Download Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile

Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile
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Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile
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The Nile River
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Longest river in the world
(4,160 miles)
Branches into the White
Nile and the Blue Nile
Flows from South to North
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Easy transportation each
way
Winds blew north to south
to allow sailing
Floods annually
Egyptians built their
civilization near the delta
Nile River
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Farmers learned
irrigation
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Building materials
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Allowed them to grow
up to 3 crops per year
Possible to feed a
large population
Rich deposits of
granite, sandstone,
and limestone
Nile River
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Other advantages
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Isthmus of Suez
formed a land bridge
between Africa and
Asia (p. 21)
Why was this
important?
What are other
advantages?
Hieroglyphics
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3000 B.C.
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Egyptians developed
hieroglyphics, a form
of writing
Pictures and symbols
represented words
and sounds
Carved into stone,
then later on papyrus
(where we got our
word “paper”)
Rosetta Stone
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In 1798, the French
invaded Egypt
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Rosetta Stone was
discovered
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Contained passages in
Greek, hieroglyphics, and
an Egyptian style called
demotic
Modern scholars who could
read the Greek text, used it
to decode the hieroglyphics
Why is this so important?
Egyptian Kingdoms
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2 similar, yet distinct
cultures and kingdoms
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Upper Egypt
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Lower Egypt
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Upper kingdom
3200 B.C.
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Southern kingdom
Menes, king of Upper
Egypt, united all of Egypt
into one kingdom
Menes Dynasty
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Dynasty- family of rulers
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Under Menes
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Rule usually passed from
father to son
Dynasty ends when one
family is driven from power
or when no family member
is left to rule
New territories
Great wealth
Improved irrigation and
trade
Pharaohs
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Dynastic rulers were
called pharaohs
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Regarded as gods
Great temples and tombs
were built to honor them
Absolute and unlimited
power
Led the government,
served as judge, high
priest, and army general
Dynasties
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From Menes until about
300 B.C., some 30
dynasties ruled Egypt
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These dynasties are
separated into three
kingdoms covering different
time spans
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Old Kingdom
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2680 B.C.- 2180 B.C.
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Advances in the
sciences and arts
Lower class
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Upper class
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Peasants and farmers
Served in the army and
worked on building
projects
Pharaoh, noble family,
and government
officials
First Intermediate Period
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Lasted 100 years
after the Old Kingdom
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Period of civil war and
internal strife
Fought for control of
the land
Middle Kingdom
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2050 B.C.-1650 B.C.
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The Golden Age
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The Hyksos
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Introduced chariots and the
compound bow
Rose to power in Egypt
around 1650 B.C.
Read p. 23 (last two
paragraphs)
Followed by the Second
Intermediate Period
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Stability and prosperity
1650 B.C.-1570 B.C.
New Kingdom
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1570 B.C.-1080 B.C.
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Characterized by
strong pharaohs and
expanding territory
Built an empire, ruling
over many other
people and territories
See map on p. 24
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Answer #2
New Kingdom
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Notable Pharaohs
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Hatshepsut
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Ruled from 1503 B.C.1482 B.C.
One of the first known
female rulers
Kept borders secure
and built trade with
other lands
Notable Pharaohs
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Amenhotep IV
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Ruled from 1380 B.C.-1362
B.C.
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Tried to establish
monotheism
Changed name to
Akhenaton-“he who is
pleasing to Aton”
Aton was the symbol for
the sun god
Failed to change Egypt’s
religious beliefs
Egypt’s Decline
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Ramses II
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Ruled from 1279 B.C.1213 B.C.
Last of Egypt’s great
pharaohs
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AKA Ramses the Great
Kept the Egyptian
empire together
Built many temples and
monuments
Post-Imperial Period
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1080 B.C.-300’s B.C.
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Egypt began to
weaken due to outside
invasions
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Sea Peoples
Assyrians
Nubians
Persians
By the 300’s B.C.,
Egypt was no longer
ruled by Egyptians
Egyptian Life and Culture
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Achievements
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Architecture and Arts
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Science, Math, and
Medicine
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Pyramids
Sculptures
Paintings
Calendar to predict
flooding
Geometry
Treated illnesses and
preserved the dead
Education
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Scribes
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Clerks who learned to
read and write to work
for the government
Education focused
mostly on religious
instruction
Society
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Rigid Social Classes
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Women had many
rights
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Peasants
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Ranked as equals with
husbands in business
and social affairs
Did most of the farming
Kept only a some of the
crop, the rest went to
the pharaoh
Activity
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Create and complete the chart below
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You do not need to use complete sentences.
Due at the beginning of next class.
12 points
Old Kingdom
Duration
Global Relations
Internal Power
Structure
Technological
Developments
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Middle Kingdom New Kingdom
Video Clip
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What the Ancients
Knew: Egyptians
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30 min.