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{{redirect|Old Kingdom}}▼
{{Short description|Period of history (c. 2686–2181 BC)}}
▲{{redirect|Old Kingdom}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name =
| conventional_long_name = Old Kingdom of Egypt
| common_name = Old Kingdom
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| image_coat =
| image_map = 4th Dynasty of Egypt-03.png
| image_map_caption = During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (''circa'' 2700 BC – ''circa'' 2200 BC), Egypt consisted of the [[Nile River]] region south to [[Elephantine|Abu]] (also known as Elephantine), as well as [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and the [[oases]] in the western desert
| p1 = Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
| flag_p1 = Ancient Egypt map-en.svg
| s1 = First Intermediate
| capital = [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]
| national_motto =
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{{History of Egypt}}
In [[ancient Egypt]]ian history, the '''Old Kingdom''' is the period spanning {{Circa|2700}}–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], such as King [[Sneferu]],
The [[Periodization of Ancient Egypt|concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages"]] was coined in 1845 by the German [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] [[Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen|Baron von Bunsen]], and its definition
The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]] to the [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] (2686–2181 BC). Information from the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasties of Egypt is scarce, and historians regard the history of the era as literally "written in stone" and largely architectural in that it is through the monuments and their inscriptions that scholars have been able to construct a history.<ref name=":0" /> Egyptologists also include the Memphite [[Seventh Dynasty of Egypt|Seventh]] and [[Eighth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighth]] Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration, centralized at Memphis. While the Old Kingdom was a period of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the [[First Intermediate Period]].<ref>Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', pp. 55 & 60.</ref> During the Old Kingdom, the [[Lists of rulers of Egypt|King of Egypt]] (not called the [[Pharaoh]] until the New Kingdom) became a [[divine right of kings|living god]] who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.<ref name="Roebuck-56">Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', p. 56.</ref>
Under King [[Djoser]], the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis, where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at [[Saqqara]] under his reign. King Djoser's architect, [[Imhotep]], is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new [[architectural form]], the [[step pyramid]].<ref name="Roebuck-56" /> The Old Kingdom is best known for a large number of [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]] constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings.
==History==
===Rise of the Old Kingdom===
{{Main
The first King of the Old Kingdom was [[Djoser]] (sometime between 2691 and 2625 BC) of the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]], who ordered the construction of a pyramid (the [[Pyramid of Djoser|Step Pyramid]]) in Memphis' necropolis, [[Saqqara]]. An important person during the reign of Djoser was his [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]], [[Imhotep]].
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[[File:Cairo, Gizeh, Sphinx and Pyramid of Khufu, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Sphinx of Giza]] in front of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]]]
The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached a zenith under the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]] (2613–2494 BC). King Sneferu, the first king of the Fourth Dynasty, held territory from [[ancient Libya]] in the west to the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in the east, to [[Nubia]] in the south. An Egyptian settlement was founded at [[Buhen]] in Nubia which endured for 200 years.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | url= https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Egypt/The-Old-Kingdom-c-2575-c-2130-bce-and-the-First-Intermediate-period-c-2130-1938-bce#ref134440 | title= The Old Kingdom (c. 2575–c. 2130 BCE) and the First Intermediate period (c. 2130–1938 BCE)
|encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> After Djoser, Sneferu was the next great pyramid builder. He commissioned the building of not one, but three pyramids. The first is called the [[Meidum Pyramid]], named for its location in [[Egypt]]. Sneferu abandoned it after the outside casing fell off of the pyramid. The Meidum pyramid was the first to have an above-ground burial chamber.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=http://www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1525828|title=Ancient Egypt – the Archaic Period and Old Kingdom|website=Penfield High School|language=en|access-date=2017-12-04}}</ref>
Using more stones than any other Pharaoh, he built the three pyramids: a now collapsed pyramid in [[Meidum]], the [[Bent Pyramid]] at [[Dahshur]], and the [[Red Pyramid]], at North Dahshur. However, the full development of the pyramid style of building was reached not at Saqqara, but during the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza.<ref>Carl Roebuck (1984), ''The World of Ancient Times'', p. 57.</ref>
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The last pharaohs of the dynasty were [[Menkauhor Kaiu]] (2421–2414 BC), [[Djedkare Isesi]] (2414–2375 BC), and [[Unas]] (2375–2345), the earliest ruler to have the [[Pyramid Texts]] inscribed in his pyramid.
Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as [[ebony]], incense such as [[myrrh]] and [[frankincense]], gold, copper, and other useful metals inspired the ancient Egyptians to build suitable ships for navigation of the open sea. They traded with Lebanon for [[Cedrus libani|cedar]] and travelled the length of the [[Red Sea]] to the [[Kingdom of Punt]]
doi = 10.7554/eLife.87513 |
last= Franziska Grathwol, Christian Roos, Dietmar Zinner, Benjamin Hume, Stéphanie M Porcier, Didier Berthet, Jacques Cuisin, Stefan Merker, Claudio Ottoni, Wim Van Neer | journal= eLife | volume= 12 | pmid= 37767965 | doi-access= free | pmc= 10597581 }}</ref>
Shipbuilders of that era did not use pegs ([[treenail]]s) or metal fasteners, but relied on the rope to keep their ships assembled. Planks and the superstructure were tightly tied and bound together.
This period also witnessed direct trade between Egypt and its Aegean neighbors and Anatolia.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=76}}</ref>
The rulers of the dynasty sent expeditions to the stone quarries and gold mines of Nubia and the mines of Sinai.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=76, 79}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Verner|first=Miroslav|chapter=Old Kingdom: An Overview|editor-last=Redford|location=Oxford|editor-first=Donald B.|editor-link=Donald B. Redford|date=2001b|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-510234-5|pages=585–591}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=Ian|editor1-last=Hawass|editor1-first=Zahi|editor2-first=Lyla|editor2-last=Pinch Brock|title=Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-first Century: Archaeology|chapter=New fieldwork at Gebel el-Asr: "Chephren's diorite quarries"|publisher=American University in Cairo Press|location=Cairo, New York|year=2003|isbn=978-977-424-715-6}}</ref><ref>
===Decline into the First Intermediate Period===
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Whatever its cause, the collapse of the Old Kingdom was followed by decades of famine and strife. An important inscription on the tomb of [[Ankhtifi]], a [[nomarch]] during the early [[First Intermediate Period]], describes the pitiful state of the country when famine stalked the land.
==Art==
The most defining feature of [[Art of ancient Egypt|ancient Egyptian art]] is its function, as that was the entire purpose of creation. Art was not made for enjoyment in the strictest sense, but rather served a role of some kind in Egyptian religion and ideology.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |title=The Art of Ancient Egypt |last=Robins |first=Gay |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2008 |location=Cambridge}}</ref> This fact manifests itself in the artistic style, even as it evolved over the dynasties. The three primary principles of that style, frontality, composite composition, and hierarchy scale, illustrate this quite well.<ref name=":2" /> These characteristics, initiated in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]]<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |title=A Companion to Ancient Egypt |volume=I |last=Sourouzian |first=Hourig |publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |year=2010 |pages=853–881}}</ref> and solidified during the Old Kingdom, persisted with some adaptability throughout the entirety of ancient Egyptian history as the foundation of its art.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=When the Pyramids Were Built: Egyptian Art of the Old Kingdom |last=Arnold|first=Dorothea |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rizzoli International Publications Inc. |year=1999 |pages=7–17}}</ref>
[[File:False door from the tomb of Metjetji MET DT259192.jpg|thumb|[[False door]] from the Tomb of Metjetji. ca. 2353–2323 BC, Dynasty 5–6, Old Kingdom. Tomb of Metjetji at Saqqara.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543907 |title=The Metropolitan Museum}}</ref>]]
Frontality, the first principle, indicates that art was viewed directly from the front. One was meant to approach a piece as they would a living individual, for it was meant to be a place of manifestation. The act of interaction would bring forth the divine entity represented in the art.<ref name=":2"/> It was therefore imperative that whoever was represented be as identifiable as possible. The guidelines developed in the Old Kingdom and the later grid system developed in the Middle Kingdom ensured that art was axial, symmetrical, proportional, and most importantly reproducible and therefore recognizable.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |title=Proportion, and Style in Ancient Egyptian Art |last=Robins |first=Gay |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=1994}}</ref> Composite composition, the second principle, also contributes to the goal of identification. Multiple perspectives were used in order to ensure that the onlooker could determine precisely what they saw.<ref name=":2"/>
Though Egyptian art almost always includes descriptive text, literacy rates were not high, so the art gave another method for communicating the same information. One of the best examples of composite composition is the human form. In most two-dimensional relief, the head, legs, and feet are seen in profile, while the torso faces directly front. Another common example is an aerial view of a building or location.<ref name=":2"/> The third principle, the hierarchy of scale, illustrates relative importance in society. The larger the figure, the more important the individual. The king is usually the largest, aside from deities. The similarity in size equated to similarity in position. However, this is not to say that physical differences
Aside from the three primary conventions, there are several characteristics that can help date a piece to a particular time frame. Proportions of the human figure are one of the most distinctive, as they vary between kingdoms.<ref name=":3"/> Old Kingdom male figures have characteristically broad shoulders and a long torso, with obvious musculature. On the other hand, females are narrower in the shoulders and waist, with longer legs and a shorter torso.<ref name=":3"/> However, in the Sixth Dynasty, the male figures lose their muscularity and their shoulders narrow. The eyes also tend to get much larger.<ref name=":2"/>
In order to help maintain the consistency of these proportions, the Egyptians used a series of eight guidelines to divide the body. They occurred at the following locations: the top of the head, the hairline, the base of the neck, the underarms, the tip of the elbow or the bottom of the ribcage, the top of the thigh at the bottom of the buttocks, the knee, and the middle of the lower leg.<ref name=":3"/>
From the soles of the feet to the hairline was also divided into thirds, one-third between the soles and the knee, another third between the knee and the elbow, and the final third from the elbow to the hairline. The broad shoulders that appeared in the Fifth Dynasty constituted roughly that one-third length as well.<ref name=":3"/> These proportions not only help with the identification of representations and the reproduction of art but also tie into the Egyptian ideal of order, which tied into the solar aspect of their religion and the inundations of the Nile.<ref name=":2"/>
[[File:Menkaura.jpg|thumb|A statue of [[Menkaure]] with [[Hathor]] and [[Anput]] from the [[Egyptian Museum]] in Cairo. Demonstrates a group statue of graywacke with Old Kingdom features and proportions.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=14994 |title=Statue of Menkaure with Hathor and Cynopolis |website=The Global Egyptian Museum}}</ref>]]
Though the above concepts apply to most, if not all, figures in Egyptian art, there are additional characteristics that applied to the representations of the king. Their appearance was not an exact rendering of the king's visage, though kings are somewhat identifiable through looks alone. Identification could be supplied by inscriptions or context.<ref name=":2"/> A huge, more important part of a king's portrayal was about the idea of the office of kingship,<ref name=":2"/> which were dependent on the time period. The Old Kingdom was considered a golden age for Egypt, a grandiose height to which all future kingdoms aspired.<ref name="Malek 1999">{{Cite book |title=Egyptian Art |last=Malek |first=Jaromir |publisher=Phaidon Press Limited |year=1999 |location=London}}</ref>
As such, the king was portrayed as young and vital, with features that agreed with the standards of beauty of the time. The musculature seen in male figures was also applied to kings. A royal rite, the jubilee run which was established during the Old Kingdom, involved the king running around a group of markers that symbolized the geographic borders of Egypt. This was meant to be a demonstration of the king's physical vigor, which determined his capacity to continue his reign.<ref
The sculpture was a major product of the Old Kingdom. The position of the figures in this period was mostly limited to sitting or standing, either with feet together or in the striding pose. Group statues of the king with either gods or family members, typically his wife and children, were also common.<ref name=":5"/>
It was not just the subject of sculpture that was important, but also the material: The use of hard stone, such as gneiss, graywacke, schist, and granite, was relatively common in the Old Kingdom.<ref name=":6">{{cite journal |last=Morgan |first=Lyvia |date=2011 |title=Enlivening the Body: Color and Stone Statues in Old Kingdom Egypt |journal=Notes in the History of Art |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=4–11 |doi=10.1086/sou.30.3.23208555|s2cid=191369829 }}</ref> The color of the stone had a great deal of symbolism and was chosen deliberately.<ref name=":2"/> Four colors were distinguished in the ancient Egyptian language: black, green, red, and white.<ref name=":6"/> Black was associated with Egypt due to the color of the soil after the Nile flood, green with vegetation and rebirth, red with the sun and its regenerative cycle, and white with purity.<ref name=":2"/>
The statue of [[Menkaure]] with [[Hathor]] and [[Anput]] is an example of a typical Old Kingdom sculpture. The three figures display frontality and axiality, while fitting with the proportions of this time period. The graywacke came from the Eastern Desert in Egypt<ref>{{cite journal |last=Klemm |first=Dietrich |date=2001 |title=The Building Stones of Ancient Egypt: A Gift of its Geology |journal=African Earth Sciences |volume=33 |issue=3–4 |pages=631–642 |doi=10.1016/S0899-5362(01)00085-9 |bibcode=2001JAfES..33..631K |citeseerx=10.1.1.111.9099}}</ref> and is therefore associated with rebirth and the rising of the sun in the east.
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File:Kairo Museum Sitzstatue Chephren 06.jpg|King [[khafre]] statue at Cairo museum
File:MenkauraAndQueen MuseumOfFineArtsBoston.png|Greywacke statue of [[Menkaure]] and Queen [[Khamerernebty II]] at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Rahotep Nofret 01.jpg|[[Prince Rahotep|Rahotep]] and [[Nofret]] statues at Cairo museum
File:Ägyptisches Museum Kairo 2016-03-29 Ka-aper 02.jpg|[[Kaaper]] around 2500 BC
File:Egypte louvre 280 homme.jpg|Majordomo Keki statue,[[6th dynasty]] at [[Louvre museum]].
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{{Ancient Egypt topics}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Old Kingdom of Egypt| ]]
[[Category:3rd millennium BC in Egypt]]
▲{{Authority Control}}
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