EGYPT – “THE GIFT OF THE NILE”

Key Questions

• Why did the Greek historian, Herodotus, call Egypt the “gift of the Nile”? • What role did the Nile River play in fostering

Egyptian civilization and culture? • What role did geography play in Egypt’s isolation

from other powerful empires in the Near East? • What was the role of religion in Egyptian life and

government? • What were the three major kingdoms in Egyptian

history?

Key Terms • Nile River • Irrigation • Annual flooding • Silt• Delta• Upper Egypt• Lower Egypt• Dynasty• Pharaohs• Vizier• Pyramids • Old Kingdom• Middle Kingdom • New Kingdom • Ramses II• Hyksos • Hieroglyphics • Papyrus • Rossetta Stone

The Nile River

•Major “highway” for Egypt • Abundant fresh water • Used for trade and communication• Rich land for farming-• Regular (yearly) flooding of the river• Rich soil to grow crops– silt deposits • Irrigation systems and canals were built

Egyptian homes made of mud brick

Resources of Egypt

• Abundant fresh water supply• Raw materials for building and

development • stone and gold • papyrus – a type of early paper •mud and straw for making bricks • Rich land for farming - silt• Strong network for trade along the Nile

Impact of Egypt’s Geography on its Isolation from other Empires • Egypt is surrounded by deserts and

water •Violent rapids in the southern part of

the Nile prevented access to the river from the south• Egypt’s geography shielded it from

military invasion and outside influences from other cultures

Government and Religion •Polytheistic- believed in many gods •Pharaohs ruled as kings • – the word pharaoh mean “great

house” •pharaohs were seen as gods by the

Egyptian people (theocracy) •Dynasties of rulers dominated Egypt• - family line of rulers

Government and Religion• Pharaohs controlled wealth, resources,

and the people • Pharaoh was seen as embodying justice

and order • Egypt did NOT have a written law code • (like the Code of Hammurabi )• Government officials served the king • Vizier- chief minister of the pharaoh • Joseph was vizier to the pharaoh

Tut

Egyptian Society

• Egypt did not have a strict social class hierarchy• Common people could rise to a higher level in

Egyptian society (example- Joseph in the Bible) • Freedom and regulations were part of Egyptian

society • Slavery was common during the period of the

New Kingdom • Poor peasants were often subjected to forced

labor

Egyptian Gods

• Osiris- associated with the Nile and its yearly flooding – • ruled over the underworld • killed by his evil brother, Set

• Isis – wife of Osiris- brings her dead husband back to life • Horus – son of Osiris – Falcon God • avenges his father’s murder and kills Set

• Ra- created heaven and earth• associated with the sun

Beliefs

• Strong belief in the afterlife •Believed that the body needed to be

preserved for the afterlife •Mummification • Elaborate tombs •When the pharaoh died it was

believed he became one with Osiris

Osiris

Isis

Horus

Eye of Horus

Mummification- Anubis- God of the Dead

Mummification- Anubis

Canopic Jars- held the organs of the mummy

Mummified Animals- cats were associated with one of the Egyptian gods

Crockidile

Historical Divisions

• Earliest Egyptian civilization @3100 BC• Old Kingdom -2660-2180 BC (Pyramid

Age )• Pyramids of Giza were built •Middle Kingdom- 2080-1640 BC • Time period of Abraham • Hyksos Rule- 1640-1570 BC• Egypt was ruled by foreigners

Historical Divisions

• New Kingdom- 1570-1075 BC • Possibly the time of Moses and the

Exodus • Pharaoh Ramses II • Kingdoms were based on family dynasties

of rulers• The kingdoms usually were associated

with periods of high achievement and political stability

Ramses II

Tomb

•Egypt would eventually be conquered by the Assyrian Empire and later the Greeks and Romans

Egypt and the biblical account • Abraham visits Egypt and encounters the

pharaoh on his journey to the Promised Land • Joseph is sold into slavery and taken to Egypt

and eventually becomes the second most powerful man in Egypt • Israelites come to Egypt fleeing a famine and

remain for nearly 400 years • Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt – the

Exodus • Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt after the birth of

Jesus – afraid for the baby’s life

What was Egypt’s contribution to the development of civilization?

•Advances in mathematics and engineering • The use of papyrus – paper- as a new

medium for writing •Advances in farming