Download - Ancient Egypt
“The Gift of the Nile”
ANCIENT EGYPT
Longest river in the world- 4,132 miles long! From Falls Church to San
Francisco, CA is 2,811 miles!
Located in AfricaDumps into the
Mediterranean Sea
Floods leave behind fertile soil
Warm climate
THE NILE RIVER
IrrigationEnables farmers to grow
a variety of crops and feed a large number of people. Wheat, barley, flax,
cotton
TransportationFlows South to North!
Paddle down river with water currents
Sail up river with wind currents!
THE NILE
Upper
Lower
The Sahara Desert and surrounding seas provide protection from invaders.
PROTECTION
Ancient Egyptian form of writing
Around 3000 BCE600 signs that
represent words and objects
Carved in stone Difficult to produce
Made paper from papyrus
Made ink from soot, water, plant juice
HIEROGLYPHICS
Stone found with 3 languages written on itGreek, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and Demotic
This stone was used to unlock the secret of the hieroglyphics!
THE ROSETTA STONE
Before 3400 BCE: two kingdoms Upper Egypt (south) Lower Egypt (north)
Menes (Namer) King of Upper Egypt unites Upper and Lower Egypt and establishes a ruling dynasty
Dynasty-a series of rulers from the same family or line. They rule Egypt from about
3200-300BCE
EGYPTIAN KINGDOMS
Kings of Egypt were called Pharaohs. They were political AND religious leaders= Theocracy
Absolute, or unlimited power “divine right”- could so whatever they wanted!They were regarded as godlike and temples were built
in their honor!They were mummified and placed in tombs
Sometimes in Pyramids to protect them and help escort them into the afterlife
PHARAOHS
Menes united EgyptMemphis= capital During the Old
Kingdom many of the pyramids were built! The Great Pyramid of
Giza was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu
There were also many great advancements in science and the arts.
THE OLD KINGDOM
Peasants, farmers, army, labor (most production goes to king) >> little/ NO social mobility
Pharaoh, royal family, priests, scribes, government offi cials >> eventually form a noble class
The pharaoh had helpers to help him rule over the large empire.
Nobles gained more power and have a power struggle with the pharaoh! < Internal Strife
THE OLD KINGDOM
Mentuhotep- 2040 BCE Re-united Egypt! He created a central monarchy and made Thebes the new
capital! The Pharaoh once again had all the power in the land!
Known as the “Golden Age” and a period of stability and prosperity. Egypt experienced a period of expansion. Traders went to
neighboring lands.
PROJECTS: A) Draining of swamp land in the Nile Delta>> New
Farmland B) Digging of a canal to connect the Nile to Red Sea>
increase trade and transportation
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
The Middle Kingdom comes to an end when foreigners from western Asia known as Hyksos came into the country with their horse drawn chariots and superior weapons and ruled over Egypt for about 100 years!
Eventually leaders in Egypt drove out the Hyksos and were re-united by a line of strong pharaohs.
Ruled strong and strict Gained land, build an empire >> when an individual
or single people rule over many other people and their territories
THE NEW KINGDOM
female Pharaoh Kept boarders
secure and increased trade with other lands
Built a huge temple Deir el Bahri
HATSHEPSUT 1503 BCE- 1482 BCE
(stepson/nephew) Great conquests and trade
ruled at the height of Egypt’s power
Called “the conquerer”
THUTMOSE III 1482-1450 BCE
Believed in 1 god, the sun god Ra (re, Aten,Aton ect.)
He tries to being about religious and social changes. Tries to get all Egyptians to
only worship RaChanges his name to
Aknetaton> “He who pleases Aton”
Not successful! Many believed that
destroying the Egyptian gods was the same as destroying Egypt
Nefertiti was his wife
Monotheism- the belief in one god
Polytheism- the belief in many gods Most Egyptians
were polytheistic
AMENHOTOP IV
A boy PharaohUndoes Akhenaton’s changes and restores polytheism
back to Egypt His tomb was found untouched in the “Valley of the
Kings”
TUTANKHAMEN (KING TUT)
Ramses II 1279-1213 BCE- Ordered temples and monuments to be built
Also called Ramses the Great!Unable to re-establish strong borders The Pharaoh’s that followed were not strong leaders
and the next thousand years, Egypt was dominated by outsiders.
Cleopatra VII- tried to re-establish Egypt’s independence in the 1st century BC but was unsuccessful and Egypt became a providence in Rome’s empire.
EGYPT’S DECLINE
LETS TAKE A TOUR OF A THE NILE!
CAIRO MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES