Download Essentials Nile River: The river that ran through Egypt. It allowed

Essentials
 Nile River: The river that ran through Egypt. It allowed Egypt to become civilized
by bringing water and its yearly flood to Egypt.
 Delta: A huge triangle-shaped area of land which consists of islands and marshes. A
Delta is very fertile land which is good for farming.
 Flood: Every year the Nile River would flood which brought silt over the farm land.
The flood occurred at the same time annually. The yearly flood allowed Egyptians to
have very fertile farm land which often produced two or three harvests a year.
 Calendar: The Egyptians were the first civilization to create a calendar based on the
movement of the sun and stars and the occurrence of the yearly flood. This allowed
the Egyptians to develop a predictable planning, harvest, and flood season. The
calendar and the predictable seasons allowed the Egyptians to create large building
projects like the pyramids.
 Egypt’s Religion: The people of Ancient Egypt used stories about their gods to
explain the events of nature. Some notable gods and goddesses were Osiris, who
taught people to farm, and Horus, Osiris’s son who ruled the sky.
 Pharaoh: The word Pharaoh means “great house” and referred to the ruler’s
magnificent palace. Egyptians believed that their pharaoh was a god in a human
form. The Pharaoh had total authority over the people and the land of Egypt.
 Re: The Egyptian sun god who was the most important god of Egypt. He was
believed to create the other gods and the world.
 Papyrus: A plant that grew out of the Nile River which the ancient Egyptians cut and
pressed together to make a paper-like substance. The ancient Egyptians recorded
their history of Egypt on rolls of papyrus.
 Old Kingdom: Known as the Age of the Pyramids lasting from 2625 BC to 2130 BC.
Also during this period the Egyptian started the practice of mummifying their dead
and built the pyramids.
 Middle Kingdom: The period in Egyptian history 1980 BC to 1630 BC that Egypt
became an empire. It conquered Nubia to the south and lands to the east. Also
during this time the middle class emerged as many craftspeople merchants and
scribes. This new middle class was allowed to own land in Egypt
 New Kingdom: Period of Egypt’s greatest strength and size. It lasted from 1539BC
to 1075BC. It was also the period when Egypt most famous pharaohs ruled
 Pyramids: The Egyptians built pyramids during the Old Kingdom. They were
believed to be a vehicle which took the pharaoh and workers to the afterlife. The
pyramids started with steps, however over time the sides became smooth with a slant.
The most famous of all pyramids is the Great Pyramid at Giza.
 Afterlife: Egyptians believed that this is where people went after they died. In the
afterlife ceremony a group of judges placed the deceased person’s heart on one side
of a scale and the feather of truth on the other side of the scale. If the items balanced
the person earned life forever. If they did not, then an animal would eat the heart.
 Nobles: The people who governed the people of Egypt and owned most of the
farmland.
 Peasants: The people who farmed the land in Egypt.
 Middle class: Craft workers, merchants, scribes, and people who had jobs in the
government.
 Thutmose the 3rd : The Pharaoh who expanded Egypt’s size to its greatest extent.
 Hatshepsut: A female pharaoh who focused on trade and brought many great riches
into Egypt. Also she starting building obelisks during her reign.
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 Akhenaton: A Pharaoh who moved the capital away from Thebes and changed from
the worship of many gods to the worship of one god, Aton. After his death the old
religion was brought back to Egypt.
 Tutankhamen: Known as the boy king who became famous when his tomb was
discovered undisturbed. It showed the greatest riches and splendor of Ancient Egypt.
 Rosetta stone: A stone found in Egypt that had 3 forms of writing on it. It allowed
scholars to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics.
 Hieroglyphics: Egyptian form of writing which included 700 different pictures and
symbols which stood for sounds and whole words.
 Egyptian achievements: The most notable achievements were the building of the
pyramids, the development of a calendar, and amassing great amount of wealth in
Egypt.
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 Hyksos: Groups of people from the Palestine or Israel, which conquered and ruled
Egypt for 200 years. They introduced the Egyptians to the horse drawn chariot and
the curved sword.
 Mummification: The process that ancient Egyptians developed to preserve their dead.
The process lasted 70 days and included various steps.