BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. ■■ Hi... M la gCiut. mul IhiilMna. licinn IHtiner l^arlg. K igs. (Th BuMlvIdioiis of them ge ml ti>|iicH may Ib fliled ill {'titlLvortliefmr^grftphB fliiTRQDTOTlOlj
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS.
"" Hi...
1 t I a 1 has done It eit-i if the n e and ffiowlh ot the differeut nations which have ex- isted, of the deeds of their great men, the manners ;i.nd eiistoms of tlieir peo- ples, and the part cath nation has taken iu the progress of the wiH'id. OHEAT HALL OP KAiiBAK, DatoB aTB rcckoned from the birth of Christ, the central point in iustorj'. Time before tliat event is
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
fliiTRQDTOTlOlj History 1ot 1t I a 1 has done Iteit-i if then e andffiowlh ot thediffereut nations which have existed, of the deeds of their great men, the manners;i.nd eiistoms oftlieir peoples, and the partcath nation has takeniu the progress of thewiH'id. DatoB aTB rcckoned from the birth of Christ,OHEAT HALL OPKAiiBAK, the central point iniustorj'. Time beforetliat event ishttp://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/A_Brief_History_of_Ancient_Peoples_v3_1000025458/910 ANCIENT HISTORY. denoted as b. o. ; time after, a. d. {Anno Domini, in the year of our Lord).^ Three Divisions. — History is distinguished as Ancient, MedisBval, and Modern. Ancient history extends from the earliest time to the fall of the Roman Empire (476 a. d.) ; Mediaeval, or the history of the Middle ages, covers about a thousand years, or to the close of the 15th century ; and Modem history continues to the present time. The only Historic Bace is the Caucasian, the others having done little worth recording. It is usually divided into three great branches: the Ar'yan, the Semit'ic, and the Hamit'ic, The first of these, which includes the Per- sians, the Hindoos, and nearly aU the European nations, is the one to which we belong. It has always been noted for its intellectual vigor. The second embraces the Assyrians, the Hebrews, the Phoenicians, and the Arabs. It has been marked by religious fervor, and has given to the world the three faiths — Jewish, Christian, and Mohammedan — which teach the worship of one God. The third branch ^ includes the Chaldeans and the Egjrptians. It has been remarkable for its massive architecture. Ancient Aryan Nation. — ^Asia was probably the birth- place of mankind. In a time far back of all history there lived in Bactria (map, p. 11) a nation that had made con- siderable progress in civilization. The people called them- 1 Tills raetliod of reckoninp^ was introduced by Exiguus, a Roman abbot, near the middle of the 6th century. It is now thought that tlie birth of Clirist occurred about four years earlier tlian tlie time fixed in our chronology. The Jews still date from the Creation, and the Mohammedans usually from the llegira (p. 326), 622 a. d. 3 The Chaldeans were a mixed people, and are variously classed as Semitic, ITamitic, or Turanian. Those nations of Europe and Asia that are not Aryan or Semitic are frequently termed Turanian. This branch would then inclnde the Mongols, Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Tartars, r^apps, Finns, Magyars, etc. Iran (e'-rahn), or Aria, the old name of Persia (the "land of light"), is opposed toTuran, the barbarous region around (the "land of darkness"). The Aryan (Indo-European) and Semitic languages have certain resemblances, but the so-called Turanian dialects bear little resemblance to one another.https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
| 10 ANCIENT HISTORY.denoted as Three Divisions. " History is distinguished as Ancient, The only Historic Ancient Aryan Nation. " 1 Tills | |
APA: (2013). pp. 11-2. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 11-2. Print.
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12 ANCIENT HISTORY. selves Aryas or Aryans, — those who go straight or upward. They dwelt in houses, plowed the soil, ground their grain in mills, rode in vehicles, worked certain metals, calcu- lated up to 100, and had family ties, a government, and a religion.^ Aryan Dispersion. — How long our Aryan forefathers lived united in their early home, we have no means of know- ing. As they increased in numbers, they would naturally begin to separate. When they moved into distant regions, the bond of union would become weaker, their language would begin to vary, and so the seeds of new tongues and new nations would be sown. To the south-east these Aryan emigrants pushed into Persia and northern India; to the west they gradually passed into Europe, whence, in a later age, they settled Australia and America. In general, they drove before them the previous occupants of the land. The peninsulas of Greece and Italy were probably eai*liest occu- pied. Three successive waves of emigration seem to have afterward swept over central Europe. First came the Celts (Kelts), then the Teutons (Germans), and finally the Slaves.^ Each of these appears to have crowded the preceding one farther west, as we now find the Celts in Ireland and Wales, and the Slaves in Russia and Poland. 1 These views are based on similarities of langnage. Abont 600,000,000 people— half the population of the globe— speak Aryan languages. These contain many words which have a family likeness. Thus, night, in Latin, is noet; in German, naeht; and in Greek, nykt. TTiree,in Latin, is tresf in Greek, treis ; and in Sanscrit (the ancient language of the Hindoos), tri. All such words are supposed to have belonged to one original speech, and to suggest the life of that parent race. Thus we infer that the Aryans had a regular government, since words meaning king or ruler are the same in Sanscrit, Latin, and English ; and that they had a family life, since the words meaning father, mother, brother, sister, etc., are the same in these kindred tongues. Some recent theories discredit successive western migrations, place the primitive Aryan home in Europe, and argue that the Indo-Iranians emigrated from Europe to Asia. s This word originally meant " glorious," but came to have its present signification because at one time there were in Europe so many bondsmen of Slavonic birth.
| 12 ANCIENT HISTORY.selves Aryan Dispersion. " How long our Aryan forefathers lived united in their early home, we have no means of knowing. As they increased in numbers, they would naturally begin to separate. When they moved into distant regions, the bond of union would become weaker, their language would begin to vary, and so the seeds of new tongues and new nations would be sown. To the south-east these Aryan emigrants pushed into Persia and northern India; to the west they gradually passed into Europe, whence, in a later age, they settled Australia and America. In general, they drove before them the previous occupants of the land. The peninsulas of Greece and Italy were probably 1 These views are based on similarities of | |
APA: (2013). pp. 13-4. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 13-4. Print.
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INTRODUCTION.
13
The following table shows the principal peoples which have
descended from the ancient races : —
1. HAMITIG BACB
2. SEMITIC BACE.
I
3. ABTAN BACE. ^
E0TPTIAN8.
Chaldeans (1).
A88YUIAN8.
PIKENICIANB.
HKUKEW8.
ARABS.
MEDE8 AND PERSIANS.
HINDOOS.
O KEEKS.
« I Italians.
I ROMANS . . i spauiards.
Portuguese.
Celts
Teutons
Slaves .
French.
Romanic {Romance)
Peoplet.
• • •
Welsli.
Irish.
Highland Scots.
Britons.
Germans.
Dutch.
English.
Swedes.
Danes.
Norwegians.
Russians.
Poles.
Serbs.
Bohemians.
Commencemeiit of Civil History. — History begins
on the banks of the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.^
There the rich alluvial soil, the genial climate, and the abun-
dant natural products of the earth, offered every inducement
1 "The Nile valley and the Tigris- Euphrates basin were two great oases in the
vast desert which extended from west to east very nearly across the eastern hemi-
sphere. These favored spots were not only the twd centers of early civilization, but
they were rivals of each other. They were connecteil by roads fit for the passage of
vast armies. Whenever there was an energetic ruler along the Nile or the Tigris-
Euphrates, he at once, as if by an inevitable law, attempted the conquest of his com-
petitor for the control of western Asia. In fact, the history of ancient as well as
modem Asia is little more than one continuous record of political struggles between
Egypt and Mesopotamia, ending only when Europe entered the lists, as in the time
of Alexander the Great and the Crusaders."
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
INTRODUCTION.The following table shows the principal peoples which have descended from the ancient races: " 1.HAMITIG BACB IE0TPTIAN8. Chaldeans (1).2. SEMITICBACE. PIKENICIANB. HKUKEW8. 3.ABTAN BACE. ^ A88YUIAN8. ARABS.MEDE8 AND PERSIANS.HINDOOS.O KEEKS. " I ROMANS. .I Italians.i spauiards. Portuguese. French.Teutons " Slaves .Romanic {Romance)Peoplet. Welsli. Irish. Highland Scots. Britons.Germans. Dutch. English. Swedes. Danes. Norwegians.Russians. Poles. Serbs. Bohemians.Commencemeiit of Civil History. " History begins on the banks of the Nile, the Tigris, and the Euphrates.^ There the rich alluvial soil, the genial climate, and the abundant natural products of the earth, offered every inducement 1 "The Nile valley and the TigrisEuphrates basin were two great oases in the vast desert which extended from west to east very nearly across the eastern hemisphere. These favored spots were not only thetwd centers of early civilization, but they were rivals of each other. They wereconnecteil by roads fit for the passage of vast armies. Whenever there was an energetic ruler along the Nile or the Tigris Euphrates, he at once, as if by an inevitable law, attempted the conquest of his competitor for the control of western Asia. In fact, the history of ancient as well as modem Asia is little more than one continuous record of political struggles between Egypt and Mesopotamia, ending only when Europe entered the lists, as in the time of Alexander the Great and the Crusaders."
missing pages 14 and 15 on-line
epoch the princi- pal interest clmout the IV"' or Pyramid djTiasty, so called because its eliief monarchs built the three great pyra- mids at Gizeh (ghe'- zeh). The best- known of these kings was Kbu'fu, termed Chfops (ke'-ops) by Herodotus. In time, Egj'pt broke up into kingdoms, Memphis lost its preeminence, and Thebes became the favorite capital. 2. The Middle Empire (2080 b. c- 1525 B. c.).— Wien the hundred-gated city, Thebes, rose to sovereign power, a new epoch began in Egyptian history. The Xn"" dynasty claimed all the district watered by the Nile, and under its rtJlRr over awo roars-ftom 570! n. c. to Siwi
RC-
nn tbe
reokaned dates from Uie
FgjTtian
B tbemaelves Jiad no
contlnnousohronoln
T. but
8 ol kin
to'rtvu tbe ic
npho
( 1I.X
rsBpectlvo reigns, and tt
tliere-
ton eitremeir tmcBMsH:
most EgrptnlcirtBtB
iffir IBDB tba:
tllMB lolIowlDg Die full
tLe Sew Kmiure.
01 are now i
sndpBpjTl. In tills li«k,wliB
t Is caUed tbe
'Bhorl
Cbra
DOlog)-" hM been lollon
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
| epoch the principal interest | |
APA: (2013). pp. 15-6. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 15-6. Print.
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THE POLITICAL HISTORY 17 great Mngs, the Sesorta'sens and the Avnenem'hes, Ethiopia was conquered. To this dynasty belong the famous Lake Moeris and the Labyrinth (p. 39). The briUiant XIP»* dynasty was followed by the weak XIII*^. The divided country invited attack, and the Hyksos (" shepherd kings''), a rude, barbarous race that had already conquered Lower Egypt, finally overran the whole region, and ruled it for 400 years. When at last they were di'iven out, they left to Egjrpt a strong, centralized government. 3. The New Empire (1525-527 b. c.).— The native kings having been restored to the throne, Egypt became a united people, with Thebes for the capital Then followed a true national life of 1000 years. The XVIIP" and XIX*^ dynasties exalted Egypt to the height of its glory. Thoth- mes I. (tot'-meez) began a system of great Asiatic expedi- tions, which lasted 500 years. Thothme^ 1 11.,^ the Egyptian Alexander the Great, was a magnificent warrior-king In the sculptures, Nineveh and Babylon pay him tribute; while his ships, manned by Phoenician sailors, sweep the Mediterranean. The Great Temple of Karnak (p. 2G) was largely built by him. Am'unoph III. was also a famous war- rior and builder. Among his structures there remains the Vocal Memnon, which was said to sing when kissed by the rising sun. Khti-en-A'ten, the heretic king, rejected the The- ban gods for the one-god {A ten) sun-worship of his foreign mother. He founded a new ca2)ital (now Tel-el-Amarna ruins), but neither capital nor religion long survived him. Seti (Mineptah I.) subdued Mesopotamia, and built the Great Hall of Columns at Karnak. At an early age his son, 1 In 1881, between 30 and 40 royal nmnimiee, Incliirtiiig those of Tliotlnnes III.. Seti I.^and RameseH 11., wer« found in a concealed niunitiiy pit near Thebes. The official records on the c.".aes and bandages show that these precious relics had been moved from tomb to t-onib, probably for safety, until at some crisis they had been harriedly deposited here. The great Kameses had thus been shifted many times,
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
THE POLITICAL HISTORY
mes I. (tot'-meez) began a system of great Asiatic expedi-
Seti (Mineptah I.) subdued Mesopotamia, and built the Great
great Mngs, the Sesorta'sens and the Avnenem'hes, Ethiopia was conquered. To this dynasty belong the famous Lake Moeris and the Labyrinth (p. 39). The briUiant XIP"* dynasty was followed by the weak XIII*^. The divided country invited attack, and the Hyksos (" shepherd kings''), a rude, barbarous race that had already conquered Lower Egypt, finally overran the whole region, and ruled it for 400 years. When at last they were di'iven out, they left to Egjrpt a strong, centralized government.
3. The New Empire (1525-527 b. c.)." The native kings having been restored to the throne, Egypt became a united people, with Thebes for the capital Then followed a true national life of 1000 years. The XVIIP" and XIX*^ dynasties exalted Egypt to the height of its glory. Thoth-
tions, which lasted 500 years. Thothme^ 1 11.,^ the Egyptian Alexander the Great, was a magnificent warrior-king In the sculptures, Nineveh and Babylon pay him tribute; while his ships, manned by Phoenician sailors, sweep the Mediterranean. The Great Temple of Karnak (p. 2G) was largely built by him.Am'unoph III. was also a famous warrior and builder. Among his structures there remains the Vocal Memnon, which was said to sing when kissed by the rising sun. Khti-en-A'ten, the heretic king, rejected the The ban gods for the one-god {A ten) sun-worship of his foreign mother. He founded a new ca2)ital (nowTel-el-Amarna ruins), but neither capital nor religion long survived him.
Hall of Columns at Karnak. At an early age his son,
1 In 1881, between 30 and 40 royal nmnimiee, Incliirtiiig those of Tliotlnnes III.. Seti I.^and RameseH 11., wer" found in a concealed niunitiiy pit near Thebes. The official records on thec.".aes and bandages show that these precious relics had been moved from tomb to t-onib, probably for safety, until at some crisis they had been harriedly deposited here. The greatKameses had thus been shifted many times,
18 EGYPT. Bam'eses 11., was made joint king with him, and they reigned together until Mineptah's death. Rameses II., the Sesostris the Great of the Greek historians, carried his conquering arms far into Africa. The greatest builder^ of aU the Pharaohs, his gigantic enterprises exhausted the nation. Annual slave-hunting expeditions were made into Ethiopia j prisoners of war were lashed into service ; and the hves of the unhappy Hebrews were made " bitter with hard bondage, in mortal*, and in brick'' (Exod. i. 14). He founded a hbrary inscribed " The Dispensary of the Soul," and gathered about him many men of genius, making his time a golden .age of art and literature. The Decline of Egypt began with the XX"' dynasty, when it was no longer able to retain its vast cou(j[uests. The tributary peoples revolted, and the country was subdued in turn by the Etliiopians and the Assyrians (p. 49). After nearly a century of foreign rule, Psammetichns of the XXVI"' dynasty threw off the Assyrian yoke, and restored the Egyp- tian independence. This monarch, by employing Greek only to IaD(l at last in tlie Oizeli museum, where "his uncovered face now lies for the whole world to ga^e upon." In I8UI, over 60 nninmiies of the same peri(Ki (XVII^ to XXI't dynasties) were found in another tomb near tlie first These Iiad escaped the eyes of modern trafficking? tliieves, and were found as they weie left over 3000 years ago In is\fl, Khuen-Aten's tomb was uncovere | |
APA: (2013). pp. 17-8. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 17-8. Print.
 THE CIVILIZATION. 19 troops, SO offended the native warriors that 200,000 of them mutinied, and emigrated to Ethiopia. His successor, Necho (Pharaoh-Necho of the Scriptures), maintained a powerful fleet. Under his orders the Phoenician ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope.^ The internal prosperity of Egypt still continued, as is shown by the magnificent monuments of this period j but the army was filled with mercenaries, and the last of the Pharaohs fell an easy prey to the fierce-fighting Persians under Cambyses. Egypt, like Babylon (p. 51), was now reduced to a Persian province governed by a satrap. 2. THE CIVILIZATION. Egyptian Society was divided into distinct classes, so that ordinarily no man could rise higher than the station in which he was born.2 The priestly and military classes, which included the king, princes, and all men of rank, were far above the others. The King received the most exalted titles, and his authority was supposed to come direct from the gods. The courtiers, on approach- ing him, fell prostrate, rubbing the ground with their noses ; some- times, by his gracious consent, they were permitted to touch his sacred knee.^ That he might be kept pure, he was given from childhood only the choicest and most virtuous companions, and no . 1 Twice during this voyage, says Herodotus, the crews, fearing a want of food, landed, drew their sliips on shore, sowed grain, and waited for a harvest. The pupil will notice that this was over 2000 years before Vasco da Oama (Hist. U. S., p. 41), to whom is generally accorded the credit of first circumnavigating Africa. 2 There seems to have been an exception in favor of talented scribes. " Neither descent nor family hampered the rising career of the clever. Many a monument con- secrated to the memory of some nobleman who had held high rank at court has the simple but laudatory inscription, ' His ancestors were unknown people.' "—Brugtch. Royal preferment was also without restriction. 8 "When they had come before the king, their noses touched the gfronnt'. «"<' their feet lay on the ground for Joy; they fell down to the ground, and with their hands they prayed to the king. Thus they lay prostrate and toucliing the earth before the king, speaking thus: ' We are come before thee, the lord of heaven, lord of the earth, sun, life of the whole world, lord of time, creator of the harvest, dis- penser of breath to all men. animator of the gods, pillar of heaven, threshold of the earth, weigher of the balance of the two worlds,'" etc. (Inscription of Rameses II. at AbyduH). https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
THE CIVILIZATION.
troops, SO offended the native warriors that 200,000 of them mutinied, and emigrated to Ethiopia. His successor,
The internal prosperity of Egypt still continued, as is shown by the magnificent monuments of this period
2. THE CIVILIZATION.
Egyptian Society was divided into distinct classes, so that ordinarily no man could rise higher than the station in which he was
The King received the most exalted titles, and his authority was supposed to come direct from the gods. The courtiers, on approaching him, fell prostrate, rubbing the ground with their noses; sometimes, by his gracious consent, they were permitted to touch his sacred
2 There seems to have been an exception in favor of talented scribes. " Neither descent nor family hampered the rising career of the clever. Many a monument consecrated to the memory of some nobleman who had held high rank at court has the simple but laudatory inscription, ' His ancestors were unknown people.'
Royal preferment was also without restriction.
8 "When they had come before the king, their noses touched the
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APA: (2013). pp. 19-20. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 19-20. Print.
hired serTOnt wag ^owed to approach his person. His daily con- duct was governed by a code of rules laid down in the sacred books, which prescribed not only the hourly order and natare of his occupations, but limited even the kind and quantity of his food. He was never suffered to forget his obligations j and one of the offices of the High Priest at the daily sacrifice was to remind him of his duties, and, by citing the good works of his ancestors, to impress upon him the nobility of a well-ordered life. After death he was worshiped with the godfi l%e Priests were the richest. *'a\, most powerful, and the only learned body of the country Thev were not limited to sacred ofSces and m their caste comprised all the mathematicians, scientists, lawyers, and physicians of the land. Those pnestewho escelledin virtue and wis- dom were initiated into the holymya- tertes —a privilege which they shared only with the king and the pnnee- royal. Among the priesthood, as in the other classes there were marked distinctions of rank The High Priests held the most honorable station. Chief among them was the Prophet, who offered sacrifice and libation in the temple, wearing as his insignia a leopard-skin over his robes. The king himself oft«n performed the duties of this office. The religious observances of the priests were rigid. They had long fasts, bathed twice a day and twice in the night, and every third day were shaven from head to foot, the most devout using waterwhich had been tasted by the sacred Ibis. Beans, pork, fish, onions, and various other articles of diet, were forbidden to them ; and on certain days, when a religious ceremony compelled every Egyptian to eat a fried fish before his door, the priests burned theirs instead. Their dress was of linen : woolen might be used for an outer, but never for an inner garment, nor could it be worn into a temple. The influence of the priests was immense, since they not only ruled the living, but were supposed to have powerto open and shut the gates of eternal bliss to the dead. They received an ample income from the state, and had one third of the land free of tax, —
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
hiredserTOnt wag^owed to approach his person. His daily conduct was governed by a code of rules laid down in the sacred books, which prescribed not only the hourly order andnatare of his occupations, but limited even the kind and quantity of his food. He was never suffered to forget his obligationsj and one of the offices of the High Priest at the daily sacrifice was to remind him of his duties, and, by citing the good works of his ancestors, to impress upon him the nobility of a well-ordered life. After death he was worshiped with thegodfi l%e Priests were the richest.*'a\, most powerful, and the only learned body of the countryThev were not limited to sacredofSces andm their caste comprised all the mathematicians, scientists, lawyers, and physicians of the land. Thosepnestewho escelledin virtue and wisdom were initiated into theholymya- tertes "a privilege which they shared only with the king and thepnnee- royal. Among the priesthood, as in the other classes there were marked distinctions of rank The High Priests held the most honorable station. Chief among them was the Prophet, who offered sacrifice and libation in the temple, wearing as his insignia a leopard-skin over his robes. The king himselfoft"n performed the duties of this office. The religious observances of the priests were rigid. They had long fasts, bathed twice a day and twice in the night, and every third day were shaven from head to foot, the most devout usingwaterwhich had been tasted by the sacred Ibis. Beans, pork, fish, onions, and various other articles of diet, were forbidden to them; and on certain days, when a religious ceremony compelled every Egyptian to eat a fried fish before his door, the priests burned theirs instead. Their dress was of linen: woolen might be used for an outer, but never for an inner garment, nor could it be worn into a temple. The influence of the priests was immense, since they not only ruled the living, but were supposed to havepowerto open and shut the gates of eternal bliss to the dead. They received an ample income from the state, and had one third of the land free of tax, "THE CIVILIZATION. 21 a special gift from the god- Tke Military Class also possessed one third o£ the land, each soldier's share being about eight acres. Thearmy, which numbered 410,000 men, was well disciplined and thoroughly orgaoized. It comprised archers, spearmen, swordsmen, clubmen, and sliagers. Each soldier furnished his own equipments, and held himself in constant readiness for duty. He wore a metal coat of mail and a metal or cloth faelmet, and carried a large shield made of oz-hide drawn over a wooden frame. The chariots, of which great use was made in war, were sometimes richly ornamented and inlaid with gold. The king led the army, and was often accompanied by a favorite lion. Lower Classes.— &]1 the free population not belonging to the priesthood or the military was arbitrarily classified ; each trade or occupation having its own rank in the social scale, and inhabiting a certain quarter in the town, — a custom still observed in Cairo. Scribes and architects, whose profession gave them access to temples and palaces, and who had thus a chance to win royal favor, naturally stood h^hest. Swine-herds were the most despised of all men ; the Egyptian, like the Hebrew, Mohammedan, and Indian, considering the pig an unclean animal. Swine-herds were forbid- den to enter a temple. As the entire land of Egypt was owned byhttps://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txtTHE CIVILIZATION.a special gift from thegod- Tke Military Class also possessed one thirdo" the land, each soldier's share being about eight acres.Thearmy, which numbered 410,000 men, was well disciplined and thoroughlyorgaoized. It comprised archers, spearmen, swordsmen, clubmen, andsliagers. Each soldier furnished his own equipments, and held himself in constant readiness for duty. He wore a metal coat of mail and a metal or clothfaelmet, and carried a large shield made ofoz-hide drawn over a wooden frame. The chariots, of which great use was made in war, were sometimes richly ornamented and inlaid with gold. The king led the army, and was often accompanied by a favorite lion.Lower Classes." "]1 the free population not belonging to the priesthood or the military was arbitrarily classified; each trade or occupation having its own rank in the social scale, and inhabiting a certain quarter in the town, " a custom still observed in Cairo. Scribes and architects, whose profession gave them access to temples and palaces, and who had thus a chance to win royal favor, naturally stoodh^hest. Swine-herds were the most despised of all men; the Egyptian, like the Hebrew, Mohammedan, and Indian, considering the pig an unclean animal. Swine-herds were forbidden to enter a temple. As the entire land of Egypt was owned by
2 EGYPT.
the king, the priests, and the soldiers, the lower classes could hold
no real estate; but they had strongly marked degrees of importance,
depending upon the relative rank of the trade to which they were
bom, and their business success. According to Herodotus, no
artisan could engage in any other employment than the one to
which he had been brought up. He also tells us that every noAn
was obUged to have some regular means of subsistence, a written
declaration of which was deposited periodically with the magis-
trate. A false account or an unlawful business was punished by
death.
Writing. — Hieroglyphics'^ (sacred sculptures). — The earhest
Egyptian writing was a series of object pictures analogous to that
still used by the North American Indians (Brief Hist. U. S., p. 13).
♦ _^-^ ^ Gradually this primitive system
^^f ife. ^t 1^, 1^^ was altered and abbreviated into
• ^ • # ^ ^^ (1) hieratic (priestly) writing,
THK NAME OF EGYPT IN tho form in which most Egyp-
HiEKOGLYPHicB. tlau litcraturc is written, and
which is read by first resolving it into the original hieroglyphs ; and
(2) demotic (writing of the people), in which all traces of the original
pictures are lost. During these changes many meanings became
attached to one sign, so that the same hieroglyph might represent
an idea , the symbol of an idea, or an abstract letter, syllable, or word.
An Egyptian scribe used various devices to explain his meaning.
To a hieroglyphic word or syllable he would append one or more
of its letters ; then, as the letter-signs had different meanings, he
> So called by the Greeks, who thought tliem to be mystic religious symbols
unnerstood ouly by the priests. Neither the Greeks nor Romans attempted to
decipher them. The discovery of the Rosetta stone (1799) furnished the first clew to
their reading. A French en^^ineer, while digging intrenchments on the site of an old
temple near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile (Brief Hist. France, p. 229), unearthed
a black basalt tablet inscribed in three languages,— hieroglyphic, demotic, and
Greek. It proved to be a decree made by the priests in the time of Ptolemy V.
(196 B. c), wliom it styled the "god Epiphanes,*' increasing his divine honors, and
ordering that the command should be engraved in the three languages, and placed in
all the chief temples. By a comparison of the Greek and Egyptian texts, a principle
of interpretation was finally established. Hieroglyphics had hitherto been supposed
to represent only ideas or symbols. Twenty-three years after the discovery of the
Rov. % st
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
22 EGYPT.
the king, the priests, and the soldiers, the lower classes could hold no real estate; but they had strongly marked degrees of importance, depending upon the relative rank of the trade to which they were bom, and their business success. According to Herodotus, no artisan could engage in any other employment than the one to which he had been brought up. He also tells us that every
Writing. " Hieroglyphics'^ (sacred sculptures). " The
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APA: (2013). pp. 21-2. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 21-2. Print.
 THE CIVILIZATION. 23
would add a picture of some object that would suggest the intended
idea. Thus, for the word bread "^^ ^ he would write the
syllable ^^ (jq) then its complement "^ W and finally, as
a determinative, give the picture of a loaf ( «^ ). One would
suppose that the form of the loaf would itself have been suf&cient,
but even that had several mterpretations. In like manner the
scribe appended the determinative Jk not only to words sig-
nifying actions of the mouth, as eating^ laughing, speaking, etc., but
to those of the thought, as knotving, judging, deciding. To under-
stand hieroglyphics, a knowledge of the peculiar ideas of the Egyp-
tians is also necessary. It is easy to see that ^5l means worship,
and ^S| crime; but we should hardly interpret ^^ as son,
or jl as mother, unless we knew that geese were believed to
possess a warm filial nature, and all vultures to be females. Besides
these and other complications in hieroglyphic writing, there was no
uniform way of arranging sentences. They were written both hori-
zontally and perpendicularly ; sometimes part of a sentence was
placed one way, and part the other; sometimes the words read from
right to left, sometimes from left to right, and sometimes they were
scattered about within a given space without any apparent order.
Papyrus, — Books were written and government records kept on
papyrus 1 (hence, paper) rolls. These were generally about ten
inches wide and often one hundred and fifty feet long. They were
written upon with a frayed reed dipped into black or red ink. As
the government had the monopoly of the papyrus, it was very costly.
1 The papyrus, or paper reed, which floiirislied in ancient times so luxuriantly that
it formed Jungles along the banks of the Nile, is no longer found in Egypt. ("The
paper reeds by the brooks, by the mouth of the brooks, . . . shall wither, be driven
away, and be no more."— Isa. xix. 7.) It had a large, three-sided, tapering stem, two
to three inches broad at the base. The reed was prepared for use by peeling oft' the
smooth bark, and cutting the inner mass of white pith lengthways into thin slices,
which were laid side by side with their edges touching one another. A Hecond layer
having been placed transversely up
https://archive.org/stream/abriefhistoryan00steegoog/abriefhistoryan00steegoog_djvu.txt
THE CIVILIZATION.
would add a picture of some object that would suggest the intended idea. Thus, for the word bread "^^ ^ he would write the syllable
Papyrus, " Books were written and government records kept on papyrus 1 (hence, paper) rolls. These were generally about ten inches wide and often one hundred and fifty feet long. They were written upon with a frayed reed dipped into black or red ink. As the government had the monopoly of the papyrus, it was very costly.
1 The papyrus, or paper reed, which
APA: (2013). pp. 23-4. A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners (Vol. 3). London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1881)
MLA: A Brief History of Ancient Peoples: With an Account of Their Monuments, Literature, and Manners. Vol. 3. 1881. Reprint. London: Forgotten Books, 2013. 23-4. Print.
Full text of "A brief history of ancient peoples,with an account of their monuments,literature, and manners"Google This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project to make the world's books discoverable online. It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the publisher to a library and finally to you. Usage guidelines Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. We also ask that you: + Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for personal, non-commercial purposes. + Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. + Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. + Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe. About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http: //books .google .com/I TX 930.2 .S814 Steele, Joel Dorman, Brief history of arcieni peoples ■ *im BARNES ONE-TERM SERIES A BRIEF HISTORY ANCIENT PEOPLES JOEL DORMAN STEELE, Ph.D., P.G.8. ESTHKlt BAKEIi STEELE, Lit.D. DEPAETMENT OF EDUOATIOK LELAND STANFOSD JUNIOS UNIYESSITT NEW YORK ■ : ■ CINCINNATI ■ : ■ CHICAGO AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY aAND STANFORD JR. UNIVERSIVf. C BARNES BRIEF HISTORY SERIES, 12M0. Illustrated. Bt Joel Dobman Steele and Esther B. Bteele. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATEP, FOtt THE Use of Schools and kou Private Reading. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF FRANCE, for the Use OF SCIIOOl^ AND FOR PRIVAIE READING. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF GREECE, with Select Readings from Standard authors. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF ROME, with Select Readings from standard authors. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF ANCIENT PEOPLES, FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND FOR PRIVATE READING. BARNES BRIEF HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN PEOPLES, Fou the Use of Schools and FOR Private Reading. BARNES BRIEF GENERAL HISTORY, Ancient, Me- di^val, and Modern Peoples. Copyright 1881, by A. S. Barnes !!go to the top of the page 'Blackboard Analysis' begins here
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