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Ancient Egypt
Chapter 3, Lesson 4
Egyptian Culture
Discovery School Video – Ancient Egypt
Hieroglyphs Activity
TN SPI 6.4.4, 6.5.3
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Egyptian Government
• Egyptians established a monarch form of
government led by a king called a pharaoh.
The position of pharaoh was usually inherited
by the eldest son, although some pharaohs
were women.
• The pharaoh was the absolute ruler. He (or
she) was not obliged to obey any laws, but he
allowed other people to act for him and help
him rule regions of Egypt.
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Egyptian Government
• Scribes played an important role in Egyptian
government. Not only did they advise the
Pharaoh but they also recorded laws made
by the pharaoh.
• The scribes were well educated and held
great power.
• The vizier was a very powerful scribe and
advisor to the pharaoh.
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Governing
Egypt
Pharaoh
King – most
powerful
Viziers and
The High Priest
Political advisor
Religious ceremony
Royal Overseers
A) Military
B) Courts
C) Farming
District Governors
42 total
Scribes
Recorded events and kept track of tombs
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Queen Hatshepsut
• Queen Hatshepsut was the first wife and Queen of Thutmose
II (half-brother) and on his death proclaimed herself Pharaoh,
denying the king's son, her nephew, his inheritance. (tradition
of marrying a royal woman)
• To support her cause she claimed the god Amon-Ra spoke,
saying "Thou art the King, taking possession of the land."
• Because the king’s son was young, she served as his regent
until he was old enough to rule.
• She dressed as a king, even wearing a false beard and the
Egyptian people seem to have accepted this unprecedented
behavior.
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Queen Hatshepsut
• She remained in power for twenty
years (1479 - 1457 BC) and during
this time the Egyptian economy
flourished, she expanded trading
relations and built magnificent
temples as well as restoring many
others.
• Eventually her nephew grew into a
man and took his rightful place as
pharaoh.
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Queen Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el Bahri
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Egyptian Economy
• The Egyptians had a barter economy. This
meant they traded goods with one another.
• The Nile was the center of trade.
• There has never been evidence of stamped or
coined money being used in Egypt.
• Taxes were collected from farmers in the form
of grain or services offered to the pharaoh.
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Egyptian
Social Classes
Pharaoh
Upper Class
Priests – Nobles
Members of Pharaoh’s
Court
Middle Class
Merchants – Skilled Workers
Lower Class
Largest Class
Peasants and Farm Laborers
Slaves
*Usually Captured in Wars
Small Class
Rights included the freedom to own personal items,
Inherit land from their masters, and could be set free
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Peasant Class
• Even though peasants could own land, most
worked the land of wealthier people.
• During the flood season, peasants worked on
roads, temples, and other buildings.
• Harvest was a busy time. Men, women, and
older children worked the fields from sunrise
to sunset.
• Once harvest was over, they offered food and
drink to the gods in thanks for their help.
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Egyptian Writings
• Although scribes recorded much of what
happened in Ancient Egypt, large murals
within temples and tombs tell the story of
Egypt.
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Hieroglyphs
• Hieroglyphs – picture symbols that stand for
ideas or things
• The Egyptians used hieroglyphs to track the
kingdoms wealth. As the empire grew, it
became necessary to create more pictures for
more complicated ideas.
• Egyptians used papyrus – an early form of
paper made from reeds that grew in the Nile
Delta rather than clay tablets.
Hieroglyphic writing is like a picture puzzle.
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Rosetta Stone
• The meaning of Egyptian Hieroglyphic writing was
lost until the discovery of an ancient stone near
the city of Rosetta near the Nile Delta in 1799.
• The Rosetta Stone had three sections of scripts
including hieroglyphs, Egyptian script, and Greek
letters.
• In the 1820s, Jean Francois Champollian was able
to decipher the script unlocking the meanings of
Egyptian hieroglyphs.
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