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The Question of Identity: Ethnicity, Language, Religion, and Gender

Before Islam:  Egypt

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Module Overview

Examine the concept of identity in ancient Egypt. Within this unitary society, ethnically similar inhabitants shared language, culture, and a focus on the king. Self-identity involved aspects of age, gender, and status, reflected in clothing, hairstyles, and the like. Foreigners settling in Egypt were expected to “Egyptianize.”

Image Resource Bank

Mereruka and His Wife, Watetkhethor

This scene emphasizes the importance of marriage and family, the role of women as musicians (both in the family and for the gods), and the pleasant life that Egyptian nobles hoped to recover in the afterlife... [IMAGE GALLERY]

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