Download Life in Ancient Egypt Several million people lived in ancient Egypt

Life in Ancient Egypt
Several million people lived in ancient Egypt. But they didn't own anything - not their house, not
their jewelry or pets or crops or anything. The only person who owned in ancient Egypt was the
pharaoh. The pharaoh owned everything. The pharaoh was in charge of everything. To help him do a
good job, the pharaoh had helpers - lots and lots of helpers. Some helpers were members of the royal
family. Others were people who had worked their way up the government ladder. Each pharaoh had an
organized army, a police force, and a huge number of ministers and government officials to assist him.
The ancient Egyptians loved titles. So it's not surprising that government officials gave
themselves all kinds of titles, some quite elaborate. But in ancient Egypt, the only title that really
mattered besides the title of Pharaoh was that of “Vizier”. The Vizier was Pharaoh's right hand
man. Everyone reported to the official above them. The very top officials reported to the Vizier. The
Vizier reported to the Pharaoh every day on what was happening all over Egypt.
The Vizier was also the judge of the high court. If you had a problem and it was not solved in the
local courts, or in the provincial courts, you could bring your problem in front of the Vizier on a first
come, first served basis. It was dangerous. The Vizier's decision was final. You could end up in more
trouble than you started with. But the Vizier tried to be fair. He had to explain aloud the reason for his
decision in each case so that everyone who came to court that day could hear those reasons. This
system of government worked successfully in ancient Egypt for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Ancient Egyptians - Food
Although Egypt is a hot, desert country where the lack of water makes it difficult to grow
crops and raise animals, the annual flooding of the river Nile (inundation) between the months of
June and September made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile areas of the ancient world.When
the river flooded, mud and silt was deposited onto the surrounding area. This soil was rich and
fertile and made good farming land. The main crops grown were wheat and barley.
Wheat was made into bread which was one of the main foods eaten by both rich and poor
ancient Egyptians. First the grain was made into flour. It was then made into dough with water and
yeast which was placed into a clay mould before being cooked in a stone oven. Barley was used to
make beer. Beer was drank by both rich and poor. Wine was made from grapes, pomegranates and
plums were enjoyed by the rich.
The rich ancient Egyptians' ate meat - (beef, goat, mutton), fish from the Nile (perch, catfish,
mullet) or poultry (goose, pigeon, duck, heron, crane) on a daily basis. Poor Egyptians only ate meat on
special occasions but ate fish and poultry more often. Meat, fish and poultry was roasted or boiled. It
was flavoured with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, sesame, dill and fennel. Meat, fish and poultry that
was not eaten quickly was preserved by salting or drying.
A variety of vegetables were grown and eaten by the ancient Egyptians including onions, leeks,
garlic, beans, lettuce, lentils, cabbages, radishes and turnips.Fruit including dates, figs, plums and
melons were eaten for dessert
Ancient Egypt: Pyramid TimeLine
2700 BC - Step Pyramid built; 'Bent' Pyramid built; North Pyramid built
2600 BC - Pyramids of Giza built Great Sphinx
2400 BC - Pyramid built for Unas
2300 BC - Pyramid building stopped
2000 BC - Pyramid building resumed
1800 BC - Last pyramids built in Egypt
1300 BC - Khaemwaset restored the pyramid of Unas
500 BC - Herodotus visited the pyramids
100 BC - Diodorus Siculus visited the pyramids
800 AD – 820 Caliph al-Mamun broke into the Great Pyramid
900 AD - Casing blocks stripped off Giza pyramids
1700 AD - Travellers and explorers began exploring pyramids
1798- Battle of the Pyramids
1900 AD - 1954- Two boat pits found next to the Great Pyramid.
1992- Robot explored air shafts in Great Pyramid
History TimeLine Dates and Facts
3500 BC - Early settlers in the Nile valley
3100 BC - Hieroglyphic script developed
& Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt
2700 BC - First stone pyramid built
2600 BC - Pyramids of Giza built
2200 BC - Various kings ruled Egypt
2100 BC - 2055- Mentuhotep II gained control of entire country
1900 BC - Agricultural development of the Faiyum. Earliest parts of Temple of Karnak built. Egyptians
control Nubia
1700 BC - Hyksos rulers took control of Delta region
1600 BC - Ahmose unified country
1500 BC - Hatshepsut became pharaoh
1400 BC - Akhenaten changed Egyptian religion.
Tutankhamun became pharaoh. Traditional religion returned.
1300 BC - Hypostyle hall built at Temple of Karnak
1274 - Ramesses II fought in Battle of Kadesh
1100 BC - Upper and Lower Egypt split
800 BC - 728- Nubian king Piy conquered Egypt
600 BC - 525- Persians conquered Egypt
400 BC - 332- Alexander the Great conquered Egypt
305- Ptolemy I became pharaoh
200 BC - 196- Rosetta Stone carved
100 BC - 31- Battle of Actium. 30- Cleopatra VII died.
300 AD - Last use of hieroglyphic writing
600 AD - 642- Egypt conquered by Arabs
800 AD - 820- Caliph al Mamun entered the Great Pyramid
1000 AD - 969- City of Cairo founded. Casing blocks stripped off Giza pyramids.
500 AD - 1517- Ottoman Turks ruled Egypt
1700 AD - 1798- Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt
1799- Rosetta Stone found
1800 AD - Travellers and explorers began uncovering the monuments of ancient Egypt. 1822- Hieroglyphs
deciphered
1859- 1869 Suez Canal built
Egyptologists began formal excavations in Egypt.
1900 AD - 1922- Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun
1953- Egypt became independent
1960- Aswan High Dam built
Mummification Timelines
3100 BC - Early burials in sand
2700 BC - Earliest mummies made by this date
2600 BC - Embalming process developed.
Internal organs are removed during embalming
2400 BC - Pyramid texts first used
2100 BC - Coffin texts first used
1700 BC - Removing brain became standard
1600 BC - Book of the Dead first used
1000 BC - Internal organs returned to body after embalming.Embalmed body is stuffed so it looks lifelike
100 AD - Mummy portraits used
200 AD - Mummy portraits stop being used
1500 AD - Ground up mummies
1800 AD - 1881- Group of royal mummies found.
Mummy of Ramesses II unwrapped.
1900 AD - 1923- Mummy of Tutankhamun unwrapped. Medical tests done on mummies.