The History of Egypt

Interlude: Two Princes Clash.In 1418 BCE, Egypt momentarily lacks a pharaoh. Two sons of the crown go head to head, in a duel to be the next ruler. Who wins? Only the Sphinx knows... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Hutan Ashrafian, “Familial epilepsy in the pharaohs of ancient Egypt’s eighteenth dynasty,” 2012. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994. James E. Harris, “The Identification of the Eighteenth Dynasty Royal Mummies: A Biological Perspective,” 1991. Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II, 1987. Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, 2000. J.J. Shirley, The Culture of Officialdom, 2005. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Religious Year (Parts 10-11): the Egyptian Day of the Dead.In the 10th month of the year, Egyptians celebrated the "Beautiful Festival of the Valley," a grand affair similar to today's Day of the Dead or Qingming celebrations. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Additional Music by Michael Levy www.ancientlyre.com. Select Bibliography: Anthony J. Spalinger, “Ancient Egyptian Calendars,” in Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, 2015. Emily Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, 2011. Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Assassin's Creed Origins sees video-game players visiting ancient Egypt (c.50 BCE). From the desert oases to the city of Alexandria, the Faiyum to the Pyramids, you can now explore a fully-realised version of ancient Egypt.But how does the game play, and is it historical enough? Today I explore some of the history behind it, and what the game does right. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Music by Brandon and Derek Fiechter https://dbfiechter.bandcamp.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amunhotep II (Part 7): Remarkable Discoveries in a Royal Tomb.Around 1440 BCE, Egyptians were carving the burial monument of Amunhotep II in the Valley of the Kings. In 1898 CE, a group of excavators were uncovering the edifice once more. In a dual narrative, we explore the design, construction and discovery of a most remarkable tomb... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com Additional Music by Michael Levy www.ancientlyre.com Select Bibliography: Erik Hornung, The Valley of the Kings, 1990. Erik Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, 1999. C.N. Reeves, Richard Wilkinson, The Complete Valley of the Kings, 1996. Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II, 1989. Elliot Smith, The Royal Mummies, 1912. Online Resources: Theban Mapping Project – Tomb of Amunhotep II Narmer.pl – The Royal Cache Egypt, Land of Eternity – The Royal Cache Theban Royal Mummy Project – The Mummies of Dynasty 18 Egyptian Monuments – Tomb of Amunhotep II Saint Louis University – The KV35 Cache Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amunhotep II (Part 6): Finding an Heir. Around 1420 BCE, Amunhotep II comes to the end of his days. We explore his family life, what we know about the man himself, and try to get a handle on his legacy... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select bibliography: Alexandra von Lieven, “Mortuary Ritual in the Valley of the Kings,” in Richard H. Wilkinson and Kent R. Weeks, The Oxford Handbook of the Valley of the Kings, 2016. Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II, 1987. Barbara A. Richter, “The Amduat and Its Relationship to the Architecture of Early 18th Dynasty Royal Burial Chambers,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt (2008). G. Elliot Smith, The Royal Mummies, 2000. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amunhotep II (Part 5): How to Make Friends and Rule the Nile Valley.The pharaoh Amunhotep II has a reputation for cronyism: he put his childhood friends into positions of power, and removed trusted officials from office at a whim. Does he deserve this reputation? We go in search of an answer, exploring the lives of some noteworthy men who rose to prominence in this time... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: Peter der Manuelian, Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II, 1987. M. Eaton-Krauss, “The Fate of Sennefer and Senetnay at Karnak and in the Valley of the Kings,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 1999. JJ Shirley, “Crisis and Restructuring of the State: From the End of the Middle Kingdom to the Advent of the Ramesses,” in Ancient Egyptian Administration, 2013. JJ Shirley, The Culture of Officialdom: An examination of the acquisition of offices during the mid-18th Dynasty, PhD Thesis, 2005. Osiris.net – the Tomb of Sen-nefer (TT96). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Religious Year (Parts 8-9): Onions for Bastet.Months 8 and 9 were big on drinking and eating, with some strange rituals to go along with them. We meet Bastet (the cat) and Renen-utet (the snake), two goddesses who were friends to farmers. As the harvest season began, all looked towards the growth of the fields... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Richard H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003. Anthony J. Spalinger, “Ancient Egyptian Calendars,” in C.L.N. Ruggles (ed.) Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, 2015. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interlude: A Royal Journey Through the UnderworldRulers of the 18th Dynasty decorated their tombs with lavish images of the underworld, which we know as the Duat. These scenes, and texts, reveal a complex story of Re's journey beneath the western horizon, through the nether, and ultimately into a cosmic re-birth. Along the way he crossed waters and deserts, faced demons and monsters, and even met with his own corpse... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com.  Select Bibliography: Erik Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, 1999. Erik Hornung, Texte zum Amduat, 1987. Erik Hornung, Valley of the Kings: Horizon of Eternity, 1990. Emily Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, 2011. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ultimate Underworld Story. The Book of the Dead might be the most famous piece of writing from ancient Egypt. It is also one of the most misunderstood... Around 1420 BCE, a royal architect commissioned a book for his tomb. This text is one of the best preserved Books of the Dead from the mid-18th Dynasty. From its unrolled pages, we can explore the journey into the underworld, as experienced by a non-royal Egyptian. Note: This episode functions as an introduction to the Book of the Dead. As we move forward through the centuries, we will revisit the text to see new developments and additions. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments. Music by Jeffrey Goodman www.shelterofclearlight.com/. Select Bibliography: Francoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche, Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE. Richard Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, 1985. Dennis C. Forbes, Tombs. Treasures. Mummies. Book Two: The Tombs of Maiherpri (KV36) & Kha & Merit (TT8), 2015. Erik Hornung, The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife, 1999. Ernesto Schiaperelli, Relazione sui lavori della Missione Archeologica Italiana in Egitto (anni 1903-1920) (Volume 2): La tomba intatta dell’architetto “Cha” nella necropoli di Tebe, 1927. Available online via the University of Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.55349#0046 John H. Taylor, Journey Through the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, 2013. Emily Teeter, Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt, 2011. E. Vassilika, The Tomb of Kha, 2010. Toby Wilkinson, Writings from Ancient Egypt, 2016. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Religious Year (Parts 6-7): The False Summer.In the months of "Great Heat" and "Small Heat," Egyptians celebrated some very important festivals. Mid-winter had passed, and it was time to bring life back to the cosmos. Along the way, the Egyptians celebrated the gods Anubis, Amun-Re, and a deified Pharaoh... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography:Richard Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003.Anthony Spalinger, “Ancient Egyptian Calendars,” Handbook of Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, 2015.G.S. Hawkins, “Astronomical Alignments in Britan, Egypt and Peru,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 1974.J. Norman Lockyer, “The Dawn of Astronomy,” Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1894. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices