Ancient Egypt
Nile RiverLongest river in the world
4,000 miles long
Runs north to Mediterranean Sea
Divides Egypt into Lower and Upper Egypt
Upper and Lower Egypt Upper Egypt
Southern Portion
Forms the Fertile Valley
Through out Nile River there are cataracts.
Cataracts- Strong rapids
Lower Egypt
Northern Portion
The Nile Delta
Delta- Triangle-shaped area of land made of soil deposited by a river
2/3 of Egypt’s fertile farmland is located on the Nile Delta
The Nile River flows from south to north; hence the names are the opposites of each other.
Physical Features Little Rain
Mostly Desert
Predictable rainfall
Upper Egypt: Flooding during midsummer
Lower Egypt: Flooding in the fall
This caused land around river to be filled with silt.
Natural barriers
Red Sea to the east
Mediterranean Sea to the north
Cataracts in Upper Egypt
Deserts to west and east
Physical Features
Silt
Good for farming
Made land with dark color
Country known as ‘black land’
Desert known as ‘red land’
Two Kingdoms
Lower Egypt
King wore a red crown
Upper Egypt
King wore a white
coned-shape crown
• Menes becomes leader of Upper Egypt around 3100 BCE. His
goal was to unify both kingdoms.
• He conquered Lower Egypt and then united them officially
by marrying the princess from Lower Egypt.
• Menes started the tradition of wearing both crowns into a
‘double crown’.
Menes the First pharaoh
Pharaoh: Title used by rulers of Egypt.
Also means “Great house”
Dynasty: Series of rulers of the same family
Created new capital known as Memphis.
Old Kingdom
After Menes’ dynasty and a Second dynasty ruled
around four hundred years; the third dynasty came
to power.
Their rule started the Old Kingdom.
Old Kingdom: a period in Egyptian history that lasted
from 2700 BCE to 2200 BCE.
Pharaoh Both king and god
Egypt ruled as theocracy
Pharaoh is a god who came down to earth to manage Egypt
Pharaohs had absolute power
Pharaohs had serious consequences and responsibilities as well
Example: Blamed for natural disasters or diseases. Had to manage
trade and prevent wars
PharaohPharaohs appointed bureaucrats to manage parts of society.
Bureaucrats: Government officials
Pharaohs controlled all of Egypt. Some bureaucrats taxed
peoples and Pharaohs would distribute land to the bureaucrats.
Most famous was of them was Khufu
Different perspectives:
Legends say he is cruel
Historically he kept people well fed
Religion: Gods
Polytheism
Temples used as place of worship
Also collected payments from government and worshippers
Some cities became religious centers
Most gods had humanoid and animal features
Religion: Afterlife
Afterlife: Life after death
Paradise for those who did well
Ka: Person’s life force
When person died, ka left their bodies and became spirit
But ka was still linked to the body. In other words the ka hadsame needs as if the person was alive.
People filled people’s tombs with food, beverages, weapons, jewelry, etc.
Religion: Burial Practices If the body decayed, spirit could not recognize it; meaning he link between body
and spirit would break.
Embalming: Process to prevent a body from decaying
Took weeks to prepare and when done wrapped bodies in cloth
Mummies: Bodies wrapped in cloth
Only the elites were capable to afford it.
Elites: People of wealth and power
Lower class members buried the dead in shallow graves by the desert. The dry sand and lack of moisture preserved the body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gD0K7oH92U
PyramidsPyramids: Huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped
walls that met in a point on top
Great Pyramid of Khufu
481 feet tall
Size resembles the pharaoh’s power
The top represents the pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtJW-8ZvNE8
Fall of Old Kingdom
Cost of pyramids deteriorated Old Kingdom’s economy
Nobles challenged the pharaohs and chaos lasted in
Egypt for 160 years
Farming declined and trade stopped causing famine to
happen
Middle Kingdom
Mentuhotep beat his rivals and started the Middle
Kingdom
Middle Kingdom: Period of order and stability lasted from
2050 BCE to 1750 BCE
Group of invaders from Southwest Asia known as the
Hyksos attacked with horses, chariots, and conquered
Lower Egypt for 200 years.
Rise of the New Kingdom
Around mid 1500s BCE the Egyptians disliked foreigners
ruling and taxing over them.
Ahmose drove the Hyksos out and started the New
Kingdom
New Kingdom: Period of time that started from 1550
BCE to 1050 BCE
New Kingdom: WAR!
To prevent from future invasions, Egypt expanded its
empire through conquest.
Stretched its boundaries all the way to Syria and
defeated Kush to the south.
Egypt became the strongest empire in 1400 BCE
The kingdoms they conquered paid tribute to them
Queen HatshepsutQueen Hatshepsut (1472 to 1458)
Regent ruler of her stepson Thutmose III
This was a threat to their patriarchal traditions
Identified as ‘king’ but people knew her identity
Expanded trade with a southern kingdom named Punt and to Greeks and other Asians.
Built multiple monuments but later found them destroyed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bYRy_wZEJI
King TutankhamenHis father worshipped only one deity.
King ‘Tut’ had civilization revert back to worshipping
multiple gods.
He died in young age from mysterious causes.
He is mos famous pharaoh that has helped historians
understand most about the burial process
Ramses the Great
Fought against an enemy known as the Hittites (1200s BCE)
Hittites originated from Asia Minor
Defended against foreign enemy known as the Tehenu
End of the New Kingdom occurred after his reign.
Multiple enemies invaded and took over land in Asia.
Egyptian Language and Literature
Hieroglyphics: System of writing that used picture symbols
Papyrus: Long-lasting, paper like material made from reeds
Rosetta Stone: Stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics
Strange enough also has Greek and later form of Egyptian.
The Book of the Dead: Book based on the afterlife
Egyptian Architecture
Temples had rows of sphinxes by entrance
Sphinx: imaginary creatures with bodies of lions and heads
of humans or other animals
Each side of the temple gate had obelisks.
Obelisk: tall, four sides pillar that it’s pointed on top.
Famous temples include temple of Karnak and Abu
Simbel
Ancient Kush
Lived in a fertile area near the Nile River
Located in Upper Egypt
Depended heavily on agriculture
Capital was located in Kerma, below third cataract
Kush and Egypt relations
During the New Kingdom in 1500 BCE, Thutmoses I
conquered Kush. Kush as a result became part of Egypt.
Kushites learned to speak Egyptian and adopted
Egyptian culture
In mid 1000 BCE Kush once again became independent
Kush conquers Egypt
850 BCE Kush became stronger as the Pharaohs lost
power
Kush under the rulership of Piankhi conquered all of
Egypt by 716 BCE.
Kush controlled Egypt for 46 years until Assyria kicked
them put with superior technology and tactics
Kush post-EgyptStarted production of iron and gold in city called Meroe
Meroe became trade center
Trade-center: System of people in different lands who trade goods
Meroe sent out exports such as gold, iron tools, ivory
Exports: Items sent to other regions
Meroe received imports from Greece, Egypt and other parts of the
world
Imports: items brought in from other regions
Decline of Kush
Overgrazing of cows causes winds to blow remaining soil
which led to less food production
Iron production used up too much wood, which lead to less
weapons and goods produced.
New trade routes formed around Kush
By CE 300 Kush was conquered by an empire called Aksum