Museum Exhibit: Continuity and Change

 Various factors caused the decline of ancient Egypt, three of these were, Egypt’s lack of resources for military weapons, the civil war that caused Nubia to step into power and the failure of the Nile river floods which significantly impacted agriculture.

The iron weapons created by the Hittites are an important artifact depicting the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization. The Hittites were strong opponents of the Egyptians, in the 19^th Dynasty they along with other rivals of ancient Egypt began to transition from weapons of bronze to weapons of iron. This was a problem because the Egyptians had little to no sources of this new material in their own land, thus making them easier to attack.[1] Upgrading weapons of war has always been important for many civilizations and continues to be today. We can compare the transition of bronze to iron, to that of guns to chemical and atomic warfare. While the change/upgrade of these weapons is different the concept is still the same with the goal of having more success than the enemy in battle. The continuity of this goal can have both positive and negative effects, for example the use of chemical warfare helped civilizations in World War I to win important battles. However, this thinking also contributed to more and more violent deaths on the battlefield and have unintentionally harmed thousands of civilians. Looking back at the transition from weapons of bronze to weapons of iron, it took a very long time for many civilizations to discover the importance of iron. This is because many civilizations saw this material as an inferior metal since weapons made of iron alone were not as hard or durable of those made of bronze.[2] But once iron became essential for warfare, many civilizations such as Egypt began to decline because they could not keep up.

A second artifact that highlights the decline of ancient Egypt are hieroglyphics containing
pictures of Nubian Pharaohs. In 1200 BCE Egypt broke out into a civil war which would plague the civilization for decades and greatly weaken it. As a result of this war, Nubia (a long-time colony of Egypt) rose up and took over all of Egypt, uniting their kingdoms in approximately 720 BCE.[3] From then on Nubian culture began to fuse with that of the Egyptians, thus causing a decline in ancient Egyptian culture. Nowadays, most civilizations do not take over another (this was a much more common occurrence in ancient times), however large groups of people from a particular culture often immigrate to North America in hope for a better life. As a result, these different cultures also begin to fuse, just like the Nubians and the Egyptians. For example, there are large groups of Mexicans in Texas, U.S.A and as a result of these two cultures merging, this state is famous for its “Tex-Mex” cuisine which combines Mexican and American cooking styles. Reflecting on the merging of the Nubians and Egyptians also brings to our attention how we have now changed our perspectives of diversity and the blending of cultures. While this was frowned upon in the past and people of different nationalities were often segregated. We now strive to treat everyone (regardless of their ethnicity) as equals and governments now applaud the contributions different cultures make to society. Taking this into consideration, this change has been positive but also painfully slow which is why we must all do our part to contribute to its success.

The final artifact I have chosen to help depict the decline of ancient Egypt is a chiselled piece of artwork from the tomb of a high priest of a man harvesting wheat. Besides evolving weapons of war and foreign invasion there was a final nail that needed to be hammered into ancient Egypt’s coffin. This was climate change and the failure of the Nile river, towards the end of this empire the Nile stopped flooding annually and when it did the water levels were still a lot lower than usual. This disrupted agriculture in Egypt and resulted in much smaller crop yields since this made the soil much dryer making it difficult for produce to grow.[4] As a result, Egypt started to focus more on agriculture rather than raising live animals and cattle because ultimately these took more effort to maintain and there were little resources to go around. This may be why no cattle is seen in this work of art which is thought to be made during this same time period. Today, live animals are still harder to maintain than produce and crops, also they continue to require much more energy and resources. For the most part, this continuity is negative because humans continue to over-use the earth resources and if we can’t find a better and more efficient way to raise livestock, food will become more and more expensive. This could then lead to famine as well as create a bigger gap between the rich and the poor, just like it did for ancient Egypt. 

 In conclusion, these three artifacts showcase various reasons for the decline of ancient Egypt, they also point out continuity and changes between the ancient and modern worlds. Advancing technology, foreign invasion and climate change were three things that brought the fall of ancient Egypt. And if we are not careful at least two of these things could be bring the downfall of many modern civilizations today.

 

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[1]                Aidan Dodson, “Egypt: The End of a Civilisation,” BBC, February 17, 2011, https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_end_01.shtml

[2]                History.com Editors, “Iron Age,” History, January 3, 2018, 

https://www.history.com/topics/pre-history/iron-age

[3]                Dodson, “Egypt: The End of a Civilization,” https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_end_01.shtml

[4]                “How did climate change influence the rise of ancient Egypt” DailyHistory.org, October 3, 2021, https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_climate_change_influence_the_rise_of_ancient_Egypt

Bibliography:

A scene depicting a harvest at the tomb of Petosiris. Carving and paint on stone. From Climate in Arts & History, https://www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/nile-river-flood-failure-in-ptolemaic-ancient-egypt-c-300-bce/(accessed December 17, 2021). 

 

A scene of Nubian king in the 25^th dynasty. Paint on stone. From Egypt Guide, https://www.egyptprivatetourguide.com/egyptian-facts/ancient-egypt-nubians-mix-ancient-egyptians/ (accessed December 17, 2021).

 

Dodson, Aidan. “Egypt: The End of a Civilisation.” BBC. February 17, 2011. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/egypt_end_01.shtml

 

History.com Editors. “Iron Age.” History. January 3, 2018. 

https://www.history.com/topics/pre-history/iron-age

 

Hittites: Iron Weapons. Photograph of ancient artifacts. From ThingLink.com, https://www.thinglink.com/scene/567063609100730369 (accessed December 17, 2021). 

 

“How did climate change influence the rise of ancient Egypt.” DailyHistory.org. October 3, 2021. https://dailyhistory.org/How_did_climate_change_influence_the_rise_of_ancient_Egypt