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EGYPT
Ancient Egypt was divided into three
sections.
1. The Old Kingdom---The Old Kingdom was Egypt’s first great period of peace
and prosperity, lasting from around 2,700 B.C. to 2,200 B.C. During these
centuries, Egypt prospered under effective pharaohs, a strong government,
and an efficient administration.
2. The Middle Kingdom---The Old Kingdom gave way to chaos and war for many
years. Then, around 2,040 B.C., a king named Mentuhotep II reunited the
kingdom and launched a new era of peace and prosperity known as the Middle
Kingdom. During this
time, the pharaohs restored the power of the centralized government.
Farmers expanded agriculture, and building great monuments resumed.
3. The New Kingdom---The New Kingdom lasted nearly 500 years from 1,550
B.C. to 1,070 B.C. This period of prosperity saw Egypt grow more powerful than
ever.
Geography of Ancient Egypt

The Nile River starts in central Africa and flows up to the
Mediterranean Sea. It is approximately 4,000 miles long. It
floods yearly and leaves behind fertile soil. It flows
downhill from south to north. The land is at a higher
elevation in Upper Egypt and a lower elevation in Lower
Egypt.

Upper Egypt is the fertile land in southern Egypt.

Lower Egypt is the delta region by the Mediterranean Sea
in northern Egypt.

In 3,100 B.C. King Narmer/Menes unified the two lands of
Upper and Lower Egypt into one unified land.
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Gods and Goddesses

THOTH – was the very important god of wisdom and learning. Ancient
Egyptians believed he had invented speech, reading, writing, math,
magic and more. He was the god of truth and of justice, and he
served as scribe, or secretary, to other gods.

Thoth was most frequently shown as an ibis-headed man. To the
Egyptians, the ibis and baboon were the sacred symbols of Thoth.
Thousands of mummified ibises were found buried at Hermopolis, the
sacred city of Thoth.

BAST or BASTET was a kind and gentle cat-headed goddess who loved
music and dancing, Egyptians believed that she watched over
pregnant women and protected men from evil spirits and disease.

Bast was thought to represent the warm, gently rays of the sun. Once
a year Egyptians came by boat to worship Bast at Bubastis. The city
became a scene of great song and joy. Cats were sacred to Bast.
Their mummies were buried at the city of Bubastis with great honor.
Gods and Goddesses

SEBEK like the crocodile whose head he wore, was feared by many
and was worshiped by others. In very ancient times, Egyptians feared
the Nile crocodile as a terrible evil. Later it came to be seen as a
helper of the dead and a symbol of the power of the greatest sun god,
RA.

The mongoose an animal that gobbled up croc eggs, was seen as a
friend by those who feared Sebek. But to those who believed the god
was good, the mongoose was considered an enemy.

ANUBIS, a jackeal-headed god, was the guardian of the dead. He
made sure that mummies were properly prepared and welcomed them
into their tombs. He also helped weigh the hearts of the dead on
their final, “day of judgement.” The Egyptians believed that all
hearts were weighed against a large feather the symbol of justice. If
the scales balanced, the dead person had led a fair life. If the heart
was heavy with foul deeds, however, it was thrown to a waiting
monster. Anubis watched over the weighing to see that it was
properly done.
Mummification

Ancient Egyptians believed that death was a transition
into a new form of life.

The believed that every person had a soul named the BA
(seen as a human headed bird) and the KA.

The BA (soul) and the KA (an invisible twin of the person)
continued to live on in the burial tomb.
 KA
– went from body to the other world
 BA
– spent day with the family and returned to the
body at night.

The body could not decay or the BA and the KA would not
recognize the body.

So…the Egyptians established the procedure of
mummification.
Mummification Process

It took about 70 days to prepare the body.

The Egyptians moved the body to a workshop
near the tomb.

The inner organs were removed.
 The
brain removed with a metal hook through the
nose.
 They
made a cut in the left side of the body and
removed the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines.
 Organs
were embalmed and put into canopic jars.

The body was filled with natron cloth.

After 40 days, natron packs were removed and
the body was restuffed.
Mummification process cont.

The eyes were plugged with cloth.

The nose was stuffed with beeswax (peppercorns).

The fingernails were covered with gold.

The embalming cut was sewn shut.

The arms were crossed and the body was adorned with jewels
(amulets).

The body was wrapped.

The arms, legs, fingers, and toes were all wrapped individually
(linen).

It took 20 wrappings to make the mummy take on its’ natural size.

Magical amulets/jewels were tucked into the mummy’s wrapping and
hieroglyphics were painted on the outside.

The head was covered with a portrait mask.

The mummy and mask were covered with one last shroud and a coat
of resin to seat it.
Pyramid Notes
You entered the pyramid through the descending
corridor. (-going down)
 This led to an entrance to the ascending passage. (-going
up)
 Then you were in a large hallway called the Grand
Gallery. It had high vaulted ceilings and paintings on the
wall.
 The Grand Gallery took you to the burial chamber. This
decorated room was in the center of the pyramid. It
contained the mummy of the pharaoh, coffins and a
sarcophagus or stone box.

Pyramid Notes Cont.
 There were three rooms that were connected to the burial
chamber. The annex was a smaller room that held the
pharaoh’s belongings.
 The antechamber was larger and also contained the pharaoh’s
personal items. (boats, clothes, food, oars, tables, chairs,
chariots, etc…)
 The treasury held gold, jewels, statues and the canopic jars.
 The first pyramids were called “Step Pyramids” and later the
Egyptians discovered how to make them smooth.
FYI – King Tut was not buried in a pyramid. He was buried in the
Valley of the Kings, which were hills with pointy tops that looked
like pyramids
Pharaoh Notes
In about 3,000 B.C., King Narmer united the two lands of Upper
and Lower Egypt and founded the first dynasty of Egyptian
pharaohs. Greek historians tell a similar story about a king named
Menes. Some scholars believe that Menes was another name for
Narmer. This legendary conqueror’s exploits are represented on the
Narmer palette.
 Narmer was the king of Upper Egypt. After Narmer unified Egypt,
he combined the white crown of Upper Egypt with the red crown of
Lower Egypt. The double crown symbolized the unification of the
two lands.
 The kings of ancient Egypt were known as pharaohs or
descendants of the sun god, Ra. The word pharaoh means “The
Great House”. The term was used because the king was a god and
no one could talk directly to or about him. The term pharaoh meant
his palace was spoken of, not him.

Pharaoh Notes Cont.
The ancient Egyptians believed the pharaoh was both god and
king. He had absolute power. He owned the land of Egypt and the
people were his to do with as he wished. The whip or flail that the
pharaoh held was symbolic of his power over his subjects. The
crook stood for the pharaoh’s duty to lead and protect his people.
The false beard, worn by pharaohs at ceremonies, was a symbol of
the pharaoh’s power as a man.
 The pharaoh could not marry just anyone because no one
outside the pharaoh’s family had divine blood. Therefore, pharaohs
were forced to marry their sisters, half-sisters, or even their
daughters.
 These god-kings or pharaohs controlled ancient Egypt for over
three thousand years.

Pharaoh Notes Cont.
Nefertiti was the mother-in-law of King Tut. She was the wife of a pharaoh.
Nefertiti was famous for her beauty and a statue of her head was found in
ancient Egypt.

Hatshepsut was Egypt’s first queen. At first, she was not permitted to rule
because she was a woman, and her husband was made pharaoh. He died shortly
after that (hmmmm??) and she proclaimed herself as queen or pharaoh of Egypt.
She accomplished many great things and ruled for eighteen years.


Cleopatra was the most famous of all Egyptian queens. She descended from a
family that ruled Egypt for over 300 years. Her father left the throne to
Cleopatra and her brother. Her brother had her quickly banished or removed
from Egypt so that he could be the sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra was helped
by Julius Caesar to regain the throne. When Caesar returned to Rome,
Cleopatra went with him. Later, she came back to continue to rule Egypt with
her son
Hieroglyphic Notes

The ancient Egyptians valued keeping records.

The progression of Egyptian writing:

1st – hieroglyphics or small pictures stood for words or ideas.

2nd – hieroglyphics came to represent sounds

3rd – the Egyptians put the sound representing hieroglyphics
together to form words.

Around 700 BC, the Egyptians stopped using hieroglyphics and began
using a cursive script called demotic writing.

The discovery of the Rosetta Stone made it possible to decode
hieroglyphics.

A Cartouche is the name of an Egyptian god or ruler that is written up
and down and has an oval drawn around it.

The main difference between our alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics
is that our alphabet has 26 letters and there are over 700 characters
or pictures in Egyptian writing.
The Rise of Kush
Just south of Egypt, across the first cataract of the
Nile River, lay the land of Nubia.

Nubia was rich in copper, gold and provided a trade
route for exotic goods from Africa for the Egyptians.

Nubia was ruled by the Egyptians and followed Egyptian
practices.


After the reign of Ramses II, the Nubian kingdom of
Kush asserted its independence. The Kushite king, Piankhi,
invaded Egypt and took control of Memphis, Thebes and
Upper and Lower Egypt. Piankhi united the kingdoms of
Egypt and Kush under a new line of Kushite kings.

The Rise of Kush
Piankhi thought of himself as a pharaoh. The Kush build
pyramids, mummified their dead and worshipped Egyptian
gods.

Eventually the Kush was pushed out of Egypt by the
Assyrians who were fierce warriors.

The Kush continued to grow as an independent power.
Its cities were built across from two major trade routes.
They had lots of gold and started to mine iron ore. Iron
was important in the ancient world because it was used to
make strong tools.

Egyptian Medicine
Egypt had the most advanced medical practices in the
ancient world.

The Egyptians developed a great understanding of
anatomy (the body) through mummifying dead bodies. They
identified the heart as the most important organ and the
pulse as its “voice”.

Doctors provided medicines made from plants and
minerals, set broken bones, and performed surgeries.
Researchers have found medical texts written on papyrus
paper with instructions for doctors. Magic spells to heal
different illnesses were also considered part of medical
treatment.

Egyptian Science and Mathematics
Ancient Egyptians were talented astronomers. Astronomy is the
branch of science that studies the sun, moon, stars, planets, and
space. Because of this study, they developed the 365 day calendar, 24
hour days, 10 day weeks, 3 week months, and 12 month years.

The Egyptians were excellent mathematicians. They used a decimal
counting system that included fractions. They did not use zero. They
established key principles of geometry which made it possible to
design big buildings like the pyramids.


Their mastery of mathematics also helped them run an empire.
--calculated how many workers needed on a project & how
much food they would need to eat
--estimated trade profits, crop yields & taxes