Karnak Temple Complex near Thebes

Episode 27: Dyanasty XIX Begins (1293-1185 BC)

The History of Ancient Egypt

Professor Robert Brier

Film Review

• Ramesses I (1293-1291 BC) – founder of Dynasty XIX, a commoner and professional soldier who was in his sixties when he assumed the throne. Awarded unprecedented powers as vizier (prime minister) to Horemheb, the last pharaoh of Dynasty XVIII. He left no heirs.
• Seti I (1291-1278 BC) – also a commoner who served as vizier to Rameses I. He was a follower of Set (sometime portrayed as the Egyptian god of Evil see The Ancient Egyptian Origin Myth). He conquered Kadish in Syria when it was controlled by Hittites) and used the booty and captives to construct many public buildings, including a new temple at Karnak (adding to 100-acre complex that was home to the god Amun.) He also built a temple at Adidos, where Isis buried Osiris’s body in the origin myth. The walls are decorated with ornate frescoes and the entire text of the Book of the Gates, which were the passwords a dead person had to recite to enter the afterlife.

By the XIXth dynasty the temple complex at Karnak also supported numerous workshops, catering to the needs of the Karnak priests (weaving their linen robes, preparing their food and manufacturing artifacts used in religious rituals). Off limits to commoners, each temple contained a holy of holies, which was the literal dwelling of the god (a statue cast in either gold or gilded bronz)e. Only priests were allowed to enter to feed dress, perfume and apply eye make-up to the gods.*

*At the founding of ancient Egypt, pharaohs performed all these religious rituals. As the Egyptian population grew, the pharaoh had to appoint priests to fulfill this role. (no religious calling was necessary nor any requirement to live a devout or moral life). Usually the position was hereditary, as were the plots of lands allotted to Egyptian priests.

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/1492791/1492855