Hi there! I'm interested in how foreign rulers made use of existing Egyptian state structures and institutions. How strong were the continuities between Pharaonic, Persian, and Hellenistic Egypt?Was there authentic exchange/synthesis between Egyptian and Greek cultures, or was it just a top down foreign imposition? Can the rule of the Ptolemaic rulers be considered "colonial"?

Thanks so much for doing this!

Hi! I’m an accountant with an interest in taxation of ancient empires before the modern accounting and financial systems were developed. Can anyone please help me understand how taxation worked in Egypt? How did the government finance itself and do budget analysis and plan long term projects? Did the government borrow money from citizens and other neighboring empires like we do today by selling bonds? Was banking and borrowing money for interest a thing back then? How did they know how much tax to collect from citizens if literacy and math was not nearly as widespread as it is today?

How did commerce work, and how did business people record their activity? Did they have accountants? Income statements and balance sheets are a modern construct circa ~1400s, so I don’t understand how their financial system worked. Also, the modern base ten number system and arabic numerals are modern as well, so I’m trying to understand how a vast empire operates on a day to day basis if you can’t even add a few numbers together in your head easily.

Thanks for your answer in advance! You don’t have to answer all my questions specifically, I’m just hoping you can talk about finance/accounting/tax/banking in general. Sorry if I made bad assumptions or if I come across as ignorant to their society. Just curious.

PS: the pyramids really were landing platforms for Goa’uld motherships, right? You can tell me, I have top secret security clearance.

Hi I'm interested in the Egyptian concept of the soul. I've heard they split it into several parts and I know the basics of what each part was but I'd love some in depth knowledge of how they were viewed. For instance I recently read a gods statue was considered it's "shadow" which I would not have thought of.

Is there a movie that "gets it right" in your field?

I had Peter Lacovara as a professor of Egyptian archaeology during my undergrad at SUNY Albany. He discussed a hypothesis concerning the Sphinx. The hypothesis was that the Sphinx was constructed out of an old piece of bedrock left over from quarrying blocks for the nearby Great Pyramids. Not wanting to bother quarrying the rest of the bedrock, Egyptians simply added a head and limbs to the bedrock and turned it into a sphinx. This would explain its odd length and disproportionate extremities. The "mysterious grooves" along the body are not the result of water, but a result of quarrying marks and sand erosion from sandstorms over the centuries.

Do you agree with this hypothesis? If so, why? If not, why not?

To what extent can "ancient Egypt" from c.3000 BCE to 323 BCE be regarded as a contiguous state, similar to how Rome is considered a contiguous state from the 8th century BCE through to the 5th century CE? Obviously, there were immense political changes that occurred throughout this vast time period, but no historian doubts that Rome under Aurelian in the 270s CE was fundamentally contiguous with the Rome that fought against Hannibal in the 210s BCE. There was a continuous "Roman" identity and a continuous notion of a Roman "state" that survived tumultuous regime changes and civil wars. Can "ancient Egypt" likewise be regarded as a contiguous entity, despite the various different dynasties and regimes that came to rule it? Can the Egypt of Necho II be regarded as fundamentally contiguous with the Egypt of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut?

Sorry if this question is somewhat vague or unclear.

• What sort of cultural weight did the division of Upper and Lower Egypt have? Did they have a regional identity and stereotypical characteristics, or is the division overemphasized in modern classrooms?

• If there is one thing I have learned from Roman era literature about Egypt, it is that the place, and particularly the Delta, was just chock-a-block full of bandits. How well is this stereotype borne out by actual Egyptian sources? Any era is fine.

What was the race of the Ancient Egyptians?

What do you think the lasting legacy of Egypt is? Why does such a long ago culture and civilization continue to have such a hold in Western thought and culture?

This is a question I've always had about Egyptian religion, but find it difficult to find definitive answers on. Who were the most ancient deities of Ancient Egypt - that is, the ones earliest attested?

Also, around what time did true urbanization began in Egypt?

I’ve read a lot about the daily life of ancient Egyptians. I find how ancient people’s lived Day by Day very interesting. I’ve read that at certain times they enjoyed board games, that, although rare, women were given freedoms uncommon at the time such as male jobs with competitive wages and able own land, that labor unions weren’t uncommon, etc etc. I suppose it depended on which dynasty we’re talking about though.

I guess specific questions are - what was recreational life like, and did it differ between men and women? Is it true that pyramids were built because for months of the year the farm workload was displaced by the Nile and needed jobs?

What level of interaction did common peasants have with the religion of their time? For example, were there daily/weekly public worship for the masses? Did common folk keep devotional areas or items in their homes and would this have been dedicated to a pharaoh or a particular god? Were there any obligations of worship for the masses, such as offerings or public displays of faith?

What made Egypt able to weather the bronze age collapse in a way that other empires couldn't? Or did they collapse and bounce back?

Do we know how homosexuality was viewed in ancient Egypt?

Is there an ancient Egyptian epic that compares to the Eddas, Gilgamesh, or the Iliad and Odyssey? Or more broadly, where is ancient Egyptian literature? All I've ever heard of was temple/pyramid inscriptions and the Book of the Dead, but surely there has to be a richer literary history there, right?

How did the demographic composition of Egypt shift from the beginning of the Hellenistic period, through Roman rule and after the Arab conquest? That is, how much impact did Greeks, Celts, Latins, Syrians, Bedouins, Turks, Berbers, Sudanese and Circassians, among others, have on the modern Egyptian gene pool? Could there be a distinct genetic difference between the elites and the masses (i.e. the Fellahin), and between Copts and Muslims today?

When I was growing up, my father made it a point to describe ancient Egyptians as black. He often pointed out the "white washing," of Egyptians in movies etc. And would explained they looked like him and I.

Is my dad biased or correct?

Finally!

Well. So damn many questions:

How much are their ideologies of kingship indebted to the Mesopotamic ones? We see how the "Archer King" theme is a real thing, taken very seriously by them. There is no cowardice or vulgarity attached to it that would appear far later.

Is it true that the Old Kingdom was so powerful that indeed, they were deep into Ethiopia/Aithiopia and got so consolidated their power that started building pyramids as the greatest ostentation for power? And how much powerful were they in the Levant?

Was communication between cities a very chain-based matter due to the Nile? This is not like Mesopotamia, where there is a expand of fertile land in which cities can be passed or sidestepped. I mean this question specially for warfare, since it would be a very straight-forward, city by city conquest without surprise assaults or the like, or am I wrong?

How could commoners achieve greatness besides the luck of bumping into someone with noble or even royal favor? I read about very wealthy commoners in villages but I have to guess some royal sponsoring or noble favoring was in due account for that to happen, either or being a very hardworking and crafting individual to make out riches that much.

What was the first urban center in Egypt and the first to claim sovereignty over a part of the Nile? How did the Red Crown of Aithiopia come to be and why did it include Upper Egypt but not the Lower part?

How was chariot warfare exactly in combination with the infantry clash?

How was slavery in Ancient Egypt throughout the ages? Not so much different as the rest? Did the female slaves have control only to the mistress as in the Aegean Sea as male slaves were subordinated to the master?

How much communication would be between commoners and king and between commoners and nobles throughout the ages? How much could the upper class abuse their power and get away with it?

Did the Ubaid period in Mesopotamia have any effect in Egypt? It seems like it went right from there to Egypt.

It is said the rituals were to be done exactly to the letter. What happens if not? Is it a bad omen?

How much aware were the commoners that when they asked the god, the statue was inhabited by a priest or the arch-priest of the temple? the concept of divinity was within the statue and therefore the person was tied to it in their perspective?

How much time did it take until the "two thirds deal for landowner and one third for the laborer" (or vice-versa, I don't recall) was made into a typical arrangement?

That would be all... for now. Sorry but my curiosity burns.

Hi, thanks to everyone who is doing this AMA.

I was wondering what is the current consensus (if any) with regard to Akhenaten and his role within Atenism? The reason why I ask is because in 1177 BC, Eric Cline briefly comments that rather than being monotheistic, Atenism may actually have had two gods; the Aten and the Pharaoh (i.e. everyone prayed to Akhenaten who interceded on their behalf with his prayers to the Aten)...is this accurate?

On a related note, I've seen Akhenaten referred to both as a 'disinterested dreamer' concerned only with Amarna/Atenism and in other cases, he's discussed as a Joffrey Bartheon-esque tyrant; do we know which is more accurate (or is there truth in both)?

Thanks for reading.

edit: spelling

I'm curious about how Egyptian kingship worked. What did the Egyptians think was the role of the king, and what characteristics should he have? What kind of power did he have? What was his religious significance? What kind of relationship did he have to the aristocracy?

This really goes outside the period you've set up here, but I also wonder how much we know about any polities that existed in Egypt before the dynastic period and how the unification into one state happened?

How significant were Egyptian populations in Canaan during the New Kingdom period? Was it just that Canaanite cities/tribes were offering tribute to Egypt, or was the region being conquered and settled by Egyptians?

Hope I'm not too late! I was hoping you fine folks would be able to shed some light on cosmology/metaphysical questions I've been curious about, especially as it relates to the historical times and surrounding regions.

1. Erik Hornung's book Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt discusses some interesting ideas pertaining to the idea of a singular "god" in ancient Egypt versus the pantheon we're usually familiar with (Ra, Osiris, Anubis, Thoth, Seth, etc)... or maybe it's better put as this singular "god" manifests into the pantheon we associate with the era, each an aspect of this singular being, much like the different manifestations of the Buddha. Given the age of this theory, has any new research come about that supports or discredits this idea?

2. Along the line of the previous question, has there been any research done regarding this topic and the birth of Judaism? While the Torah doesn't explicitly call out this idea of one God manifest as many, if we look at Kabbalah ideas that, supposedly, shed light on meaning in the Torah (and other books), then the concept of a singular being who manifests in everything makes the two cultures fairly analogous. I think it's the Zohar that describes everything as being carved (chakak) out of God, which gives everything its divine nature... similar to the Egypt idea of a singular god manifest in everything else...?

3. One takeaway I got reading Joseph Campbell back in the day was his description of the duality in the Pharaoh, the embodiment of Horus and Seth in equilibrium- or, at least in Dynasty I and Dynasty II. We always associate duality with eastern traditions (ie, yin-yang) yet this seems to pre-date or run parallel to those ideas. Did such a concept permeate everyday life back then? And, if so, how might it have related to ma'at?

4. Egyptian ma'at, Sumerian me, and the Vedic concept of rta all seem to relate and flow very neatly from one timeframe to another over these 3-4,000 years. It seems like these philosophical ideas acted as the foundation of society in their spread East, yet when we consider expansion to Europe, these concepts seem to be lost. Was there social upheaval or a general dislike for such concepts to the point where factions that migrated elsewhere became more... "ego" based versus acted through divine guidance, natural order, or in accordance with celestial virtue?

Many thanks! And I apologize if I'm completely off-base with these questions. Reading helps, but we have to read the correct material :)

In response to this question, u/cleopatra_philopater mentioned:

the various outfits available to the protagonist happen to be extremely anachronistic or fanciful on purpose.

Can this be elaborated on? Of course there are fantastical outfits like the Mummy and Isu armor, but what about the more historically-themed clothing, and how true are their descriptions, one by one?

First, the Maasai outfits:

• Maasai Warrior - "An outfit traditionally worn by the fierce warriors of the Maasai people."

• Engai Na-nyokie - "A Maasai warrior garbed in red is one in pursuit of vengeance."

• Engai Narok - "Elder Maasai warrior don this robe as a sign of their power."

The Persian armors:

• Persian Commander - "Purple is the color of leaders, feared by their enemies."

• Persian Prince - "A remnant of Persian history, worn by a prince as fleet as the wind."

• Persian Guard - "The basic uniform for a soldier in the Persian army’s elite guard."

The Egyptian outfits:

• Egyptian Irtyu - "Blue, the color of the heavens, is favored by nobles."

• Egyptian Wahid - "You'll travel unnoticed on the road in this humble outfit."

• Egyptian Hedj - "A rather distinguished outfit, though still suitable for the demands of everyday life."

And finally, the Roman outfits:

• Roman Venator - "Worn by Roman hunters who provided for the legion while on campaign."

• Roman Marinus - "The uniform of a Roman sailor well versed in naval warfare."

• Roman Legionary - "The costume of an elite Roman soldier, respected across the Mediterranean."

Bonus question: How true to Roman style was Ezio's armor?

I know this is a pretty bloated inquiry, it might be too much to ask. But thanks so much anyway!

Where did the Ancient Egyptian people get the shape for the stars they painted on the ceiling of tombs?

Did duels exist in ancient egypt? Let's say a man has disrespected me, how do I deal with this? (both in shady ways, and official ones)

Hello, I do have a question about a certain Ancient Egyptian deity. His name is Kek. How relevant was Kek in Ancient Egypt?

Thanks everyone for doing this! One thing I am curious about is how the general population and the elites of egypt felt about the succession of foreign rulers that egypt experienced from the persians, to the greeks, to the romans. Particularly I am curious how they viewed each group of people, and how they viewed the change in rule in general. Did they essentially feel like a conquered people, or as an integral part of a new empire, or as just another dynasty? Did they dislike the customs or mannerisms or appearance of the other groups? I am happy to hear about any of these groups or, others, or all three!

Hello!

My question concerns Hatshepsut. I know after her death her nephew set about removing her name/visage from a lot of places, but how extreme were his efforts? Obviously he didn't succeed completely, but did he also take credit for the architectural work she'd had done during her lifetime?

Do we know anything about the meters used in Ancient Egyptian poetry?

suppose I visited an Memphis in 1400BC (200 before the bronze age collapse) and then again in 1000BC (200 after the bronze age collapse), what differences would I likely see?

Hello, hello! Ancient Egypt is hands down one of my favorite periods in history, so I really appreciate this. The Old Testament's depiction of the Exodus is widely known and maintained by a few religions today. From a purely historical stand point, how realistic is the Exodus? I have heard the argument debunking the Exodus. The Egyptians were meticulous record keepers and there is no mention of millions of people running away. But, there have been countless examples of Egyptians being erased from history, such as Tutankhamen. Thanks!

Hi, thank you all for doing this.

What are/were the biggest debates in the history of Egypt? Why? Have they been resolved? How? Where do you weigh in on them?

I was thinking about how early stone buildings were constructed the other day and wondered what kind of mortar they used.
As I understand it stone buildings were intended to be "standing for eternity" so I assume they didn't just use clay/mud, so what did they use and did anything change over time?

a) what are some religious festivals that would have been celebrated in honor of Hep?

b) to what extend would the pharaoh’s wives, sisters, or daughters partake in religious festivals?

c) further reading about daily religious worship by the royal family or yearly festivals?

Thank you in advance!

Is there any known cultural exchange between Sumer and contemporary Egypt?

What do you think enabled the Egyptians to survive the collapse at the end of the late bronze age, around 1180 BC, when nearly every other centralized state in the region collapsed?

What are some of the newest or "most exciting" questions and avenues of research in ancient Egyptian history?

I have heard that Ptolemaic Egypt was very close to a command economy, how true is this?

Could you tell me about food aid in Egypt? Twice in the bible, there is a famine and the Patriarchs (Abraham and Jacob) go to Egypt to purchase food. Is there any evidence that people would go to Egypt in times of famine, and that the kings would allow foreigners to buy food?

Were the pyramids primarily built by slaves, or by paid workers? As a kid, I had always learned it was slaves. Recently, however, I'm hearing more claims it was a public project mostly completed by paid workers. Which was it? Perhaps a bit of both?

In assassins creed, the Roman soldiers regularly say ‘Zeus’. Was it common for soldiers to pray to Zeus?

What is your take on the symbolism of the pharaonic crook and flail? Is there any weight to the comparison between heqa (crook) and heqa (magic) as interrelated concepts?

I am just wondering, is there any evidence of trade and diplomatic relations between Ancient Egypt and China?

Hello! I am a theatre historian and was wondering if there is any evidence of theatrical or performative activity in Egypt during this time period. Thanks!

I recently read a book about the Harem Conspiracy that got me wondering. The conspirators allegedly used magic spells to ensure the success of their attack. At the same time, if you believed the Pharaoh to be a god then attacking seems blasphemous and foolhardy.

In general, would people close to the throne truly believe in magic and pharaonic divinity or was it a political tool?

What's your take on the late bronze age collapse? What do you actually think happened in the region during this time and how did it affect Egypt and Egyptian society?

Okay, several questions, I had in mind that I always wanted to know and made me curious about, thanks to a poster who mentioned to my thread about the "Amarna letters". Which is so cool to me just reading how they communicated to each other. Is there more correspondence letters that Egypt had with other ancient civilizations? is there more letters that perhaps I don't know about?.

• Do people still attempt to speak the "Egyptian language"? the same way people study Latin. Can it be learnt?.

• I always wanted to know, how much labor was necessary to create such massive pyramids?.

• How much of a cultural influence did the Hellenistic culture have on Egypt?

• Before Egypt was conquered by Rome, how did Rome see Egypt? did they see them the same way they saw the Germanics?

• How was the relationship between Egypt and Carthage? was it friendly?

What beliefs did the Ancient Egyptians have about magic?

I remember reading an article long ago that said something about on some holy day in ancient Egypt, they would sacrifice the Pharaoh and he'd be resurrected. Of course, they used a proxy (just in case, right?). I've tried to find anything out about this since then, and can't even find the article I read. Do you know anything about this? I'm wondering because I used it as a starting point to write a 125k-word epic fantasy book, and it would be nice to point people to the original inspiration.

Was Akhenaten's cult of Aton monotheistic ?

Hello there! Ancient Egypt has always been something that's fascinated me, particularly the Old Kingdom. My question: Who is Smenkhare? Or, more accurately, what's the most common theory as to Smenkhare's identity?

What was trade like in Ancient Egypt? What goods were imported and exported?

In the Stella of Merneptah, it seems like Egypt was interested in the area that is Israel. I am curious, the area that is Israel has been occupied by many different people at different times, did Egypt ever occupy the area of Israel before the Israelites? Seeing that they are one of the earliest civilizations and their proximity to it, as well as their apparent interest in it as the Stella shows. When the Stella says that “Israel was laid waste”, was this meaning that the Egyptians were retaking land that they viewed the Israelites were taking from them?

The Old Kingdom left the pyramids of Giza and the one from Djoser and the Sphinx while the New Kingdom left behind the Great Hypostyle Hall, the Temple of Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings.

I don't often hear much though about what monuments were left behind by the Middle Kingdom. Was there not a large emphasis on monument building? Were they built but badly preserved, or perhaps just not much interest in them compared to other locations? Or are there some well-known ones I just can't think of right now?

My question (i'm late, i know)

I live in europe so if i'd like to go to museum and see a lot of ancient Egypt staff should i visit Louvre one more time or check a new one?

How did Egypt deal with the "sea peoples"?

Could you explain the history of egyptian dynasties in short? From the beginning to the ptolemaic era? Please?

Can you recommend me a good book about Ancient Egypt?

Besides the Pyramids and the Sphinx. What are some other interesting mysteries that you guys can't figure out?

I really wonder what the word some thing like "mamehmeloh" or so mean? In Assasins Creed Origins they say this .And maybe do you know what language this is?And can you may be say something about the language in general?

Regarding the Giza pyramids:

I know they were covered in white limestone, but did that extend all the way to the ground? I’ve heard that at least one of them had a reddish stripe near the bottom, is that true?

Or do we have any way at all of knowing what they actually looked like?

Is there any proof Cleopatra killed herself or died via asp, or is that all a myth?

I have a few questions!

1. What theories and evidence are there that the extremely elaborate Egyptian tomb building practices had a more practical motive of asserting the pharaoh's authority somehow rather than being strictly religious? It seems hard to believe most pharaohs really believed doing those things would get them to the afterlife, but it doesn't seem like it was all for show since they really buried valuables with them. Is it possible the valuables weren't actually worth that much at the time? How many workers and resources really went into building the tombs? Was gold more of a luxury item rather than currency in the Bronze Age similarly to how it was treated in the Aztec and Inca civilizations? I realize this might be subjective and impossible to answer but I'd appreciate any sources on it.

2. Were there ever actually booby traps in Egyptian tombs intended to harm or kill intruders?

3. How late is there evidence for stone/obsidian arrowheads being used in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean? I haven't been able to find any information about this, although I know they were still used in Northern Europe through the Late Bronze Age.

Thank you guys for your input. I'm fascinated with Ancient Egyptian culture and language and am learning a lot from you guys. I hope it's not too late to ask, but I'm interested in the perception of the Egyptian deity Seth by his followers. I know that in most of his history, Seth is seen as the negative counterpart to the virtuous Horus and as the murderer of Osiris, being a god of chaos, storms, the desert, foreign invaders, and infertile sexual prowess.

On the other hand, there were times and places were he was a central cult deity, such as in Naqada. However, I'm having a hard time finding information on how his followers saw him given the traditionally strong support for Horus. Did they focus on his positive aspects like his strength or his role as the protector of Ra against Apep? Or was it more of a fearful worship meant to assuage him so he wouldn't cause trouble? Or did they even go so far as to consider him the necessary evil without which there can be no delineation of virtue and order?

There’s a stereotype of ancient Egypt that there was a lot of incest along the royal lineage...to what extent this is true?

.......

Yeah hi so um I read about the Egyptian civilization building the pyramids for the pharaoh's grave but I also read about them in the side of cliffs and mountains. So which came first?

What are your guys thoughts on Assassin's Creed Origins?

What is a good source for information about cuisine and eating, particularly in the Ptolemaic period?

I’m curious about how poetry works in hieroglyphs. Is there meter? rhyme? What rhetorical practices are evident in ancient Egyptian writings? How does the separation of composer and writer (amanuensis) roles manifest in literature?

Nother question if you guys are still around: are the "Big 3" pyramid builders mentioned in later Egyptian writings, besides just in lists of kings? Do the pyramids receive much mention in general after giant pyramid building wasn't a thing anymore?

What was Egyptian armor like?

Is it correct that technology in Ancient Egypt generally lagged behind other areas? If so, what are the reasons for this?

IIRC, Braudel argues in The Mediterranean in the Ancient World that Egypt's strength made adoption of new technology less pressing.

Someone brought this up when talking about accuracy in movies, but how green was the ancient egyptian landscape? Would it have been all cultivated as far as you could see? Or would there have been visible desert not too far off. Most modern pictures of the nile valley look like a brief cluster of greenness near the river followed by cliffs and desert immedjately after. Was the climate of the nile valley more cultivated and less arid?

All of these are mostly applicable to the Old Kingdom but any period of history is appreciated.

• How did the diets of Egyptians differ between classes. What might it have been like for a slave vs. a commoner vs. the Pharaoh?

• Did ancient Egypt have any emphasis on or celebrate athletic competition?

• What do you think or are the most over and under-represented facets of ancient Egypt relative to their popularity? For example, the pyramids or mummies are things people think of when they think Ancient Egypt, but those things might have been a relatively small part of the culture and are only a modern-day romantization. Conversely I'd also like to know what you think was most important to the Egyptians that pop culture today often overlooks.

Thank you!

Maybe this comes out too damn late, but... Did the Egyptian Dynasty of the several Thutmose (known typically as the 18th Dynasty) have the Keftiu and the Tanaju as vassals or they were simply kings on equal stance interchanging gifts of supposedly equal worth? How much is to be trusted that Thutmose III spoke of them as bringing him gifts and therefore implying inferiority?

Hello! I hope I'm not too late. I'm currently doing a seminar about Youth in Ancient Greece, mostly focusing on what's considered Youth and what social rituals end that age frame etc.

I was wondering what kind of prominent coming of age rituals were common in Ancient Egypt, both for boys and girls. And what their purpose/significance is.

Is there any truth to the claim that bestiality was practiced in ancient Egypt?

In your opinion, what’s something that ancient Egyptians did better then we do in modern society?

Bonus question. What’s a common misconception about ancient Egypt that is generally accepted today but not true?

I recently watched a series that basically described the pyramids as possibly being giant electrical storage containers. Is there any evidence that the Ancient Egyptians were able to harness electricity? Do things like the "Baghdad Battery" lend any credence to it?