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Geography of Egypt
Bell Ringer
 What
is one thing you learned about
the Assyrian Empire and one thing
you learned about the Chaldean
Empire?
Geography

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Egypt is located in
northeastern Africa
The Nile River runs
the length of the
country flowing
south to north
The river begins in
the mountains of
Africa and empties
into the
Mediterranean Sea
The climate is hot
and dry, part of the
Sahara Desert
http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Egypt.php
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html
Geography

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Ancient Egypt was divided
into two regions: Upper
and Lower Egypt
Lower (northern) Egypt
consisted of the Nile
River's delta made by the
river as it empties into the
Mediterranean.
Upper Egypt was the long,
narrow strip of ancient
Egypt located south of the
Delta.
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/home.html
The Nile Valley
Settling the Nile
• The earliest Egyptians moved into the
Nile River valley from less fertile areas.
• They farmed and built villages along the
riverbanks.
• The Nile River is the longest river in the
world, about 4,000 miles long.
• Egyptians used the Nile River for many
things.
(pages 39–40)
Blue Nile
White Nile
The Nile Valley
Settling the Nile (cont.)
• They used river water to drink, clean,
farm, and cook.
• They ate fish from the river.
• The Nile valley is a narrow, green
valley in Egypt.
• The northern end of the valley
is a fertile area of land called a delta.
(pages 39–40)
Nile Delta
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Located in northern
Egypt where the Nile
River spreads out
and empties into the
Mediterranean Sea
240 km of coastline,
106 km in length
Rich agricultural
region
Most fertile soil in
Africa
Floodplain

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The low strip of fertile
land located on either
side of the Nile River
The river flooded during
the annual inundation
When the inundation
subsided, it left the earth
soaked and overlaid with
a fresh layer of black silt.
Most of the farming
occurred here
The Nile Valley
Settling the Nile (cont.)
• The Sahara, the largest desert in the
world, lies west of the Nile Valley.
• The Eastern Desert lies to the east of
the valley.
• Egypt has several natural borders to
protect it.
• The deserts, the dangerous rapids of
the Nile, and marshes in the delta kept
enemies from entering Egypt.
(pages 39–40)
Great Sahara Desert
The Nile Valley
Settling the Nile (cont.)
• The Mediterranean Sea to the north and
the Red Sea to the east allowed trade
with other peoples.
• Within
Egypt,
people
traveled
on the Nile
to trade
with each
other.
(pages 39–40)
The Nile Valley
The River People
• Floods along the Nile were predictable
and were not devastating.
• Each spring the Nile would flood and
leave a dark, fertile mud along its
banks.
• Farmers learned about the waters of
the Nile.
• They used the soil left behind by the
floods to grow wheat, barley, and flax
seeds.
(pages 41–42)
The Nile Valley
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They used irrigation. They dug holes in the earth to
trap the floodwaters.
They built canals and dikes to strengthen the basin
walls.
Other technology:
– Shadoof: a bucket attached to a long pole to carry
water
– Geometry: to measure land
– Used papyrus, a reed plant, to make baskets, sandals,
and river rafts
– Later used papyrus to make paper
Shaduf
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To lift water from the canal
Egyptians used a shaduf, a
large pole balanced on a
crossbeam with a rope and
bucket on one end and a
heavy counter weight at
the other.
When the rope was pulled,
the bucket would be
lowered into the canal.
The counterweight would
raise the bucket.
The farmer would then
carry the bucket to the
field and water it.
The Nile Valley
The River People (cont.)
• The Egyptian system of writing was
called hieroglyphics.
• This system consisted of thousands of
picture symbols.
• Some Egyptian men learned to read
and write.
• They attended schools to learn to be
scribes.
(pages 41–42)
The Nile Valley
WHAT WERE HIEROGLYPHICS?
 Egyptians used papyrus rolls as writing paper.
 Hieroglyphics: a complex writing system that
combined sounds and pictures
 Only few people could read and write.
 Some men went to special schools to study reading
and writing. They became scribes.
 Scribes: kept records, worked for the rulers and
priests, and traders
Writing
Making paper from papyrus
What is hieroglyphics?
Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used
in ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is
made up of two Greek words - hieros,
which means sacred, and glyphe, which
means carving.
 The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system
consists of several hundred picture signs.
The signs can be divided into two classes,
phonograms and ideograms

Phonograms represent sounds, much as
alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs
that represent whole words or concepts.
Agriculture
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
Herodotus called Egypt the
“Gift of the Nile”
Egyptians took advantage of
the Nile’s annual floods to
become an especially
productive agricultural
region
– After the floods receded
in late summer,
cultivators could go into
the floodplains and sow
their seeds without
extensive preparation of
the soil
Nile River Delta
The Nile Valley
A United Egypt
• Because the people in Egypt had
surplus food, some people became
artisans instead of farmers.
• Artisans wove cloth, made pottery,
carved statues, and crafted weapons
and tools.
• Egyptians traded with each other and
with others in Mesopotamia.
• A few strong chiefs united groups of
villages into kingdoms.
(pages 43–44)
The Nile Valley
A United Egypt (cont.)
• Eventually, the strongest kingdoms
overpowered the weaker ones.
• In this way, two large kingdoms
emerged—Lower Egypt and Upper
Egypt.
• Narmer united the two kingdoms.
• He ruled from the city of Memphis, and
his kingdom lasted long after his death.
(pages 43–44)
The Nile Valley
A United Egypt (cont.)
• Narmer’s descendants passed the
ruling power on from father to son to
grandson, forming a dynasty.
• Ancient Egypt was ruled by 31
dynasties that historians have grouped
into three time periods—Old Kingdom,
Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom.
(pages 43–44)
The Nile Valley
EGYPT’S RULING FAMILIES
 Narmer, also known as Menes, united the Upper
and Lower Egypt.
 He wore a double crown:
– White represented Upper Egypt
– Red represented Lower Egypt

Dynasty: a line of rulers from one family
EGYPT’S SOCIAL CLASSES
 Top: King (pharaoh) and his family
The Nile Valley
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Upper Class: nobles, priests, and other wealthy
Egyptians
Middle Class: artisans, people who ran businesses
and produced goods
Farmers made up the largest group of early
Egyptians.
The city dwellers were unskilled workers who did
physical labor. They were at the very bottom.
Early Egyptian Life (cont.)
The Nile Valley
(pages 45–46)
Social Hierarchy
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Pharaoh
– Egyptian kings of a centralized state
– Claimed to be gods living on earth in human form
Bureaucrats
– Because the pharaoh was an absolute ruler there was little
room for a noble class as in Mesopotamia
– Instead professional military forces and an elaborate
bureaucracy of administrators and tax collectors served the
central government
Patriarchal
– Vested authority over public and private affairs in men
– However, more opportunities for women than in Mesopotamia
as evidenced by Queen Hatshepsut reigning as pharaoh
Peasants and slaves
– Supplied the hard labor that made complex agricultural society
possible
– Among the slaves were the Hebrews
Pharaohs and Queens
Who were the Pharaohs?
They were the kings or Queens of Egypt.
They were the head of the government
and high priest of every temple. The
pharaoh owned all of Egypt. He or she
decided what was right or wrong and
their word was law. The people of Egypt
considered the pharaoh to be a halfhuman and half-god.
Priests
Priests were very important people in
Egyptian times. Besides serving the
gods, priests did many other jobs,
such as teaching, or even helping
with the harvest. Priests had to be
pure and clean. They shaved their
heads and bodies and washed four
times a day.
This statue of a priest has a
bald head, a fake beard and
he is in the praying position
Nobles
Court Officials and Noblemen held high
office in Ancient Egypt and helped the
Pharaoh to rule the country. The Pharaoh
would often reward loyal nobles with gifts
of land, so that they would earn their own
money from taxes.
Being a noble was one of the best jobs in
Egypt. Nobles were rich and could enjoy
themselves hunting and having banquets.
Noble on a hunting trip with
his family
Scribes
What is a Scribe?
Scribes were the few Egyptians who knew
how to read and write. Being a scribe was an
extremely difficult job because in total, there
were hundreds of different hieroglyphs to
remember.
Scribes were very wise
A scribe's job was highly regarded in Ancient
Egypt. Although being a scribe was
rewarding, the training could take as long as
twelve years.
This statue of a Scribe was
found in his tomb
A peasant making
papyrus
Craftsmen
Egyptian craftsmen were
highly skilled. They learned
their trade from their fathers
and, in turn, taught their sons.
They used simple techniques
and tools to make all sorts of
useful things. The Pharaoh,
government or temples often
employed them.
Craftsmen carving statues and
ornaments
Carpenters using a
bow drill
Metal workers
making
precious
objects
Specialization
Brewing and Bread making
Sailing
Plowing and Sowing
Harvesting papyrus and Herding
Specialization
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Nile societies were
much slower than
their Mesopotamian
counterparts to adopt
metal tools and
weapons
Did develop pottery,
textile manufacture,
woodworking, leather
production,
stonecutting, and
masonry occupations
Egyptian pottery
makers
Specialization
 Building
a pyramid would require
– Laborers
– Architects
– Engineers
– Craftsmen
– Artists
Peasants
The most important business in
Egypt was farming. Most of the
people who worked in the fields
and barns were peasants.
During the flood season when
no farming could be done the
peasants did building work on
temples and palaces.
Peasants herding
cattle for the
Pharaoh
Peasants
preparing food
for a banquet
The Nile Valley
FAMILY LIFE
 Father headed the family.
 Egyptian women had more rights than most other
early civilizations.
 They could own and pass property.
 They could buy and sell goods, make wills, and
obtain divorces.
 Mothers taught their daughters household chores.
 Fathers trained their sons to farm or trade.
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Agriculture
+“Land between the rivers”
(Tigris and Euphrates forms
Fertile Crescent
+Artificial irrigation
+”Gift of the Nile”
+Artificial irrigation
Specialization
+Pottery, textiles,
woodworking, leather, brick
making, stonecutting,
masonry
+Pottery, textiles,
woodworking, leather
production, stonecutting,
masonry
Cities
-Numerous, densely
populated city-states (Ur
and Babylon)
-Fewer cities with high
centralization (Memphis and
Thebes)
Social Hierarchy
-Noble class
-Patriarchal
+Slaves
-Absolute authority of the
pharaoh made a noble class
unnecessary (had
bureaucrats instead)
-Patriarchal, but the
presence of Queen
Hatsheput may indicate
greater opportunities for
Mesopotamia and Egypt
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Religion and Education
-Polytheism
-No afterlife
-Polytheism, but brief
period of monotheism under
Akhentan
-Afterlife and judgment
(mummification)
New Technologies
-Superior in metallurgy
-Papyrus, shipbuilding,
pyramids
Economic exchange
-Trade by land and water
-Trade principally by water
along the Nile
-Trade more important
because Egypt lacked
natural resources beside the
Nile
Art and Writing
-Cuneiform
-Hieroglyphs (more pictorial
than cuneiform)