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Palaces of Ancient Egypt. pharaoh's palace

The economy and culture of Ancient Egypt arose on a narrow strip (15-20 km) of the fertile Nile valley, compressed by the Libyan and Arabian deserts.

The most ancient monuments of Egyptian architecture are concentrated in the river delta.

In the fertile, very long and narrow valley of the Nile, surrounded on both sides by the desert, a civilization developed, belonging to the most significant and peculiar cultures. ancient world. The history of Ancient Egypt covers several millennia - from the end of the 5th millennium BC to the end of the 5th millennium BC. e. until the 4th c. n. e. For such a significant time in ancient Egypt, a huge number of magnificent buildings, sculptures, paintings, arts and crafts were created. Many of them remain unsurpassed examples of the highest craftsmanship and creative inspiration.

At the head of the state, which united the possessions of the Middle and Lower Nile and the end of the 4th millennium BC. e., there was a king (later received the title of pharaoh), who was considered the son of the sun god and heir to the god of the underworld, Osiris.

Independently of each other, the tribes of Lower and Upper Egypt create the foundations of a peculiar architecture. Its development is sometimes divided into several large time periods.

It is assumed that in prehistoric period(until 3200 BC) fortified settlements were built with residential buildings from short-lived materials and tomb architectural structures were erected.

AT period of the Old Kingdom, approximately in 2700-2200 years. BC e., the construction of monumental temple structures begins.

AT Middle Kingdom period(2200-1500 BC), when the city of Thebes was the capital, semi-cave temples appear.

AT period of the new kingdom(1500-1100 BC) outstanding temple buildings are being built in Karnak and Luxor. Late

period, alien elements begin to penetrate into the architecture of Egypt.

Time Frames of Historical Periods

OK. 10000 - 5000 BC The first villages on the banks of the Nile; formation of 2 kingdoms - Upper and Lower Egypt
OK. 2630 BC 1st step pyramid built
OK. 2575 BC In the era of the Old Kingdom, bronze replaces copper; the pyramids are being built at Giza; mummification of the dead begins
OK. 2134 BC Civil strife destroys the Old Kingdom
OK. 2040 BC Beginning of the Middle Kingdom; to know Thebes unites the country; conquest of nubia
OK. 1700 BC End of the Middle Kingdom
1550 BC Beginning of the New Kingdom; standing army
1400 BC Egypt reaches the pinnacle of power
1070 BC Beginning of decline
332 BC Conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great
51 BC Beginning of Cleopatra's reign
30 BC Egypt becomes a Roman province

The main building material in Egypt is stone. The Egyptians were masters of its extraction and processing. They carved tall slender stone blocks in the form of obelisks, which were symbols of the sun - the great Ra, as well as huge pillars and columns as high as a three- and five-story building. Separate carefully hewn stone blocks were fitted to each other perfectly, dry, without mortar.

The weight of the heavy floor beams was carried by the walls, pylons and columns. The Egyptians did not use arches, although they knew this design. Stone slabs were laid on the beams. The supports were the most diverse; sometimes these are monolithic stone pillars of a simple square section, in other cases they are columns consisting of a base, a trunk and a capital. Simple trunks had a square section, more complex ones were polyhedral and often depicted bundles of papyrus stems. Trunks sometimes had flutes (vertical grooves).

Egyptian architecture was characterized by a peculiar form of capitals depicting a flower of papyrus, lotus or palm leaves. In some cases, the head of the fertility goddess Hathor was carved on the capitals.

The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, which mixed the veneration of local deities, the cult of Osiris and Isis, as well as the sun god Amun, deserve special attention - they determined the social and state life of the country: the vast majority of the architectural monuments of Ancient Egypt were religious buildings: temples and burial complexes.

Palaces of Egypt

The palaces of the pharaohs and nobility in ancient Egypt were built mainly from clay bricks dried in the sun. Unlike temples, which were built of stone for centuries, where the gods were worshiped constantly and at all times, each of the pharaohs built himself a new palace after taking the throne. Abandoned buildings quickly dilapidated and collapsed, and therefore, as a rule, not even ruins remained from the palaces of the pharaohs. At best, on the site of magnificent palaces, you can find the remains of walls and broken tiles.

It is assumed that appearance of the pharaoh's palace, its facade repeated the forms of architecture of the ancient royal tombs of that time. The tomb was considered the home of the deceased in his afterlife, it is logical to assume that it was similar to his dwelling in this life. Based on this assumption, the wall of the palace could be divided by ledges with figured battlements on top. The few surviving images of the palaces of the pharaohs indicate that the walls of the palace were decorated with bas-reliefs and ornaments.

We can see the palace façade on the famous palette of pharaoh Narmer; against its background, victories, the name and title of the pharaoh are depicted. From this image, we learn that the territory of the palace, which has the shape of a quadrangle, was surrounded by a fortress wall with towers. The foundation line of the building is also marked on the palette. A similar palace façade is depicted on the tombstone of Pharaoh Jet: on a rectangular field of the wall, three high towers stand out, decorated with three vertical spatula features. Between the towers you can see two recesses, similar to gates.

Huge sarcophagi made of basalt or limestone tell us especially clearly about the palace architecture of the ancient Egyptians. Their carved decorations on each of the four sides depict the facades of the royal palace.

Palace reconstruction

Luxury in the pharaoh's palace

pharaoh's palace

Temples of Egypt

The Temple of Thoth in Luxor is a historical monument of Egypt.

The shrine was built in 1925-1895 BC. The main building material is stone.

The ancient Egyptian Thoth was the god of wisdom and education, so huge statues of him were installed at the foot of the temple.

During the excavations at the base of the temple, 4 bronze chests were also found, the height of which is 20.5 centimeters, the width is 45 centimeters, and the length is 28.5 centimeters. They contained many silver balls, mostly crumpled, gold chains and moulds, lapis lazuli - raw or in the form of cylinder seals.

Ruins of the Temple of Osiris

The temple is located in the legendary Valley of the Kings. Unfortunately, only ruins remained from the once great temple, but they are literally saturated with the history of Ancient Egypt. It was built quite a long time ago and is of historical value. It was built by Pharaoh Seti I, who ruled from 1294. Until 1279 BC.

The building itself is very complex in its design and has a very large number of rooms. Seti I did not complete the construction of the temple, this difficult task was completed by his son Ramesses II. The design in its structure is quite complex, but interesting. There were two halls, each of which was decorated with many columns. There were 24 of them in the first hall, and 36 in the second. The second hall was the most mysterious: passages were made from it to seven sanctuaries. Each sanctuary was dedicated to one of the seven gods (Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amun, Ra-Horakhti, Ptah and Ra). At the end, Seti I himself was deified. In the chapels there was a statue of the god, a sacred boat and a false door. The spirit of the deity entered through this door.

Behind the temple itself is a building called the Osireion. On its walls you can see embossed texts from the "Necronomicon" - the Egyptian "Book of the Dead". The territory of the Temple of Osiris is still being studied by scientists and excavations are being carried out on it.

Temple of Merenptah

The mortuary temple of Merneptah is located in the Valley of the Kings and is practically destroyed. Once there was a whole complex, thought out to the smallest detail, but now only statues remain.

Previously, gates led to the first courtyard of the structure, opening a view of the colonnades - six columns on each side. Left-hand side the courtyard of the complex was the facade of the king's brick palace. And the giant Israel Stele, which once stood in front of the second pylon, was built in honor of Merenptah, indicating his military prowess.

This pylon was followed by a second courtyard, in which a bust of Merneptah from a collapsed statue was found. A passage led from the courtyard to the halls. The temple ended with 3 sanctuaries with rooms for sacrifices and sacred objects. Once the entire temple complex was decorated with tiles and gold, it was surrounded by a huge brick wall, but at present, almost nothing remains of the former buildings.

Temple of Montu

Temple of Montu is an Egyptian temple dedicated to Montu, the god of war.

This shrine was built during the Old Kingdom. The temple was located in ancient city Medamud. This city was excavated in 1925 by the French archaeologist Fernando Bisson de la Roque. During the excavations, numerous structures were discovered, as well as a temple.

Only columns and fragments of walls have survived to our time. The temple was built of brick and stone. The structure of the temple is as follows: platform, stands, canal, dromos, main gate, portico, hall and sanctuary. There was also a courtyard for a living sacred bull. God Montu was associated with a raging bull, so the bull was a revered animal. Montu himself was also depicted with the head of a bull. A similar statue and figurines of bulls were found during excavations of the temple.

Temple of Isis at Philae

The famous sanctuary of Isis, which existed until the disappearance of the ancient Egyptian civilization, is located on the island of Philae, not far from Aswan. Isis (Isis, Isis) - one of the greatest goddesses of antiquity, who became a model for understanding the Egyptian ideal of femininity and motherhood. She was revered as the sister and wife of Osiris, the mother of Horus, and, accordingly, of the Egyptian kings, who were originally considered the earthly incarnations of Osiris. The cult of Isis and the mysteries associated with it acquired a significant distribution in the Greco-Roman world, comparable to Christianity.

Now the temple of Isis is located on the island of Agilika. During the construction of the Aswan reservoir in 1960, UNESCO took the initiative to move the temple up the Nile. The temple was cut, dismantled, and then the stone blocks were transported and reassembled on the island of Agilika, located 500 meters upstream. All this was framed with such a wide PR activity, such as: Russians destroy nature and monuments with their dams and reservoirs ancient culture, and we, the enlightened Western world, are saving temples from flooding. It was only silent that this temple received the main damage after the construction of the English dam at the beginning of the century, and the Aswan dam, built with the help of the USSR, in turn, became an object of important social importance and maintaining the energy balance in the region, without which the modern Egyptian economy simply did not exist. would.

In an area where there was and is no forest, unbaked raw brick, limestone, sandstone and granite mined in the Nile Valley were used as building materials.

What was the architecture philosophy of Ancient Egypt?

Palaces and dwellings were most often built of brick, while tombs and burial places were built of stone. And there is a reason for this.

Life on earth is temporary, therefore it is rational to build houses from less durable material, and life after death is eternal, therefore the building must stand forever.

This was the mindset of the ancient Egyptians.

What were the buildings in Egypt made of that disappeared without leaving a trace? Brick houses, palaces and city walls collapsed when they were no longer taken care of, because. brick was formed from Nile mud (silt) and straw, and then dried in the sun.

Mystery of Egyptian architecture

With the exception of the pyramids, Egyptian buildings were richly decorated with paintings, stone carvings, hieroglyphs, and three-dimensional statues. These works of art, whose grandeur and beauty are incomparable, tell us the story of pharaohs, gods, ordinary people and the natural world: plants, birds and animals.

How the ancient Egyptians were able to build their massive structures using primitive tools is still a mystery not only of architecture, but also of Egyptian civilization.

What tombs did the ancient Egyptians build?

Burials in Ancient Egypt were made on the west bank of the Nile, where the Sun goes to the underworld.

Mastabas - the architecture of the Early Kingdom

The architecture of Egypt in the period from 3120 to 2649 BC. represent the first royal tombs, called. They were built in Abydos, ancient city of Upper Egypt.

They are truncated pyramidal structures, under which there are mummies of pharaohs, members of their families or court nobles. Their shape resembles an ordinary grave of huge size. They are marked with a stele with inscribed names.

The mastabas contained rooms for ritual items needed in the afterlife, utensils and vessels for offering food and drink. Servants, concubines, and others accompanying the departure from this life were also buried here.

Mastaba of Seshemnefer IV. Giza Plateau

Pyramids - Old Kingdom architecture

Pyramids of Giza. Architecture of the Old (or Ancient) Kingdom of Ancient Egypt

They were built as the tombs of the pharaohs with approximate dating from 2613 to 2467 BC. These architectural structures became the first wonder of the seven wonders of the world. The most famous is the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Pyramid of Cheops.

Valley of the Kings - New Kingdom Architecture

During the period from 1500 to 1069. to r.H. rulers and nobles arranged their tombs in the so-called, presumably to prevent the robbery of their tombs. This place is now recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Architecture of Ancient Egypt: Valley of the Kings. Burial of Tutankhamen. CC BY-SA 3.0 , Link

Architecture of Ancient Egypt: temples

For a long time, the Egyptians built numerous temples along the Nile. Two of the most famous are in Karnak and Luxor. These impressive structures, with their huge pillared halls and pylon gates, were built in honor of the departed pharaohs and revered local gods. Temples were places where the gods and their divine energies could reside, separated from everything else in the world.

Architecture of Ancient Egypt: Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri. Arch. Senmut. Early 15th century to r.H.

According to legend, the first temple appeared on a hill that rose from the primeval ocean of Nun. The original form of life on this hill was a plant favored by the falcon, Horus. Another version describes the Lotus flower as the plant from which the Sun emerged. However, there is no contradiction here. Then humans were created. As a token of gratitude, living beings began to build temples to honor the gods.

So the design of the temple was laid by the gods, and each subsequent temple was a copy of the first. The priests held daily ritual services in honor of the deities and pharaohs to whom the temples were dedicated. As a reward, the gods poured divine grace on the earth.

Architecture of Ancient Egypt: Temple of Abu Simbel (Abu Simbil) in honor of Ramesses II. Dedicated to the gods Amon, Ra-Horakhti and Ptah (approx. XI century BC)

What gods were in ancient Egypt?

Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system polytheistic beliefs and rituals (polytheism), which were an integral part of society. She concentrated on the interaction of the Egyptians with the many deities believed to be present in and controlling the forces of nature.

What is the design of the palaces?

The palaces were the residences of the pharaohs and their entourage. They consisted of a complex of buildings designed to house government headquarters and temples. Very little has survived to this day.

Sketch of the image on the sarcophagus of the chief priest 5th dynasty Ravera, (Gizeh). Palace towers, elongated niches, doors and windows between them are clearly visible. Link

The palace was divided into two parts:

one to meet the needs of the pharaoh - residential,
and the other is service or administrative.

The palaces took on a characteristic architectural form at the end of the 4th millennium BC, which was repeated for most of the 3rd millennium. Essentially, the structure was a rectangular structure of high walls topped with towers. The tops of the towers were often decorated with rich cornices or panels.

Palace and temple complexes

By the end of the 3rd millennium before the birth of Christ, the palace had become to the palace and temple complex. And by the second it became even more complex, with the addition of a hypostyle (Greek hypóstylos - supported by columns) hall with giant columns leading to the throne room.

Ancient Egyptian architecture: Temple of Medinet Abu in Luxor in honor of Ramesses III (c. 12th century BC) CC BY-SA 2.5 , Link

The premises for the needs of the court were located in one half of the palace, in the other for the needs of the pharaoh. Government buildings, lakes and gardens in these complexes created excellent conditions for the life of the rulers of Egypt.

The best preserved of these palace and temple complexes is located in Medinet Abu. It was built Ramesses III during the Twentieth Dynasty, about 1150 BC. When the pharaoh came from his main residence in the Nile Delta, he was located in the palace next to the temples to worship Ramesses III and the sun god Amun. The complex also included warehouses and dwellings for priests.

Most early temples Ancient Egypt appeared in the middle of the 4th millennium BC and resembled reed huts. The last Egyptian temple to be built was the Temple at Philae, which fell into disuse in the 6th century AD. Not surprisingly, this collection covers a wide variety of different structures built over a huge period of time. Your Egypt trip would not be complete without visiting one of these places.

Great Temple of Medinet Habu

Located on the West Bank in Luxor, Medinet Habu is the Arabic name for the huge temple complex. In terms of size, it is second only to Karnak, but it is much better preserved to this day. Pharaohs Hatshepsut and Thutmose III built not big temple in honor of Amun. Next to their temple, Ramses III built his tomb - the largest surviving monument of the complex. Medinet Abu. Ramses III surrounded the complex of temples with a large brick wall that covered warehouses, workshops and residential buildings.

Temple of Kom Ombo

Among the greatest temples Ancient Egypt is impossible not to mention Kom Ombo. Located on a high dune overlooking the Nile, Kom Ombo is an unusual double temple. It was built during the reign of the Ptolemy dynasty. The original temple began to be built under Ptolemy VI Philometor at the beginning of the second century BC. Kom Ombo actually includes two different temples that mirror each other. They have two entrances, two courts, two colonnades, two hypostyle halls, and two sanctuaries.

Colossi of Memnon

Built around 1350 BC. Colossi of Memnon are two large stone statues. They depict Pharaoh Amenhotep III sitting on a pedestal. The original purpose of the Colossi was to stand guard at the entrance to the temple of Amenhotep, where he was worshiped both before and after his departure to other world. Once it was one of the most big temples Ancient Egypt, but today it has almost completely disappeared, with the exception of these two statues. Both Colossi are heavily damaged, and the details above the waist are almost unrecognizable.

Temples of Philae Island

Philae Island was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis. The first temple on the island was built by pharaohs from the 30th dynasty. The construction of the temple continued for three centuries of the reign of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty and the Roman rulers. In AD 100, the Roman emperor Trajan built the famous Trajan's Kiosk, which most likely served as a river entrance to the great temple of Isis. In the 1960s, the temple and other Philae monuments were moved to the island of Agilika. The movement was carried out by UNESCO volunteers to save the historical heritage from the rising waters of the Nile in connection with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Philae Island is currently flooded by the waters of Lake Nasser.

Temple of Edfu

The Temple of Edfu is dedicated to the eagle-headed god Horus, being the second largest Egyptian temple after Karnak and one of the best preserved. The construction of this temple began in 237 BC during the reign of Ptolemy III and ended nearly two centuries later in 57 BC by Ptolemy XII, father of the legendary queen Cleopatra. This temple consists of traditional elements of the Egyptian Temples of the New Kingdom, along with several Greek structures, among which is the House of Birth (Mammisi).

Temple of Seti I at Abydos

The Temple of Seti I is the tomb of the pharaoh Seti I on the west bank of the Nile in Abydos. ancient temple was built towards the end of the reign of the Set, and completed by his son Ramses the Great after the death of his father in 1279 BC. This temple contains the Abydos List - a chronological list of all the dynastic pharaohs of Ancient Egypt from the Egyptian king Menes (the founder of the first dynasty) to the father of Seti, Ramses I.

Egyptian Temple of Hatshepsut

This temple is the tomb of Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt from about 1479 BC until her death in 1458 BC. It is located on the west bank of the Nile. The colonnaded structure was designed and built by the Egyptian architect Senmut. The royal architect Hatshepsut built a temple for her burial, and also to honor the glory of Amun. Temple of Hatshepsut harmoniously inscribed in a cliff of a sharply rising cliff with three stepped terraces, reaching 30 meters in height. These terraces are connected by long ramps that were once surrounded by gardens.

Luxor Temple

The Luxor Temple is located on the east bank of the Nile River in the ancient city of Thebes. It was founded in 1400 BC during the New Kingdom. The temple was dedicated to three Egyptian gods Amun, Mutu and Khonsu. The temple was the center of the festival of Opet, the most important festival in Thebes. During the annual festival, the statues of the three gods were transferred from the temple of Amun at Karnak to the temple of Luxor along the road of sphinxes connecting the two temples. Today, Luxor is a top destination for travelers to Upper Egypt, as well as an important stop on most Nile river cruises. Among the outstanding temples of Ancient Egypt, Luxor has always occupied special place.

Abu Simbel

Karnak Temple Ancient Egypt

Even when horribly destroyed, Karnak Temple surpasses in its beauty most other sights in Egypt. This is the largest ancient religious building in the world, representing the combined result of the work of many generations of Egyptian builders. The Temple of Karnak actually consists of three main Egyptian temples, smaller enclosed temples, and several outer temples approximately 2.5 kilometers north of Luxor. It took millennia to build and expand the Temple of Karnak. Much of the work on Karnak was done by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (1570-1100 BC). One of Karnak's most famous structures is the 5,000 square foot Hypostyle Hall. square meters with 134 large columns arranged in 16 rows.

October 11, 2016 | Categories: Story , Topper , Architecture

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Although most people interested in the history and culture of Ancient Egypt are aware of how the pharaohs planned their afterlife, much less familiar in what conditions they lived in reality. Thanks to archaeological research in the territories of Avaris - the ruins of the palace of the twelfth-thirteenth dynasties, Malkata (Luxor), where the royal complex of the pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty Amenhotep III was located, the discovery of the city of Akhetaton by the reformer pharaoh Akhenaten in Amarna, the picture of the pharaoh's palace is gradually being recreated.

Surrounded by temples and other buildings, the palace of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt was actually a self-sufficient city. The buildings and premises that were part of the palace complex served a variety of functions, from the main hall to the kitchen - extensive gardens and courtyards, administrative offices, housing for officials, a library, kitchens, and many storage buildings.

Malkata, on Arabic meaning "place where things were picked up" (because of the piles of rubble and ruins still littering the area), the name of the site of the palace of Amenhotep III, located south of the funerary temple of Ramesses III Medinet Habu near the "city of artisans" in Deir el-Medina . The archaeological zone covers an area of thirty thousand square meters and there is evidence that during his lifetime Amenhotep III did not wait for the completion of construction. In any case, this is the biggest palace of the pharaoh of ancient Egypt.

The palace, built in the fourteenth century BC, was called the "halls of Joy", it was originally known as the "Palace of the Dazzling Aten" (the solar disk personifying the original aspect of the god Ra, deified by Amenhotep III's son Akhenaten).

The pharaoh's apartments, located in the southeast corner in an area of about fifty meters by twenty-five meters, representing a collection of halls and courtyards, surrounded the main hall with columns. There was a large throne room and several small rooms, apparently the former reception rooms, administrative offices, storage rooms.

The great royal wife Teye (Tia) had her own luxurious Southern Palace, Princess Satamon, the eldest daughter of Amenhotep III and Tii, lived in the Northern Palace.

The palace complex included luxury villas for other members royal family and relatives, including the harem located in the east, living space for the children of younger wives and eunuchs - watching harems, housing for servants.

In addition to residential and household premises, the complex included a large temple dedicated to Amon. The palace area was connected by a canal to a large harbor, today it is Birket Habu. The harbor united the palace with the Nile, and, consequently, with all of Egypt.

In the harbor there was a golden barge "Dazzling Aten", on which Amenhotep and Teie participated in state and religious festivals.

In addition, in the east of the palace, on the orders of the pharaoh, an artificial lake was dug out, where Amenhotep and Teie and other members of the royal family could sail on the royal barge.

For the organizational activities of officials who were responsible for different areas within the palace complex, there were administrative buildings, Western Villas.

The royal workshops were located in the south, and the settlement of artisans in the north (in Deir el-Medina).

The road connected the palace with the burial temple of Amenhotep, which was guarded by the Colossi of Memnon, and the "Altar of the Desert", Kom al-Samak, on the brick platform of which the pharaoh participated in the "tail festival" - Heb-sed.

The complex was mainly built of mud bricks, many of which bear the cartouche of Amenhotep. The use of stone is very limited, but wood, limestone, sandstone, and ceramic tiles were also used in construction.

The outer walls were painted white, while the interior was brightly colored with geometric patterns, frescoes depicting birds and animals. So the ceiling in the dressing room of Amenhotep is decorated with spiral patterns and stylized bull heads - red, blue and yellow color. The bedroom was painted with protective symbols and vultures, the sacred animal of the goddess Nekhbet.

The hall of columns was decorated with very naturalistic frescoes on the theme of the Nile with splashing fish and birds. The ceiling was supported by beautifully carved wooden columns, repeating the shape of a lily.

Some halls were covered with colored tiles with drawings of flowers, vines, birds, and fish. In other rooms - hieroglyphs with the meaning of protection, health, good luck.

The interior was filled with fine furniture and pottery. It is known that Amenhotep was very rich and patronized the arts.