30 BC

Events in 30 BC 6

• 3100 BC – 30 BC Ancient Egypt (3100–30 BC) Ancient Egypt is one of the longest-lasting and most influential civilisations in human history -- 3,070 years from the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Narmer (c.3100 BC) to the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman annexation (30 BC). In that span Egypt produces the pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx, Karnak, Abu Simbel, the Valley of the Kings, the Book of the Dead, hieroglyphic writing, papyrus, the 365-day calendar, advanced medicine, monumental sculpture and painting of unsurpassed quality, and a religious system of extraordinary sophistication. At its height under the New Kingdom pharaohs (1550-1070 BC) Egypt controlled an empire stretching from Nubia to the Euphrates. Its art, religion and political concepts influence Greece, Rome, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
• 3000 BC – 30 BC Egyptian art -- 3,000 years of a single style Egyptian art is one of the most immediately recognisable visual traditions in history -- characterised by frontality, hierarchical scale, composite perspective and registers (horizontal narrative bands). These conventions are established in the Early Dynastic period and maintained with remarkable consistency for 3,000 years -- the longest-lasting artistic tradition in human history. Egyptian art is not made for aesthetic pleasure but for magical function: tomb paintings and statues ensure the continued existence of the depicted person in the afterlife.
• 3000 BC – 30 BC Egyptian religion -- Maat, gods and the afterlife Egyptian religion is one of the most elaborate and enduring in human history -- a polytheistic system maintained for 3,000 years. Its central concern is Ma'at (cosmic order, truth, justice). The pharaoh is the living Horus and the dead Osiris. The afterlife -- accessed through mummification, the Book of the Dead and tomb provision -- is the central preoccupation. Major gods: Ra/Amun (sun), Osiris (resurrection), Isis (magic), Horus (kingship), Thoth (wisdom), Anubis (embalming), Seth (chaos).
• 3000 BC – 30 BC The Nile -- the source of everything Egypt is, in Herodotus's phrase, 'the gift of the Nile.' The annual flood (inundation) deposits rich black silt creating some of the most fertile agricultural land on earth in a desert landscape. Egyptian civilisation is entirely organised around the flood: the agricultural calendar, tax system (measured in grain), administrative divisions (nomes) and religious calendar all follow the Nile's rhythm. The predictability of the flood gives Egyptian civilisation its characteristic stability and optimism.
• 332 BC – 30 BC The Ptolemaic Kingdom -- Greek pharaohs The Ptolemaic period (332-30 BC) begins with Alexander's conquest and ends with Cleopatra's suicide. The Ptolemies make Alexandria the greatest intellectual centre of the ancient world -- home to the Library, the Museum, Euclid, Eratosthenes and Archimedes. They build magnificent temples (Edfu, Dendera, Philae) and rule as pharaohs while speaking Greek.
• 69 BC – 30 BC Cleopatra VII -- the last pharaoh Cleopatra VII (ruled 51-30 BC) is the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Uniquely among the Ptolemies, she speaks Egyptian as well as eight other languages. Her alliances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony are attempts to preserve Egyptian independence against Rome. After defeat at Actium (31 BC), she commits suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Egypt becomes a Roman province and 3,000 years of pharaonic civilisation end.