Download sam knight humanities legs ancent egypt fill in the blanks 42711

Name: Sam Knight
Date: 4|27|11
Humanities
6-C
Ancient Egypt: Empire, Government, and Society (L.E.G.S.)
Essential Question: In order to maintain order and stability, how
have past civilizations arranged different groups and their
responsibilities (society), organized power to control their
populations (government and law), and extended power over other
territories (empire)?
Society
On pages 104 – 106 of Our World, we read about the kingdoms of
Nubia and Kush, which were civilizations just south of Upper Egypt. Nubia ,
like Egypt, had grown wealthy from its gold, iron, and timber mines. Soon
Egypt’s pharaohs began to acquire the lands of Lower Nubia, which
bordered the land of Upper Egypt. We read about the conflict between Egypt
and Kush between around 2100 B.C. and 1525 B.C. In 1525 B.C., Kush was
conquered by Egypt. For more than 500 years, Egypt had a profound cultural
influence on Kush. Eventually, Egypt lost control of Kush to the Assyrian
Civilization.
As we can see in the illustration and read in the text on page 106, the
social pyramid in Kush was very similar to the organization of Egyptian
society. A social pyramid is a triangle-shaped cemetery that shows the rank
of people in its society. At the top of the social pyramid of both Egypt and
Kush were a king or a queen. These rulers were the leaders of the soldiers
and of the army and of the country. Below the rulers were the priests and the
members of the army- the soldiers. They had to carry out the military orders
of the army. Just below the priests and soldiers were sellers or craftsmen,
farmers, and artisans. Artisans make crafts; farmers grow crops and raise
animals; merchants sell crafts and farm produce.
One important difference between the role of women in Kush and in
Egypt was that in Kush control over the throne (who became king or queen)
was passed to the prince of the son of the king’s sister. In Egypt, the throne
was passed to the children of the king. In addition, in Kush, women help
important jobs as priestesses.
Government
As we read on page 89 of Our World, the history of Ancient Egypt
basically began when Menes, who was the king of Upper Egypt, swept north
into Nile River Egypt in about 3100 B.C. and conquered Lower Egypt. To
show his victory, and to symbolize the joining together of the two
“kingdoms,” Menes wore a double- crown. He combined the white crown of
Upper Egypt with the red crown of Lower Egypt. This double crown stood
for the unification of Egypt. Unification means joining together of two
separate parts into one.
Menes was the first pharaoh of the first period of Ancient Egyptian
history. This period is called the Old Kingdom. It lasted from about 2700
B.C. to about 2200 B.C. The word “pharaoh” itself has three meanings. It
refers to the “great palace” where the rulers lived. But it also is the name
given to all the rulers of Egypt. Thus, pharaoh is the name of the job, like
president or senator or governor. (For example, “I am going to see
pharaoh.”) But “pharaoh” is also a title, like the word “president” in the
sentence, “Yes, sir, President Lincoln, you are quite tall.”
As we learn on page 90 of Our World, the job of pharaoh was to lead
Egypt, to decide how the kingdom should be run on all Egypt. Pharaoh
ensured that local servants served the government, such as collecting taxes
and serving as judges, and making sure flood water were shared fairly.
Pharaoh Menes built his capital city in Memphis where Upper Egypt meets
Lower Egypt.
But the pharaoh also had religious duties. According to Egyptian
religion, the pharaoh was the son of Horus- the Sun god. The Egyptians
believed that Ra gave life to Egypt. So, as son of the “life-giver,” the
pharaoh himself was a god on Earth whose job it was to ensure peace and
harmony and wealth in the kingdom. The Egyptian word for peace and
harmony and wealth was the word “ma-at.” This word loosely translates in
English as “balance.”
In the quotation on the bottom-left of page 90 of Our World, you can
see that the pharaohs looked upon themselves as shepherds who care for the
health of his flock of animals. If you carefully look at the diagram on page
91 of a royal mummy, you can see the mummy in the lowest picture is
holding what looks like a curved stick (just at his chin). Actually, this is a
shepherd’s crook, which is the long stick that shepherds use to pull their
flock to safety. Pharaohs carried this shepherd’s tool as a symbol of their
power over, and responsibility for, their “flock” of people. (This symbol
even continues. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as a shepherd, and
the Pope actually carries a shepherd’s crook when he is seen in public. The
meaning of the symbolism is the same as in Ancient Egypt: “This is the
great and loving leader of a civilization.”)
A careful reading of pages 93 – 95 of Our World, helps us to
understand how important were scribes or trained writers—to the running of
pharaoh’s government and to the running of the economy. Scribes traveled
throughout the kingdom keeping messages and writing letters and contracts
on scrolls made from papyrus, which is the reed plant that grows along the
Nile. Pharaoh was head of Egypt’s religion and government and economy.
As head of Egypt’s economy, Pharaoh Khufu a portion of all surplus that
was grown or made in Egypt. Instead of tax money, Pharaoh was owed crops
and goods and days of work from his people. But if there were not a virtual
“army of scribes,” there would have been no one to write down in
hieroglyphics all that was grown and mined and made--all that was owed to
Egypt.
As we learn on page 97 of Our World, Egypt’s Old Kingdom ended
around 2000 B.C. and was replaced by a period called the ______________
Kingdom. It lasted until about 1700 B.C. One change during this period was
the Pharaoh replaced the regional, or local, leaders, with ___________who
reported directly to him or to pharaoh’s second-in-command: the vizier.
Empire
During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt expanded its empire by
conquering Nubia to the south. Egypt also sent trade expeditions to Nubia
and to the Fertile Crescent. Egypt’s New Kingdom began in approximately
1570 B.C. when Pharaoh Ahmose I defeated the Hyksos, who were Asian
warriors who had conquered Egypt in 1650 B.C. with horse-drawn chariots
and bronze weapons, and who had ruled Egypt for 100 years. After the
defeat of the Hyksos, Egypt vowed to become the strongest conquerors. This
lead to the expansion in Egypt’s armies and to the conquering of nearby
lands—to the creation of an army. As we learn on page 98, soon Egypt had
created an empire that stretched from Kush in the south to the Euphrates
River in the north. The kingdom of Kush was rich in ebony (a very hard,
black wood), elephant ivory, and animals hides. Nubia was rich in gold. By
controlling this area, Egypt’s empire became wealthier.
Under Pharaohs Amenhotep I, Egypt made allies and traded with
other parts of Africa, and with Asia and southern Europe. And under
Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who history first known female ruler, Egypt broadened
the reach of its empire by peaceful trading expeditions. From the kingdom of
Punt, to the south, was brought back gold, ebony, copper, perfume, ivory,
leopard skins, and live elephants.
Over time, the strength of Egypt’s empire weakened. As we read on
page 100 of Our World, Egypt’s last strong pharaoh was Pamses II. He is
the pharaoh who ruled Egypt when Moses and the Israelites fleed from
Egypt to freedom—the subject of the Jewish Passover story (and the Disney
movie The Prince of Egypt.) About 100 years after Ramses II’s death, the
New Kingdom ended, and so did the empire that was Ancient Egypt.