. The eastern nations and Greece. s, notthe beginning but in some respects theperfection of Egyptian architecture. Andas with architecture so was it with portraitsculpture, which during this period attaineda perfection that has hardly ever beensurpassed.^ 25. The Twelfth Dynasty (about 2000-1800 ). After the Sixth Dynasty, Egyptfor several centuries is almost lost fromview. When finally the valley emergesfrom the obscurity of this period, the oldcity of Memphis, for long the residenceof the Pharaohs, has receded into thebackground and the city of Thebes hastaken its place as the seat of th
. The eastern nations and Greece. s, notthe beginning but in some respects theperfection of Egyptian architecture. Andas with architecture so was it with portraitsculpture, which during this period attaineda perfection that has hardly ever beensurpassed.^ 25. The Twelfth Dynasty (about 2000-1800 ). After the Sixth Dynasty, Egyptfor several centuries is almost lost fromview. When finally the valley emergesfrom the obscurity of this period, the oldcity of Memphis, for long the residenceof the Pharaohs, has receded into thebackground and the city of Thebes hastaken its place as the seat of the royalpower. The period of the Twelfth Dynasty, aline of Theban kings, is one of the bright-est in Egyptian history. It has been calledEgypts golden age. One of the mostnotable achievements of the period was the improvement made byone of the Pharaohs in the irrigation of the Fayum oasis in thedesert west of Memphis. This district consists of a great depression,part of which, like the Imperial Valley of California, lies below the. Fig. 17. The Sheikh-el-BELED. (Gizeh Museum) Supposed portrait statue,carvedin wood, of one of the overseersof the work on the Great Pyra-mid. This is one of the master-pieces of Egyptian sculpture 1 The portrait sculpture of this age represents the second great art of the earlyworld—the first being the amazing art (thousands of years earlier) of the hunter-artistsof the Old Stone Age in Europe (cf. sect. 4). §26] PERIOD OF OBSCURITY 29 sea level. It contains a lake fed by a branch of the Nile. By variousengineering means the storage and distribution of the flood waters ofthe season of inundation were regulated, and the area of cultivationwas thus greatly extended. 26. Period of Obscurity and of the Rule of the Hyksos (about1800-1580 ). Soon after the bright period of the Twelfth Dynasty,Egypt again underwent a great eclipse. Tribes of unknown race fromAsia pressed across the frontierof Egypt and set up in the valleywhat was called the rule of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecthistoryancient, booky
