Step Pyramid of Djoser - Egypts Oldest Pyramid

Step Pyramid of Djoser - Egypts Oldest Pyramid The Step Pyramid of Djoser (also spelled Zoser) is the earliest monumental pyramid in Egypt, built at Saqqara about 2650 BCE for the 3rd Dynasty Old Kingdom pharaoh Djoser, who ruled about 2691–2625  BCE (or perhaps 2630-2611  BCE). The pyramid is part of a complex of buildings, said to have been planned and executed by that most famous architect of the ancient world, Imhotep. Fast Facts: Step Pyramid of Djoser Culture: 3rd Dynasty, Old Kingdom Egypt (ca. 2686–2125 BCE)Location: Saqqara, EgyptPurpose: Burial chamber for Djoser (Horus Ntry-ht, ruled 2667–2648 BCE)Architect: ImhotepComplex: Surrounded by a rectangular wall enclosing several shrines and open courtyards  Size: 205 feet high, 358 feet square at the base, complex covers 37 acresMaterial: Native limestone What is a Step Pyramid? The Step Pyramid is made up of a stack of rectangular mounds, each built of limestone blocks, and decreasing in size upward. That may seem odd to those of us who think pyramid-shaped means smooth-sided, no doubt because of the classic  Giza Plateau pyramids, also dated to the Old Kingdom. But stepped pyramids were the common type of tomb for both private and public individuals until the 4th dynasty when Sneferu built the first smooth-sided, albeit bent, pyramid.  Roth (1993) has an interesting paper about what the shift from rectangular to pointy pyramids meant to Egyptian society and its relationship to the  sun god Ra; but thats a digression. The very first pharaonic burial monuments were low rectangular mounds called mastabas, reaching a maximum height of 2.5 meters or about eight feet. Those would have been almost completely invisible from a distance, and, over time the tombs were built ever-increasingly larger. Djosers was the first truly monumental structure.   Djosers Pyramid Complex Djosers Step Pyramid is at the heart of a complex of structures, enclosed by a rectangular stone wall. The buildings in the complex include a line of shrines, some fake buildings (and a few functional ones), high niched walls and several wsht (or jubilee) courtyards. The largest wsht-courtyards are the Great Court south of the pyramid, and the Heb Sed courtyard between the rows of provincial shrines. The step pyramid is near the center, complemented by the south tomb. The complex includes subterranean storage chambers, galleries and corridors, most of which were not discovered until the 19th century (although they were apparently excavated by Middle Kingdom pharaohs, see below). One corridor that runs beneath the pyramid is decorated with six limestone panels depicting King Djoser. In these panels, Djoser is dressed in different ritual clothing and posed as standing or running. That has been interpreted to mean he is performing rituals associated with the Sed festival (Friedman and Friedman). Sed rituals were dedicated to the jackal god known as Sed or Wepwawet, meaning Opener of the Ways, and an early version of Anubis. Sed can be found standing next to Egyptian dynastic kings right from the first images such as that on the Narmer palette. Historians tell us that Sed festivals were rituals of physical renewal, in which the aged king would prove he still had the right of kingship by running a lap or two around the walls of the royal residence. Middle Kingdom Fascination with the Old Guy Djosers name was given to him in the Middle Kingdom: his original name was Horus Ntry-ht, glossed as Netjerykhet. All of the Old Kingdom pyramids were the focus of keen interest to the founders of the Middle Kingdom, some 500 years after the pyramids were built. The tomb of Amenemhat I (Middle Kingdom 12th dynasty) at Lisht was found to be packed with Old Kingdom inscribed blocks from five different pyramid complexes at Giza and Saqqara (but not the step pyramid). The Courtyard of the Cachette at Karnak had hundreds of statues and steles taken from Old Kingdom contexts, including at least one statue of Djoser, with a new dedication inscribed by Sesostris (or Senusret) I. Sesostris (or Senusret) III [1878–1841 BCE], Amenemhats great-great-grandson, apparently snagged two calcite sarcophagi (alabaster coffins) from the underground galleries at the Step Pyramid, and transmitted them to his own pyramid at Dahshur. A rectangular stone monument featuring the undulating bodies of snakes, perhaps part of a ceremonial gateway, was removed from Djosers pyramid complex for the sixth dynasty Queen Iput Is mortuary temple at the Teti pyramid complex. Sources Baines, John, and Christina Riggs. Archaism and Kingship: A Late Royal Statue and Its Early Dynastic Model. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 87 (2001): 103–18. Print.Bronk Ramsey, Christopher, et al. Radiocarbon-Based Chronology for Dynastic Egypt. Science 328 (2010): 1554–57. Print.Dodson, Aidan. Egypts First Antiquarians? Antiquity 62.236 (1988): 513–17. Print.Friedman, Florence Dunn, and Florence Friedman. The Underground Relief Panels of King Djoser at the Step Pyramid Complex. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 32 (1995): 1–42. Print.Gilli, Barbara. The Past in the Present: The Reuse of Ancient Material in the 12th Dynasty. Aegyptus 89 (2009): 89–110. Print.Hawass, Zahi. A Fragmentary Monument of Djoser from Saqqara. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 80 (1994): 45–56. Print.Pflà ¼ger, Kurt, and Ethel W. Burney. The Art of the Third and Fifth Dynasties. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 23.1 (1937): 7–9. Print .Roth, Ann Macy. Social Change in the Fourth Dynasty: The Spatial Organization of Pyramids, Tombs, and Cemeteries. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 30 (1993): 33–55. Print.

Miranda v Arizona - Supreme Court Case

Miranda v Arizona - Supreme Court Case Miranda v. Arizona  was a significant Supreme Court case that ruled that a defendants statements to authorities are inadmissible in court unless the defendant has been informed of their right to have an attorney present during questioning and an understanding that anything they say will be held against them. In addition, for a statement to be admissible, the individual must understand their rights and waive them voluntarily. Fast Facts: Miranda v. Arizona Case Argued: Feb 28-March 2, 1966Decision Issued: Jun 13, 1966Petitioner: Ernesto Miranda, a suspect who was arrested and brought to the Phoenix, Ariz., police station for questioningRespondent: State of ArizonaKey Question: Does the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination extend to the police interrogation of a suspect?Majority Decision: Justices Warren, Black, Douglas, Brennan, FortasDissenting: Justices Harlan, Stewart, White, ClarkRuling: The Supreme Court ruled that a defendants statements to authorities are inadmissible in court unless he has been informed of his right to have an attorney present during questioning and an understanding that anything he says will be held against him in a court of law. Facts of Miranda v. Arizona On March 2, 1963, Patricia McGee (not her real name) was kidnapped and raped while walking home after work in Phoenix, Arizona. She accused Ernesto Miranda of the crime after picking him out of a lineup. He was arrested and taken to an interrogation room where after three hours he signed a written confession to the crimes. The paper on which he wrote his confession stated that the information was given voluntarily and that he understood his rights. However, no specific rights were listed on the paper. Miranda was found guilty in an Arizona court based largely on the written confession. He was sentenced to 20 to 30 years for both crimes to be served concurrently. However, his attorney felt that his confession should not be admissible due to the fact that he was not warned of his right to have an attorney represent him or that his statement could be used against him. Therefore, he appealed the case for Miranda. The Arizona State Supreme Court did not agree that the confession had been coerced, and therefore upheld the conviction. From there, his attorneys, with the assistance of the American Civil Liberties Union, appealed to the US Supreme Court. Supreme Court Decision The Supreme Court actually decided four different cases that all had similar circumstances when they ruled on Miranda. Under Chief Justice Earl Warren, the court ended up siding with Miranda with a 5-4 vote. At first, the attorneys for Miranda attempted to argue that his rights had been violated as he had not been given an attorney during the confession, citing the Sixth Amendment. However, the Court focused on the rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment including that of protection against self-incrimination. The Majority Opinion written by Warren stated that without proper safeguards, the process of in-custody interrogation of persons suspected or accused of crime contains inherently compelling pressures which work to undermine the individual’s will to resist and to compel him to speak where he would otherwise do so freely. Miranda was not released from prison, however, because he had also been convicted of robbery which was not affected by the decision. He was retried for the crimes of rape and kidnapping without the written evidence and found guilty a second time. The Significance of Miranda v. Arizona The Supreme Court decision in Mapp v. Ohio was quite controversial. Opponents argued that advising criminals of their rights would hamper police investigations and cause more criminals to walk free. In fact, Congress passed a law in 1968 that provided the ability for courts to examine confessions on a case-by-case basis to decide whether they should be allowed. The main result of Miranda v. Arizona was the creation of the Miranda Rights. These were listed in the Majority Opinion written by Chief Justice Earl Warren: [A suspect] must be warned prior to any questioning that he has the right to remain silent, that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him prior to any questioning if he so desires. Interesting Facts Ernesto Miranda was released from prison after serving only eight years of his sentence.Miranda was convicted a second time based on the testimony of his common-law wife to whom he confessed the crimes. He had told her that he would be willing to marry Patricia McGee if she would drop the charges against him.Miranda would later sell autographed cards bearing the Miranda Rights for $1.50 each.Miranda was killed of a knife would after a bar fight. The person who was arrested for his murder was read the Miranda Rights. Sources: Miranda v. Arizona. 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Gribben, Mark. Miranda vs Arizona: The Crime That Changed American Justice. Crime Library. trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/miranda/1.html