The Middle Kingdom of Egypt

“The Middle Kingdom was a generally peaceful time.” The pharaohs of this time were shown as taking care of their people like a shepherd, not like a god-king as in the Old Kingdom. “However, expeditions were sent during some phases of the Middle Kingdom to push the borders of Egypt outward.”

“During this time trade picked up dramatically and many resources which before had been unused were now being exploited...During the entire Middle Kingdom many building projects were conducted.”

“Life was good, especially for the wealthy. We can see this from the tomb paintings, which show many daily activities, along with the marshes and wheat fields of river and farm…Middle Kingdom objects, too, such as jewelry, are among the most beautiful ever found in Egypt.” (Marston 26)

The Middle Kingdom actually started in the middle of the eleventh dynasty; so let’s back up a bit to the beginning of this line of rulers.

“11th Dynasty
· Mentuhotep I (‘Tepy-aa’)
· Intef I (Sehertawy)
· Intef II (Wahankh)
· Intef III (Nakhtnebtepnefer)
Middle Kingdom c. 2055-c.1650
· Mentuhotep II (Nebhepetre) [The First Intermediate Period came to an end and the Middle Kingdom began with Mentuhotep II, the fifth king of the eleventh dynasty. He reunited Egypt after a time of chaos and civil war. Later generations now see him as the second man to reunite Egypt.]
· Mentuhotep III (Sankhkare) [This pharaoh is interestingly missing from some of the lists of kings. His reign was positive and had many building projects, but there seems to have been a famine in the Theban region at the end of his reign. His mother was a commoner.]
· Mentuhotep IV (Nebtawyre)” (Oakes 340)

“Mentuhotep [IV] seems to have been overthrown by his own vizier, Amenemhet, who thus founded the XII Dynasty. Some ill feeling may have persisted, since Amenemhet himself was ultimately assassinated, a sort of act that was, as far as we know, rather rare in Egyptian history.”

12th Dynasty
· “Amenemhet I [“Amenemhet I set about consolidating the country in a very purposeful manner. He moved his capital north to the capital he apparently established named Amenemhet-itj-tawy...It was located south of Memphis.”]
· Sesostris I [He apparently was trained by his father on how to rule and was given specific active roles in the government, especially concerning the military. When he succeeded his father, there was “little or no disruption in the administration of the country.”]
· Amenemhet II
· Sesostris II
· Sesostris III [He “reorganized Egypt into four regions: the northern and southern halves of the Nile Valley and the eastern and western Delta.”]
· Amenemhet III “This mud-brick pyramid was originally covered in limestone. It is the burial place of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Amenemhet III.”
· Amenemhet IV
· Queen Sobeknefru”: the first female monarch (source)

“The 12th Dynasty re-established the pyramid building and every Pharaoh of that dynasty was buried in their own pyramid.” However, “the distinctive works of this period are a series of royal statues that reflect a subtle change in the Egyptian concept of kingship.”

13th Dynasty
· “Wegaf
· Intef IV
· Hor
· Sobekhotep II
· Khendjer
· Sobekhotep III
· Neferhotep I
· Sobekhotep IV
· Ay
· Neferhotep II” (source)

14th Dynasty
· “Nehesi
· Khatire
· Nebfaure
· Sehabre
· Meridjefare
· Sewadjkare
· Heribre
· Sankhibre
· Kanefertemre
· Neferibre
· Ankhkare” (source)

The Second Intermediate Period
Soon after this, Egypt was invaded. “For the first time, the Egyptians found themselves under foreign rule- the HYKSOS. This rule was in the fifteenth and sixteenth dynasties [as well as the seventeenth.] The rulers did not impose a foreign system of government and kept themselves to the existing Egyptian systems. They kept records in Egyptian script, using Egyptian royal titles and copying Egyptian styles on art.”

“The Hyksos dynasty took its pharaonic responsibilities seriously and encouraged buildings, the arts and crafts and literature. It was a considerable time of technical innovation. The Hyksos brought Egypt the horse harness and the war chariots and their military improvements.”

15th Dynasty
· “Sheshi
· Yakubher
· Khyan
· Apepi I
· Apepi II” (source)

16th Dynasty
· “Anather
· Yakobaam” (source)

17th Dynasty
· “Sobekemsaf
· Intef VII
· Tao I
· Tao II
· Kamose” (source) This statue is of Kamose.

“In the south, an Egyptian dynasty emerged at…[Thebes]: its founder was Rahotep. Under the Theban kings, (Ta’a and his successors,) Seqenenre and Kamose war broke between the two dynasties. The Hyksos were being forced back on the Delta. Seqenenre and Kamose died in battle, but Kamose’s successor AHMOSIS I, completed the task and drove the Hyksos out of Egypt. He became the founder of the mighty eighteenth dynasty, the first in the New Kingdom.”

Works Cited:

Marston, Elsa. The Ancient Egyptians. New York: Benchmark Books. 1996.

Oakes, Lorna and Lucia Gahlin. Ancient Egypt. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc. 2003.

Juan Pierre: So What if I Make Him Sound Great?

My Dad says it's dumb that I cheer for him every time I see him on TV or that I talk about him a lot. My BFF makes fun of me for cheering for him because he's bald. So what? I believe Juan Pierre is the best player ever (though he's with the Dodgers now, not the Cubs.)

He's quick so he can steal a lot and he makes some amazing catches. Who couldn't like him? You can always trust him. He's willing to lay down a sacrifice bunt for the team, but he's super good at regular bunts, too. The only bad things are that he seems to get out a lot and he's a devout Catholic. I guess he can't be perfect even if I want him to be!

"·Bats: Left, Throws: Left
·Height: 6' 0", Weight: 180 lb.
·School: Galveston College, University of South Alabama
·High School: Alexandria (LA) High School
·Debut: [in the major leagues at least, he was recognized in the minors, too]
August 7, 2000
·Born: August 14, 1977 in Mobile, AL USA" (source)

In the majors, he's played for the Rockies, Marlins, Cubs, and Dodgers.
He's set a batting record and he's been in line for MVP a couple times, too.
His career batting average is .300. (source)

"In his seven years through 2006, Pierre has batted .303 with 12 home runs, 287 RBI, and 325 stolen bases in 1,007 games...Juan became a fan favorite early in his career because of his speed, durability, and work ethic. He led the National League in stolen bases in 2001 and 2003, and stole at least 45 bases each year from 2001 to 2006; because of his great speed and ability for contact hitting, many believe he is one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball." (source)

Plus, he's one of the nicest Dodgers. I almost got his autograph, too!

Then, I used to play centerfield (when I wasn't at second) and I like the Dodgers, so I have to like him even if he wasn't my favorite player. He's the best.
It's funny because I just told my friend the other day that I wanted one of these bobbleheads and then I found a picture of one the next day on Google!

Sorry, I just had to post this. I posted a picture on the side of my blog, too.



Update:
"Member of 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins, and was named the Marlins' most valuable player by the South Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America

Received the Cool Papa Bell Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 2003
Led the National League in stolen bases in 2001 (46) and 2003 (65)

Pierre was the only player in baseball to play every inning of all his team's games in 2004, and was only the third player to do it since 1971.

On May 9, 2006, Pierre robbed the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds of a career 714th home run, which would have tied Bonds with Babe Ruth for second on the all-time list, by catching the ball as it topped the fence. [YES! See? He's amazing!]

Was the first Marlin to record 200 hits in a season
Set the record for the lowest batting average (.292) in a season (2006) while collecting at least 200 hits (204).

Has the 2nd most stolen bases out of any active player

On July 29, 2008, Pierre stole his hundreth base with the Dodgers, becoming only one of four players in MLB history to steal at least a hundred bases with three different teams. He previously stole 100 with the Colorado Rockies and 167 with the Florida Marlins." (source)

The Old Kingdom of Egypt

“The Old Kingdom was the richest and most creative period in Egyptian history.” All the pyramids were built at this time and Egypt was wealthy and prosperous. There were ten (and part of the eleventh) dynasties in this kingdom.

“With whom the Predynastic Period ends and the 1st Dynasty begins is a matter of speculation, with Narmer either being the first king of the 1st Dynasty [which began in 3100 B.C,] or the last king of the Predynastic period. This is an argument that has never really been settled.” However, assuming that Narmer was the first king of the first dynasty, these are the rulers.

1st Dynasty
“Narmer
Aha [also known as Menes.] At this time, “Egypt was split into two districts: Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Unification of these two kingdoms came under King Menes in 3100 BC. Menes unified the two areas and divided the land into 40 regions where a governor was appointed to rule each region and report back to the Pharaoh.”
Djer
Djet
Den
Anedjib
Semerkhet
Qa’a.” (Oakes 340)

During this first dynasty, “papyrus was invented and as a consequence writing was used as an administrative tool of government.”

“From the end of the 1st dynasty, there is evidence of rival claimants to the throne.” We see that Hetepsekhemwy was successful in claiming the throne, though, thus starting the 2nd dynasty.

2nd Dynasty
“Hetepsekhemwy [means ‘peaceful in respect of the two powers’ and may allude to the conclusion of strife between two factions or parts of the country, to the antagonistic gods Horus and Seth, or to both.”]
Raneb
Nynetjer
Weneg
Sened
Peribsen
Khasekhemwy” (Oakes 340)

“The Second Dynasty maintained the war records of raids into Nubia. None of the raid efforts were large scale or resulted in permanent conquest, but they are indicative of a desire for the wealth of Nubia. Another large exploit of the Egyptians during the Second Dynasty is the shift of a power center from Abydos to Memphis. This shift, due largely in part to resources, could also possibly have been due to the cult of the Sun god Ra beginning during this period, and also due to a want for greater political control by the king. By the end of the 2nd Dynasty an end to political opposition of north and south established a basic economic, religious and political system, which lasted well into dynasties to come, and paved the way for the more affluent Third Dynasty.”

This is when the Old Kingdom actually starts. This dynasty began in 2686 B.C.

3rd Dynasty
“Sanakht (Nebka)
Djoser (Netjerikhet) [Djoser is “accredited with building the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. The king's vizier, Imhotep, was the architect of that great tomb, and of the magnificent Funerary Complex of Djoser at Saqqara. Egypt also experienced a seven year famine during Djoser's reign.”]
Sekhemkhet
Khaba
Huni” (Oakes 340)

Overall, this third dynasty was a prosperous age. “The artistic masterpieces in the tombs of the nobles show the martial wealth of this time.”

4th Dynasty
“Sneferu [This pharaoh “sent military expeditions as far as Libya and Nubia.”]
Khufu (Cheops) [He built the Great Pyramid of Giza.”]
Djedefre (Radjedef) [He built the second pyramid of Giza.]
Khafre (Chephren) [He built the third and final pyramid of Giza.]
Menkaure (Mycerinus)
Shepseskaf” (Oakes 340)

“The fourth dynasty came from Memphis and the fifth from the south in Elephantine. [However,] the transition from one ruling family to another appears to have been peaceful.”

5th Dynasty
"Userkaf
Sahure
Neferirkare
Shepseskare
Reneferef
Niuserre
Menkauhor
Djedkare
Unas (Wenis)" (Oakes 340)
“There are surviving papyri from this period which demonstrate well developed methods of accounting and record keeping.”

“The Old Kingdom is often also called the ‘Pyramid Age,’” but “from Dynasty 5 the pyramids declined. They ceased with the collapse of the Old Kingdom. Although reintroduced in the Middle Kingdom, they were finally replaced by rock-cut tombs.” (David 25)

6th Dynasty
"Teti
Userkare
Pepi I (Meryre)
Merenre
Pepi II (Neferkare)
Nitiqret" (Oakes 340)

“There are many inscriptions from the sixth dynasty. These include records of trading expeditions to the south from the reigns of Pepi I. One of the most interesting is a letter written by Pepy II. The pyramid of Pepi II at southern Saqqara is the last major monument of the Old Kingdom.

“7th and 8th Dynasties
…Numerous short reigns…” (Oakes 340)

This time from 2181 B.C. to 2055 B.C. is called the First Intermediate Period.

“When King Pepy II [Pepi II] died after 94 years of reign, the government lost control of power. This decline in royal power allowed provincial governors to form states, ruling their districts. The people no longer felt an allegiance to the pharaoh...As the pharaoh’s power decreased, the power of the governors increased.”

“9th and 10th Dynasties
Khety (Meryibre)
Khety (Wahkre)
Merykare
Ity” (Oakes 340)

There was general conflict in Egypt at this time, but was resolved in the 11th dynasty.

11th Dynasty
Mentuhotep I (‘Tepy-aa’)
Intef I (Sehertawy)
Intef II (Wahankh)
Intef III (Nakhtnebtepnefer)
Middle Kingdom c. 2055-c.1650
Mentuhotep II (Nebhepetre)
Mentuhotep III (Sankhkare)
Mentuhotep IV (Nebtawyre)” (Oakes 340)

“Life was good in the Old Kingdom. Egypt was at peace, and trade flourished. Mighty kings built the Great Pyramids, and sculptors and tomb painters created the finest art of Egypt’s history.” (Marston 9 and 10) However, this could not last forever. “The Old Kingdom declined with power struggles within and raids from without.”

David, Rosalie. Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt. New York: Oxford University Press. 1998.

Marston, Elsa. The Ancient Egyptians. New York: Benchmark Books. 1996.

Oakes, Lorna and Lucia Gahlin. Ancient Egypt. New York: Barnes & Noble Publishing, Inc. 2003.

Pharoah Khufu

Pharoah Khufu (2589-2566 B.C.) was the second pharaoh to rule over Egypt during the Fourth dynasty (2613-2494 B.C.) “His real name was Khnum-Khufwy, which means, "the god Khnum protects me," and Khufu was his nickname.” “The Turin Papyrus mentioned that he ruled for 23 years after the reign of his father Snefru.” “ Khufu’s mother’s name was Hetepheres.” “Khufu married Queen Merey-it-es...[and] he also married Queen Henutsen.”

According to various inscriptions, Khufu probably did lead military into the Sinai, and raids into Nubia and Lybia. Though his father was kind, he was a cruel ruler. “He was rumored in later times to have been prone to enjoying the fantastic stories of the reigns of his predecessors, as well as tales of magic and the mystical:” an interesting side of his life.”

Not much is known about Khufu himself. “Ironically, only a very small statue of 9 cm has been found depicting this historic ruler.” However, we do know that his greatest accomplishment was the Great Pyramid of Giza. “The pyramid covers over 13 acres and is solid masonry, not hollow or earth-filled like the Central American pyramids.”

“The precision with which the pyramid was executed is often the source of marvel and speculation. It is likely that the attention to this precision was related to the many structural problems encountered in previous pyramids. To minimize many of the previous errors, the attention to precision produced a pyramid whose base is level within 2.1 cm (less than 1 in!), with the only difference in the length of the sides being 4.4 cm (1.75 in). “It was made with 2.3 million stone blocks that weighed from 2.5 to 15 tons each.” (Shuter 13) Wow!

Also, “in the Great Pyramid, two shafts running from the burial chamber were aligned with various stars, including the constellation of Orion (divinely personified by the Egyptians as the god Sah.) Orion was possibly intended as the destination of the king’s ba when he ascended to take his place among the circumpolar stars. In this and similar ways, the Egyptians incorporated the stars into their religious beliefs as well as using a certain amount of astronomical observation in the building of the pyramids, especially in the precise alignment of the tomb with the four cardinal points.” (Gahlin 175)

“The name of Khufu and his pyramid is always attached to a popular notion that the pyramid was built by slaves. But that was not the case, because the workers built their own tombs near the pyramid of Khufu, and prepared their tombs for eternity like nobles and officials. They were also paid by the king, or worked instead of paying tax. Finally, slaves could have built a building larger than Khufu's pyramid, but could never created such an innovative work like the Great Pyramid. This pyramid indicates that they were proud to build the tomb of their great god.”

“Curiously, although his father was probably buried in Dahshur, Khufu chose the Giza plateau to situate his pyramid, temples, and perhaps, his tomb. Also curiously, he did not choose the highest spot on the plateau, which was later used by his son and successor, Khafre. This gave Khafre's pyramid the illusion of being taller, when in fact the Great Pyramid is the actually the taller pyramid…After the death of Khafre, his son Menkaure built his smaller pyramid at Giza, eventually completing the last of the famous pyramids at Giza.” “The pyramids at Giza are one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.” (Gahlin 175)

“Surrounding the Great Pyramid there is a large number of boat pits, which did not contain actual boats, but which were symbolic of the dead king sailing into the Netherworld. On the south side of the pyramid there are two other boat pits, but these differ in one significant respect - they actually contain boats. When one pit was opened in the 1950s, it was found to contain a disassembled cedar wood boat. There were 1,224 separate parts, which could be stitched together again using ropes made from vegetable fibers. It was rebuilt by the same man who reassembled Hetep-Heres's furniture. When finished, it was found that the boat was 142 ft (43.3 m) long and 5.9 m wide. In 1985, a small camera was inserted into the other boat pit to see if it contained a real ship. Although one was found, it looked in reasonably poor condition, and so it has not been excavated. It seems as if these two boats were not intended to take Khufu to the afterlife. In fact, it is more probable that they were used to carry the royal body from Memphis to Giza, and then cut up and buried outside the walls of the pyramid complex.”

It is estimated that 1 to 2 million tourists visit the pyramids at Giza each year. They marvel and stare in awe, especially at the Great Pyramid. When they behold this wonder, they may think of Pharoah Khufu building this amazing structure under his iron fist for 23 years, preparing for the after life.

Works Cited:
Gahlin, Lucia. Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Religion. China: Anness Publishing, Ltd. 2004.

Shuter, Jane. People who Made History in Ancient Egypt. Austin, Texas: Raintree Steck/Vaughn Publishers. 2001.

Awesome quote

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." -Dr. Suess
(source even though I got it from English class!)

The Code of Hammurabi

“The Laws of Hammurabi are the longest and best organized of the law collections that survive from ancient Mesopotamia. King Hammurabi, who ruled from 1792-1750 B.C., had the laws inscribed on stone stelae which he placed in various temples throughout his realm.” (source)

These laws were “written when the great Babylonian empire was at its peak.” (source)

“The stela… [with the laws inscribed on it] stands almost seven-and-a-half feet tall. At the top of the stela, King Hammurabi stands before the sun god Shamash, the Mesopotamian god of justice, who is seated on his throne. Shamash gives Hammurabi the rod and ring, symbols of kingship and divine justice, thus reinforcing the ancient Mesopotamian belief that laws came from the gods.” (source)

Hammurabi “sorted his [282] laws into groups such as family, labor, personal property, real estate, trade, and business.” (source)

These strict laws covered almost every aspect of people’s lives. These laws were based on the idea, “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth,” but punishments for crimes varied according to rank and gender.

(“229. If a builder build a house for some one, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death. 230. If it kill the son of the owner the son of that builder shall be put to death. 231. If it kill a slave of the owner, then he shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house.”) (source)

Hammurabi’s Code survived long after he died. “For example, Semitic cultures succeeding Hammurabi's rule used some of the same laws that were included in Hammurabi's code.” (source)

We also have some similar laws today. “In the code, crimes punishable by death required a trial in front of a bench of judges…[and] a husband who wished to divorce his wife was required to pay alimony and child support. By creating the world's first set of organized laws, Hammurabi constituted a model set of…[laws]…for other civilizations to duplicate.” (source)

“The Law Code of Hammurabi currently resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris.” (source)