Download Egypt Notes page Geography • Nile River – 4,100 miles long, flows

Egypt Notes
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Geography
 Nile River – 4,100 miles long, flows northward longest river in the world
 Floods REGULARLY in July leaving behind rich soil.
 Forbidding deserts on either side of the Nile = natural barriers
 Ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt “the gift of the Nile.”
Environmental
Challenges
Nile flooded too low
Nile flooded too high
Vast deserts on either
side of the Nile
Ancient Egyptians’ solution
They created machines to raise the water from the Nile to
the fields
They built dams around cities and dikes on the side of the
river to keep flood water out of certain areas.
The Egyptians used the Nile to travel down to the
Mediterranean and up to the first cataract to trade. The
deserts protected the Egyptians from invasion.
Transportation on the Nile
 Nile provided a reliable system of transportation.
 flows north - northbound boats drifted with current
 wind blows south - boats hoist their sails and wind blows them up river.
Upper and Lower Egypt
 south portion, Upper Egypt, is higher in elevation
 north portion, Lower Egypt, is lower and marshier
Egypt Unites
 Upper Egypt & Lower Egypt were united by around 3000 BCE, probably by a king named
Narmer. He:
o Established a capital, Memphis
o Established first Egyptian Dynasty
Egyptian kings called pharaohs
 Egyptians viewed their pharaohs as gods
 Pharaohs were the head of Egypt’s religion as well as the government and army
o Egyptian Government was a Theocracy - a type of government in which rule is based
on religious authority.
Trade
•Traded with Mesopotamia, around the Mediterranean and up and down the Nile
–gold. ivory, cattle, granite blocks
Egyptian Religion
 Polytheistic (worships many gods)
o Egyptians worshiped more than 2,000+ gods and goddesses
o Built huge temples to honor gods
o Believed in an afterlife (life continued after death)
Social Organization
o Egyptians were not locked into their social classes
o High degree of unity
o Stability
o Cultural continuity
Women
Held many of the same rights as men
Wealthy or middle class women could own and trade property
Women could propose marriage or seek divorce
Intellectual
 The earliest form of writing was pictographs, then developed a more flexible system called
hieroglyphics
 developed papyrus, a paper-like substance made from reeds.
 developed calendar, developed written numbers, Egyptian medicine was famous in the
ancient world
History
 three major periods known as the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
 periods known for peace, productivity and long-term stability
 Intermediate periods were known for political chaos and invasion
The Old Kingdom (2700 - 2200 B.C.E.)
 greatest and largest pyramids built
 title of pharaoh given to leader
The Middle Kingdom (2050 - 1652 B.C.E.)
 followed a 150 year period of chaos
 marked by expansion of the empire
 Public works projects replaced pyramids and idol construction
The New Kingdom (1567 - 1085 B.C.E.)
 period of military expansion and construction