Download Upper and Lower Egypt

Mr. Lauta
The Pharaoh
Upper and Lower
Egypt
The people who lived
along the Nile banded
together into two main
groups. These groups had
much in common:
• The same culture
• The same language
• The same gods
Lower Egypt
Upper
Egypt
5
UNITED EGYPT’S GOVERNMENT
A. Unlike Sumeria, no independent
city-states in Egypt
B. Menes, the king of Upper Egypt,
1. united the two regions – Upper and Lower –
in 3,100 B.C.E.
2. Capital: Memphis
3. Creates first Egyptian dynasty
C. The Pharaoh [means, royal house]
– the ruler of Egypt
1. were considered gods; served both
political and religious roles
Type of government where the political
rulers are thought to be divinely-guided, or
even divine themselves is a theocracy.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
Before 3000 B.C., there was the white crown of Upper
Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt. When Egypt
was united, these two crowns were combined into the
Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
2. Believed each pharaoh ruled even after death, because
they all possessed the same eternal spirit = ka;
and being gods, they naturally bore full responsibility for
Egypt’s well-being.
3. Therefore, the Pharaoh’s tomb were very important,
because it was still a place of rule. They built massive
tombs called pyramids.
4. The pyramids were built mainly in the
Old Kingdom Period.
The Sphinx and Pyramid of Khafre at Giza.
PP Design of T. Loessin; Akins H.S.
Most Powerful Egyptian
 The most powerful
person in ancient Egypt
 Political and religious
leader
 Two titles

“Lord of the Two
Lands”

“High Priest of Every
Temple”
“Lord of the Two Lands”
 Ruler of Upper and
Lower Egypt
 Owned all of the
land
 Made laws
 Collected taxes
 Defended Egypt
against foreigners
“High Priest of Every Temple”
 Represented the
gods on Earth
 Performed rituals
and built temples to
honor the gods
As Warrior
 Went to war when their
land was threatened or
when they wanted to
control foreign lands
 If the pharaoh won the
battle, the conquered
people had to recognize
the Egyptian pharaoh
as their ruler and offer
him the finest and most
valuable goods from
their land
THE PYRAMIDS
“Houses of Eternity”
 Egyptians built
pyramids as tombs for
the pharaohs and their
queens
 The pharaohs were
buried in pyramids of
many different shapes
and sizes from before
the beginning of the
Old Kingdom to the
end of the Middle
Kingdom.
Old Kingdom
 Period of ancient Egyptian history
that lasted from about 2686 B.C. to
2181 B.C.
Middle Kingdom
 Period of ancient Egyptian history
that lasted from about 2055 B.C.
to 1650 B.C.
Inside the Pyramid
 Air Shaft
Chambers 
King’s Chamber 
 Grand Gallery
Queen’s Chamber 
Connecting Passage 
 Ascending
Passage
 Descending Passage
 Underground Chamber
The King’s Chamber
 Burial chamber of
the pharaoh
 Granite
sarcophagus in the
corner
 Mummy and all of
his funerary goods
for the next life
Queen’s Chamber
 It was never meant to
be the burial chamber
for a queen
 Khufu's queens had
their own separate
pyramids built nearby
 This chamber may
have been built as a
room to hold Khufu's
funerary objects
Chambers Above King’s Chamber
 Five rough
chambers
 Helped to shift the
weight of the
heavy stones at
the top of the
pyramid off the
inner chambers
Casing Blocks
 When the pyramid
was almost finished,
casing blocks of white
limestone were laid on
top of the main
pyramid blocks
 Each casing block was
then trimmed so that
the outer surface of
the pyramid would be
smooth and white
Pyramidion (Top Block)
 At the very top, a block

of stone in the shape of
a pyramid
 Probably covered with a
thin sheet of either gold,
electrum (a mixture of
gold and silver), or
some other metal that
would reflect the rays of
the sun.
 About eighty pyramids
known today from
ancient Egypt
 Three largest and bestpreserved of these were
built at Giza at the
beginning of the Old
Kingdom
 Most well-known was
built for the pharaoh
Khufu -- known as the
'Great Pyramid'
Outside the Pyramid
 The Great Pyramid was
part of a complex that
included a special
walkway, two temples,
other pyramids, boat pits
and the mastabas of
nobles
 Mastabas are early
ancient Egyptian tomb
which have an
underground burial
chamber and an above
ground offering chapel
Queens’ Pyramids
Small pyramids built on the eastern side of
the pyramid -- built for Khufu's queens

Satellite Temple
 Believed to be

a symbolic
tomb for the
pharaoh’s ka
(spirit)
Mortuary Temple
 Believed to be where offerings were
left and daily rituals were carried out
for the king

Causeway
 Long walkway that joined the valley temple and the
mortuary temple
 Would have had walls decorated with paintings and
a ceiling with painted stars

Boat Pit


 Believed to represent the bark that the pharaoh
would travel in after he died
 Others believe that these boats were actually used
in Khufu's funeral procession across the Nile
Enclosing Wall
 Wall wrapped around the base of the pyramid
 Between the pyramid and the wall there was a narrow
courtyard that could only be entered through the valley
temple


Valley Temple

 At end of causeway
 Believed to be where the pharaoh's funeral
began
Mastabas


Mastabas 

 Tombs of nobles who wanted to be buried close
to their pharaoh so that they would stay close to
him in the next life