ANCIENT EGYPTANCIENT EGYPT

Take notes as you WILL have an exam on Take notes as you WILL have an exam on this information in about 2 weeks!!!this information in about 2 weeks!!!

~ Geography ~• Ancient Egypt was a narrow strip of land along the Nile River, otherwise it was

desert

• Each year the river flooded its banks, leaving behind a fertile fringe of soil they called "the Black Land," while the desert all around the Nile valley was called "the Red Land."

• Over 90% of Egypt is barren desert, leaving 99% of the population to live in just 3% of the land, including the fertile Nile Valley and Delta.

• Egypt's climate is hot and dry for most of the year.

        

                 

The Nile River:

The Nile River is about 4,145 miles long. It is the longest river in the world. The Nile gave them rich soil to grow there crops so they have food. Egypt's two most important places are the Nile delta and the Nile valley, all ancient Egyptians depended on the Nile river for food, water and transportation.

Agriculture

• Herodotus called Egypt the “Gift of the Nile”

• Egyptians took advantage of the Nile’s annual floods to become an especially productive agricultural region

Specialization

Brewing and Breadmaking

Plowing and Sowing

SailingHarvesting papyrus and Herding

Specialization• Nile societies were

much slower than Mesopotamia to adopt metal tools and weapons

• Did develop pottery, textile manufacture, woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, and masonry occupations

Egyptian pottery makers

Specialization

• Building a pyramid would require• Laborers• Architects• Engineers• Craftsmen• Artists

Cities

Cities• Relatively few cities and

high administrative centralization

• Memphis• Founded by Menes

around 3100 BC as capital of a united Upper and Lower Egypt

• Located at the head of the Nile River Delta

• Thebes• Administrative center of

Upper Egypt• Seat of worship for

Amon

~ Religion and Philosophy ~• In ancient Egypt visual arts, writing, and literature

all celebrated religion—the elaborate tombs, pyramids, and temples are legacies of their religious beliefs and practices. Later, Muslim artists brought the distinctive mosque architecture to Egypt. The majority of Egyptian people today are fellahin, or farmers, who’s lifestyles and traditions have hardly changed over the past centuries. Mummification in ancient Egypt was a very long and expensive process. From start to finish, it took about seventy days to embalm a body. Since the Egyptians believed that mummification was essential for passage to the afterlife, people were mummified and buried as well as they could possibly afford. High-ranking officials, priests and other nobles who had served the pharaoh and his queen had fairly elaborate burials.

The people of Egypt used silver and gold for money, to earn money they would sell slaves, horses and food in the market. Farmers had to give the pharaoh a large part of their crop, as their tax pay, every Egyptian had to pay a large tax almost every year to help the government.

Economic Exchange

In this scene from the grave of Ipui at Thebes, sailors are seen leaving the boat carrying sacks containing grain. A woman is selling bread and possibly beer

(top left), beside her a sailor is exchanging grain for fish. On the right a buyer checks out a cake or a loaf of bread while beside him another is acquiring some

vegetables.

Economic Exchange

• The Nile provided excellent transportation which facilitated trade.

• Nile flows north so boats could ride the currents from Upper to Lower Egypt.

Economic Exchange• Egypt needed to trade

because, beside the Nile, it had few natural resources• For example, Egypt had very

few trees so all its wood came from abroad, especially cedar from Lebanon

• Much trade between Egypt and Nubia• Importance of trade was

reflected in the names of southern Egyptian cities

New Technologies

Ramps and stone-cutting required to build pyramids

New Technologies• Papyrus

• The raw material came from the plant Cyperus papyrus which grew along the banks of the Nile

• Used not only in the production of paper but also used in the manufacture of boats, rope and baskets

• Shipbuilding• Wooden boats• Multiple-oars• Sails• Rope trusses to strengthen

hulls

Religion and Education

Religion and Education• Two main gods

were Amon (Thebian deity associated with the sun, creation, fertility, and reproductive forces) and Re (the sun god worshipped at Heliopolis)

Brief Period of Monotheism• For a brief

period Akhentan challenged the Amon-Re cult by proclaiming Aten as the one and only true god

The sun disc Aten shining on the names of the royal family

Mummification In order to

prepare a person for the long and hazardous journey before they could enjoy the pleasures of the afterlife, the body of a dead person was preserved by a process called mummification

The Judgment• The Egyptians viewed the heart as the

seat of intellect and emotion.• Before entering the pleasures of eternity,

the dead person had to pass a test in which Anubis, the god of the dead, weighed the person’s heart against Ma’at, the goddess of justice and truth

The Judgment• If the deceased’s good deeds

outweighed the bad, then his heart would be as light as the feather (heavy hearts bore the burden of guilt and evil), and Osiris would welcome the newcomer to the next world.

• If the deceased fell short in his judgment, his body would be eaten by a monster

Osiris

• Patron of the underworld, the dead, and past pharaohs

• Cult of Osiris demanded observance of high moral standards• As lord of the underworld, Osiris had

the power to determine who deserved the blessing of immortality and who did not

Social HierarchySocial Hierarchy

Social Hierarchy

• Pharaoh• Egyptian kings of a centralized state• Claimed to be gods living on earth in human form

• Bureaucrats• Because the pharaoh was an absolute ruler there

was little room for a noble class as in Mesopotamia• Instead professional military forces and an elaborate

bureaucracy of administrators and tax collectors served the central government

Social Hierarchy

• Patriarchial• Vested authority over public and private

affairs in men• However, more opportunities for women

than in Mesopotamia as evidenced by Queen Hatshepsut reigning as pharaoh

• Peasants and slaves• Supplied the hard labor that made complex

agricultural society possible• Among the slaves were the Hebrews

~ Language, Education, and the Arts ~ • The ancient Egyptian civilization was a system

of apprenticeship. This allowed craftsmen to teach their trade to young people who were not their children. The family of the apprentice paid the craftsman for training. In earlier times, education was more individualized. Each scribe taught his successor individually, usually his own son. Later there were formal classes for scribes. The Books of Instruction also served as teaching texts in the scribe schools.

Art and Writing

Art and Writing• Pyramids

• Symbols of the pharaoh’s authority and divine stature; royal tombs

• Pyramid of Khufu involved the precise cutting and fitting of 2,300,000 limestone blocks with an average weight of 2.5 tons

• Estimated construction of the Khufu pyramid required 84,000 laborers working 80 days per year for 20 years

The Sphinx and Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. 

Art and Writing• Hieroglyphs

• Pictures that were used to write the ancient Egyptian language

• Originally used to keep records of the king's possessions. Scribes could easily make these records by drawing a picture of a cow or a boat followed by a number.

• As the language became more complex, more pictures were needed.

Pharaohs

Tutankhamun (King Tut) 1334 and 1325 BC

Ramesses II 1279-1213 BC

~ Pharaohs ~• The Egyptian kings ruled over Egypt for 3000

years until the armies of Alexander the Great arrived in 332 B.C.

• During this 3000 year period the Egyptians would overcome a lot such as the Hyksos and the Persians, but then Alexander came.

Mesopotamia and EgyptMesopotamia and EgyptMesopotamiaMesopotamia EgyptEgypt

AgricultureAgriculture +“Land between the rivers” +“Land between the rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates forms (Tigris and Euphrates forms Fertile CrescentFertile Crescent

+Artificial irrigation+Artificial irrigation

+”Gift of the Nile”+”Gift of the Nile”

+Artificial irrigation+Artificial irrigation

SpecializationSpecialization +Pottery, textiles, +Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather, brick woodworking, leather, brick making, stonecutting, making, stonecutting, masonrymasonry

+Pottery, textiles, +Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, production, stonecutting, masonrymasonry

CitiesCities -Numerous, densely -Numerous, densely populated city-states (Ur and populated city-states (Ur and Babylon)Babylon)

-Fewer cities with high -Fewer cities with high centralization (Memphis and centralization (Memphis and Thebes)Thebes)

Social HierarchySocial Hierarchy -Noble class-Noble class

-Patriarchal-Patriarchal

+Slaves+Slaves

-Absolute authority of the -Absolute authority of the pharaoh made a noble class pharaoh made a noble class unnecessary (had unnecessary (had bureaucrats instead)bureaucrats instead)

-Patriarchal, but the presence -Patriarchal, but the presence of Queen Hatsheput may of Queen Hatsheput may indicate greater opportunities indicate greater opportunities for womenfor women

+Slaves+Slaves

Mesopotamia and EgyptMesopotamia and Egypt

MesopotamiaMesopotamia EgyptEgypt

Religion and EducationReligion and Education -Polytheism-Polytheism

-No afterlife-No afterlife

-Polytheism, but brief -Polytheism, but brief period of monotheism period of monotheism under Akhentanunder Akhentan

-Afterlife and judgment -Afterlife and judgment (mummification)(mummification)

New TechnologiesNew Technologies -Superior in metallurgy-Superior in metallurgy -Papyrus, shipbuilding, -Papyrus, shipbuilding, pyramidspyramids

Economic exchangeEconomic exchange -Trade by land and water-Trade by land and water -Trade principally by water -Trade principally by water along the Nilealong the Nile

-Trade more important -Trade more important because Egypt lacked because Egypt lacked natural resources beside natural resources beside the Nilethe Nile

Art and WritingArt and Writing -Cuneiform-Cuneiform -Hieroglyphs (more -Hieroglyphs (more pictorial than cuneiform)pictorial than cuneiform)