EGYPT

BACKGROUND Where: Next to Saudi Arabia. Nile River splits upper & lower Egypt When: about 3100 B.C.-1069 B.C. Why: King Menes united upper & lower Egypt into a single kingdom and created first royal dynasty

Social Organization Divided into Old Kingdom (2700 B.C.-2200 B.C.), Middle Kingdom (2055 B.C.-1650 B.C.) and New Kingdom (1570 B.C.-1069 B.C.) Organized like a pyramid: god-king on top, pharaohs w/ upper class nobles & priests, then merchants, artisans, scribes, followed by lower class pheasants Divided into 42 provinces; governors appointed by the pharaoh

Social Organization Husbands were considered master of the house Wives were still well respected; they kept their property & inheritance Most careers were not available to women but some operated businesses; other jobs varied by class Parents organized weddings for their kids, girls at age 12 & boys at age 14

Belief System Polytheistic; believed in multiple gods They believed in sun & land gods Egyptian ruler called “Son of Re” because rulers were like earthly form of Re, one of the sun gods They did mummification- process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent rotting Pyramids were tombs, they made them tall so the dead could touch the sun god

Achievements Pyramids- city to the dead System of writing(3000 B.C.): hieroglyphics “sacred writings” were seen on temple walls & tombs Hieratic script was used for everyday life The Great Sphinx: guardian of sacred sites Math(3500 B.C.): developed a number system

Achievements They used area, volume, and geometry to survey flooded land Developed 365 day calendar by basing their year on movements of the moon & the bright star Sirius Tools: silver & copper tools, rope, paper, linen clothing, & wooden furniture

Decline Weakness of military Ruler Amenhotep the third died & his son took over & tried to change their religion People didn’t want to change & conflict arose & created more problems The New Kingdom ended & for lots of years was dominated by Libyans, Assyrians, Persians, & Macedonians

Citations History.com Editors. “Ancient Egypt.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt#section_9. Mark, Joshua J. “Ancient Egypt” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 02 Sep 2009. Web. 22 Aug 2019. Spielvogal, J. “The Rise of Egypt”. World History and Geography. August 2019. “The New Kingdom.” Ancient Egypt, ancientegypthistorykingdom.weebly.com/the-new-kingdom.html.