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Egypt (Steven U 2:30)
For more information about the grading criteria and details of each section, see the cultures of fall 2010 page.
Environment Egypt has always had a very diverse environment. The flora and fauna is different from the majority of Africa because it contains both desert and river. Landscape and natural disasters have helped shape the Egyptian terrain. Also, Egypt has a very unique climate especially before 1450 ac. Part of the 6741km’s of the Nile River flows through Egypt, with its delta in Lower Egypt. The black land is fertile land on the banks of the Nile. It gets its name form the black silt that’s deposited every year after it floods. The floods, which usually occur from June or October, are small changes in water levels, causing the river to flood. These annual floods provide the earth with enough nutrients to sustain crops. The Nile valley is surrounded by desert to the South, East, and West. The desert, or red land, was more the 90% of Egypt. It contains the Libyan Desert, Sahara Desert, and part of the Arabian Desert. A section of the Libyan Desert is known as the Quttarah Depression, which is 133km below sea level. The Nile River gave home to many different plants and animals. Some of the flowers present in Egypt in 1450ac were hollyhock, henna bush, safflower, and delphinium. Papyrus grew on the banks on the river and both blue and white lotus, water lilies, bloomed in the water of the Nile. Many aquatic birds and animals would have fished in the Nile as well. Goose, crane, heron, carp, catfish, perch, crocodiles, hippos and some cattle would have either lived in or eaten from the river. The falcon was important to the Egyptians and the Saqqara is a site of catacombs for mummified falcons. The poorer inhabitants would have eaten fish rather then meats such as sheep, pigs, and cattle. The deserts were home to many different animals. Bees, locusts, centipedes, scorpions, lions, cheetahs, antelope, wild bulls, hyenas, jackals, snakes, desert hares, and frogs were all numerous within the Egyptian deserts. Located on the far North East corner of Africa, Egypt is very hot and very dry. In the winter, it averages to be about 140C and in the summer 300C with as high as 77% humidity, but it is predicted that it was about 4.30C cooler in 1400ac. Hot spring winds would, and still do, bow across Egypt in April and sometimes all the way into May. These small winds, known to the Egyptians as Khamsin, are sandstorms that blow dust and sand all across the Northern coast of Africa.
Language Language in Egypt before 1450 From about 3100bc to about 300ad in Egypt, the language or means of communication was used through hieroglyphs; later found out to be more of a decorative or monumental purpose. With the use of hieroglyphics, Coptic Egyptian was spoken and written until about the seventh century, which used the Greek alphabet with a few more characters as seen in the hieroglyphs. Once the Arab rulers started to take over Egypt, Arabic became the main language used and during the time of 1450. From the Arabic take over around the 7th century, Coptic Egyptian was still used especially for religious purposes, but by the 12th century Arabic was the widely spread language of Egypt. Thinking of the time of 1450, Arabic had been the language for a few centuries as everyone became accustomed to it. The Arabic language is of the Hamito-Semitic family originating around the Arab peninsula. Most Arabic words consist of three consonants containing a root idea added with vowels and suffixes. For instance, the word Muslim, s-l-m is the root of the word where Muslim means “a believer in Islam (Abington: Helicon, 2009).” There are no true tenses in the Arabic language and most of the nouns are irregular. During the 5th century in Arabia, the languages’ alphabet was formed. This language is quite different from reading than speaking it, so it is kind of difficult for some to read. Especially the Koran, which is the holy book of Muslims, is written in ancient Arabic, which no one speaks anymore, but can read. Since Arabic was brought to the country of Egypt, there are many different dialects according to location. North Delta Arabic, South Central Delta Arabic and Cairo are the different dialects, but Cairo is the most widely used. As Egypt is in Africa, there are many languages spoken, so a person from not too far away would not understand the Egyptian Arabic language or even different dialects differ a lot. Dynasties ruled Egypt for centuries upon centuries, so usually a person of a “higher class” would not speak to one of a lower class or vice-versa. Pharaohs had all control and say in Egypt. Communication technologies were used more back in ancient Egypt with hieroglyphics scribed by priests of the time. During the 14th century, not too many communication technologies were used. During the Mamluk dynasty, a type of literature that today would be considered popular entertainment, much of recitations of poetry, helps us understand what was going on in people’s life during this dynasty. An example is by, Al-Maqrizi (d.1442) was a jurist and disappointed civil servant who frequently poured vitriol and criticism on the ruling Mamluk elite in his many works (Encyclopedia of African History, 2004). Arabic has evolved into a very wide-spread language spoken by hundreds of millions today.
Greetings
Hello: as-salam alaykum
Hello (response): wa alaykum e-salam
Goodbye (person leaving): ma'a salama
Good morning: sabaH ala-kheir
Good night: tisbaH ala-kheir
Media/Technology
Media
Egyptian Media was not very complex. According to Parkinson and Quirke the Egyptians first started using hieroglyphics around 2000 B.C. and continued using it until around 400 A.D. Hieroglyphics was a pictograph method of writing (Parkinson and Quirke 18). It used a symbol to express a sound, a letter, or possibly even a phrase. Hieroglyphics are still being debated today on what the meaning is of every symbol. The most common place to find examples of hieroglyphics is on the walls of the pyramids. They would inscribe messages on the walls to tell stories of their fallen king, give directions of the pyramid, even give fake directions to help keep the riches inside from being stolen from grave robbers. They Egyptians also invented a type of paper called papyrus, it was made out of a reef that grew next to Nile River beads. The Egyptians first invented papyrus around 4000 B.C. and they continued using it until around the 11th century (Parkinson and Quirke 9). The Egyptians also developed a printing press around the 11th century but really only used it for stamping symbols onto relics and cloth items rather than producing books.
Technology
The Egyptians created a wide variety of inventions. Many of them were invented in ancient Egypt and were still practiced up to the 14th century. Some of their Military inventions was the Khopesh and the Egyptian Short Horn Bow. The Khopesh was not the primary weapon of choice for combat, the spear was always the most revered. However the Khopesh was used for 2000 years of Egyptian combat (Shaw 52). The Khopesh is a sword with a curved blade for slashing attacks, highly effective in battle because chain mail has yet to be invented. The Horn Bow was one of the first bows ever created and was first assembled in 2000 B.C. It was created from a piece of wood with two antelope horns glued around it. It was extremely effective in combat and led to the invention of the Egyptian chariot . Egyptians valued their horses so rather than taking them and ramming them into the front lines they put chariots on the back of them and hauled archers around. The archers would sit on the back and pick off enemies at close ranges to help advance the line forward (Shaw 78). Another influential invention the Egyptian’s created was the sail. The Nile’s flow went down stream, while the wind went upstream making travel on the Nile difficult. So the Egyptians created sails so they could lower them to float down the Nile and then raise them up to sail up the river. The first sails were just leaves strung together to get some push from the wind, but eventually turned into reeds latched together to create a sail that would effectively trap the wind in it. A huge invention the Egyptians created was irrigation. They started using methods of irrigation around 2000 B.C. and are still used all around the world to this day (Mays 4). Their early methods of irrigation were terrible. Their irrigation system was based on a series of dykes. These dykes were completely dependent on the Nile, so if the Nile was dry than the dykes were dry so the crops didn’t receive water. If it rained too hard the dykes would over flow causing mass flooding killing their crops and people as well.
Education/Child-rearing Children in Egypt stayed with their mothers until the age of four, during those years they gained a great respect for their mothers. Boys then started to learn from their fathers, sons followed in the same trade that their fathers practiced. Parents familiarized their children with their ideas about the world with their ethical principles and religious outlook. Schools taught reading, math, writing, history, science, as well as morals and manners. Also “The Book of Instruction” contained the elements of mortality such as wisdom, justice, obedience, restraint, and humanity. At the age of fourteen farmers sons quit school to help their fathers, and kids with parents of a higher status stayed in school to further their education. In the higher level of education children learned “Instruction of Wisdom” which is lessons on ethics and morality. It also focused on skills needed for higher status jobs like doctors or scribes. There are not very many careers for women; they were trained for motherhood, and how to be a good wife. Most girls were trained at home by their mothers. Some girls could train to be bakers, entertainers, or dancers. Only wealthy noble’s daughters received education in writing and reading. Boys learned what they needed to know to succeed from their fathers, and girls learned what they needed to know to succeed from their mothers. Egyptian families were very loving. Children were seen as blessings and parents were proud and generous to them. Even poor families welcomed all the children they had to their family. The number of children born was high, the average was four to six per family but some had ten to fifteen kids. Soon after a child was born, it received a name, its horoscope cast, and had the birth recorded in a local registry. The mother was the one to take care of the children until they grew older. Children had to be independent and take care of themselves but also needed to learn and listen to their parents. Until the infant was three it was carried around by the mother in a sling hung around her neck and showed her devoted care. Babies were sometimes named in honor of one of the many ancient Egyptian gods. Many were named after the pharaoh who was ruling at the time. Children had toys and played games a bit like the ones we play today. Babies had rattles that calmed them, older kids played games with balls made of leather or wood. Girls played with rag dolls or wooden dolls, boys battled with toy weapons; also they played games to challenge their strength. Boys would run obstacle races, wrestled, and girls wrestled too but loved to dance. Children wore their hair in a long braid on the right side of their heads, “a sidelock of youth.”It was cut off when they turned ten years old, and had to put their toys away to begin training for adult life. Girls were regarded as being less important than boys. When the parents got older the children looked after their parents as a turn of respect. Families were close and would do anything to keep their family members safe.
GENDER
Gender is an extremely crucial component of culture as well as easily overlooked. Some people think that sex and gender are synonyms, however that is not the case. Gender is thought to develop through the reflexive processes of learning, occurring within social and cultural interactions. Gender is defined as the social, cultural, and psychological dimensions of being male or female according to John Santrock. (2007:171) An individual must understand what gender is before researching gender characteristics and roles throughout the world. I hope to provide you with an overview of gender. In Egypt men and women were considered different, but for the most part had equal rights. Watterson gathered from her research that in Ancient Egyptian society a woman was accorded legal rights equal to those of a man from the same social class and had the same expectation of life after death. (1998:1) Legal rights were based upon social class not gender. So in theory women and men were equal if belonging to the same social class. Men were generally literate, which made it difficult for illiterate women to be seen on the same playing field. Egypt’s society was typically male-dominated. Men hunted animals such as antelope, hares, and lions. The father was solely responsible for his families’ economic well-being. Upper-class men often became scribes or priests. Lower-class men were often farmers, hunters, potters, or craftsmen. Men were mainly responsible for anything and everything that was located outside the domestic sphere including public affairs. Those jobs would most likely have
consisted of: producing food, craftsman, potter, artist, administration of institutions of the state & temple, defense of the state, history recorder (scribe), carpenter, etc. On the other hand, women took care of the daily basic needs of their family. The roles of women basically were located solely within the domestic sphere. The four jobs on the right are jobs for those women that by chance worked outside the domestic sphere. Women typically were expected to cook food, bear and rear children, care for the sick, and produce clothing. If women by chance worked outside the domestic sphere they generally took on the role of a songstress, weaver, prostitute, maid, servant, etc. When it came to power various genders held power. Political power was entrusted to the men of Egypt. Spiritual power belonged mostly to the men in Egypt. Domestic power generally fell in the hands of women, being how that is where they spent the majority of their time. It was suitable for men to get married between the ages of 16 to 20, because they had to become established and be able to support a family. Generally women were younger than 20 when they got married. No records of marriages taking place within temples or government buildings, but celebrations were held with such unions. The King was the only one who did not practice monogamy. It was purely a social arrangement that regulated property. Once a couple started living together, they were acknowledged as being married. The prime purpose was to establish a family. Women gained respect from society and approval from their husbands when they became pregnant. A fertile woman was a successful one. Sexuality was deemed important because of its association with birth and fertility. Parents were considered as the source of life for the children.
Subsistence Much of the subsistence in Egypt during 1450 AD were based off of the patterns formed in Ancient Egypt but were also influenced by the Arab and Mamluk cultures as well. Based on the geography of Egypt, much of the agriculture and crops were centered around the Nile River as the provider for the irrigation of water. Egypt is rich in agriculture because of the very fertile black land and the Nile river. The Egyptians would build a “network of canals [carrying] water to the fields, and dike systems held the river at bay [to reclaim] thousands of arable acres” (Casson 1965: 12). Agriculture along the Nile consisted of “three seasons: the flood, the growing period, and the harvest” (Walker 2003: 26). Egypt has a long history filled with famine and droughts when the natural flooding of the Nile did not occur to its normal capacity. The Nile would flood between June and October leaving a fertile silt which was optimal for agriculture crops to grow and mature and enough time for the Egyptians to harvest before the next flood. The oldest and most native crops and livestock including a variety of grains, sheep, swine, castor oil, grapes, onions, melons, cucumbers, sesame, flax, dates, cattle, goats, bees, geese, tea, lentils, and papyrus which were traded regularly through the “Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean” (Casson 1965:13). Egyptians would process their harvest by making bread or beer from wheat and grains, wine from grapes and linen from flax (Walker 2003:27). Animal byproducts such as milk, cheeses, butter and yogurt were also a source of nutrition. The traditional Egyptian diet is based heavily on grains and breads and vegetables. Most of the protein in Egyptian diets comes from grains, beans, and lentils; animal-based proteins being an occasional and luxury item for those who can afford it because of its higher prices. Because Egyptians are a sedentary culture, farmers invested in their crops and fields by working the land with “simple tools” to help them “labor unceasingly” (Casson 1965:40). Tools similar to hoes, plows, and sickles helped farmers plant the seeds, “dig and shore up irrigation ditches after the harvest”, and to cut the crops for the harvest (Casson 1965:40). Crops would be harvested in springtime; some crops were harvested twice a year. Family was utilized for farm labor; despite women’s gender roles being more domestically centered, they also helped as field hands. Although the majority of the Egyptian diet is plant based, they would fish along the coast and they raised livestock inland. Because of Egypt’s rich subsistence on the fertile black land, Egypt was a “main source for feeding the peoples of the Mediterranean region, which made it a target for invaders” (www.eternalegypt.org: Agriculture). The influence of the Arabic and Mamluk cultures “introduced new crops” including rice, coffee, and sugarcane (www.eternalegypt.org: Agriculture). The Muslims ¨reared the finest horses and sheep¨to cultivate ¨orchards and vegetable gardens¨ (FSTC Research Team 2010: The Agricultural Revolution). Muslims also enhanced the irrigation systems while introducing crop rotation; ¨fields that had been yielding one crop annually¨ were now ¨capable of yielding three or more crops¨ in rotation (FSTC Research Team 2010: The Agricultural Revolution). Tea and coffee are important parts of the Egyptian culture because they are very hospitality oriented. Food is used in more social and community conditions.The Islamic influence on Egypt, starting in the 7th century, made pork less of a common food item, since pork is not part of the Islamic diet. According to Islamic beliefs, Muslims also put limitations on the consumption of meat that was not slaughtered in the name of Allah or that has been killed inhumanely. Muslims also prohibit alcohol from their diets.
Exchange
Family Life Family life in Egypt was a very common thing but started very early. The average age of marriage was about 20 years old. A man is known to address his wife as “sister,” and a woman is known to address her husband as “brother. Marriage is very seldom when mentioned. It is clear that the essence of a ceremony is a girl’s removal with her dowry from her father’s house to that of her future husband. (Casson: 50). Ceremonies were not common but there were large celebrations that took place for weddings. An important thing to keep in mind about this time was that Men and Women were created equal. They were completely looked on upon as equal, they all just had different duties. Egypt had a passion for writing, therefore on marriage, husband and wife had to appear before an official who took their names and registered the details of the marriage settlement. It is common to marry young and have a lot of children. The cost of children was close to nothing due to naked and barefoot, boys wore a necklace and girls and comb and girdle, and could all feed for practically nothing on papyrus shoots and raw or boiled roots.(Sayed: 43).
Most people wanted a son. It was a son’s duty to keep his father’s name. Born on the fourth day of the first month…outlive your family. Ninth day of the second month…die of old age. Born on the 20th day of the same month…die widely respected Fourth, fifth, and sixth days of the month…involving death respectively from fever, love, and drink. Some houses had walls of Nile mud instead of pillars. If you lived in a house of a citizen, you had narrow streets and consists of a small court with a few rooms and a flight of steps leading to the roof. The houses of the rich were big will pillars, but were not known to have great decorating. All in all, the children were to look after their parents when they got older and the kids were known as treasures.When parents died, the sons inherited the land and the daughters inherited the household items.(Kelly:253).
Society
Politics The Modern day Egypt land mass in 1450 A.D. was part of the Mamluk Empire, this Empire spanned from Lebanon to Libya (west of Egypt). But more specifically, Egypt held a great role with the Burji Mamluks, the Burjis’ ruled Egypt during our time (Kennedy 2001) . The empire was one of the largest Muslim states in history. It was a Sultanate type government, meaning that it was ruled by one man like a Kingdom. The Mamluks came to power because of war and conquering leaving quite a bit of power in the Generals, who made the list of sultans so long because they would murder to assume power.
The capital of the Mamluk Empire was located in the north at Damascus. But for our time it was Cario. The Sultan during our era was Quaitbay(1468-1496 A.D., one of the longest rulers), he was born a Circassian but assumed power by a series of dethronings (Ayalon 1979). Strangely enough Quaitbay was bought as a slave by a previous sultan, Jaqmaq (who actually reigned from 1438-1453 AD, but there is no information I could find). This is how he came into the sultan line (kind of like a blood line the future list of kings). The sultan would be the main authority in the country much like a king would do. So simply speaking the political ideas were that of a kingdom, but an Islam version. The laws of the land were those put forth by the Quran and the court was the Sharia. I won’t explain those because they are described in the Religion/Beliefs section. The Mamluks had quite a lot of interaction with other Empires. They conquered the Ayyubid Army, the Mongols, and the Crusaders. Egypt was The Mamluks hold great political importance because of how they assumed power because they were only an army but grew strong and lasted an extraordinary long time for what they were. They were extremely skilled horsemen trained from birth. The only time they had an Empire was from the 13th century to the 16th century (in Egypt).
Kennedy, Hugh N. The Historiography of Islamic Egypt (C. 950-1800). Brill Academic Publishers, 2001. print
Robert Irwin, The Middle East in the Middle Ages, 1986 19-21. print
R. Amitai-Preiss: Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War 1260-1281. Cambridge, 1995. print
D. Ayalon: The Mamluk Military Society. London, 1979. print
Religion Around the year 1450 B.C. the Mamluks, who were of the Islamic belief controlled Egypt. Islam was the main religion among Egyptians at the time (Frazee 1997: 422). Islam is a monotheist religion and means “submission to the will of God.” Those of Islamic faith were called Muslims (Asante 2002: 68). The beliefs of Islam are written in the scripture called the Quran written by the prophet Muhammed. What is written in the scriptures were the words from the angel Gabriel that told Muhammed how Allah wished for the people to live. The book had a series of ethic lessons that showed Muslims how they were suppose to act. Muslims were forbidden from gambling, drinking, eating pork or showing displays of the Prophet. These restrictions were meant to keep Muslim morals in balance. The Sharia was the law based on the lessons given by Muhammad. Muslims believed that it described every part of life. It was used as a guide when resolving criminal and commercial crimes (Asante 2002: 72). In Islam there is a set of conditions called the Five Pillars of Faith that Islam followers were expected to follow. The first pillar decreed a Muslim must believe that Allah, God, is the only god and Muhammad is the prophet. The next pillar said that one has to pray five different times a day during the sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night. In the third pillar it was said that in the month of Ramadan one was to fast. The fourth pillar stated that one must make a pilgrimage, called hajj, to Mecca in their life. The pilgrimage was not an absolute a necessity, but by making the pilgrimage one would gain prestige. In the fifth pillar followers are told to give to the poor (Asante 2002: 69). In the Islam religion there were educated religious leaders, called ulama, who were in charge of prayers in mosques, preaching sermons on Friday, mediating domestic disputes, and teaching the lessons of Islam to children. Many of the schools within Cairo would teach Muslim boys how to become an ulama (Goldschmidt 2008: 52). Many Muslims saw the mosque as being to ceremonious and distracting to the connection with Allah, so sufi, mystic orders, were created (Asante 2002: 71). These sufi would coordinate activities that men or women Muslims could participate in to show their devotion to Allah. Some activities that might have been held could be chanting, dancing, recognizing births or deaths of religious leaders, exorcisms, fasting, and vigils (Goldschmidt 2008: 53). If a Muslim felt that they were going to die they would say a prayer for themselves, and soldiers or desert travelers carried grave-linens with them in case they passed on during their travels. Most funeral customs were the same for men and women. Upon the chance that someone took ill or became close to death an attendant would stay with them and turn the person towards Mecca and shut their eyes. Immediately following death a Muslim would be discarded of their clothes and put into a suit, laid upon a mattress and covered with a sheet. Common grave-clothes had the color white or green, but any color was used except blue. If a person died during the morning then they were buried that day. However, if they died in the afternoon or night they would not be buried until the next day (Lane 1923: 522). Most often before a funeral a small procession would take place and then the body was carried to a mosque for the funeral service. The body was to be placed upon the floor and prayed over. Following this the procession moved the body to a burial ground or tomb. The first night after a burial the grave was to be left alone and then certain mosque officials came back and pray over the spot. This was done because souls were believed to stay in a body for the first night after a burial before they could go on to place of good souls or prison for the bad souls. After the first night a religious leader could pray for the soul to be released and then it could go to its eternal resting spot (Lane 1923: 524). It is important to note that while a majority of the population was Muslim, there was a good amount of people who where Christian or Copts. Christians had priest or bishops who led their religious services and taught children the teachings of the religion. Many Christians learned Arabic for their everyday use, but used Egyptian for prayers and other religious ceremonies. For the most part Christians received the same treatment as Muslims, but some of the Mumlak leaders would give them heavy taxes if treasuries were low (Goldschmidt 2008: 53).
Ritual In order to piece together an accurate compilation of Egyptian ritualistic practices throughout the ages, one must make a clear distinction between the practices of ancient Egypt and those of post-Mamluk Egypt. Ancient Egyptian society was characterized by unique beliefs of the afterlife that permeated the entire spectrum of society. To an ancient Egyptian, death was not seen as an end; it was the start of a new spiritual journey filled with all manners of trials and obstacles. This journey was not an easy task, and as such a multitude of ritual practices were performed to ensure a safe and successful passage. Various personal objects were buried alongside the bodies of the recently deceased. These items were of practical value to the soul during the journey and would allow them to live prosperously upon arrival in the afterlife. Funerary texts provided the dead with directions as well as spells that would ward off any demons that might attempt to hinder their progress, and were buried alongside the other various items. An average burial was performed in a shallow grave of sand, which was preferably located on the edge of the Nile river. This method worked well, and it prevented the decay of the body by rapidly absorbing moisture that allowed bacteria to form. The social elite demanded a more elaborate burial, and tombs were developed to satiate their desire for luxury. The process of mummification arose to
combat the decay that was inherent to this method of burial. The body was first transported to a place of purification where it was symbolically washed with a solution of natron (salt) that served as a practical antiseptic and dehydrating agent. The purified body was taken to an embalming house, where the corpse was prepared for the delicate and lengthy process of embalmment. The chief embalmer usually wore a jackal mask during the ritual in imitation of Anubis, the god of embalming. Major internal organs were removed and embalmed separately, excluding the heart, which was left fully intact. In Egyptian mythos, the heart was "the seat of thought and emotion in the human body." (Oakes & Gahlin 2002: 396) The brain consequently was discarded, and the head cavity was filled with sawdust to retain its form. After the embalmment process, all organs were packaged into jars that were placed alongside the body in the tomb. The body was then dehydrated over a forty day period, and afterward was anointed in ways that made the body look adequately presentable. The bandaging process that followed was performed over a fifteen day period that began with the shrouding of the body. Bandages were procured from old garments and towels, the highest order of which were previously worn by figures of divinity. The process was concluded by shrouding the body a second time and adorning the mummified corpse with a ceremonial mask. The belief that the deeds done in the body would be subjected to an analysis and scrutiny by the divine powers after the death of a man belongs to the 
earliest period of Egyptian civilization, and this belief remained substantially the same in all generations (Budge 2005: 110) The Weighing of the Heart ceremony took place in the spiritual realm, and involved a negative confession before the chief god Osiris. The trial was accompanied by the weighing of the deceased's heart on a pair of massive scales. The heart was weighed against the principles of truth and justice, which was physically represented as a feather. If the weight of wrongdoing caused the scales to tip, a horrible beast would devour the heart, devastatingly impeding the soul's passage into the afterlife. Those that possessed power and money could typically afford to be buried with funerary texts and "heart scarabs" that would ensure survival through the judgment ceremony (essentially the Egyptian equivalent of a "get out of jail free" card). The Egyptian antiquity would not last however, and after an extended period of secularism Egyptian society was nearly overturned by the arrival of the Mamluk Sultanate. During the Mamluk conquest of the Middle East the Islamic faith gained a substantial foothold in Egypt. (The) orthoprax character of Islam
can best be seen in the five basic devotional-ritual duties called the Pillars of Islam, required of every Muslim (Denny 1987). The Shahada is the declaration of faith, and can be performed at any time by those that wish to be integrated into the Muslim community. The Salat is formalized worship that is performed five times daily following proper purification rituals. A complex series of motions is performed by the worshiper in the direction of Mecca, and each adult Muslim is obligated to be able to lead the procession if necessary. The third pillar is Zakat, or legal almsgiving. A religious tax is imposed, the proceeds of which are injected back into the Muslim community in the name of God. Sawm, or fasting, is most closely associated with the month of Ramadan, wherein Muslims are restricted in their consumption of food and expression of martial relations. The activities are permitted during small intervals, and individuals that are unable to fast effectively are excused from the activity. The final pillar is The Haji, which entails the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is not obligatory, but those that complete the journey are rewarded with the title of Hajji which can be used for the remainder of the pilgrim's life. Ancient Egyptian rites and rituals are deeply entrenched in the superstructure and social structure of society. The fact that certain individuals of power had access to more prestigious funerary procedures shows that there was a distinct pecking order in relation to religious salvation. Their beliefs in turn influenced to social arrangement of society; religious icons such as the Pharaoh also held immense political power. Among Muslims, superstructure and infrastructure interact through religious taxes and ritual fasting. In these respects, ritual is present in all aspects of the Egyptian barrel model.
Art Ancient Egyptian Art 1450 (New Kindom) The ancient Egyptians left to the world a profusion of spectacular monuments dating across three millennia according to the book,"The Art of Ancient Egypt," authored by Gay Robins. From the same imperishable material that symbolized the timelessness of their world, the Egyptians set up countless statues of their equally immortal god-kings and build thousands of tombs to serve as eternal houses of the dead.The New Kingdom is the predecessor of the Middle Kingdom which disintegrated, and power passed to the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, who descended on Egypt from the Syrian and Mesopotamian.They brought with them a new and influential culture and that practical animal, the horse. Thebes the new capital became a great and luxurious metropolis with magnificent palaces, tombs, and temples along both banks of the Nile. The most impressive monuments of the New Kingdom are the Grandiose Temples, built to honor pharaohs and queens, as well as gods.These shrines provided the rulers with a place for worshiping their patron gods during their lifetimes and then served as temples in their own hono after their death. The most majestic of the royal mortuary temples, at Deir el-Bahri, was constructed for the female pharoah Hatshepsut . As many as 200 status in round depicting Hatshepsut in various guises complemented the extensive relief program. Thutmose III removed or shattered them when he became pharaoh. Extremely popular during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom were block statues. The idea was that the ka could find an eternal home in the cubic stone image of the deceased was expressed in an even more radical simplification of form than was common in Old Kingdom statury. The art of adorning tomb walls with paintings, attested already in the Predynastic period, flourished in the New Kingdom. The painting techniques in earlier Egyptian tombs, is fresco secco (dry fresco), whereby the artists let the plaster dry before painting on it. This procedure, in contrast to true fresco painting on wet plaster permitted slower and more meticulous work than painting on wet plaster. On the familiar art of monuments and statues more complete information is found in, "Gardner's Art Through The Ages," by Fred Kleiner and Christin Mamiya, that statues are made to inhabit the statue niche in the tomb and depict single figures of the tomb owner and family members whose cults were conducted in the chapel. in majority of examples the man is placed on the right side of the woman, the symbolically dominant side of the group. In addition to the architecture and decoration, Hatshepsut's temple was designed as a setting for a vast amount of statuary. Mummiform statue fragments stood in shallow niches cut in the western wall of the upper court and these alternated with deeper niches that probably held seated statues of the King. The majority of Hatshepsut's images show her as a male king in male dress and without female breasts. After a successful reign Hatshepsut disappears from our sources, and Thutmose III became sole ruler. However, late in his long fifty-four year reign, he systematically obliterated Hatshepsut's memory by removing her names and figure from her monuments. During the 15th century Hatshepsut erected two obelisks in her father's columned hall and built a shrine for the sacred boat of Amun-Ra in the court behind the fifth pylon. Her shrine was replaced by Thutmose III as well as the lower parts of her obelisks, which were walled up and hidden by masonry. However at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty private burials at Thebes continued to be made. During the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III it became the custom for high officials to construct rock-cut tomb chapels usually take a form resembling an inverted T. The first part of the Eighteenth Dynasty was a time of new momentum. Although the art began by drawing on classic Middle Kingdom models, innovations abounded. It was at the time that Egypt first acquired an empire, and fruits of which made the country wealthier than ever before.
Music
Music played a very important part in ancient Egyptian life. From all periods there are scenes in temples and tombs showing musicians playing. Music was present in Egyptian life in many ways. Although music existed in prehistoric Egypt, the evidence for it becomes secure only in the historical period. Music formed an important part of Egyptian life, and musicians occupied a variety of positions in Egyptian society. Music found its way into many contexts in Egypt: temples, palaces, workshops, farms, battlefields and the tomb. Music was an part of religious worship in ancient Egypt, so it is not surprising that there were gods specifically associated with music, such as Hathor and Bes (both were also associated with dance, fertility and childbirth). All the major categories of musical instruments (percussion, wind, stringed) were represented in pharaonic Egypt. Percussion instruments included hand-held drums, rattles, castanets, bells, and the sistrum--a highly important rattle used in religious worship. Hand clapping too was used as a rhythmic accompaniment. Wind instruments included flutes (double and single, with reeds and without) and trumpets. Stringed instruments included harps, lyres, and lutes. Instruments were frequently inscribed with the name of the owner and decorated with representations of the goddess or god of music. Both male and female voices were also frequently used in Egyptian music. Professional musicians existed on a number of social levels in ancient Egypt. The highest status belonged to temple musicians; the office of "musician" to a particular god or goddess was a position of high status frequently held by women. Musicians connected with the royal household were held in high esteem, as were certain gifted singers and harp players. Somewhat lower on the social scale were musicians who acted as entertainers for parties and festivals, frequently accompanied by dancers. Informal singing is suggested by scenes of workers in action; Otherwise there is little evidence for the amateur musician in pharaonic Egypt, and it is unlikely that musical achievement was seen as a desirable goal for individuals who were not professionals.
Core Values
Society in 1450 Egypt had very strong moral values and beliefs. The main determinant in these ideals was the Islamic faith. Islam permeated through the different layers of society and played a significant role in everyday life. The core values for the Egyptians at this time were evident in their laws, devotions, and beliefs. Egypt's Mamluk government reflected their Islamic beliefs by requiring all humans to obey God and His law as instructed in the Koran (Leaman 1985:3). The government also abided by sharia, which laid out God's instructions for the human way of life (Leaman 1985:3). In fact, the sultan had an important role in maintaining the righteousness of Islam in the culture at this time as he was the overseer for many religious activities and centers like the schools, mosques, and pilgrimages (Lapidus 1984:176). Even in the social structure, one can clearly see the Mamluk's values clearly in place. The Mamluk Egyptians devoted much of their time to the construction of religious buildings like schools, tombs and mosques. These buildings clearly conveyed their commitment to their faith as well as the beliefs and behaviors it implied. These buildings however, were not erected for human prestige. Rather, they were meant to provide centers of worhsip for the people and glory to the Almighty (Lapidus 1984:180). They also devoted time to learning about astrology-this research and construction of sundials allowed them to establish correct times for their daily prayers, which were a vital element of their Islamic faith (Lapidus 1984:170). Another important belief to the Egyptians was the value of a human soul- the idea that a person's soul would one day separate from his body and move onto the afterlife. It was believed that a prophet could purify his soul and achieve spiritual consummation. This was attained by honoring the three key virtues of temperance, courage and practical wisdom. These virtues were the means by which one would obtain justice, the well-being for all humans (Butterworth 1983:232). If a person lives by these virtues the laws of the land, and the Koran; he can aspire to achieve happiness in the here-after. These elements of the super structure were clearly held in high esteem by the Mamluk Egyptians and provided the foundation for their way of life and cultural values. After examining these elements of the 15th century Egyptian society, one can see just how much these people valued the Islamic faith and their eternal souls. These ideas of the super structure permeated down through the other levels of the culture and influenced their daily lives in numerous ways. Each day they would strive to honor God and live their lives according to the Koran. The three main virtues of temperance, courage and practical wisdom were highly esteemed as they were the means to achieving eternal happiness and peace.
History
The Mamluke period was between 1250 and around 1515, but the majority of their achievements were between 1250 and 1350, leaving behind key architecture through renovations and new buildings (Frazee). They never really defined a process of succession or legitimacy of individual leaders. During the Mamluke period the Ottomans invaded Egypt around 1515, because they wanted to put an end to Mamluke ruling (Encylcopedia of African History). They did this by hanging the last Mamluke Sultan. During the time of the Ottomans the Mamlukes still had some control, until the early 1700’s when the Ottomans finalized control and declared their own Sultan. In 1805, an officer of the Ottoman army, Muhammad Ali, named himself ruler of Egypt and remained in control until 1867 (Encyclopedia of African History). He had a huge cultural impact on Egypt. In 1820 he set up an educational mission. This mission set up a number of schools in various areas where French texts were studied. In 1835 his government found the first indigenous press in the Arab world. The Suez Canal, a sea level waterway in Egypt that connects Mediterranean and the Red Sea, was begun in 1859 (Mays). The construction of this canal allowed transportation between Europe and Asia possible without having to navigate around Africa. It was finally completed in 1869, but many renovations were made to make the canal wider (Mays). The canal was trying to be taken over by Italian and German troops in 1940, but failed because the Allies stopped the advance of any warfare. In 1914, Egyptians became a British protectorate and remained that way until 1922 when they were granted their independence and established a constitutional monarchy. After the League of Arab Nations was formed in 1945, the UN voted and decided to divide Palestine in to a Jewish and an Arab state, causing these nations to go to war (Erman). During this war a man named Nasser was colonel, he was later named the first president of the United Arab Republic. In 1956 he served as president of Egypt until 1970. He started a new form of modernization and socialist reform. Nasser was seen as one of the most powerful and influential leader in the Arab world because of his achievements. After the ruling of Nasser, Sadat took over. He serves as president from 1970 to 1981(findarticles.com). He was a key contributor to the overthrow of the Muhammad dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. While in office he got rid of some of the economic and political principles by re instituting the multi party system.
Poster
Sim-Video
Sim-Summary
As a small and non-colonized country, Egypt surprisingly survived a long and fair life. At the beginning of round one (1450-1650) Egypt started with a fair amount of materials. In the early years, they would not have traveled very far to trade because of the lack of available transportation. Egypt isn't near the coast for easy access to exports and imports for trading, in real life, they could only travel so far for good and services. Only traveling to West Africa Benin, Kung, Papua New Guinea, Ottoman, and Australia. During trade with the Ottomans, there was a miscommunication, and the Ottomans didn’t get what they wanted from the deal. However, just as in real life the trade had already been made and unfortunately for the Ottomans they were out raw materials.Accidents happen and people give away the wrong materials when not educated about what their cultures really need, therefore being involved in the world today is important for the Egyptian culture to know and understand. Egypt was able to collect a plethora of new materials to keep all the people alive and remaining in control of themselves. An exciting event took place when West Benin asked the Egyptian tribe to become allies. The alliance came in handy throughout the whole simulation. Alliances were formed in many small countries including Egypt so they could be protected from colonizers and a more sufficient trade supply in the world today and during the world simulation. All small countries in the world need as much help as they can get from surrounding countries, in all circumstances. As the years progressed, Benin always traded in benefit of the Egyptian culture, including materials and making sure the people survived. During round two (1650-1800) Egypt had gained an abundance of materials from Papua New Guinea, Kung, and India. India showed the tribe lots of soft power and connection pertaining to human rights and social justice. Once again, the Egyptian people all survived and remained in control of their own country. As round three began (1800-1950) the news spread that disease broke out around the world, but Egypt escaped this because they were not colonized and exposed of new diseases. This also could happen in a real life scenario because Egypt is neglected from other countries. Countries had also shown more violence and lack of cooperation. Therefore, Egypt began trading materials with new countries such as the Iberian Peninsula, the Incas who had been colonized by the British Isles, and Indonesia who also showed our country soft power. This soft power is incorporated by sustaining their well being in a peaceful way. This soft power is still used today in bigger countries to persuade small ones to join together or to take over them. Miraculous events occurred in this round when the Egyptian culture helped West Benin gain control of their country after being colonized. This happened when a protest was in account and a tribe member of Egypt took control of Benin’s Power X with the surprise of hard power control. Together the alliance was then even stronger. When the Ottomans were colonized two workers were sent to Egypt to produce cotton. Egypt was able to feed their people and these new workers from Ottoman. At the end of round three, the Ottoman workers returned to their country because they were able to take back their power and overthrow the colonizers. Finally, as the Egyptian culture thrived and the people were trading during round four (1950-2100) our nutritious food was no longer intact, resulting in the death of the Egyptian people. During this time period the world was running out of oil and global warming was taking into affect. This affected all the coastal cities by flooding them with at least twelve feet of water. Although this didn’t have a direct impact on Egypt it compromised with the nutritional value of their food and were unable to find the food in order to survive. Because of how much the land and rivers are valued by the Egyptians, if there were to actually be a drought or global warming of some sort, this would effect them greatly by not having water or any food to grow for their people. In the end of the wold simulation, the Egyptians died from a lack of nutrition but never gave up their land.
Sim-Rules
References
Environment Egypt has always had a very diverse environment. The flora and fauna is different from the majority of Africa because it contains both desert and river. Landscape and natural disasters have helped shape the Egyptian terrain. Also, Egypt has a very unique climate especially before 1450 ac. Part of the 6741km’s of the Nile River flows through Egypt, with its delta in Lower Egypt. The black land is fertile land on the banks of the Nile. It gets its name form the black silt that’s deposited every year after it floods. The floods, which usually occur from June or October, are small changes in water levels, causing the river to flood. These annual floods provide the earth with enough nutrients to sustain crops. The Nile valley is surrounded by desert to the South, East, and West. The desert, or red land, was more the 90% of Egypt. It contains the Libyan Desert, Sahara Desert, and part of the Arabian Desert. A section of the Libyan Desert is known as the Quttarah Depression, which is 133km below sea level. The Nile River gave home to many different plants and animals. Some of the flowers present in Egypt in 1450ac were hollyhock, henna bush, safflower, and delphinium. Papyrus grew on the banks on the river and both blue and white lotus, water lilies, bloomed in the water of the Nile. Many aquatic birds and animals would have fished in the Nile as well. Goose, crane, heron, carp, catfish, perch, crocodiles, hippos and some cattle would have either lived in or eaten from the river. The falcon was important to the Egyptians and the Saqqara is a site of catacombs for mummified falcons. The poorer inhabitants would have eaten fish rather then meats such as sheep, pigs, and cattle. The deserts were home to many different animals. Bees, locusts, centipedes, scorpions, lions, cheetahs, antelope, wild bulls, hyenas, jackals, snakes, desert hares, and frogs were all numerous within the Egyptian deserts. Located on the far North East corner of Africa, Egypt is very hot and very dry. In the winter, it averages to be about 140C and in the summer 300C with as high as 77% humidity, but it is predicted that it was about 4.30C cooler in 1400ac. Hot spring winds would, and still do, bow across Egypt in April and sometimes all the way into May. These small winds, known to the Egyptians as Khamsin, are sandstorms that blow dust and sand all across the Northern coast of Africa.
Language Language in Egypt before 1450 From about 3100bc to about 300ad in Egypt, the language or means of communication was used through hieroglyphs; later found out to be more of a decorative or monumental purpose. With the use of hieroglyphics, Coptic Egyptian was spoken and written until about the seventh century, which used the Greek alphabet with a few more characters as seen in the hieroglyphs. Once the Arab rulers started to take over Egypt, Arabic became the main language used and during the time of 1450. From the Arabic take over around the 7th century, Coptic Egyptian was still used especially for religious purposes, but by the 12th century Arabic was the widely spread language of Egypt. Thinking of the time of 1450, Arabic had been the language for a few centuries as everyone became accustomed to it. The Arabic language is of the Hamito-Semitic family originating around the Arab peninsula. Most Arabic words consist of three consonants containing a root idea added with vowels and suffixes. For instance, the word Muslim, s-l-m is the root of the word where Muslim means “a believer in Islam (Abington: Helicon, 2009).” There are no true tenses in the Arabic language and most of the nouns are irregular. During the 5th century in Arabia, the languages’ alphabet was formed. This language is quite different from reading than speaking it, so it is kind of difficult for some to read. Especially the Koran, which is the holy book of Muslims, is written in ancient Arabic, which no one speaks anymore, but can read. Since Arabic was brought to the country of Egypt, there are many different dialects according to location. North Delta Arabic, South Central Delta Arabic and Cairo are the different dialects, but Cairo is the most widely used. As Egypt is in Africa, there are many languages spoken, so a person from not too far away would not understand the Egyptian Arabic language or even different dialects differ a lot. Dynasties ruled Egypt for centuries upon centuries, so usually a person of a “higher class” would not speak to one of a lower class or vice-versa. Pharaohs had all control and say in Egypt. Communication technologies were used more back in ancient Egypt with hieroglyphics scribed by priests of the time. During the 14th century, not too many communication technologies were used. During the Mamluk dynasty, a type of literature that today would be considered popular entertainment, much of recitations of poetry, helps us understand what was going on in people’s life during this dynasty. An example is by, Al-Maqrizi (d.1442) was a jurist and disappointed civil servant who frequently poured vitriol and criticism on the ruling Mamluk elite in his many works (Encyclopedia of African History, 2004). Arabic has evolved into a very wide-spread language spoken by hundreds of millions today.
Greetings
Hello: as-salam alaykum
Hello (response): wa alaykum e-salam
Goodbye (person leaving): ma'a salama
Good morning: sabaH ala-kheir
Good night: tisbaH ala-kheir
Media/Technology
Media
Egyptian Media was not very complex. According to Parkinson and Quirke the Egyptians first started using hieroglyphics around 2000 B.C. and continued using it until around 400 A.D. Hieroglyphics was a pictograph method of writing (Parkinson and Quirke 18). It used a symbol to express a sound, a letter, or possibly even a phrase. Hieroglyphics are still being debated today on what the meaning is of every symbol. The most common place to find examples of hieroglyphics is on the walls of the pyramids. They would inscribe messages on the walls to tell stories of their fallen king, give directions of the pyramid, even give fake directions to help keep the riches inside from being stolen from grave robbers. They Egyptians also invented a type of paper called papyrus, it was made out of a reef that grew next to Nile River beads. The Egyptians first invented papyrus around 4000 B.C. and they continued using it until around the 11th century (Parkinson and Quirke 9). The Egyptians also developed a printing press around the 11th century but really only used it for stamping symbols onto relics and cloth items rather than producing books.
Technology
The Egyptians created a wide variety of inventions. Many of them were invented in ancient Egypt and were still practiced up to the 14th century. Some of their Military inventions was the Khopesh and the Egyptian Short Horn Bow. The Khopesh was not the primary weapon of choice for combat, the spear was always the most revered. However the Khopesh was used for 2000 years of Egyptian combat (Shaw 52). The Khopesh is a sword with a curved blade for slashing attacks, highly effective in battle because chain mail has yet to be invented. The Horn Bow was one of the first bows ever created and was first assembled in 2000 B.C. It was created from a piece of wood with two antelope horns glued around it. It was extremely effective in combat and led to the invention of the Egyptian chariot . Egyptians valued their horses so rather than taking them and ramming them into the front lines they put chariots on the back of them and hauled archers around. The archers would sit on the back and pick off enemies at close ranges to help advance the line forward (Shaw 78). Another influential invention the Egyptian’s created was the sail. The Nile’s flow went down stream, while the wind went upstream making travel on the Nile difficult. So the Egyptians created sails so they could lower them to float down the Nile and then raise them up to sail up the river. The first sails were just leaves strung together to get some push from the wind, but eventually turned into reeds latched together to create a sail that would effectively trap the wind in it. A huge invention the Egyptians created was irrigation. They started using methods of irrigation around 2000 B.C. and are still used all around the world to this day (Mays 4). Their early methods of irrigation were terrible. Their irrigation system was based on a series of dykes. These dykes were completely dependent on the Nile, so if the Nile was dry than the dykes were dry so the crops didn’t receive water. If it rained too hard the dykes would over flow causing mass flooding killing their crops and people as well.
Education/Child-rearing Children in Egypt stayed with their mothers until the age of four, during those years they gained a great respect for their mothers. Boys then started to learn from their fathers, sons followed in the same trade that their fathers practiced. Parents familiarized their children with their ideas about the world with their ethical principles and religious outlook. Schools taught reading, math, writing, history, science, as well as morals and manners. Also “The Book of Instruction” contained the elements of mortality such as wisdom, justice, obedience, restraint, and humanity. At the age of fourteen farmers sons quit school to help their fathers, and kids with parents of a higher status stayed in school to further their education. In the higher level of education children learned “Instruction of Wisdom” which is lessons on ethics and morality. It also focused on skills needed for higher status jobs like doctors or scribes. There are not very many careers for women; they were trained for motherhood, and how to be a good wife. Most girls were trained at home by their mothers. Some girls could train to be bakers, entertainers, or dancers. Only wealthy noble’s daughters received education in writing and reading. Boys learned what they needed to know to succeed from their fathers, and girls learned what they needed to know to succeed from their mothers. Egyptian families were very loving. Children were seen as blessings and parents were proud and generous to them. Even poor families welcomed all the children they had to their family. The number of children born was high, the average was four to six per family but some had ten to fifteen kids. Soon after a child was born, it received a name, its horoscope cast, and had the birth recorded in a local registry. The mother was the one to take care of the children until they grew older. Children had to be independent and take care of themselves but also needed to learn and listen to their parents. Until the infant was three it was carried around by the mother in a sling hung around her neck and showed her devoted care. Babies were sometimes named in honor of one of the many ancient Egyptian gods. Many were named after the pharaoh who was ruling at the time. Children had toys and played games a bit like the ones we play today. Babies had rattles that calmed them, older kids played games with balls made of leather or wood. Girls played with rag dolls or wooden dolls, boys battled with toy weapons; also they played games to challenge their strength. Boys would run obstacle races, wrestled, and girls wrestled too but loved to dance. Children wore their hair in a long braid on the right side of their heads, “a sidelock of youth.”It was cut off when they turned ten years old, and had to put their toys away to begin training for adult life. Girls were regarded as being less important than boys. When the parents got older the children looked after their parents as a turn of respect. Families were close and would do anything to keep their family members safe.
GENDER
Gender is an extremely crucial component of culture as well as easily overlooked. Some people think that sex and gender are synonyms, however that is not the case. Gender is thought to develop through the reflexive processes of learning, occurring within social and cultural interactions. Gender is defined as the social, cultural, and psychological dimensions of being male or female according to John Santrock. (2007:171) An individual must understand what gender is before researching gender characteristics and roles throughout the world. I hope to provide you with an overview of gender. In Egypt men and women were considered different, but for the most part had equal rights. Watterson gathered from her research that in Ancient Egyptian society a woman was accorded legal rights equal to those of a man from the same social class and had the same expectation of life after death. (1998:1) Legal rights were based upon social class not gender. So in theory women and men were equal if belonging to the same social class. Men were generally literate, which made it difficult for illiterate women to be seen on the same playing field. Egypt’s society was typically male-dominated. Men hunted animals such as antelope, hares, and lions. The father was solely responsible for his families’ economic well-being. Upper-class men often became scribes or priests. Lower-class men were often farmers, hunters, potters, or craftsmen. Men were mainly responsible for anything and everything that was located outside the domestic sphere including public affairs. Those jobs would most likely have consisted of: producing food, craftsman, potter, artist, administration of institutions of the state & temple, defense of the state, history recorder (scribe), carpenter, etc. On the other hand, women took care of the daily basic needs of their family. The roles of women basically were located solely within the domestic sphere. The four jobs on the right are jobs for those women that by chance worked outside the domestic sphere. Women typically were expected to cook food, bear and rear children, care for the sick, and produce clothing. If women by chance worked outside the domestic sphere they generally took on the role of a songstress, weaver, prostitute, maid, servant, etc. When it came to power various genders held power. Political power was entrusted to the men of Egypt. Spiritual power belonged mostly to the men in Egypt. Domestic power generally fell in the hands of women, being how that is where they spent the majority of their time. It was suitable for men to get married between the ages of 16 to 20, because they had to become established and be able to support a family. Generally women were younger than 20 when they got married. No records of marriages taking place within temples or government buildings, but celebrations were held with such unions. The King was the only one who did not practice monogamy. It was purely a social arrangement that regulated property. Once a couple started living together, they were acknowledged as being married. The prime purpose was to establish a family. Women gained respect from society and approval from their husbands when they became pregnant. A fertile woman was a successful one. Sexuality was deemed important because of its association with birth and fertility. Parents were considered as the source of life for the children. Subsistence Much of the subsistence in Egypt during 1450 AD were based off of the patterns formed in Ancient Egypt but were also influenced by the Arab and Mamluk cultures as well. Based on the geography of Egypt, much of the agriculture and crops were centered around the Nile River as the provider for the irrigation of water. Egypt is rich in agriculture because of the very fertile black land and the Nile river. The Egyptians would build a “network of canals [carrying] water to the fields, and dike systems held the river at bay [to reclaim] thousands of arable acres” (Casson 1965: 12). Agriculture along the Nile consisted of “three seasons: the flood, the growing period, and the harvest” (Walker 2003: 26). Egypt has a long history filled with famine and droughts when the natural flooding of the Nile did not occur to its normal capacity. The Nile would flood between June and October leaving a fertile silt which was optimal for agriculture crops to grow and mature and enough time for the Egyptians to harvest before the next flood. The oldest and most native crops and livestock including a variety of grains, sheep, swine, castor oil, grapes, onions, melons, cucumbers, sesame, flax, dates, cattle, goats, bees, geese, tea, lentils, and papyrus which were traded regularly through the “Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean” (Casson 1965:13). Egyptians would process their harvest by making bread or beer from wheat and grains, wine from grapes and linen from flax (Walker 2003:27). Animal byproducts such as milk, cheeses, butter and yogurt were also a source of nutrition. The traditional Egyptian diet is based heavily on grains and breads and vegetables. Most of the protein in Egyptian diets comes from grains, beans, and lentils; animal-based proteins being an occasional and luxury item for those who can afford it because of its higher prices. Because Egyptians are a sedentary culture, farmers invested in their crops and fields by working the land with “simple tools” to help them “labor unceasingly” (Casson 1965:40). Tools similar to hoes, plows, and sickles helped farmers plant the seeds, “dig and shore up irrigation ditches after the harvest”, and to cut the crops for the harvest (Casson 1965:40). Crops would be harvested in springtime; some crops were harvested twice a year. Family was utilized for farm labor; despite women’s gender roles being more domestically centered, they also helped as field hands. Although the majority of the Egyptian diet is plant based, they would fish along the coast and they raised livestock inland. Because of Egypt’s rich subsistence on the fertile black land, Egypt was a “main source for feeding the peoples of the Mediterranean region, which made it a target for invaders” (www.eternalegypt.org: Agriculture). The influence of the Arabic and Mamluk cultures “introduced new crops” including rice, coffee, and sugarcane (www.eternalegypt.org: Agriculture). The Muslims ¨reared the finest horses and sheep¨to cultivate ¨orchards and vegetable gardens¨ (FSTC Research Team 2010: The Agricultural Revolution). Muslims also enhanced the irrigation systems while introducing crop rotation; ¨fields that had been yielding one crop annually¨ were now ¨capable of yielding three or more crops¨ in rotation (FSTC Research Team 2010: The Agricultural Revolution). Tea and coffee are important parts of the Egyptian culture because they are very hospitality oriented. Food is used in more social and community conditions.The Islamic influence on Egypt, starting in the 7th century, made pork less of a common food item, since pork is not part of the Islamic diet. According to Islamic beliefs, Muslims also put limitations on the consumption of meat that was not slaughtered in the name of Allah or that has been killed inhumanely. Muslims also prohibit alcohol from their diets.
Exchange
Family Life Family life in Egypt was a very common thing but started very early. The average age of marriage was about 20 years old. A man is known to address his wife as “sister,” and a woman is known to address her husband as “brother. Marriage is very seldom when mentioned. It is clear that the essence of a ceremony is a girl’s removal with her dowry from her father’s house to that of her future husband. (Casson: 50). Ceremonies were not common but there were large celebrations that took place for weddings. An important thing to keep in mind about this time was that Men and Women were created equal. They were completely looked on upon as equal, they all just had different duties. Egypt had a passion for writing, therefore on marriage, husband and wife had to appear before an official who took their names and registered the details of the marriage settlement. It is common to marry young and have a lot of children. The cost of children was close to nothing due to naked and barefoot, boys wore a necklace and girls and comb and girdle, and could all feed for practically nothing on papyrus shoots and raw or boiled roots.(Sayed: 43).
Most people wanted a son. It was a son’s duty to keep his father’s name. Born on the fourth day of the first month…outlive your family. Ninth day of the second month…die of old age. Born on the 20th day of the same month…die widely respected Fourth, fifth, and sixth days of the month…involving death respectively from fever, love, and drink. Some houses had walls of Nile mud instead of pillars. If you lived in a house of a citizen, you had narrow streets and consists of a small court with a few rooms and a flight of steps leading to the roof. The houses of the rich were big will pillars, but were not known to have great decorating. All in all, the children were to look after their parents when they got older and the kids were known as treasures.When parents died, the sons inherited the land and the daughters inherited the household items.(Kelly:253).
Casson, Lionel. Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Time, 1965. Print.
Sayed, H. Abdel-Aziz., and Sahar Ismail. El-Tawila. Patterns of Family Life Cycle and Household Structure in Egypt. Cairo: Cairo Demographic Centre, 1991. Print.
Campbell-Hinshaw, Kelly. Ancient Egypt. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2007. Print.
Society
Politics The Modern day Egypt land mass in 1450 A.D. was part of the Mamluk Empire, this Empire spanned from Lebanon to Libya (west of Egypt). But more specifically, Egypt held a great role with the Burji Mamluks, the Burjis’ ruled Egypt during our time (Kennedy 2001) . The empire was one of the largest Muslim states in history. It was a Sultanate type government, meaning that it was ruled by one man like a Kingdom. The Mamluks came to power because of war and conquering leaving quite a bit of power in the Generals, who made the list of sultans so long because they would murder to assume power.
The capital of the Mamluk Empire was located in the north at Damascus. But for our time it was Cario. The Sultan during our era was Quaitbay(1468-1496 A.D., one of the longest rulers), he was born a Circassian but assumed power by a series of dethronings (Ayalon 1979). Strangely enough Quaitbay was bought as a slave by a previous sultan, Jaqmaq (who actually reigned from 1438-1453 AD, but there is no information I could find). This is how he came into the sultan line (kind of like a blood line the future list of kings). The sultan would be the main authority in the country much like a king would do. So simply speaking the political ideas were that of a kingdom, but an Islam version. The laws of the land were those put forth by the Quran and the court was the Sharia. I won’t explain those because they are described in the Religion/Beliefs section. The Mamluks had quite a lot of interaction with other Empires. They conquered the Ayyubid Army, the Mongols, and the Crusaders. Egypt was The Mamluks hold great political importance because of how they assumed power because they were only an army but grew strong and lasted an extraordinary long time for what they were. They were extremely skilled horsemen trained from birth. The only time they had an Empire was from the 13th century to the 16th century (in Egypt).
Kennedy, Hugh N. The Historiography of Islamic Egypt (C. 950-1800). Brill Academic Publishers, 2001. print
Robert Irwin, The Middle East in the Middle Ages, 1986 19-21. print
R. Amitai-Preiss: Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War 1260-1281. Cambridge, 1995. print
D. Ayalon: The Mamluk Military Society. London, 1979. print
Religion Around the year 1450 B.C. the Mamluks, who were of the Islamic belief controlled Egypt. Islam was the main religion among Egyptians at the time (Frazee 1997: 422). Islam is a monotheist religion and means “submission to the will of God.” Those of Islamic faith were called Muslims (Asante 2002: 68). The beliefs of Islam are written in the scripture called the Quran written by the prophet Muhammed. What is written in the scriptures were the words from the angel Gabriel that told Muhammed how Allah wished for the people to live. The book had a series of ethic lessons that showed Muslims how they were suppose to act. Muslims were forbidden from gambling, drinking, eating pork or showing displays of the Prophet. These restrictions were meant to keep Muslim morals in balance. The Sharia was the law based on the lessons given by Muhammad. Muslims believed that it described every part of life. It was used as a guide when resolving criminal and commercial crimes (Asante 2002: 72). In Islam there is a set of conditions called the Five Pillars of Faith that Islam followers were expected to follow. The first pillar decreed a Muslim must believe that Allah, God, is the only god and Muhammad is the prophet. The next pillar said that one has to pray five different times a day during the sunrise, noon, afternoon, sunset, and night. In the third pillar it was said that in the month of Ramadan one was to fast. The fourth pillar stated that one must make a pilgrimage, called hajj, to Mecca in their life. The pilgrimage was not an absolute a necessity, but by making the pilgrimage one would gain prestige. In the fifth pillar followers are told to give to the poor (Asante 2002: 69). In the Islam religion there were educated religious leaders, called ulama, who were in charge of prayers in mosques, preaching sermons on Friday, mediating domestic disputes, and teaching the lessons of Islam to children. Many of the schools within Cairo would teach Muslim boys how to become an ulama (Goldschmidt 2008: 52). Many Muslims saw the mosque as being to ceremonious and distracting to the connection with Allah, so sufi, mystic orders, were created (Asante 2002: 71). These sufi would coordinate activities that men or women Muslims could participate in to show their devotion to Allah. Some activities that might have been held could be chanting, dancing, recognizing births or deaths of religious leaders, exorcisms, fasting, and vigils (Goldschmidt 2008: 53). If a Muslim felt that they were going to die they would say a prayer for themselves, and soldiers or desert travelers carried grave-linens with them in case they passed on during their travels. Most funeral customs were the same for men and women. Upon the chance that someone took ill or became close to death an attendant would stay with them and turn the person towards Mecca and shut their eyes. Immediately following death a Muslim would be discarded of their clothes and put into a suit, laid upon a mattress and covered with a sheet. Common grave-clothes had the color white or green, but any color was used except blue. If a person died during the morning then they were buried that day. However, if they died in the afternoon or night they would not be buried until the next day (Lane 1923: 522). Most often before a funeral a small procession would take place and then the body was carried to a mosque for the funeral service. The body was to be placed upon the floor and prayed over. Following this the procession moved the body to a burial ground or tomb. The first night after a burial the grave was to be left alone and then certain mosque officials came back and pray over the spot. This was done because souls were believed to stay in a body for the first night after a burial before they could go on to place of good souls or prison for the bad souls. After the first night a religious leader could pray for the soul to be released and then it could go to its eternal resting spot (Lane 1923: 524). It is important to note that while a majority of the population was Muslim, there was a good amount of people who where Christian or Copts. Christians had priest or bishops who led their religious services and taught children the teachings of the religion. Many Christians learned Arabic for their everyday use, but used Egyptian for prayers and other religious ceremonies. For the most part Christians received the same treatment as Muslims, but some of the Mumlak leaders would give them heavy taxes if treasuries were low (Goldschmidt 2008: 53).
Ritual In order to piece together an accurate compilation of Egyptian ritualistic practices throughout the ages, one must make a clear distinction between the practices of ancient Egypt and those of post-Mamluk Egypt. Ancient Egyptian society was characterized by unique beliefs of the afterlife that permeated the entire spectrum of society. To an ancient Egyptian, death was not seen as an end; it was the start of a new spiritual journey filled with all manners of trials and obstacles. This journey was not an easy task, and as such a multitude of ritual practices were performed to ensure a safe and successful passage. Various personal objects were buried alongside the bodies of the recently deceased. These items were of practical value to the soul during the journey and would allow them to live prosperously upon arrival in the afterlife. Funerary texts provided the dead with directions as well as spells that would ward off any demons that might attempt to hinder their progress, and were buried alongside the other various items. An average burial was performed in a shallow grave of sand, which was preferably located on the edge of the Nile river. This method worked well, and it prevented the decay of the body by rapidly absorbing moisture that allowed bacteria to form. The social elite demanded a more elaborate burial, and tombs were developed to satiate their desire for luxury. The process of mummification arose to
combat the decay that was inherent to this method of burial. The body was first transported to a place of purification where it was symbolically washed with a solution of natron (salt) that served as a practical antiseptic and dehydrating agent. The purified body was taken to an embalming house, where the corpse was prepared for the delicate and lengthy process of embalmment. The chief embalmer usually wore a jackal mask during the ritual in imitation of Anubis, the god of embalming. Major internal organs were removed and embalmed separately, excluding the heart, which was left fully intact. In Egyptian mythos, the heart was "the seat of thought and emotion in the human body." (Oakes & Gahlin 2002: 396) The brain consequently was discarded, and the head cavity was filled with sawdust to retain its form. After the embalmment process, all organs were packaged into jars that were placed alongside the body in the tomb. The body was then dehydrated over a forty day period, and afterward was anointed in ways that made the body look adequately presentable. The bandaging process that followed was performed over a fifteen day period that began with the shrouding of the body. Bandages were procured from old garments and towels, the highest order of which were previously worn by figures of divinity. The process was concluded by shrouding the body a second time and adorning the mummified corpse with a ceremonial mask. The belief that the deeds done in the body would be subjected to an analysis and scrutiny by the divine powers after the death of a man belongs to the earliest period of Egyptian civilization, and this belief remained substantially the same in all generations (Budge 2005: 110) The Weighing of the Heart ceremony took place in the spiritual realm, and involved a negative confession before the chief god Osiris. The trial was accompanied by the weighing of the deceased's heart on a pair of massive scales. The heart was weighed against the principles of truth and justice, which was physically represented as a feather. If the weight of wrongdoing caused the scales to tip, a horrible beast would devour the heart, devastatingly impeding the soul's passage into the afterlife. Those that possessed power and money could typically afford to be buried with funerary texts and "heart scarabs" that would ensure survival through the judgment ceremony (essentially the Egyptian equivalent of a "get out of jail free" card). The Egyptian antiquity would not last however, and after an extended period of secularism Egyptian society was nearly overturned by the arrival of the Mamluk Sultanate. During the Mamluk conquest of the Middle East the Islamic faith gained a substantial foothold in Egypt. (The) orthoprax character of Islam can best be seen in the five basic devotional-ritual duties called the Pillars of Islam, required of every Muslim (Denny 1987). The Shahada is the declaration of faith, and can be performed at any time by those that wish to be integrated into the Muslim community. The Salat is formalized worship that is performed five times daily following proper purification rituals. A complex series of motions is performed by the worshiper in the direction of Mecca, and each adult Muslim is obligated to be able to lead the procession if necessary. The third pillar is Zakat, or legal almsgiving. A religious tax is imposed, the proceeds of which are injected back into the Muslim community in the name of God. Sawm, or fasting, is most closely associated with the month of Ramadan, wherein Muslims are restricted in their consumption of food and expression of martial relations. The activities are permitted during small intervals, and individuals that are unable to fast effectively are excused from the activity. The final pillar is The Haji, which entails the pilgrimage to Mecca. It is not obligatory, but those that complete the journey are rewarded with the title of Hajji which can be used for the remainder of the pilgrim's life. Ancient Egyptian rites and rituals are deeply entrenched in the superstructure and social structure of society. The fact that certain individuals of power had access to more prestigious funerary procedures shows that there was a distinct pecking order in relation to religious salvation. Their beliefs in turn influenced to social arrangement of society; religious icons such as the Pharaoh also held immense political power. Among Muslims, superstructure and infrastructure interact through religious taxes and ritual fasting. In these respects, ritual is present in all aspects of the Egyptian barrel model. Art Ancient Egyptian Art 1450 (New Kindom) The ancient Egyptians left to the world a profusion of spectacular monuments dating across three millennia according to the book,"The Art of Ancient Egypt," authored by Gay Robins. From the same imperishable material that symbolized the timelessness of their world, the Egyptians set up countless statues of their equally immortal god-kings and build thousands of tombs to serve as eternal houses of the dead.The New Kingdom is the predecessor of the Middle Kingdom which disintegrated, and power passed to the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, who descended on Egypt from the Syrian and Mesopotamian.They brought with them a new and influential culture and that practical animal, the horse. Thebes the new capital became a great and luxurious metropolis with magnificent palaces, tombs, and temples along both banks of the Nile. The most impressive monuments of the New Kingdom are the Grandiose Temples, built to honor pharaohs and queens, as well as gods.These shrines provided the rulers with a place for worshiping their patron gods during their lifetimes and then served as temples in their own hono after their death. The most majestic of the royal mortuary temples, at Deir el-Bahri, was constructed for the female pharoah Hatshepsut . As many as 200 status in round depicting Hatshepsut in various guises complemented the extensive relief program. Thutmose III removed or shattered them when he became pharaoh. Extremely popular during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom were block statues. The idea was that the ka could find an eternal home in the cubic stone image of the deceased was expressed in an even more radical simplification of form than was common in Old Kingdom statury. The art of adorning tomb walls with paintings, attested already in the Predynastic period, flourished in the New Kingdom. The painting techniques in earlier Egyptian tombs, is fresco secco (dry fresco), whereby the artists let the plaster dry before painting on it. This procedure, in contrast to true fresco painting on wet plaster permitted slower and more meticulous work than painting on wet plaster. On the familiar art of monuments and statues more complete information is found in, "Gardner's Art Through The Ages," by Fred Kleiner and Christin Mamiya, that statues are made to inhabit the statue niche in the tomb and depict single figures of the tomb owner and family members whose cults were conducted in the chapel. in majority of examples the man is placed on the right side of the woman, the symbolically dominant side of the group. In addition to the architecture and decoration, Hatshepsut's temple was designed as a setting for a vast amount of statuary. Mummiform statue fragments stood in shallow niches cut in the western wall of the upper court and these alternated with deeper niches that probably held seated statues of the King. The majority of Hatshepsut's images show her as a male king in male dress and without female breasts. After a successful reign Hatshepsut disappears from our sources, and Thutmose III became sole ruler. However, late in his long fifty-four year reign, he systematically obliterated Hatshepsut's memory by removing her names and figure from her monuments. During the 15th century Hatshepsut erected two obelisks in her father's columned hall and built a shrine for the sacred boat of Amun-Ra in the court behind the fifth pylon. Her shrine was replaced by Thutmose III as well as the lower parts of her obelisks, which were walled up and hidden by masonry. However at the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty private burials at Thebes continued to be made. During the joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III it became the custom for high officials to construct rock-cut tomb chapels usually take a form resembling an inverted T. The first part of the Eighteenth Dynasty was a time of new momentum. Although the art began by drawing on classic Middle Kingdom models, innovations abounded. It was at the time that Egypt first acquired an empire, and fruits of which made the country wealthier than ever before.
Music
Music played a very important part in ancient Egyptian life. From all periods there are scenes in temples and tombs showing musicians playing. Music was present in Egyptian life in many ways. Although music existed in prehistoric Egypt, the evidence for it becomes secure only in the historical period. Music formed an important part of Egyptian life, and musicians occupied a variety of positions in Egyptian society. Music found its way into many contexts in Egypt: temples, palaces, workshops, farms, battlefields and the tomb. Music was an part of religious worship in ancient Egypt, so it is not surprising that there were gods specifically associated with music, such as Hathor and Bes (both were also associated with dance, fertility and childbirth). All the major categories of musical instruments (percussion, wind, stringed) were represented in pharaonic Egypt. Percussion instruments included hand-held drums, rattles, castanets, bells, and the sistrum--a highly important rattle used in religious worship. Hand clapping too was used as a rhythmic accompaniment. Wind instruments included flutes (double and single, with reeds and without) and trumpets. Stringed instruments included harps, lyres, and lutes. Instruments were frequently inscribed with the name of the owner and decorated with representations of the goddess or god of music. Both male and female voices were also frequently used in Egyptian music. Professional musicians existed on a number of social levels in ancient Egypt. The highest status belonged to temple musicians; the office of "musician" to a particular god or goddess was a position of high status frequently held by women. Musicians connected with the royal household were held in high esteem, as were certain gifted singers and harp players. Somewhat lower on the social scale were musicians who acted as entertainers for parties and festivals, frequently accompanied by dancers. Informal singing is suggested by scenes of workers in action; Otherwise there is little evidence for the amateur musician in pharaonic Egypt, and it is unlikely that musical achievement was seen as a desirable goal for individuals who were not professionals.
Core Values
Society in 1450 Egypt had very strong moral values and beliefs. The main determinant in these ideals was the Islamic faith. Islam permeated through the different layers of society and played a significant role in everyday life. The core values for the Egyptians at this time were evident in their laws, devotions, and beliefs. Egypt's Mamluk government reflected their Islamic beliefs by requiring all humans to obey God and His law as instructed in the Koran (Leaman 1985:3). The government also abided by sharia, which laid out God's instructions for the human way of life (Leaman 1985:3). In fact, the sultan had an important role in maintaining the righteousness of Islam in the culture at this time as he was the overseer for many religious activities and centers like the schools, mosques, and pilgrimages (Lapidus 1984:176). Even in the social structure, one can clearly see the Mamluk's values clearly in place. The Mamluk Egyptians devoted much of their time to the construction of religious buildings like schools, tombs and mosques. These buildings clearly conveyed their commitment to their faith as well as the beliefs and behaviors it implied. These buildings however, were not erected for human prestige. Rather, they were meant to provide centers of worhsip for the people and glory to the Almighty (Lapidus 1984:180). They also devoted time to learning about astrology-this research and construction of sundials allowed them to establish correct times for their daily prayers, which were a vital element of their Islamic faith (Lapidus 1984:170). Another important belief to the Egyptians was the value of a human soul- the idea that a person's soul would one day separate from his body and move onto the afterlife. It was believed that a prophet could purify his soul and achieve spiritual consummation. This was attained by honoring the three key virtues of temperance, courage and practical wisdom. These virtues were the means by which one would obtain justice, the well-being for all humans (Butterworth 1983:232). If a person lives by these virtues the laws of the land, and the Koran; he can aspire to achieve happiness in the here-after. These elements of the super structure were clearly held in high esteem by the Mamluk Egyptians and provided the foundation for their way of life and cultural values. After examining these elements of the 15th century Egyptian society, one can see just how much these people valued the Islamic faith and their eternal souls. These ideas of the super structure permeated down through the other levels of the culture and influenced their daily lives in numerous ways. Each day they would strive to honor God and live their lives according to the Koran. The three main virtues of temperance, courage and practical wisdom were highly esteemed as they were the means to achieving eternal happiness and peace.
History
The Mamluke period was between 1250 and around 1515, but the majority of their achievements were between 1250 and 1350, leaving behind key architecture through renovations and new buildings (Frazee). They never really defined a process of succession or legitimacy of individual leaders. During the Mamluke period the Ottomans invaded Egypt around 1515, because they wanted to put an end to Mamluke ruling (Encylcopedia of African History). They did this by hanging the last Mamluke Sultan. During the time of the Ottomans the Mamlukes still had some control, until the early 1700’s when the Ottomans finalized control and declared their own Sultan. In 1805, an officer of the Ottoman army, Muhammad Ali, named himself ruler of Egypt and remained in control until 1867 (Encyclopedia of African History). He had a huge cultural impact on Egypt. In 1820 he set up an educational mission. This mission set up a number of schools in various areas where French texts were studied. In 1835 his government found the first indigenous press in the Arab world. The Suez Canal, a sea level waterway in Egypt that connects Mediterranean and the Red Sea, was begun in 1859 (Mays). The construction of this canal allowed transportation between Europe and Asia possible without having to navigate around Africa. It was finally completed in 1869, but many renovations were made to make the canal wider (Mays). The canal was trying to be taken over by Italian and German troops in 1940, but failed because the Allies stopped the advance of any warfare. In 1914, Egyptians became a British protectorate and remained that way until 1922 when they were granted their independence and established a constitutional monarchy. After the League of Arab Nations was formed in 1945, the UN voted and decided to divide Palestine in to a Jewish and an Arab state, causing these nations to go to war (Erman). During this war a man named Nasser was colonel, he was later named the first president of the United Arab Republic. In 1956 he served as president of Egypt until 1970. He started a new form of modernization and socialist reform. Nasser was seen as one of the most powerful and influential leader in the Arab world because of his achievements. After the ruling of Nasser, Sadat took over. He serves as president from 1970 to 1981(findarticles.com). He was a key contributor to the overthrow of the Muhammad dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. While in office he got rid of some of the economic and political principles by re instituting the multi party system.
Poster
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Sim-Summary
As a small and non-colonized country, Egypt surprisingly survived a long and fair life. At the beginning of round one (1450-1650) Egypt started with a fair amount of materials. In the early years, they would not have traveled very far to trade because of the lack of available transportation. Egypt isn't near the coast for easy access to exports and imports for trading, in real life, they could only travel so far for good and services. Only traveling to West Africa Benin, Kung, Papua New Guinea, Ottoman, and Australia. During trade with the Ottomans, there was a miscommunication, and the Ottomans didn’t get what they wanted from the deal. However, just as in real life the trade had already been made and unfortunately for the Ottomans they were out raw materials.Accidents happen and people give away the wrong materials when not educated about what their cultures really need, therefore being involved in the world today is important for the Egyptian culture to know and understand. Egypt was able to collect a plethora of new materials to keep all the people alive and remaining in control of themselves. An exciting event took place when West Benin asked the Egyptian tribe to become allies. The alliance came in handy throughout the whole simulation. Alliances were formed in many small countries including Egypt so they could be protected from colonizers and a more sufficient trade supply in the world today and during the world simulation. All small countries in the world need as much help as they can get from surrounding countries, in all circumstances. As the years progressed, Benin always traded in benefit of the Egyptian culture, including materials and making sure the people survived. During round two (1650-1800) Egypt had gained an abundance of materials from Papua New Guinea, Kung, and India. India showed the tribe lots of soft power and connection pertaining to human rights and social justice. Once again, the Egyptian people all survived and remained in control of their own country. As round three began (1800-1950) the news spread that disease broke out around the world, but Egypt escaped this because they were not colonized and exposed of new diseases. This also could happen in a real life scenario because Egypt is neglected from other countries. Countries had also shown more violence and lack of cooperation. Therefore, Egypt began trading materials with new countries such as the Iberian Peninsula, the Incas who had been colonized by the British Isles, and Indonesia who also showed our country soft power. This soft power is incorporated by sustaining their well being in a peaceful way. This soft power is still used today in bigger countries to persuade small ones to join together or to take over them. Miraculous events occurred in this round when the Egyptian culture helped West Benin gain control of their country after being colonized. This happened when a protest was in account and a tribe member of Egypt took control of Benin’s Power X with the surprise of hard power control. Together the alliance was then even stronger. When the Ottomans were colonized two workers were sent to Egypt to produce cotton. Egypt was able to feed their people and these new workers from Ottoman. At the end of round three, the Ottoman workers returned to their country because they were able to take back their power and overthrow the colonizers. Finally, as the Egyptian culture thrived and the people were trading during round four (1950-2100) our nutritious food was no longer intact, resulting in the death of the Egyptian people. During this time period the world was running out of oil and global warming was taking into affect. This affected all the coastal cities by flooding them with at least twelve feet of water. Although this didn’t have a direct impact on Egypt it compromised with the nutritional value of their food and were unable to find the food in order to survive. Because of how much the land and rivers are valued by the Egyptians, if there were to actually be a drought or global warming of some sort, this would effect them greatly by not having water or any food to grow for their people. In the end of the wold simulation, the Egyptians died from a lack of nutrition but never gave up their land.
Sim-Rules
References
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