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“Egyptian and Mesopotamia Notes”
Egypt
Geography
 4,160 miles long
 Crosses 6 cataracts (waterfalls) and Egypt is above the first cataract
 Empties into a marshy fan-shaped delta
Gifts of the River
 Due to the annual floods of the Nile River rich black soil and thick deposits of
silt cover the river’s banks and the Nile Delta.
 The Nile River also provided farmers with ducks and geese in its marshlands
and fish in its waters.
 Harvested papyrus to make rope, matting, sandals, baskets, and sheets of paperlike writing material.
Uniting Egypt
Egypt consisted of 2 large kingdoms around 4000BC
1. Lower Egypt in the north, in the Nile Delta
2. Upper Egypt in the south, in the Nile Valley
Around 3000BC Narmer (or Menes) King of Upper Egypt conquers Lower Egypt.
1. Sets up first government that rules all of Egypt.
2. Builds the capital city at Memphis
3. Marked the beginning of the first Egyptian dynasty (line of rulers from one
family) 30 dynasties total.
The Old Kingdom (2700BC – 2200BC)
The Egyptian Monarchy
 The people regarded their king as a god who ruled over all Egyptians
(Theocracy – a government in which the same person is both the religious leader
and the political leader).
 Bureaucracy – a group of government officials headed by the king’s vizier
(Prime Minister) who the king delegates many of his responsibilities.
The Pyramids: A Lasting Legacy
 Step Pyramid of Djoser – was built in the mid 2600’s BC overlooking Memphis
 The Bent Pyramid
 The 3 great pyramids at Giza
 Embalming and mummification
The Middle Kingdom (2050BC – 1800BC)
After the social upheaval and violence of the 1st Intermediate
New dynasty reunited Egypt and moved capital to the city of Thebes in Upper Egypt.
o Supported irrigation projects, which added thousands of acres to the land already under
cultivation.
o Seized new territory by capturing Nubia and launching military campaigns against Syria.
o Built a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea which increased their trade routes
In the 1700s BC Hyksos invaded Egypt
o Armed with new tools for war – bronze weapons, and horse-drawn chariots – they easily
conquer Egypt
o Established a new dynasty that ruled for about 110 years.
The New Kingdom (1575 – 1085BC)
Ahmose – Egyptian prince
 Egyptians learn to use Hyksos weapons and adopt their fighting style.
 Around 1600BC Ahmose raises an army and drives the Hyksos out.
 He founded a new Egyptian dynasty – the first of the New Kingdom
 Assumed the title of Pharaoh (Great House of the King)
 Rebuilt Egypt, restored abandoned temples, and reopened avenues of trade.
Hatshepsut (1480BC)
 Came to power with her husband and then ruled on behalf of her stepson Thutmose III..
 She crowned herself pharaoh.
 Carried out an extensive building program – including a great funeral temple and a tomb built in
the Valley of the Kings.
Thutmose III
 Reclaimed the throne at Hatshepsut’s death
 Conquered Syria and pushed the Egyptian frontier to the northern part of the Euphrates River
 The Empire grew rich from commerce and tirbute from the conquered territories.
 Egyptian benefited from cultural diffusion with their empire
Akhenaton Founds a Religion
o Amenhotep IV assumed power about 1379
o Broke with Egyptian tradition of Polytheism and brought in Monotheism
o Changed name to Akhenaton (means spirit of Aton)
o These changes had an unsettling effect of Egypt
o Common people reject the worship of Aton
o Priests resented their loss of power
o The army was unhappy about Egypt’s loss of territories
Tutankhamen
o After Akhenaton’s death the priests restored the old religion.
o Tutankhamen becomes pharaoh (installed by the priests)
o Priests made King Tut move capital back to memphis
Recovery and Decline
o Ramses II (Ramses the Great) reigned for 67 years
o Had 52 sons
o Built many temples and tombs
o Pharaoh during the exodus
o In the 1100s BC, Ramses III led Egypt into a long and costly war for control of Syria.
o Egypt entered into a long period of decline
o In 945BC Egypt came under control by foreigners – among them the Libyans form the
west and the Kushites from the south.
Life in Ancient Egypt
o Population of 5 million people most of whom lived in the Nile Valley and the Nile Delta.
Levels of Egyptian Society
o Royalty, Nobles, and priests formed the top of the social order (they controlled religious
and political affairs) Upper Class
o Artisans, scribes, merchants, and tax collectors – carried out the business activities of
Egypt – Middle Class
o The majority of Egyptians including farmers – (poor) Lower Class
Egyptian Families
o In the cities and in the upper class the husband, wife, and children make up the family
group
o Outside the cities family groups also included grandparents and other relatives
Worshiping Many Deities
o Polytheism – the worship of many deities
o Gods and goddesses were often represented as part human and part animal
o Horus – Sky god – Head of a hawk
o Ra – the Sun god ) Amon – Ra
o Osiris – god responsible for the life, death and rebirth of all living things.
o Isis – Osiris’ wife they were the rulers of the realm of the dead
Writing with Pictures
o Hieroglyphics – picture symbols these symbols stood for objects, ideas, and sounds.
o Hieratic – a cursive or flowing script simplified and connected the picture symbols
o Rosetta Stone – found around 1799AD – it was carved with Greek letters and two forms
of Egyptian writing.
In 1822AD – Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered the Eqytian writing by using the
Greek text.
Achievements In Science
o Egyptians developed a number system
o 365 day calendar – used Sirius the bright Dog Star which rises annually in the sky just
before the Nile’s flood begins
o Developed medical expertise
o
Mesopotamia
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Fertile Crescent: modern nations of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
Mesopotamia: "Land between two rivers"
The Twin Rivers: Tigris and Euphrates
o Neolithic farmers used the rivers to water their crops.
o There were water shortages due to lack of rain fall.
o The two rivers would flood and wipe out entire villages.
o Early villages cooperated in order to meet the rivers challenges (built dams, escape
channels, canals, and ditches).
Sumerian Civilization: (around 3500BC)
o The Sumerians arrived from either central Asia or Asia Minor. They settled in the lower
part of the river valley called Sumer.
o City-State: consisted of the city itself and the land surrounding it (Pop – 20,000 to
250,000).
 By 3000BC there were 12 City-States: Ur, Uruk, and Eridu.
 People shared a common culture, language, and religion.
 Ziggurat: Temple made of sun-dried brick and decorated with colored tile was
built in each City-State (only priests or priestesses were allowed to enter the
shrine).
Sumerian government:
o Each city-state usually governed itself independently of the others (many chose military
leaders).
o By 2700BC the leaders ruled as Kings and these Kingships became hereditary.
 They were both military leader and the High Priest.
 They enforced the law and set penalties for lawbreakers.
Roles of men and Women:
o The law regulated family life and set the roles for men and women.
 Men:
 Head of households and they exercised great authority over their wives
and children.
 Could sell wife and children into slavery to solve a debt.
 Could get a divorce for the slightest reason.
 Women:
 A divorce was mush harder for a woman to get.
 Could buy and sell property.
 Operate their own businesses.
 Own and sell slaves
Writing System: (oldest writing system 3100BC)
o Cuneiform – began with pictograms and consisted of hundreds of wedge-shaped
markings on wet clay tablets, which were dried or baked.
o It became a script that became the model for an alphabetic system.
Religion: (polytheistic: belief in many gods)
o They had gods/goddesses for things in nature and things people did (rain, moon, air,
plowing, and brick making).
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Sumerian Inventions:
o Wagon wheel
o Arch to build sturdier buildings
o Potters wheel
o Number system based on 60
o 12 month calender based on the cycles of the moon.
o Made bronze out of copper and tin
First Mesopotamia Empires:
 After a period of conquest and reconquest the Sumerian city-states fell to foreign invaders in
the 2000s BC
o The invaders were inspired by dreams of empire.
Akkadians: The Akkadians, were Semites that had migrated from the Arabian Peninsula around 5000BC.
 They established a kingdom called Akkad in northern Mesopotamia.
o Ruler: Sargon I - may have been born a herder or a farmer’s son.
o Assumed power around 2300BC.
o Immediately launched a military campaign of expansion.
o These conquests united all city-states under one empire, which predates the Egyptian
New Kingdom by more than 800 years.
o Influence stretched from Persian Gulf to Mediterranean Sea
 Under Sargon’s rule the people of Mesopotamia began to use the Akkadian language.
 They adopted various Sumerian religious and farming practices.
 After his death and the successful rule of his grandson the Akkadian Empire disintegrated.
Kingdom of Ebla:
 City-state of Ebla, a kingdom located northern Syria.
 Fought unsuccessfully against Sargon I for control of the Euphrates River trade.
 Sargon’s grandson captured Ebla.
 Very wealthy and powerful city-state due to the overland trade between Egypt and Mesopotamia.
 Controlled a number of neighboring towns, from which it exacted tribute.
 Kings of Ebla:
o Elected for seven-year term.
o Looked after the welfare of the poor.
o They could be removed by a council.
 After 2000BC Ebla declined and eventually destroyed by the Amorites.
Amorites:
 The Amorites expanded beyond Syria and after the Akadian Empire disintegrated they poured into
Mesopotamia and overran many Sumerian centers, including Babylon.
 The dynasty founded at Babylon (Old Babylonian) produced a ruler who would dominate
Mesopotamia: Hammurabi.
Hammurabi
 Brought the entire region under his control.
 Reorganized the tax system.
 Had local officials build and repair irrigation canals.
 Organized a strong government.
 Worked to increase the economic prosperity of his people.
 Babylon became a major trade center during his rule.
 Law Code:
o Considered his greatest achievement.
o Consisted of 282 sections dealing with most aspect of daily life.
o Clearly stated which actions were considered violations and assigned specific
punishments for each.
o "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" approach (very harsh).
o Other sections covered: property of married women, adoption and inheritance, interest
rates on loans, and damage to fields by cattle.
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Babylonian Society:
o Three social classes
 Kings, priests, and nobles: Top Class
 Artisans, small merchants, scribes, and farmers:Middle Class
 Slaves: Lower Class
o Law code varied according to the class of the person offended against.
After Hammurabi’s death the Babylonian Empire declined.