Download Egypt`s Powerful Kings and Queens

Egypt’s Powerful Kings
and Queens
Sec. #2
Hatshepsut
• Hatshepsut ruled
Egypt during the New
Kingdom
• She was a female
pharaoh most known
for creating a time of
peace and wealth
• She is shown in
statues with a beard
to look like a man
From Dynasty to Dynasty
• Egypt had 31
dynasties
• Dynasties were
grouped into 3 main
periods, Old
Kingdom, Middle
Kingdom, and New
Kingdom
• Gaps between the
periods were times of
trouble and wars
King Menes
• King Menes united
Upper and Lower
Egypt
• He built a city named
Memphis
• The Egyptian Empire
existed for 2,500
years until it was
conquered by
Alexander the Great
of Greece
All-Powerful Pharaohs
• Pharaohs had absolute power
• They decided the laws, when the fields would be
planted, and how to pray to the gods
• No one disobeyed the pharaoh
Two Thousand Years of Power
• Egypt grew wealthy
during the first 6
dynasties in the old
Kingdom
• Pharaohs kept peace
with Nubia, and
merchants traded for
timber to build
houses, boats and
furniture across the
Mediterranean
The Middle Kingdom
• About 2250 B.C. the
governors in the
provinces began to
challenge the power
of the pharaoh’s
government
• Egypt’s unity started
to break down and
the dynasties grew
weak
Dynasties of the Middle Kingdom
• The early dynasties of the Middle Kingdom
restored order
• Irrigation projects were built instead of
fighting wars
• A canal was built between the Nile and the
Red Sea
• In time the pharaohs lost control of the
country to foreign invaders
The New Kingdom
• By 1500 B.C. the New
Kingdom began
• Pharaohs created
huge armies using
bronze swords and
body armor
• Egyptians were able
to keep invaders out
Thutmose III
• Thutmose III became
pharaoh as a child
• Because of his young
age, a regent was
appointed to watch
over him until he is
old enough to rule by
himself
• Hatshepsut was his
stepmother and she
ruled for 22 years
Hunt for Power
• Hatshepsut refused to give up her power
• Thutmose III took over when she died and had
her statues destroyed
• Some historians believe that Thutmose III might
have had her killed
The End of Egyptian Civilization
• The New Kingdom began to decline
around 1075 B.C.
• War within its civilization left Egypt weak
• Alexander the Great conquered it in 332
B.C.
• 300 years later, Egypt was conquered
again by the Romans