Amun

God whose name means 'the hidden one'. He was probably originally a god of the air, and despite his much more important position later, that is what he basically remained. Air is one of life's primary necessities and texts from the New Kingdom thus call him 'Lord of the Breath of Life'. The god first appears during the Middle Kingdom in Thebes, where he quickly superceded the god Montu. Although a number of kings of the 11th Dynasty were still called Mentuhetep (Montu is satisfied), by the 12th Dynasty Amenemhat ('Amun goes in front') had become a popular king's name. In Thebes, Amun formed a triad with Mut and Khons. As this city grew in political importance, so too did the position of Amun. As the god of the capital city he became the king of the gods (in Egyptian Imen-Ra nesut netjeru, later rendered Amonrasonther). From an early stage, Amun formed links with important gods from other places, such as Re, the god of Heliopolis, thus forming Amun-Re and appearing as such in many texts and representations. There were also links with Ptah of Memphis. Hymns from the New Kingdom praise the trio Amun, Re and Ptah: 'Three are all the gods, Amun, Re and Ptah, their equal does not exist'. At the end of the Ramesside Period, when the power of the king was waning, a divine state was created in Thebes with Amun at its head. Numerous decrees to do with life and death, people and gods were issued by him. Only once, and then for a very short time, was Amun deprived of his power - by Amenhotep IV / Akhenaten, who introduced the cult of the Aten and persecuted all other gods, particularly Amun. The god Amun is also known as a member of theOgdoad of Hermopolis. Together with his female counterpart, Amaunet (who occasionally takes over the role of Amun's consort in Thebes from Mut), he represents the primeval element of what is hidden in darkness. Once Amun had been 'introduced' in Thebes, priestly speculations created a leading position for Amun within the Ogdoad, which quickly resulted in Amun being regarded as the chief god of the eight; the eight were explained as the shape that Amun had assumed. Thus Amun was the begetter of the Ogdoad of which he was himself a part, a typically Egyptian 'aspective' way of looking at things. Amun is usually depicted as a man with a headdress with two tall feathers and a ribbon hanging down his back. His skin is often coloured blue. In as far as he is linked with the god Min, who wears the same headdress, Amun is depicted ithyphallically, with a flagellum suspended over his raised arm. The animals sacred to Amun were the ram and the goose

Amulet

An object designed to protect the wearer against disaster or to give him certain powers or help. Both the living and the dead could benefit from amulets, and it is often not possible to differentiate between these two target groups. The living usually wore amulets on a cord around the neck, as is shown in representations in tombs and on statues. The dead had amulets on their bodies or wrapped into the mummybandages. Signs of wear indicate that the amulets in question had already been used during life. Amulets acquired their magico-religious power by having a certain spell recited over them (numerous spells in the Book of the Dead are examples of this) but also from the material they were made of and the colours used. Faience, a shiny material and a symbol of regeneration, was a favourite material for amulets, particularly in the Late Period. A papyrus dating from the Roman Period contains a list of the materials to be used (plants and minerals) and their respective effects. Colour also offered a wide range of possibilities. Green, the colour of vegetation and regeneration, was frequently used, as was red, the colour of the sun above the horizon and of blood, but also of the enemy. The shape of the amulet also gave it power and many different shapes are known. Figures of gods were very popular. Bes and Taweret occur regularly, and in the Late Period many other gods appear as well. In addition, animals, usually with a divine significance, were important. Perhaps the most popular was the udjat-eye, but other body parts are also known. In a funerary context, the heart amulet, closely connected with the heart scarab, was popular. Crowns, jewels and objects of daily use have also been frequently found, as well as symbols such as the djed-pillar. Besides actual amulets, the dead were often given lists of sometimes as many as 75 different amulets. Depictions of amulets on papyrus, satisfactory substitutes for the original amulets, are also worth mentioning. Finally, the living are also known to have licked or eaten the drawing of an amulet on papyrus or a limb, thus imbibing its magical power

Amsterdam

In the Hague in the beginning of this century the private collection of the Banker Mr. C.W. Lunsingh Scheurleer was exhibited at the Museum Scheurleer. During the 1920's the Banker was alos able to buy a great part of the Von Bissing collection. Scheurleer contributed to the costs of excavations carried out by W.M.F. Petrie and thus acquired many objects through division after excavation. Unfortunately, in 1932 the bank Scheurleer had some problems and went bankrupt. In order to keep the collection in The Netherlands the Allard Pierson Foundation was established. The City of Amsterdam placed a school in the Sarphatistreer at the disposal of the Foundation and in 1943 the Allard Pierson Archaeological Museum of Amsterdam University was inaugurated. During the course of the years the Museum has expanded it's collection through gifts, purchase and permanent loans, like the Van Leer and Boeke-Cadbury collections and also the Dobborshabti collection. Due to the lack of space Amsterdam University bought the old building of the 'Nederlandse Bank' for the Museum and in 1976 the Allard Pierson relocated and opened.

The main focus of the Egyptian collection are the Pre- and Early Dynastic Period, the Amarna period, the Graeco-Roman period and Coptic Textiles.

Apart from the Egyptian Collection the Allard Pierson Museum owns objects from Greece, Rome, Etruria, Crete/Mycene, Cyprus and Western Asia

Amset

One of the four Sons of Horus, to whose particular protection the liver was entrusted once it had been removed from the body during mummification. He himself was protected or helped by the goddess Isis. The god was closely connected with the south. On sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom on he is usually shown on the eastern side of the head end. Amset is the only one of theSons of Horus always depicted with a human head. The canopic jar in question thus also had a human-headed lid. Because the other Sons of Horus could also be depicted with human heads, it is not always immediately obvious if an anonymous depiction or canopic lid is of Amset. It has sometimes been assumed that the god was originally a goddess. This is not only indicated by the name, but also by the colour of the skin with which the god is usually depicted. A few representations are known from the Late Period showing the god as a woman

Ammut

Once a person arrived in theunderworld after death, he had to defend his deeds before a tribunal of gods with Osiris as the chairman. In the presence of Thothand Anubis, the heart of the deceased was weighed in a scale against Maat, the goddess of truth. If the judgement turned out to be negative, despite all precautions such as a negative confession or an adjuration to the heart not to testify against the deceased, then he fell victim to an animal standing guard by the weighing scales, called Ammut. This name means 'she who swallows the dead'. In later times in particular, it was believed that instead of swallowing the deceased or his heart, Ammut would punish him with a knife; other versions turn the animal into a fire-spitting being. Ammut is often depicted in the vignette accompanying the relevant text from the Book of the Dead (Spell 125). In some papyri, a notation explains that she is a composite being with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion and the back end of a hippopotamus, and this is how most vignettes depict her

Amethyst

Transparent variety of quartzitecoloured by a manganese compound. Throughout Egyptian history, from the 1st Dynasty down to Roman times, amethyst was used to make beads and jewellery, amulets and scarabs. During the Middle Kingdom, amethyst was mined in the Wadi el-Hudi, twenty or thirty kilometers southeast of Aswan, where many quarries have been found with inscriptions from the expeditions. There were various other quarries, however, such as in the western desert about sixty kilometers north of Abu Simbel

Amenhotep IV

King of the 18th Dynasty ('c.'1351 - 1334 BC), the son of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy. He was the husband of the famous queenNefertiti. Amenhotep decided early in his reign to break with existing religious beliefs. He concentrated entirely on worshipping only onegod (who had been worshipped before), called Aten, who was embodied in the visible sun disk. The existence of all other gods was denied by Amenhotep IV, and eventually these gods were persecuted by him. All over Egypt depictions and texts mentioning them were hacked out. Even the plural form 'gods' was not permitted. As a result of these actions, Amenhotep is often called the heretic king. During his reign, Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten ('He who acts beneficently for Aten') and moved his residence from Thebes to a place previously uninhabited, which he called Akhetaten ('horizon of Aten'). This city is now known as El-`Amarna, which has given its name to the entire period and its art. The art - and in this aspect, too, the period was revolutionary - is characterized by exageration of the forms of the human body

Amenhotep III

King of the 18th Dynasty, son of Tuthmosis IV, husband of QueenTiy and father of Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten. Whether he was also the father ofTutankhamun is still disputed. His reign is mainly characterised by peace with the surrounding countries, although vassals in parts of the Egyptian empire in Asia continued to fight among themselves necessitating occasional forays by Amenhotep III. In general, the impression is that Amenhotep was not particularly interested in military affairs and only wanted to preserve the situation created by his predecessors. Within Egypt it was also occasionally unsettled, mainly because the steadily increasing dichotomy between the king on the one hand and the high officials and priests on the other. The king ruled for a long time; he celebrated Sed festivals in his 30th, 34th and 37th regnal years. Amenhotep chose the Aten as his personalgod, as is shown by various sources, but continued to worship the other gods as well. He thus prepared the way for the religious revolution of his son Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten. Under Amenhotep III, Egyptian art attained previously unknown quality. Massive construction works were begun, such as in the temple of Luxor, the Third Pylon in the temple of Karnak, a temple inNubia, and the king's mortuary temple on the west bank at Thebes, of which no more survives than two colossal statues of the king, now known as the Colossi of Memnon

Amenhotep II

The 7th king of the 18th Dynasty, co-regent and successor of Thutmosis III. His mother wasQueen Meritre-Hatshepsut. Amenhotep II was born inMemphis and received a military education. He ruled for more than 25 years, building on the military successes of his father and leading three campaigns to Syria. In the region around Kadesh, Amenhotep is supposed to have killed seven rulers with his own hands, and on his return to have hung their bodies from the walls of Thebes and Napata. This bears witness to the 'he-man' image of this king, who had a distinct preference for being depicted in bellicose situations. However, it is also possible that this was the result of a new royal ideology. It was quiet in Nubia; he installed Wesersatet as the viceroy of Kush. His building activities are mostly visible in the temples and shrines near Thebes and in Nubia. Amenhotep II is buried in tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings. Not only Amenhotep's mummy was found in this tomb, but also those of eight other kings, three women and a young boy. These mummies were all brought to Amenhotep's tomb on the orders of the high priest of Thebes, Pinedjem I (21st Dynasty), to protect them from tomb robbers. The decoration in his tomb, although incomplete, includes a complete version of the Amduat

Amenhotep I

Second king of the 18th Dynasty, the son of Ahmose I and Ahmose-Nefertari. It is assumed that he was very young when he acceded to the throne, and his mother probably functioned as regent for a time. Amenhotep continued the policies of his predecessor. He wanted to restore peace in Egypt and worked on rebuilding it. In addition, he penetrated further than Ahmose into Nubia and conquered that land, turning it into Egypt's most important source of gold. The famous medical papyrus Ebers was written during his reign. This contains a precise Sothic date, an important aid in establishing an absolute chronology. Amenhotep I and his mother are credited with the foundation of the workmen's village Deir el-Medinah. This is probably why he quickly became a protective deity of the Theban necropolis, and of Deir el-Medinah in particular, after his death. Together with his mother Ahmose-Nefertari, he had a mortuary temple on the west bank at Thebes. Amenhotep was particularly revered by the workmen of Deir el-Medinah. Stelae and texts on ostraca and papyrus indicate that a statue of the king was consulted as anoracle during processions. Once a year for four days, a great festival for Amenhotep was celebrated in the month Pamenoth, which bore the king's name (Pamenoth means 'the (month) of Amenhotep'). In connection with his role as the god of the necropolis, Amenhotep is often depicted on the inside of sarcophagi

Amduat

Funerary composition, whose name means 'that which is in theunderworld'. The Amduat dates back to the New Kingdom (first appearing in the tomb ofTuthmosis I), in a number of tombs in the Valley of the Kings. In addition to the royal tombs, for which it was actually intended, the tomb of the vizier User from the time of Tuthmosis III also includes parts. The Amduat sketches the nocturnal journey of the sun god through the earth, beginning in the west and ending with his rebirth in the east. Almost everywhere, the scenes are divided in three registers. The middle register depicts the river that flows through the centre of the earth, comparable with the Nile in Egypt. The solar bark and its crew sail on this river. The two other registers are the banks, on which the inhabitants of the underworld live. In addition to hundreds of figures with captions, the composition also contains longer texts explaining what is happening. It is divided into twelve hours, separated by texts that introduce these hours (a different book of the underworld, the Book of Gates, divides the hours from each other by depictions of gates). There is only a slight relationship between the events and the hours in which they are depicted. The central moment in the sixth hour, the deepest point of the underworld, is the unification of the sun god with the body of Osiris, comparable with the unification between the 'ba' and the body. In the Amduat the sun god is often depicted with the head of a ram, the symbol of the 'ba'. Other hours depict the ominous noises in the underworld (the sound of buzzing bees, of screeching cats, etc.) or the necropolis of Rosetau and the land of 'Sokar who is on his sand', two sandy areas through which the solar bark has to be pulled. The last few hours are a preparation for sunrise, including victory over Apophis (who appears earlier, in the seventh hour, trying to ground the solar bark on his sandbank), and eventually rebirth in the form of a scarab (the god Khepry). The aim of the whole composition is to gain knowledge. According to the text, whoever knows these secret representations is a well-equipped akh, who can enter and leave the underworld. Alongside the long version of the Amduat there is also a shorter version without illustrations and captions. In the Late Period the Amduat was also inscribed on sarcophagi and papyri for private individuals, with a preference being shown for the last three or four hours, which have the rebirth as the central theme

Amaunet

Goddess who formed part of the Ogdoad ofHermopolis. She was the female counterpart of Amun. In this role she occasionally appears in Thebes as thisgod's wife, a position usually confined to Mut. According to texts from the Ptolemaic period, Amaunet was the personification of the north wind, the primeval mother, or the 'mother who was the father' (by which the Egyptians meant 'the mother who needed no husband to conceive children'). She gave birth to the sun god Re, or according to other texts, even to the god Amun in so far as he was a form of Re

Altar

There were two types of altar in Egyptian temples:

Small, portable stands on which different tops could be placed, depending on the kind of offering: a flat table top for food, flowers, etc., a bowl for libations, and a dish for burning incense. These altars were probably stored in the temple magazines and could be placed wherever they were needed.

Stone altars, sometimes very large. They were usually not much more than enlarged offering tables. Some altars of this type are made from one piece of stone, others are constructed of smaller stones. The larger altars often had a small stair or slope on the western side, so that the priestclimbing the altar to make an offering was facing east. Not very many of these stone altars have been found. They are mainly known from sun temples, where offerings to the sun were made directly under the open sky. A number of these, such as the one from the sun temple of Nyuserre at Abu Ghurab, have four offering tables shaped like the Egyptian hieroglyph 'hetep' 'offering', arranged around a central offering surface and aligned with the four cardinal points. Others consist of a large square or rectangular block with a low wall surrounding the offering surface. Many sun altars have been found in the remains of the temples of Akhetaten. In the Great Temple to the Aten, for example, great numbers of them stood in the temple courtyards. In addition to these, this temple also had a large, centrally located altar with a sloping access. Finally, domestic altars are a special type of altar, many of which have been found in Akhetaten. They were set up in a separate room in the home or garden and supplied with a stela depicting the royal family which could be closed away behind doors. They served as a means of worshipping the king as the intermediary between his subjects and the Aten

Alexandria

City on the Mediterranean coast, founded by Alexander the Great in 332-331 BC on the site of an old village, Rhakotis, and expanded by Ptolemy I and II. The city, the residence of the Ptolemies, quickly grew into a metropolis. The town plan, based on a design by the architect Dinocrates of Rhodos and Kleomenes of Naukratis, is very clear with parallel streets. The whole was surrounded by a city wall and had a surface area of roughly 11 square kilometres. In the first century BC, about 500,000 people lived there, including many Jews and Greeks. The famous library of Ptolemy II with its huge collection of papyri was located here. The building was destroyed by fire in the third century AD. Part of the collection of manuscripts may have been housed in theSerapeum, a temple to Sarapis built by the architect Parmeniskos. Other famous buildings in Alexandria include the Caesareum of Cleopatra VII and Augustus (from where the obelisks now in London and New York were taken) and the palace on the Lochias peninsula. The necropolis of Kom es-Shuqafa from the first and second centuries AD, a labyrinth of passageways with rock-cut tombs on many levels is also well known. On the island of Pharos, just off the coast, stood a lighthouse designed for Ptolemy I by Sostratos of Knidos. This 120 m high building was considered to be one of the wonders of the world in antiquity

Alabaster

From the Early Dynastic Period on, the Egyptians quarried a type of stone that is frequently referred to as alabaster, but is in fact travertine (a type of limestone - calcium carbonate). It is a whitish, slightly translucent stone (often with veins of another colour) which occurs mainly in Middle Egypt, particularly between Miniya andAsiut. The best known and most important source was the Hatnub quarries, near El-`Amarna. OneOld Kingdom quarry is situated in the Wadi Gerrawi close to Helwan. Because of its colour and durability, alabaster was regarded as a pure stone and used for chapels, pavements in temples, sarcophagi, altars and above all statues. True alabaster was quarried in the Faiyum region, but Egyptologists usually call this material gypsum (calcium sulphate)

Akhmim

The capital of the 9th Upper Egyptian nome (Eg. ipw or xnt mnw, Gr. Panopolis or Chemmis) once lay close to this place on the eastern bank of the Nile. Although it was a large city and medieval writers still commented on the important pharaonic remains there, there is hardly anything left because the material from the temples was reused during the 14th century to build houses in villages in the vicinity.
The most important god was Min, and a rock-cut chapel dedicated to him is preserved on the north-east side of the town. This chapel, probably cut during the reign of Thutmosis III, was decorated during the reign of Ay and restored later under Ptolemy II. Finds made in the extensive cemeteries belonging to the town indicate that it was occupied from the Old Kingdom down into the Coptic Period

Akhetaten

The ancient Egyptian name of El-`Amarna, roughly halfway between Cairo and Luxor. Here, on land that had never been inhabited before, pharaoh Amenhotep IV/Akhenaten of the 18th Dynastybuilt his residence and called it Akhetaten, 'Horizon of the Aten'. The area was marked out by him using a series of boundary stelae. In the texts written on them the king declares that he will never expand beyond these boundaries and that if he or his queen Nefertitiwere to die elsewhere, their bodies should be transported back to Akhetaten to be buried there. After the death of Akhenaten, Akhetaten was abandoned as the residence. The area only remained occupied for a few decades. Excavations have been going on in Akhetaten since the end of the nineteenth century. In addition to the royal tomb, located in a remote valley, a number of tombs of high officials have been found there. Almost none of them have been finished and only a very few were ever used (undoubtedly the result of the fact that the city was so quickly abandoned). Among the tombs is one for Ay, who later became pharaoh himself. The remains of the city itself have also been uncovered, with temples, palaces and extensive living quarters. With the help of the many finds it has proved possible to reconstruct life in an ancient Egyptian town. It has been estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000 people lived here

Akhenaten

Name that was adopted by thepharaoh Amenhotep IV of the 18th Dynasty. This pharaoh broke with religious tradition by worshipping only one god, Aten, and by denying the existence of all other gods. He transferred his residence fromThebes to a previously unoccupied region, called by him Akhetaten('horizon of the Aten'). The remains of the city are nowadays known as El-`Amarna

Akh

Untranslated, just like the conceptsKa and Ba. The Akh is not only a part, but also the entire existence, seen from a certain perspective. During mummification and burial, every deceased person had to have certain rituals performed for him by a mortuary priest, called s-akh rituals, rituals creating Akh (a causative). This meant that the deceased was able to live on in the sky (the Pyramid Texts from theOld Kingdom already say 'the akh belongs to the sky, the body to the earth'). The numerous twinkling stars in the sky were perceived to be shining akhs. Texts inform us that the Akh was created when the Ka and the Ba were reunited and that it was then permanent and unchangeable. An unusual phenomenon from ancient Egypt are letters written to the dead. They were placed near the tomb and usually contain a request to the deceased to no longer pester the living. In one famous letter, now in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, the writer states that he had always been a good husband to his now deceased wife, that he prepared her for the afterlife according to the rules, and that since her death he has never looked at another woman; in exchange he asks her now to leave him in peace. Such 'ghost' appearances were attributed to the Akh

Aker

Ancient god, the personification of the earth, quickly overshadowed by the earth god Geb, one of theEnnead of Heliopolis. Texts and representations show how Aker was envisaged. In the Old Kingdomhis name was often determined with the earth sign, a flat, wide sign. Representations show the god in this form, with a human head at one side. Desire for symmetry meant that a second head was soon added to the other side and later a lion's forepaws were also added, turning the image into a double sphinx. Occasionally, the solar bark is depicted on the top, between the two heads of Aker. Many tombs in the Valley of the Kings contain such scenes. The meaning behind them is that the sun, after a journey through the earth during the night, reappears out of Aker in the morning. Related to this is the illustration in the Book of the Dead of two lions sitting back to back, between whose backs the sun is depicted rising out of the horizon. The texts call these two lions the personification of the east and the west, or of yesterday and tomorrow, but also the lion pair Shu and Tefnut. A headrest from the tomb ofTutankhamun not only has a depiction of the two lions, but also of Shu supporting the head, the symbol of the sun. Besides being a god symbolising on the one hand the darkness of the stay in the earth, a place feared by the dead, Aker was on the other someone who helped the deceased. Aker not only guarded the snakes that lived in the earth and threatened the deceased (just as he protects the sun god from Apophis), but the deceased could also arise from Aker into the day. For this reason, amulets in the form of Aker were given to the deceased

Agathos Daimon

Known in Egypt as the protectorgod of Alexandria, whose sanctuary was apparently founded by Alexander himself. The oldest evidence for his cult is a passage from the Potters' oracle (130 BC) where Agathos Daimon is identified with the primeval snakeKneph. For the rest, the cult was confined to Alexandria and is only known from the Roman Period. The worship of the Agathos Daimon as a protective house snake appears to have a Greek origin. Further, he mainly appears in Greek literature

Acacia

A wood native to Egypt, already in use in prehistoric times. Along with sycamore and tamarisk it is the most commonly worked wood. According to texts from the Old Kingdom, it came from Hatnub in Middle Egypt, and also from Nubia. The wood was mainly used to make ships, while the acacia blossom was used in floral wreaths. The Greek historian Herodotus, who visited Egypt in the fifth century BC, tells that the wood was used to make boats and also their masts. Other classical authors confirm the use of acacia for the manufacture of ships

Abydos

Capital of the eighth Upper Egyptian nome, also called the Thinite nome. In the area, near Umm el-Qa'ab, are the tombs of a number of kings from the Protodynastic period, including that of King Djer, later thought to be the tomb of Osiris, at least from the Middle Kingdom on. Although the original god of Abydos was Khentimentiu (the oldest templehere is dedicated to this god), he was swiftly linked to, and his cult largely usurped by that of Osiris. According to tradition, the head of this god was buried at Abydos, after he had been cut to pieces by Seth and his body parts had been scattered throughout Egypt. The nome symbol for the city symbolizes this head, wearing the Osiris crown with a double plume. Every Egyptian wanted to be buried at such a holy place; when this was not possible, then they wanted to have a cenotaph at Abydos as well as their tomb elsewhere, or at the very least erect a stela which meant they were there in name and representation. Thousands of these memorials, from roughly the Middle Kingdom on, have been found at Abydos. Many were erected at the temple of Osiris. Abydos was also a popular place of pilgrimage, not only for the living (preferably during the celebration of the mystery festivals), but also for the dead, who during their funeral - at least by means of a representation in their tomb of a boat journey - wanted to travel there. The most important constructions still visible here are some temples dating to the19th Dynasty. Apart from a temple of Ramesses II, the sanctuary built by Sethos I is particularly well preserved, with its associated 'Osireion', assumed to be a cenotaph for the king. Its walls contain parts of the Book of the Dead and the Book of Gates, as well as a cosmological scene of the sky goddess Nut bent over the earth. All of these temples served not only the cults of the gods but also that of the dead king (who as Osiris was also a god after all). Famous, too, is the king-list carved in the temple itself, a list of 76 kings from Menes up to and including Sethos I

Abu Sir

Necropolis dating from the 5th Dynasty, forming part of the extensive necropolis of Memphis. Abu Sir is situated between Gizaand Saqqara. The pyramidcomplexes of Sahure, Neferirkare, Nyuserre, Neferefre (Raneferef), and another as yet unidentified ruler of the 5th Dynasty (possibly Shepseskare) are located here. Further, there are a few tombs belonging to members of the court, including the pyramid complex of Queen Khentkaues, the mother of Sahure and Neferirkare, and the mastaba of the vizier Ptahshepses, a relative of Nyuserre. There are also some shaft tombs dating from the 30th Dynasty. Of the pyramids, that belonging to Sahure, with its valley temple, mortuary temple and processional way, is the best preserved. Part of the complex is a courtyard with a basalt floor and sixteen red granite columns. On the limestone walls were beautiful, painted reliefs (now in the Egyptian Museums in Cairo and Berlin). One of the corridors in the complex was used in the New Kingdom as a sanctuary for a local form of the goddess Sakhmet. One remarkable feature is that Nyuserre usurped Neferirkare's processional way for his own monument. A large number of Old Kingdom papyri were found in Neferirkare's pyramid complex, now referred to as the Abu Sir papyri. They contain information on how the mortuary cult of the king was run at that time. Near Abu Sir there are two sun temples, one built by Userkaf, the founder of the 5th Dynasty, and the other by Nyuserre at Abu Ghurab

Abu Simbel

Region between the first and second cataracts, roughly 250 km south of Aswan, where two rock temples built by Ramesses II are located. The large temple is dedicated to Amun-Re, Re-Harakhty, Ptah and the deified Ramesses II. The façade consists of four statues of Ramesses II, each 22 metres high, and with their own names. They all have a representation of the Nine Bowsunder their feet and thrones, as a symbol of the victory of Ramesses over his enemies, in this particular case dominion over Nubia. Between the two pairs of statues, and above the entrance to the temple is a statue of the sun god, holding in his hands thehieroglyphs 'weser' and 'maat' and with a sun disk on his head ('re'). These elements identify the statue as a depiction of Ramesses II himself, whose throne name was Weser-Maat-Re, as an incarnation of the sun god. At the top of the façade is a frieze of baboons, raising their forepaws in worship before the sun god. At the back of the roughly 60 m deep interior are four cult statues of the gods to whom the temple is dedicated. Twice a year (on 20 February and 20 October) they are completely lit by in-coming sunlight. The smaller temple is dedicated to Hathor of Abshek and the deified queen Nefertari. The façade of this temple, too, consists of a number of colossal statues, in this instance of Ramesses II and Nefertari. In the sanctuary is a statue of Ramesses II, protected by the cow goddess Hathor. Within the framework of the UNESCO operation to save monuments that would otherwise have vanished beneath the waters of Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan Dam, both temples were moved to a higher location between 1964 and 1968

Abu Ghurab

A locality between Giza and Saqqaraon the west bank of the Nile, close toAbu Sir. The remains of the suntemple of Nyuserre from the 5th Dynasty are located here, one of only two sun temples ever found. The other is that of Userkaf in Abu Sir

15th Dynasty

Period within the 2nd Intermediate Period. The kings originally came from western Asia, possibly Palestine, and were called Hyksos(Greek for 'Rulers of Foreign Lands'). Their residence was Avaris in the Delta. Only a small part ofUpper Egypt came under their control, other small kingdoms in Middle and Lower Egypt were ruled by the kings of the 16th Dynasty, also called the minor Hyksos kings. The way to the expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt was prepared by the last rulers of the 17th Dynasty in Thebes, and the founder of the 18th Dynasty, Ahmose, was the one who eventually achieved this

14th Dynasty

Period within the 2nd Intermediate Period. The rulers of this dynasty were able to expand the control they had from the Delta over a part ofLower Egypt at the cost of the kings of the 13th Dynasty

13th Dynasty

Period within the 2nd Intermediate Period, characterised by rivalry over the throne. Many kings of various origin each ruled for a short time, but all from the residence Itjitawy near el-Lisht. Part of Lower Egypt, however, quickly came under the control of the kings of the 14th Dynasty

12th Dynasty

After the vizier Amenemhat at the end of the 11th Dynasty was able to prevent Egypt from falling apart, he seized power himself and became the first king of the 12th Dynasty. He moved the residence, called (Imenemhat) Itjitawy ('Amenemhat is the one who controls the Two Lands'), to a location near el-Lisht. Thebesremained important as the old residence and the city of Amun. This god was rapidly becoming important, as is shown by the frequency of the royal name Amenemhat ('Amun is in front'). The god would soon be equated with the sun god to become Amun-Re. Amenemhat I built hispyramid near the residence at el-Lisht, partly using stones from older constructions. In general, the pyramids from this period are of a lesser quality, partly because they were built using mudbricks. An assassination attempt was made on Amenemhat; it is uncertain whether it was successful (see the Story of Sinuhe and the Teachings of Amenemhat for his Son). Senwosret I, his successor, undertook various expeditions, such as a journey to the Wadi Hammammat with 17,000 men and campaigns to western Asia and especially Nubia. The latter country was conquered as far as the 2nd cataract and controlled by military outposts. A number of forts, of which Buhen is the most important, were occupied. Later on, Senwosret III moved the border further south to Semna where a fortress was also built. The pyramid of Senwosret I is also in el-Lisht, that of his son Amenemhat II at Dahshour. During the reign of Senwosret II, a start was made on draining the Faiyum, completed under Amenemhat III. The pyramid of Senwosret II lies near el-Lahun, along with the remains of the associated pyramid town (called Kahun). Papyri have been found here containing, among other things, astronomical data which make a precise chronology possible. Near Hawwara is the pyramid of Amenemhat III with the so-called Labyrinth nearby; a second pyramid belonging to this king is at Dahshour. In tombs of family members of the king, both there and in el-Lahun, many pieces of goldjewellery have been found. Under the royal family of the 12th Dynasty, the local nomarchs acquired a certain independence and wealth. They built wonderful rock tombs, particulary in Elephantine, Asiut, el-Bersha and Beni Hassan. The tomb of Khnumhotep at Beni Hassan contains a famous representation of Asiatics who have come to Egypt bearing eye paint, a scene which has often been linked to the entry into Egypt of the Children of Israel. Towards the end of the dynasty, after the influence of the nomarchs had been severely curtailed, their property confiscated and the heredity of offices forbidden, the situation became less stable. The measures were regarded as a heavy burden and this eventually led to the end of the unity of the country. Further, the nobility had also literally lost their wealth. A new period of unrest broke out, usually called the 2nd Intermediate Period

11th Dynasty

After the unrest of the 1st Intermediate Period, the reunification of Upper Egypt andLower Egypt meant the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The 11th Dynasty is usually regarded as the first dynasty of this period. The king who succeeded in reunifying the two lands was called Mentuhotep ('Montu is satisfied'), a name borne by several kings of the 11th Dynasty. This indicated the primacy of the god Montu. Kings in the next dynasty called themselves Amenemhat ('Amun is in front'), which indicates that the swiftly rising Amun had overtaken Montu in significance. In the 11th Dynasty, campaigns to Nubia were again conducted and building activities on the temples were restarted. Nevertheless, the dynasty did not stay in power for very long. Towards the end there were several kings ruling simultaneously, and it was only thanks to the actions of the vizierAmenemhat (who later became king) that the land did not fall apart again

10th Dynasty

Period within the 1st Intermediate Period, to be taken together with the9th Dynasty. The division into two dynasties can be traced back to a misinterpretation of Manetho's 'Aegyptiaca' by its editors. The 9th and 10th Dynasties together are also known as the Herakleopolitan period, after the name of the residence, Herakleopolis. Not much is known about the kings of this period, who followed each other in quick succession

9th Dynasty

Period within the 1st Intermediate Period, to be taken together with the10th Dynasty. The division into two dynasties can be traced back to a misinterpretation of Manetho's 'Aegyptiaca' by its editors. The 9th and 10th Dynasties together are also known as the Herakleopolitan period, after the name of the residence, Herakleopolis. Not much is known about the kings of this period, who followed each other in quick succession

8th Dynasty

Period within the 1st Intermediate Period, in which many kings (17 according to the Abydos kinglist) over a period of about 20 years each ruled for a short time

7th Dynasty

Short period usually considered to form part of the 1st Intermediate Period coming immediately after the collapse of the Old Kingdom. It is usually referred to as the 7th Dynasty following the list drawn up by the Egyptian historian and priest Manetho

6th Dynasty

The most important kings of this dynasty were Teti, Pepi I, Merenre and Pepi II (the latter reigned for 94 years, according to tradition). Not long after the start of the dynasty, Egypt began to have problems. The financial problems were at first relieved by doubling the frequency of the cattle count, the basis of the taxation system. There was intensive trade with the east (Sinai, western Asia) and also with the countries to the south of Egypt, such as Punt and Nubia, from whence incense, ivory, goldand other items were imported. In his tomb at Aswan, the nomarch Harkhuf tells of several journeys he undertook to Nubia. On one of them he brought back a dwarf for the king, who was very pleased. The problems in Egypt proved huge, however, and this dynasty consequently reflects a gradual breakdown of authority, with the local nomarchs becoming virtually independent. This decline is demonstrated by a number of different things. The poorer sections of the population revolted against their position. Problems in Nubia could not be sufficiently repressed. Increasingly, funerary matters that had previously been the king's prerogative were now also included by private individuals in their tombs. The quality of the art also declined, both in execution and in material (types that were cheaper and easier to work). Eventually, the erosion of central power led to the end of the Old Kingdom

5th Dynasty

The best known rulers from this dynasty were Userkaf, Sahure, Neferirkare, Nyuserre, Djedkare and Unas, in order of succession. These kings had a special link with the cult of the sun god Re. Several of them built sun temples at Abu Ghurab and Abu Sir, where their pyramids are also located. In Abu Sir the oldest known inscribed papyri have also been found, connected with the mortuary cult of Neferirkare. An important political development for Egypt was the fact that important offices, such as that of vizier, were no longer filled by relatives of the king but by officials. These officials were rewarded with land, initially only the usufruct. Because the offices later became hereditary, the lands gradually came into private hands and a stratum of landowners was created which gradually became independent. An important fact from a religious point of view is that Unas was the first to have the Pyramid Texts inscribed in his tomb at Saqqara.

4th Dynasty

The first king of this dynasty, Seneferu, is sometimes regarded as the most powerful ruler of theOld Kingdom. As such he was revered in later times. The pyramidof Maidum, probably begun by Huni in the 3rd Dynasty, was completed by him. In addition, he built two pyramids at Dahshour. His son was Khufu, the owner of the Great Pyramid at Giza. The actual builder and architect was Hemi-iunu, a large statue of whom was found in a tomb near the pyramid. It is now in the Pelizaeus-Museum in Hildesheim. Khufu permitted his courtiers to build their own mastabas around his pyramid. His mother, Hetepheres, is also buried close by. A great deal of furniture and gold andsilver jewellery was found in her tomb. After his death, several of his sons vied with each other for the throne.Khafre is the best known and longest ruling of them. His son Menkaure only became king after vanquishing a rival king. Eventually, further fights for the throne heralded the end of the dynasty. The rise of the cult of the sun god Rewas an important religious development in this dynasty. Djedefre, another son of Khufu, was the first king to call himself 'son of Re'

3rd Intermediate Period

The period after the collapse of theNew Kingdom. The 3rd Intermediate Period consists of the 21st to 24th Dynasties. During the21st Dynasty, various kings ruledLower Egypt from Tanis, while the High Priests of Amun in Thebesbecame more and more powerful and in fact were autonomous rulers over the God's State of Amun. During this period, the mummies of several kings were reburied in a hidden rock tombnear Deir el-Bahari to protect them against further pillaging. A local ruler of Libyan extraction, Shoshenq, became the founder of the 22nd Dynasty, which also ruled from Tanis. The period which followed was one of confusion, with other Libyan princes in the western Delta gradually gaining power. The office of High Priest also changed hands frequently at this time. In the 22nd Dynasty, a separate line broke away (23rd Dynasty) and control over Egypt was divided between the two royal houses. The Libyans of Saïs, the 24th Dynasty, wrested power from the 22nd Dynasty, but eventually both ruling houses had to relinquish control to the princes of Kush advancing from the south, the later 25th Dynasty

3rd Dynasty

At the start of the dynasty, under King Nebka, Memphis became the permanent residence. Djoser, his successor, is considered to be the most important ruler of this dynasty. He is called the founder of the Old Kingdom. His tomb is well known: the Step Pyramid atSaqqara, built by Imhotep. The next king was Sekhemkhet. His tomb was begun near that of Djoser, but never completed. In the days of these kings the first mines in Sinai were opened up for copperand turquoise. King Nebka and his successors are represented in reliefs near the mines of Wadi Maghara. After the short reign of Khaba (unfinished step pyramidnear Zawayet el-Aryan to the north of Memphis), a struggle for the throne began between various pretenders. Huni eventually emerged the victor. He built a fortress onElephantine island near the 1st cataract and extracted granite from the Aswanquarries for statues and the construction of his mortuary temple. The pyramid of Maidum was possibly built for him

2nd Persian Period

Another name for the 31st Dynasty, the period when several Persian kings ruled Egypt, including Ataxerxes III and Darius III. With the defeat of the latter and the victory of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemaic Period began

2nd Intermediate Period

The 13th Dynasty was characterised by struggles for the throne. Numerous kings who were not related but of varying origin ruled for short periods. The residence remained Itjitawy near el-Lisht, founded in the 12th Dynasty, and the substantial bureaucratic system of the Middle Kingdom continued to function. Nevertheless, the kings soon were no longer in control of the entire country; part of Lower Egypt was ruled from the Delta by kings of the 14th Dynasty, which eventually resulted in the unity of the country being lost again. Conquerors entering the Delta from western Asia were able to gain influence, and eventually one of them succeeded in capturing the residence of the 13th Dynasty. He proclaimed himself king, and he and a number of his successors were called the Hyksos (15th Dynasty). The residence was moved to Avaris in the Delta, and the land was quickly divided into a number of small kingdoms. The rulers of the kingdoms of Middle and Lower Egypt, often called the minor Hyksos kings, were known as the 16th Dynasty. The last and perhaps most important Hyksos ruler was Apophis, who incidentally bore an Egyptian name. In the meantime, the kings of the 17th Dynasty had come to power in Thebes, once again rulers from different families. The whole of Upper Egypt, as far as the Asiut region, was soon reunited. Further concentration of power took place under Tao II/Seqenenre who, however, came to a violent end. His son Kamose prepared the way for the definitive liberation of Egypt by steadily moving northwards. The Hyksos appealed to their allies in Kush for help which never materialised (Kamose erected stelae telling of this in the temple of Karnak). A brother of Kamose, Ahmose, was the one who eventually expelled the Hyksos from Egypt. As the reunifier of the Two Lands he became the founder of the 18th Dynasty

2nd Dynasty

At the start of this dynasty, the political and cultural accent was placed more on Lower Egypt. The kings were buried at Saqqara. It was a time of political unrest, with some kings only recognized in Lower Egypt. The rulers at the start of this period were Hotepsekhemui, Nebre, Ninetjer, Unegnebti and Sekhemib. After them came a number of Lower Egyptian 'rebels', whose names are only known from a much later time, and maybe wrongly: Neferkare, Neferkasokar and a king who may have been called Hudjefa. The Upper Egyptian counterpart of these kings was Peribsen, who regarded himself as the representative of Seth ofNaqada, and thus also bore a Seth name. He was succeeded by Khasekhemui. This king united the two gods in his Horus-Seth name (replaced by a Horus name in Hierakonpolis, where Horus was worshipped) and was also able to reunite the two lands. From now on Horus was considered to be the protector of Lower Egypt and Seth that of Upper Egypt. Given the emphasis on the dominance of Horus, it is clear that Lower Egypt played the most important role from now on

1st Persian Period

Another name for the 27th Dynasty, when Egypt was ruled by Persian kings, including Cambyses, Darius I, Xerxes I and Ataxerxes I

1st Intermediate Period

After the collapse of the Old Kingdom at the end of the 6th Dynasty, there was first a short interregnum (a period of 70 days, misunderstood by later editors of Manetho's 'Aegyptiaca' and turned into the 7th Dynasty). There then followed a long-drawn out fight for the throne (8th Dynasty), during which time no less than 17 kings ruled in less than 20 years, according to the Abydos king list, among others. The kings of Herakleopolis near the Faiyumeventually seized power, although not over all of Egypt. They are called the 9th and 10th Dynasties - the division into two dynasties goes back to the Greek tradition concerning Egyptian history. Many kings followed each other in quick succession. The names of only a few are known, and there are hardly any monuments. In addition to the Herakleopolitans, other kings ruled over southern Egypt from Thebes and in the early 11th Dynasty, which is sometimes included in the 1st Intermediate Period, conflict broke out between the two royal houses. In their inscriptions, the governors of the various nomes and cities not only describe their own achievements as rulers, but also their loyalty to one of the two royal houses. Eventually the Theban king Mentuhotep II succeeded in gaining control over the whole country; it is not clear whether this was a diplomatic or a military victory over Herakleopolis. The 1st Intermediate Period is a period of decay. Not only royal power collapsed, but also that of the government and its many bureaucrats thoughout the land. The quality of the art declined dramatically. Tribes from outside invaded Egypt, and occasionally there was famine. The tombs, pyramids and mortuary temples were plundered, which led to the realisation that no measure was sufficient to guarantee life after death. Despite the omnipresent decay, this was an important mental development. At the same time use of the funerary texts became more widespread. What had previously been a royal prerogative (Pyramid Texts) was now available to an elite level of the population (Coffin Texts). This trend was to continue and would eventually make this textual material available to the poorer levels of the population (Book of the Dead). Towards the end of the 1st Intermediate Period, the artistic production of places such as Gebelein and Asiut once again began to flourish

1st Dynasty

The 1st Dynasty begins with the unification of the Two Lands,Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, attributed by the Egyptian historian Manetho (3rd century BC) to Menes, who has been identified with either Narmer or Aha.Memphis was chosen as the residence. It is assumed that the 'White Walls' (the name of the actual residence) was situated nearAbu Sir. Saqqara became the necropolis; a large number of 1st Dynasty mastabas are located on the northeastern edge of the Saqqara plateau. A stone bowl bearing the name of Narmer was found beneath the Step Pyramid ofDjoser. Royal tombs from the Early Dynastic period have also been found at Abydos, however, and it is thought that Narmer is buried there. In addition to Abydos, the Upper Egyptian capital city Hierakonpolis also remained a religious centre. Aha's successor (after a 10-month interregnum by King Iti/Teti) was King Djer, whose tomb at Abydos was later considered to be the tomb of Osiris. Djer achieved an important victory over Nubia, as depicted in a relief carved in the rocks near the 2nd Cataract. Other kings from this period include Wadji, Dewen, Adjib, Semerkhet and Qaa. Dewen was the first who bore the title King of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Ivory and ebony objects have been found in his tomb at Abydos; on one of them is a scene that is probably an illustration of the Sed festival of the king, with the first depiction of the double crown of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Important events during this period include the division of the country into nomes to make it easier to govern, and the first large-scale sea journeys to the Lebanon to collect timber, found among other places in the construction of the tomb of Aha (or one of his high officials) at Saqqara. Rebellious foreign peoples were successfully rebuffed, but by the end of the dynasty the internal situation was restless, mainly because there was still conflict between conquered Lower Egypt and victorious Upper Egypt

information

At a rough estimate, over 2 million objects from ancient Egypt are kept in about 850 public collections, dispersed over 69 countries around the world. This website aims to collect them into a global virtual museum, which can be visited at any time, from any place. The Global Egyptian Museum is a long-term project, carried out under the aegis of the International Committee for Egyptology CIPEG