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A Very Brief History Of Egypt


Ursus

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Egypt put lots of resistance to Assyria, the new kingdom of Babilon and Ahmenid Persia. They put up a stiff resistance to persians and they rebeled many times sometimes with support from Greece. The last major rebellion was crushed not long before Alexander came. He claimed to be the sun of the last pharaoh from the nubian dinasty.

Egipt tradition of independence and excelent natural defenses made it a place were special care had to be taken by rulers until they were assimilated in the arab islamic world.

They were not a shadow, but maybe the richest, most homogeous region of the world.

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Egypt put lots of resistance to Assyria, the new kingdom of Babilon and Ahmenid Persia. They put up a stiff resistance to persians and they rebeled many times sometimes with support from Greece. The last major rebellion was crushed not long before Alexander came. He claimed to be the sun of the last pharaoh from the nubian dinasty.

Egipt tradition of independence and excelent natural defenses made it a place were special care had to be taken by rulers until they were assimilated in the arab islamic world.

They were not a shadow, but maybe the richest, most homogeous region of the world.

 

Thanks for the great reply Kosmo, thanks for everyone who answered my question.

 

The Egyptians and the Assyrians were very evenly matched. However the Egyptians won the major battles, and were able to keep the Assyrians out of Lebanon and Palestine.

 

In one of the battles Rameses referred to the Assyrians as the 'feminine' people for their long hair. Of course like in colonial times, it was a regular thing to shave your head and wear a whig.

 

Whenever a nation attempted to conquer Egypt they put up a sturdy wall of defense. However when it is in a den of invaders from Asia and Europe, you don't stand much of a chance.

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The Egyptians and the Assyrians were very evenly matched. However the Egyptians won the major battles, and were able to keep the Assyrians out of Lebanon and Palestine.

 

 

 

Depends on the time period... I was talking about the Iron Age/1st Millennium because I was working back from your question about the Persians.

 

 

 

Even moving back to the final Bronze Age to your beloved Rameses the Great, the Egyptians were adopting Assyrian military tech & tactics...

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The Assyrians , I might add, produced several noteworthy military innovations: the foremost being the introduction of the jackboot to allow campaigning "out of season" -a radical and decisive concept at that time and place and combat medicine as an intergrated arm of the services - most important to have trained and experienced men healed and returned to service .

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Pertinax, I have just noticed your post calling for me to help Onasander with the name of the trading enclave in Egypt.

 

I know exactly what he's talking about and you are correct that it was a complete, Phoenician enclave (culturally & socially)

 

The name escapes me at the moment too but I know it was mentioned in Phoenicians in the West, I just have to find it... (may take a while)

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Even moving back to the final Bronze Age to your beloved Rameses the Great

 

Yeah, he is my homeboy. ;) He's just behind Alexander the Great in my book.

 

Egyptians were adopting Assyrian military tech & tactics...

 

Well I agree to the technological achievements, like the ever so famous chariot, but not tactics.

 

It depends on the time period. At one time Assyria had the upper hand and even ruled Egypt for a time. At other times the Egyptians had the upper hand, like in the battle of Kadesh. Also somewhere in history it talks about the 'sea people' Phoenecians attacking Egypt. They kept them out.

 

Just depends on the time period. I'm just getting mine confused.

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Maybe thats why Assyria eventually ravaged them...

 

Actually, aside from the Hyskos dynasty they lost the majority of them. They could never fully take the Egyptians out of Palestine, Lebanon, and southern Syria. Most of the battles the Egyptians were outnumbered but they still won. They basically threw everything but the kitchen sink at them, but still maintained the lands mentioned above.

 

When the Hittite 'barbarians' easily overtook the Assyrians they were not able to take over Egypt.

 

By the way, Assyria concentrated their whole culture on military. They were a very militaristic culture. Unlike Egypt, that was their Achille's heel. Egypt was more of an agricultural, diplomatic, trading nation.

 

Oh and Sea Peoples were not Phoenicians.

 

Who are they? I know you know a lot about the Phoenecians.

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Even moving back to the final Bronze Age to your beloved Rameses the Great

 

Yeah, he is my homeboy. ;) He's just behind Alexander the Great in my book.

 

Egyptians were adopting Assyrian military tech & tactics...

 

Well I agree to the technological achievements, like the ever so famous chariot, but not tactics.

 

It depends on the time period. At one time Assyria had the upper hand and even ruled Egypt for a time. At other times the Egyptians had the upper hand, like in the battle of Kadesh. Also somewhere in history it talks about the 'sea people' Phoenecians attacking Egypt. They kept them out.

 

Just depends on the time period. I'm just getting mine confused.

 

I would not call the battle of Kadesh a great victory or even showing of Egyptian military superiority so saying Egypt had the upper hand I deem as incorrect. I think Ramesses was a rahter hot headed young man he fell for a Hittite trap at Kadesh and had to hold out for reinforcments to arrive he became a hero for a tactical blunder. It was only a narrow victory anyway. He hastely married a Hittite Princess to seal an alliance with the Hittites to make safe provinces such as Syria and Palestine that is until the Hittite Kingdom collapsed in 1196 BC So I do not know how great a man he really was.

Edited by AEGYPTUS
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I would not call the battle of Kadesh a great victory or even showing of Egyptian military superiority so saying Egypt had the upper hand I deem as incorrect.

 

Well, the Hitites mustered their whole army and took young men out of their homes to fight. They took all abled bodied men from the countryside and made them fight. Egypt just had a small trained force. Also note that the Hitites called upon all their allies to help them out. This is one of the battles the Lower Egyptians, North Egypt, did not call upon the service of the African Nubians.

 

I think Ramesses was a rahter hot headed young man he fell for a Hittite trap at Kadesh and had to hold out for reinforcments to arrive he became a hero for a tactical blunder.

 

That's true, but that is only because of the false imformation two of his Syrian hostages gave him. The Ptah and the Setekh divisions were on the far side of the mountain. The Ra and Amon divisions were repelled by the Hitites, then Rameses regrouped the men and took back the camp. This battle was important as Egypt was crumbling and the Hitites and the Assyrians gaining an advantage. If he had not protected his divisions who knows what may have happened. The Egyptians were severely outnumbered, but still managed to get a win in the first known battle to use tactics.

 

Later the Hitites would indeed destroy and capture many more Egyptians towns and cities. The sea people destroyed them, while they were unable to get through Egypt.

 

He hastely married a Hittite Princess to seal an alliance with the Hittites to make safe provinces such as Syria and Palestine that is until the Hittite Kingdom collapsed in 1196 BC So I do not know how great a man he really was.

 

Rameses the II, or Rameses the Great was not just known for military. He was known for his reformation of Egypt and his diplomatic moves. He was the pharaoh who kept many invaders out of Egypt, and made it a nation worthy of it's glory again. How great was he? Few conquerers in the world have the name great in their name. Alexander the Great and a few others. Julius Caeser and Hannibal can't say that.

 

If you guys have heard the poem 'Ozymandias' you should know that it was inspired by Rameses. He was the greatest pharaoh who had ever lived and is worthy of his hame Rameses the Great. His presence was felt then, now, and many years in the future.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another question I would like to ask is on Egyptian Religion during the Greco-Roman period. I know for example cults such as that of Isis were extremely popular in Rome were there any temples built to Roman Gods in Egypt or did the Egyptian continue worshiping the same Gods as they always had done in the past?Also did the agree with the worshiping of Emperors as Gods I know they worshiped the Pharohs so did these traditions continue during Roman period?

 

Thanks

AEGYPTUS

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