Ancient Egypt

• World History Ch. 2

Geography and Early Egypt

The Big Idea

The water and fertile soils of the Nile Valley enabled a great civilization to develop in Egypt.

Main Ideas

• Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile River was so important.

• Civilization developed after people began farming along the Nile River.

• Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.

Main Idea 1:Egypt was called the gift of the Nile

because the Nile River was so important.• The Nile River, the longest river in the world, brought life to Egypt and

enabled it to thrive.

– It begins in central Africa and runs north through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

– The civilization of ancient Egypt developed along a 750-mile stretch of the Nile.

• Ancient Egypt included two regions, southern and northern.

– Southern Egypt was called Upper Egypt because it was upriver in relation to the Nile’s flow.

– Northern Egypt, or Lower Egypt, was downriver.

The Nile• South of Egypt, rocky terrain caused cataracts, or waterfalls, to form. These waterfalls made it nearly impossible for foreign armies to invade Egypt by sailing up the Nile River.

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• In Lower Egypt, the Nile divided into several branches that fanned out and flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.

– These branches formed a delta, a triangle-shaped area of land made from soil deposited by a river.

– Two-thirds of Egypt’s fertile farmland was located in the Nile Delta.

• Each year rainfall south of Egypt caused floods in Upper Egypt in mid-summer and in Lower Egypt in the fall.

– The Nile’s yearly flooding called the inundation coated the land around it with a rich black dirt called silt.

– Without the Nile’s regular flooding, people never could have farmed in Egypt.

Main Idea 2:Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.

• According to tradition, King Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt around 3100 BC.– Invaded Lower Egypt and married one of their princesses to unify the

two kingdoms

– Many consider Menes to be Egypt’s first pharaoh, the title used by the rulers of ancient Egypt.

– Founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or series of rulers from the same family.

– Built a new capital city, Memphis, at the southern tip of the Nile Delta.

• Egypt’s First Dynasty lasted for about 200 years.

• In time some 30 dynasties would rule ancient Egypt over a span of more than 2,500 years.

The Old Kingdom

The Big Idea

Egyptian government and religion were closely connected during the Old Kingdom.

Main Ideas

• Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by pharaohs, roles in society, and trade.

• Religion shaped Egyptian life.

• The pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s pharaohs.

Old Kingdom & Building the Pyramids

• The Old Kingdom lasted for about 500 years, from about 2700 to 2200 BC, beginning with the Third Dynasty.

• Ancient Egyptians believed that Egypt belonged to the gods, and the pharaoh had come to Earth in order to manage Egypt for the rest of the gods.

• The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was King Khufu, who ruled in the 2500s BC. He is best known for the monuments that were built to him.

Major Egyptian Gods

Ptah • Creator of the world

Anubis • God of the dead

Ra • Sun god

Osiris • God of the underworld

Isis • Goddess of magic

Horus • Sky god; god of the pharaohs

Thoth • God of wisdom

Video http://www.history.com/videos/journey-to-the-afterlife#journey-to-the-afterlife

Main Idea:The pyramids were built as tombs

for Egypt’s pharaohs.The Egyptians believed that burial sites, especially royal tombs, were very important, so they built spectacular monuments in which to bury their rulers.

The most spectacular were the pyramids—huge, stone tombs with four triangle-shaped sides that met in a point on top—first built during the Old Kingdom.

The largest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu near Giza. It is an amazing example of Egyptian engineering, the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes.

Pyramids required huge labor forces. As many as 200,000 workers may have been needed to build the Great Pyramid.

Emphasis on the Afterlife• Much of Egyptian religion focused on the afterlife, or life after death.

• The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a happy place.

• The Egyptian belief in the afterlife stemmed from their idea of ka, or a person’s life force.

– When a person died, his or her ka left the body and became a spirit, but could not leave its burial site.

– It had all the same needs as a living person.

• Egyptians believed that a body had to be preserved so that its spirit could recognize it.

– They developed a method called embalming to preserve bodies and to keep them from decaying.

– They preserved bodies as mummies, specially treated bodies wrapped in cloth.

• Only royalty and other members of Egypt’s elite, or people of wealth and power, could afford to have mummies made.

The Middle and New Kingdoms

The Big Idea

During the Middle and New Kingdoms, order and greatness were restored in Egypt.

Main Ideas

• The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government between periods of disorder.

• The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and military power, but its greatness did not last.

• Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social classes.

Main Idea:The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government between periods of disorder.

• At the end of the Old Kingdom, the wealth and power of the pharaohs declined.

– In time, nobles gained enough power to challenge the pharaohs.

– By about 2200 BC the Old Kingdom had fallen and local nobles ruled for the next 160 years.

• Around 2050 BC a powerful pharaoh defeated his rivals, reuniting Egypt and beginning the Middle Kingdom, a period of order and stability that lasted to about 1750 BC.

• Around 1750 BC the Hyksos from Southwest Asia invaded and conquered Lower Egypt.

– They ruled the region as pharaohs for 200 years.

Main Idea :Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social

classes.A complex society requires people to take on different jobs. In Egypt, these jobs were often passed on within families.

• Worked for the government and the temples

• Kept records and accounts, wrote and copied religious and literary texts

Scribes

• Worked for the government and the temples

• Sculptors, builders, carpenters, jewelers, metalworkers, and leatherworkers

Artisans

• Designed the temples and royal tombs

• Artists worked for the state and temples, and painted the walls of the pharaohs’ tombs

Architectsand Artists

Merchants, Soldiers, Peasants, and Slaves

• Professional army

• Received land as payment, kept captured treasure, promotion to officer possible

Soldiers

• Vast majority of Egypt’s population

• Paid crops as taxes; worked on special projects for the pharaoh

Farmers andPeasants

• Worked farms, projects, workshops, and homes

• Had some legal rights

• Could earn their freedomSlaves

• Small group of Egyptians were traders

• Usually accompanied by soldiers, scribes, and laborers

Merchants

Society and Trade

Pharaoh

Egypt’s ruler, also considered to be a god

Nobles

Officials and priests, many nobles, people from rich and powerful families

Middle Class

Lesser government officials, scribes, and rich craftspeople

As Egypt’s population grew, social classes appeared. Egyptians believed that a well-ordered society would keep their kingdom strong.

Lower Class

Farmers, servants, and slaves

As society developed, trade grew as Egypt traded with neighbors for gold, copper, ivory, slaves, stone, and wood.

Family Life in Egypt

• Men were expected to marry young so that they could start having children.

• Most Egyptian families lived in their own homes.

• Most Egyptian women were devoted to their homes and families.

• Some women had jobs outside the home, serving as priestesses and working as royal officials, administrators, or artisans.

• They could own property, make contracts (binding legal agreements), divorce their husbands, and keep their property after a divorce.

• Children’s lives were less structured. They hunted and played with balls, dolls, tops, and animal figurines.

• At school, they learned morals, writing, math, and sports.

• At age 14 most boys entered their father’s profession.

Main Idea :The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and military power, but its greatness did not last.

Building an Empire

• In the mid-1500s BC Ahmose of Thebes drove the Hyksos out of Egypt.

• Start of the New Kingdom, the period during which Egypt reached the height of its power and glory

• .

Growth and Effects of Trade

• As empire expanded, so did trade.

• Conquest brought Egyptian traders into contact with more distant lands and profitable trade routes, or paths followed by traders, developed from Egypt to these lands.

• One of Egypt’s rulers who worked to increase trade was Queen Hatshepsut who used the money gained from trade to support the arts and architecture.

Egyptian Achievements

The Big Idea

The Egyptians made lasting achievements in writing, art, and architecture.

Main Ideas

• Egyptian writing used symbols called hieroglyphics.

• Egypt’s great temples were lavishly decorated.

• Egyptian art filled tombs.

Main Idea 1:Egyptian writing used symbols

called hieroglyphics.Hieroglyphics, the Egyptian writing system, were one of the world’s first writing systems.

The earliest known examples are from around 3300 BC.

Later, Egyptians learned how to make papyrus, a long-lasting, paperlike material made from reeds. Scribes wrote on papyrus using brushes and ink.

The hieroglyphic writing system used more than 600 symbols.

Hieroglyphics

Hieratic: another form of writing

in Egypt at the same time

Sample of Hieratic

Hieroglyphics

• developed about 4000 BC

• direction: read either way, depending on symbols

• number system

What Did They Write on and With?

They used a plant called papyrus and cut thin layers off the stem. Then laid it flat as in the picture. They then used a mallet. Finally they used a smoothing stone to smooth it out.

They wrote with reed pens which they dipped into ink.

They also carved, and painted on tombs and temple walls

The Rosetta Stone and Egyptian Texts

• People have known about hieroglyphics for centuries, but did not know how to read them.

• In 1799 a French soldier found the Rosetta Stone, a huge, stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian.

• Because the message in all three languages was the same, scholars who knew Greek were able to translate the hieroglyphics.

• Because papyrus did not decay in Egypt’s dry climate, many ancient Egyptian texts still survive.

• They include government records, historical records, science texts, medical manuals, and literary works, including The Book of the Dead, telling about the afterlife.

Rosetta Stone

Egyptian Texts

Rosetta Stone discovered in 1799

About The Rosetta Stone

• They think the Rosetta Stone was made in 196 b.c.

• The Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in Egypt.

• The Rosetta Stone was text written by the priests in Egypt to honor the Pharaohs. It would list all the good things the Pharaohs have done for the people and priests.

Main Idea 2:Religion shaped Egyptian life.

• Worshipping the gods was a part of daily life.

• The Egyptians practiced polytheism.

• Before the First Dynasty each village worshipped its own gods.

• During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian officials expected everyone to worship the same gods.

• The Egyptians build temples to the gods all over the kingdom.

• Egyptian families also worshipped household gods at shrines in their homes.

Main Idea:Egypt’s great temples were lavishly

decorated.• Temples were the homes of the gods.

• People worshipped, offered gifts, and asked for favors.

• Common temple features:

– Rows of stone sphinxes—imaginary creatures with the bodies of lions and the heads of other animals or humans—lined the entrance path.

– Entrance was a huge, thick gate.

– On either side might stand an obelisk, a tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed on top.

– Inside was lavishly decorated, with huge columns supporting the roof, often covered with paintings and hieroglyphics like the walls.

Main Idea 3:Egyptian art filled tombs.

Many of the Egyptians’ greatest works were created to fill the tombs of pharaohs and nobles because they believed the dead could enjoy them in the afterlife.

• Egyptian artists painted on tomb and temple walls, canvas, papyrus, pottery, plaster, and wood.

• Subjects included historical events, major religious rituals, and scenes from everyday life.

• More important figures are larger than less important people.

• Huge statues and detailed carvings

• Made for men and women out of gold and precious stones

Paintings

Stonework

Jewelry