Download Egypt-The Gift of the Nile

Chapter 5
EGYPT-THE GIFT OF THE NILE
NILE RIVER
Longest River in the World
 Starts in Lake Victoria and ends when it flows
into the Delta and then the
Mediterranean Sea

 Delta:
an area of fertile land
at the mouth of a river

4,000 miles long
NILE RIVER
Floods
 Used for irrigation
 Used as a highway among Egyptians
 Controlled by Hapi, the river god

EGYPT

Gods
 Ra
the Sun god was the most important Egyptian
God
 He controlled the sun which
was the symbol of birth
OLD KINGDOM
Upper and Lower Egypt was
unified in 3100 B.C. by Menes
 Memphis was the capital

 Built
where Upper and Lower Egypt meet
 Built near Cairo, Today’s Egyptian Capital

Crown was made up of the Upper
and Lower Egypt’s crowns to show
unifications
OLD KINGDOM
Lasted from 3100 B.C. to 2186 B.C.
 Became the center of business

 Main
stop for traders
 People barter for goods
 Barter:

trading items for items you need
Ruled by Pharaohs
 Egyptians

thought they were gods
Built Pyramids
 Tombs
for Pharaohs who lived in an afterlife
PYRAMIDS
Took 20,00 men to build it
 Took 20 years to build
 Workers worked when not working in their
fields
 Slaves were used
 75 still standing today
 Most famous are in Giza

PHARAOHS
Were considered Gods
 They were to live after death on earth in an
Afterlife

 Pyramid
was built and decorated with everything
the Pharaoh would need in the next life

They controlled every part of Egyptian life
OLD KINGDOM
Collapsed in 2100 B.C.
 Pharaohs lost power

 Priest
began to gain power
Civil War broke out
 Natural Disasters

 No
floods
MIDDLE KINGDOM

Started in 2040 B.C. with a new dynasty of Pharaohs




Dynasty: a series of rulers from the same family
Capital was Thebes
Traded in Asia
Dug a long Canal that connected the Nile river to the
Red Sea


The canal was 300 ft wide
The canal was dug in swamp lands so there was plenty of
water to run in the canal and the canal was used in
irrigation during dry times
MIDDLE KINGDOM
Pharaohs had to share their power with other
officials
 It was believed that everyone would live
together so everyone was Mummified

 Mummified:
embalmment and drying a dead body
and wrapping it as a mummy

Pharaohs were buried in tombs cut into cliffs
near Thebes
MIDDLE KINGDOM
Hyksos invaded Egypt in 1630 B.C.
 Hyksos had horse-drawn chariots, bronze and
iron weapons, and armor
 They easily defeated the Egyptians
 Hyksos destroyed Egyptian cities and temples
 Egyptians drove out the Hyksos in 1570 B.C.

THE NEW KINGDOM
Started around 1600 B.C.
 Pharaohs ruled Egypt like the
Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom
 Egypt developed an army like the Hyksos and
started to expand the kingdom
 This expansion was lead by the 1st Woman
Pharaoh, Hatshepsut
 Hatshepsut reign had 20 years of peace

THE NEW KINGDOM
Thutmose III became ruler after Hatshepsut
died and continued to spread Egyptian
influence
 For 20 years Thutmose’s army
won victories in Asia, built
army bases, and organized a
navy to conquer cities along
the Mediterranean

THE NEW KINGDOM
The New Kingdom is also called the Empire
Age, due to the vast land that was conquered
 Conquered people paid taxes so the kingdom
also became very wealthy
 With the money they built temples, palaces,
and statues

THE NEW KINGDOM

The temples, palaces, and statues all had
Hieroglyphics on them to tell the stories of
Egypt’s victories
 Hieroglyphics:
Egypt
a kind of picture writing used in
THE NEW KINGDOM
Children attended school which were in the
temples
 School was to teach Egyptian beliefs
 Pharaohs hoped school would make children
loyal to Egypt when they grew older
 Schools trained boys to be scribes

 Scribes:
people who write down important records
and religious laws
THE NEW KINGDOM

Egyptians believed in many gods
 Belief

in many gods is called Polytheism
Most important god was Amon-Ra
 Amon:
god of the wind
 Ra: god of the sun

Pharaoh Ikhnaton in 1372 B.C. made the
change that the god of sun now called Aton was
the most important god and closed down
temples of other gods
THE NEW KINGDOM
Many Egyptians did not like the change to only
one God
 The Pharaoh and priests began to fight over
power
 People in the Empire began to rebel and Egypt
lost most of the land they had conquered

THE NEW KINGDOM
Ramses III took over and rebuilt the Empire but
it was never as powerful as it once was
 He oversaw a building program that built many
magnificent structures

 Examples:
obelisks, statues, and temples
 Obelisks: a tall, pointed stone pillar

Ramses III was the last great ruler of Egypt
THE NEW KINGDOM
Egypt was invaded by many people over the
years
 Persians ruled Egypt until 332 B.C. when
Alexander the Great conquered the Persians
 In 30 B.C., Queen Cleopatra killed herself
instead of surrendering Egypt to the Romans
 Egypt lost all it’s wonder with Cleopatra’s
death

GIFTS FROM THE EGYPTIANS

Papyrus


Medicine



Art



Scrolls found that showed Egyptians knowledge
Could set broken bones, check for a heart beat, and deal with high
fevers
Building


A reed from the Nile river that is used to make paper
They were skilled builders, Temples, Pyramids
Made figures out of wood, bronze, or copper
Pottery, Jewelry, and furniture
Mathematics



System bases on the unit 10, system of weights and measures
Used cubits: length of an arm from the end of the middle finger to
the elbow
Used geometry to survey land
QUIZ
5 QUESTIONS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is the gift of the Nile?
Who was the 1st Woman Pharaoh?
How many Kingdoms were there in Egypt?
Pharaohs were buried in what?
Name two gifts from Egypt.
HOMEWORK
Page 117, questions 1-5
 Page 122, questions 1-5
 Page 128, questions 1-5
 Page 130, questions 1-5
 Pages 134-135, questions 1-10 & 1-5
