Chapter 2, Section 2
Egypt’s Old
Kingdom
Old Kingdom Rulers• Old Kingdom lasted from 2600 BC to 2300 BC.
• The Egyptian kings, pharaohs, lived with their families in grand palaces.
• The pharaoh was an all-powerful ruler who guided Egypt’s every activity.
Old Kingdom Rulers• Why did Egyptians willingly serve the
pharaoh?–They believed the unity of the kingdom
depended on a strong leader–They considered the pharaoh to be the
son of Re, the Egyptian sun god
Old Kingdom Rulers• Whenever he appeared in public,
people played music on flutes & cymbals.
• Bystanders long the road had to bow down and “smell the earth.”
Old Kingdom Rulers• Egyptians thought their pharaoh was a god on
earth who controlled Egypt’s welfare.
Egypt’s Religion• Egyptians worshipped
many deities, or gods and goddesses.
• The Egyptians believed these deities controlled the forces of nature and human activities.
Egypt’s Religion
• Egyptian Gods:1. Re – Sun God2. Hapi – ruled the Nile River3. Isis – goddess who represented the
loyal wife & mother; she ruled over the dead with her husband Osiris
Egypt’s Religion• The Egyptians believed that life in the in the
next world would be better than on Earth.
• For centuries, Egyptians believed that only the pharaohs could enjoy the afterlife.
• They thought the pharaoh needed a body to make the journey to the afterlife.
Egypt’s Religion• To protect the pharaoh’s body, the Egyptians
used embalming. – Priests removed the body’s organs– Salt applied to body & body stored to dry– Body filled with perfumes & spices & stitched up– Body cleaned with oils & tightly wrapped with linen– The wrapped body was now a mummy– It was placed inside many wooden coffins– Ready to placed in a tomb
Egypt’s Medicine• Skilled at sewing cuts
and setting broken bones
• Became the world’s first specialists in medicine
• Wrote the world’s first medical books on papyrus
The Pyramids• The pyramids were
tombs for the pharaohs.
• They were the size of city blocks.
• They also held items the pharaoh would need for the afterlife.
How the Pyramids Were Built
• Thousands of people• Years to build• Built during the Nile flooding season• Sits on a square base facing the north• Had a number system based on 10• Created fractions• Artisans used tools to cut stone into blocks• Pulled the blocks over “paved” roads of logs
How the Pyramids Were Built
• Loaded the stones onto barges on the Nile• Had ramps to push/pull to set the stones in
place
The Great Pyramid• About 2540 B.C. the
grandest of pyramids was built.
• It is 10 miles from Cairo.• This pyramid was built for
King Khufu & is still standing in Giza on the west bank of the Nile.
The Great Pyramid• It covers an area the size of 9 football fields.
• Contains 2 million stone blocks.