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Mediterranean Peoples

Archaeological,  historical,  and  artistic  evidence point to limited interactions among Egypt, Minoan Crete,  and  Mycenean  Greece  during  the  Bronze  Age.  Pottery  and  other  artifacts  from  the  Aegean  appear  in  Egypt  during  the  Middle and  New Kingdoms. Egyptian objects also appear in the Aegean during  this period. Minoan-style architectural frescoes from the beginning  of the eighteenth dynasty at Tell ed-Dab'a in the Nile Delta suggest  the  presence  of  artisans  from  Crete  in  Egypt.  Scenes  of  Aegean  emissaries and traders, like those from the tomb of Rekhmire, vizier  under Thutmose III, provide further evidence of interaction in the New Kingdom. A fragmentary list of Aegean place names from the  mortuary temple of Amenhotpe III points to an Egyptian embassy  for Mycenean Greece. It is not likely, however, that many of these  Aegean peoples settled in Egypt.

The "Sea Peoples" is a term used to encompass the movements  of Mediterranean peoples by both sea and land at the end of the Late  Bronze  Age  (c.1200-1100  BCE).  The  disruptions  caused  by  this  massive  migration  through  the  Anatolian  Plateau  and  down  the  eastern Mediterranean coast brought down the great Hittite Empire  and such coastal Levantine trading centers as Ugarit. Some captive  groups  were  turned  into  mercenaries  in  the  Egyptian  army,  most  notably  the  fierce  Sherden,  who  became  elite  royal  bodyguards  under Ramesses II. The Harris Papyrus notes that captive Peleset,  Shardana, Weshesh, Den-yen, and Shekelesh were used as garrison  forces and mercenaries under Ramesses III. The exact origin of each  of  these  groups  is  a  matter  of  considerable  debate;  the  consensus  favors  the  Aegean  and  western  Anatolia  as  the  origin  of  most  of  them.  Some  soldiers  and  their  families  were  settled  in  coastal  Palestine,  where  they  are  identified  archaeologically  with  the  Philistines. Others settled in Egypt. Papyrus Wilbour, a tax roll of  farms in the Faiyum area, lists several Shardana as landholders.

Greeks and Carians began to be used as Egyptian mercenaries in  the  Late  period,  settling  at  sites  like  Naukratis  in  the  Nile  Delta.  Trade  with  the  Mediterranean  expanded  during  the  Saite  twenty- sixth dynasty, bringing other peoples from the Mediterranean shores  to  Egypt.  The  Persian  king  Cambyses  II  conquered  Egypt  in  525  BCE, but only small numbers of Persians actually came to Egypt, with most of the nation s bureaucracy remaining in Egyptian hands.  More  Greeks  came  into  Egypt  during  the  struggles  of  native  dynasts  against  Persian  rule,  and  with  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  Alexander  of  Macedon  in  332  BCE.  These  immigrants  founded  several new cities in the Nile Delta, the most important being the  port  city  of  Alexandria.  Its  population  numbered  300,000  Greek  citizens  and  another  200,000  Egyptians,  living  in  crowded  man- sions  and  tenements.  The  Macedonian  elite  established  cities  modeled  on  the  Greek  concepts  of  polis  and  tribe,  with  strict  citizenship rules to keep out the "barbarian" Egyptian rabble. The  royal family, the Ptolemies, remained to the end very MacedonianCleopatra VII was the first even to speak Egyptian. Temples with  priesthoods of Greek origin were set up syncretizing Egyptian and  Greek  deities:  like  Dionysus  with God OsirisGoddess Hathor  with  Aphrodite,  and Amun with Zeus.

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