Pyramid built for Queen Neith at Saqqarah, near Cairo, Egypt
Credit: © Zahi Hawass

In a trove of amazing discoveries at Saqqarah, a previously unknown queen has rewritten history. Saqqarah, also spelled Saqqara, was an ancient Egyptian necropolis (burial ground) near the city of Memphis, not far from Cairo. A pyramid excavated there belonged to ancient Egyptian Queen Neith.

Memphis served as Egypt’s capital from the time it was founded, around 3000 B.C., and later remained a religious center and the residence of Egyptian pharaohs (kings). Archaeologists investigating Saqqarah have discovered many antiquities that provide information about life in ancient Egypt. Inside, they have found human mummies, ceramic amulets and jars, and writing implements.

In the past two years, archaeologists digging at Saqqarah encountered coffins, mummies, tombs, and a number of connected tunnels. They first explored the pyramid of Teti, a pharaoh during Dynasty VI of the Old Kingdom period and later a god during the New Kingdom. The Old Kingdom lasted from about 2650 to 2150 B.C., included Dynasties III through VIII. The New Kingdom began around 1539 B.C., with Dynasty XVIII, until about 1075 B.C., when Dynasty XX ended.

Beside Teti’s pyramid is the pyramid of Queen Neith. It was first excavated by archaeologists in 2010, though it was thought to belong to the mother or a wife of King Teti, as a name wasn’t found. A nearby funerary temple was found in early 2021, containing Queen Neith’s sarcophagus (stone coffin). A carving on the wall identified her name as Queen Neith, the wife of King Teti. A fallen obelisk at the temple entrance is also inscribed with the name Queen Neith. Queen Neith died about 4,200 years ago, during the period of the Old Kingdom.

In Egyptian mythology, Neith was the goddess of creation, war, weaving, and wisdom. She was also the patron of the city of Sais. Some accounts say she was the mother of the sun god Re. Others claim she was the mother of the crocodile god Sobek.

The 22 connected tunnels found are 30 to 60 feet (9 to 18 meters) deep. The tunnels contained 300 wood coffins of the New Kingdom period, which had been uncommon at Saqqarah. Some may contain close generals and advisors of King Tutankhamun. Each coffin is decorated with a unique face, name, and scenes from the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead is a collection of texts containing prayers, hymns, spells, and other information to guide souls through the afterlife, protect them from evil, and provide for their needs. Egyptians had passages from such texts carved or written on walls inside their tombs or had a copy of a text placed in their tombs. Mummification preserved the more than 100 bodies fairly well over the centuries. Statues of gods, games, and a 13-foot (4-meter) papyrus inscribed with Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead were found in the burial shafts.

Millions of animal mummies have also been found at Saqqarah. Animal embalming was a vast industry in ancient Egypt. Such animals as baboons, cobras, crocodiles, falcons, ibises, and mice were commonly mummified. Animal statues and mummies were seen as physical manifestations of gods, and they were included in burials for companionship, protection, or religious offerings in the afterlife. In 2015, archaeologists discovered a Saqqarah tomb complex dedicated to Anubis, the jackal-headed god of mummification. The chamber was found stuffed with nearly 8 million animal mummies—most of them dogs.

Archaeologists also found dozens of mummified cats and scarab beetles in another Saqqarah tomb. Some of the mummified cats may have been treasured pets. Several gilded (golden) wooden cat statues were also found in the tombs, along with a bronze statue of Bastet, an ancient Egyptian cat goddess. Bastet had a large and widespread cult (group of worshipers) in ancient Egypt. The preserved scarab beetles were wrapped in linen inside small decorated limestone sarcophagi. Some ancient Egyptians worshiped Khepri, who had the form of a scarab beetle. Khepri was a god of resurrection and immortality. Khepri was a relatively obscure god in the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

April 17, 2018

Today, World Book extends Arab American Heritage Month to Canada, where the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto is featuring an exhibition called The World of the Fatimids. The Fatimids, often written as  Fātimids, were a dominant Arab culture that ruled much of northern Africa and parts of the Middle East from A.D. 909 to 1171. The World of the Fatimids exhibition, which began in March 2018 and runs through early July, features rare items of art and luxury, as well as a program of films and lectures that concentrates on the culture’s influence on Cairo, the erstwhile Fātimid capital and current capital of Egypt.

This carved ivory oliphant (hunter’s horn) is part of The World of the Fatimids exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Ontario. Credit: © The Aga Khan Museum

The Fātimid dynasty was a line of Muslim rulers who claimed descent from Fātimah, a daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, and her husband, Alī ibn Abī Tālib, a cousin of the Prophet. The dynasty and its followers belonged to the Shī`ah branch of Islam and to a sect called the Seveners. In 909, they gained control over land that had been held by the larger group of rival Sunni Muslims and rose to power in north Africa. At various times, the Fātimid empire included Sicily, Syria, and parts of Arabia and Palestine.

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From the 900′s to 1171, the Fātimids ruled an empire that covered North Africa and much of the Middle East.  Credit: WORLD BOOK map

For many years, the Fātimids made their capitals in what are now the cities of Al Qayrawan and Al Mahdiyah, Tunisia. But after winning control of Egypt in 969, they founded a new capital, Al-Qahirah (Cairo). There, they built many beautiful buildings and established al-Azhar University. Today, this university is one of the oldest in the world and the most influential religious school in Islam. The Fātimids also established great libraries in Cairo and in Tripoli, Lebanon.

The Fātimid rulers were good leaders, but internal conflict eventually broke the dynasty apart. Members of the court struggled for power in the 1160′s, and Nūr al-Dīn, a Syrian leader, became involved. The last Cairo ruler asked Nūr al-Dīn for protection against an invasion in 1168. Nūr al-Dīn sent a strong force that included Saladin, a great warrior who overthrew the Fātimid dynasty in 1171. Today, Shī`ites (followers of Shī`ah Islam) who remain loyal to the Fātimid dynasty are known as Ismā`īlīs (Ismailis).

Aga Khan is the title of the Ismā`īlī imām (spiritual leader). Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum, a creation of the Aga Khan Development Network run by Aga Khan IV (1936-…), opened in 2014. The museum houses collections of Islamic art and heritage and shares formal gardens and a park with the Ismaili Centre Toronto.

January 24, 2014

Bombings mainly targeting security forces rocked Cairo, the capital of Egypt, this morning, leaving at least 6 people dead and some 100 people injured. The attacks came on the third anniversary of the start of the uprising that drove long-time President Hosni Mubarak from office in 2011. The militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem), which is reportedly inspired by the al-Qa’ida terrorist network, claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Egyptian government blamed the violence on the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group that had backed the election of Mohamed Morsi, a long-time member of the group, in 2012. In 2013, the Egyptian military removed Morsi, the first freely elected president of that country, from office amid widespread public protests against his government. Since then, the Brotherhood has clashed repeatedly with Egypt’s new military-backed government. But the Brotherhood strongly denied any involvement in the bombings and condemned them as “cowardly acts.”

The first bomb struck police headquarters in Cairo, killing four people and injuring 76 others. Egypt’s  minister of the interior said the attack seemed to be the work of a suicide bomber. A second attack targeted police vehicles near a transit station in the Dokki district of the city. One person reportedly died in that bombing. No none was hurt in a third attack, which went off outside a police station near the Giza pyramids. The fourth bomb, which exploded outside a movie theater in the Giza district, killed one person.

Egypt's political turmoil began in 2011, when protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square against the government led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. Since then, Egypt has lurched from one political crisis to the next. (© John Moore, Getty Images)

Additional World Book articles:

• Tahrir Square
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Egypt (2011) (a Back in Time article)
• Egypt (2012) (a Back in Time article)

August 15, 2013

Egyptian security forces yesterday attacked two encampments in Cairo from which Muslim Brotherhood members have protested the army’s overthrow on July 3 of President Mohamed Morsi. Armored vehicles and bulldozers crashed into the camps through a cloud of tear gas in an attempt to shut down the six-week-long sit-in. In and around the main encampment at Rabaa al-Adawiya, a constant exchange of gunfire, including snipers shooting from rooftops, raged for more than 12 hours. Elsewhere in the city, mobs retaliated against authorities with attacks on government buildings and a dozen police stations, as well as on Coptic Christian churches. At least 640 people were killed, including 43 security personnel and 3 reporters.  The Interior Ministry has confirmed that more than 4,200 others were injured in the melee.

Egypt’s interim prime minister, Hazem Beblawi, speaking last night in a televised address, defended the operation, stating that authorities had no choice but to restore order to the capital. He declared a month-long state of emergency, including nightly curfews.

Anti-government protests have roiled Cairo since January 2011, beginning with demonstrations against President Hosni Mubarak, who resigned the following month. Massive anti-government protests prompted the army to remove the next president, Mohamed Morsi, from office this last July. (© John Moore, Getty Images)

Writing on a social networking site, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson, Gehad El-Haddad, called on Egyptians across the country to rise up in protest, declaring, “We will push forward until we bring down this military coup,” referring to the ouster of the former president. Yesterday’s attack is the third mass killing of Islamist demonstrators since Morsi’s overthrow.

The Egyptian army removed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president, from power in the face of massive anti-Morsi protests across the nation. Many Egyptians believed that Morsi was more interested in turning Egypt into an Islamist state than in dealing with the country’s many problems. The lack of public security under Morsi undermined the economy, which remains in a desperate state. Tourism, Egypt’s biggest industry, has all but dried up since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. More than 1 million people were thrown out of work during Morsi’s one year in office as president.

Additional World Book articles:

• Tahrir Square
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Egypt (2011) (a Back in Time article)
• Egypt (2012) (a Back in Time article)

July 8, 2013

Egyptian soldiers fired this morning on members of the Muslim Brotherhood staging a sit-in outside an army barracks in Cairo. At least 51 people were killed. The Brotherhood was protesting the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsi, who is believed to be held under arrest within the barracks.  The Brotherhood’s political wing—the Freedom and Justice Party that backed Morsi’s government—urges Egyptians to revolt against “those trying to steal their revolution with tanks.”  Today’s violence follows an incident on July 5 when soldiers fired at protesters at the same location, killing three people and leaving dozens of others wounded.

The army ousted Morsi, an Islamist and Egypt’s first freely elected leader, on July 3 after mass anti-Morsi protests across the nation. Many Egyptians believed that Morsi was more interested in turning Egypt into an Islamist state than in dealing with its many problems.

Elsewhere in Cairo, the grand sheikh of al-Azhar University—Ahmed al-Tayeb, who is regarded as the highest authority in Sunni Islam—warns today of the danger of civil war. He states that he is going into seclusion until the violence ends.

Additional World Book articles:

• Tahrir Square
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Egypt (2011) (a Back in Time article)
• Egypt (2012) (a Back in Time article)

July 2, 2013

Egypt’s army issued an ultimatum yesterday to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood backers that they had 48 hours to respond to massive popular protests against Morsi and his government. If Morsi fails to heed “the will of the people,” the army will offer its own “road map” for peace, warned the head of the Egyptian army, General Abdel Fattah al-Sis.

On June 30, millions of Egyptians rallied nationwide, demanding Morsi’s resignation. Many Egyptians believe that Morsi is more interested in turning Egypt into an Islamist state than in dealing with its many problems. The lack of public security under Morsi has undermined the economy, which is now in a desperate state. Tourism, Egypt’s biggest industry, has all but dried up since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. More than 1 million people have been thrown out of work since Morsi was elected president one year ago. General al-Sis characterized the protests as an “unprecedented” expression of popular anger at Morsi and the Brotherhood. Yesterday, demonstrators attacked the Muslim Brotherhood’s Cairo headquarters, and eight people were killed as the building was ransacked.

Tahrir Square in Cairo, the site of massive demonstrations against the government of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in January 2011, was jammed again in June and July 2013 by angry protesters demanding the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi. (© John Moore, Getty Images)

Today, Egypt’s foreign minister, Mohamed Kamel Amr, submitted his resignation to President Morsi. Amr is the sixth minister to resign over the current political crisis.

Additional World Book articles:

• Tahrir Square
• The Middle East: From Fall to Spring (a special report)
• Egypt (2011) (a Back in Time article)
• Egypt (2012) (a Back in Time article)