Chapter 2, Section 1: The Nile Valley

I. Settling the NileA. A Mighty River

a. Egypt = warm and sunny, received little rainfall

b. Egyptians relied on the Nile River (drank, bathed, used for farming, provided food)

c. Believed that the Nile was a precious gift

d. Longest river in the world (4000 miles)

e. Wild rapids (cataracts) keep ships from using all but the last 650 miles

I. Settling the Nile

B. A Sheltered Landa. Nile Valley = fertileb. most fertile land = Nile Deltac. Desert on either side, the ancient

Egyptians called the deserts the “red lands”d. Egypt was surrounded by natural barriers, and wasn’t attacked often

II. The River People

A. Regular Floodinga. Nile flooded regularly and was dependableb. “Black land” = fertile land by the Nile River

B. How Did the Egyptians Use the Nile?a. Floods led to successful farmingb. Used irrigation and canal system to move water where they

needed itc. Shadoof = bucket attached to long pole, to lift water from

the Nile to the basin, many Egyptian farmers still use these today

d. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-4pUJ5fNgw

d. Egyptians developed geometry to survey lande. Papyrus, a reed plant that grew along the Nile was an important resourcef. Used papyrus to make baskets, sandals, rafts and paper

C. What were Hieroglyphics?

a. System of writing that is made up of hundreds of picture symbols

b. Some symbols stood for objects and ideas while others stood for sounds

c. Scribes carved hieroglyphs into stone walls and monuments but wrote on papyrus for everyday purposes

d. Few people could read and writee. Scribes did the reading and writing, kept records,

worked for rulers, priests and traders

III. A Untied Egypt

A. The Rise of Governmenta. Earliest rulers were village chiefsb. Over time chiefs led groups of villages which

eventually became kingdomsc. By 4000 BCE, Egypt was made up of 2 large

kingdoms: Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt

B. Egypt’s Ruling Families

a. Around 3100 BCE the two kingdoms became oneb. Narmer united the kingdoms and ruled from Memphis

at the center of Egyptc. He wore a double crownd. Ruling power was passed from father to son creating a

dynastye. Egypt was ruled by 31 dynasties together lasting over

2800 yearsf. 3 main time periods: Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom

and New Kingdom

IV. Early Egyptian Life

A. Egypt’s Social Classes

Pharaoh

Priests and Nobles

Traders, Artisans, Scribes, shopkeepers

Farmers and Herders

Unskilled Workers Slaves

A. Egypt’s Social Classesa. Upper class made up of nobles, priests and other

wealthy Egyptiansb. Upper class was wealthy, had large homes along

river, and servants to wait on themc. Middle class included people who ran businesses and

made goodsd. Middle class lived in smaller homes and dressed

more simplye. Farmers made up largest group of early Egyptians,

lived in villages, ate simplyf. Many that lived in the city were unskilled workers

B. Family Lifea. Father was head of family, but women

had more rights than females in other ancient civilizations

b. women could own and pass on propertyc. upper class women were in charge of

templesd. few Egyptians went to school, instead

were taught in the home

Chapter 2 Section 2

I. Old Kingdom Rulers

A. Old Kingdom Rulersa. Old Kingdom began around 2600 B.C.E., lasted

until 2300 B.C.E.b. Pharaohs (kings), lived in luxury homes and acted

as the rulers of Egypt, controlled every aspect of Egyptian life

c. Believed the pharaoh to be son of Re, the Egyptian sun god

d. Felt the pharaoh acted as a god on earth

II. Egypt’s Religion

A. Egyptian Godsa. Egyptians worshipped many gods (polytheism)b. Main god was Re, the sun godc. Hapi ruled the Nile Riverd. Isis was most important goddess, she

represented loyal wife and mother and ruled over the dead with her husband Osiris

B. Life After Deatha. Believed life after death would be even

better than life on earthb. the Egyptian “Book of the Dead” was a

collection of spells and prayers to guide themc. many Egyptians spent their whole life on

earth preparing for the afterlifed. believed that that body had to be prepared

for the afterlife, had to be protected through a process called embalming.

e. Mummy = wrapped body prepared for afterlife

C. Egyptian Medicinea. Egyptians learned a lot about the human

body through their study of embalmingb. grew skilled at sewing up cuts and

setting broken bonesc. wrote the world’s first medical books

III. The Pyramids

A. How was a Pyramid Built?a. Took thousands of people to buildb. Mostly built by farmers during the Nile floodsc. Building the pyramids lead to many advances in

science and mathd. Some stone came from 100s of miles away

B. The Great Pyramid

a. 2540 B.C.E. the largest pyramid was built, “the Great Pyramid”

b. Was built for King Khufu, in Gizac. Was the tallest structure in the world for

more than 4000 years

Section 3: The Egyptian Empire

I. The Middle Kingdom

A. The Drive for More Landa. Egypt took control of more land, captured Nubiab. Conquered people sent tribute (forced payment),

which enriched the kingdomc. More money = more dams, more farm land,

stability in Egypt

B. The Arts Blossom

a. Painters covered walls with scenes of daily life

b. Sculptors created large wall carvings and statues of pharaohs

c. Architecture changed from pyramids to tombs that were cut into cliffs, known as “Valley of the Kings”

C. Who Were the Hyksos?

a. Hyksos from Asia attacked Egyptb. Hyksos were mighty warriors, rode chariots,

used bronze weaponsc. Hyksos ruled Egypt for 150 years, until

Ahmose, an Egyptian prince took over

II. The New Kingdom

A. A Woman Rulera. Hatshepsut becomes first female ruler of Egyptb. Expanded trade, bringing greater wealth to Egyptc. Used wealth to build one of the biggest tombs in

the Valley of the Kings

B. Expanding the Empire

a. Thutmose III expanded empire through conquest

b. Empire grew richer through trade and tributec. Egypt enslaved many prisoners of ward. Slaves did have some rights in Egypt

III. The Legacies of Two Pharaohs

A. A Religious Reformera. Amenhotep introduced a new religion, got rid of

old gods and goddesses, introduced one god: Aton

b. Amenhotep became Akhenaton “spirit of Aton” c. Akhenaton neglected his duties as pharaoh

because he was busy with his religion, Egypt was attacked many times and the empire shrunk

B. The Boy King

a. Tutankhamen, took over at age 10, died at 19b. King Tut is famous not for his ruling of Egypt

but for his tombc. Howard Carter found his tomb in 1922d. The tomb had not been robbed and was full

of treasures

IV. The End of the New Kingdom

A. Ramses IIa. Reigned for 66 years (!!)b. Regained lands and rebuild empirec. Launched ambitious building projects

B. Why Were Temples Built?a. Built by slavesb. Most amazing temples were at Karnak and Thebesc. Temples served as banks, and homes of gods and

goddesses, in Egyptian religion

C. Egypt’s Decline and Fall

a. After Ramses II, Egypt’s power began to fadeb. By 1150 B.C.E. the Egyptians had lost their

empire and only controlled the Nile deltac. By 670 B.C.E. Egypt was controlled by the

Assyrians