Download Egypt

Geography of Early Egypt
What enabled life to thrive in Egypt?
THE NILE RIVER
Nile River
 Longest river in the world (over 4,000 miles)
 Flows through rocky, hilly land
 This causes cataracts- rapids (6 total)
 Cataracts make it impossible to sail the whole river
Nile River
 In Lower Egypt, Nile fans out and flows into the
Mediterranean Sea
 Delta- triangle-shaped area of land made from
soil deposited by a river
Egyptian Farming
• Nile flooded yearly
(upper in summer,
lower in fall)
• Floods deposited silt
• Silt = good for
farming
(Sound familiar????)
Natural Barriers= Protection
North- Mediterranean Sea
West- Large desert
East- Desert & Red Sea
South- Cataracts
2 Regions of Ancient Egypt
 Lower Egypt = North
 Upper Egypt = South
 Nile runs south
to north
 Elevation is higher
in the south
Egypt – Day 2
2 Kingdoms Emerge
 Food is bountiful (fish, fruit, vegetables, livestock,
grains, ducks (yummy…))
 More food = more people = cities = civilization!
 By 3200 B.C., two kingdoms develop – Lower &
Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt
Near Nile Delta
Capital- Pe
Red Crown
Upper Egypt
 Southern Nile
 Capital- Nekhen
 White Crown
Menes (MEE-neez)
 Rose to power in Upper Egypt in 3100BC
 Wanted to unify kingdoms
 Armies invaded and took control of Lower Egypt
 Married a princess from Lower Egypt
Menes Combined Crowns
More Menes
 Historians argue he was the 1st Pharaoh
Pharaoh- title of rulers of ancient Egypt,
means “Great House”
 Establishes 1st dynasty
 Dynasty- Series of rulers from same family
(The people think their rulers are divine!)
More Menes
 Established Memphis, first capital of Egypt
(near modern day capital – Cairo)
 Eventually, rivals challenged 1st Dynasty and took
over to start 2nd Dynasty
 Over 2,500 years, about 30 dynasties would rule
Egypt
Egypt – Day 3
Egyptian History
Timeline
Old Kingdom
2700-2200BC
Middle Kingdom
2050-1750BC
New Kingdom
1550-1050BC
The Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
 Old Kingdom- a time in Egyptian history that lasted
around 500 years, 2700BC – 2200BC
 (Sargon conquers Sumer during this time)
Pharaohs
 Believed to be gods
 Have absolute power
 Blamed for bad
trade/war/crops
 (like a manager of Egypt
for the gods)
Khufu
 Ruled in 2500s BC
 Know very little about
his life
 Best known for
monuments built for
him
Pyramids of Giza
Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) at GizaLargest pyramid ever constructed
(Approximately 450 feet tall)
End of Old Kingdom
 Nobles take power from pharaohs
 Around 2200BC, the Old Kingdom fell
 Next 160 yrs. nobles ruled Egypt
Society
 By the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt had around
2 million people
(Population of Houston, Texas)
 What do you think appeared as a result?
(Hint 1: We saw it with Mesopotamia)
(Hint 2: Triangle)
Egypt- Day 4
80% of
Egyptian
people
Egyptian Trade
Egyptians traded with surrounding areas…
 Slaves
 Gold
 Copper
 Ivory
 Wood
Egyptian Religion
 Egyptians were polytheists
 Built temples to honor gods
 Certain cities became associated with
certain gods
 Many Egyptians have shrines in their homes
Ptah - Creator of the world
Anubis - God of the dead
Re - God of the sun
Osiris - God of the underworld
Isis - Goddess of magic
Horus - God of sky and
pharaohs
Thoth - God of wisdom
Geb - God of Earth
Afterlife
 Egyptians believed in an afterlife
Afterlife- life after death
 When a person died their ka left their body
Ka- a person’s life force
 A person’s ka had the same needs as a regular
human…
Burial Practices
 Egyptians believed that bodies must be preserved
 Ka needs to be able to recognize the body to
return to it
 Mummification – the process used by Egyptians to
preserve a dead body
Burial Practices
 Only royalty & Egypt’s elite could afford to
be mummified
 Elite- people of wealth and power
 Peasant families buried dead in shallow
graves near desert (the hot, dry sand
preserved the bodies naturally)
Burial Practices
Canopic
Jars
How to make a mummy…
Remove all organs except the heart
 Body is stuffed with natron (dried out)
 Treated with oils
 Wrapped in bandages (with charms)
 Placed in stone coffin (sarcophagus)

King Tut- Mummy Head
Pyramids
Pyramids- huge stone tombs with 4 triangle
shaped sides that met in a point on top
 Egyptians were excellent
engineers
Engineering- the application of scientific
knowledge for practical purposes
Building Pyramids
 Burial chamber was deep inside and after
burial was sealed with large blocks
 Needed a massive labor force (as many as
100,000 may have been needed for 1 pyramid)
 Made with sleds and ramps?
 Workers were paid in goods