Ancient Egypt

Nile RiverLongest river in the world

4,000 miles long

Runs north to Mediterranean Sea

Divides Egypt into Lower and Upper Egypt

Upper and Lower Egypt Upper Egypt

Southern Portion

Forms the Fertile Valley

Through out Nile River there are cataracts.

Cataracts- Strong rapids

Lower Egypt

Northern Portion

The Nile Delta

Delta- Triangle-shaped area of land made of soil deposited by a river

2/3 of Egypt’s fertile farmland is located on the Nile Delta

The Nile River flows from south to north; hence the names are the opposites of each other.

Physical Features Little Rain

Mostly Desert

Predictable rainfall

Upper Egypt: Flooding during midsummer

Lower Egypt: Flooding in the fall

This caused land around river to be filled with silt.

Natural barriers

Red Sea to the east

Mediterranean Sea to the north

Cataracts in Upper Egypt

Deserts to west and east

Physical Features

Silt

Good for farming

Made land with dark color

Country known as ‘black land’

Desert known as ‘red land’

Two Kingdoms

Lower Egypt

King wore a red crown

Upper Egypt

King wore a white

coned-shape crown

• Menes becomes leader of Upper Egypt around 3100 BCE. His

goal was to unify both kingdoms.

• He conquered Lower Egypt and then united them officially

by marrying the princess from Lower Egypt.

• Menes started the tradition of wearing both crowns into a

‘double crown’.

Menes the First pharaoh

Pharaoh: Title used by rulers of Egypt.

Also means “Great house”

Dynasty: Series of rulers of the same family

Created new capital known as Memphis.

Old Kingdom

After Menes’ dynasty and a Second dynasty ruled

around four hundred years; the third dynasty came

to power.

Their rule started the Old Kingdom.

Old Kingdom: a period in Egyptian history that lasted

from 2700 BCE to 2200 BCE.

Pharaoh Both king and god

Egypt ruled as theocracy

Pharaoh is a god who came down to earth to manage Egypt

Pharaohs had absolute power

Pharaohs had serious consequences and responsibilities as well

Example: Blamed for natural disasters or diseases. Had to manage

trade and prevent wars

PharaohPharaohs appointed bureaucrats to manage parts of society.

Bureaucrats: Government officials

Pharaohs controlled all of Egypt. Some bureaucrats taxed

peoples and Pharaohs would distribute land to the bureaucrats.

Most famous was of them was Khufu

Different perspectives:

Legends say he is cruel

Historically he kept people well fed

Religion: Gods

Polytheism

Temples used as place of worship

Also collected payments from government and worshippers

Some cities became religious centers

Most gods had humanoid and animal features

Religion: Afterlife

Afterlife: Life after death

Paradise for those who did well

Ka: Person’s life force

When person died, ka left their bodies and became spirit

But ka was still linked to the body. In other words the ka hadsame needs as if the person was alive.

People filled people’s tombs with food, beverages, weapons, jewelry, etc.

Religion: Burial Practices If the body decayed, spirit could not recognize it; meaning he link between body

and spirit would break.

Embalming: Process to prevent a body from decaying

Took weeks to prepare and when done wrapped bodies in cloth

Mummies: Bodies wrapped in cloth

Only the elites were capable to afford it.

Elites: People of wealth and power

Lower class members buried the dead in shallow graves by the desert. The dry sand and lack of moisture preserved the body.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gD0K7oH92U

PyramidsPyramids: Huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped

walls that met in a point on top

Great Pyramid of Khufu

481 feet tall

Size resembles the pharaoh’s power

The top represents the pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtJW-8ZvNE8

Fall of Old Kingdom

Cost of pyramids deteriorated Old Kingdom’s economy

Nobles challenged the pharaohs and chaos lasted in

Egypt for 160 years

Farming declined and trade stopped causing famine to

happen

Middle Kingdom

Mentuhotep beat his rivals and started the Middle

Kingdom

Middle Kingdom: Period of order and stability lasted from

2050 BCE to 1750 BCE

Group of invaders from Southwest Asia known as the

Hyksos attacked with horses, chariots, and conquered

Lower Egypt for 200 years.

Rise of the New Kingdom

Around mid 1500s BCE the Egyptians disliked foreigners

ruling and taxing over them.

Ahmose drove the Hyksos out and started the New

Kingdom

New Kingdom: Period of time that started from 1550

BCE to 1050 BCE

New Kingdom: WAR!

To prevent from future invasions, Egypt expanded its

empire through conquest.

Stretched its boundaries all the way to Syria and

defeated Kush to the south.

Egypt became the strongest empire in 1400 BCE

The kingdoms they conquered paid tribute to them

Queen HatshepsutQueen Hatshepsut (1472 to 1458)

Regent ruler of her stepson Thutmose III

This was a threat to their patriarchal traditions

Identified as ‘king’ but people knew her identity

Expanded trade with a southern kingdom named Punt and to Greeks and other Asians.

Built multiple monuments but later found them destroyed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYRy_wZEJI

King TutankhamenHis father worshipped only one deity.

King ‘Tut’ had civilization revert back to worshipping

multiple gods.

He died in young age from mysterious causes.

He is mos famous pharaoh that has helped historians

understand most about the burial process

Ramses the Great

Fought against an enemy known as the Hittites (1200s BCE)

Hittites originated from Asia Minor

Defended against foreign enemy known as the Tehenu

End of the New Kingdom occurred after his reign.

Multiple enemies invaded and took over land in Asia.

Egyptian Language and Literature

Hieroglyphics: System of writing that used picture symbols

Papyrus: Long-lasting, paper like material made from reeds

Rosetta Stone: Stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics

Strange enough also has Greek and later form of Egyptian.

The Book of the Dead: Book based on the afterlife

Egyptian Architecture

Temples had rows of sphinxes by entrance

Sphinx: imaginary creatures with bodies of lions and heads

of humans or other animals

Each side of the temple gate had obelisks.

Obelisk: tall, four sides pillar that it’s pointed on top.

Famous temples include temple of Karnak and Abu

Simbel

Ancient Kush

Lived in a fertile area near the Nile River

Located in Upper Egypt

Depended heavily on agriculture

Capital was located in Kerma, below third cataract

Kush and Egypt relations

During the New Kingdom in 1500 BCE, Thutmoses I

conquered Kush. Kush as a result became part of Egypt.

Kushites learned to speak Egyptian and adopted

Egyptian culture

In mid 1000 BCE Kush once again became independent

Kush conquers Egypt

850 BCE Kush became stronger as the Pharaohs lost

power

Kush under the rulership of Piankhi conquered all of

Egypt by 716 BCE.

Kush controlled Egypt for 46 years until Assyria kicked

them put with superior technology and tactics

Kush post-EgyptStarted production of iron and gold in city called Meroe

Meroe became trade center

Trade-center: System of people in different lands who trade goods

Meroe sent out exports such as gold, iron tools, ivory

Exports: Items sent to other regions

Meroe received imports from Greece, Egypt and other parts of the

world

Imports: items brought in from other regions

Decline of Kush

Overgrazing of cows causes winds to blow remaining soil

which led to less food production

Iron production used up too much wood, which lead to less

weapons and goods produced.

New trade routes formed around Kush

By CE 300 Kush was conquered by an empire called Aksum