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Ancient Egypt
Chapter 2 and 4
II. The Nile People
A. Geography of Egypt
1.
The Nile
1. Viewed as the giver of life to Egypt
2.
Flows for 4,100 miles – longest river in the world
3. Flows from south to north
4. Has three tributaries (smaller rivers that flow to
create the Nile)
5. Floods every July – recedes in October
6. Creates a Cycle of Egyptians
1.
2.
3.
Flood
Plant
Harvest~
II. The Nile People
2.
Upper Egypt
1.
2.
3.
4.
3.
Located in southern part of Egypt
Long skinny strip of land
Boundaries – from the first cataract (boulders that create
rapids) to the mouth of the delta
The Arabian and Libyan Deserts create boundaries in the
east and west
Lower Egypt
1.
2.
3.
4.
Located in the northern part of Egypt
Boundaries – from the mouth of the delta to the
Mediterranean Sea
Marshy, nutrient rich area
Contains lots of wild life~
II. The Nile People
4.
Advantages
1.
2.
3.
5.
Predictable flooding
Transportation – going north (currents) / going
south (sail)
Lots of natural protection – hot deserts, cataracts
Disadvantages
1.
2.
Unpredictable amount of silt left on the river
banks
Natural protection caused Egypt to develop in
isolation~
II. The Nile People
B. Kingdoms of the Nile
1.
Early history
a.
b.
c.
5000 BC people move into the Nile River Valley
(the desert heated up) and formed farming
villages
3200 BC Egypt has contact with Mesopotamia
2000 BC Egypt is trading with kingdoms in
Southern Africa~
II. The Nile People
2.
Old Kingdom
a.
b.
c.
d.
First great period in Egyptian history
Lasted from 3100-2200 BC
Marks the first time that Upper and lower Egypt
were united under one ruler
3100 BC the Pharaoh of Upper Egypt (Menes)
unites both Kingdoms under his rule – starts the
Old Kingdom~
II. The Nile People
e.
f.
Government
1. Egyptian territory will be broken up into counties
called nmorchs – ruled by governors
2. Pharaoh
a. Were viewed as gods
b. Were all powerful
c. Were the center of religion, army, and imperial
government
Technology
1. Developed hieroglyphics as a writing system
2. Started building pyramids during old kingdom
3. The Great Pyramid was built for Pharaoh Khufu
4. Develop a standing organized army under
Pharaoh Pepi I~
II. The Nile People
g.
h.
Trade / Contact
1. Explore the surrounding deserts for copper,
turquoise, and gold
2. Limited trade with the Mesopotamians
Conclusion
1. Great advancements and technology will be created
2. Time of Egyptian isolations – will allow them to
develop independently of all other cultures – make
the Egyptians unique
3. End of the Old Kingdom
a. The central government will collapse after a
string of bad rulers
b. Creates a time of turmoil and civil war
c. Egypt will seprate when the governors become
too powerful~
II. The Nile People
3.
Middle Kingdom
a. Will last from 2000-1640 BC
b. Pharaoh Mentuhotep I (Upper Egypt) will
reunite Upper and Lower Egypt
1. He conquered the governors and
2. destroyed their armies~
II. The Nile People
3.
Government
a. Characterized by a time of internal power
struggles
b. For example – Amenehat I will over throw
Menes IV and gain control of Egypt
c. One development – Egyptian Pharaoh
Amenehat I will make his son co-pharaoh
1. Son will grow up being trained to be
pharaoh
2. Creates a stable leader to take over after
the pharaoh dies
II. The Nile People
4.
5.
Trade / Contact with outsiders
a. Trade will expand, especially with the
Mesopotamians
b. Egyptian start mining more copper, gold,
turquoise to trade with other cultures
c. Started building forts and walled cities to
protect Egyptians from invaders – they built 13
total
Advancements
1. Started building pyramids again
2. Every pharaoh wanted a pyramid
3. Very poorly build and not as large as the
pyramids of the Old Kingdom~
II. The Nile People
6.
The Fall of the Middle Kingdom
a. The Hyksos from Canaan (modern day
Israel) will attack and conquer Egypt in
1640BC – this will end the Middle Kingdom
b. How do they do it?
1. They have chariots and iron weapons
2. They also have better military
strategies
3. The Egyptians become slaves in their
own country~
II. The Nile People
4.
New Kingdom (1540-1070 BC)
a. Ahmose I (Upper Egypt) will expel the
Hyksos from Egypt
1. The Egyptians will adopt the Hyksos iron
and chariot technology
2. The Egyptians will also learn the Hyksos
military tactics
3. They will be able to mount a revolt and
kick the invaders out
b. Ahmose I will begin the last great period of
Egyptian history~
II. The Nile People
3.
Trade, Expansion, and War
a. The Egyptians will be aggressive and actively
seek to conquer the cultures around them –
for example they will conquer the Nubians to
the south of them for gold
b. Trade routs will expand deeper into Africa, the
Middle East, Europe and even Asia
c. Will also be a time of war
1. Egypt constantly fighting with the Hittites in
the Middle East over the control of Syria
2. Also at war with a group of nomadic
invaders called the “Sea People”~
II. The Nile People
4.
Great Pharaohs
a.
New Kingdom held many great rulers
1. Ramesses II
i.
Ruling at the time of the Jewish Exodus
ii. End the conflict with the Hittites by signing
a mutual defense treaty (the first on in
history)
2. Hatshepsut
i.
Was a female
ii. Great ruler
iii. Her rule was a period of peace and
prosperity – she stopped wars and made
Egypt the richest it had be in its history~
II. The Nile People
3.
Amenhotep IV
i.
A bad leader of the time
ii. Attempted to get rid of the Egyptian
polytheistic religion and establish a
monotheistic one
iii. Wanted to worship the god Aten (a lesser sun
god)
iv. Moved the capitol to Akhenaton
v. Essentially he took away the power of the
priests and nobles
vi. He was hated by the Egyptians – and thought
to be poisoned by his top advisor – for the
betterment of Egypt~
II. The Nile People
Tutankhamen the “Boy King”
i.
Son of Amenhotep and Nepheriti
ii.
Became pharaoh at age 9
iii. Instrumental in restoring the old gods and
religion of Egypt
iv. Returned the capitol to Memphis
v.
Died at the age of 17
vi. May have been murdered because of his
father’s decisions
vii. Historically important b/c Tut’s was the first
untouched tomb to be discovered
End of the New Kingdom
a.
A civil war will break out in Thebes
b.
The government will not be able to stop the rebels
c.
This war weakens Egypt and allows outside invaders
in to take over~
4.
5.
II. The Nile People
C.
The Egyptian Culture
1. Daily Life
1. Most people were farmers – even though
the Pharaoh owned most all of the land
2. Had five main social classes
1. Pharaoh
2. Middle Class
3. Lower Class
4. Slave Class
3. Had a strong work ethic
4. Overall had an optimistic view of life~
II. The Nile People
2.
Religion
1. Polytheistic
2. Worshipped thousands of gods – 5 main ones
1. Re (Ra): The sun-god; represented as falconheaded - seem as the father of the gods
2. Isis: Isis is known as the divine mother - wife
of Osiris and mother of Horus
3. Osiris: The god of the underworld, king of the
dead - seen as the great judge of the dead
4. Horus: The falcon-deity, originally the skygod, identified with the king during his lifetime.
5. Anubis: the jackal-god, patron of embalmers,
healers, and surgeons; in both healing and
mummification ceremonies~
II. The Nile People
2.
Religion (cont.)
1.
Egyptians will build temples to worship the gods
2.
Afterlife
1. Egyptians create an extensive view of the afterlife –
very complex
2. When they die, Osiris will judge them and determine if
the get to make the journey through the afterlife and
return to Earth
3. Mummification
1. Process of preserving a body
2. complex and very important to make sure the body
was life-like for when the soul returned after it was
judged
4. Also had Book of the Dead - group of funerary chapters
which began to appear in ancient Egypt around 1600
BC~
II. The Nile People
3.
Mystical Egypt
1.
Magic
1. Extremely important
2. Examples – spells, incantations
3. Used to protect, heal, hurt, love
2.
Amulets
1. Pieces metal or stone formed into important
Egyptian symbols
2. Worn as jewelry
3. Buried with mummies to protect the person on
their journey through the underworld
4. Also used to protect people in daily life
3.
Curses
1. Used for protection of the tombs
2. The Real Mummy’s curse~
II. The Nile People
4.
Writing
1. Egyptians will write using hieroglyphics
1. Pictogram language – pictures will
represent an object or sound
2. Thousands of symbols
3. The Rosetta Stone – found in 1799 by
French soldiers rebuilding an Egyptian
Fort
2. Egyptians will paper scrolls made from
papyrus reeds~
II. The Nile People
3.
Science and Technology
1.
Medicine
1. Had a knowledge of anesthetic
2. Transplanted organs
3. Used anti-biotics
4. Were dentists
5. Set broken bones and could treat fevers
2.
Advancements
1. Developed a calendar – based on the flood
(solar year)
2. They developed a number system – could add
and subtract – used geometry
3. First to build stone columns in temples and
palaces~
Egypt
The Great Pyramid
Hieroglyphics
Sea People
Ramesses II
Hatshepsut
Amenhotep IV
Tutankhamen
King Tut’s Tomb
King Tut’s Tomb
Egyptian Social Pyramid