Download Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egypt
• World History Ch. 2
Geography and Early Egypt
The Big Idea
The water and fertile soils of the Nile Valley
enabled a great civilization to develop in Egypt.
Main Ideas
• Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile
River was so important.
• Civilization developed after people began farming along
the Nile River.
• Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.
Main Idea 1:
Egypt was called the gift of the Nile
because the Nile River was so important.
•
The Nile River, the longest river in the world, brought life to Egypt and
enabled it to thrive.
– It begins in central Africa and runs north through Egypt to the
Mediterranean Sea.
– The civilization of ancient Egypt developed along a 750-mile stretch of
the Nile.
•
Ancient Egypt included two regions, southern and northern.
– Southern Egypt was called Upper Egypt because it was upriver in
relation to the Nile’s flow.
– Northern Egypt, or Lower Egypt, was downriver.
The Nile
• South of Egypt, rocky terrain caused cataracts, or waterfalls, to
form. These waterfalls made it nearly impossible for foreign armies to
invade Egypt by sailing up the Nile River.
–
• In Lower Egypt, the Nile divided into several branches that fanned
out and flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.
– These branches formed a delta, a triangle-shaped area of land
made from soil deposited by a river.
– Two-thirds of Egypt’s fertile farmland was located in the Nile
Delta.
• Each year rainfall south of Egypt caused floods in Upper Egypt in
mid-summer and in Lower Egypt in the fall.
– The Nile’s yearly flooding called the inundation coated the
land around it with a rich black dirt called silt.
– Without the Nile’s regular flooding, people never could have
farmed in Egypt.
Main Idea 2:
Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.
• According to tradition, King Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt
around 3100 BC.
– Invaded Lower Egypt and married one of their princesses to unify the
two kingdoms
– Many consider Menes to be Egypt’s first pharaoh, the title used by
the rulers of ancient Egypt.
– Founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or series of rulers from the same
family.
– Built a new capital city, Memphis, at the southern tip of the Nile Delta.
• Egypt’s First Dynasty lasted for about 200 years.
• In time some 30 dynasties would rule ancient Egypt over a span
of more than 2,500 years.
The Old Kingdom
The Big Idea
Egyptian government and religion were closely connected
during the Old Kingdom.
Main Ideas
• Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by pharaohs, roles
in society, and trade.
• Religion shaped Egyptian life.
• The pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s pharaohs.
Old Kingdom & Building the
Pyramids
• The Old Kingdom lasted for about 500 years, from about 2700 to
2200 BC, beginning with the Third Dynasty.
• Ancient Egyptians believed that Egypt belonged to the gods, and
the pharaoh had come to Earth in order to manage Egypt for the
rest of the gods.
• The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was King Khufu,
who ruled in the 2500s BC. He is best known for the monuments
that were built to him.
Major Egyptian Gods
Ptah
•
Creator of the world
Anubis
•
God of the dead
Ra
•
Sun god
Osiris
•
God of the underworld
Isis
•
Goddess of magic
Horus
•
Sky god; god of the pharaohs
Thoth
•
God of wisdom
Video http://www.history.com/videos/journey-to-the-afterlife#journey-to-the-afterlife
Main Idea:
The pyramids were built as tombs
for Egypt’s pharaohs.
The Egyptians believed that burial sites, especially royal tombs,
were very important, so they built spectacular monuments in
which to bury their rulers.
The most spectacular were the pyramids—huge, stone tombs
with four triangle-shaped sides that met in a point on top—first
built during the Old Kingdom.
The largest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu near Giza. It is an
amazing example of Egyptian engineering, the application of
scientific knowledge for practical purposes.
Pyramids required huge labor forces. As many as 200,000
workers may have been needed to build the Great Pyramid.
Emphasis on the Afterlife
•
Much of Egyptian religion focused on the afterlife, or life after death.
•
The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a happy place.
•
The Egyptian belief in the afterlife stemmed from their idea of ka, or a
person’s life force.
– When a person died, his or her ka left the body and became a spirit,
but could not leave its burial site.
– It had all the same needs as a living person.
•
Egyptians believed that a body had to be preserved so that its spirit
could recognize it.
– They developed a method called embalming to preserve bodies and
to keep them from decaying.
– They preserved bodies as mummies, specially treated bodies
wrapped in cloth.
•
Only royalty and other members of Egypt’s elite, or people of wealth and
power, could afford to have mummies made.
The Middle and New Kingdoms
The Big Idea
During the Middle and New Kingdoms,
order and greatness were restored in Egypt.
Main Ideas
• The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government
between periods of disorder.
• The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and
military power, but its greatness did not last.
• Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social classes.
Main Idea:
The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable
government between periods of disorder.
•
At the end of the Old Kingdom, the wealth and power of the pharaohs
declined.
– In time, nobles gained enough power to challenge the pharaohs.
– By about 2200 BC the Old Kingdom had fallen and local nobles ruled for the
next 160 years.
•
Around 2050 BC a powerful pharaoh defeated his rivals, reuniting Egypt
and beginning the Middle Kingdom, a period of order and stability that
lasted to about 1750 BC.
•
Around 1750 BC the Hyksos from Southwest Asia invaded and conquered
Lower Egypt.
– They ruled the region as pharaohs for 200 years.
Main Idea :
Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social
classes.
A complex society requires people to take on different jobs. In Egypt,
these jobs were often passed on within families.
Scribes
Artisans
Architects
and Artists
•
Worked for the government and the temples
•
Kept records and accounts, wrote and copied
religious and literary texts
•
Worked for the government and the temples
•
Sculptors, builders, carpenters, jewelers,
metalworkers, and leatherworkers
•
Designed the temples and royal tombs
•
Artists worked for the state and temples, and painted
the walls of the pharaohs’ tombs
Merchants, Soldiers, Peasants, and Slaves
Merchants
Soldiers
•
Small group of Egyptians were traders
•
Usually accompanied by soldiers, scribes, and
laborers
•
Professional army
•
Received land as payment, kept captured treasure,
promotion to officer possible
•
Vast majority of Egypt’s population
Farmers and
•
Peasants
Slaves
Paid crops as taxes; worked on special projects for
the pharaoh
•
Worked farms, projects, workshops, and homes
•
Had some legal rights
•
Could earn their freedom
Society and Trade
As Egypt’s population grew, social classes appeared. Egyptians believed that a
well-ordered society would keep their kingdom strong.
Pharaoh
Egypt’s ruler, also considered to be a god
Nobles
Officials and priests, many nobles, people from rich and powerful
families
Middle Class
Lesser government officials, scribes, and rich craftspeople
Lower Class
Farmers, servants, and slaves
As society developed, trade grew as Egypt traded with neighbors for gold,
copper, ivory, slaves, stone, and wood.
Family Life in Egypt
•
Most Egyptian families lived in their own homes.
•
Men were expected to marry young so that they could start having
children.
•
Most Egyptian women were devoted to their homes and families.
•
Some women had jobs outside the home, serving as priestesses and
working as royal officials, administrators, or artisans.
•
They could own property, make contracts (binding legal agreements),
divorce their husbands, and keep their property after a divorce.
•
Children’s lives were less structured. They hunted and played with
balls, dolls, tops, and animal figurines.
•
At school, they learned morals, writing, math, and sports.
•
At age 14 most boys entered their father’s profession.
Main Idea :
The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade
and military power, but its greatness did not last.
Building an Empire
• In the mid-1500s BC Ahmose of
Thebes drove the Hyksos out of
Egypt.
• Start of the New Kingdom, the
period during which Egypt reached
the height of its power and glory
• .
Growth and Effects of Trade
• As empire expanded, so did trade.
• Conquest brought Egyptian
traders into contact with more
distant lands and profitable trade
routes, or paths followed by
traders, developed from Egypt to
these lands.
• One of Egypt’s rulers who worked
to increase trade was Queen
Hatshepsut who used the money
gained from trade to support the
arts and architecture.
Egyptian Achievements
The Big Idea
The Egyptians made lasting achievements
in writing, art, and architecture.
Main Ideas
• Egyptian writing used symbols called hieroglyphics.
• Egypt’s great temples were lavishly decorated.
• Egyptian art filled tombs.
Main Idea 1:
Egyptian writing used symbols
called hieroglyphics.
Hieroglyphics, the Egyptian writing system, were one of the
world’s first writing systems.
The earliest known examples are from around 3300 BC.
Later, Egyptians learned how to make papyrus, a long-lasting,
paperlike material made from reeds. Scribes wrote on papyrus
using brushes and ink.
The hieroglyphic writing system used more than 600 symbols.
Hieroglyphics
Hieratic: another form of writing
in Egypt at the same time
Sample of Hieratic
Hieroglyphics
• developed about 4000 BC
• direction: read either way, depending on
symbols
• number system
What Did They Write on and With?
 They used a plant called
papyrus and cut thin
layers off the stem. Then
laid it flat as in the
picture. They then used
a mallet. Finally they
used a smoothing stone
to smooth it out.
 They wrote with reed
pens which they dipped
into ink.
 They also carved, and
painted on tombs and
temple walls
The Rosetta Stone and Egyptian
Texts
Rosetta Stone
•
People have known about hieroglyphics for centuries, but did not know
how to read them.
•
In 1799 a French soldier found the Rosetta Stone, a huge, stone slab
inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian.
•
Because the message in all three languages was the same, scholars who
knew Greek were able to translate the hieroglyphics.
Egyptian Texts
•
Because papyrus did not decay in Egypt’s dry climate, many ancient
Egyptian texts still survive.
•
They include government records, historical records, science texts,
medical manuals, and literary works, including The Book of the Dead,
telling about the afterlife.
Rosetta Stone discovered in 1799
About The Rosetta Stone
• They think the Rosetta Stone was made in
196 b.c.
• The Rosetta Stone was found by French
soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in
Egypt.
• The Rosetta Stone was text written by the
priests in Egypt to honor the Pharaohs. It
would list all the good things the Pharaohs
have done for the people and priests.
Main Idea 2:
Religion shaped Egyptian life.
•
Worshipping the gods was a part of daily life.
•
The Egyptians practiced polytheism.
•
Before the First Dynasty each village worshipped its own gods.
•
During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian officials expected everyone to worship
the same gods.
•
The Egyptians build temples to the gods all over the kingdom.
•
Egyptian families also worshipped household gods at shrines in their
homes.
Main Idea:
Egypt’s great temples were lavishly
decorated.
• Temples were the homes of the gods.
• People worshipped, offered gifts, and asked for favors.
• Common temple features:
– Rows of stone sphinxes—imaginary creatures with the bodies of
lions and the heads of other animals or humans—lined the entrance
path.
– Entrance was a huge, thick gate.
– On either side might stand an obelisk, a tall, four-sided pillar that is
pointed on top.
– Inside was lavishly decorated, with huge columns supporting the roof,
often covered with paintings and hieroglyphics like the walls.
Main Idea 3:
Egyptian art filled tombs.
Many of the Egyptians’ greatest works were created to fill the tombs of
pharaohs and nobles because they believed the dead could enjoy them
in the afterlife.
• Egyptian artists painted on tomb and temple walls,
canvas, papyrus, pottery, plaster, and wood.
Paintings
• Subjects included historical events, major religious
rituals, and scenes from everyday life.
• More important figures are larger than less important
people.
Stonework
Jewelry
• Huge statues and detailed carvings
• Made for men and women out of gold and precious
stones