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The Nile & Ancient Egyptian
Civilization
Blessings of the Nile
 Every year, the Nile River flooded its banks and the
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surrounding people sang hymns to give thanks to the
Nile for nourishing the land and filling the storehouses
with food.
People had to cooperate building dikes, reservoirs, and
irrigation ditches.
“Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile.” –Herodutus
Without it, Egypt would be swallowed by the barren
deserts that surround it. While the desert protected
Egypt from invasion it also limited where people could
settle. Where are Egypt‘s cities?
What effect what the consistency of Nile have on the
surrounding peoples?
Uniting Egypt
 Egypt was split between
Upper Egypt and Lower
Egypt for many years.
 In 3100 BC, Menes, the
king of Upper Egypt,
united the two regions
and his successors used
the Nile to link North &
South.
The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC)
 Pharaohs claimed divine support
for their rule and used this to help
create organized, strong,
centralized states.
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The Pharaoh depended on a vizier to
supervise such matters as tax collection,
farming, and the irrigation system.
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The vizier depended on thousands of
scribes
 The Pyramids were built during
the Old Kingdom period.
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Workers hauled and lifted millions of
limestone blocks, some weighing two
tons or more.
Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 BC)
 The Old Kingdom fell as a result of crop failures,
power struggles, and the cost of pyramid building
 After over a century of disunity new Pharaohs united
the Middle Kingdom
 The Middle Kingdom was a much more turbulent
period
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It saw much more frequent corruption & rebellions and less
consistency from the Nile’s floods
Middle Kingdom
 Still, the Middle Kingdom saw the organization of a
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large drainage project creating more arable
(farmable) land.
Egyptian armies also occupied part of Nubia, the
gold rich area to the south.
Egyptian traders made greater contacts with the
peoples of the middle east and the island of Crete.
Around 1700 BC the Hyksos overran the Egyptians
with their horse-drawn war chariots
The Hyksos were impressed by the Egyptians and
they adapted Egyptian customs, beliefs, and names.
New Kingdom (1550 BC-1100 BC)
 Soon the Egyptians mastered
the Horse chariot military
technology and drove the
Hyksos out, establishing the
New Kingdom.
 During this Era Egypt
became an empire as
ambitious Pharaohs pushed
the borders further into
Africa and into southwest
Asia
New Kingdom
 The New Kingdom saw many years of fighting
between the Hittites and the Egyptians
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The fighting ended when the Hittites & Egyptians signed a
Peace Treaty, the first such document in recorded history
 After the New Kingdom’s most powerful ruler,
Ramses II, died, Egyptian power slowly declined
 Emerging Empires such as the Assyrians and
Persians conquered the Nile region.
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Later the Greek & Roman empires would conquer this fertile
region.
New Kingdom Decline
 After the New Kingdom’s most powerful ruler,
Ramses II, died, Egyptian power slowly declined
 Emerging Empires such as the Assyrians and
Persians conquered the Nile region.
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Later the Greek & Roman empires would conquer this fertile
region.
Egyptian Civilization
Egyptian Religion
 Egyptians were polytheistic, believing many divine
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forces ruled this world and the afterlife.
The chief god was the sun god, Amon-Re
Osiris ruled the underworld and was responsible for
the Nile and its annual flood which made the land
fertile
Isis was believed to have taught women to grind
corn, spin flax, weave cloth, and care for children.
Both Osiris & Isis promised the faithful life after
death.
Afterlife
 Egyptians believed each soul had to pass a test in
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order to win eternal life.
Upon death Osiris would weigh the dead person’s
heart against the feather of truth
To survive the journey through the underworld
Egyptians relied on the Book of the Dead.
Egyptians believed the afterlife would be much like
life on earth, so they buried the dead with all they’d
need in the afterlife.
To give a soul use of its body in the afterlife,
Egyptians perfected skills in mummification, the
preservation of the dead.
Class Stratification
Women
 Egyptian women generally
enjoyed a higher status
and greater independence
than women elsewhere in
the ancient world.
 Under Egyptian law,
women could inherit
property, enter business
deals, buy and sell goods,
go to court, and obtain a
divorce.
Egyptian Learning
 Learned scribes played a central role in Egyptian
society.
 Egyptians developed a form of picture writing, called
hieroglyphics, to keep important records.
 At first words were chiseled into stones, but later
they learned to make paper like material from the
papyrus plants along the bank of the Nile.