Ancient History of Ancient people

 Who designed the first pyramid?

The first pyramid was the step pyramid at Saqqara in Egypt. It was designed by Imhotep, a physician to King Djoser, in the 2500s B.C.

Imhotep is notable as the first non-royal person whose name is recorded in history.

He was a man who had many talents. As well as being a court physician, he was a priest, an astronomer, a writer and the King’s chief minister.

The Step Pyramid is about 60 meters high. It was the central feature of Djoser’s royal tomb. The tomb was more than just a burial place. It provided temples, galleries, courtyards and rooms where religious services could be held to honour the dead king.

The whole Saqqara complex was the first moment to be built entirely of stone: mud bricks were usually used for part or all of the buildings.

The step pyramid is so called because its sides form a series of giant steps. Later pyramids had smooth sides.

Which pharaoh worshipped one god?

Amenhotep IV, who reigned from 1379 to 1362 B.C., worshipped the Aten, the Sun’s disc.

Amenhotep IV became pharaoh (king) on the death of his father, whose reign was peaceful and prosperous.

Early in his reign, the young pharaoh adopted the worship of the Aten. He believed the Aten was the God of the whole world, not just of Egypt. He abolished the worship of Amun-Re, a combined god of the air and god of the sun, and a host of other gods and goddesses. He took the name Akhenaten after the Aten.

Akhenaten built a new capital city, Akhetaction, abandoning Thebes, the city of his predecessors.

Akhenaten devoted all his time to religious affairs and neglected the government of his country, so by the time he died, at the age of about 30, Egypt had lost most of its empire. Soon Egypt returned to its old gods, and Thebes became the capital once more.

Who was Nefertiti?

Nefertiti was the wife of Akhenaten, the Egyptian pharaoh who tried to change his country’s religion.

Nefertiti may have been a foreign princess, but she and her husband looked so alike that she may well have been his sister. Egyptian kings often married their sisters.

We know what Nefertiti and Akhenaten looked like because several sculpted heads of the couple were found in the ruins of Akhenaten’s capital, Akhetaton, a site now called Tell el-Amarna.

During Akhenaten‘s reign, artists were encouraged to make lifelike portraits rather than the stylized types that were typical of art in ancient Egypt.

Nefertiti helped her husband in his religious ceremonies and bore him six daughters. Then she seems to have fallen out of favour and lived in retirement or maybe even in captivity.

Nefertiti’s eldest daughter, Meritaten, married Akhenaten’s successor, Smenkhkare.

Who was Tutankhamun?

Tutankhamun was the young son-in-law of Akhenaten. His tomb, containing rich treasures, was found in 1992.

Tutankhamun’s original name was Tutankhanten. He was married as a boy to Akhenaten’s third daughter, Ankhesenpaaten. He was probably only about ten years old when he was made pharaoh in succession to Smenkhkare, his wife’s brother-in-law.

After about two years the boy-king proclaimed that all the old gods should be worshipped again and he moved back to the old capital city, Thebes. He also changed his name to incorporate that of the god Amun Ra.

Tutankhamun’s tomb, found in 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter, is the only Egyptian royal tomb that had escaped being robbed in ancient times. The King’s body still lies in the tomb, but most of the treasures are in the Cairo Museum. Tutankhamun was only 18 when he died in 1351 B.C.

Who were the Jomon people?

The Jomon people were the earliest known inhabitants of Japan. They lived from about 7000 B.C to 250 B.C.

“Jomon” means ‘cord pattern’, and the Jomon people have been given their name because they made pottery with a cord pattern on it.

It seems likely that the Jomon people came to Japan from Siberia. They may be the ancestors of the Ainu, a small group of people living in northern Japan. The Ainu men have bushy hair and beards, unlike most modern Japanese.

The Jomon people lived in semi-underground houses, pits covered with sloping roofs. They used stone tools. They appear to have lived largely by hunting and fishing.

Large middens (rubbish dumps) have been found containing the remains of shellfish with bone fish hooks which were apparently used for deep-sea fishing. So the Jomon people must have had sea-going boats. Bones show that they ate wild boar and deer.

Which emperors were known as the sons of heaven?

The title ‘Son of Heaven’ was given to Chinese emperors from Bronze Age times until the title of emperor was abolished in 1911.

The early rulers of China were both emperors and high priests. The rulers of the Shang Dynasty (family) who ruled from 1766 B.C., claimed to be descended from a supreme god named Shang Ti.

The Shang believed that the emperor was their link with heaven and that when he died he would go there to join Shang Ti. During an emperor’s lifetime, he was also known as the ‘One Man’.

For many hundreds of years the Chinese Worshipped the spirits of their ancestors; the ‘Son of Heaven’ was the leader of this religious cult.

The title ‘Son of Heaven’ may have originated before the Shang Dynasty. But the earlier dynasties, going back to 2697 B.C., are largely legendary and nothing definite is known about them.

Who was Lao-TSE?

Lao-tse was a philosopher who lived in China about 2,500 years ago. He founded a religion and way of thinking called Taoism.

According to tradition, Lao-tse was born in 604 B.C. His name was actually Lao-tan, but he is called Lao-tse which means ‘Master Lao’. At first, he lived a quiet, secluded life which grew busier after he became a librarian at the court of the Chou dynasty of Chinese rulers.

Lao-tse became known for his wisdom and philosophy and in 517 B.C. the young Confucius came to ask his advice.

Eventually, Lao-tse tired of worldly affairs and set out on a journey westward in search of rest and contemplation.

On his travels, he met a warden at a frontier post with whom he left his writing on Tao, literally “The Way”. He was last heard of journeying towards the Pass of Hsien-ku, in the Western mountains of China.

Taoism advocates a simple, virtuous life, close to nature.