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The Nile Valley The Nile Valley The Land of the Nile World’s longest river Empties into Med. Sea Lower Egypt – at Nile’s mouth – the delta Delta = piece of land formed by soil deposits at mouth of river Upper Egypt – higher land to the south – narrow fertile Nile Valley Cataracts – 6 waterfalls in southern part of Nile The Nile Valley The Land of the Nile Arid = dry Nile cuts across arid Sahara desert Heavy rains in mountains at Nile’s source Yearly flooding deposits silt = fertile soil By 4000 BC farming villages lined Nile from delta to 1st cataract Nile River Nile River – 1st Cataract Controlling the River To control water, Egyptians developed irrigation systems Also dams built to control yearly flooding Stored in ponds for later use Population increased along river Gov’t began to control farming and irrigation Authority based on ability to provide water for crops Surplus crops stored and used to feed laborers on public works projects = Couldn’t predict flooding – when, how much A Source of Religion To find order in their world, they created stories to explain events in nature Polytheistic gods and goddesses controlled specific parts of nature Ra – sun god – one of most important Thought sun was born each morning and died each night Cycle led to belief in an afterlife for people Ra Sun god A Source of Religion Hapi – god of the flood Festivals held to honor Hapi – hoping he would reward with good harvests Horus – the sky god Osiris – god of the next world Each city had 1 or more special god or goddess Thebes became powerful city, so belief in their god – Amon – grew Eventually Amon and Ra combined to become Amon-Ra – the most powerful god. Hapi – god of flooding Horus – god of the sky Osiris – god of the next world Toward Civilzation By 3100 BC, developing an advanced civilization Built temples Stone tombs to bury rulers Writing Pottery painted with scenes from daily lives Mined copper for tool making Mined gold for decorative art Surplus made of of this possible Toward Civilzation Wheat ground to flour – bread became main part of diet Trade began across Sinai Penninsula Egypt southwestern Asia Trade along Nile – highway – so became expert ship builders First used reeds for boats – then wood from what is now Lebanon for sailing ships Sailing ships made travel up the Nile possible Entire Nile – except for cataracts of Nubia – could be traveled. Toward Civilzation Trade and travel led to towns growing to cities Some cities became trade centers By 3100 BC – Egypt had 2 kingdoms Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt The Big Idea: Just like in Mesopotamia – a water source people settled and farmed surplus trade larger cities Farming spreads throughout Mesopotamia 4000 BC Farming along Nile City-states develop in Sumer 3000 BC Upper and Lower Egypt Kingdoms form (Old Kingdom) Hammurabi’s Code written 2000 BC Middle Kingdom begins