Egypt: The Decline of an Empire

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Egypt The Decline of an Empire

• CHW3M

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The Late Dynastic Period

• 1070 BCE 332 BCE
• Increasing pressure from the Hittites to the
  North, Nubians to the South, Assyrians to the
  East
• Struggle for power among priests and nobility
• Egyptian empire ceases to be a cohesive nation,
  instead breaks up into several more or less
  autonomous states
• Egyptian expansion to the south and north is
  erased

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The Black Pharoahs

• Nubians begin invading Egypt around 1,000 BCE
• Kashta (745-742 BC) invades the south, and his
  predecessor Piankhi (742-715 BC) finishes the job
  in 728 BCE, founding the Nubian dynasty (Egypts
  25th dynasty), with its capital in Napata

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The Assyrians

• The Assyrians, under Ashurbanipal, invaded Egypt
  in 667 BCE, establishing the 26th Dynasty
• As we know, the Assyrians were masters of war,
  and so the Egyptians/Nubians didnt really stand
  a chance
• Remember that the Persians invaded Mesopotamia
  around 530 BCE Egypt was next

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The Persians

• Persians invade Egypt in 525 BCE
• The Egyptians constantly revolted against Persian
  rule, eventually regaining their independence
• Thanks in large part to an alliance with the
  Athenians and Spartans
• Independence only lasted 63 years
• The Persians reconquer Egypt in 341 BCE

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The Greeks

• In 332 BCE, Macedonian Armies conquer Persia and
  move on to Egypt
• Led by Alexander the Great
• Egypt is ruled as a Greek province for almost 300
  years
• Greek is the official language
• Egyptian culture is mixed with Greek culture,
  though its more like the Greeks who ruled in
  Egypt adapted to Egyptian culture, rather than
  imposing their culture on the Egyptians
• The Greek rulers, starting with Ptolemy I in 305
  BCE, identified themselves as Pharoahs
• They were deified as gods, built temples and
  statues in their honour, and in general behaved
  like any Egyptian pharoah

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The Greeks

• Alexandria, on the Mediterranean in the Nile
  Delta, becomes the new capital
• All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name
  "Ptolemy
• Princesses and queens were called Cleopatra or
  Berenice
• Standard practice for the Ptomlemies was for
  brothers to marry their sisters

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The Romans

• Cleopatra VII ruled with each of her two brothers
  from 51 BCE to 48 BCE
• She took hold of power for herself in 48 BCE by
  forming alliances with the Romans
• Julius Caesar in 48 BCE and Mark Antony in 41 BCE
• She was the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn
  Egyptian
• Rome was undergoing civil wars at the time
  Julius Caesars nephew Octavian defeated Mark
  Antonys army in 31 BCE, and marched into Egypt,
  which officially became a Roman province

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The Romans

• Despite being a Roman province, Greek continues
  to be the official language of government in
  Egypt
• The Romans werent all that concerned with Egypt
  however
• The Roman empire split into two in 395 CE, and
  Muslims from Arabia conquered the weakened Egypt
  by 642 CE
• Greek still spoken in Egypt even after that