Download - Ancient Egypt power point
Timeline• Old Kingdom 2650 BC – 2134
BC• Middle Kingdom 2125 BC – 1550
BC
• New Kingdom 1550 BC – 1295 BC
Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that reached the Euphrates River.
Hatshepsut encouraged trade.
Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria.
Egyptian power declined.
Large drainage project created arable farmland.
Traders had contacts with Middle East and Crete.
Corruption and rebellions were common.
Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta region.
Pharaohs organized a strong central state, were absolute rulers, and were considered gods.
Egyptians built pyramids at Giza.
Power struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
NEW KINGDOM
MIDDLE
KINGDOM
OLD KINGDOM
Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt1
Geography• Egypt is located in
northeastern Africa • The Nile River runs the
length of the country flowing south to north
• The river begins in the mountains of Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea
• The climate is hot and dry, part of the Sahara Desert
http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Egypt.phphttp://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html
Facts About the Nile RiverLength 4,184 miles
2 Sources Lake Victoria, Uganda (White Nile); Lake Tana, Ethiopia (Blue Nile)
Mouth Mediterranean Sea, off Egypt
Countries Flows Through
Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi
Name Origin Greek word Nelios, which means "River Valley"
Geography• Ancient Egypt was divided into
two regions: Upper and Lower Egypt
• Lower (northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile River's delta made by the river as it empties into the Mediterranean.
• Upper Egypt was the long, narrow strip of ancient Egypt located south of the Delta.
Life in Ancient Egypt
• Life centered around the Nile river
• Yearly floods brought nutrients to the soil
• The river was a main route of travel
Social Pyramid of Egypt
• Pharaoh• Upper Class
– Royal Family, Government Officials, Army Officers, Priests, Landowners, and Doctors
• Middle Class– Merchants, Manufacturers, and
Artisans
• Lower Class– Unskilled Laborers and Farmers
• Slaves and Servants
Egyptian Religion• Polytheism
– About 2000 gods & goddesses
– Amon-Ra– Osiris– Isis– Horus– Thoth– Anubis– Hathor
• Death and Funerals– Two souls “ka and ba”– Embalming– Burial Tombs
Religion
• Belief in eternal life after death. Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them through the afterworld.
• Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life.
Book of the Dead
Collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure a safe passage to the underworld for the deceased
Union of Two Crowns• White Crown
– Upper Egypt
• Red Crown– Lower Egypt
• Menes– Overthrew the king of
Lower Egypt– Wore a Double Crown, both
red and white
• Unification– Joining of separate parts
into one whole
Egypt’s Economy• Pharaoh was at the
center of the economy • Based upon Agriculture• Pharaoh took taxes on
the crops that were grown, and goods that were made
• Goods were “bartered” or traded for other needed goods
A System of Writing• Hieroglyphics
– Used to keep record
• Scribes– Record keepers– Original Accountants
• Papyrus– Paper made from plants
• Rosetta Stone– Transcribed Hieroglyphics,
Greek, and Demotic
What is hieroglyphics?• Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used in
ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is made up of two Greek words - hieros, which means sacred, and glyphe, which means carving.
• The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system consists of several hundred picture signs. The signs can be divided into two classes, phonograms and ideograms
Phonograms represent sounds, much as alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs that represent whole words or concepts.
Building the Pyramids• Built as tombs for the Pharaohs• Afterlife
– Housed everything needed for the Paraoh
• Khufu’s pyramid – Total number of blocks
• 2,300,000– One block’s average weight
• 2.5 tons– Number of blocks added each day
• 285