Download EGYPTIANS - Mr. Ray`s Website

EGYPTIANS
GEOGRAPHY AND ANCIENT
CULTURE
NILE RIVER
 The
Nile River brought life to Egypt
and allowed it to thrive.
 Biannual
flooding of the Nile made
farming possible.
The Nile River
1.The Nile River is the world’s longest river. The Nile
flows from Upper Egypt in the southern part of
the country to Lower Egypt in the Northern part
of ancient Egypt.
Therefore the Nile
River flows from the
South to the
North.
(Direction)
 The beginning of a
river is called the
Source and the
ending of a river is
called the
Mouth.


Cataracts are rapids in rivers that make it hard to get
past or navigate. The Nile has sections that are
hard for boats to pass.
2. The Nile River has
Cataracts or rapids
that are hard to navigate.
3. Delta- triangle-shaped area of
Land made of soil deposited by a river

3.
Look at the map of
the Nile. Do you
see where the river
fans out and
covers more area?
Now answer
question #3
Which has fertile,
marshy area,
Upper Egypt or
Lower Egypt?
Lower Egypt
4. The Nile River flows
into the
Mediterranean
Sea.
When the Nile River
floods, fertile soil is left
on the land, just like in
Mesopotamia.
5. Rich, fertile soil called
silt, is deposited along
the Nile River banks
after a flood.
6. Why does the Nile River flow NORTH?
With the mountains to the south,
the river flows down hill and north
to empty into the Mediterranean
Sea.
Nile River Valley
 Provided
fertile soil for crops
 Provided protection- cataracts,
deserts and bodies of water
Unification of Egypt
Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt and
unified the two kingdoms by taking
control of Lower Egypt and by marrying
a Lower Egyptian princess.
Menes was probably Egypt’s first pharaoh,
the title used by the rulers of Egypt.
He also founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or
series of rulers from the same family.
Menes was
important
because he
was a pharaoh
from the Old
Kingdom that
combined the
Upper and
Lower Egypt.
Here Come the Pharaohs
An Egyptian ruler was called a
Pharaoh.
The pharaohs are descendants
of the sun god RA or RE.
Pharaohs wore a
Cartouche.
This was a royal
name tag with the pharaohs’
name written inside a magic
loop of rope.
OLD KINGDOM
•
The Old Kingdom was a period in which
the Egyptians developed a system based
on the belief that the pharaoh was both a
king and a god.- Khufu most famous
•
As the population grew, social classes
appeared.
•
Egypt began to trade goods with its
neighbors.
It’s fun to be at the TOP
Upper Class
Pharaohs
Nobles
Priests
Middle Class
Skilled workers and Merchants
Lower Class
Peasants who farmed,
worked on temples, tombs, and roads
Religion
The Egyptians had gods for
nearly everything, including the
sun, the sky, and the earth.
These gods would often mix
human and animal forms.
How do the ancient Egyptians
view death or the afterlife?
Afterlife- life after death
Ancient Egyptians
believed everyone
had a spirit or soul
called a KA that
lived on after their
body had died.
Reasons Egyptians use
Mummification
The Egyptians used
mummification to
preserve their dead.
A MUMMY is
called a preserved
body.
Do you want to be a Mummy?
Everyone eventually
wants to be a mummy
in ancient Egypt.
WHY?
Because their spirit,
or Ka, needs to
recognize the body
or the spirit would
die. This is why the
body has to be
preserved.
Religion and the Science of Burial
What’s Natron?
Egyptians needed to dehydrate the body
before mummification. They used a salt
mixture called Natron to dry out the
body.
What happens to the guts and
stuff?
The lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines
were stored in Canopic jars and
those were placed in the tomb with the
body.
Possessions were buried with
mummies because they would need
these things in the afterlife. (ex)
food, wine, jewelry.
Sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
was a stone box
that contains a
mummy
 Decorated in gold
and very ornate
 The outside coffin

Pyramids were
built as burial tombs
for the pharaohs.
The first pyramids
were called mastabas
or platforms.
A Sphinx is a large
statue of a
creature with
the body of a
lion and a head
of a human.
The Great Pyramid
Pyramid of Cheops or Khufu's
Pyramid


.
Khufu was buried in
the Great Pyramid. It
was built 481 feet
high (it has lost 30 ft.
off the top)
The base of the
pyramid covers about
13 acres
Middle Kingdom
Following a period
of competition for
power between the
nobles and the
pharaohs, the
Middle Kingdom
began.
Egypt fell into
disorder around
1750 BC. A group
called the Hyksos
invaded and ruled
the region for
200 years.
The Egyptians
fought back, and
Ahmose of Thebes
declared himself
king and drove the
Hyksos out of
Egypt, beginning
the New Kingdom.
New Kingdom

Fearing future invasions, the Egyptians took
control of all possible invasion routes into the
kingdom.

Egypt took over vast lands and was the leading
military power in the area.

Egypt became rich because of the lands it
conquered.
Growth and Effects of Trade

Conquests brought traders into contact with
distant lands, and trade routes, or paths
followed by traders, developed.

Queen Hatshepsut encouraged trade and
used the profits to support the arts and
architecture.

Led by Ramses the Great, Egypt fought
invaders for many years, leaving their empire
diminished.
Daily Life

The complex society required people to take on
many different kinds of jobs.

Family life was very important in Egyptian
society, and most Egyptians lived in their own
homes.
Women
had many legal rights, including
owning property, making contracts, and
divorcing their husbands.
Hieroglyphics.
 Hieroglyphics
was the
Egyptian writing
system.
 Egyptians
learned to
write hieroglyphics on
papyrus, a longlasting, paperlike
material made from
reeds.
 Scribes
wrote on
papyrus using brushes
and ink.
 Historians
learned how
to read hieroglyphics
after discovering the
Rosetta Stone, which
was written in three
languages.
 Hieroglyphics
 A later
form of
Egyptian
 Greek
Temples
Egyptians
believed
the
massive
temples
were
homes of
the gods.
People
visited to
worship,
offer gifts to
the gods,
and ask for
favors.
Temples had
• Stone
sphinxes and
other statues
• An obelisk: a
tall, four-sided
pillar that is
pointed at the
top
• Painted walls
and columns
that also had
hieroglyphics
Egyptian art filled tombs.
 Egyptian
art was filled
with lively, colorful
scenes.
 Art
showed historical
events, everyday life,
and religious events.
 Painting
had a
distinctive style in
which people’s heads
and legs are always
seen from the side, but
upper bodies are
shown straight on.
Tombs contained work
such as:
 Art
and hieroglyphics
on walls and columns
 Stone
statues and
carvings
 Egyptians
were
skilled
stoneworkers.
 Jewelry
Nubia

A group of people called the Kushites
settled in a region now called Nubia and
established the first large kingdom in the
interior of Africa.

The development of the Kushite
civilization was greatly influenced by the
geography of Nubia, especially the role
played by the Nile River.
Nubia

Ancient Nubia was
fertile due to
annual flooding.

It was rich in
valuable minerals
that contributed to
its wealth.
Gold
Copper
Stone

Farmers thrived
there, and one
became the king of
a region he called
Kush.

The capital city of
Kerma was
protected from
invaders by the
cataracts of the
Nile River.
Kush and Egypt Trade
Egypt and Kush
traded with each
other. However,
relations
between Kush
and Egypt
became hostile.
Egypt feared that
Kush would
become too
powerful, so it
invaded and
conquered Kush.
Kush was an
Egyptian
territory for
about 450 years.
Many Kushites
adopted Egyptian
religious
practices, names,
and language.
During a time of
decline in Egypt,
Kushite leaders
regained control
of Kush,
becoming
independent
again.
Kush Regains Power
• Kush regained its
strength and
conquered Egypt
under the direction
of Kashta and his
son Piankhi.
• Shabaka, brother
of Piankhi,
declared himself
pharaoh and
began the
Kushite Dynasty.
• By 751 BC the
Kushite king Kashta
had conquered
Upper Egypt.
Piankhi ruled all of
Egypt by the time of
his death around
716 BC.
• This dynasty
tried to restore
the old Egyptian
cultural
practices.
The Kushite
Dynasty
remained strong
until the
Assyrians drove
them out of
Egypt in the
670s BC.
Later Kush
Kush devoted itself
to increasing
agriculture and
trade. Within a few
centuries, it
became a rich and
powerful kingdom
again.
• Meroë, the
kingdom’s new
capital,
developed an
iron industry.
• Resources such
as iron ore and
wood for
furnaces helped
the industry
grow quickly.
Meroë became the
center of a large
trade network, a
system of people
in different lands
who trade goods.
Kushite Culture
Kushite culture
was influenced by
Egypt. They
worshipped
Egyptian gods,
built pyramids,
wore Egyptian
clothing, and had
rulers called
pharaohs.
• The Kushites also
had their own
gods.
• They developed
their own written
language, called
Meroitic.
The women of
Kush were
expected to be as
active in society as
the men. Some
rose to positions of
authority and
power, especially
religious authority.
Delcine in Kush.

Loss of Resources
 Cattle
overgrazed the land, leaving nothing to hold
the soil down and allowing it to blow away.
 Ironmakers
used up the forests near Meroë. Military
power declined when weapons were not produced.

Trade Rivals
 Merchants
set up new trade routes that went around
Kush, weakening its trade.