Download egypt - TriciaWood

EGYPT
Geography
• Egyptian civilization emerged in the Nile River Valley
• The Nile is the longest river in the world
– 4,000 miles long
• The Nile flows from Lake Victoria, located in east central Africa, northward to the
Mediterranean Sea
– The river splits into two branches, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, which join together
in the Sudan near the modern city of Khartoum
– In ancient times Sudan was known as Nubia
• Three main regions of Egypt:
– Upper Egypt
– Lower Egypt
– Nile Delta
• The richest and most fertile soil found anywhere in Africa is found in the Nile Delta
– Delta = a triangular region formed at the mouth of a river by deposits of silt
• Water from the Nile was used for:
– Irrigation (farming), drinking, bathing, transportation
• Yearly flooding left silt which made rich soil
• The Nile was controlled by dams
• Known as the Bread Basket of the Mediterranean
• Egypt also had natural barriers that gave protection from invaders and a sense of security
– Deserts to the east and west (especially the Sahara)
– Red Sea to the east
– Mediterranean Sea to the north
– Cataracts on the southern part of the Nile
• Cataracts = rocky stretches marked by swift currents, rapids, and waterfalls
• There are six cataracts
• The First Cataract marked the ancient boundary between Egypt and Nubia
• Egyptians call their fertile lands the Black Land and the surrounding desert the Red Land
History
• First farming villages appeared in 5000 BC
• Consolidated into two kingdoms
– Kingdom of Lower Egypt – worshipped a cobra goddess
– Kingdom of Upper Egypt – worshipped a vulture goddess
– Spoke different dialects and had different customs
• 3100 BC – King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom
– He adopted the symbols of both kingdoms and wore the crowns of both
– Created the capital of Memphis
– Founded the first Egyptian royal dynasty
• Dynasty = a series of rulers from the same family
• There were a total of 31 dynasties
• Egyptian history is divided into three major periods which are characterized by long-term
prosperity and strong leadership
– Old Kingdom
– Middle Kingdom
1
– New Kingdom
• Between these periods were times of chaos and invasion known as Intermediate periods
Old Kingdom 2700 – 2200 BC
• Age of prosperity and splendor
• Powerful rulers took the title of pharaoh
• Kingship was a divine institution and pharaohs had absolute power
– Belief that the pharaoh was a god in human form
– Pharaohs and his priests had to perform elaborate rituals everyday
– Egypt was a theocracy, a state ruled by a religious figure
• Surrounded by a well-established bureaucracy
– Bureaucracy = a highly structured organization, often governmental, managed by
officials
• These officials had no power, did as the pharaoh wished
• The most important official was the vizier, or “steward of the land”
– Was directly responsible to the pharaoh, right-hand man
• Egypt was divided into 42 provinces
• Each province was run by governors appointed by the pharaoh
• Pyramids were first built during the Old Kingdom
– Pyramids were tombs for dead pharaohs
• The Great Pyramid was constructed at Giza by King Khufu
– Took 100,000 Egyptians 20 years to build it
– The Great Sphinx guards the Great Pyramid
• Most pharaohs started building their pyramid as soon as they began their rule
• Workers built the pyramids from the inside out
• Most of the workers were peasants, not slaves, who were required to work for the gov’t one
month out of the year
Intermediate
• Period of chaos that lasted a 150 years
• Powerful nobles began to assert their own authority as rivals of the pharaoh
– The Old Kingdom finally collapsed
– Time of famine, invasions, and civil wars
Middle Kingdom 2050 – 1650 BC
• A new royal dynasty gains power and brings an end to the chaos
– New capital at Thebes
• Golden age of stability
– Also economic prosperity
– Traded with the Nubians, the Phoenicians, the Minoans, people in Mesopotamia and
other peoples
– Sent armies to protect the trade routes
• Period of conquest
– Conquered Nubia as far south as the second cataract
– Fortresses were built along the border of the Nile
• New concern of the pharaohs for the people
– Built public works
– Digging a canal to connect the Nile to the Red Sea
– Provide public welfare
2
Intermediate
• Around 1650 raiders from Syria called Hyksos invaded the Nile Delta and conquered Lower
Egypt
• The Hyksos were able to conquer the Egyptians due to military technology:
– Armor and strong bow
– Horse-drawn chariot
• The Hyksos ruled Egypt for 100 years
• Egyptians learned to use horses and military skills from the Hyksos
New Kingdom 1567 – 1085 BC
• Nobles from Thebes drive out the Hyksos and form a new dynasty
– Realize they can’t rely on geographic barriers to protect them
• Decide the best way to protect Egypt is to create a powerful military
– First permanent army
• Decide to create an empire to keep foreign people from ever taking Egypt over again
– Create an empire and becomes the most powerful state in Southwest Asia
– Conquered Nubia, most of the Sinai Peninsula, and parts of Phoenicia and Syria
• More wealth = impressive new temples
FAMOUS PHARAOHS
• Hatshepsut
– Took power after her husband the pharaoh died
• Officially she was only regent for her young son
– However she proclaimed herself pharaoh, the first woman to do so
– She dressed like a man and wore a false beard
• All statues of her made her out to be a man
– Best known for a successful trading expedition that went to a kingdom on the Red Sea
– After her death, her nephew became pharaoh and destroyed almost all of the statues of his
aunt
• Amenhotep IV
– Took the name Akhenaten
– Tried to make Egyptians monotheistic by only worshipping one god, Aten the sun god
– Banned the worship of all other gods and goddesses
• Tutankhamon
– Son of Amenhotep, restored the worship of Egypt’s traditional gods
• Ramses II the Great
– Great military leader, stopped the Hittites from invading and married a Hittite princess
– Ramses ruled for 60 years and brought much wealth to Egypt
– Built more temples and monuments than any other pharaoh
– Most admired pharaoh
• Decline of Egypt
– First major invasion of Egypt came from the Sea Peoples – also brought an end to the
Hittites
– Priests and nobles began to struggle for power as the empire declined
• Egypt broke up into small states
• Made Egypt an easy target for invasion
– For the next 1000 years Egypt is controlled by Libyans, Nubians, Assyrians, Persians,
Macedonians, and Romans
3
– Cleopatra VII tries to establish independence for Egypt in the first century AD, but her
involvement with Rome leads to her defeat and suicide
Religion
• Had no word for religion, the ideas were inseparable part of the world order
• Egyptians were polytheistic, had many important gods and goddesses
– Key god was the god of the sun = Re or Amon-Re
• Father of the pharaohs
– Anubis = protector of the dead
– Osiris = introduced civilization into Egypt, also became a judge of the dead
– Isis = goddess of nature and protector of women
– Horus = god of the sky, pharaohs are human forms of this god
• Believed that gods controlled all natural events
• Priests performed rituals to fulfill the needs of the gods
– Believed that the rituals refreshed the gods and kept them alive
– In return the gods would grant the pharaohs immortality and bring prosperity to Egypt
Mummification
• Central belief of the Egyptians was a belief in the afterlife
• Egyptians believed that people had two bodies, a physical one and spiritual one they called the
ka
– When a physical body died, the ka escaped
– The ka was essentially an individual’s personality separated from the body
– If the physical body is preserved, the ka could return
– If the body decomposed, the ka would shrivel and vanish
• Practice of mummification = slowly drying a dead body to preserve it and stop it from rotting
– Run by priests primarily for wealthy families who could afford it
• Discovered after early Egyptians buried their dead in the desert, found that the bodies were being
preserved
– Unfortunately jackals were eating the dead bodies
• Steps of mummification
– Remove all internal organs
– Brain was liquefied and drawn out the nose
– The heart was left inside – controlled emotions and intelligence
– Organs were placed in canopic jars to be buried with the mummy
– Body was packed with various materials to help keep its shape
– Salts were placed on the body to dry it out
– Finally the body was wrapped in strips of linen
• Dead Egyptians were buried with their material possessions and sometimes loved ones or pets
and servants
• Rooms were stocked with supplies and material goods for the return of the ka
– Also believed that people in paintings on the wall would come to life as well
Society
• Simple social structure
– Pharaoh and royal family
– Gov’t officials, priests, military leaders, scribes, landowners, doctors
– Artisans and merchants
– Peasant farmers – made up 90% of the population
4
– slaves
• Lived in family units
– Patriarchical society, husband in charge, but wives well-respected
– General rule was one marriage at a time
• Women kept property and inheritance even after marriage
• There were divorces, with compensation for the wife
• People married young and had arranged marriages
• Pharaohs often married their sisters to keep the royal blood pure
• Many upper class people shaved their heads and wore wigs, for both fashion and sun protection
• Also wore dark eyeliner as a form of sun protection
Advancements
• Main writing system was hieroglyphics
– Used picture symbols to represent objects, sounds, and ideas
– Carved into stone and written on papyrus
– Developed in 3200 BC, considered one of the world’s first writing systems
• Only Sumerian cuneiform is older
• Written words were appreciated as an art form
• In 1799 a French soldier found a granite slab, now called the Rosetta Stone, which enabled
historians to read hieroglyphics
• Math
– Used geometry to survey flooded land
– Used math to build monuments
– Could calculate volume and area
• Developed an accurate 365 day calendar
• Mummification led to medical expertise in human anatomy
– Doctors set broken bones, treated wounds, performed simple surgical procedures, and
even removed some types of tumors
– Doctors also encouraged regular bathing
5