http://mojotravel.wordpress.com/category/tourism/egypt/ http://paradiseintheworld.com/egypt/ Egypt The beginning

From PCS to Washington, DC is about 2,886 miles The Nile One of World’s longest rivers… 4,160 miles long Flows North Blue Nile from Ethiopia White Nile from Lake Victoria (Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya) From PCS to Washington, DC is about 2,886 miles A few years ago Brazilian Scientists measured the Amazon to be a couple hundred miles LONGER than Nile… has been a LONG dispute about which is longest! Fed from rain and snow in mountains of East Africa The “black land” fertile land several miles wide on both sides of river (Caused by annual flooding) Egypt had a larger floodplain than rest of Nile WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS AFFECTED?

SILT!!! Agriculture flourished in the Nile River Valley Nile flooded its banks annually , leaving… SILT!!! Large flood plain Red Land and Black Land Agriculture flourished in the Nile River Valley SURPLUSES… (leads to…?) Spread ideas/goods Agriculture flourished in the Nile River Valley SURPLUSES… what does that do??? Distinctive societies ~ 4th millennium B.C.E. (shortly after Mesopotamian civ.!) Small kingdoms Semi-divine rulers

Geography Protection? The Mediterranean (N) The Red Sea (E) Harsh Deserts (E & W) Cataracts (rapids!) (S) Memphis = first united capitol of Upper and Lower Egypt. (Just south of modern capitol of Cairo) Nubia: Trade for gold (also slaves, ivory, etc.) Egypt has largest floodplain along Nile WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS AFFECTED? Nile linked regions Spread ideas and goods! Wheat and barley from Mesopotamia reached Egypt by travelling up the Nile from the Mediterranean!!!

Menes (aka Narmer) Egypt United c. 3100 B.C.E. United Lands of Lower and Upper Egypt Founded the capitol at Memphis Founder of the “First Dynasty”.(of 31 total) Also known as Narmer (and Scorpion King!) crowns of Egypt, part of the sovereign regalia of the kings of ancient Egypt. The crown of Upper Egypt was white and cone-shaped, while that of Lower Egypt was red and flat, with a rising projection in back and a spiral curl in front. Physical examples of these crowns remain elusive, so the materials from which they were made have not been conclusively determined. Often these two crowns were combined to form the double crown, symbolizing the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the divine king. Another royal emblem—the rearing uraeus serpent, placed above the brow of the king—frequently adorned these crowns White- upper, red, lower Upper Egypt Lower Egypt United

Three major periods: OLD KINGDOM 2700 B.C. to 2200 B.C. Then Chaos! MIDDLE KINGDOM 2050 B.C. to 1652 B.C. Then Hyksos! NEW KINGDOM 1567 B.C. to 1085 B.C. Then Decline! Each period was divided into a number of Dynasties

Hieroglyphics Combined Pictographic and Phonetic writing. (we’ll study more later)

Other scripts Hieratic Script: Basically the “easy” version of hieroglyphics. Used much more for business, less ceremonial. Hieroglyphics and Hieratic used 3200 BCE-400 CE. Demotic Script: A more “cursive” form. Never used for religious purposes. Used 600 BCE to 400 CE. http://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/page.php?item_id=entry_detail&uid=yhvayd2uk7

Papyrus Wrote on paper made from reed (as well as carvings in stone.)

Rosetta Stone Written in Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek. Made in 196 BCE Discovered in 1799 CE by Napoleon’s Army Currently at the British Museum in London