The Battle of Carchemish was fought in 605 BCE between the combined forces of Egypt and Assyria against the combined forces of Babylon, Persia, and the Medes. The Egyptian forces were led by Necho II, an Assyrian puppet ruler. The Egyptian forces were completely destroyed and the Assyrian Empire was obliterated.

The vast majority of surviving royal palaces were built either during the New Kingdom, the Third Intermediate Period, or the Late Period. Egyptologists speculate that royal palaces were commonly built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, but that they have left behind little in the way of archaeological evidence. Much of our knowledge about the lives of Egyptian rulers and their subjects comes from excavations carried out on royal palaces.

Ancient Egyptian society is rightfully lauded by modern historians for its many cultural and scientific achievements, all of which were made possible by the Empire’s long periods of economic and political stability. The most well-known of Ancient Egypt’s advancements is, undoubtedly, mummification (aka the process of preserving a dead body through the careful removal of the body’s organs and fluids). Other notable Ancient Egyptian accomplishments include the development of: a numerical system, a hieroglyphic writing system, a system of keeping time, and a technique of creating papyrus (an early form of paper) out of river weeds. The Ancient Egyptians also invented door locks and eye makeup, as well as a complex system of legal courts and criminal justice laws.

The ancient Egyptian practice of incubation emerged during the Late Period. The practice of incubation involved an ancient Egyptian individual sleeping in a temple complex overnight. The individual expected to be visited in his sleep by God. It was expected that God would pass on a prophetic message.

A good deal of our understanding about ancient Egyptian culture and religious practices comes from the writings of the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus. Herodotus visited Egypt during the Late Period and wrote extensively about its history. Embalming was a part of the mummification process and is thought to have usually lasted around seventy days.

This image shows a Roman-style portrait of a young man that replaces the sculpted funerary masks of older mummified individuals. This is seen in the large eyes, idealized features, and position of the head that all point to conventions typical of Roman portraits.

Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fayum-71.jpg

The Kushites (the twenty-fifth dynasty) ruled during the Third Intermediate Period. The Kushites understood their culture as descended from the Egyptian culture of antiquity and deliberately attempted to recreate the artistic glories of the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. The Kushites renovated many temples and monuments and sponsored a massive artistic program of their own.

The ancient Egyptian practice of incubation became popular during the Late Period and may have been practiced in various forms in earlier periods of Egyptian history. Incubation involved an individual spending the night in a temple. The individual expected a God to visit him in his sleep and reveal a prophetic vision.

Hapi was the god of the annual flooding of the Nile, which was itself called the arrival of Hapi. Hapi was also a deity associated with birds and fish. Aker was the god of the earth and the horizon, and Anhur was the god of war and hunting.

Originally, the Memphis Triad consisted of: Ptah (the god of Creation, architecture, and craftsmen), Sekhmet (the goddess of fire, war, and medicine, and Ptah’s wife), and Nefertem (the god of healing and beauty and the son of Ptah and Sekhmet). Together, this family of deities was worshipped as a linked group in the capital city’s temple, with offerings made to each separately and collectively. Around 525 BCE, however, the Triad morphed slightly; the Old Kingdom architect and healer Imhotep, who had been worshipped as an increasingly popular deity after his death, displaced Nefertem as the Triad’s third member. So popular and fixed was this belief that many Egyptians referred to Imhotep as the son of Ptah.