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The ancient egyptians didn't use letters or numbers like we do. They used hieroglyphics, wich are like little drawings.

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The Egyptian hieroglyphic script was one of the writing systems used by ancient Egyptians to represent their language. Because of their pictorial elegance, Herodotus and other important Greeks believed that Egyptian Hieroglyphs were something sacred, so they referred to them as 'holy writing'. Thus, the word hieroglyph comes from the Greek hiero 'holy' and glypho 'writing'. In the ancient Egyptian language, hieroglyphs were called medu netjer, 'the gods' words' as it was believed that writing was an invention of the gods.

The script was composed of three basic types of signs: logograms, representing words; phonograms, representing sounds; and determinatives, placed at the end of the word to help clarify its meaning. As a result, the number of signs used by the Egyptians was much higher compared to alphabetical systems, with over a thousand different hieroglyphs in use initially and later reduced to about 750 during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BCE). In the 1820s CE, Frenchman Jean-François Champollion famously deciphered hieroglyphs using the 2nd century BCE Rosetta Stone with its triple text of Hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek. Egyptian hieroglyphs are read either in columns from top to bottom or in rows from the right or from the left.

Origin of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Like most ancient scripts, the origin of Egyptian hieroglyphs is poorly understood. There are, however, several hypotheses that have been put forth. One of the most convincing views claims that they derive from rock pictures produced by prehistoric hunting communities living in the desert west of the Nile, who were apparently familiar with the concept of communicating by means of visual imagery. Some of the motifs depicted on these rock images are also found on pottery vessels of early Pre-dynastic cultures in Egypt. This is especially marked during the Naqada II period (c. 3500-3200 BCE). The vessels were buried in tombs, and it is also in tombs of the Naqada III/Dynasty 0 period (c. 3200-3000 BCE) that the earliest securely dated examples of Egyptian hieroglyphs have been found.

In Abydos' cemetery U, tomb j, a member of the local elite was buried around 3100 BCE. He was a wealthy man, probably a ruler, and he was buried with several goods, including hundreds of jars, an ivory sceptre and other items. Many of these objects were looted and we know about them due to the approximately 150 surviving labels, which contain the earliest known writing in Egypt.

Material Form & Use of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

The labels found in the Abydos U-j tomb were carved on small rectangles made of wood or ivory with a hole in their corner so they could be attached to different goods. Other inscribed surfaces such as ceramic, metal and stone (both flakes and stelae) are also known from early royal tombs.

Papyrus, the chief portable writing medium in Egypt, appears during the First dynasty (c. 3000-2890 BCE): the earliest surviving example we know of comes from a blank roll found in the Tomb of Hemaka, an official of King Den. Egyptian scribes used papyrus and other alternative writing surfaces, including writing boards generally made of wood. Until the end of the Eighteenth dynasty (1550-1295 BCE), these boards were covered with a layer of white plaster which could be washed and replastered, providing a convenient reusable surface. Examples of clay tablets, a popular medium in Mesopotamia, dating to the late Old Kingdom (2686-2160 BCE) were found in the Dakhla Oasis, an area far away from the various locations where papyrus was produced. Bone, metal and leather were other type of materials used for writing. Surviving inscriptions on leather dating back to the New Kingdom (1550-1069 BCE) have also been found, but the preservation of leather is poor compared to papyrus, so there is no certainty about how extensively leather was used.

The inscriptions found at Abydos display different types of information: some of them are numbers, others are believed to indicate the origin of the goods, and the most complex show administrative information related to economic activities controlled by the ruler. In tombs from Dynasty 0, the signs found on pottery and stone vessels (and also on the labels attached to them) were used to indicate ownership of their content, probably connected with taxation and other accounting data. The signs on pottery vessels become increasingly standardized and since these pot-marks are believed to express information about the contents of the vessels (including their provenance), this tendency may reflect a growth in the complexity of record keeping and administrative control.

Towards the Late Pre-dynastic/ Early dynastic transition (c. 3000 BCE), we find examples of writing in the context of royal art to commemorate royal achievements. In this case, writing is found on ceremonial maceheads, funerary stone stelae and votive palettes: the function of these items was to honour the memory of the rulers both in terms of the ruler's achievements during their life and his relationship with the various gods and goddesses. Around 2500 BCE we find the oldest known examples of Egyptian literature, the "Pyramid Texts", engraved on pyramids' walls, and later, around 2000 BCE, there emerged a new type of text known as the Coffin Texts, a set of magical and liturgical spells inscribed on coffins.

Development of Ancient Hieroglyphs

As Egyptian writing evolved during its long history, different versions of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script were developed. In addition to the traditional hieroglyphs, there were also two cursive equivalents: hieratic and demotic.
Hieroglyphic
This was the oldest version of the script, characterized by its elegant pictorial appearance. These signs are typically founnd in monument inscriptions and funerary contexts.
Hieratic
Encouraged by priests and temple scribes who wanted to simplify the process of writing, hieroglyphs became gradually stylized and derived into the hieratic 'priestly' script. It is believed that hieratic was invented and developed more or less simultaneously with the hieroglyphic script. Some of the hieroglyphs found in tombs dated to the c. 3200-3000 BCE period were in the form of royal serekhs, a stylized format of the king's name. Some serekhs written on pottery vessels had hieroglyphs in cursive format, possibly a premature stage of hieratic. Hieratic was always written from right to left, mostly on ostraca (pottery sherds) and papyrus, and it was used not only for religious purposes, but also for public, commercial and private documents.
Demotic
An even more abbreviated script lacking any pictorial trace known as demotic 'popular' came in use around the 7th century BCE. The Egyptians called it sekh shat, "writing for documents". With the exception of religious and funerary inscriptions, demotic gradually replaced hieratic. While hieratic still carries some traces of the pictorial hieroglyphic appearance, demotic has no pictorial trace and it is difficult to link demotic signs with its equivalent hieroglyph.

Legends on the Origin of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

According to Egyptian tradition, the god Thoth created writing to make the Egyptians wiser and to strengthen their memory. The god Re, however, disagreed: he said that delivering the hieroglyphs to humanity would cause them to contemplate their memory and history through written documents rather than relying on their actual memories passed down through generations. Writing, in Re's view, would weaken people's memory and wisdom. Despite the will of Re, Thoth gave the techniques of writing to a select number of Egyptians, the scribes. In ancient Egypt, scribes were highly respected for their knowledge and skill in using this gift of the gods and this position was a vehicle of upward social mobility.

Deciphering Hieroglyphs

For many years hieroglyphs were not understood at all. In 1798 CE Napoleon Bonaparte went to Egypt with many researchers and they copied several Egyptian texts and images. One year later, the Rosetta Stone was found, a decree of Ptolemy V, with the same text written in Greek, demotic and hieroglyphic writing.

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Finally, Jean-François Champollion unravelled the mystery. He identified the name of Ptolemy V written on the Rosetta Stone, by comparing the hieroglyphs with the Greek translation. Then, he continued to study the names, using an obelisk from Philae (now in Dorset, England). The obelisk had the name of Ptolemy and Cleopatra written on it. This made it possible to conclude that the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was a mixture of signals representing sounds, ideas and words, not a common alphabet. Champollion's achievement in deciphering the Rosetta Stone unlocked the secret of the ancient Egyptian writing system and allowed the world to finally read into Egyptian history.

Decline of Egyptian Hieroglyphs

During the Ptolemaic (332-30 BCE) and the Roman Period (30 BCE-395 CE) in Egypt, Greek and Roman culture became increasingly influential. Towards the 2nd century CE, Christianity started to displace some of the traditional Egyptian cults. Christianized Egyptians developed the Coptic alphabet (an offshoot of the Greek uncial alphabet), the final stage in the development of the Egyptian language, employed to represent their language.

Examples of the full 32-letter Coptic alphabet are recorded as early as the 2nd century CE. Its use not only reflects the expansion of Christianity in Egypt but it also represents a major cultural breakup: Coptic was the first alphabetic script used in the Egyptian language. Eventually, Egyptian hieroglyphs were replaced by the Coptic script. Only a few signs from the demotic script survived in the Coptic alphabet. The written language of the old gods plunged into oblivion for nearly two millennia, until Champollion's great discovery.

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The Egyptian hieroglyphic script was one of the writing systems used by ancient Egyptians to represent their language. Because of their pictorial elegance, Herodotus and other important Greeks believed...

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The gods, no not roman, ancient egyptian gods.

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Egyptian Gods

Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

For all ancient people, the world was filled with mystery. Much of what they experienced in the world around them was unknowable and frightening. The ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses represented aspects of the Egyptians' natural and "supernatural" surroundings and helped them understand its many aspects.

Demons

Demons were more powerful than human beings but not as powerful as gods. They were usually immortal, could be in more than one place at a time, and could affect the world as well as people in supernatural ways. But there were certain limits to their powers and they were neither all-powerful nor all knowing. Among demons the most important figure was Ammut - the Devourer of the Dead - part crocodile, part lioness, and part hippopotamus. She was often shown near the scales on which the hearts of the dead were weighed against the feather of Truth. She devoured the hearts of those whose wicked deeds in life made them unfit to enter the afterlife. Apepi, another important demon, (sometimes called Apophis) was the enemy of the sun god in his daily cycle through the cosmos, and is depicted as a colossal snake.

Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Most Egyptian gods represented one principle aspect of the world: Ra was the sun god, for example, and Nut was goddess of the sky. The characters of the gods were not clearly defined. Most were generally benevolent but their favor could not be counted on. Some gods were spiteful and had to be placated. Some, such as Neith, Sekhmet, and Mut, had changeable characters. The god Seth, who murdered his brother Osiris, embodied the malevolent and disordered aspects of the world.

The physical form taken on by the various Egyptian gods was usually a combination of human and animal, and many were associated with one or more animal species. And an animal could express a deity's mood. When a god was angry, she might be portrayed as a ferocious lioness; when gentle, a cat. The convention was to depict the animal gods with a human body and an animal head. The opposite convention was sometimes used for representations of a king, who might be portrayed with a human head and a lion's body, as in the case of the Sphinx. Sphinxes might also appear with other heads, particularly those of rams or falcons.

Many deities were represented only in human form. Among these were such very ancient figures as the cosmic gods Shu of the air, Geb of the earth, the fertility god Min, and the craftsman Ptah. There were a number of minor gods that took on grotesque forms, including Bes, a dwarf with a mask-like face, and Taurt, a goddess whose physical form combined the features of a hippopotamus and a crocodile.

Nut, Shu and Geb

Nut was the mother of Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephythys, Nut is usually shown in human form; her elongated body symbolizing the sky. Each limb represents a cardinal point as her body stretches over the earth. Nut swallowed the setting sun (Ra) each evening and gave birth to him each morning. She is often depicted on the ceilings of tombs, on the inside lid of coffins, and on the ceilings of temples.

Shu was the husband of Tefnut and the father of Nut and Geb. He and his wife were the first gods created by Atum. Shu was the god of the air and sunlight or, more precisely, dry air and his wife represented moisture. He was normally depicted as a man wearing a headdress in the form of a plume, which is also the hieroglyph for his name.

Shu's function was to hold up the body of the goddess Nun and separate the sky from the earth. He was not a solar deity but his role in providing sunlight connected him to Ra. Indeed, he was one of the few gods who escaped persecution under the heretic king Akhenaten.

Geb was the father of Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephythys, and was a god without a cult. As an Earth god he was associated with fertility and it was believed that earthquakes were the laughter of Geb. He is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts as imprisoning the buried dead within his body.

Amun

Also Known as Amen, Amun, Ammon
Amun was the chief Theban deity whose power grew as the city of Thebes grew from an unimportant village, in the old Kingdom, to a powerful metropolis in the Middle and New Kingdoms. He rose to become the patron of the Theban pharaohs and was eventually combined with sun god, Ra who had been the dominant deity of the Old Kingdom to become Amun-Ra, King of the Gods and ruler of the Great Ennead.

Amun's name means "Hidden One, Mysterious of Form," and although he is most often represented as a human wearing a double plumed crown, he is sometimes depicted as a ram or a goose. The implication is that his true identity can never be revealed.

Karnak was Amun's chief temple, but his fame extended well beyond the boundaries of Egypt. His cult spread to Ethiopia, Nubia, Libya, and through much of Palestine. The Greeks thought he was an Egyptian manifestation of their god Zeus. Even Alexander the Great thought it worthwhile consulting the oracle of Amun.

Anubis

Protector of the Dead
Anubis is shown as a jackal-headed man, or as a jackal. His father was Seth and his mother Nephythys. His cult center was Cynopolis, now known as El Kes. He was closely associated with mummification and as protector of the dead. It was Anubis who conducted the deceased to the hall of judgment.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs for Windows and MAC
Bastet

Bastet is depicted as a woman with a cat's head or simply as a cat. Originally an avenging lioness deity, she evolved into a goddess of pleasure.
Her cult center was in the town of Bubastis in the Western delta. Many cats lived at her temple and were mummified when they died. An immense cemetery of mummified cats has been discovered in the area.

Bes

Unlike the other gods, Bes is represented full face rather than in profile, as a grotesque, bandy-legged, dwarf with his tongue sticking out. He was associated with good times and entertainment, but was also considered a
guardian god of childbirth. Bes chased away demons of the night and guarded people from dangerous animals.

Hapi

Hapi was not the god of the river Nile but of its inundation. He is represented as a pot-bellied man with breasts and a headdress made of aquatic plants. He was thought to live in the caves of the first cataract, and his cult center was at Aswan.

Hathor

Hathor was the daughter of Ra and the patron goddess of women, love, beauty, pleasure, and music. She is depicted in three forms; as a cow, as a woman with the ears of a cow, and as a woman wearing the headdress of a cow's horns. In this last manifestation, she holds the solar disc between her horns. She was the consort of Horus, and her name actually means "House of Horus." She had many temples the most famous of which is at Dendara.

There was a dark side to Hathor. It was believed that Ra sent her to punish the human race for its wickedness, but Hathor wreaked such bloody havoc on earth that Ra was horrified and determined to bring her back. He tricked her by preparing vast quantities of beer mixed with mandrake and the blood of the slain. Murdering mankind was thirsty work, and when Hathor drank the beer she became so intoxicated that she could not continue her slaughter.

Each year the goddess Hathor visited her husband the god Horus at Edfu temple to celebrate the feast of the Divine Union

Horus

Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis and the enemy of the wicked God Seth. He is depicted as a hawk or as a man with the head of a hawk. Sometimes he is shown as a youth with a side lock, seated on his mother's lap. He was the god of the sky and the divine protector of kings.

Horus was worshipped throughout Egypt and was particularly associated with Edfu, the site of the ancient city of Mesen, where his temple can still be seen.
There are many stories of his wars against his uncle Seth, who murdered his father and usurped the throne. Eventually Horus defeated Seth and became the king of Egypt.

Isis

A very important figure in the ancient world, Isis was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. She was associated with funeral rites and said to have made the first mummy from the dismembered parts of Osiris. As the enchantress who resurrected Osiris and gave birth to Horus, she was also the giver of life, a healer and protector of kings.

Isis is represented with a throne on her head and sometimes shown breastfeeding the infant Horus. In this manifestation she was known as "Mother of God." To the Egyptians she represented the ideal wife and mother; loving, devoted, and caring.

Her most famous temple is at Philae though her cult spread throughout the Medi-terranean world and, during the Roman period, extended as far as northern Europe. There was even a temple dedicated to her in London.

Khepre

Also known as, Khepri, Khepra, Khepera, Khepre was a creator god depicted as a Scarab beetle or as a man with a scarab for a head. The Egyptians observed young scarab beetles emerging spontaneously from balls of dung and associated them with the process of creation. Khepre was one of the first gods, self-created, and his name means "he who has come into being," Atum took his form as he rose out of the chaotic waters of the Nun in a creation myth. It was thought that Khepre rolled the sun across the sky in the same way a dung beetle rolls balls of dung across the ground.

Khnum

Khnum, was depicted as a ram-headed man. He was a god of the cataracts, a potter, and a creator god who guarded the source of the Nile,. His sanctuary was on Elephantine Island but his best-preserved temple is at Esna. The "Famine Stele", which is a carved stone tablet, contains appeals to Khnum during a famine caused by a low inundation of the Nile.

Khonsu

Also known as Khons Khensu, Khuns
Khonsu was the son of Amun and Mut, with whom he formed the Theban triad. He was a moon god depicted as a man with a falcon-head wearing a crescent moon headdress surmounted by the full lunar disc. Like Thoth, who was also a lunar deity, he is sometimes represented as a baboon. Khonsu was believed to have the ability to drive out evil spirits. Rameses II sent a statue of Khonsu to a friendly Syrian king in order to cure his daughter of an illness.

His temple was within the precincts of Karnak.

Ma'at

Ma'at was the goddess of truth and justice, embodying the essential harmony of the universe. She was depicted as a seated woman wearing an ostrich feather, or sometimes just as the feather itself. Her power regulated the seasons and the movement of the stars. Ma'at was the patron of justice and the symbol of ancient Egyptian ethics, so the Vizier who was in charge of the Law Courts went by the title Priest of Maat.

Ma'at was the ultimate judge in the afterlife, and the heart of the newly deceased was weighed against her feather in the Hall of Two Truths. Ammut, devourer of the dead, ate those who failed her test.

Montu

Montu was a warrior god who rose to become the state god during the 11th dynasty. He was associated with king Montuhotep I ("Montu is satisfied"), who reunited Upper and Lower Egypt after the chaos of the First Intermediate Period.

During the Twelfth Dynasty Montu was displaced by the rise of Amun, but he took on the true attributes of a war god when warrior kings such as Thutmose III and Rameses II identified themselves with him.

Mut

Mut formed part of the Theban Triad. She was one of the daughters of Ra, the wife of Amun, and mother of Khonsu. She was the Vulture goddess and is often depicted as a woman with a long, brightly colored dress and a vulture headdress surmounted by the double crown. In her more aggressive aspect she is shown as a lion-headed goddess.

Like Isis and Hathor, Mut played the role of divine mother to the king. Her amulets, which depict her as a seated woman suckling a child, are sometime confused with those of Isis.

Nephythys

Daughter of Geb and Nut, sister of Isis, wife of Seth and mother of Anubis, Nephythys is depicted as a woman with the hieroglyphs for a palace and 'Neb' (a basket) on her head. She is thus known as "Lady of the Mansions" or "Palace." Nephythys was disgusted by Seth's murder of Osiris and helped her sister, Isis, against her husband, Seth. Together with Isis she was a protector of the dead, and they are often shown together on coffin cases, with winged arms. She seems to have had no temple or cult center of her own.

Osiris

Osiris was originally a vegetation god linked with the growth of crops. He was the mythological first king of Egypt and one of the most important of the gods. It was thought that he brought civilization to the race of mankind. He was murdered by his brother Seth, brought back to life by his wife Isis, and went on to become the ruler of the underworld and judge of the dead.

He is usually depicted as a mummy holding the crook and flail of kingship. On his head he wears the white crown of Upper Egypt flanked by two plumes of feathers. Sometimes he is shown with the horns of a ram. His skin is depicted as blue, the color of the dead; black, the color of the fertile earth; or green, representing resurrection.

Osiris's head was thought to have been buried at Abydos, his main cult center. Each year, during his festival, there was a procession and a reenactment of his story in the form of a mystery play.

Ptah

Ptah was a creator god, said to have made the world from the thoughts in his heart and his words. He was depicted as a mummy with his hands protruding from the wrappings and holding a staff. His head was shaven and he wore a scull cap. Ptah was associated with craftsmen, and the High Priest of his temple at Memphis held the title Great Leader of Craftsmen.

Ra

Also known as Re
The supreme sun god was represented as a man with the head of a hawk, crowned with a solar disk and the sacred serpent. However, in the underworld through which he passes each night, he is depicted as ram-headed.
Each day Ra traveled across the sky in the form of the sun, riding in his solar boat, and each night he journeyed through the underworld where he defeated the allies of chaos. He was reborn each morning in the form of the sunrise. His influence on the other gods was so strong that he subsumed many of their identities. Thus Amun became Amun-Ra, Montu became Montu-Ra and Horus became Ra-Horakhty. Pharoah Akenaten's god, the Aten, was another form of Ra, the solar disk.

The Egyptian kings claimed to be descended from Ra, and called themselves "The Son of Ra." His cult was very powerful during the period of the Old Kingdom,when Sun Temples were built in his honor. His cult center was at Heliopolis, which nowadays is covered by the northern suburbs of Cairo.

Sobek

Sobek was a crocodile god, depicted as a crocodile on an altar or as a man with a crocodile head wearing a headdress in the form of the sun disk with upright feathers and horns. Sobek's main cult centers were at Medinet el Fayum and at the temple of Kom Ombo, which he shared with Horus and which still exists today. There was a pool at Kom Ombo containing sacred crocodiles and it is still possible to see original mummified crocodiles at the temple.

Seth

Also known as Set, Setekh, Suty and Sutekh
Seth was the son of Geb and Nut, and the evil brother of Osiris. He was the god of darkness, chaos, and confusion, and is represented as a man with an unknown animal head, often described as a Typhonian by the Greeks who associated him with the god Typhon. He is sometimes depicted as a hippopotamus, a pig, or a donkey. Seth murdered his brother and usurped the throne of Egypt and most of the other gods despised him.

Horus eventually defeated Seth, but it was thought that their battle was an eternal struggle between good and evil. Although Seth failed to keep the throne of Egypt he continued to be a companion of Ra. He sometimes accompanied Ra across the sky in his solar boat, causing storms and bad weather.

Seth was venerated by some, and his main cult center was at Naqada. Some kings would liken themselves to Seth in battle, but for the most part the people loathed him and his defeat by Horus was regularly celebrated.

Tefnut

Tefnut was the wife of Shu and mother of Nut and Geb. She and her husband were the first gods created by Atum. She was the goddess of moisture or damp, corrosive air, and was depicted either as a lioness or as a woman with a lioness's head.

Thoth

Thoth was the god of writing and knowledge, and was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis holding a scribe's pen and palette, or as a baboon. The Greeks associated him with Hermes and ascribed to him the invention of all the sciences as well as the invention of writing. He is often portrayed writing or making calculations.

Thoth stands apart from most of the other gods. He was as old as the oldest gods and often acted as an intermediately between gods. He was associated with the moon, and is sometimes shown wearing a moon disk and crescent headdress. One of his most important roles was to record the deeds of the dead at the day of their judgment and is often seen doing this in the Book of the Dead. His main temple was at Hermopolis in Middle Egypt.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics 2018

This is a brand new version that now works on Windows 10, MAC, iPad, Android and all mobile phones.
There are more than 1100 Hieroglyphic illustrations including 450 Egyptian word examples and over 650 hieroglyphs from the Gardiner list.
Egyptian Hieroglyphics includes detailed information on the history of Egyptian writing and mathematics, the use of the different types of symbols, how to write your name, how to recognize kings names and the story of the scribe with a video showing how papyrus is made.

Kids can quickly write names and short secret messages and then select print from the menu.

Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

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Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses Nut Shu Geb Amun Anubis Bastet Hathor Horus Isis Osiris Ptah Ra Sobek Seth Thoth Ma'at Montu Tefnut Nephythys Mut Khonsu

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The wonderful and interesting world of ancient egyptian architecture.

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Egyptian Architecture: History of Ancient Egyptian Architecture | IIAD

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Learn everything there is to know about Egyptian architecture, including its history and its well-known structures. Choose your career path by taking courses in interior design at IIAD. Learn more by reading this article.

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Ancient egyptians were always trading, but we have some questions. Who did they trade with, why did they trade, what did they trade, and how did they trade?

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Trade has always been a vital aspect of any civilization whether at the local or international level. However many goods one has, whether as an individual, a community, or a country, there will always be something one lacks and will need to purchase through trade with another. Ancient Egypt was a country rich in many natural resources but still was not self-sufficient and so had to rely on trade for necessary goods and luxuries.

Trade began in the Predynastic Period in Egypt (c. 6000 - c. 3150 BCE) and continued through Roman Egypt (30 BCE-646 CE). For most of its history, ancient Egypt's economy operated on a barter system without cash. It was not until the Persian Invasion of 525 BCE that a cash economy was instituted in the country. Prior to this time, trade flourished through an exchange of goods and services based on a standard of value both parties considered fair.

Goods and services were valued on a unit known as a deben. According to historian James C. Thompson, the deben "functioned much as the dollar does in North America today to let customers know the price of things, except that there was no deben coin" ( Egyptian Economy, 1). A deben was "approximately 90 grams of copper; very expensive items could also be priced in debens of silver or gold with proportionate changes in value" (ibid). If a scroll of papyrus cost one deben, and a pair of sandals were also worth one deben, the pair of sandals could be traded fairly for the papyrus scroll. In this same way, if three jugs of beer cost a deben and a day's work was worth a deben then one would fairly be paid three jugs of beer for one's daily labor.

From Local to International Trade

Trade began between Upper and Lower Egypt, and between the different districts of those regions, prior to unification c. 3150 BCE. By the time of the First Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3150 - c. 2890 BCE) trade was already long established with Mesopotamia. The First Dynasty kings established a strong central government at their capital of Memphis and a bureaucracy soon developed which handled the details of running the country, including trade with neighboring lands. Mesopotamia was an early trade partner whose influence on the development of Egyptian art, religion, and culture has been noted, contested, and debated by many different scholars over the last century. It seems clear, however, that the earlier Mesopotamian culture - especially the Sumerian - had a significant impact on the developing culture of Egypt.

Early Egyptian art, to cite just one example, is evidence of this influence. Egyptologist Margaret Bunson notes that the famous Narmer Palette from the First Dynasty "with its depiction of monsters and entwined long-necked serpents is distinctively Mesopotamian in design" (267). Bunson also notes that knife handles and cylinder seals from Mesopotamia have been found in Egypt dating to about the same period whose designs were used by later Egyptian artisans.

By the time of the First Dynasty, international trade had been initiated with the regions of the Levant, Libya, and Nubia. Egypt had a trading colony in Canaan, a number in Syria, and even more in Nubia. The Egyptians had already graduated from building papyrus reed boats to ships of wood and these were sent regularly to Lebanon for cedar. The overland trade route through the Wadi Hammamat wound from the Nile to the Red Sea, the goods packed and tied to the backs of donkeys.

One of the most important trade centers in Nubia is referred to in Egyptian texts as Yam, a resource for wood, ivory, and gold.

While many of these trade agreements were achieved through peaceful negotiation, some were established by military campaign. The third king of the First Dynasty, Djer (c. 3050-3000 BCE) led an army against Nubia, which secured valuable trade centers. Nubia was rich in gold mines and, in fact, gets its name from the Egyptian word for gold, nub. Later kings would continue to keep a strong Egyptian presence on the border to ensure the safety of the resources and trade routes. Khasekhemwy, the last king of the Second Dynasty of Egypt (c. 2890 - c. 2670 BCE), led campaigns to Nubia to put down rebellions and secure trade centers and his methods became the standard for the kings who came after him.

One of the most important trade centers in Nubia is referred to in Egyptian texts as Yam. During the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BCE) Yam is cited as a resource for wood, ivory, and gold. The precise location of Yam is unknown, but it is thought to have been somewhere in the Shendi Reach area of the Nile in modern-day Sudan.

Yam continued as an important trade center through the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (2040-1782 BCE) but then disappears from the records and is replaced by another called Irem by the time of the New Kingdom (c. 1570 - c. 1069 BCE). The period of the New Kingdom was the time of Egypt's empire when trade was most lucrative and contributed to the wealth necessary to build monuments like the Temple of Karnak, the Colossi of Memnon, and the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

Hatshepsut organized the best-known trade expedition to Punt (modern-day Somalia) which brought back boatloads of valuable items, including incense-bearing trees, but this kind of profit from trade was nothing new. The trade initiated during the Old Kingdom of Egypt helped fund the pyramids of Giza and countless other monuments. The difference between Old Kingdom and New Kingdom trade was that the New Kingdom was far more interested in luxury items and, the more they became acquainted with, the more they wanted.

Traded Goods

The kinds of goods traded varied from region to region. Egypt had grain in plenty, and would eventually become known as ' Rome's breadbasket' during the Roman period, but lacked wood, metal, and other precious stones needed for amulets, jewelry, and other ornamentation. Gold was mined by slaves primarily in Nubia and Egypt's neighboring kings often sent letters requesting vast quantities be sent. The journeys to Nubia were not always easy. Yam was located far to the south, and a caravan had to endure threats from bandits, regional rulers, and nature in the form of floods or windstorms.

The best-documented expeditions to Yam come from the tomb of Harkhuf, governor of Elephantine, who made four journeys there under the reign of Pepi II (2278-2184 BCE). On one journey, he reports, he arrived to find the king had gone off to war against another region and had to bring him back, offering him many lavish gifts, in order to secure the items he had been sent for. On Harkhuf's most famous journey he returned with a dancing dwarf, which so excited the young king that he sent word to Harkhuf instructing him to keep the dwarf safe at any cost and hurry him to the palace. The official letter reads, in part:

Come northward to the court immediately; [...] thou shalt bring this dwarf with thee, which thou bringest living, prosperous and healthy from the land of spirits, for the dances of the god, to rejoice and gladden the heart of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Neferkare, who lives forever. When he goes down with thee into the vessel, appoint excellent people, who shall be beside him on each side of the vessel; take care lest he fall into the water. When he sleeps at night appoint excellent people, who shall sleep beside him in his tent, inspect ten times a night. My majesty desires to see this dwarf more than the gifts of Sinai and of Punt. If thou arrivest at court this dwarf being with thee alive, prosperous and healthy, my majesty will do for thee a greater thing than that which was done for the treasurer of the god Burded in the time of Isesi, according to the heart's desire of my majesty to see the dwarf. (Lewis, 36)

The dancing dwarf of Pepi II is only one example of Old Kingdom luxury items. Contrary to the claims of some scholars, trade in Egypt did not progress from practicality to luxury but remained fairly consistent regarding the goods imported and exported. The only reason the New Kingdom is always singled out for its luxury is that Egypt was in direct contact with more countries during this period than earlier; it is not because the New Kingdom was suddenly made aware of luxury goods. There is no question, however, that Egyptian trade in the New Kingdom was more efficient and wide-ranging than in earlier eras and that luxury goods became more available and desirable. Bunson describes Egyptian trade during this period, writing:

Caravans moved through the Libyan desert oases and pack trains were sent into the northern Mediterranean domains. It is believed that Egypt conducted trade in this era with Cyprus, Crete, Cilicia, Ionia, the Aegean islands, and perhaps even with mainland Greece. Syria remained a popular destination for trading fleets and caravans, where Syrian products were joined with those coming from the regions of the Persian Gulf. The Egyptians received wood, wines, oils, resins, silver, copper, and cattle in exchange for gold, linens, papyrus paper, leather goods, and grains. (268)

Papyrus shipped to Byblos in the Levant was processed into paper, which was then used by people throughout Mesopotamia and neighboring regions. The association of Byblos with book-making, in fact, provides the basis for the English word ' Bible'. Egyptian trade in the Levant was so widely established that later archaeologists believed there were a number of Egyptian colonies there when, actually, their finds only established how popular Egyptian goods were among the people of the region.

Trade Incentives & Protection

There were no government-sponsored incentives for trade in Egypt because the king owned all the land and whatever it produced; at least, in theory. The king was ordained and sanctified by the gods who had created everything, and served as the mediator between the gods and the people; he, therefore, was recognized as the land's legitimate steward. In reality, however, from the time of the Old Kingdom onward, the priests of the different cults - especially the Cult of Amun - owned large tracts of land which were tax-exempt. Since there was no law prohibiting priests from engaging in trade, and all profit went to the temple instead of the crown, these priests often lived as comfortably as royalty.

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For the most part, however, whatever was produced on the farms along the Nile was considered the property of the king and was sent to the capital. Part of this produce was then returned to the people through distribution centers and a part used for trade. Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson writes:

Agricultural produce collected as a government revenue was treated in one of two ways. A certain proportion went directly to state workshops for the manufacture of secondary products - for example, tallow and leather from cattle; pork from pigs; linen from flax; bread, beer, and basketry from grain. Some of these value-added products were then traded and exchanged at a profit, producing further government income; other were redistributed as payment to state employees, thereby funding the court and its projects. The remaining portion of agricultural produce (mostly grain) was put into storage in government granaries, probably located throughout Egypt in important regional centers. Some of the stored grain was used in its raw state to finance court activities, but a significant share was put aside as emergency stock, to be used in the event of a poor harvest to help prevent wide-spread famine. (46)

It was the king's responsibility to care for the people, the land, and maintain the principle of (harmony). If the land produced abundantly and there was enough food for everyone, as well as surplus, the king was regarded as successful; if not, the priests would intervene to determine what had gone wrong and what steps needed to be taken to regain the good will of the gods.

The Egyptians did not rely solely on supernatural protection in running their country or engaging in foreign trade, however. Armed guards were sent to protect government-sponsored caravans and, during the New Kingdom of Egypt, a police force manned border crossings, collected tolls, protected toll-collectors, and watched over merchants coming and going from cities and villages. Armed escorts which accompanied caravans were a powerful deterrent against theft. Harkhuf reports how, returning from one of his journeys to Yam, he was stopped by a tribal leader who at first seemed intent on taking his goods but, seeing the size of his armed escort, gave him many fine gifts, including bulls, and guided him on his way.

Theft of goods was a serious loss to the organizer of the expedition, the 'businessman' as it were, not to the merchant who actually engaged in trade. If a merchant were robbed, he would appeal to the authorities of the region he was passing through for justice, but he might not always get what he felt was due. A thief had to be identified as a citizen of that region in order for the ruler to be held responsible, and even then, if the thief managed to get away, the king was under no obligation to compensate the merchant.

This sort of situation is described in detail in the literary work The Report of Wenamun (c. 1090-1075 BCE), which relates the story of Wenamun's adventures in leading a trade expedition to purchase lumber for the ship of Amun. Wenamun is robbed by one of his own people in the port and, when he reports the theft to the ruler, he is told there is nothing to be done because the thief is not a citizen. The prince advises Wenamun to stay a few days while they look for the thief but can do no more.

In Wenamun's case, he makes the best of the situation by simply robbing someone else, but usually, a merchant would return to the agency sponsoring the expedition and explain what happened. If the story was accepted, the robbed merchant was held blameless; if the account seemed false, charges would be brought. Either way, the individual or agency whose goods were involved in the trade suffered the loss, not the person who carried them for transaction. One would not, of course, want to acquire a reputation for losing goods, and so for those merchants not employed in government-sponsored trade, which included a detail of soldiers, hiring armed guards was another cost to be considered in pursuing trade.

Whatever the dangers and expenses, however, there was never a time when trade lagged in Egypt, not even during those periods lacking a strong central government. In the so-called intermediate periods, individual governors of districts played the part of the governmental agency and maintained the necessary relationships and routes which allowed for trade. The Report of Wenamun, although fiction, still represents realistically how trading partnerships worked in the ancient world.

A little after the time Wenamun was written, the Greek city of Naucratis was established in Egypt, which would be the most important trade center in the country, and among the most vital in the Mediterranean region until it was overshadowed by Alexandria. Greece, Egypt, and other nations would trade goods as well as cultural beliefs through cities like Naucratis and the overland and sea routes, and in this way, trade enlarged and elevated every nation which participated in ways far more significant than simple economic exchange.

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