wherein he had seen himself exalted to high position while his family and all the world did honor to him.
His people led a pastoral life, and when the dry season came, the older brothers went away with the flocks in search of fresh pastures. Soon the father' grew anxious to hear from them, and sent Joseph to locate them and then return to tell him how they fared. After some searching, Joseph drew near the flocks and was seen afar by his brothers. They were now many miles from home, and what they might da was not likely to reach the ears of those who knew them. So they plotted to kill Joseph and ascribe the deed to some wild beast. Reuben, more compassionate, urged that they should not have this awful crime upon their hands, but sug- gested instead that they cast him into a pit, from which plight, we are told, Reuben intended to deliver him. The others yielded to his plea, and Joseph was cast into the pit. Shortly after, a caravan' came in sight, passing on its way to Egypt. At once a surer way of disposing of Joseph suggested itself — they would sell him as a slave and free themselves from further responsibility in the matter. The company of mer- chantmen drew nearer, journeying with thgir spices and their
The story of egvpt. 21
wares. To them Joseph was sold, and with them he " went down into Egypt."
His varying fortune for the next few years is briefly told. Now we see him a trusted servant, given responsibility and acquitting himself with credit ; then upon false accusation, he is cast into prison, but even here he wins the confidence of his jailer. Here too, he establishes a fame for the interpretation of dreams, which ability is soon noised abroad. So widely did it become known that when the king's counsellors were unable to explain his repeated vision, from prison walls Joseph was summoned to reveal its hidden meaning. He thereupon foretold the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine through which the land of Egypt would soon pass. The king, impressed with his wisdom and sincerity, chose him steward of the realm.
All know the outcome of the tale — how Joseph soon be- came second in importance to the king himself, trusted, de- pended upon and loved ; how he bought up the heavy yield of grain throughout the realm for seven years and hoarded it in " store cities," until he ceased to chronicle the amount, so vast it was. Then when the years of famine came, he sold again to those who would buy, and when their money was exhausted, he took their flocks, their lands and their slaves as security — yes, even the service of citizens was pledged to the king in exchange for food.
It was during these tedious years of want that Joseph learned of his family, when the same brothers who had done him so much injury came into Egypt to buy grain, and through his generosity they were united once more, and at his invitation brought their families to dwell near him. The king commanded that they be well provided for and they prospered and in- creased in number.
Years passed and Jacob died, and at last Joseph himself. Then we are told there came to the throne a king " who knew not Joseph. " He looked with dismay upon a foreign people growing up within his country, whose traditions, customs, and religious beliefs were wholly unlike those of his own nation. Then followed the years of oppression when he sought to exterminate the race with relentless work and cruel perse- cution. Within recent years, one of the "store cities," supposed
23 ThS world's progress.
by some scholars to have been built by the Hebrews during this period of their life in Egypt, has been unearthed — verifying the account of their bondage as preserved to us in the book of Genesis.
It is difficult for us to realize the vast antiquity of Egypt. When Joseph as a seventeen year old boy came with that band of merchantmen into its borders more years had passed over its civilization than have passed since Homer told his stories of gods and heroes to the Hellenes who gathered around to hear him. The three great pyramids had stood in their majestic calm under more moons than have risen and set since Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea ; and the Sphinx had watched, for how many years men cannot tell. When we come to the land of Egypt, we are appalled by its age. America was discovered about five hundred years ago ; England has been inhabited for more than twenty hundred years, but Egypt counts its history back for thousands of years and loses itself in tradition and legendary periods preceding these. The story of Joseph, told in Genesis, the book of earliest Biblical tradi- tion, records an incident early in the history of the Hebrews, but the Egyptians had already been governed by many ruling dynasties and had known the oppression of invading kings whom they had at last driven from the throne. They had built colossal structures which were to perpetuate the memories of their mighty kings as well as to provide their everlasting tombs, and these stand today the marvel of all who gaze upon their vast proportions. They had developed a complex religious system, and had reached some perfection in decorative art. Egypt had long been the granary of the civilized world and consequently of great importance from an economic stand- point. The Nile, that wonderful river which caused Herodotus to exclaim : " Egypt is the gift of the Nile ! " — a sentiment quoted ever since by all who have written about the country or the river — had cut down its river bed and had already built up a rich soil in the valley by its deposits, left by the over- flow of countless seasons.
We look today upon the cathedrals of Europe, standing as they have since the Norman conquest, even, in some in- stances antedating it, and we exclaim that the builders of these impressive edifices built for ages to come. Yet in Egypt the pyramids have stood for almost five thousand years.
THS STORY Ot KGYPT. 23
and it is safe to say that they will proclaim to many millenniums more, the wealth and power of the Pharaohs who raised them for their everlasting- abodes. Hundreds of years dwindle in the contemplation of thousands, and these are ever before the student of Egyptian history.
Physical Gkography of Egypt.
Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of Africa. To the east lies the Isthmus of Suez — the pathway to Asia, and the Red Sea — separated by a range of mountains from the Val- ley of the Nile. To the south lies Nubia, and to the west stretches away for hundreds of weary miles the Sahara, the old bed of an extinct ocean.
Egypt is by no means the country it is sometimes repre- sented to be on geographical maps. That Egypt someone has called a " geographical fiction." On the contrary, it has always consisted simply of the Nile valley and delta. It is about one-half as large again as the state of Massachusetts, containing approximately 12,000 square miles.
The Nile is unlike any river of our land. It takes its rise in a chain of lakes near the Equator. These lakes lie in a heavy rain belt and at a certain season the rainfall is so constant that the river is greatly swollen. It is joined by tributaries which in turn are overflowing with the melting snows of mountains wherein they take their rise, and alto- gether the main river continues so to increase that it overflows its channel and spreads out into the valley on either side.
In America we know how disastrous spring floods fre- quently become, but here the overflow is violent, tearing down bridges and embankments, bringing injury rather than benefit to the land. In Egypt the rise of the Nile is gradual ; dwellings are built on elevations of land or on the outskirts of the valley.
Without the yearly inundation there would be no food to maintain the dense population of the country.
During the period of high water the Nile is heavily loaded with mud. When the river recedes, this fertile silt is left upon the surface of the land. This, and this alone, has made the land of Egypt different from the deserts on either side of it. And now we see how truly Herodotus spoke when he exclaimed that Egypt is the gift of the Nile. Containing
24 THE WORI^D'S PROGRESS.
about the same number of miles as our state of Maryland, for numberless years this little country has been the granary for surrounding lands. Thus may we judge of its remarkable fertility.
Much of the loam which the river has brought down has been spread over the valley, but a considerable amount has been emptied each year at the mouth of the stream, forming in course of time a delta, — so called by the Greeks from its resemblance to their letter delta. Because of its long threading valley and this delta, Egypt has sometimes been likened to a lily ; the delta representing the flower and the valley the stem.
After flowing four thousand miles, the waters of the Nile find their way at last to the Mediterranean Sea, and towards this sea the land gradually slopes. Passing southward through Egypt from the Mediterranean, one journeys more than a hundred miles through the delta. This great plain has been formed entirely of the mud washed down by the mighty river. Each year for countless ages it has been extended at least eight feet farther into the sea, and thus its area continues to increase. This portion of the country, or this delta, is frequent- ly referred to as Lower Egypt.
Continuing south, one enters the valley. This narrow strip of fertile land measures about six hundred miles from the apex, or southern extremity of the delta, to the first cata- ract. The bed of the Nile is very irregular in its upper course and falls over ten cataracts in its downward flow before the southern boundary of Upper Egypt is reached. In width the valley varies from one to ten miles. This portion of the country is known as Upper Egypt.
Imagine, if you can, a river flowing through a valley skirted on either side by deserts whose boundaries are so abruptly marked that one may stand with one foot in the fertile, life-producing valley, and with the other in the shift- ing sands of desert waste. On the east lies the Arabian desert, while the many colored peaks of a lofty mountain range form a well nigh impassable barrier between it and the Red Sea, save where famous mountain passes lead to the waters beyond.
Nubian mountains, to the south, supplied most of the gold
THE STOKY OF EGYPT 2$
and precious ore used by the ancient Egyptians, and were held in greatest dread by those taken in captivity, for the work within them was relentless and none ever returned when once sent to join the hopeless, heartsick throng of laborers employed by the king to develop the mines.
The Sahara west of the valley is not a flat region, but is made up of shifting sands, hills and rocks of limestone. It is plain that the Valley of the Nile was once a part of this desert, but the river, with its tremendous volume, set to work to cut down its bed. The channel, so worn down, is the present valley. " Egypt is the temporarily uncovered bed of the Nile, which it reclaims and recovers during a portion of each year, when Egypt disappears from view, save where human labor has by mounds and embankments formed artificial islands that raise their heads above the waste of waters, for the most part crowned with buildings. "»
It is plain, as we note the nature of the land through which the great river flows, that no rich soil would be accumulated from the banks it washes in its downward course. We must look to the high tablelands where the two large tributaries, the Eiue Nile and the Atbara, have their beginnings, to find the m.ountain loam that has given the valley a fertile soil, thirty feet in depth, and has built up the grain-producing delta, one hundred miles in length and more in breadth. Again and again we are forced to remember that Egypt is indeed the gift of the Nile.
Yearly Rise ot the Nile.
This brings us back once more to the subject of the inunda- tions. Early in June the Nile begins to rise below the first cataract. In July it has become swollen throughout its course.
The highest water mark is reached about September fifteenth. By the first of November the river begins to recede and is at low water again by the last of January, although it continues to diminish until the following June.
Nilometers are used to register the river's rise. These are wells in which the water can fluctuate freely, with a stone column in the center marked as a scale. The ell is the unit
^Rawllnson; Ancient Egypt, p. 6,
26 THE world's progress.
of measure, being equal to about twenty-one and one-third inches. At low water the river registers about seven ells. If during the inundation sixteen ells are reached, all Egypt is supplied with water and fine crops are assured throughout the land.
NlI/)METERS.
From earliest times the rise of the Nile was closely watched, and nilometers, which were under the special protection of the State, constructed. Today these water gauges are under the inspection of government officials. Taxes have always been apportioned according to the amount of the inundation, and it has been to the interest of the government, naturally, that these be as heavy as possible. For this reason it has often been claimed, both in ancient and modern times, that the official report of the high water mark greatly exceeded the actual rise.
There is no rainfall in the valley and little in the delta, so whatever moisture Egypt receives must come from the Nile. The entire valley is not of equal elevation but becomes higher as it spreads out on either side, and so a vast system of irrigation must be maintained to make good crops possible. Large sums have been expended in the construction of dams, embankments and canals to contain the water after the river recedes, allowing the amount thus retained to be drawn off as it is needed. From canals it is drawn off into trenches for still higher land, and artificial means of various kinds have alw^ays been employed to lift the water from one level to another. It is estimated that tens of thousands of men and boys are constantly engaged in this elevation of water from one level to another, in order that farms throughout the valley may receive the necessary moisture and fertility. As rapidly as one crop is harvested, the soil is made ready for another, so that as many as five crops are frequently harvested in a year on a given acreage.
InFIvUENCE OE ToPOGRAPnY.
With a sea on the north, mountains on the east, cataracts to the south and a desert on the west, what would be the natural effect upon the inhabitants of physical conditions such as these prevailing in the land of Egypt? They determined
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 27
that the Egyptians would be left to develop their civilization unmolested for the most part by outside influences. Such physical features account for the fact that for hundreds of years that was a land, not of war, but of peace. Think for a moment what natural boundaries have meant to nations of Europe. England's isolation has been largely due to her stormy channel, while the independence of the Swiss is ac- counted for by their inaccessible mountain home. Austria, on the other hand, has known the disastrous effects of repeated invasions, while Poland has lost her identity and has been appropriated by her neighbors because of unfortunate situation and the lack of natural defenses.
Not only did the topography of the land surface determine the political fortunes of the ancient Egyptians in a large de- gree; it materially influenced the very temperament of the people. Many civilizations have developed in lands broken by hills and valleys, plains and plateaus, dotted with lakes, skirted by forests, bays, inlets and a thousand irregularities of nature. Few trees grow in Egypt and few wild flowers are found. Each spot that might have become a tangled thicket was early appropriated by the practical tiller of the soil. The valley has always supported too dense a popula- tion to permit of wilds and abandoned corners, and only that remains uncultivated which has proved too marshy for grain production. Possessing no timber suitable for ship-building, the Nile dwellers did not become sailors. Their communica- tion from one part of the country to the other was established by means of small boats or donkey paths. Rain was scanty and mud huts sufficed to slielter the people. While constant attention was required to maintain an extensive system of irrigation, the soil was so fertile and the climate so favorable that two, three and even more crops per year were possible. Nature worked with — not against — man. "A serene temper, and a reliance in nature were fostered. A submissiveness was developed which allowed the king to turn all into a fighting people, or into a body of forced la- borers." The absence of nearly all that inspires, that stimu- lates the energy and quickens the imagination may largely account for the placid temperament of the ancient Egyptians. Passing their lives in a land of slightly varying processes,
■jS The world's progress.
they could imagine nothing more satisfactory for a hereafter than a shadowy land wherein the% might till the soil as of yore, only watei- should always reach the needs of the remotest, and perplexities removed, each should complete his yearly circuit through eternity.
PrKhistoric Egypt.
Long before northern Africa acquired its present land sur- face, made up so largely of deserts, it is believed that the portion which we call Egypt was a fertile country, visited by frequent rains. It is possible that the Nile did not exist ; at least, it had not eroded its present channel, and the fertility of the soil was due to causes other than yearly inundations. This, we must remember, was many geological ages ago and cannot be computed in years at all. Remains of rude flint implements are scattered over the heights of the desert plateau to the west of the Nile valley. The people who used these lived in settlements, traces of many of which have been found ; but of their relation to the later inhabitants of Egypt we know nothing. They belong to the field of archaeology rather than to history.
Climatic changes took place in Africa. Gradually the coun- try assumed its present surface of desert and valley. It is sup- posed that Libyan tribes came from northwestern Africa and settled in Egypt; these were joined later by Asiatic hordes who crossed the Isthmus of Suez in search of better pastures for their flocks, or because of some shifting of the tribes in their rear. This inference, based upon the Semitic elements in the grammar and vocabulary of the language of the earliest Egyp- tian inscriptions, has been raised almost beyond doubt by the latest researches. From the mingling of these Asiatic tribes with others already established in western Africa, sprang, so it is believed, the early Egyptians. The Egyptians, however, like the ancient Greeks, regarded themselves as autochthonous.
Roughly speaking, prehistoric events in Egypt include all those preceding the year 4000 B.C., and our knowledge of them has been gathered from the disclosures of excavated tombs. While a discussion of the Egyptian religion will be taken up later on, some slight knowledge of it is necessary at the start
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 29
The Egyptian of both early and later periods believed firmly in a future life, but he believed further that the future wel- fare of the soul dependea wholly upon the preservation of the body. This belief led him to study how best to preserve the dead body, and to bring embalming to such an art that tombs opened today, after the flight of five thousand years, reveal bodies in complete states of preservation. Again, it was believed that the same needs would be felt in the future life as had been experienced during the earthly career. For this reason, foods, vessels of pottery, weapons, and even toilet preparations for personal adornment, were enclosed in the tomb. From a study of the contents of these ancient tombs most that is at present known of the ancient Egyptian has been ascertained.
When many implements furnished with ivory handles are found in these tombs, together with occasional pictures of ele- phants scratched on bone and bits of pottery, even those of us who are neither antiquarians nor historians might infer that the elephant was contemporaneous with the prehistoric Egy^p- tian. Pictures of boats, of animals and men, decorating pieces of pottery, throw light upon this early civilization.
From all remains recovered m tombs antedating the year 4000 B. c. the following conclusions have been reached : these primitive people reached considerable skill in the making of pottery and stone receptacl-^s. From copper they made knives and implements ; they built very fair river boats, wove coarse fabrics, although skins of wild animals usually constituted their clothing : they hunted and fished and were to some extent an agricultural people. At this remote time Egypt was not the one united country it later became. It was composed of nomes, or districts, of which the late lists give 22 for Upper and 20 for Lower Egypt. Their number probably varied considerably dur- ing the course of Egyptian history. In early times each nome probably had been the home of an independent tribe, having its own chief and its own religious customs. Gradually, how- ever, powerful chieftains conquered other nomes, until just before our written records begin, the two more or less compact kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were established.
30
THE world's progress.
Throughout Egyptian history each locahty held to its peculiar religious beliefs, and although there was always a state religion and a state god, dearer to the hearts of men were the deities of their own vicinity; and it is possible to trace several religions in the one composite system of later years.
By 4300 B. c. the men of the Delta had divided the year into 365 days, and again into twelve months of thirty days each, with five extra days for sacred festival. For six thousand years, then, the calendar which we use has experienced little change. Take it all in all, the Egyptians of this age had trav- eled far from the state of savagery.
'A A
UPPER EGYPT.
LOWER EGYPT, UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT.
ROYAL CROWNS.
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 3I
CLEOPATRA.
CHAPTER II. Sources of Egyptian History.
The study of prehistoric man is largely a matter of con- jecture and has httle interest for any save the archaeologist and antiquarian. There is yet so much uncertainty regarding his- toric periods in Egypt that the general reader must leave pre- historic ages to others. Reaching authentic ages, in addition to the remains discovered within old tombs, we are aided by written records, and these fall into three classes : facts regard- ing Eg}'pt as recounted in the Old Testament ; v;ritings of the Greeks ; inscriptions of the ancient Eg}'ptians themselves. The light thrown upon the subject by old Hebrew writers is slight. They chronicled the history of their own people and mentioned other nations only when in some way the Hebrews came into contact with them. Hebrew traditions, customs, and religion differing wholly from those of Egypt, at best there would have been but little understanding between them. Biblical comment upon Egyptian life is slight. In connection with the story of Joseph we find that some facts concerning the land unwittingly creep into the narrative. !Modern discovery has verified such facts as are recounted, and buried and forgotten cities have been sought and located from mere mention of them in some Old Testament passage. Thus the Bible is rightly included with tlie sources of Egyptian history.
So far as treatment of Egy'pt by Greek writers is concerned, we can stop for only the most important. Best known are the works of Herodotus, who lived about five hundred years before the Christian era. He was the first to bring forward the his- torical style of writing and for this reason he has been called the Father of History.
Herodotus journeyed to Egypt and abode there some Httle time. He did not understand the language of the country and depended largely upon priests who spoke Greek for his in- formation. He apparently believed all they told him, and like-
$7 THE WORID'S progress.
wise accepted the tales with which his guides entertained him, incorporating all their marvelous stories into his writings. Consequently much that is found in his works cannot be cred- ited. Whatever he himself saw and understood he recounted with simplicity and truth, as recent discoveries have proved. It is easy today to point out the failings of Herodotus and to wonder that he was so ready to credit all he heard, but judged by the age in which he lived, his writings may be the better understood. We are told that portions of his works were read by him at the Olympian Games, and that those who listened received his stories with enthusiasm. To the imaginative Greeks no report was too fanciful to find credence. They de- lighted in the unusual and strange, and they made up the audiences for which Herodotus wrote. It is not surprising, then, that the Father of History brought back to his country- men the unique stories he heard concerning the Egyptians — a people whose life and customs were thought by foreigners until long years after, to be deeply shrouded in mystery.
More valuable has proved the work of Manetho, an Egyp- tian priest who wrote in Greek. He is said to have made a complete list of Egyptian kings from records preserved in the temples. This list has been lost and only portions quoted from time to time by later writers have come down to us. These fragments have been of much service to students of F*gyptology. It was Manetho who divided the history of his country into three periods : the Old Empire, Middle Empire, and New Empire. He also treated the past by dynasties rather than years. These general divisions have been retained by all subse- quent historians. Those who are not specialists in Egyptology are apt to be confused by the widely divergent systems of chronology found in the different histories of Egypt, or they reach the conclusion that all is uncertainty in this field. This is not the place to enter into a discussion of this difficult technical problem. Suffice it to say that in the opinion of the best scholars, Eduard Meyer, the great historian of the Ancient Orient, has said the last word on this subject. Contrary opinions notwith- standing, the accession of Menes and the beginning of the dynasties cannot be placed before 3400 B.C., nor can the begin- ning of the twelfth dynasty have been earlier than 2000 B.C.*
Coming lastly to monumental inscriptions, we approach the
THE STORY OF FXVPT. 33
difficulties of the Egyptian language. Let us try to understand why it proved so difficult for scholars who read Hebrew, Greek and Latin, together with some older tongues, to comprehend the language of the Nile dwellers.
In prehistoric times the Egyptians understood one another but it was long before they had any means of expressing their thoughts in writing. It may have occurred to them finally that the pictures which they drew for decorative purposes might be used to convey messages, and thus they began to express simple meanings, using pictures rather than symbols. Sometimes to make doubly sure the meaning of several pictures, they added another which combined the meaning of all into one. These added pictures have been called determinitives, and the pictures used to convey meanings in this way are known as hiero- glyphics. There was something very attractive and decorative about this method of writing by thus picturing out stories, and it was used extensively in tombs and temples. It became too elaborate, however, for daily use, and gradually only the main outlines of the original pictures were used to represent the idea or word. This system of writing was more practical for con- stant, everyday needs than the more ornamental hieroglyphics. It is known as the hieratic writing. Finally, late in the history of Eg>'pt, these hieratics were veiy much abbreviated, mere dots and lines being substituted. This cursory system is known as demotic writing. It was adopted by the people generally, and might perhaps be compared to modern shorthand. To make the whole more complicated still, all three methods were used for different purposes contemporaneously.
Hundreds of years passed ; the language of the ancient Egyptians was forgotten and so, indeed, were the people them- selves. In modern times the learning of ancient peoples was revived and their writings eagerly read. Quite naturally stu- dents wished to know something of the earliest civilizations, particularly of the civilization of the Nile valley. Here they were confronted by what seemed baffling indeed. Three forms of writing used contemporaneously, even interchangeablv, de- fied all effort to decipher them. Attempts were made to explain certain inscriptions, but these explanations w ere found later to have been far astray. In 1799, one of Napoleon's soldiers, while excavating in the mouth of the Rosetta, came upon a stone
34 THB world's progress.
which bore a royal decree written in three ways : in hiero- glyphics, in demotic and in Greek, This supplied a key at last, and scholars set themselves to the task of deciphering ancient Egyptian writings. Other inscriptions written in two or more languages were found and verified the conclusions reached earlier in the translation of the Rosetta Stone.
In recent years a large number of inscriptions from tombs and temples have been read and many rolls of papyrus have been translated. This has enabled historians to read back, step by step, into far away ages, and to carry the thread of Egyptian civilization to its beginnings. Maspero, Eduard Meyer, Breasted, Petrie and other painstaking students of Egyptology have given their lives to the task of unraveling the past, both by deciphering inscriptions and unearthing forgotten cities. From the tireless efforts of men like these, tombs hidden for centuries have been recovered, temples and colonnades laid bare of drift- ing sands, inscriptions transcribed and translated, and volumes of scholarly material written for the special student, while at the same time the general reader may find much of interest con- cerning the life of a remarkable people whose works ha\e borne testimony through the ages.
Herodotus.
The following lines are taken from the pages of Herodotus wherein he relates what he saw and heard when he visited Egypt nearly twenty-five hundred years ago.
" There is no country in all the whole world that hath in it more marvelous things or greater works of buildings and the like than hath the land of Egypt. And as the heavens in this land are such as other men know not — for in the upper parts there falls not rain but once in a thousand years or more, and in the lower parts not often — and the river is different from all other rivers in the earth, seeing that it overflows in the sum- mer and is at its least in the winter, so also do the manners of the Egyptians differ from the manners of all other men. For among them the women buy and sell in the market but the men sit at home and spin. And even in this matter of spin- ning they do not as others, for others push the shuttle in the loom from below upward, but these men push it from above downward. Also the men carry burdens on their heads, but the
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 35
women carry them on their shoulders. And the women pray to none, neither god or goddess, but the men pray to all. And there is no duty laid on a son to succor father or mother, if it be not his pleasure to do it, but on a daughter there is laid, whether she will or no.
" In the matter of mourning for the dead, these folks have a strange custom, for they let grow the hair upon the head and chin when they mourn, but are shaven at other times. And whereas other men hold themselves better than the beasts, the Egyptians have these in great honor, keeping them in their houses, aye, and worshipping them. Nor do they eat the food of other men, holding it a shame to be fed on wheat and barley which others use, and eating the grain of millet only ; and the dough that is made of it this they knead, trampling it with their feet ; but mud and like things they are wont to take up with their hands. . . .
" Now as to the beasts and the honor in which the Egyp- tians hold them, there are many strange things to be told. The crocodile some of the Egyptians hold to be sacred, but not all. And in every city where they hold it, as in Thebes and in the cities round the lake Moeris, they keep one crocodile to which they do special honor. This they train to be tame to the hand, and they put earrings of glass and gold into his ears, and brace- lets on his forefeet, and give it a portion of food day by day, and make offerings to it, and when it dies they embalm it and bury it in the sacred sepulchres. But the people that dwell in the city of Elphantine count them not to be sacred at all, but slay and eat them. . . .
" The cat the Egyptians hold in great honor. Of this beast there is a very marvelous thing to be told. When it chanceth that a house is burning a strange madness cometh upon the cats, for they are very desirous to leap into the fire. And the Egyptians set guards round the place if by any means they may keep the cats from their purpose ; nor do they care to quench the fire, if so be that they may do this ; but the cats nevertheless, making their way through them, or leaping over them, have their will and so perish. Over this the Egyptians make great lamentation. If a cat die in the course of nature, all that are in that house shave their eyebrows only, but all dwellers in a house where a dog dies shave their heads and
^6 THE world's progress.
whole bodies. The cats, when they are dead, they carry away for burial to the city of Bubastis, but the dogs they bury each in tlie city where he dies, only in the holy sepulchres. . . .
" For food the Egyptians have bread made of millet as has been said before. They have wine made of barley, for the vine groweth not in their land. Of birds they eat doves and pigeons, and such small kinds as there are in the country.
"... Such of the Egyptians as dwell in the marshes of the river have also for food the seed of the water-lilies, which grow abundantly when the river overfloweth the plains. This seed is like to the seed of a poppy, and they make of it loaves which they bake Avith fire, having first dried it in the sun. Also the root of this water-Hly (which they call the lotus) may be eaten, being round, and of the bigness of an apple. Other lilies there are growing in the river, like to roses, which have a fruit very like to a wasp's comb, and in it many seeds of the bigness of an olive, which the men eat both green and dry. Also these marsh folk gather the reeds, and use the upper part for other things, as for the making of paper and the like, but the lower part, as much as a cubit's length from the ground they eat.
" All the Egyptians worship not the same gods, but Isis and Osiris they all worship and this Osiris is the same as he whom the Greeks call Bacchus or Dionysus, and his feast is in all things like to that which the Greeks keep to their God, only that there is no acting of plays. As for Isis the Greeks call her Demeter, that is to say, being interpreted. Mother Earth. . . .
" Let so much then be said about the Egyptians and their customs and manner of life, and the gods whom they wor- ship. "
The story of EGYPT. 37
i-i rriiiiiii=9 n=io mini =15 nn—20
C— 100 |'=I000 1=10.000
III! ccnnnii!i=- 4434
EGYPTIAN NUMERATION.
CHAPTER III. The Pyramid Age.
Menes was the king who succeeded in accomplishing- the unification of Egypt. We are told by Manetho that he was at first chief or governor of the eighth nome of Upper Egypt, whose capital city was Thinis, and being ambitious, subdued the surrounding nomes, until at last all Egypt was brought under his control. No doubt earlier chieftains had begun the work of conquest and left the completion to Menes, whose personality and executive strength were sufficient to efface the reigns of his predecessors.
Having brought the Delta under his control and crowned himself with the white crown of Upper and the red crown of Lower Egypt, Menes realized that a capital for such a strag- gling kingdom as his would best be centrally located. He therefore fixed upon a site just south of the apex of the delta and built the city of Memphis. Quite possibly there was a set- tlement here before this time.
It happened that the Nile flowed close to the western hills in this locality. The king knew well that his capital would be safer and the more easily protected were the river between it and possible Asiatic invaders on the east. So he undertook what has ever since been regarded as a bold feat of engineer- ing; he built a high embankment across the Nile and com- pelled the stream to seek a new course farther east. Filling in the old channel, he built a wall around the new city, caused a temple to be at once erected to Ptah, the ancient deity of the locality, and shortly a town grew up around it. Thus we see the beginnings of the Old Empire, so called by Manetho and subsequent historians. For convenience scholars sometimes group Dynasties I. and 11. and Dynasties III. to VI. together, The first period (3400-2980 B.C.) is called the Thinite age be- cause the rulers of these two dynasties came from Thinis. The name Old Kingdom is then limited to Dynasties III. to VI. (2980-2475 b.c.)
It would be useless for us to attempt to become familiar
3B THE world's progress.
with all these early kings — some fifty in number — with reigns varying from one to many years. Should we succeed in col- lecting the meager facts known of each we would have little to repay us for our trouble. It is more to the purpose that we know something about the period as a whole — its general characteristics and attainments.
During this period hieroglyphic writing becaniC widely used, having been but rarely known before the age of Menes. A line of forts was built along the Isthmus of Suez to stay in- vaders from Asia. Tribes on the south were brought into subjection and pledged service to Egypt in time of war. Stone quarries and mines were developed and granite ranges sought and found. In the sixth dynasty one man-of-war sufficed to accompany the transports sent to bring granite for the kings' tombs from the southland — a fact recorded with pride by the pharaohs, since it gave proof of their far reaching might.
From earliest times the Egyptian kings were builders, par- ticularly of tombs, which during the Old Empire took the form of pyramids. Of far greater importance than the earthly abode was thought to be the tomb — the dwelling place for eternal years, consequently tombs and temples received the attention of Egypt's kings in early as well as later times.
In 1897 the tomb of Menes was discovered. It was a brick- lined pit containing an inner chamber of wood. Around the mummy of the pharaoh had been placed the bodies of different members of his household. Similar to this were royal tombs until the Third dynasty, when stone was first used. To the kings of the Fourth dynasty belong the famous pyramids, un- surpassed by any subsequently built, and still today the wonder of the world.
The Egyptians always located their cemeteries toward the west. Into the west the sun sank at night, and by the same way the soul started upon its long journey to the realm of Osiris, god of the future world. The irregularity of the Nile usually made it possible for the city of the living to grow up on its eastern bank, while across the stream, on the west shore, lay the City of the Dead. To the west of Memphis lay its cemetery or Necropolis, and while this remained the capital of Egypt, the pyramid-shaped tomb remained in favor. Some- times the pyramid tombs were smaU ; sometimes they were
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 39
large. More than sixty have been found, and large numbers have doubtless disappeared for all time. Three, however, were made so prodigious in size as to cast into obscurity all the rest, and these have come to be called the " three Pyramids of Gizeh," quite as though they were sole examples of their kind. Kliufu was builder of the largest ; this is generally called " the Great Pyramid." His son Khafre built the one next in size, known as the "Second Pyramid," while the third, much smaller than these, was built by Menkure. Were we indif- ferent to the political development of Egypt, we would still wish to learn about these mammoth structures which are scaled each season by wondering tourists, and have excited the ad- miration and awe of travelers since the time of Herodotus.
It is difficult to realize the vast size of these piles, and we can do so only by comparing them to things with which we are familiar. The base of the largest pyramid covers thirteen acres of ground, solid masonry ; it was originally 482 feet high. Since it is almost one solid mass of stone, it is not difficult to credit the statement of Herodotus that it took 100,000 men twenty years to build it, an additional ten years being necessary to quarry the stone and bring it to the chosen site.
"The tradition recorded by Herodotus as to the labor employed, is so entirely reasonable for the execution of such work, that we cannot hesitate to accept it. It is said that a hundred thousand men were levied for three months at a time (i. e. during the three months of the inundation, when ordinary labor is at a standstill) ; and on this scale the pyra- mid-building lasted twenty years."
How complete must have been the organization of a gov- ernment which could promote such an extensive project as this ! How entirely were the resources of the empire at the disposal of the king when free citizens could be impressed to satisfy the vanity of the proud pharaoh ! To have supported 100,000 non-producing men must of itself have taxed the treasury. The rulers who built these majestic tombs wished to make their names immortal, as well as to preserve their bodies from harm and decay. This first they certainly accomplished, but in light of modern investigation, when each stone lifted into place has been estimated to have cost at least one human life, these proud pharaoh s elicit less admiration and commen- dation than they doubtless thought to win.
40 THE world's progress.
Three kinds of stone were used in the construction of these pyramids. The inner part, or core, was formed of materir.^ plentiful near the building site. This was a spongy limestone that was not durable if exposed to the elements, but adequate when covered with other stone. The successive layers, put on in the form of steps, were of stone brought from across the river, having been quarried in the mountains on the east. It has been conjectured that a causeway was laid from the moun- tains to the side of the pyramid, and that blocks of stone were dragged by men this distance. Finally, the beautiful granite used for outer casing was found near the southern border of Egpyt, floated down the stream when the water was high, and having been polished like a mirror, was fitted over the rougher stone. 2,300,000 blocks, averaging two and one-half tons each, were used for the construction of the largest pyramid.
" If we had so much stone, what could one do with it ? " is asked in The Boy Travelers in Egypt. And it is answered : " You could build a wall four feet high and two feet thick — a good wall for a farm or a garden — all the way from New York to Salt Lake City, and were New York in danger of an attack and desired to surround the whole of Manhattan Island — 21 miles — with a wall forty feet high and twenty feet thick, here would be material to do it." Rawlinson tries to bring its size home to us by comparing it to structures with which we are familiar. He says : " In height it exceeds the capitol at Wash- ington by nearly 200 feet, and its cubic contents would pro- vide a city of 22,000 houses solidly built of stone having walls a foot thick, twenty feet frontage and thirty feet deep, thirty feet high, allowing one-third for dividing walls."
For several hundred years the Mohammedans have oc- cupied Egypt and they have taken away quantities of stone from the lesser pyramids, from temples and other ancient structures of IMemphis, to be used in their mosques and build- ings in Cairo, near-by. The outer casing of the Great Pyramid, beautiful granite as hard as iron, was removed to build the large mosque of this comparatively modem city. The removal of this casing has left the under layers bare, and these, step- like in appearance, are annually scaled by tourists. With the help of Arab guides, one may ascend to the very top of the huge pile, gaining thence a splendid view of the surrounding country.
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 4I
Even the pyramids left cased in granite are no longer smooth. The weathering of ages has roughened their sides and dulled their poHsh. They are of a tawny orange color and gleam by certain lights like gigantic piles of gold.
Within the pyramids were chambers for the remains of kings and their families and chambers for friends to gather for worship — for after his death, an Egyptian king was wor- shipped as a god. Even a spacious gallery was provided near the top of the Great Pyramid, in order that air might circu- late freely and thus keep the tomb di*y.
The ambitious, short-sighted Fourth dynasty kings ex- hausted the resources of their realm. During the Fifth and Sixth dynasties the pyramids became smaller. Even the long- suffering land of the Nile could no longer muster vast forces to provide huge abiding places for the pharaohs. Marvelous temples would still be erected, and wonderful feats of archi- tecture accomplished, but the passion for tremendous tombs had in a measure spent itself.
" The essential feeling of all the earliest work is a rivalry with nature. In other times buildings have been placed either before a background of hills, so as to provide a natural setting to them, or crowning some natural height. But the Eg}^ptian consented to no such tame co-operation with natural features. He selected a range of desert hills over a hundred feet high, and then subdued it entirely, making of it a mere pedestal for pyramids, which were more than thrice as high as the native hill on which they stood. There was no shrinking from a comparison with the work of nature ; but, on the contrary, an artificial hill was formed which shrunk its natural basis by comparison, until it seemed a mere platform for the work of man.
" This same grandeur of idea is seen in the vast masses used in construction. Man did not then regard his work as a piling together of stones, but as the e;-ection of masses that rivalled those of nature. If a cell or chamber was required, each side was formed of one single stone. . . . If a build- ing was set up, It was an artificial hill in which chambers were carved out after it was piled together. . . .
" The sculptor's work, and the painter's, show the same sentiment. They did not make a work of art to please the
42 The world's progress.
taste as such ; but they rivalled nature as closely as possible. The form, the expression, the colouring, the glittering trans- parent eye, the grave smile, all are copied as if to make an artificial man. The painter mixed his half-tints and his deli- cate shades, and dappled over the animals, or figured the feathers of birds, in a manner never attempted in the later ages. The embalmer built up the semblance of the man in resins and cloth over his shrunken corpse, to make him as nearly as possible what he was when alive.
" In each direction man then set himself to supplement, to imitate, to rival or to exceed, the works of nature. Art, as the gratification of an artificial taste and standard, was scarcely in existence ; but the simplicity, the vastness, the perfection, arid the beauty of the earliest works place them on a different level to all the workers of art and man's device in later ages. They are unique in their splendid power, which no self-conscious civiliza- tion has ever rivalled, nor can hope to rival ; and in their en- during greatness they may last till all the feebler works of man have perished."*
»Tetrie; History of Egypt, Vol. I, p. 66.
CHAPTER IV. The; Age of Darkness.
With the close of the Sixth dynasty, records practically cease, and few indeed are the facts established regarding those kings whom Manetho included in his Seventh and Eighth dynasties.
From earliest times each nome had been the seat of some noble family — ^the descendants of chieftains, possibly, or per- haps the recipients of royal land grants. Certain it is that each nome had its noble family of wide estate, from whose number the governor was usually chosen, as was also the high priest of the local temple. By the end of the Sixth dynasty, the claimants to the throne were not strong enough to hold together the land they aspired to rule; they maintained their capital at Memphis, but neither the Delta or Upper Egypt recognized their sway. On the contrary, each prince in his own nome tried to increase his individual strength at the ex- pense of the general government. Asiatic invaders seem to have strengthened themselves in the Delta, while to the south Theban princes came into prominence.
During the period which Manetho accorded to the Ninth and Tenth dynasties, a prince often bought the favor and as- sistance of as many nobles as he -was able, and with his united forces established himself in his own vicinity.
The vast resources which had been so completely at the command of the Fourth dynasty kings were now divided among many petty nobles, each seeking to aggrandize him- self. Naturally, no costly tombs could be constructed to per- petuate the memories of these who now aspired to Egypt's throne ; the tombs which had to satisfy were less enduring, and this no doubt explains why so few remains of the period have come to light in recent years. The thread of history is almost lost during the age of darkness which included the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth dynasties. Shut off from the dis-
44 The world's progress.
closures of tombs, Egyptologists have turned to the mines and quarries. All kings of importance have there left traces of their operations, but the mines contain no tablets, no decrees, no records of quarrying undertaken in these years, save here and there an inscription indicating that some noble carried on work within them on his own behalf.
It is probable that the land passed through a most trying experience in the time intervening between the Old and the be- ginning of the Middle Empire, when neither property, pos- sessions, nor life itself were safe throughout the land, but anarchy, strife and turmoil were everywhere rife. The kings maintained their capital at Heracleopolis, but they were in continual struggle with the princes of Thebes. How great had been the confusion we may judge when one of the Tenth dy- nasty rulers takes pride in recording the fact that order had characterized his reign. " Every official was at his post, there was no fighting, nor any shooting an arrow. The child was not smitten beside his mother, nor the citizen beside his wife. There was no evil-doer nor any one doing violence against his house. When night came, he who slept on the road gave me praise, for he was like a man in his house ; the fear of my soldiers was his protection. "i
The M1DD1.E Empire.*
Order and prosperity returned to Egypt after years of dark- ness and confusion. Thebes superseded Memphis as the center of political life. Great material development characterized the beginning of what Manetho designated as the Middle Empire. Before taking up the work of the early Theban kings, let us learn something of the locality wherein they dwelt.
Memphis, as has been shown, was located conveniently to both Upper and Lower Egypt, while the Nile protected the city from sudden Asiatic attacks. What then were the points of ad- vantage for Thebes, lying 400 miles farther south ?
" Here the usually narrow valley of the Nile opens into a sort of plain or basin.
" The mountains on either side of the river recede, as though by common consent, and leave between themselves and the
* Trans, by Breasted, Hist. Egypt, 149. The approximate dates of this period are : Dynasties VII. and VIIJ. Ca. 2475-2445 b. c. ; Dynasties XI. and X. Ca. 2475-2160 b. c.
'Dynasties XI. and XII.- 2160-178ft b. c
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 45
river's bank a broad amphitheater, which in each case is a rich green plain — a soil of the most productive character — dotted with doom and date palms, sometimes growing single, some- times collected into clumps or groves. On the western side the Libyan range gathers itself up into a single considerable peak, which has an elevation of 1,200 feet. On the east the desert- wall maintains its usual level character, but is pierced by val- leys conducting to the coast of the Red Sea. The situation was one favorable for commerce. On the one side was the nearest route through the sandy desert to the Lesser Oasis, which commanded the trade of the African interior ; on the other the way led through the valley of Hammamat, rich with . . . valuable and rare stones, to a district abounding in mines of gold, silver and lead, and thence to the Red Sea coast, from which, even in very early times, there was com- munication with the opposite coast of Arabia, the region of gums and spices."*
Such being the location of Thebes, we shall see that it grew until in time it became the mightiest city of the ancient world.
With the establishment of the Eleventh dynasty (Ca. 2160- 2000 B.C.), the work of reuniting and re-establishing a cen- tralized government began. The Delta had to be reclaimed from invaders who had gained the upper hand while the land was divided against itself. Unity being at last secured, rulers were free to launch out upon other enterprises. One of the later kings had a deep well provided for those who served in the quarries ; another sent an expedition of 3,000 men to bring back stone for his tomb. These men were also instructed to go beyond the quarries — to Punt, which must have lain on the Somali coast of East Africa, and bring back products of that region. The expedition set out under the leadership of a nobleman whose report has fortunately come down to us. It states that his men built stations and made wells along their route, to the lasting benefit of those who might journey thence. Part of the detachment was left to quarry stone, while the rest proceeded to Punt and procured spices, gums, precious woods, and rare animals. After noting their safe return, the prince adds: "Never was brought down the like thereof for the king's court; never was done the like of this by any king's
*Rawlinson, Ancient Egypt, 95. 1—6
46 The world's progress.
confidant sent out since the time of the god. I did this for the majesty of my lord because he so much loved me."^
The Twelfth dynasty (2000-1788 b.c.) brought forth some of Egypt's ablest kings. Their creative ability was perhaps not excelled by subsequent pharaohs. Amenemhet I. (2000-1970 B.C.) proved himself strong enough to curb the power of the feudal princes. These hereditary nobles had probably received gifts of land from earlier kings in recognition of loyal service.; The estates passed from father to son, and while the central government had been weak, the princes became more and more aggressive. They fortified themselves, each in his nome, re- tained large retinues of officials, servants, militia and realized vast incomes from extensive tracts of arable land. It was neither possible nor prudent to remodel the entire system, but Amenemhet I undertook to modify it. Whenever one of these landed princes died, the king himself chose from the heirs the one who should succeed him. Naturally, he selected one whose loyalty to himself and to the government was un- questioned. Again, the boundaries of the nomes had never been officially determined, and during the years of confusion, strong nobles had infringed upon the possessions of weaker ones. The king made a tour through the country, heard all complaints of such encroachments, and decided the limits of all disputed boundaries. This did much to restrict the strength of ambitious princes.
His son, coming to the throne, subdued the Nubians on the south and extended the empire to the second cataract ; but it was left for Sesostris III. to make this conquest sure, and then to post his decree along the river.
"This is the southern frontier; fixed in the eighth year of the reign of his majesty. Usurtasen [Sesostris], ever living. Let it not be permitted to any negro to pass this boundary northward, either on foot or by boat ; nor any sort of cattle, oxen, goats, or sheep belonging to the negroes. Except when any negro comes to trade in the land of Aken, or on any business, let him be well treated. But without allowing boats of the negToe.« to pass Heh northward forever."*
* Trans, by Breasted, Ancient Records, I, §433.
* Petrie, Hist, of Egypt, Vol. I, 181.
TH^ STORY OF EGYPT. 47
In gratitude to the king for thus securing to them safety by repulsing the negroes, the Egyptians sang extravagant hymns to Sostostris. Some of these have been rendered into EngUsh, and are regarded as excellent specimens of Egyptian poetry. The following is one of these songs :
** Twice joyful are the gods,
Thou hast established their offerings. Twice joyful are thy princes.
Thou hast formed their boundaries. Twice joyful are thy ancestors before thee.
Thou hast increased their portions. Twice joyful is Egypt at thy strong arm.
Thou hast guarded the ancient order. Twice joyful are the aged with thy administration.
Thou hast widened their possessions. Twice joyful are the two regions with thy valor.
Thou hast caused them to flourish. Twice joyful are thy young men of support.
Thou hast caused them to flourish. Twice joyful are thy veterans,
Thou hast caused them to be vigorous. Twice joyful are the two lands in thy might,
Thou hast guarded their walls. Twice joyful be thou, O Horus ! widening thy boundary,
Mayest thou renew an eternity of life.'"
AmENEmhET III.
The greatest name of the Twelfth dynasty is that of Amen- emhet III. (1849-1801 b.c). He directed his attention to inter- nal improvements. Realizing the dire effects upon Egypt when the Nile failed to supply sufficient water or when too much water was forthcoming, he studied various ways of controlling the river. Once or twice in a century the rainfall, always heavy in the Abyssinian highlands, is yet greater ; the river rises rapidly to unexpected heights and works general havoc. Or sometimes the supply may be less than usual. Having watched the stream with anxious eyes for many a week, the people
•Petrie, Hist- of Egypt, Vol. I, 182.
48 THE world's progress.
behold it recede, although only the adjacent plains have been refreshed and upper portions of the valley lie parched and lifeless, while famine stares Egypt in the face.
Amenemhet III. beheved that a vast reservoir might regu- late the supply, receiving the water when it was at high flood and giving it out once more when the stream was low. He looked about for a natural depression and found it to the west of Memphis, beyond a narrow range of hills. Canals were made leading into this basin and Lake Moeris was the result. Some hundreds of square miles were gained by this new means of irrigation and the tract thus made arable, became royal domain. The district is known as the Fayoum. Near its entrance Amenemhet III. built his pyramid. It differed from earlier tombs in that the chamber destined to receive his mum- my was reached by passages even more secret and winding than ordinary. False doors were placed here and there to mis- lead any who might attempt to molest the body.
Under his direction, a wonderful building was constructed. It was called the Labyrinth. Being about 800 feet wide and 1,000 feet long, it contained 1,500 rooms above the ground and as many more below it. There were many courts with numerous doors leading from them and Strabo, a Greek geog- rapher, who saw it long after Amenemhet had taken his jour- ney to the realm of Osiris, said that the ceilings and sides of the rooms were made from single stones ! It is believed that the king planned this structure to serve as a great capitol for his kingdom, and that there were suites of halls for every nome, with chapels for their gods. A vast number of chambers would naturally be required for this, and probably there was no thought of making the building baffling or bewildering, as the name labyrinth now signifies. This was counted among the wonders of the ancient world, but, like the city built around it, disappeared ages ago. Herodotus has left us a description of the huge building, written to inform his countrymen of a struc- ture more remarkable than anything they could boast. When he saw it, almost five hundred years before the time of Christ, it was still in perfect condition.
" I visited the place," he says, " and found it to surpass de- scription ; for if all the walls and other great works of the Greeks could be put together into one, they would not equal
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 49
this Labyrinth. The pyramids likewise surpass description, and are severally equal to a number of the greatest works of the Greeks ; but the Labyrinth surpasses the pyramids. It has twelve courts, all of them roofed, with gates exactly opposite one another, six looking to the north, and six to the south. A single wall surrounds the whole building. It contains two dif- ferent sorts of chambers, half of them under ground, and half above ground, the latter built upon the former ; the whole number is three thousand, of each kind fifteen hundred. The upper chambers I myself passed through and saw, and what I say of them is from my own observation ; of the underground chambers I can only speak from report, for the keepers of the building could not be induced to show them ; since they con- tain, they said, the sepulchres of the kings who built the laby- rinth, and also those of the sacred crocodiles. Thus it is from hearsay only that I can speak of them ; but the upper chambers I saw with my own eyes, and found them to excel all other human productions ; for the passages through the houses and the varied windings of the paths across the courts, excited in me infinite admiration, as I passed from these colonnades into fresh houses, and again from these into courts unseen before. The roof was, throughout, of stone, like the walls ; and the walls were carved all over with figures ; every court was sur- rounded with a colonnade, which was built of white stone, ex- quisitely fitted together. At the corner of the Labyrinth stands a pyramid, forty fathoms high, with large figures engraved upon it, which is entered by a subterranean passage."
In comparison with the Old Empire kings, those of the Mid- dle Empire seem to us much more modern in spirit. Instead of merging the whole population into instruments to work out the pharaoh's fancy, instead of squandering the riches of the land and the lives of subjects to provide mammoth tombs which should eternalize the ruler's memory and flame forth his power and greatness unto succeeding generations, the far- sighted Twelfth dynasty kings devoted their time and resources to the improvement of their kingdom. Wells were dug ; roads constructed ; public buildings erected ; fortifications strength- ened ; frontiers extended. The attention of the monarch was directed to the commercial prosperity of the realm, to the ag- ricultural conditions and their improvement — vn short, the
50 THE world's progress.
best years of the Middle Empire were years of material gain for the Nile dwellers, wherein men developed the arts of peace, and the valley testified to wise administration. Through a second period of depression a nation was to look back upon the age of its material progress with longing eyes, and still better, to retain even under adverse conditions standards of govern- ment and life which would later be recovered. After the death of the great king, called Amenemhet the Good by his grateful subjects, none appeared able to adequately fill his place, and his glorious reig^ was overshadowed by a second period of darkness.
CHAPTER V. The Shepherd Kings.*
The Thirteenth dynasty kings were not sufficiently strong to hold intact the kingdom which passed into their hands. Soon again the feudal princes of nome and city were contending with one another for additional power. The Fourteenth dynasty rulers had their capital in Xois, a Delta city. Both dynasties lasted but a brief time, filled with unrest and contention. We can imagine into what state Egypt fell when a negro of Nubia, of a race despised by the Egyptians, set himself up as their king. Several princes ruled at the same time in various portions of the realm. Sources of information for these chaotic years are scanty; no monuments have come down to us, the inference being that the resources and energies of the land were required for more immediate needs than the erection of costly tombs for rulers of disputed right.
The whole country must have suffered greatly. The system of irrigation set in order by Amenemhet III. required both national supervision and national funds for its maintenance. As neither could have been forthcoming, the food production must have been materially diminished. Engaged in civil war, Egypt soon fell a prey to foreign invaders.
For hundreds of years it had been not unusual for Syrian bands to ask permission to settle within Egyptian borders. In the tomb of a provincial governor of Upper Egypt has been found a painting which portrays a company of seventeen Be- douins bringing presents to the nobleman and asking that they be allowed to locate in his dominion. In Genesis we read con- cerning Abram : " And Abram journeyed, going still toward the south. And there was a famine in the land of Canaan ; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there ; for the famine was grievous in the land." Since Abram was rich in cattle and in gold, he undoubtedly brought many of his family and followers to dwell with him in the land of plenty. Similar incidents were common. If the rainfall was short in Canaan, in the territory of the Hittites or even in Arabia, Egypt was
' Dynasties XIII to XVIII, including the Hyksos, 1788-1580 b. c
SI
52 thb world's progress.
ever regarded as a last resort. The Nile never failed to supply water for the flocks; here, too, it was customary to store grain in royal store-cities, in order that in time of need Egypt could sell advantageously to her neighbors. In a pastoral age, such favorable conditions as these were highly prized.
The Pharaohs diligently fortified their frontiers, and it must not be supposed that in times of peace foreigners were allowed to come at will into the land. There were, on the contrary, officers stationed along the boundaries to apprehend any who wished to enter, to receive their requests and forward them to the governor of the nome. Until he was heard from, strangers were detained on the border. It seems to have been usual, how- ever, to admit such petitioners unless it was thought that they might become a menace to the state. It naturally came about, therefore, that the tribes on the east looked with envious eyes upon the rich valley of the Nile, and when Egypt was disrupted, her resources and soldiers no longer at the command of one ruler but divided among several contending nobles — each of whom valued his personal interests above those of his country — while anarchy and disorder infested the coveted land, an over- whelming host of Semitic hordes poured into the Delta, spread- ing thence into the valley. Before them Egypt was helpless.
Asia and Egypt as well were inhabited in early times by many wandering or nomadic tribes. A tribe dwelt in one local- ity while pasturage was good, and when it was exhausted, would move on to new fields. Sometimes the tribe in possession of one district would learn that other tribes were drawing near, and in an age when strangers were considered enemies, this would furnish sufficient pretext for starting out on the march again. Periods of unrest sometimes swept over vast areas; in such a time as this, perhaps, Asiatic tribes poured into Egypt. In her pitiable plight, the country lay an easy prey to such in- vaders, who Manetho tells us numbered a quarter of a million. It is said that they took possession without a battle. Just who they were or where they came from is not known. We now know that the Hittites invaded Babylonia during the reign ol Samsu-ditana, the last king of the First Dynasty of Babylon, and that this was the indirect cause of the fall of this dynasty (about 1750 b.c). Scholars are beginning to suspect that the invasion of Egypt at this time was either led by the Hittites or
ThK story of EGYPT. 53
due to Hittite pressure back of the tribes in Syria-Palestine. Their kings were called Hyksos, and from a doubtful etymology of this name they are still styled the "Shepherd kings."
The invading conquerors put many of the Egy^ptians to death, taking their wives and children into slavery. Worship- ping gods of their own, they hated the gods of the Egyptians and destroyed many temples and monuments. Generally speak- ing, they remained in the Delta and the Fayoum, the Theban princes ruling in the south as their vassals.
Gradually these fierce Asiatics took on the civilization of the land they had invaded. They doimed Egyptian dress, spoke and wrote as the Egyptians, and built temples much like theirs. The country rallied from its recent disaster and life became not unlike that of earlier times.
In time the Theban nobles increased in power ; the Hyksos — or thefr descendants in the Delta — grew alarmed lest the native princes might become powerful enough to force them from the throne they had usurped. Determined to check any threatening strength on the part of the Egyptains, the foreign- ers tried to bring about open conflict, sure themselves of vic- tory. At first the Theban princes sought to avert war, but the demands of the Hyksos grew heavier. There was a folk- story to the effect that the usurping king in the Delta sent word to the Theban prince that the noise of the sacred hippopotami in the pools and canals allowed him rest neither by night or day, and must be disposed of. However simple this appears, it may easily signify that the final break came because of religious difficulties.
Roused at last, the Egyptians determined to drive the in- vaders from their land. This occurred during the Seventeenth dynasty — for Manetho continues his list of Egyptian kings throughoui the period of foreign rule. The Asiatics were driven north, and the first pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, King Ahmose (1580-1350 B.C.), gathered a vast army and forced them beyond his borders. Five years were consumed in accomplishing this, and in the end many of the foreigners were reduced to slavery.
Summing up the results of the invasion of the Hyksos, we may note that Egypt learned much during her period of oppres- sion. Before the invasion, her fighting had been confined to the defense of her frontiers. Asiatic and African, and the tribes
54 The world s progress.
with which she had waged war had been her inferiors. In th« Asiatic tribes she had at last met a people more skillful in military affairs than she. They used horses and chariots, and their mode of warfare was superior to the clumsy, undisciplined efforts of the Nile-dwellers. It was by adopting their methods that Egypt finally succeeded in expelling them from the land. Hereafter we find the horse and chariot used extensively in Egyptian wars.
Another important result was the elimination of the feudal lords. They had opposed both the Hyksos and the successful king Ahmose, and fighting for personal interests alone, had most of them perished in the conflict. The vast areas which had been their portion reverted to the crown and became royal domain.
It has been thought that Joseph served under one of the foreign kings, and that the conditions spoken of at the close of his career — when all Egypt was subdued and at the command of the Pharaoah — coincide with the situation shortly after the feudal lords had disappeared as a political factor. All this is, however, doubtful.
In marked contrast with the gloom of long years under foreign oppression shines the splendor of the New Empire.
The Beginning oe the New Empire.^
The wide differences which we have noted concerning dates accepted by various Egyptologists disappear as we approach the Christian era, and there is general agreement that the sixteenth century before Christ saw the dawn of the New Empire which had its beginning when the independence of Egypt was estab- lished and Hyksos rule thrown off. Petrie calls this the most glorious page in Egyptian history.
Ahmose had much to do before the safety of the govern- ment was assured. While he pursued the Hyksos into Asia, crippling their allies, the Ethiopians infringed upon his southern border. Three different expeditions had to be sent against them before they were reduced to submission. Then only did the king find opportunity to direct his attention to the domestic concerns of the kingdom. Thebes, the capital, was given first consideration in the matter of building and adornment. The foundations for the famous temple of Karnak, of which we shall hear more at length, were begun.
* Dynasties XVIII to XX, 1580-1090 b. c.
THE STORY OF EGYPT, 55
Ahmose's son succeeded him, but aside from putting- down an uprising of the troublesome Ethiopians, Httle of importance attached to his administration.
It was left for Ahmose's grandson, Thutmose^ L, to give Egv'pt the position she was to occupy among the nations for many years. Thutmose I, was instinctively a soldier. Coming to the throne when a mere boy, the Ethiopians made war directly, thinking they could easily overcome so inexperienced a king. Thutmose at once gave indication of his capacity by marching immediately into their territory and defeating them with tre- mendous slaughter. To prevent further annoyance, from these people the king divided their country into districts and over each he placed an Egyptian official. Thus the land of Kush be- came an Egyptian province.
Having now a well organized army, Thutmose pressed into Asia — for the experience of Ahmose had shown that rich plunder there awaited the victor. Some tribes yielded volun- tarily to Eg>-pt ; others were forced to yield.
Although the king penetrated some distance east of the Euphrates, these districts were not permanently won for Egypt. On the contrary, we shall find that subsequent pharaohs did over and over again what this king attempted, and for this reason : each time a nation was conquered, Thutmose withdrew his soldiers from it, imposing tribute and asking hostages. So long as the tribute was forthcoming, the tribe was left undis- turbed. This gave wide opportunity for the conquered peoples to unite among themselves and make attempts to shake off control whenever a new ruler succeeded to the throne of Egypt This proved eventually a most extravagant policy for Thutmose to have followed.
Henceforth Eg^'pt had to take her place as a military power, and with her every new aspiring nation had to reckon. When we recall the peaceful Egyptians of early times, secluded in their quiet valley, disliking foreigners and having as little intercourse with them as possible, we realize what a change had been wrought in them by their contact with the Hyksos during the years of their oppression.
Egypt's future was largely marked out by Thutmose I., as
later reigns demonstrated. Perhaps his greatness has not been
wholly appreciated. "The greatness of Thutmose^ I. has
* Usually written Thothmes. The form Thutmose is, however, nearar the origina*.
56 THE world's progress.
scarcely been sufficiently recognized by historians. It may be true that he did not effect much ; but he broke ground in a new direction ; he set an example which led on to grand results. To him it was due that Egypt ceased to be the isolated, unag- gressive power that she had remained for perhaps ten centuries, that she came boldly to the front and aspired to bring Asia into subjection. Henceforth she exercised a potent influence beyond her borders — an influence which affected, more or less, all the "western Asiatic powers. She had forced her way into the comity of the great nations. Henceforth whether it was for good or for evil, she had to take her place among them, to reckon with them, as they reckoned with her, to be a factor in the problem which the ages had to work out — ^what should be the general march of events, and what states anr nations should most affect the dectiny of the world."*
' Rawlinson, Ancient Egypt, 168.
THE STORY OP EGYPT. 5;^
CHAPTER VI. The Earliest Queen in History.
We now come upon a story in Egyptian history. It might easily begin with " Once upon a time," and better still, it is true. Of course we all know that when people live hundreds and thousands of years in a country and reach a high degree of civilization, when they build noble structures, become pro- ficient in art, write books, and have developed a high degree of culture, their lives have been full of absorbing experiences, just as ours are today, and we may be sure that these Egyp- tians, who sometimes seem a bit monotonous in the light of recorded history, would be interesting enough did we know more about their daily lives.
In many families it has been customary to keep a family record — in the Bible often, sometimes in special record books. The habit is less prevalent than it once was, but we have doubt- less all seen such records and recall that they generally include births, marriages and deaths occurring in the family. From them, however, one could get no idea in years to come of the happy holiday gatherings, social pleasures, and family cele- brations frequently enjoyed.
It is somewhat the same with nations. They leave moment- ous events in their history carved in marble, painted on can- vas or written in whatever fashion they have known ; but it is left largely to us to weave in the rest of the story as best we may — and too often this part is neglected. People long since vanished seem too often like unreal creatures, who fought in wars, established dynasties, enjoyed periods of peace and suffered in times of tumult, and these events appear to be fitted together like the pieces of a puzzle. Had historians keener imaginations they might bring these ancient people before us as distinctly human, so that, like the characters of Dickens and Scott, they would abide in our memories. But then you see, someone would suggest that this was no longer history.
However, the world has seen a few queens who have apparently determined to relegate dullness and monotony to
jg THE WORIJ>'S PROGRESS.
kings— as for themselves they would have none of it. Such was Good Queen Bess of England, and such also was Queen Hatshepsut of long-forgotten Egypt. , , , , , ,
Thutmose I. had been a great warrior; he had subdued the Nubians and Ethiopians in Africa, and then, roused to a spirit of conquest, he had pushed into Asia, revenged the indig- nities inflicted upon his people by the Hyksos, and had made his power felt far beyond the Euphrates. When no longer able to rule, he left the widest empire the worid had yet seen to his daughter Hatshepsut, aged twenty-four, and to his seventeen year old son. Hatshepsut had inherited her father's great ability and tireless energy; the son was weak and purposeless. His untimely death gave occasion for many both then and since to wonder if his vindictive sister did all she could to save him. Certain it is that Queen Hatshepsut rallied sufficiently from the shock of his death to reign for many years.
It was very discor.certing to a nation so strongly held by tradition and veneration for established customs as was Egypt, to have a woman on the throne of the Pharaohs. This is amusingly shown in temples where her loyal supporters sought to lessen prejudices felt because she was a woman by por- traying pictures designed to show that her birth had been attended by special marks of favor and of prophecy on the part of the gods. In these, however, she is often represented as a boy. She seems to have regretted not having been a man, and no doubt the matter was constantly thrust before her and she was forced to feel how greatly this placed her at a dis- advantage among her subjects. She seems to have made heroic efforts to modify the differences in sex as much as possible by assuming a beard and by having herself represented in art in a king's official dress. Furthermore, a bewildering use of pronouns seem to have been employed concerning her, and such phrases as : " his majesty herself," and others similar have come down to us.
Great benefits came to Egypt when the ruler's attention was directed from conquest to internal improvements, and these last occupied the energy of this capable queen throughout her reign. Instead of erecting pyramids or tombs, she at once began to build a temple in which she might be worshipped »ft«r death — for in Egypt a ruler wai worshipped as a god after
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 59
his death. Nor would Hatshepsut have her temple like those around her. Rather, a site was chosen out of Thebes, where the hills rose to quite an elevation. A series of four terraces, each having its beautiful colonnade, led to the temple itself, which was hewn out of the rocky hill.
The young queen wished to build such a temple as she fancied might have been sacred to Amon — the ancient deity of Thebes — in his own land of Punt, on the East African coast. It was a myth of the Egyptians that long before they existed, the gods abode in the land of Punt, called by them the Holy- land, or God's land. Tradition held that in this land the myrrh tree was sacred to Amon, and so one day Queen Hatshepsut announced to her ministers that the god Amon had revealed to her his desire that here in Thebes, before the new temple, his favorite myrrh tree should grow.
Now myrrh incense for offerings had been procured from merchantmen who brought their spices into Egypt, and the tree itself grew only in Punt, which lay to the furthermost corner of the ancient world. However, the queen was deter- mined to satisfy the god — and incidentally, perhaps, her own fancy. So, nothing daunted, her subjects set to work to con- struct a fleet suitable for the journey necessary for procuring the incense-bearing tree.
It is supposed that some canal connected the river with the Red Sea ; whether or not this was the case, the ships were built at Thebes, and there is no record of their having been carried over land to the port. They were fitted out with both sails and oars, so that the expedition might not be hindered by calm weather. Beside the oarsmen and the crew, soldiers accompanied the fleet to give protection should it be needed.
After many days the ships came at last to the Holy Land, or Punt. Messengers were dispatched to the native king with presents from Queen Hatshepsut and a request that he acknowledge the sovereignty of Egypt, and allow her subjects to bring back products from his land — especially the coveted incense-tree. The king was delighted with the gifts and made up a procession to go down to the shore and meet the Egyptians. He had a funny little dwarf wife, belonging, it is supposed, to one of the dwarf tribes of interior Africa. She on her donkey, her three children, the king and several of his chiefs, proceeded
6o THE world's progress.
to the shore to greet the strangers. They were led to the native houses — curious round huts built on piles and entered only by ladders, while palm and incense trees sheltered their occu- pants from the hot rays of the tropical sun. The travelers were treated royally throughout their sojourn in the land of Punt, and were allowed to exchange the products they had brought from the valley of the Nile for the native products — such as ebony, ivory, incense, leopard skins, metals, and the much desired myrrh trees.
At length the Egyptians were ready to set sail for the home land, and now some of the natives, the dwarf queen, some of the chief men and others decided to return with them and see the queen of great renown ; so with these for passengers, the ships cleared port.
Upon arrival, their return was the occasion for a gala-day at the capital. The state troops were out on parade, the veterans of the expedition formed in procession with the thirty-one myrrh trees which had been carefully packed and shielded under awn- ing from the sun's rays ; the strange animals from Punt — dogs, baboons, monkeys, a tame leopard with his keeper, natives who gave their war dance, the dwarf queen of Punt, who with her chief men brought gifts to Hatshepsut — all these made up a great spectacle sufficiently absorbing to the throngs who filled the streets of Thebes. All went to the temple where Queen Hatshepsut made offerings to Amon, and then the myrrh trees were planted before his temple. It would be interesting to know how many of these thirty-one trees withstood the radical change, but probably trees which had occasioned such a national outlay had no choice but to flourish.
Queen Hatshepsut felt a natural pride in the result of her expedition which had the effect of establishing lasting trade between the two countries, to the benefit of both. She did not wish it to be forgotten, and so had the whole story depicted on the walls of her temple by artists who probably accompanied the fleet. There some of the pictures may still be seen. The first portrays the embarking of the Egyptian fleet. An inscription before it reads : "These are the ships which the wind brought along with it. The voyage on the sea, the attainment of the longed-for aim in the Holy Land, the happy arrival of the Egyptian soldiers in the land of Punt, according to the arrange-
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 9l
ment of Amon, King of the gods, Lord of the terrestrial thrones in Thebes, in order to bring to him the treasure? of the whole land in such quantities as will satisfy him. This was done by the Queen of Egypt, the daughter of the Sun, never has any- thing similar been done in the times of a former king in this country."*
The second scene shows the reception In Punt ; the third, the traffic ; the fourth picture, the loading of ships for the return. Men are seen bringing trees and other products of Punt on board This inscription reads : "The loading of the ships of transport with a great quantity of the magnificent products of Arabia,^ with all kinds of precious woods of the Holy Land, with heaps of incense, resin, with verdant incense trees, with ebony, with pure ivory, with gold, and silver from the land of Amon, with tesep-wood and the cassia bark, incense, hounds, skins of leopards, apes, monkeys, with women and children. Never has a coming been made like this by any king since the creation of the world."
The fifth is the "Return to Thebes." The accompanying inscription : "Excursion completed satisfactorily , happy arrival at Thebes to the joy of the Egyptian soldiers. The princes of Punt after arrival in this country, bringing with them costly things of the Arabian^ land, such as never had yet been brought by any Egyptian king, for the Supreme Majesty of the god Amon-Ra, Lord of the terrestrial thrones."
The sixth scene represents the presentation of the tribute of Punt to the Queen, while princes of that land kneeling before her ask for peace.
"Homage to thy countenance, O Queen of Egypt, Sun, Beaming like the sun-disk After your mistress, who is Arabia's^ mistress."
In the seventh painting the Queen offers gifts to Amon; the eighth shows the weighing of the incense; the ninth, the formal announcement of the successful expedition before
* These inscriptions are translated in Records of the Past. ed. by Sayce, Vol. X
'The translation is to be corrected to Punt 1—6
62 THE WORIJ)*S PROGRESS.
Amon, and the tenth and last, the formal announcement of the happy issue before the Egyptian court.
Other paintings which adorn the walls of this temple, depicting the birth of the Queen and the guardianship exer- cised over her by the goddess Hathor, while less famous are quite as indelible and interesting from a social standpoint.
This temple in its architectural conception was a departure from Egyptian models. It impresses us with its fine pro- portion and the skillful use of the colonnade.
It has not long been accessible to visitors, having been uncovered only in the last few years.
Other building enterprises were undertaken by Queen Hatshepsut, notably the erection of two obelisks of polished granite in honor of Amon.
Possessing some tributary territory in Asia and Punt and maintaining a policy of peace, the national revenue was much increased. The proud queen left a record of her kingdom's prosperity chronicled in stone : " My southern boundary is as far as Punt ; my eastern boundary as far as the marshes of Asia, and the Asiatics are in my grasp ; my western boundary is as far as the mountain of Manu (or the sunset) ; my fame is among the Sand dwellers altogether. The myrrh of Punt has been brought to me, all the luxurious marvels of this country were brought to my palace in one collection. They have brought me the choicest products, of cedar, of juniper, and of meru-wood ; all the goodly sweet woods of God's-land. I brought the tribute of Libya, consisting of ivory and seven hundred tusks which were there, numerous panther skins of five cubits along the back and four cubits wide.'"
In addition to new structures, Queen Hatshepsut repaired temples fallen in decay. In one of these temples she caused to be written : " I have restored that which was in ruins, I have raised up that which was unfinished since the Asiatics were in the midst of the Northland, and the barbarians in the midst of them, overthrowing that which had been made while they ruled in ignorance of Ra."*
Thutmose III., a younger brother— a mere child at the death
ofjus father— grew restless at being held so long from the
•Trans, by Breasted, History of Egypt. 280 •Ibid.
The story O^ EGYPT.
63
throne by his ambitious sister. The sudden death of the queen again raised the question as to whether the sovereign had died as a result of court intrigue. Certain it is that Thutmose III. retahated for the restraint the queen had exercised over him by commanding that her name be stricken from all the monu- ments she had erected, his own to be substituted. Fortunately his workmen followed his instructions so badly that it has been possible to read the original name in many cases, and thus possible to trace the career of the world's earliest recorded queen. Thus have later ages been able to realize how well Queen Hatshepsut met the requirements of her day, and to appreciate her courage in overcoming the prejudices which as a woman on the throne of the Pharaohs she is sure to have encountered.
QUEKN HATSHEPSUT.
6«f thr worij>'s progress.
CHAPTER Vll. Great Military Kings.
The accession of a new king was the signal for Asiatic nations, long held in tribute, to revolt from a servitude that had always been galling to their pride. Thutmose III. at once estabhshed his reputation as a king of prompt decision and strength by marching immediately into the revolting territories and defeating the league formed against him. During his reign of some fifty years he is reputed to have carried on nineteen campaigns. The wealth of Egypt was materially increased by these expeditions which were frequently maraud- ing excursions rather than open-battle victories.
"Altogether Thothmes [Thutmose] III. is said to have car- ried off from the subject countries about 11,000 captives, 1,670 chariots, 3,639 horses, 4,491 of the larger cattle, more than 35,- 000 goats, silver to the amount of 3,940 pounds, and gold to the amount of 9,954 pounds. He also conveyed to Egypt from the conquered lands enormous quantities of corn and wines, together with incense, balsam, honey, ivory, ebony, and other rare woods, lapis lazuli, furniture, statues, vases, dishes, basins, tent-poles, bows, habergeons, fruit-trees, live birds, and monkeys I With a curiosity which was insatiable, he noted all that was strange or unusual in the lands which he visited, and sought to introduce the various novelties into his own proper country. Two unknown kinds of birds, and a variety of the goose, which he found in Mesopotamia, and transported from the valley of the Khabour to that of the Nile, are said to have been * dearer to the king than anything else.' His artists had instructions to make careful studies of the different objects, and to represent them faithfully on his monuments. We see on these 'water-lilies as high as trees, plants of a growth like cactuses, all sort of trees and shrubs, leaves, flowers, and fruits, including melons and pomegranates ; oxen and calves also figure, and among them a wonderful animal with three horns. There are likewise herons, sparrow-hawks, geese and doves.' All these appear gaily intermixed in the
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 65
pictures, as suited the simple childlike conception of the artist. An inscription tells the intention of the monarch. ' Here,' it runs, * are all sorts of plants and all sorts of flowers of the Holy Land, which the king discovered when he went to the land of Ruten to conquer it. Thus says the king — I swear by the sun, and I call to witness my father Amon, that all is plain truth ; there is no trace of deception in that which I relate. What the splendid soil brings forth in the way of production I have portrayed in these pictures, with the inten- tion of offering them to my father Amon, as a memorial for all times.' '"
Egypt had now become so powerful that many of the Phoenician cities voluntarily came under her protection, think- ing in this way they could best secure safety for their ex- tensive commerce on the seas. The Phoenicians were the mid- dle-men for antiquity and desired above all to keep their tri- remes safe from sea pirates. Seeking the protection of the greatest world power, in this age they turned to Egypt.
A vast amount of Asiatic plunder found its way to the temples as offerings to the gods who were supposed to have made victory possible. This accumulation of wealth within the temples proved a most important factor in strengthening the priesthood — a power with w^hich the future had to reckon.
A song of victory, composed in honor of Thutmose HI., is preserved in the temple of Karnak. The god Amon is sup- posed to be speaking. We may be sure that it was not wholly the flattery of priests, written to appease the ruler, but that it embodied the general opinion as to the power bestowed by the god upon the king, who was his representative upon earth.
» Rawlinson, Ancient Egypt, 196.
fl6 THE WORU>'S PROGRESS.
Hymn oe Victory.* (Amon speaking.)
I have come, causing thee to smite the princes of Zahi ; I have hurled them beneath thy feet among their highlands. I have caused them to see thy majesty as lord of radiance. So that thou hast shone in their faces like my image.
I have come, causing thee to smite the Asiatics,
Thou hast made captive the heads of the Asiatics of Retenu.
I have caused them to see thy majesty equipped with thy adornment
When thou takest the weapons of war in the chariot
I have come, causing thee to smite the eastern land, Thou hast trampled those who are in the districts of God's-Land. I have caused them to see thy majesty like a circling star. When it scatters its flame in fire, and gives forth its dew.
I have come, causing thee to smite the western land, Keftyew and Cyprus are in terror. I have caused them to see thy majesty as a young bull, Firm of heart, ready-homed, irresistible.
I have come, causing thee to smite those who are in their marshes, The lands of Mitanni tremble under fear of thee. I have caused them to see thy majesty as a crocodile. Lord of fear in the water, unapproachable.
I have come, causing thee to smite those who are in their isles ; Those who are in the midst of the Great Green (sea) hear thy
roarings. I have caused them to see thy majesty as an avenger, Who rises upon the back of his slain victim. . . .
I have come, [causing thee to smite the uttermost ends of the lands, The circuit of the Great Circle (Okeanos) is included in thy grasp. I have caused them to see thy majesty as a lord of wing (hawk). Who seizeth upon that which he seeth, as much as he desires.
* Breasted. Ancient Records. II. §§ 658f.
THE STORY O^ EGYPT. 67
I have come, causing thee to smite the Nubian Troglodytes, As far as Shat (they) are in thy grasp. I have caused them to see thy majesty as thy two brothers.' I have united their two arms for thee in victory.
Thy two sisters,'^ I have set them as protection behind thee. The arms of my majesty are above, warding off evil. I have caused thee to reign, my beloved son, Horus, Mighty Bull, Shining in Thebes, whom I have begotten in uprightness of heart.
Thutmose, living forever, who hast done for me all that my ka
desired ; Thou hast erected my dwelling as an everlasting work, Enlarging and extending it more than the past which has been. Thou hast feted the beauty of Amon-Re,
Thy monuments are greater than those of any king who has been. When I commanded thee to do it, I was satisfied therewith ; I established thee upon the Horus-throne of millions of years.
Thutmose III. left his individuality strongly stamped upon the empire his military skill had welded together. Tribute poured into his coffers from all the petty nations throughout western Asia, from the tribes of the Sahara, and lands south of Egypt. He was reckoned without question the greatest mili- tary leader the country ever produced, and he was a tireless builder. The great temple of Amon in the city of Thebes was his pride and many other temples were built and restored by him. He was succeeded by his son, but no very important event claims our attention until the accession of his great grand- son, Amenhotep IV.
The beautiful Queen Tiy was the mother of this monarch. There is no foundation for the oft repeated assertion that she was of foreign, probably Asiatic, origin. Maspero's belief that she was of Egyptian (perhaps obscure) origin is most probable. We may well believe that she exercised considerable power over her son, but we have no evidence for asserting that it was from her that he received the new religion which he attempted to force upon the country, as a result of which the whole land was thrown into a tumult
* Horus and Set. *Isis and Nephthys.
68 THE world's progress.
We have already seen that Egypt was originally composed of many little states, each independent of the rest and each having its own religious system and customs. As the many states were assimilated into one, a state religion resulted, into which the main elements of each local cult were combined. Although the people throughout the land worshipped the state god, the local gods were always more particularly endeared to the masses. Now had Amenhotep IV. desired to change the state god, the official deity, the people would have accepted the change readily, but when he attempted to sweep away the entire religious system of his realm and substitute an utterly new system, the masses could not understand such a radical change. They were enraged at what they considered an indig- nity put upon their gods and the gods of their fathers.
Realizing how impossible it would be to accomplish his reform in the ancient city of Thebes, the king determined to change his capital. Thebes Ijad long been the religious as well as the political center, and the worship of Amon was fundamentally associated with the city. In order to set up the worship of one deity, Aton — the Solar Disk — in place of Amon, with the complex system of deities, Amenhotep IV. went north of Thebes and began the construction of a new capital^ which was never completed. Its name signified "The Horizon of the Solar Disk." Within this new capital the new religion was to be firmly established and thence spread throughout the realm. Just what teachings this religion embodied is not now under- stood. While the sun was worshipped in a new form as Aton, this may have been merely symbolic of one God — one Spirit, felt to be one and alone. Acceptance of the Solar Disk religion necessitated an abandoning of all earlier deities, especially the powerful Amon, and his name was commanded to be stricken from all monuments throughout the land.
The result of this religious crusade was a total failure. Amenhotep IV. realized how great was the innovation he sought to make, but he underestimated the strength of the priests of Amon, the treasures of whose temple at Thebes were loaded with
' On the site of the modern Tell el-Amarna, about a hundred and sixty miles south of Cairo, on the east bank of the Nile. Here the famous Tell el-Amarna Letters were discovered in 1887.
H
O
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 69
the spoil of Asia, This "reform" while in line with the the- ology, was utterly at variance with the popular religion of the day. Angered beyond measure by the injury to their faith, the people rose up against the new teaching. The old-time worship was reinstated, the former deities elevated to their former dig- nity, and the Eighteenth dynasty which had begun so auspi- ciously came to an end in confusion and disorder.
Karnak.
The temple of Karnak belongs to both the Eighteenth and Nineteenth dynasties. Thutmose III., Amenhotep II. and Amen- hotep III. each added rooms to the great structure, although it was left for Seti I. to build the crowning Hall of Pillars. Three centuries witnessed its erection and many kings contributed to its greatness. Most famous of all Theban architecture, it is still mighty in its ruins.
Karnak is the name of one of the four districts into which the irregular Nile divided the city of Thebes. From this dis- trict, or ward, the great temple dedicated to Amon — ancient deity of Thebes — took its name.
In some ways, perhaps, the temples of Egypt corresponded to the temples of the Greeks, or even to modern churches, yet there were material differences. Indeed, the similarity is slight. Modern churches are supposedly places of worship ; Greek temples were erected in honor of Greek gods and thither offerings were brought by a trusting people. Egyptian temples were built by rulers in honor of some god whose help and protection they believed had enabled them to put down their enemies and given their country its victories and prosperity. While a temple was erected especially in honor of some par- ticular deity, as Karnak was dedicated to Amon, other deities might have shrines within it. While it did honor to the god whose protection had allowed the ruler to rise triumphantly above all obstacles, yet it was the glory of the king that the temple exalted — his pictures adorned the walls, his deeds were set forth in minute detail, his courage in war and relentless energy in times of peace, — these were carved in stone and written in hieroglyphics until it was difficult to find a section of wall, a column, a stone ceiling unadorned. Hymns of
TO tnt world's progress.
victory were inscribed in the temples ; songs of praise and fill' some flattery not infrequently were composed by the priests. Sometimes the god who presided over the temple seems to have been well nigh lost sight of, yet even so, honor was accorded him, since the king was his representative on earth. Because Karnak received the particular care of many kings, it is one of the most interesting temples to study, apart from its beauty, its stupendous size and proportions.
Lists of dimensions are seldom interesting, and yet, unless we compare the size of Egyptian structures to others known to us, we fail utterly to grasp the tremendous scale on which these people built. We have mentioned the avenue, more than a mile in length, guarded on either side with sphinxes, which connected this temple with one built by Queen Hatshepsut. This avenue led finally to a gateway, flanked on both sides by towers. Either of these towers were themselves spacious enough to have contained a temple. The temple court was enclosed by a wall 25 feet thick and varying from 60 to 100 feet in height. Vast wealth was stored in the temple, and this wall made it possible, in an age before gunpowder, to protect the place from sudden attacks — always possible contingencies. The temple itself was 1,180 feet long and 600 feet wide, and was composed of many rooms and halls built by various kings. We shall give attention to one alone — the famous Hall of Pillars.
Often has it been said that to describe this hall and do it justice exceeds the power of mortals. It is on such a vast scale that modern times have produced no structures with which to compare it.
The Hall of Pillars was originally 329 feet long and 170 feet in width. Through its center were placed two rov^s of columns, six in each row. Excluding pedestal and capital, these measured 60 feet in height and in circumference were so large that should six men stand with arms extended, fingers touching, they could scarcely encompass one. Seven rows of pillars, somewhat smaller, were placed on either side of these ; the ceiling was supported by all these columns and was formed of mammoth blocks of stone. Finally the entire interior was covered with sculptures, paintings, and hieroglyphics — all re- counting the exploits of the king who built the hall. In a similar fashion the entire temple was ornamented.
THE STORY OF EGYPT.
71
King succeeded king and each burned with ambition to exceed the skill of his predecessor. Room after room was added to Karnak and the original plan greatly expanded. Seti I. however built on such a tremendous plan that none other eclipsed him, and the Hall of Pillars remains today a mighty monument to a mighty ruler.
AMMON-RA, THE GREAT GOD OF TEEBBS.
72 THE wori,d's progress.
CHAPTER VIII. The Nineteenth Dynasty/
Before Seti 1., founder of the Nineteenth dynasty, succeeded to the throne, peace and order had been once more restored to Egy^pt. One important change had crept into the military Hfe of the country, which was to lead to trouble later on. Here- tofore, Egypt had depended solely upon her national troops to protect her borders and maintain her position as first among the nations. Now her armies were increased by merce- naries— foreign soldiers hired to do her fighting for her. His- tory has shown that uniformly when a people ceases to depend upon its own citizens for the main strength of its army, taking instead hired soldiers who fight simply for the love of fighting and for gain, serving one cause today and another tomorrow, — whenever a nation has adopted this policy of providing its armed forces, its years of strength are numbered. So it was in Egypt. Troops from Libya, from Nubia and Ethiopia made up her armies. During times of peace they returned to their kindred and gave glowing accounts of the vast wealth of the Nile valley. It came about naturally then, that African, as well as Asiatic, tribes looked with longing eyes upon the coveted country and stood ready at the first sign of internal weakness to revolt and share the spoils. Strong rulers of the Nineteenth dynasty held their possessions intact, and foreign nations bided the time when the first sign of weakness should be the signal for action.
The immediate successor of Thutmose III. had little trouble in keeping Syria in subjection. Taxes regularly reached Thebes. During the reigns of the Amenhoteps, III. and IV., the Hittites began pushing south from Asia Minor and organizing the revolt against Egypt. Upon ascending the throne Seti I. found it expedient to push into western Asia and quell a vigorous upris- ing. He was one of Egypt's most capable and farsighted kings, and being as well a fearless warrior, he carried all before him. He struck terror to the hearts of his enemies and returned home
'1350-1205 B. c
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 73
to find the Libyans threatening his western borders. After defeating their chiefs with great slaughter, Seti I. received r, large number of their soldiers into his army as mercenaries. This did very well for the time, but before four hundred vears had passed, their chiefs had become powerful enough to snatch the throne of Egypt from its rightful claimants.
Like most Egyptian rulers, Seti L was a builder. From earliest years in Egypt, imposing structures had supplied surest means by which a monarch could leave evidences of his power. The position of chief architect to the king had been filled by princes, who held it as a post of honor. Often the king's sons planned temples for the king's construction, and not in- irequently gave personal supervision to their erection.
During the last period of civil disorder, many public monuments and temples had fallen into decay. These Seti L caused to be restored. He invariably adhered to the original ideas of the builder, adding but an inscription to show that by him they were restored. In this respect his course differed widely from that of many of the Egyptian kings, notably Ramses IL, who boldly appropriated scores of temples and monuments, substituting his name for that of the original builder. Frequently his workmen did their task so badly that the first name has been deciphered. In other cases, the true builder of the temple is now uncertain.
It was this king who erected the Hall of Pillars, of which we have just learned. While temples were erected and restored throughout the land, much of his attention was directed to Thebes — the great and splendid city so long the capital of Egypt.
Thebes was built on the east side of the river. On this side dwelt the pharaohs, the wealthy, and the poor. Here too were the shops, the places of business and amusement. In fact, all the interests of living, pulsing Thebes were centered nere, Ovt this side also, in the district of Karnak, was the great temple of Amon. South of it rose the palace of the king ; around this were mansions of the wealthy, while in the narrow streets reaching into the desert lived those of moderate and limited means. South of Karnak lay the district of Luxor, and along the river between these two districts stood the mud huts of the poor.
74 THE world's progress.
Crossing the Nile to the western bank, one came into radically different surroundings. Here lay the City of the Dead. This was quite unlike any cemetery of modern times. Here were temples, tombs of kings and queens, tombs of the wealthy and the prosperous citizens, and the symbolic lake of the dead. Here were the unpretentious tombs of the masses. Nor was this all. We have seen that the Egyptian felt it neces- sary to supply his dead with all the necessities of life, such as food, furniture, and ornaments. Here, then, were the shops where such things might be obtained. Here were the embalm- ers, the makers of linen used by them ; here lived the priests who said prayers over each finger and toe of the deceased and made the body ready for its everlasting home. On the west bank of the river lay a city in itself very different from the living one across the water. Funeral processions constantly wended their way to this City of the Dead ; wails and lamenta- tions often mingled in the air with songs of the priests at their devotions. At sunset the gates admitting to this portion of Thebes were locked and guarded against bands of robbers who laid in wait for the riches enclosed in the tombs. The tombs reached out to the rocky range of hills on the west and were with difficulty protected.
Ancient Thebes extended some miles in each direction and covered considerable territory. Little today remains to mark its early splendor. The ruins at Karnak, the ancient mounds of Luxor, topped by a squalid Arab village, some tombs opened, some still hidden by the sands, are left. Much excavating has been done in this so-called "Valley of the Kings." Strabo and other early writers left some description of the original city, but aside from such records, little is left today to indi- cate the glories of that Thebes which was for hundreds of years the pride of Egyptian kings.
Ramses.
Set! L was followed by his son, the famous Ramses H.. or Ramses the Great. Recent historians claim that this king has been given undue prominence, and that he was outranked by several Egyptian monarchs, including his own father.
THE STORY 01^ EGYPT, 75
While this is probably true, it would seem that this pharaoh was as popular as any king who ruled in Egypt. He was young and handsome when he ascended the throne, and possessed a power of winning people to himself. That he was filled with self-pride, no one can deny. He attached his name, as we have seen, to every temple and monument where it was possible, and scattered statues of himself broadcast. Yet the only poem that suggests the epic in all Egyptian literature is the one known as " Pentuar's Poem," in which his bravery at the battle of Kadesh was sung.
Ramses had penetrated into Asia to bring the revolting tribes back to submission. During this particular battle, he became separated from his body guard and suddenly found himself facing 2,500 charioteers alone. His personal bravery on that occasion was splendid ; his soldiers pressed on to him quickly, but his daring was seen by them and greatly admired. The poem of Pentuar was written to celebrate the king's cour- age in this crisis.
Pentuar's Poem.*
" Then the King stood forth, and, radiant with courage, He looked like the Sun-god armed and eager for battle. The noble steeds that bore him into the struggle —
* Victory to Thebes ' was the name of one, and the other Was called ' contented Nura' — were foaled in the stables Of him we call ' the elect,' ' the beloved of Amon,'
* Lord of truth,' the chosen vicar of Ra.
Up sprang the king and threw himself on the foe.
The swaying ranks of the contemptible Cheta.
He stood alone — alone, and no man with him.
As thus the king stood forth all eyes were upon him.
And soon he was enmeshed by men and horses.
And by the enemy's chariots, two thousand five hundred,
The foe behind hemmed him in, and enclosed him.
Dense the array of the contemptible Cheta,
Dense the swarm of warriors out of Arad,
Dense the Mysian host, the Pisidian legions.
^Records of the Past, ed. Dr. Burch. The author is unknown, but the poem is known by the name of a scribe who once copied the pro- ductiOQ.
76 THt wori,d's progress.
Every chariot carried three bold warriors. All his foes, and all allied like brothers.
" 'Not a prince is with me, not a captain, Not an archer, none to guide my horses I Fled the riders ! fled my troops and horse — By my side not one is now left standing.' ' Great father Amon, I have known thee well, And can the father thus forget his son ? Have I in anj deed forgotten Thee ? Have I done aught without Thy high behest, Or moved or staid against Thy sovereign will ? Great am I — mighty are the Egyptian kings — But in the sight of Thy commanding might. Small as the chieftain of a wandering tribe. Immortal Lord, crush Thou this unclean people ; Break Thou their necks, annihilate the heathen. And I — have I not brought Thee many victims. And filled Thy temple with the captive folk ? And for Thy presence built a dwelling place That shall endure for countless years to come ? Thy garners overflow with gifts from me.
" T offer Thee the world to swell Thy glory. And thirty thousand mighty steers have shed Their smoking blood on fragrant cedar piles. Tall gateways, flag-decked masts, I raised to Thee, And obelisks from Abu I have brought, And built Thee temples of eternal stone. For Thee my ships have brought across the sea The tribute of the nations. This I did — When were such things done in former time ? For dark the fate of him who would rebel Against Thee ; though Thy sway is just and mild. My father, Amon — as an earthly son His earthly father — so I call on Thee. Look down from heaven on me, beset by foes. By heathen foes, the folk that know Thee not. The nations have combined agfainst Thy son ; I stand alone — ^alone, and no man with me.
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 77
My foot and horse are fled, I called aloud
And no one heard — in vain I called to them.
And yet I say : the sheltering care of Amon
Is better succor than a million men,
Or than ten thousand knights, or than a thousand
Brothers and sons though gathered into one.
And yet I say : the bulwarks raised by men
However strong, compared to Thy great works
Are but vain shadows, and no human aid
Avails against the foe — but thy strong hand.
The counsel of Thy lips shall guide my way;
I have obeyed whenever Thou hast ruled ;
I call on Thee — and, with my fame. Thy glory ♦
Shall fill the world, from farthest east to west.'
" Yea, his cry rang forth even far as Hermonthis, And Amon himself appeared at his call ; and gave him His hand and shouted in triumph, saying to the pharaoh ' Help is at hand, O Rameses. I will uphold thee — I thy father am he who now is thy succor. Bearing thee in my hands. For stronger and readier I than a hundred thousand mortal retainers ; I am the Lord of victory loving valor. I rejoice in the brave and give them good counsel. And he whom I counsel certainly shall not miscarry.*
" Then like Menth, with his right he scattered the arrows, And with his left he swung his deadly weapon. Felling the foe — as his foes are felled by Baal. The chariots were broken and the drivers scattered, Then was the foe overthrown before his horses. None found a hand to fight ; they could not shoot, Nor dared they hurl the spear, but fled at his coming — Headlong into the river."
Having quelled the disturbances incident to his accession — for a change of rulers was generally the occasion for tribes held in tribute to seek their freedom — Ramses was free to devote the remainder of his reign, some forty years, to internal improvements. New cities, embankments, fortresses, statues,
78 THE WORLDS PROGRESS.
obelisks and temples absorbed his untiring interest. He seems to have been especially fond of grotto temples, — ^those hewn out of rocky hills or mountain sides. Most beautiful of these was the temple of Abu Simbel, guarded by four famous statues of this king. They stand today much as they stood three thousand years ago. One who has gazed upon the UU' altering expression of these sentinels says of them : " The artists who wrought the statues were . . . daunted by no difficulties of scale. Giants themselves, they summoned these giants from out the solid rock and endowed them with super- human strength and beauty. They sought no quarried blocks of syenite or granite for their work. They fashioned no models of clay. They took a mountain and fell upon it like Titans and hollowed and carved it as though it were a cherry stone ; and left it for the feebler men of after ages to marvel at for- ever. One great hall and fifteen spacious chambers they hewed out from the heart of it, then smoothed the rugged precipice toward the river, and cut four huge statues with their faces to the sunrise, two to the right and two to the left of the door- way, there to keep watch to the end of time.
" These tremendous warders sit sixty-six feet high, without the platform under their feet. They measure across the chest twenty-five feet and four inches. ... If they stood up, they would tower to a height of at least eighty-three feet, from the soles of their feet to the tops of their enormous double-crowns.'"
To estimate the cost of all those tremendous undertakings in buman life would be impossible. It is believed by some that Ramses II. was the pharaoh of the oppression of the Hebrews. However, during his administration they were well fed and while their tasks were hard, they were not harder than those of other workmen similarly employed. It was left for his son and successor to make their lot so grievous that a deliverer was raised up to lead them out of bondage.
Regard for human life, compassion for the lowly, and the spirit of humanity were qualities almost unknown in antiquity. The importance of the individual has only in modern times come to be acknowledged. At the period of which we are studying, there was no restraint upon the will of the sovereign. » Edwards : A Thousand Miles Up the Nile, 262
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 79
To satisfy his ambition and to gratify his pride, hundreds of thousands of slaves, captives, and impressed citizens were con- tinually sacrificed. Some were driven to the mines : others were harnessed to huge blocks of stone to draw them from the quarry mountain to the building site ; some were set to work in the brick fields, and over all were placed overseers to goad the workers on, giving little rest or respite.
Regarding the Hebrews, it must be remembered that before the Nineteenth dynasty, they prospered in the land of Egypt. A new king who " knew not Joseph " looked with disfavor upon these foreign people waxing strong w'ithin his borders. Feeling that they might become a menace to the country, he determined to exterminate them by dint of excessive work. One of the " store-cities " built by them under these circum- stances has been unearthed. It was surrounded by a wall thirty feet thick, which enclosed about twelve acres. Besides a temple, the enclosure contained subterranean cellars built of sun-dried brick. The bricks themselves confirm the biblical version of the story. While some are mixed with straw, as was customary, others were mixed with leaves and reeds — indicating that straw was no longer supplied. Still others were made simply of sun-dried mud.
Ramses 11. so covered the land with his works and monu- ments of his greatness, that his personality has stamped itself everywhere.
It caught the attention of early writers and has ever since impressed itself upon the traveller, so that this king has been exalted to a prominent place in Egyptian history. Best known of Egypt's kings, for that reason, possibly, he has been most popular.
At length Merneptah ruled in his father's stead. Eew qualities did he possess to awaken admiration. When his armies were forced to face an invasion of African tribes, reinforced by mercenary troops, he remained in camp while his soldiers won victory for him. The god Ptah, so he explained, had com- manded him to stay inside. This did not deter him from taking full credit for the successes. Upon his monuments were inscribed records similar to this : "These people were meditat- ing to do evil to Egypt. They w^ere as grasshoppers. Lo, I vanquished them ; I slaughtered them, making a spoil of their country."
8o THE world's progress.
It is supposed that at this time Moses came to the relief of Israel, and asked permission for his people to withdraw a few- days into the desert to ofifer sacrifices to their God. This was the cccasi(n for the king both to deny the request and tc double the tasks meted out to the brickmakers by withholding straw and requiring the same amount of work to be accom- plished as before. Then, according to the Hebrew version, grievous plagues were sent upon Egypt, and only when the king's son, with the other first born, was stricken in the night, did the monarch concede to the entreaties of his own people and bid the Hebrews depart from his land. The story is fa- miliar to all — how when he came to think of the six hundred thousand valued bonds-people of which he was now bereft, he dispatched the flower of Egyptian charioteers to prevent the Hebrews crossing the Red Sea and bring them back to do his bidding. To these despairing people to whom light seemed about to dawn, the fact that they were able to cross over while the Egyptian horses were ensnared and drowned, seemed a miracle enacted for their deliverance. It has since been noted that similar tidal action at this point has sometimes repeated itself. To the Hebrews, believing firmly in the in- spired mission of Moses, it was regarded later as an example of how for the dutiful " all things work together for good."
Twentieth Dynasty.^
Ramses III. was the first important ruler of the Twentieth dynasty. He and his immediate successors were able to hold intact the vast empire won by earlier kings. We hear no more of aggressive wars for conquest. However, the time had come when Egypt did well when she maintained such territories as belonged to her.
Men of Crete, other islanders and sea-faring people, made common cause against the Asiatic shore early in this reign. Ramses watched their progress until they attacked the Egyp- tian province of Palestine. Not willing to lose this, the pharaoh marched against the plundering bands and utterly routed them, taking many captives. Three other campaigns were directed by this king, but they were carried on to defend Egyptian bor- ders and hold together tributary provinces.
Like his father, Ramses III. was a builder. Like him, too, * 1200-1090 B. c
THE STORY OF EGYPT. 8l
he appropriated earlier temples and monuments for his own fame and glory. He built a fleet on the Red Sea, continued the profitable commercial intercourse with Punt, and caused a large reservoir to be constructed in Palestine. Another thing he did, which all histories have been careful to chronicle: he ordered trees and shrubs to be systematically planted throughout the realm. In a land where for months together the sun pours its hot rays down on a defenseless people, he tried to bring rest and cooling shade where both were sorely needed.
We have often noted the growing power of the priesthood in Egypt, and have seen that a large amount of the booty and tribute which flowed into the country from Asia found its way to the temples. An inventory of the resources of the temples during this reign has come down to us in a statement prepared by Ramses III., known now as the Papyrus Harris. From this it appears that the temples owned 107,000 slaves — or 2 per cent of the entire population ; they possessed 750,000 acres, or over 15 per cent of all the arable land in the valley. Gome 500,000 head of cattle, over 80 vessels, 53 workshops and ship- yards, brought an annual income; and 169 towns in Egypt Kush and Syria were theirs. All this property in a land of less than 10,000 square miles and possibly 6,000,000 people, was exempt from taxation.
The lion's share of all this wealth fell to the temples sacred to Amon. The priests of Amon had charge of it, and as time went on, they came to be regarded as superior to other priestly orders and their High Priest became the head of all priest- hoods in the realm. Of all the temple estates, Amon owned two-thirds. In slaves, this god owned seven times as many as any other; of the cattle, more than four-fifths; of the ships, all but five; of the workshops, forty-six of the fifty-three were his. Regarding Amon's coffers, Ramses had inscribed : " I have filled its treasury with the products of the land of Egypt : gold, silver, every costly stone by the hundred thousand. Its granary was overflowing with barley and wheat ; its lands, its herds, their multitudes were like the sands of the shore. I taxed for it the Southland as well as the Northland ; Nubia and Syria came to it, bearing their impost."'
» Breasted: History of Egypt, 493; trans.
82 THE world's PROGREJS.
In showering all these princely gifts upon Amon, Ramses was but following the example set by his forefathers. The kings themselves held the priests somewhat in fear, believing that they had influence with the gods and could indirectly in- fluence not only their earthly prosperity but their future wel- fare.
While this lavish wealth overflowed the coffers of the temples, we find the workmen in the service of the government, laboring in the City of the Dead — the Necropolis — having to resort to strikes, or in older phraseology, " having to lie at home," because their monthly rations were not forthcoming. The revenue of the government had, apparently, become the spoils for corrupt officials who sought to increase their personal incomes at the expense of the public treisury. Repeatedly starving laborers left their work and started with their families to leave Thebes, whereupon part of their rations would be given them and they would be urged to cont-'nue at their tasks ! Nor was this all. Records have come down to us of bands oi robbers who made a profession of rifling tombs of the dead. Worse still, cases for trial were frequently dismissed because officials themselves and priests of lesser position were sharing in the booty! Some of the Ramessides removed their an- cestors from the original tombs and had all placed in a shaft where guards could keep watch over them. It was next to impossible to protect <^he wide-reaching City of tlie Dead, but it was worse than useless to attempt such a thing when those sup- posed to lend protetticn were themselves participating in the robberies.
After the death of Ramses III., his descendants to the number of ten succeeded him. Then the High Priest of Amon snatched the power from Ramses XIIL, taking the title of king as well as the authority which he already held. For some time the kings had been practically subservient to him. For almost a hunderd and fifty years priests ruled in Egypt.* Under priestly rule the government was quite as corrupt as it had been previously. Discontent on the part of the workmen, bold rob- beries of tombs, were the order of the day. First Libyan, then Ethiopian chiefs gained possession of the throne. The country fell apart ; the days of Egypt's glory were gone.
From this time forward her political power was at an end.
^ * Twenty-first Dynasty, 1090-945 b. c
THE