Download The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable

The Middle and New Kingdoms
The Big Idea
During the Middle and New Kingdoms, order
and greatness were restored in Egypt.
Main Ideas
• The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable
government between periods of disorder.
• The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian
trade and military power, but their greatness
did not last.
• Work and daily life were different among
Egypt’s social classes.
Main Idea 1:
The Middle Kingdom was a period of
stable government between periods of
disorder.
Following a
period of
competition for
power between
the nobles and
the pharaohs,
the Middle
Kingdom
began.
Egypt fell into
disorder
around 1750
BC. A group
called the
Hyksos invaded
and ruled the
region for
200 years.
The Egyptians
fought back,
and Ahmose of
Thebes
declared
himself king
and drove the
Hyksos out of
Egypt,
beginning the
New Kingdom.
While Egyptian
civilization was
spreading along the
Nile, neighboring
cultures grew as well.
Trade and movement
of people and ideas
helped to shape and
develop cultures.
Other cultures had
their effect on Egypt.
Following the Old
Kingdom, Egypt
entered into the
Middle Kingdom.
Egypt’s contact
with other parts of
the world
increased.
Pharaohs armies
conquered Nubia’s
gold mines.
Trade increased between Egypt and the
peoples of the Fertile Crescent. People began
to move from the Fertile Crescent to the delta
region. These settlers were called the Hyksos.
Using horses,
chariots, bronze
weapons and
bows and
arrows, the
Hyksos, Greek
for “rulers of hill
lands “ ruled
Lower Egypt.
The Ancient
Egyptians
lost Lower
Egypt to the
Hyksos
because of
the superior
weapons of
the Hyksos.
About 100 years
later, having learned
to use the type of
weapons and chariots
used by the Hyksos,
the Egyptians,
behind Pharaoh
Ahmose, defeated the
Hyksos, and ruled
lands from the delta
to Nubia.
The defeat of the Hyksos began the period in Egyptian
history called the New Kingdom. Pharaoh Ahmose
vowed that outsiders would never again control any part
of Egypt.
Main Idea 2:
The New Kingdom was the peak of
Egyptian trade and military power,
but their greatness did not last.
• Fearing future invasions, the Egyptians
took control of all possible invasion routes
into the kingdom.
• Egypt took over vast lands and was the
leading military power in the area.
• Egypt became rich because of the lands it
conquered.
During the New Kingdom
period, Egypt’s leaders
worked to win back lands
lost in war, conquering
territory in the Fertile
Crescent and Nubia.
This provided Egypt
with more resources
than just farming.
Egypt became rich
and powerful.
Egyptian sailing ships
loaded with jewelry,
linen cloth and
papyrus sailed to
what are today
Lebanon and Syria.
Ships returned
carrying wine,
silver, and timber,
rare treasures in
Egypt.
Ostrich
feathers
used in
clothing
were
gathered in
Nubia.
copper
gold
Egypt’s
most
important
trading
partner
was Kush.
ivory
ebony
Leopard
skins
Caravans of men and pack animals brought these
treasures out of Kush and back into Egypt. Back in Egypt,
craftsworkers turned these materials into furniture,
jewelry, and other fine goods for the Pharaoh and the
wealthy.
Growth and Effects of Trade
• Conquests brought traders into contact with
distant lands, and trade routes, or paths
followed by traders, developed.
• Queen Hatshepsut encouraged trade and used
the profits to support the arts and
architecture.
• Led by Ramses the Great, Egypt fought
invaders for many years, leaving their empire
diminished.
One pharaoh,
Hatshepsut, whose
name means,
“Foremost of the
Noble Ladies,”
expanded trade well
beyond the borders
of Egypt’s empire.
Hatshepsut was a princess and the wife of
a pharaoh who seized the chance to
become pharaoh when her husband died.
Temple of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut organized the biggest trading
expedition of her career to Punt, south of
Egypt. Huge caravans of scribes, soldiers,
artists and attendants loaded cargo onto five
ships for the journey south.
In exchange
for jewelry,
papyrus, and
bronze
weapons,
Hatshepsut
received gold,
perfume,
ivory,
incense,
leopard
skins, and
even live
apes.
Scribes carefully
recorded the exact
number of goods
loaded upon the ships.
Hatshepsut’s expedition
lasted two years.
Trade goods were not
the only things that
moved from place to
place. Ideas and skills
spread too. Scribes
wrote down this
knowledge, such as
medical books, which
told how to cure
illnesses.
Main Idea 3:
Work and daily life were different
among Egypt’s social classes.
• The complex society required people to take on
many different kinds of jobs.
• Family life was very important in Egyptian
society, and most Egyptians lived in their own
homes.
– Women had many legal rights, including
owning property, making contracts, and
divorcing their husbands.
Egyptian Jobs
Scribes
Few people
were more
respected
than scribes.
They did not
have to pay
taxes, and
many became
wealthy.
Artisans,
Artists, and
Architects
These jobs
required
advanced skills
and were also
very admired
in Egypt.
Merchants and
Traders
Although trade
was important,
few held these
positions.
Some had to
travel very
long distances
to buy and sell
goods.
Economy
The way people
manage money
and resources for
the production of
goods and
services.
Additional Egyptian Jobs
Soldiers
Egypt
created a
permanent
army that
offered
soldiers a
chance to
rise in social
status and
receive land
as payment.
Farmers and
Other Peasants
This group made
up the vast
majority of the
population.
They grew crops
to support their
families and to
pay taxes.
Slaves
Slaves were
usually
criminals or
prisoners.
They had
some legal
rights,
however.
Papyrus:
A kind of paper
made from a reed
plant growing
along the Nile.
The ancient
Egyptians used it
for writing.
Hieroglyphics:
The ancient
Egyptian system
of writing that
used symbols to
stand for
objects, ideas or
sounds.
The writing
system of Egypt,
called
hieroglyphics,
provided a way
for government
workers to
communicate
over long
distances.