Egypt: Karnak Complex

Luxor, Egypt
The Complex Temple of Karnak is huge, I decided to break it down in few posts

The Great Temple of Amun at Karnak
Karnak Part II - First Pylon, Great Court, Shrine of Seti II
Temple of Ramses III - Karnak Complex part III
Triumphal Monument of Sheshonq I - Karnak Complex part IV
Second Pylon, Great Hypo-style Hall - Karnak Complex part V
Third Pylon, Pavilion of Sesostris I, Central Court VI
Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Pylons - Karnak Complex VII
Hall of Records, Sanctuary - Karnak Complex part VIII
Great Festival Temple of Thutmose III - Karnak Complex part IX
Rear Section of Temple of Amon, Sacred Lake - Karnak Complex part X
Southern Buildings, Karnak Cachette, Seventh to Tenth Pylons - Karnak Complex part XI
Akhenaten Temple Project - Karnak Complex Part XII
Temple of Khonsu: Plan 9 - Karnak Complex part XIII
Temple of Osiris and Opet - Karnak Complex XIV
Temple of Mut - Karnak Complex XV

Egypt : Great Festival Temple of Thutmose III Plan - Karnak Complex part IX

Karnak Complex, Luxor, Egypt :

Before describing this 'Most Glorious of Monuments' as it was called, let us first recall that Thutmose III was the creator of a vast Egyptian empire; in a series of annals he gave full details of his seventeen campaigns and records of the spoils of battle. He was the first Egyptian Pharaoh to introduce military tactics, his most successful battle technique being the blitzkrieg: some 3,000 chariots, hidden behind a hill, simultaneously dashing into action with lances flying, hooves whipping up the dust, soldiers yelling. The resulting confusion in the enemy ranks was designed to weaken their morale. It inevitably did.
Thutmose III was no war-monger .He never appointed Egyptian governors over the conquered territories. Instead he gave power to the local chieftains and, moreover, started cultural relations by bringing the sons of the chieftains to Egypt to study and absorb Egyptian culture, ideology and religion before returning to their homelands.
Following the victories of Thutmose III Egypt was justifiably imbued with a feeling of national pride, while the victor himself humbly gave thanks to Amon to the rear of the national temple at Karnak.
The Festival Temple of Thutmose III is spacious and elegant, 44 meters wide and 16 deep. The roof is supported by 20 columns in two rows and 32 square pillars on the sides. One immediately notices a lack of conformity; Thutmose ordered his workers to taper the columns downwards and not upwards and to top them with peculiar inverted calyx capitals. The capital gives a sort of tent-like effect and may have been designed to assuage the Pharaoh's thirst for outdoor living. It was never repeated. The effect is definitely clumsy. The reliefs on the pillars, which are shorter than the columns, show Thutmose III in the presence of the gods.

Grouped around the sanctuary, which comprises three chambers, were some fifty small halls and chambers. Most lie in ruin today. To the left of the sanctuary is a chamber with four clustered papyrus columns. The lower parts of the walls are decorated with exotic plants and animals brought to Egypt from Syria in the 25th year of the Pharaoh's reign. It says a great deal for the character of Thutmose III that, despite his prowess as a warrior, his ability to topple the powerful Queen Hatschepsut from the throne and his vow to revenge his people for their conquest by the Hyksos, he should have found time and interest to import flowers and animals into his native land.

To the right of the sanctuary is what is now known as the Alexander Room. It was originally built by Thutmose III and was restored by Alexander the Great. The reliefs show Alexander, and in some instances Thutmose III, sacrificing to the gods.
To the south of the Alexander Room is a hall with eight sixteen-sided columns. The two small chambers with columns, followed by seven other chambers, carry reliefs of Thutmose III.

Egypt : Hall of Records, Sanctuary - Karnak Complex part VIII

Karnak Complex, Luxor, Egypt :
The granite gateway of the sixth pylon was restored by Seti I and as we pass through it we enter what has become known as the Hall of Records of Thutmose III. These were the state records made by the priests of the temple to detail the sources of gifts and booty received by them. Of course, following Thutmose's military victories Karnak was now increasingly filled with gold and silver treasures from far afield, as well as with magnificent bronze weapons of war and furniture of ivory and ebony.
The most characteristic feature of this Hall of Records are the two stately granite pillars, one bearing the lotus of Upper Egypt and the other the papyrus of Lower Egypt in high relief.
These rather unusual twin symbols emphasize that the unity of the two lands, formed and broken many times in their long history, was intact in the 18th Dynasty.
Beyond is the Sanctuary which comprises two chambers. It is of pink granite and was constructed by the brother of Alexander the Great , Philip Arrhidaeus, on the site of an earlier chamber. The walls are finely carved and colored; the reliefs on the upper reaches of the wall still retain their color. On the outer wall of the sanctuary on the right-hand side is a superb relief in excellent condition of Philip being crowned and presented to the gods (above) and of the festal barges of Amon being carried in priestly procession (below).On the left-hand outer wall of the sanctuary are the Annals of Thutmose III, depicting details of the cities and tribes subdued in his military campaigns.

Leaving the sanctuary we come to a large open space where there are very scanty remains of Middle Kingdom structures. Beyond rises the Great Festival Temple of Thutmosc III.

Egypt : Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Pylons Plan - Karnak Complex VII

Karnak Complex, Luxor, Egypt :

We now proceed to a much ruined part of the temple. The fourth pylon, built by Thutmose I, is followed by a colonnade with a strange and interesting history.Within this enclosed area are clues to family feuds, petty jealousies and religious differences, to say nothing of Pharaonic vanity. The colonnade was originally designed by Thutmose I and it was planned to have a roof of cedar. In it stands an obelisk, the tallest known, and one of two erected by Queen Hatshepsut, who removed part of the roof of her father's colonnade to place them there. Hatshepsut's co-regent and successor, Thutmose III, at a later date in the family feud had a wall built to hide the obelisks of his predecessor, this being a simpler expedient than their removal and destruction. He also obliterated Hatschepsut's name and inserted his own as making sacrifices to Amon. The figure of Amon himself was obliterated by Akhenaten and restored by Seti I, thus putting an end to the vicissitudes suffered for two hundred years by the colonnade of Thutmose I.

The beautiful remaining obelisk of Hatshepsut was erected in the 16th year of her reign. It was made of a single block of pink Aswan granite of the finest quality.The apex was once covered with a mixture of gold and silver. This lofty spire records the fact that it was made in seven months. It weighs something like 317,515 kilogrammes (700,000 lbs). One cannot but marvel at the tenacity required merely to quarry it, let alone to cart it to the Nile, transport it along its waters, disembark it and finally erect it with perfect accuracy on a pedestal.

For ming the rear wall of the colonnade is the fifth pylon, also erected by Thutmose I. Passing through it we enter Thutmose I's second colonnade, which originally comprised twenty sixteen sided columns. It is now very much in ruin. On each side of the central passage Thutmose III constructed a pair of chambers and beyond this rises the last and smallest pylon, the sixth pylon, erected by Thutmose III. On each lace of the pylon are lists of tribes of the south which were subjugated by Thutmose III's army, and also those of Syria, which alone numbers 119. The conquered territories are shown as an elliptical hieroglyph character surmounted by a human bust with arms bound behind the back. The Syrians are depicted with pointed beards and heavy robes. In long processions they bear their tributes to be recorded by the vizier.

Triumphal Monument of Sheshonq I - Karnak Complex part IV

Retracing our steps to the Great Court via the exit to the east of Ramses III's court, we find ourselves in the portico of the Bubastides which is embellished with reliefs and inscriptions of the Pharaohs of the 22nd Dynasty. The rear door of this portico leads to the Triumphal Monument of Sheshonk I , which is situated on the outside of the southern tower of the second pylon. This scene commemorates the victory of Shishak of the Bible over Rehoboam, son of Solomon the King of Judah, when Solomon's temple was robbed of its riches. Beneath Amon is the goddess Mut holding a club, bow and quiver, leading five rows of captives carved in perfect symmetry . To the right Sheshonk is grasping a group of captives by the hair and striking them with his raised club.

The Biblical passages mentioned this campaign are:

In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.26He took away the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house. He took away everything. He also took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made, 27and King Rehoboam made in their place shields of bronze, and committed them to the hands of the officers of the guard, who kept the door of the king’s house. 28And as often as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard carried them and brought them back to the guardroom. (1Kings 14:25)

Karnak Part II - First Pylon, Great Court, Shrine of Seti II

Seti II's two small obelisks rise on a terrace facing the Nile. From this point we approach the temple of Amon between a double row of ram-headed sphinxes. These have sun-discs on the head and a statue of the Pharaoh between the forepaws, showing the Sun God as strong as a lion, as docile as a ram, and protective of the Pharaoh Ramses II who placed them there. We must bear in mind that in approaching the temple from the front we actually reverse, apart from a few exceptions, the order of building.

Before us rises the massive first pylon which dates from the Nubian Dynasty and which was never completed. It is 113 meters wide, 43 meters high and 5 meters thick. On the doorway leading to the Great Court is an inscription recording the latitude and longitude of the chief temples of the Pharaohs as calculated by the group of scholars accompanying the army of Napoleon to Egypt.

The Great Court, which was built during the 22nd Dynasty, covers the massive area of 8,919 square meters. On the right it incorporates a small temple built by Ramses III and on the left a small shrine built by Seti II ,comprising three chambers dedicated to Amon (in the center) and to Mut and Khonsu respectively on either side. Towards the center of the court is the base of what was once a pair of pedestals for statues and behind this is a double colonnade. The five columns to the left are being reconstructed and the single intact column to the right is inscribed by Psemmetikh II of the 26th Dynasty, who placed his name over that of the Nubian Taharka of the 25th Dynasty. It also records the name of Ptolemy IV.

On each side of the court is a row of sphinxes. These flanked the doorway when the pylon at the rear of the court formed the entrance to the temple in the reign of Ramses II. They were removed and placed near the side walls when the entrance was extended towards the Nile.

Against the inner wall of the first pylon , are remnants of the crude brick ramps by which the stones were heaved into position . The last two columns on this same side of the court provide another interesting clue as to how the ancient Egyptians conducted their work. Because they were never completed they show that the roughly-shaped stones, also heaved into position on ramps, were shaped after erection and that the polishing and decoration were performed from the top downwards as the brick ramps were removed layer by layer.

The grey sandstone Shrine of Seti II to the left of the court was dedicated to the Karnak triad: Amon, Mut and Khonsu. The center section, to Amon, is the best preserved . On the walls are two different representations of the deity .Near the end of the right-hand wall Amon is seated in human form with his  characteristic headgear and with Mut and Khonsu seated behind him . On the left-hand wall he is depicted as a ram with the sun-disc on hishead and travelling the heavens in his sacred barge. The Holy Triad was a common feature of the gods of ancient Egypt. At Thebes, Amon had Mut and Khonsu. At Abydos, Osiris had his sister-wife Isis and their son Horus. At Memphis, Ptah had his wife Sekhmet and their son Nefertem.