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Text Chapter 34 Ancient Civilized Country

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    Ancient civilizations, known to future generations, include China, India, Babylon, and Egypt. When these nations had created splendid civilizations, the ancestors of those Westerners who later claimed to be world-famous were still "squeaking" in the cornfields.  "Yeah" like a monkey.

    China is naturally a country with ancient civilization, and so is Egypt. According to recorded historical data, the birth of Egyptian civilization was six hundred years earlier than that of China.

    Ancient Egypt was located in northeastern Africa. It was originally in the Nile River Basin. It was not until its most powerful state that it reached the territory of Egypt in later generations.  It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Nubia to the south, and Libya to the west.  From a geographical point of view, Egypt has deserts on its east and west sides, and there are several large dangerous shoals in the south. It is difficult to communicate with the outside world. It is only more convenient to communicate with West Asia through the Sinai Peninsula at the northeastern end.  Therefore, ancient Egypt was relatively isolated and remained unknown for a long time.

    The Nile River, which runs through the entire territory of Egypt, is formed by the confluence of the White Nile River originating in central Africa and the Blue Nile River originating in Sudan.  The Nile River, which flows through forests and grasslands, floods regularly from July to November every year, irrigating the dry land on both sides of the river. Silt containing a large amount of minerals and humus flows down the river and gradually settles on both sides of the river, becoming fertile black  soil.  The ancient Egyptians therefore called their country "Keimai", and the ancient Greek historian Herodotus said that "Egypt is a gift from the Nile."

    The ancient Egyptians once wrote this poem: "Ah, Nile, I praise you. You flow from the earth and feed Egypt. Once your flow decreases, people stop breathing."

    The diction is not beautiful. Compared with "Chu Ci", it is almost at the level of kindergarten. The ancient Egyptians seemed to have little knowledge.

    Egypt¡¯s geographical location means that although there is precipitation in Egypt, it is not much.  It can be seen from the large number of sculptures and paintings left over from ancient Egypt that the characteristics of the ancient Egyptians are: tall stature, black hair, low forehead, thick eyelashes, black eyes, straight nose, wide face, broad shoulders, dark skin, and strong body  .  Their body shape and appearance are different from the ancient Libyans and Nubians, and also different from the ancient Asiatics, but they have their own unique characteristics.

    To conquer a nation, you must first understand its history. However, the real Egyptian civilization has been cut off for nearly a thousand years. It is not easy to understand the history of Egypt.

    When Xue Rengui set out from Chang'an, Du Rui told Xue Rengui some Egyptian history, but after all, it was impossible for Du Rui to know it in detail.

    Just when Xue Rengui was scratching his head, Zhang Ze gave him a surprise. He actually found a descendant of an ancient Egyptian priest family. Strictly speaking, a real ancient Egyptian.

    Xue Rengui was overjoyed and immediately invited this man to his temporary commander's residence. When he listened in detail to the descendant of ancient Egypt and recounted the history of ancient Egypt, Xue Rengui couldn't help but be shocked.

    If the history of China is a history of wars, the history of ancient Egypt is no different. It is also accompanied by turbulence, war, unification, rebellion, foreign invasion, and national rejuvenation. It is complicated and exciting.

    According to the descendant of ancient Egypt, the history of ancient Egypt for thousands of years, from the unification of Egypt by Menes to the conquest of Alexander of Macedon, was divided into thirty dynasties. On this basis, the history of ancient Egypt was divided into periods.  : Predynastic Period, Early Dynastic Period, Old Kingdom Period, First Intermediate Period, Middle Kingdom Period, Second Intermediate Period, New Kingdom Period, Third Intermediate Period, Post-Dynastic Period, and then the civilization of Egypt was basically cut off.  Macedonian Greeks and Romans became the masters here respectively.

    During the pre-dynastic period, about 4000 BC, the germination of private ownership and class relations appeared in Egypt. By about 3500 BC, in Egypt, private ownership was gradually established and classes were gradually formed. In some places, class differentiation was very intense.  With the establishment of private ownership and the formation of classes, the state emerged in Egypt.  The country at this time was very small and had a small population. The Egyptians called this small country Spat. There were several such small countries in Egypt at that time.

    By this time, royal power had been formed. The Scorpion King on the head of the scorpion royal power symbol may have been both an administrative head and a military leader. He also served as chief priest, presiding over sacrifices, leading agriculture, and constructing water conservancy projects.  However, the Egyptian state had just been formed at this time, and the power of the nobles must still be very strong. The king's power was probably still restricted by the nobles, and the king was not yet an independent monarch.

    During the Early Dynasty, the ancient Egyptians officially began their history with a king named "Mini". They believed that this king unified Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.

    With Menes unifying all of Egypt, the pharaohs began to promote the gods of their respective places of origin, calling them the main gods and worshiping them together throughout Egypt.  In the Old Kingdom, the main god was the hawk god Horus, which was later changed to the sun god Ra. In the Middle Kingdom, Amun was mainly worshiped, and the new kingDuring this period, Ra and Amun combined to form the main god Amun-Ra.  While the country uniformly worships the main god, various places still worship the gods of the original place.

    Because the ancient Egyptians attached great importance to religious belief, they built huge temples to worship the gods.  During the New Kingdom, Egypt accumulated unprecedented wealth through military expansion, but it was used to build temples during the reigns of several generations of pharaohs.

    In the Early Kingdom period around 3150 BC, the first pharaoh consolidated his rule in Lower Egypt and made Memphis his capital.  There they could control agriculture and labor in the rich delta region, as well as the lucrative trade routes to the Levant.  The pharaohs' growing power and wealth were reflected in their elaborate stone chamber tombs and elaborate burial rituals, which were used to celebrate the deified pharaohs after death.  The pharaohs established a strong royal authority to legitimize their control of the country's land, labor, and resources, which were essential for the survival and development of ancient Egyptian civilization.

    The development of agricultural productivity was the basis for the amazing advances in architecture, art, and science and technology during the Old Kingdom, and a perfect central government made these possible.  Under the direction of the vizier, state officials collected taxes, coordinated water projects to increase crop yields, requisitioned farmers for construction projects, and established a judicial system to maintain peace and order.  A prosperous and stable economy ensured fiscal surpluses, enabling the state to undertake the construction of monumental mega-projects and to commission outstanding works of art from royal workshops.  The pyramids built by Djoser, Khufu and his descendants are unforgettable symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization.

    The rise in the importance of the central government was accompanied by a class of officials and scribes who were recognized as landowners and supported by the pharaoh.  Pharaohs would also use land to build tombs or donate land to local temples to ensure their worship after death.  Such five centuries of feudal rule gradually weakened the Pharaoh's economic strength. By the late Old Kingdom, the Pharaoh was no longer able to maintain a large central organization.  The Pharaoh's power declined, and local rulers immediately began to challenge the Pharaoh's authority.  Coupled with severe drought from 2200 BC to 2150 BC, the country eventually fell into more than 140 years of hunger and unrest known as the "First Intermediate Period."

    The first transition period, after the collapse of the central government in the late Old Kingdom, the government was no longer able to maintain economic stability.  Local rulers were unable to rely on the king for help in resolving the crisis in time, and ensuing food shortages and political debates escalated into famine and minor civil war.  Despite the difficulties, local rulers stopped paying tribute to the pharaoh and used their newfound wealth to maintain the prosperity of their provinces.  Once they took control of their own resources, provinces became economically richer.

    Freed from allegiance to the pharaoh, local rulers began to compete with each other for territory and power.  By 2160 BC, the rulers of Hierakonpolis had unified Lower Egypt, while the Intif family of Thebes had unified Upper Egypt.  As the Tiv family continued to expand its power in the north, conflicts between the Northern and Southern Dynasties were inevitable.

    Around 2055 BC, the Theban army, led by Mentuhotep II, defeated the ruler of Hierakonpolis.  The reunification of Egypt ushered in a new period of economic and cultural renaissance.

    During the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored prosperity and stability to the country, stimulating a revival of art, literature, and monumental building projects.  Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty and his successors ruled from Thebes.  Around 1985 BC, Amenemhat I, the founder of the Twelfth Dynasty who was born as a vizier, moved his capital to Itawee in the Fayoum Oasis.  There, the pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty implemented far-sighted reclamation and irrigation plans to increase agricultural production in the region.  In addition, the territory acquired through the reconquest of Nubia was rich in stone and gold, and the people were driven to build defensive buildings in the eastern part of the delta, called the "Great Wall", to resist foreign invasion.

    With a reliable army, political stability, and rich agricultural and mining wealth, the country's population, art, and religion prospered.  In stark contrast to the Old Kingdom, which strongly worshiped gods, the Middle Kingdom experienced a growth in "individual piety" known as "democratization," the belief that all people were said to have dominion over a soul and the ability to die after death.  Then accompany the gods.

    The literature of the Middle Kingdom is characterized by sophistical themes and a confident and eloquent character style.  The reliefs and portrait sculptures are exquisite in art and perfect in detail, reaching new technical heights.

    The last promising lord of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III, allowed Asian immigrants into the delta region to provide sufficient labor for his mining and hydraulic projects.  However, these ambitious water conservancy projects and mining activities were linked to the insufficient flooding of the Nile River in the later period of his reign, which overdrafted the economy and accelerated the country's decline, eventually entering the "Second Intermediate Period" in the 14th and 13th centuries BC.  During this decline, foreign Asian immigrants began to control the delta region and even established the Hyksos dynasty.

    Like other countries in the world, stability is always peace.Chaos is alternating with each other.  The decentralization forces in the provinces and other historically unknown forces destroyed the Theban regime inherited from the Twelfth Dynasty, and Egypt was divided into many vassal states.

    About 1650 BC, the Middle Kingdom declined, and Asian immigrants living in Avares, a city in the eastern part of the delta, seized this area and forced the central government to move to Thebes.  There, the pharaohs became vassals, paying tribute as vassals.  The Hyksos followed the Egyptian model of rule and also depicted themselves as pharaohs, incorporating Egyptian elements into their Bronze Age civilization.  While invading Egypt, the Hyksos brought West Asian military technology and had an important impact on Egypt.

    After moving south, the kings of Thebes found themselves sandwiched between the Hyksos dynasty in the north and their Nubian allies, Cush in the south, and spent more than 100 years in dullness and inaction.  By 1555 BC, the Theban army was finally strong enough to challenge the Hyksos dynasty.  The conflict lasted for more than 30 years, and Pharaoh Tao II and Kamos finally defeated the Nubians.  Kamose's successor, Ahmose I, successfully led the Hyksos dynasty to permanently withdraw from Egypt's historical stage in a series of battles.  In the subsequent New Kingdom period, the army became a core priority, as the pharaohs used it to expand Egypt's borders and maintain their dominance in the Near East.

    During the New Kingdom, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom established an era of unprecedented prosperity by maintaining border security and strengthening diplomacy with neighboring countries.  Military conquests by Thutmose I and his grandson Thutmose III expanded Egyptian power into Syria and Nubia, cemented the loyalty of the people, and opened up access to much-needed copper and timber.

    The pharaohs of the New Kingdom respected the sun god Amun and began to build a large-scale construction project. The basis of its worship was the Karnak Temple.  The pharaohs also built monuments to commemorate their achievements.

    The one who came to power between the two pharaohs was the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, who legitimized her claim to power through propaganda. Her reign was characterized by a cessation of foreign wars, the dispatch of commercial expeditions to liaise with Ponte, and the development of trade relations with neighboring countries.  trade, and built the elegant mortuary temple at Karnak, a pair of giant obelisks, and a chapel.  Despite her great achievements, after her death, her adopted nephew Thutmose III destroyed a large number of statues engraved with her name and image, hoping to erase the traces of the reign of this usurping queen.

    Around 1350 BC, Amenhotep IV unexpectedly ascended to the throne and began a series of radical and disorderly reforms that threatened the stability of the New Kingdom.  He changed his name to Akhenaten, touted the previously inconspicuous sun god Aten as the highest god, banned the worship of other gods, attacked the power of the monk group, and moved the capital to the new city of Akhenaten.

    He turned a deaf ear to foreign affairs, concentrating entirely on his new religion and artistic style.  After his death, the worship of Aten was soon banned and the capital was moved back to Thebes.  Later pharaohs Tutankhamun, Itnut Ayi, and Haremheb quickly erased all records of Amenhotep IV. This short period was called the Amarna era.

    The Eighteenth Dynasty ended with the last three pharaohs Tutankhamun, Itnut Ayi, and Harunheb. None of them had descendants after their death.  The 18-year-old Ramses II, or Ramses the Great, inherited the throne in 1279 BC. He was the pharaoh who built temples, erected obelisks, and had the most children in Egyptian history.

    A bold military leader, Ramesses II led his army to resist the Hittite invasion. Both sides suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Kadesh, and finally concluded the first recorded peace treaty in history in about 1258 BC.  Egypt's wealth made it a coveted target for invaders, especially Libyans and the "Sea Peoples."  Initially the army was able to resist these invasions, but Egypt eventually lost Syria and Palestine.  External troubles worsened sharply with the aid of internal problems such as corruption, tomb robbers, and unrest.  The high priests of the Temple of Amun in Thebes amassed large amounts of land and wealth, and their growing power divided the country during the Third Intermediate Period.

    In the Third Intermediate Period, in 1078 BC, Ramses XI died, and Smendes I obtained the right to rule northern Egypt.  The south was under the effective rule of the high priest of the temple of Amun at Thebes, who recognized the authority of Smendis only in name.  During this period, Libyans had settled in the western part of the Delta, and the immigrant leaders began to gradually gain autonomy.  In 945 BC, the Libyan prince Sheshunk I took control of the Delta region and established the so-called "Libyan Dynasty" or "Bubastis Dynasty", the 21st Dynasty, which lasted for more than 200 years.  Sheshunk also gained control of southern Egypt by placing members of his own family in important monastic positions.  As Libyan rule decayed, its rivals in the delta began to rise in Lianthopolis, and Kushite threatened to the south.  Around 727 BC, King Piye of Kush invaded the north, captured Thebes, and eventually the Delta region.

    By the end of the third intermediate period, Egypt was originallyThe far-reaching influence is greatly reduced.  Its foreign allies fell into Assyria's sphere of influence, and by 700 BC war between the two countries was finally inevitable.  From 671 BC to 667 BC, the Assyrians began to attack Egypt. They encountered resolute resistance from Taharqa and his successor Tanwotamani, and Egypt won several victories.  But in the end, the Assyrians drove the Kushites back to Nubia, captured Memphis, and sacked the Theban temples.

    The Assyrians had no plans to occupy Egypt for a long time, and the rule fell into the hands of a series of princes called "Kings of Seth" in the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty.  By 653 BC, King Psammetikus I of Seth drove out the Assyrians with the help of mercenary Greek mercenaries, and established Egypt's first navy with the help of the Greeks.  Greek influence in Egypt expanded dramatically, and the delta city of Naocratis became the Greek home.  The Seth kings who established their capital at Sais witnessed this brief but vibrant economic and cultural revival.  However, the good times did not last long. In 525 BC, the powerful Persian Empire began to conquer Egypt under the leadership of Cambyses II, and finally captured Pharaoh Psammetik III in the Battle of Belusia.  Cambyses II then adopted the title of Pharaoh, but ruled from his home in Susa, and divided Egypt into a satrapy.  There were several relatively successful uprisings against the Persians in the 5th century BC, but Egypt was never able to permanently expel the Persians.

    Under Persian rule, Egypt, Cyprus, and Phenicia were included in the Sixth Governorate under the Persian Achaemenid dynasty.  The first period of Persian rule, also known as the Twenty-seventh Dynasty, ended in 402 BC.  The last native dynasty, the Thirtieth Dynasty, ruled Egypt from 380 BC to 343 BC, ending with Nechotaneb II.  In 343 BC, the Persians briefly restored rule over Egypt, also known as the Thirty-first Dynasty.  But soon after, in 332 BC, the Persian ruler Mazakas surrendered Egypt to Alexander the Great.

    At this point, the ancient Egyptian civilization was completely cut off. With the so-called great national integration, the ancient Egyptian bloodline has gradually disappeared. Today, those who can still be called the successors of the ancient Egyptian civilization, that is, like the one in front of Xue Rengui, in Persia  After the human invasion, they were the descendants of priests who fled their homeland and went to other places.

    After listening to this man's story, Xue Rengui couldn't help but marvel. A nation that created such a splendid civilization actually disappeared like this, which made people sigh with regret.

    At this moment, Xue Rengui can¡¯t wait to see the pyramid described by this descendant of Egypt. The construction of the pyramid began with the first king of the Third Dynasty, Djoser.

    At that time, he asked the famous architect Imenhotep to design a tomb for him. Imenhotep originally designed and built a huge stone mastaba in Saqqara.  But both Joser and Imhotep were dissatisfied and felt that it was not solemn and majestic enough.

    So Imenhotep added five more mastabas, one each smaller than the other, on top of it. This became the hierarchical pyramid of Djoser that can still be seen. It is 61.2 meters high, with east and west sides at the base.  It is 123.3 meters long and 107.4 meters long from north to south.  There are corridors and tombs under the pyramid, a sacrificial temple is built next to the pyramid, and the entire building complex is surrounded by walls.

    During the reign of Sneferu, the first king of the Fourth Dynasty, three pyramids were built.  His first pyramid was at Maidumen, which was originally a hierarchical pyramid.  Later, the steps on each level were filled in to form a pyramid. Later, he ordered people to build a true pyramid for him in Dashur. However, due to design errors, the pyramid was discovered halfway through the construction.  The angle was so great that the angle had to be changed, resulting in a diamond-shaped pyramid, or a curved pyramid.  Of course, Sneferu was not satisfied with this, so he ordered another true pyramid pyramid to be built in Dashur.  It can be said that the Sneferu period was the period of transition from hierarchical pyramids to true pyramidal pyramids.

    The largest pyramid was built by King Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty. Its architect was Khufu's brother Hemion. The site was chosen at Kizer on the west bank of the Nile near Memphis.  The pyramid is 146.5 meters high and each side is approximately 230 meters long.  It is said that the pyramid used about 2.3 million stones of various sizes, with an average weight of about 2.5 tons each.  The tomb chamber was originally built at the bottom of the tower, and later a tomb chamber was built in the middle of the tower.  The entrance of this pyramid is located 13 meters above the ground on the north side of the tower and is triangular in shape, so that the weight of the tower can be evenly distributed and will not crush the passage opening.

    It is said that it took 30 years to build Khufu¡¯s pyramid. The first 10 years were spent on building roads to transport stones and underground tombs. The last 20 years were used to build the pyramid itself, employing 100,000 people every year.

    Next to Khufu¡¯s pyramid, there are also the pyramids of the two kings of the dynasty, Habra and Menkaure.  Not far in front of the Pyramid of Khafre, there is a sphinx of the king, which is 21 meters high, 57 meters long, and has ears 2 meters long.  It is carved from a single piece of stone, and its face is said to be modeled after the image of Habra.  The ancient Egyptians believed that lions were the guardians of the gateway to heaven.The Sphinx next to the tower is also a typical symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization.

    Around these pyramids, there are many mastabas of nobles, which symbolically reflects the supreme status of the monarch over his subordinates.

    The pyramid is a symbol of ancient Egyptian civilization and the crystallization of the wisdom of the ancient Egyptian people.  However, the construction of the pyramids increased the burden on the people, consumed the country's human and financial resources, intensified domestic class contradictions, and weakened the strength of the monarchy.  Both Herodotus and Theodora recorded that the people were angry about the construction of the pyramids, and there may even have been a popular uprising.

    Listening to the description of this Egyptian descendant, Xue Rengui was also full of doubts. He couldn't help but wonder: "Why did the king of Egypt build the tomb in the form of a pyramid? Isn't it a waste of manpower and material resources that the gain outweighs the gain?"

    The descendant of Egypt said: "General of the Celestial Dynasty, the construction of the pyramids by the Egyptian pharaohs is related to Egyptian religious worship. Because the Egyptians believe that the soul will ascend to heaven after death, and the steps of the hierarchical pyramid are the ladder for the pharaoh's soul to ascend to heaven. Pyramid  The pyramid symbolizes the worship of the sun god, because the four ridges of the pyramid resemble the rays of the sun. The soul of the pharaoh will be led to the sky with the light of the sun god coming to the world. Not only the pyramid, but also after the death of the pharaoh.  Later, people would put a huge wooden boat next to the pyramid, which was used to carry the king¡¯s soul to heaven.¡±

    When Xue Rengui heard this, he couldn't help but feel that it was ridiculous. He was deeply influenced by Du Rui. What he didn't believe the most was the theory of ghosts and gods. As for things like people enjoying blessings in heaven after death, he regarded them as nonsense.

    "After death, it doesn't take many years for a person to turn into a pile of withered bones. There is no such thing as a paradise. Relying on such foolish words, people will work hard. No wonder those dynasties in Egypt fell from time to time and wasted the people's energy.  , If you don¡¯t die, there is really no justice!¡±

    But the descendant of Egypt retorted: "Although what the general of the Celestial Dynasty said is not unreasonable, the Pharaoh is the spokesperson of God in the world. Even if the body dies, the soul will live forever, and the Pharaoh's noble body will not die.  It will rot due to the loss of life, and the Pharaoh's servants will mummify the Pharaoh's body, waiting for the Pharaoh's soul to come to the world again and become the Lord of the Earth again!"

    Mummy!

    The body does not rot!

    ??

    After explanation, Xue Rengui understood that the so-called mummies were actually corpses that had been well preserved after special treatment.

    The ancient Egyptians believed that the human soul is immortal and, through the guidance of God, will return to the body and gain life again. Therefore, the body of the most noble Pharaoh cannot be left to rot.

    In the process of making a mummy, first use a flint knife to make a ten centimeter long incision on the left side of the corpse's abdomen. From the incision, all other internal organs except the heart are taken out and washed one by one with wine and spices containing myrrh and cinnamon.  The embalmer also flushed the abdominal cavity of the corpse with cedar oil to decompose the remaining soft tissue, and then prepared to remove the brain. He used a hooked tool to penetrate the skull through the nostrils of the deceased, hooked out the brain inside, and then poured in cedar oil and spices.  , flush out the remaining tissue in the braincase.

    After every part of the body was thoroughly cleaned, the embalmer buried all the organs and body in a pile of natron powder and drained the water.  The body and organs should be buried in sodium chloride powder for about a month. After taking them out, each part should be washed with perfume and spices.  The embalmer must carefully perform every step of the corpse embalming work from beginning to end. For example, each finger of the corpse should be wrapped at the beginning to prevent the nails from being damaged or falling off.

    Then, the embalmer wrapped the dried internal organs in linen one by one, put them back into the abdominal cavity and filled the abdominal cavity with stuffing such as sawdust, linen, tar or mud.  After filling is completed, the incision is sutured immediately.  Because some hair had been damaged by natron, some wigs had to be patched up and braided together with the real hair that had not been taken off, and artificial eyes also needed to be installed in the eye sockets.  The remaining work at this time is to restore the appearance of the corpse, which is also the most labor-intensive, because it is not easy to restore the shriveled corpse to its original appearance.

    Embalmers perform this ancient plastic surgery operation by carefully making many tiny incisions throughout the body and filling the skin with linen fillers molded to the contours of the body, just like plastic surgeons in the 20th century who injected silicone into living people.  Same as plastic surgery.  Even the face and neck of the corpse were made to look like they were in life, and linen cloth was stuffed in the mouth to make the cheeks plump.  Finally, the embalmer also acts as a makeup artist, using colored earth called ocher to dye the face and even the body of the deceased.

    After dyeing, the corpse can be wrapped. The embalmer will wrap the limbs of the corpse densely layer by layer with linen cloth that has been wiped with rosin, then wrap the head and torso, and finally wrap the whole body.  This wrapping job is slow and time-consuming.Several mummies have now been unwrapped, and the total length of the wrappings exceeds two kilometers.  The embalmer wrapped the body and made it into a mummy, which took about seventy days.

    There was even a group of people in ancient Egypt who made mummies as a profession. They mastered the skills and passed them down from generation to generation.  In ancient Egypt, mummification and the production of related necessities undoubtedly formed a very important and large-scale industry system.

    After hearing this description, Xue Rengui did not think that the mummy was very clever. Instead, he felt that the ancient Egyptians were really damaged. People could not have peace even after death, but had to suffer such torture.

    This is the difference between Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. One of the Chinese civilizations is that the dead are respected and the living must be treated with higher courtesy.  However, the ancient Egyptians believed that keeping the body incorruptible and giving the deceased a carrier to return to the world was the highest respect.

    Then the two talked a lot more. In short, the well-informed Xue Rengui couldn't help but be stunned by the civilization created by the ancient Egyptians. It was a great existence that was definitely no less than the Chinese civilization. Xue Rengui didn't know that when he really  When he arrives in Egypt, as he explores and learns more about the ancient Egyptian civilization, he will be even more amazed by it.

    In addition to building pyramids, the Sphinx, and mummies, the ancient Egyptians also invented many things that had a profound impact on future generations.

    For example, the hieroglyphics created by the ancient Egyptians had a great influence on the later Phoenician alphabet, and the Greek alphabet was created based on the Phoenician alphabet.

    Ancient Egyptian writing was created in 3500 BC and is a type of hieroglyphic writing called hieroglyphics.  This script is one of the oldest written scripts of mankind.

    Moreover, the ancient Egyptians made the world's first paper made of papyrus around 2600 BC, which was thousands of years earlier than China's papermaking. In addition to discovering paper, the ancient Egyptians also  The first people in the world who knew how to use papyrus stems to make writing pens and mix black soot and glue with water to make ink.

    The ancient Egyptians also had a considerable level of astronomical knowledge. They developed a calendar, the Coptic calendar, by observing the movements of the sun and Sirius.  The ancient Egyptians set a year as 365 days, with 12 months in each year, 30 days in a month, and the remaining 5 days as festivals.  The ancient Egyptians were the earliest in the world to use the solar calendar. This calendar is similar to what people used in later generations.

    The ancient Egyptians divided the year into three seasons, each with four months. They also invented two timepieces, the water clock and the sundial, to divide each day into 24 hours.

    "General of the Celestial Dynasty, although Egypt has become a plaything in the hands of foreigners, if you and your army want to enter there and become the master of Egypt, please remember to respect the Egyptians' beliefs and traditional habits.  The country will perish, but the civilization that has been passed down for thousands of years will not be cut off."

    Xue Ren was so noble that he did not think that the words of this Egyptian descendant were alarmist. Instead, he believed it. When he left Chang'an, Du Rui told him that when dealing with African natives, the main thing is to appease them.

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    If the Tang Dynasty wanted to completely occupy Egypt, it must not appear as a conqueror, otherwise it would definitely arouse resistance from the Egyptians. Although people living in Egypt today are no longer pure Egyptians, they have become Egyptians.  Self-proclaimed heir to civilization.

    They are naturally repulsive to foreign civilizations. Just like Ptomel before him, he was the ruler of Egypt, but in order to prove his legitimacy, he still had to call himself Pharaoh.

    There are also the current Arabs. They forced the locals in Egypt to convert to Islam, but they faced endless resistance. In the original history, it was not until hundreds of years later that they truly stabilized their rule in Egypt.  But in the end, it was advantageous for the Turkic descendants who migrated westward.

    It would be different if the Tang Army appeared as a liberator. Didn¡¯t Alexander the Great become the master of Egypt as a liberator?

    It's just that neither Alexander nor his successor Ptomel did a good enough job. They ignored the Egyptian culture, beliefs and traditions and trampled them wantonly. As a result, they triggered countless uprisings, and later they could only end up with endless  Treat with suppression.

    Now that Xue Rengui understands the history of Egypt, he will naturally not make the same mistake again. From the Egyptian descendant in front of him, he learned that although Egypt has been ranked first among foreigners for thousands of years, their beliefs and culture are still there.  A tenacious inheritor.

    Most Egyptians are not devout Christians or Muslims. They still believe in the nine main gods that have been passed down for thousands of years.

    ? ?The supreme main god in the world is the sun god Ra. From the time of the Old Kingdom, the Pharaoh has been considered the son of the god Ra, and thus gave the god Ra the supreme authority of the national god.

    Under it are Shu, the god of wind, Tefnut, the god of rain and fertility, Gebu, the earth god, Nut, the sky goddess, the god of agriculture, fertility, the giver of civilization, the king of the underworld, and the executor.  Osiris, the judge of whether there is eternal life after death, the goddess who protects the dead, Isis, the god of life and health, drought, war, chaos, Set, the desert and foreign god, and Neferti, the goddess who protects the dead.  Sri Lanka.

    Xue Rengui planned to build temples for these supreme gods of the Egyptians and restore the Egyptians' faith once he successfully annihilated Dashi's army in Egypt. Only in this way can the influence of Christianity and Islam planted in the minds of the Egyptians be completely driven away.  Noxious weeds.

    Of course, Xue Rengui will not remain unchanged. In addition to the nine gods created by the Egyptians, they will naturally also join the gods of the Chinese civilization, and they will also have some relationships with those foreign gods. These matters will naturally be handled by the scribes accompanying the army.  They are experts at making up stories.

    Xue Rengui's idea is naturally what Du Rui expects to see, but compared to Xue Rengui, he thinks more long-term. He even wants to give Li Xian the title of Egyptian Pharaoh. In ancient Egypt, Pharaoh was regarded as a slave **  The monarch holds the military, political, judicial, and religious power of the country, and his will is the law. He is the supreme ruler of ancient Egypt.  Pharaoh claimed to be the son of the sun god and was God's agent and incarnation on earth, causing his subjects to worship him as a god.  The Pharaoh stood at the top of the pyramid of power and was the incarnation of God with absolute authority.  The Egyptians' worship of the Pharaoh was almost crazy. Just the name of the Pharaoh had an irresistible magic power. Officials were even proud to kiss the Pharaoh's feet.

    Anyway, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty also supported the emperor, and adding a son of the sun god would not be a bad idea. Du Rui even thought that if Li Xian had an heir in the future, he would send one to Egypt to be the pharaoh of Egypt.

    As long as the identity of this pharaoh is recognized by the Egyptians, coupled with the strong integration power of the Chinese nation, it is only a matter of time before Egypt becomes the inherent territory of the Tang Dynasty.
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