Download How was ancient Egypt`s societies structured?

•Egyptian societies were structured like a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid were the
gods, below the gods the pharaohs. (Believed to be gods in human form.) Below the
pharaohs were the nobles and priests and so on.
•King Narmer- The first king of the two lands wearing
the white crown of Upper Egypt.
•First Egyptian Pharaoh-established the old kingdom in
3100 B.C. He is believed to have ruled for 62 years ,
legend says he was killed by a hippopotamus.
•United the two lands of Egypt based on a shield
shaped sculpture called the Narmer Palette.
•The land mass of Egypt was divided
into the upper and lower lands.
•Pharaoh- the most powerful person in Egypt, a
apolitical and religious leader, represented the gods on
earth, and the “Lord of the two lands,” (meaning he
ruled the upper and lower lands.)
•Hatshepsut was born in the 18th dynasty. Her father was Tuthmosis I and he
ruled Egypt for approximately 12-14 years. Her mom was Anems. Her brother
Aneanemes should have taken the throne; however he never came into the
kingship. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for 21 years. (1479-1458 B.C.)
•Women of ancient Egypt had more freedom than other ancient cultures such
as Greece, where women were expected to stay home.
• Polytheistic
-believed in many Gods/Goddesses
• Ra
-One of Egypt’s most important
deites.
-Has the head of a falcon.
-Was a manifestation of the setting
sun.
-Travelled across the sky in his sun
boat, “Boat od Millions of Years,” from
sunrise to sunset .
-Was one of the creators, some
believe him to be the supreme
creator.
•
•
Onuris
-”He who brings the distant
one.”
-Ancient god of war and
hunting.
-He was depicted in a
human form with a beard,
carrying a lance in one hand
and four feathers in the
other.
-Resides in the desert, the
“Edge of the world.”
•
Edjo
-The “Papyrus colored one,” or the
“Green one.”
-She was the protection goddess.
-Depicted as a woman with a
snake head.
Anat
-Goddess of war.
-Depicted with a shield, axe and lance
wearing a high crown flanked with
plumes.
-Called the “Mother of the gods,” and the
“Mistress of the Sky.”
Pyramid Building Tools
Egyptian Chariots
• The Egyptians didn't invent the chariot • When the pyramids were built, the
Egyptians did not have many machines.
but as things go they did improve upon
They only had simple tools. They drove
the idea. To our knowledge, the first
hammers and mallets into chisels. This
reported chariot comes from about
helped to break off some parts of the
2000 B.C.E. in Mesopotamia.
pyramid’s blocks. Trowels were also used to
• The chariot paved its way into the
build a pyramid. This helped to smooth out
Egyptian culture around 1500 B.C.E.
the blocks so that they would fit together.
• The Egyptian chariot was unique in that
it was constructed to be handsome and
light in weight. This was probably due to
a lack of wood along the Nile River.
• The Egyptians designed the chariot
with the human standing directly over
the axle of the chariot. By
accomplishing this there was less stress
put on the horse(s) because the rider’s
weight was distributed to the chariot
than to the horse.
• Trade started around the 4th century BCE • Main crops; wheat, barley, lettuce, beans,
onions, figs, dates, grapes, melons and
• Traded with countries around the
cucumbers.
Mediterranean, Aegean and the Red Sea
• Main things bought from other countries were;
silver, iron, horses, ivory, copper, cattle,
leopard skins and spices.
• Main things bought from Egypt were; gold and
other minerals, wheat, barley, and papyrus
sheets.
• Cost was measured in Deben (copper weight)
• The prices on things were bargained, no fixed
prices.
• Farming was a huge part of Ancient Egypt’s
economy.
• The most common jobs were fishermen,
farmers, merchants, soldiers and carpenters.
Higher class jobs were officials, doctors,
lawyers and scribes.
Hieroglyphics
• Ancient Egyptians believe that writing was
invented by the god Thoth. The word
hieroglyph comes from the Greek hieros
meaning sacred and glypho meaning
inscriptions.
• They can be written from left to right, right
to left, or in columns running from top to
bottom. You can tell which way to read the
text by the way the pictures or animals are
facing.
• Hieroglyphics were most commonly used
for inscriptions on the walls of tombs and
temples. For everyday writing the hieratic
script was used. Hieratic script was a
simplified and abbreviated version of the
formal hieroglyphics.
• Egyptian examples of writing have been
dated from 3,400 BC-396 AD.
Old Kingdom , 2650-2258 B.C.
Middle Kingdom, 21341786 B.C.
New Kingdom, 15701085 B.C.
-Kingdom was established by King
Zuser
-The old kingdoms remains are almost
entirely sepulchral, containing the
tombs of monarchs and nobles.
-The Mastaba is the oldest remaining
form of sepulcher; it is a rectangular,
flat roofed structure with sloping walls
containing chambers built over the
mummy pit.
-The first Pyramids were built, started
using bricks.
-Many kingdom tombs
were tunneled out of the
rock cliffs on the west
bank of the Nile.
-Developed public works
such as an extensive
drainage and irrigation;
projects which replaces
pyramid building.
-The years cover the
great period of temple
construction, those
temples conformed to a
distinct type.
-Temples were excavated
from rock.
-Built large monuments
and temples for God,
Anew.
• Groups of pyramids remain; those at Giza,
which include the Great Pyramid of Khufu, are
among the best known.
• The Egyptian civilization was centered around the Nile
• Its flooded banks provided rich and fertile soil.
• Ancient Egyptians settles on the banks for agriculture,
and water irrigation.
• The Upper Nile and Lower Nile
-Upper Nile flows Upstream
-Lower Nile flows downstream
There is no definite border between the two.
• Women were equal to men in the sense of
legal and economic rights. This information
has been gathered from Egyptian and
contemporary manuscripts. This is mainly
because the disparities in peoples legal
rights were based on social class and not
gender.
• While women could be Pharaoh only in
special circumstances they were otherwise
regarded as totally equal as far as the laws
were concerned. They could own property,
borrow money, sign contracts, initiate
divorce, appear in court as a witness, etc.
• The Egyptian goddesses were a big role in
the Egyptians lives, there were goddesses
for subjects such as; music, dance, truth,
love, water, night, war, fire, time, order,
and motherhood.
• Around 1720-1710 B.C. Egypt began
to be invaded by a people “Of an
obscure,” race. These people
became known as the Hyksos –
“Shepherd kings.”
• These people melted into Egyptian
society early at first, but eventually
became very powerful. They came to
rile the whole region of northern
Egypt.
• Weapons most commonly
used were- slings, spears,
swords, daggers, bow and
arrows, axes, and chariots.
It tells you that the Egyptian’s had
fertile soil, this was mainly because of
the Nile river’s deposits. It also shows
you that the weather conditions were
well enough to allow various crops to
grow.
They were structured like a pyramid. The
eight levels are as following; Pharaoh,
Government Officials- Nobles and
Priests, Soldiers, Scribes, Merchants,
Artisans, Farmers, Slaves and Servants.
King Narmer was the first King of two
lands that wore the white crown, and
also the first Egyptian pharaoh. This is
important because it set up the
example of how the society and
government would carry on for years
to come.
Onuris
Similarities
Anat
Depicted in human
form with a beard,
carrying a lance in
one hand and four
feathers in the
other.
God/dess of war.
They are a symbol
to the Egyptians as
strength and
courage.
Depicted with a
shield, axe, and
lance. Wearing a
high crown flanked
with plumes.
The Egyptians designed the
chariot to be handsome
and light in weight.
They also designed it with
the human standing
directly over the axle of the
chariot. By accomplishing
this there was less stress
put on the horse because
the rider’s weight was
distributed to the chariot
instead of the horse.
With the jobs the Egyptians
had you can see that the
geography of Egypt included
bodies of water and fertile flat
lands.
Basic hieroglyphics were used for inscriptions,
for everyday writing the hieratic script was
used. There was a difference because the
Egyptians wanted to honor the deceased and
so by having a sacred writing they made the
inscriptions more special than everyday
common writing.
The Old Kingdom built the first pyramids, and they
began using bricks in building. The Middle Kingdom
created a public works system with drainage and
irrigation. The New Kingdom built large monuments
and temples for the Gods. These contributions are
helpful because they helped shape and develop the
Egyptian society.
Women in Egypt were allowed to hold
such positions because the legal rights
weren’t based on gender, but based
on position in social class. Egypt’s
government may have viewed a
person by their standing in society
over their gender, therefore allowing
women to be pharaohs.
The Hyksos were a group of
people that invaded Egypt
around 1720-1710 B.C. The
Hyksos integrated into Egyptian
society and later became
powerful and began to rule the
Northern region of Egypt.
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