CHAPTER 3 SECTION 1 THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT KEY TERMS Delta Cataracts Menes Pharaoh Theocracy Bureaucracy Hatshepsut Ramses the Great GEOGRAPHY AND EARLY EGYPT Nile River Flows through the Sahara Desert Flooded every year Floods were predictable Left silt for farming GEOGRAPHY AND EARLY EGYPT Delta-area at the mouth of a river, triangle shaped Sahara difficult to cross Limited invaders Cataracts-series of rocks in the river, no boats TWO KINGDOMS 5,000 BC farming villages Lower Egypt the delta Upper Egypt the cataracts Menes unified kingdom 3100BC, first dynasty Wore a crown red and white THE OLD KINGDOM Third Dynasty stable rule 2650BC The Pyramids Tombs for rulers Treasures buried Smooth sided built later Started as soon as the became pharaoh THE OLD KINGDOM Most pyramids built by peasants, not slaves People required to work for one month Received food, clothing and shelter Crafts people were hired THE PHARAOHS Pharaoh- means great house Had absolute power Owned all the land Their word was law They were gods Ceremonies for everything Theocracy-a state ruled by religious figures EGYPTIAN BUREAUCRACY A highly structured organization managed by officials Acted on Pharaohs wishes Vizier- most powerful official Passed down EGYPTIAN BUREAUCRACY Governors Irrigation supervisors Census takers Tax collectors Crop inspectors THE MIDDLE KINGDOM Powerful nobles came to power Old Kingdom collapsed Middle Kingdom increased trade Phoenicians, Minoans, Nubians Armies secure trade routes Hyksos invaded THE NEW KINGDOM Hyksos ruled for 100 years Desert and sea no longer protection Built powerful military Headed south to Nubia Conquered Kush Controlled from southern Nubia to Euphrates REIGN OF HATSHEPSUT Was a female ruler Increased trade Only woman to be Pharaoh Huge trading expeditions Nephew destroyed almost all record of her MONOTHEISM IN EGYPT Amenhotep IV Akhenaten to worship only the sun god Aten Banned worship of other gods Ordered god images destroyed King Tut restores original worship RAMSES THE GREAT Led army to confront the Hittites Lost battle Two armies sign a truce Married a Hittite princess Built more monuments and temples Most admired EGYPTS DECLINE Sea peoples invaded Brought end to Hittites and weakened Egypt Egypt broke into small states Over 700 years many rulers Alexander the Great conquers Egypt