Many secrets of Thebes disappeared forever when that city was destroyed in an earthquake in 27 b. c. Knowledge of Egypt as a whole began to fade away with the end of the Roman Empire, which brought on a period of decreased learning and scholarship. For many centuries, Europeans tended to think of Egypt merely as a former colony of Greece and Rome. As for the question of who built the pyramids, they had no idea, because they were completely ignorant of Cheops and Khafre.
During that period, Egypt was ruled first by the Arabs, who converted the country to Islam, and later by a group of Egyptian warlords. From the 1500s, the Ottoman (OTT-uh-
Mun) Empire of the Turks held the country, but by the late 1700s their power had begun to decline. Great Britain had begun to show an interest in Egypt, so in 1798 a French invasion force arrived with the aim of defeating British ambitions. The leader of this force was an officer named Napoleon Bonaparte, who would one day become his nation's greatest leader. In Africa he proved his ability as a military commander—and changed the world's understanding of Egypt.
The Rosetta Stone. The stone was carved by priests as a thank you note to Ptolemy V. Corbis-Bettmann. Reproduced by permission.
Napoleon brought with him men to survey and map the area, and among them were many with an intense interest in learning more about Egypt's history. By that time, the western world was in the midst of a period of accelerated learning called the Enlightenment. People were curious as never before to learn about the past. Out of the French studies of the country came Description of Egypt (1813), the first significant modern book about ancient Egyptian civilization.
One of the most important developments that emerged from the French expedition was the discovery of what came to be known as the Rosetta (pronounced roe-ZEH-tah) Stone. A large rock discovered near the town of Rosetta on the Nile, it was covered with writing in what appeared to be three languages, but the only recognizable script was ancient Greek. A French archaeologist named Champollion (shom-POE-lee-ahn) set himself to figuring out what the strange writing said. Since the Greek portion made several mentions of Ptolemy, the Greek ruler of Egypt, Champollion looked for recurring symbols among the other two "languages.”
As it would turn out, these were not two languages, but one language in two different forms: hieroglyphics and demotic. Eventually Champollion deciphered, or translated, the entire Rosetta Stone, which turned out to be a long thank-you note from a group of priests to Ptolemy V (r. 203-180 b. c.)
Howard Carter examines coffin in Burial Chamber of King Tutankhamen's tomb.
Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.
—who, like all the Ptolomies, spoke Greek rather than Egyptian. Through his tireless efforts, Champollion unlocked the secret of hieroglyphics and founded the branch of archaeology called Egyptology, the study of ancient Egypt.
After Champollion, by far the most important Egyptologist was Howard Carter, a British archaeologist who in 1922 discovered the tomb of the boy-king Tutankhamen. By that time, Egyptology had progressed to the point that people believed there were no more undiscovered pharaonic tombs. So far, it appeared that the robbers had gotten there long before the archaeologists. It seemed that the treasures of the kings' tombs were lost to history. Then Carter made his discovery.
After six hard years of searching, Carter finally discovered a hidden burial chamber in the Valley of the Kings. It contained all manner of archaeological treasures, including a gorgeous golden mask of “King Tut,” as he came to be called. Because he had reigned such a short time, and because he had followed the despised Akhenaton, Tut had been forgotten by history; but in the 1920s, he became one of the most famous pharaohs in all of Egyptian history. The King Tut exhibit went on tour, and the 1920s saw a growing interest in Egypt that affected the architecture and even the fashions of the day.
World History
