Ancient Egypt Nile Valley

A River Valley & Its People Nile River – world’s longest river (in Africa) Rich black soil in Nile River Valley = good for farming 5000 BCE = farmers began to settle down in the Valley –Grew cereal crops (wheat, barley) –Hunted ducks & geese; fished –Harvested papyrus Used for rope, sandals, baskets, and paper

A River Valley & Its People By 4000 BCE, Egypt had 2 large kingdoms –Lower Egypt (in the north) –Upper Egypt (in the south) –3000 BCE = Narmer (king of Upper Egypt) attacked Lower Egypt and united them Capital = Memphis 1st of the Egyptian dynasties Egyptian dynasties divided into 3 periods: Old, Middle, New

Egyptian Dynasties People saw their kings as gods –King controlled trade & taxes –King supervised building of canals, dams, grain storehouses Egyptians built pyramids as burial places for their kings –Great Pyramids in Giza –King’s bodies were mummified for preservation

Pyramids as Tombs

Mummification

An outside threat First real outside threat to Egypt = invasion by Hyksos (people from western Asia) –Hyksos swept through with new tools for war --> bronze weapons & horse-drawn chariots –Easily conquered the Egyptians & set up a new dynasty (for about 110 years)

Pharaohs Take Control Egyptian prince named Ahmose raised an army & drove the Hyksos out Ahmose & those that came after him used the title pharaoh –Rebuilt Egypt & conquered more land

Life in Ancient Egypt Women In the beginning = property of their husbands By the time of the Egyptian Empire = they could own property and divorce their husbands; had more rights 1480 BCE = Queen Hatshepsut came to power in Egypt = 1st female pharaoh

Life in Ancient Egypt Social Order Upper class = kings, nobles, priests Middle class = artisans, scribes, merchants Lower class (majority of Egyptians) = farmers, poor Lowest of the low = slaves

King Tut’s Tomb

End of the Pharaohs 1200s BCE = Ramses II (Ramses the Great) –Built large statues of himself, temples, and tombs –After his death, Egypt weakened under attacks from invaders & was taken over by foreigners

Some Egyptian Gods Ra = Sun God King of the Gods Osiris = God of the Dead Iris = Queen of the Goddesses Horus = Son of Iris & Osiris Anubis = God of Embalming

Life in Ancient Egypt Writing Used hieroglyphics (picture symbols) for writing Few people could read or write Language remained a mystery until discovery of the Rosetta Stone in 1799 –(Greek writing matched the hieroglyphs on the Stone)