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Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt: Overview and
Geographical Importance
 Egypt began as two separate kingdoms
• Upper Egyptian rulers wore a tall, white crown, while Lower Egyptian
rulers wore a red crown
 3150 BCE Narmer or Menes (King of Upper Egypt) defeated Lower
Egypt and created a new capital city at Memphis
 Unification was symbolized by Narmer adopting the Double Crown, which
represented both regions
A mural of Narmer or Menes
conquering Lower Egypt (c.a.
3100 B.C.)
There were three main areas that were populated
in Egypt:
1. The Nile Valley
•
Sole source of water for Egypt
•
Predictable flooding provided rich fertile
soil (also enabled creation of calendar and
seasons: Emergence and Inundation)
•
Both revered and feared (too much flooding
or droughts)
2.
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•
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3.
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The Nile Delta
Area were Nile empties into Mediterranean
Sea
Largest piece of fertile land
Encompassed major centres of Egypt
Faiyum
Lake Moeris lies at end of branch of Nile is
centre of oasis called Faiyum
Irrigation from Nile made Faiyum the third
most populated land
Map Of Egypt
• Add the following items to your map using Page 60 in
World Civilizations: A Comparative History
• Water: Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Nile River, First
Cataract, Second Cataract, Upper Nile, Lower Nile
• Cities: Gizeh (Giza), Thebes, Luxor, Karnak, Memphis,
Alexandria, Saqqara, Cairo, Heliopolis, Faiyum
• Regions: Nile Delta, Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Valley
of the Kings, Arabian Desert (Eastern), Libyan Desert
(Western)
Red Land, Black Land
• Civilization began about 3200 BCE around Nile River (last 1200 km
closest to Mediterranean Sea)
• RIVER flows South-North, WINDS blow North-South
• Rich silt soil (kemet) was the black land; the barren desert was the red
land (strict dividing line)
• Egypt also received resources from six fertile areas called “Wadis”:
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•
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Grapes (Wine)
Natron (salt used for embalming and early form of soap!)
Olives
Barley (beer)
Date Palm (wood and dates)
• Upper Egypt (south) consisted of many cliffs (limestone and granite)
• Lower Egypt separated into the Nile Delta (papyrus)
• *** Despite many afrocentrist untruths, “Kemet” did not mean
“Land of the Blacks”… referring to race.***
• Fertile soil
• Deserts provided protection
and shelter from outside
influences
• Deserts were an important
source of minerals and
building supplies (copper, tin,
gold and natron)
• Access to Mediterranean
increased and expanded trade
and culture
• Culture was one of stability
and not rapid change
• Video DVD: Engineering an
Empire
Geographic Effects on
Egypt’s history
Wealth
What determined Egypt’s Economic
Prosperity?
• Agriculture - made up most of Egypt’s wealth
– grain, vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats, pigs and fowl
• Abundance and management of food supplies
(not royal treasury) was the measure of Egypt’s
• Wealth = full granaries, plenty of wildlife and fish,
and thriving herds were the signs of prosperity.
• These were the images used in the tombs of the
Pharaohs to illustrate the wealth of their reigns
Economy
• Simple economy based on food production and minerals from desert
• Access to the Mediterranean their routes extended trade as far as Northern Europe, subtropical
Africa and the Near East
• Trading was done by bartering goods (grain, oil, wheat)
• Taxes, salaries and loans were all paid entirely on goods
• Extensive trading made Egypt a powerful influence on culture, art, ideas and technology
(ie. Western calendar was taken from the Romans who had borrowed it from the Egyptians)
• Trade eventually grew and expanded, bringing new ideas and goods into Egyptian society
What was the “SOUL” of Ancient Egypt?
THE NILE was considered the SOUL as it was the source of
life and path to immortality
Egyptians lived on Eastern side but buried on Western side
River was symbol of passage of one life to next (eternity)
Creation story began in swirling waters of the Nile when God
Horus gave power to Pharaohs
Click here for Creation Story
Gods and Goddesses
GEB
NUT
TEFNUT
ATUM
SHU
NUT
MA’AT
Creation Story
ANUBIS
Website: Gods and Goddesses
HORUS
ISIS
ATUM
Egyptian Deities
Re (Ra)
The Chief Egyptian God. Was
seen as the God of the Sun.
Anubis was the patron of embalming.
•
He was also the keeper of poisons and medicines.
•
Anubis performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremony which
was performed at the funeral to restore the senses of the
deceased.
•
The ceremony was done by touching the mouth of a mummy
or statue of the deceased
•
It was believed to restore the senses in preparation for
the afterlife.
Osiris Supreme God and judge of the
dead. The symbol of resurrection and
eternal life. Provider of fertility and
prosperity to the living.
Isis: As a winged Goddess she may represent the wind. In the
Osiris legend there are references to Isis wailing and moaning like
the wind.
• She restores life to Osiris by flapping her wings and filling his
mouth and nose with air.
• Isis was a great enchantress, the goddess of magic.
• She was the embalmer and guardian of Osiris. She is often
rendered on the foot of coffins with long wings spread to protect
the deceased.
Horus: was the son of Osiris (The God of the Dead)
and Isis. It was said that he avenged the death of his
father he was considered to be the model of a dutiful
son
The Ka
It was believed that each person had
a Ka, or Soul.
The practice of mummification
began because it was believed that
the soul could exist in the afterlife
only so long as the body was
preserved
But why are all
ancient religions
similar?
Major Time Periods of Egypt
 The Old Kingdom
When the pharaohs built the pyramids
 The Middle Kingdom
When training and military explorers were sent
out to expand Egypt’s boundaries
 The New Kingdom
Ending with Queen Cleopatra losing her land to
Augustus Caesar and Rome
Egyptian Timeline
•1504 BCE – Reign of Tuthmosis III (the Napoleon of ancient Egypt) -- video
•1470 BCE – Reign of Hatshepsut (one of four female Kings)
•1350 BCE – Reign of Akhenaten (Wanted to change religious beliefs to
monotheism)
•1334 BCE – Reign of Tutankhamun (Religious revolution is reversed)
•1297 BCE - Reign of Ramses II. He had over 200 wives and concubines,
approximately 90 sons and 60 daughters and reigned over 67 years! His reign
saw massive building projects in Egypt.
•525 BCE – Persians conquer Egypt
•332 BCE – Alexander the Great defeats the Persians and
considered saviour of Egypt
•50 BCE – Cleopatra VII is crowned Queen of Egypt
•30 BCE – Egypt becomes part of Roman Empire after death of Cleopatra
VII and Mark Anthony
A Biblical Overview of
Egypt
• Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, was the favourite child. His father
made him a coat of many colours. His brothers were jealous of him.
They were going to kill him, but sold him as a slave. He found favour
with the Pharaoh Potiphar. He interpreted dreams for the Pharaoh.
Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain where they ran into
Joseph. They did not recognize him. He tested them and revealed his
identity. He forgave them for sending him away. He said it was God who
sent him to Egypt to save people’s lives.
• When a new Pharaoh ruled Egypt, he was worried that the Israelites
would rise up against him. He decided that every baby boy should be
thrown into the Nile River. One woman was determined to save her son.
She kept the baby boy hidden for three months, then she put him in a
basket she had made and let him float down the river. The Pharaoh’s
daughter found the baby boy and called him Moses, which means “pulled
out or the water”.
• Moses was commanded by God to ask the Pharaoh to release the people
of Egypt. He obeyed God’s command and asked Pharaoh to let his people
go. God knew that Pharaoh would deny the command and he did. God
sent ten plagues to Egypt to curse the land.
Highlights of Ancient Egyptian History
•UNIFICATION OF EGYPT: King Menes unites Upper and Lower Egypt and wears double
crown in 3100 BCE. Following Menes came 31 dynasties over 3000 years.
•AGE OF PYRAMIDS: Era of the Old Kingdom (2690 BCE), Pharaohs were absolute rulers
and viewed as a god holding absolute secular and religious power. Stone monuments were
embodiment of Pharaoh's power and a medium of immortality. Pyramids evolved from
mastabas, then Step Pyramids
•Video: Engineering an Empire
•IMHOTEP: not a ruler but revered and his life was recorded (architect, medicine, right
hand to Pharaoh Djoser (2686-2613 BCE) – built first “true” pyramid
•Video: Engineering an Empire
•KHUFU (Cheops): Builds the best known pyramids, the “Great Pyramid” outside of modern
day Cairo at Giza (c. 2600 BCE)
•NATIONAL GOD “AMON-RE”: Middle Kingdom: Under Theban Kings (south), the
Theban god “Amon” merged with sun god “Re” which became Egyptian national god
“Amon-Re” (c. 20th century BCE)
Geography
•EXODUS: under the leadership of Moses, Hebrew slaves under Ramses II leave Egypt in
mass migration called Exodus (end of 13th century BCE, or middle 15th century BCE*).
Moses receives the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai but never find the “Promised Land”
How did Pharaohs rule?
P
O
L
I
T
I
C
S
•Often they were absolute rulers of the land
•By Middle Kingdom they were believed to be the earthly
embodiment of the god Horus who was the son of AmonRe; they therefore had the divine right to rule
•The throne passed on to eldest son of Principal Queen
who was usual the eldest daughter of the previous king
therefore the king’s sister
•Pharaohs owned all the land, and used a hierarchy of
government officials to help him rule
•Second to the Pharaohs were the scribes who would
record the doings of the Pharaoh
Egypt had a hierarchical
social structure
Pharaoh
Priests
Nobles
Merchant
Class
Peasants
and Slaves
Social Roles
Role of Women
• Well treated and had
considerable legal rights
compared to other
civilizations
• Same legal rights as men (land,
property, divorce)
• Left women to be economically
independent
• Primary role was in domestic life
• Common title for a married women
in ancient Egypt was “nebet per”
meaning “the lady of the house”
• Bear and raise children
Role of Men
• Head of the family
• Men could have numerous wives
but economically men had only 1
wife
• Labourers, craftsmen
• Jobs were hereditary…passed down
Jobs
• Labour required for construction
projects and was mostly filled by
poor, serfs
• Stability of Egypt thrived as skilled
trades were passed from father to
son
• Children always learned the trade
from parents; seldom could choose
occupation
Daily Life of Workers
 The poor worked long hours for goods that they could exchange
in the marketplace for the products they needed.
 Agriculture was a major trade and many workers were farmers.
 Boys learned a trade from their fathers, and girls were taught
to care for the home and family by their mothers.
 Women and girls wore straight, sheath-like dresses of rough,
unbleached linen.
 Men and boys wore short cloth kilts.
 Their homes were usually one-story made out of sun-dried brick.
There would be a basement and four rooms. They had little
furniture. Stairs led to the flat rooftop so that the family could
enjoy the cool night air after the sun went down.
Daily life of the Wealthy
 Men were busy all day as merchants, trading along the Nile River. Others
supervised the daily workings of gigantic farms.
 Many of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Egypt were priests, all
of whom were men (all boys were taught to read and write).
 Women could own land, run businesses, testify in court, and bring
charges against men.
 Women oversaw the running of the households and gave the servants
instructions for daily menus and child care.
 Children were allowed much playtime. Girls practiced singing and
dancing. Boys wrestled and played army.
 Women and girls wore straight dresses of beautiful lined and a lot of
jewellery. At parties, they wore cones of incense on their heads that melted
slowly giving off a pleasant smell.
 Men and boys wore linen kilts
 Both men and women wore eye make-up made from black ashes.
 Their homes were brick and wood containing many rooms, as well as walled
garden and a shrine for a favourite god.
Education
• Contributed to stability and continuity of Egypt
• All children, regardless of social class, received some education
• Followed a moral and ethical guide “Instructions in Wisdom”
• Goal for education was to ensure youth exhibited self control and good
manners
• At 14, young boys followed fathers in jobs, and girls learned from mothers in
the household
• Children of priests were schooled more formally
• Literacy was stressed for government jobs
• Education respected for creating a well rounded individual
What were the legal
traditions?
• Law was governed by religious principle of “Ma’at”
• GODDESS MA’AT represented truth,
righteousness and justice= balance and order
• Laws were applied equally to all classes specifically
protected the family (children and wives)
• Punishments could be quite severe • Acted as a deterrent or disgrace the guilty:
•
(Examples: Minor crimes had 100 lashed; rapists were
castrated; corrupt officials had their hands amputated; crimes
that resulted in a death sentence could have choice = devoured
by a crocodile, suicide, burning alive)
Achievements
• Pyramids

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There were about 80 along the banks of the Nile River.
The largest is the Great Pyramid, built by King Khufu in about 2600 B.C.
It stands about 481 feet high and covers 13 acres.
The pyramids functioned as huge burial tombs for the Egyptians’ dead pharaohs and
queens.
• Ship-building
 They used the Nile River like a highway to transport people and goods to foreign
lands.
 The first ships were made out of bundles of papyrus reeds tied together to make a
canoe-like vessel.
 As the ship trade flourished, the hulls of the ships were made of cedar, and oars and
sails were added for greater speed.
• Calendar
 Calendars were developed in 4241 B.C. with 365 days in a year.
 It was based on the flooding of the Nile River.
 New Years was on June 1, not January 1!
Hieroglyphics
• Recall… History of Writing:
1) Pictograms (sun= sun)
2) Ideograms (sun = sun, daylight, warmth,
light)
3) Phonograms: symbols that suggest a
particular sound; related ideas and also sound
(Sun = sun, son, Sunday)
• Each hieroglyph found in pyramids and tombs
often symbolized more than one consonant.
• Not only that, but actual Egyptian hieroglyphs
were a combination of sound-signs,
pictograms, and ideograms.
• Activity Time!
Rosetta Stone
What is the Rosetta Stone?
• The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in
two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three
scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek).
• Hieroglyphs = religious documents; demotic =
common script of Egypt; Greek = language of the
rulers of Egypt at that time
• It was carved in 196 BCE.
Why is it in three different scripts?
• The Rosetta Stone was written in all three scripts
so that the priests, government officials and rulers
of Egypt could read what it said.
When was the Rosetta Stone found?
• In 1799 by French soldiers who were rebuilding a
fort in small village in the Delta called Rosetta
(Rashid)
What does the Rosetta Stone say?
• The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of
priests in Egypt to honour the Egyptian pharaoh.
It lists all of the things that the pharaoh had done
that were good for the priests and the people of
Egypt.
• Video: Understanding Hieroglyphics
Painting and Sculpture
• Egyptians reached a highly advanced
level of sculpture. Beautiful figures
sculpted from wood, ivory, bronze, gold,
and turquoise have been found in tombs.
• One of the most famous sculptures in the
world is the head of Queen Nefertiti.
• Another famous work of art is the Great
Sphinx, a huge statue of a man’s head on
a lion’s body, which guards the pyramids
near Giza.
• Originally had a long braided beard and a
nose and was painted in bright colours
(the face and body were painted red, the
beard was blue, and much of the
headdress was yellow).
Life and Death
• Life and death was measured in accordance to Ma’at: the goddess
and symbol of equilibrium of the universe and the king had to rule
according to her principles
Death viewed as a new beginning
• Afterlife common to all, regardless of social status
(preparation varied as well as goods stored in tombs)
MA’AT
-symbol of
the equilibrium
• 2 Common Principles:
1) body preservation in a lifelike form
2) the deceased must have items necessary for life in the afterworld
of the universe
• Personal belongings were usually placed in the tomb to make the Ka more at
home and to assist the dead in their journey into the afterlife.
• Text was read from the 'Book of the Dead' which was a collection of spells,
charms, passwords, numbers and magical formulas for the use of the deceased
in the afterlife.
This scene depicts what occurs after a person has died, according to the
ancient Egyptians.
• panel of 14 judges
• Ka (soul /spiritual duplicate), ba (personality) ankh (form mummy took in
afterlife / the key of life)
• Weighing of the heart vs Ma’at
• Judgment of scale
• record of the outcome
• Mummification focused
on Egyptian belief of the
importance of preserving
the body
• Afterlife would be spent
enjoying best of life
experiences
• Body covered with
natron and dried for up to
70 days
• Body wrapped in linen
coated with resins and
oils
• Middle Kingdom became
customary to place a
mask over the face
Mummification
• Removal of organs (lungs, stomach,
intestines, liver) in Canopic Jars were
closed with stoppers fashioned in the
shape of four heads -- human,
baboon, falcon, and jackal representing the four protective spirits
called the Four Sons of Horus.
• brain was sucked out of the cranial
cavity and thrown away because the
Egyptian's thought it was useless.
Pyramids were built during the Old
Kingdom and designed to be tombs for
the Pharaoh
Originally there were step pyramids, then
the pyramids evolved into the ones we see
at Giza
The Pyramids were designed to protect
the mummies of the Pharaohs, but they
ultimately failed. They were robbed and
pillaged.
Video: How were they REALLY built?
King Tut
• Tutankhamen, or King Tut, for short was called “The Boy King”.
• He became pharaoh when he was nine years old in 1350 B.C.
• A typical day for him began in the audience chamber of his palace, where
he sat on a throne of gold, silver, and jewels, and wore a heavy gold
headpiece shaped like a flame.
• Ambassadors from foreign countries came to bow before him and bring him
riches.
• Egyptians came to him to settle their disputes.
• He led his people in a three-hour a day worship ceremony.
• He had a formal dinner in the evening, then visited with his sister-wife,
Ankheshamen, who was two years younger than he.
• King Tut died when he was only nineteen years old.
• No one really knows how he died… whether it be from an accident,
illness, or his enemies. His burial chamber was found by Britain's Howard
Carter in 1922. The treasures of King Tut’s tomb can be seen today in
Cairo, Egypt.
• VIDEO CLIP
The Greek Period
• Ptolemy I began the 32nd dynasty in Egypt, the last, 332 BCE.
• Ptolemy was Greek, but he adopted Egyptian customs and the Egyptian
theory of kingship.
• Like the Egyptians, the Ptolemaic kings married their sisters, who were all
named Cleopatra ("kleos"="famous", "patris"="parents").
• All the Ptolemaic kings, likewise, were named Ptolemy.
• The word "Egypt" is a Greek word (the Egyptian word is "Kmt" or Kemet).
• Under the Ptolemies, the Egyptians paid the highest taxes, and all business
was now conducted in Greek
Significance
• The Ptolemies were highly tolerant and even interested in foreign religions;
the most enduring cultural product they produced was a Greek translation of
the Hebrew scriptures
• Ptolemies were interested in the Hebrew religion because of the large
number of Jews living in Egypt at the time.
• Because of this translation, the Hebrew Scriptures became one of the most
important documents in the history of Western culture; had they ignored the
book, it would probably have faded into the dust of history within a few
hundred years.
The Romans and Decline
• The last Pharaoh of Egypt was Cleopatra VII; she was the
only Ptolemy in 300 years to learn Egyptian
• After first ruling with one brother and then the other,
Cleopatra VII (51 BCE – 30 BCE) established her own power
by forming an alliance with two Roman leaders, first with
Julius Caesar and second with Mark Antony
• 31 BCE – Caesar’s nephew Octavian defeats Mark Antony at
the Battle of Actium on the Ionian Sea; Octavian (Augustus
Caesar) marched into Egypt, and Mark Antony and Cleopatra
commit suicide
• Egypt becomes a province of Rome, and the Romans
introduce their laws, culture and many new products
• No foreign power was more hated than the Romans.
• Anti-Roman sentiment soon crystallized around a new
religion, Christianity, introduced in the middle of the first
century AD.
• Egyptian Christians called "Copts," saw this religion as a tool
to use in anti-Roman propaganda and agitation.
• Romans severely persecuted these early Egyptian Christians
• Rome’s control over Egypt gradually weakens after the split
into eastern (Byzantium) and western empires (395 CE), and
in ca. 642 CE Muslims from Arabia conquered Egypt