Ancient Egypt

Geography

• Almost all of the land of Egypt is desert• South, east, and west borders are the Sahara

Desert • North borders the Mediterranean sea • Protected from outsiders• Almost uninhabitable except for…

…The Nile River

• Longest river in the world (over 4,000 miles)• Was the lifeblood of Ancient Egypt • Made life possible in the barren desert • Served as a source of food for the people • Only source of water for bathing and drinking• Crucial for farming

The White & Blue Niles

• 2 sources: – Lake Victoria

• White Nile (Uganda)

– Lake Tana• Blue Nile (Ethiopia)

• Nile flows from South to North

• Mouth (or end) of the river empties into the Mediterranean Sea

The White & Blue Nile meet in Sudan

Upper & Lower Egypt

• Ancient Egypt was once two lands

• Lower (north) Egypt:– Nile River's delta

• Upper (south) Egypt:– the long, narrow strip of

fertile land along the riverbanks

The Union of Two Crowns

• Red Crown– Upper Egypt

• White Crown– Lower Egypt

• Menes– Overthrew the king of Lower Egypt– Wore a Double Crown– Unified, or joined, the two lands together

Achievements•Large empire that reached Euphrates River•Hatshepsut encouraged trade•Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria. •Valley of the Kings

Collapse•Egyptian Empire fell for good

Achievements•Large drainage project created farmland•Traded with Middle East and Crete

Collapse•Corruption •Rebellions•Invasions

Achievements•Organized strong central state•Pharaohs were considered gods•Pyramids at Giza

Collapse•Power struggles•crop failures•cost of pyramids

NEW KINGDOM

1550 BC – 1295 BC

MIDDLEKINGDOM

2125 BC – 1550 BC

OLD KINGDOM

2650 BC – 2134 BC

Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt

1

Invasion• During Middle Kingdom,

nomadic army called the Hyksos invaded Egypt

• Gained control of Egypt– Used unknown weapons

• Horse-drawn chariots

• Swords

• Metal armor

• Egyptians learned military skills from the Hyksos, rebelled, and drove them out

Building An Empire• Empire – different lands

and peoples under one government

• After regaining control, Pharaohs set out to conquer other lands

• New territories were placed under Egyptian rule

• Egypt became an empire• Thebes became the

capitol

HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSESServed gods and goddesses

PHARAOHEarthly leader; considered a god

NOBLESFought pharaoh’s wars

MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANSMade furniture, jewelry, and fabrics for

pharaohs and nobles, and provided for other needs

PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVESWorked in the fields and served the pharaoh

Social Class Pyramid2

Egypt Timeline Activity

• Use the fact sheet to create a timeline of events in Egyptian history

• Include events from the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms– 4 events from each

Kingdom– 1 event from each

intermediate period

• Illustrate at least 6 events from your timeline

Homework – P.5e

• Why did it take almost 1500 years for the Egyptian empire to face threat and attack from foreign invaders?

The Pharaohs• Worshipped as gods• Made the laws and

owned all land• Divided Egypt into

about 40 regions– Named governors to

rule them– Governor answered to

Pharaoh

• Total power over everyday life

Hatshepsut• First female ruler• Many statues of her show a beard• Increased trade• Built many temples

– Temples signified wealth and power for a pharaoh

Akhenaten

• Father of Tutankhamen

• Moved the capitol of Egypt to Amarna

• Turned Egypt monotheistic– Worshipped only the sun-god Aten

• Changed royal art from powerful to more natural– Showed family life

• Most Egyptians hated the changes

Tutankhamun

• Son of Akhenaten– Restored Egypt back to polytheism

• Took the throne at age 9 & died at 18• Historians were unsure how he died

– Now believed he died of infection and disease• Tomb discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter• Found in the Valley of the Kings

– Historical • untouched for thousands of years• contained beautiful treasures

– Most pharaoh tombs had been robbed before they were discovered

Tut’s Burial Mask

Howard Carter with Tut’s sarcophagus

Rameses II• Also known as Rameses the Great

• Was 30 when he took the throne– Ruled for 67 years!

• Fought for 20 years against the Hittites in Syria

• Known to be a “show-off”– Built many temples in his own honor– Most famous temple Abu-Simbel

Cleopatra• Took the throne at age 18• Actually Greek & ancestor of Alexander the Great• To keep control of Egypt she married Julius Caesar,

Emperor of Rome– Had a son

• After his death, married Mark Antony– Also Roman– Had three children

• After losing a major battle Mark Antony & Cleopatra committed suicide– Preferred death over being captured

Religion

• Guided every aspect of life

• Polytheistic– Important Gods/Goddesses

• Amun – father of the gods• Isis – mother of the gods• Aten – sun god• Horus – god of the pharaohs• Osiris – god of the dead

The AfterlifeThe Afterlife

• Death was only the end of physical life on earth

• Spirit moved on to live eternal life– Called “Afterlife”

• Still needed earthly body for happy afterlife– Preserved body through

mummification

Mummification• About a 70 day process• Ritual from the Book of

the Dead1. Embalmed body

– Removed internal organs– Placed in Canopic Jars– Dried out body

2. Wrapped body– Stuffed insides– Covered with death mask

3. Placed in sarcophagus4. Mummification Story

The Pyramids• First pyramid a step-pyramid

– Similar to ziggurats from Mesopotamia– Built by Imhotep

• Most famous are the Pyramids of Giza– Built by Khufu

• Were funeral temples– Burial place of a Pharaoh– Protection from grave-robbing

• Oriented to the 4 directions

Valley of the Kings• Built during the New Kingdom era• Located across the Nile River from Thebes• New burial location for Pharaohs, their family

members, and nobles• Many famous tombs:

– Hatshepsut– Rameses II (and his entire family – up to 11!)– Tutankhamun

• Possibly Akhenaten

• Though thought to be well-guarded, most tombs were robbed

The Great Sphinx

• Much mystery surrounds this statue• Believed to be built by either Khufu or Khafre• Body of a lion and the head of a pharaoh• Made of limestone• Over 4,000 years old• Was dug out of the sand in 1925-1936• Today, focus is on preserving the statue from

erosion and exposure to the elements• Eventually, it will disappear

Decline of Egypt• Egyptian Empire began to fall around 1100 B.C.E.• For about 700 years, Ancient Egypt split back up into two

kingdoms– North ruled by Pharaoh– South ruled by High Priests

• Eventually, Egypt was taken over– Greece around 300 B.C.E by Alexander the Great– Roman Empire around 30 B.C.E. after Cleopatra’s death

• By 400 A.D., all aspects of Ancient Egyptian culture disappeared– Christianity took over after Roman Empire’s control– Arabic culture spread in the 600’s A.D.

• The culture and the language was lost until…

…The Rosetta StoneThe Rosetta Stone

• Written in 196 B.C.E.• Discovered in 1799 A.D.• The “key” to unlocking the

forgotten language of Ancient Egypt

• Written in Egyptian hieroglyphics but also had a Greek translation

• Those who knew Greek then translated the hieroglyphics

Hieroglyphics• Language of Egypt• Picture symbols that

represented words• Written left to right, right

to left, or top to bottom– Way human or animal

picture faced told you which way to read it

• Scribes were honored– Only they and the elite

knew the language

Contributions to Today

• Made advancements in math, astronomy, and language

• First civilization to give us:– Modern calendar– Paper– Ink– Cotton fabrics

• Experts at preservation– Human body– Ancient artifacts & record keeping