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Transcript
Ancient Egypt “Gift of the Nile” The Ancient Egyptian Civilization was located along the Nile River in northern Africa. Egypt was known as the “Gift of the Nile.” The Nile River is the main reason that a civilization started here. Without the Nile Egypt would be an empty desert. The Nile River Valley is the only place in the Sahara Desert where people can live because: a) people can drink the water, b) water crops, c) eat fish in the river and animals near it, and d) use it for transportation. The fertile land where the Nile River empties into the Mediterranean Sea is called the delta. Farming Most Egyptians were farmers who lived along Nile River Valley. The Nile floods every summer. These floods brought in fertile soil called silt from hills. The Egyptians planted their crops in the fall, when the soil was still fertile from the flood. They picked their crops before the next flood. They created a calendar based on the flooding of the Nile. They invented a simple machine called a shadoof to get the water out of the river to irrigate their crops. Society Egyptian kings were called Pharaohs. Pharaohs were also priests and were considered Gods on Earth. The Pharaoh owned everything and everyone. The peasant farmers and slaves worked the fields. They grew wheat, grains, and barley. They brewed beer and made bread. They kept what they needed to survive and gave all of their surplus (extra) crops to artisans, scribes, priests, government officials and the Pharaoh. Most Egyptians were lower class peasants who lived on farms. The upper class priests and government officials lived in cities. The cities are where people worshipped many gods and goddesses. Religion Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and goddesses that represented many different things like the sun, river, land, etc. They worshipped these gods at temples in cities and at shines in their homes. The Afterlife They believed in life after death. They believed that a body had to be preserved to make it to the afterlife. They turned the body of a dead person into a mummy to keep it from rotting. The spirit of a person was called the ka. This spirit went on to the afterlife. Peasants were buried in pits in the deserts. Wealthy people were placed in tombs cut into cliffs along with personal items for the afterlife. Pharaohs were put inside of carved cliff walls or Pyramids. Pyramids Pharaohs were buried inside tombs called pyramids during Egypt’s Old Kingdom. Viziers began building the pyramid for a pharaoh at the beginning of his or her reign. Pyramids took 20-30 years to build and were a status symbol that represented the pharaoh’s power (the bigger the pyramid, the greater the pharaoh). The pyramids were built on flat land to the west of the Nile River. Pyramids were built out of huge limestone bricks at a 52 degree angle. They were built high to get the Pharaohs ka as close to the heavens as possible. The top of the pyramid was often covered in gold. History 3 Kingdoms: Old, Middle, and New Historians divided Egypt into three separate kingdoms: The Old Kingdom (3100-2300 BC), The Middle Kingdom (2300-1550 BC), and The New Kingdom (1550-1150 BC). The Old Kingdom was the oldest and was the start of it all. This is when Pharaohs had unlimited power and when pyramids were built. The Middle Kingdom was a time of great art, architecture, and writing. Pharaohs had a lot less power during this time. The New Kingdom was the time when Egypt grew larger and pharaohs gained their power back. Decline of Egypt There were three reasons that the Egyptian Empire died out: 1. Too much money and energy spent on wars 2. Priests and Pharaohs struggled for power 3. Weak weapons because they didn’t have iron Contributions of Ancient Egypt Papyrus – a type of paper made from papyrus reeds Hieroglyphics – type of writing using symbols Math – developed a base ten number system, factions, and geometry Calendar – developed a yearly calendar based on flood season