Visit guide for
secondary
teachers
Egypt
faith after
the pharaohs
29 October 2015 – 7 February 2016
Basalt bust of Germanicus
with a Christian cross later
carved on the forehead
Probably made in Egypt
Roman, c. AD 14–20
Planning your visit
Introduction to the exhibition
We recommend the following planning guidelines:
 Provide a focus for students to keep in mind as
they explore the exhibition and which you can
follow up afterwards
 Do some preparatory work in school to develop
the focus of the visit and familiarise students
with the content of the exhibition
 Allow students some scope to explore and find
objects that interest them
The exhibition traces Egypt’s journey from the
ancient Roman period to the medieval world of the
Fatimid dynasty, and its transition from a place
largely worshipping many gods to a society
devoted to the one God of Jews, Christians and
Muslims. The remarkable objects on display
provide unparalleled access to the lives of
individuals and communities, and tells the rich and
complex story of influences, intermittent tension
and violence, and long periods of peaceful
coexistence.
Curriculum Links
The exhibition offers opportunities in the following
curriculum areas and for cross-curricular work:
Religious Studies: Belief, monotheism, scared
writing, practice, faith and creative expression
Citizenship: Self-identity, multiple identities, living
in a multicultural society, the state and the
individual, taking direct action
Art and Design: Human representation, pattern,
techniques and media, ancient art as inspiration
Using the exhibition
In advance
Decide on a focus for the visit and a follow-up
activity. Go through this with the students.
Use the image bank to familiarise students with
some of the exhibition content. Exhibition activity
sheets are available to download and can be
adapted to meet the needs of your students. Go
through any exhibition activities with the students
and accompanying adults beforehand.
On the day
Encourage adults to allow students to linger at
objects which interest them and to discuss what
they see and share ideas as they go round.
Remind students to behave calmly and politely.
Photography is not allowed in the exhibition, but
students may take photographs of relevant objects
in the Museum’s permanent galleries.
Glass pendant with a menorah
Egypt
4th century AD
British Museum
Afterwards
Use what the students have gathered in the
exhibition/Museum galleries for follow-up activities
back at school.
Using this resource
The ‘Big’ questions
This resource is designed to support your visit to
the Egypt: faith after the pharaohs exhibition.
It is a good idea to have a big question for students
It aims to be cross-curricular and offer
opportunities to work the exhibition into learning
across the curriculum. To accompany this resource
there is a downloadable image bank and a set of
worksheets that can be adapted to suit your needs.
to keep in mind during their visit to the exhibition.
Here are some possible examples:
 Which did I think, and why, was the most
interesting object in the exhibition?
 What did I learn about Egypt or the Abrahamic
faiths that I did not know before?
 What sources of evidence does the exhibition
include and how useful did I find these for
learning about the religious lives of people in
Egypt’s past?
 How can the exhibition help me to understand
the relationships between different faiths today?
2
Exhibition themes
The exhibition is divided into five sections.
Introduction Across Europe, North Africa and the
Middle East, the first millennium AD witnessed the
radical transformation of a world from devotion to
many gods to the one god of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam. Egypt’s unique history and archaeology
give particular insight into the development and
emergence of these faiths. Egypt: faith after the
pharaohs focuses on the 1200 years from 30 BC,
when Egypt became part of the Roman empire, to
the end of the Fatimid period in AD 1171.
Roman Egypt: religion and empire In 31 BC
Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt was
defeated. The following year her rival, Augustus,
entered Egypt’s capital Alexandria, and Egypt soon
afterwards became a province of the Roman
empire. For 300 years Alexandria had been a
cultural hub as well as a centre of trade, a place
where Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and others
mingled and where religious beliefs and practices
were combined in new ways. Sailing in the harbour,
visitors saw the magnificent Caesareum, a temple
founded by Cleopatra VII. It was completed by
Augustus and dedicated to the worship of the
emperor and his deified predecessors, Julius
Caesar and his son Caesarion.
Ivory box showing Daniel
Egypt or Syria
5th or early 6th century AD
British Museum
Egypt in a Christian Empire In AD 330, with
Christianity by then the privileged religion of the
imperial household, the Roman emperor
Constantine established a new capital at
Byzantium named Constantinople. The grain and
resources of Egypt flowed to the new capital, and
its public spaces were decorated with ancient
Egyptian monuments. Alexandria continued to be a
great hub of learning for both Christians and nonChristians, sometimes studying under the same
teachers. The city also continued to be famous for
the violence between and within its communities.
This was often stirred up by the city’s archbishops,
supported by monks, and targeted the followers of
the old gods, philosophers and Jews. In the sixth
and seventh century, the heart of the city was still
occupied by lecture halls where philosophers, now
Christian, taught. Its temple complexes were now
occupied by churches.
Gold coin (obverse and reverse)
Egypt, probably Cairo
409 AH/AD 1018
British Museum
Egypt and the Islamic Empire In AD 639 Muslim
armies, under the command of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As,
entered Egypt. The Byzantine empire at the time
was weak and vulnerable – by AD 641 Alexandria
had fallen and Egypt soon came under Muslim rule.
At first ‘Amr wanted to keep Alexandria as the
capital, but it was open to attack from the
Byzantine navy. Instead he chose a site at the tip
of the Nile Delta, east of the Roman fortress of
Babylon, where he had pitched his tent during its
siege. The new capital al-Fustat became a bustling
city and the commercial centre of Egypt. Some 300
years later al-Fustat was absorbed into the nearby
capital of a new dynasty of Muslim rulers, the
Fatimids. Their city was named al-Qahira, known in
English as Cairo. ‘Amr and the Muslim state after
him recognised Christians and Jews as Peoples of
the Book and did not interfere with their religious
practices. They did however pay a special poll tax
in exchange for their protected status.
Egypt Mirror of the World The majority of Egypt’s
population first adopted Christianity by the fifth
century. By the end of the Fatimid period, Islam
was established as the majority faith in Egypt. The
shift from polytheism to monotheism mirrors what
took place across much of Europe, the Middle East,
North Africa and beyond. It reflects the
transformation of the ancient to medieval world, a
transition that shaped the world we live in today.
3
Curricular opportunities
Religious Studies
By the mid-first millennium AD, most people in
Egypt abandoned the gods and goddesses of their
ancestors and adopted Christianity, a monotheistic
faith. Later, by the end of the millennium, most
people were Muslim, but with significant
populations of Christians and Jews. In time, Jews,
Christians and Muslims lived side-by-side in many
parts of Egypt.
Use the exhibition to investigate the Abrahamic
faiths through beliefs, sacred writings, sacred
places and religious practice. Follow a single faith
or multiple faiths, examining the evidence we have
that reflects distinctive experiences and
developments, approaches and common practice.
Spotlight objects:
See pages 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 in the powerpoint
that accompanies this resource.
Follow up activities:
 Create a large grid to record evidence of key
aspects of religious practice for one or more
Abrahamic faith. Discuss and assess objects
relating to belief, place of worship, pilgrimage
and add the strongest examples to the chart.
 Consider how artefacts reflect religious beliefs.
Work in groups to annotate object images,
highlighting features that link to Jewish,
Christian or Muslim belief.
the norms of the state. Investigate the experiences
of faith groups in a changing society and how
practice and expression defined them. Identify
challenges for these communities and the actions
they took to respond. Draw parallels to understand
society in Britain today.
Spotlight objects:
See pages 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 in the powerpoint
that accompanies this resource.
Follow up activities:
 Identify the symbols and creative expressions
of identity seen in the exhibition. Discuss what
symbols define people in British society. Try to
select a modern symbol or object that best
defines or represents an inclusive society.
 Discuss what shapes identity in Britain today
and the consequences of identifying people
purely on the basis of religion.
 Compare recent examples from Egypt and
Britain of direct action taken to change society.
Debate what should be acceptable in a modern
state. Choose a relevant cause to support and
plan a communication strategy to campaign.
Art and Design
Over this time, artists in Egypt produced a range of
creative responses to faith and society.
Use the exhibition to investigate the representation
of deities, humans and religious identity. Consider
the use of specialist skills, media and materials.
 Look at the similarities between the Abrahamic
faiths. Investigate three key themes like
representation, symbols and sacred script for
each faith, then compare and debate.
Spotlight objects:
See pages 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11 in the powerpoint
that accompanies this resource.
 Create a blog post to describe the experience
of living as a Jew, Christian or Muslim in Egypt
during this period. Draw on exhibition evidence
when describing aspects of religious practice.
Follow up activities:
 Discuss the creative representation of faith in the
exhibition. Highlight key features and effective
techniques. Draw on this to create an artwork that
reflects individual or collective identity.
Citizenship
This was a period of immense religious change for
Egypt’s population: the worship of many gods to
one god, state repression and tolerance, and the
establishment and dominance of new faiths.
 Think about the use of patterns in Egypt. Look at
examples using colours, shapes, words, symbols
and natural forms. Design an appropriate repeating
pattern for a special book, box or piece of clothing,
Use the exhibition to explore issues of identity in
society like being in a minority and sitting outside
4