World History Chapter 2 Section 3 Kingdom of the Nile

Geography Without the Nile river there would not have been an Egyptian civilization Dessert protected Egypt from invasion It also limited settlement Yearly Flood – soaked land and deposited silt? Egyptians built dikes, reservoirs and irrigation ditches to control the Nile

Two Regions Upper Region and Lower Region Upper Egypt – from the first cataract in the Nile to within 100 miles of the Mediterranean Sea Cataract - waterfall Lower Egypt – delta region where the Nile empties into the Mediterranean Sea Delta – triangle shaped marsh area of land formed by deposits of silt at the mouth of some rivers

3100 B.C. – King of Upper Egypt – King Menes, united both upper and lower regions Founded the first capital at Memphis – site where Nile empties into delta Nile helped to unify Egypt as a transportation and communication network and a trade route

Kingdom’s of Egypt Old Kingdom – 2575 – 2130 Middle Kingdom – 1938 – 1630 New Kingdom – 1539 – 1075 Power was passed from one family to the next which kept the land united

The ancient Egyptian sculpture called The Sphinx is also located on the Giza plateau, and was probably carved at the request of the 4th dynasty pharaoh Chephren or Khafre. The statue is carved out of the native bedrock, and has the body of a lion and (so is believed) Pharaoh Chephren's face. Later the Sphinx became associated with the Egyptian god Harmakhis.

Old Kingdom Kings – who were later called Pharaohs, organized a strong central state Key in government and state – people believed he was a god Absolute power – owned and ruled all land in the kingdom Also seen as human – expected to behave morally and Pharaohs were judge for there deeds

Pharaohs of the Old Kingdom took pride in justice Used bureaucracy – system of government that includes different functions and levels of authority Vizier – chief minister – supervised business of the government Headed various departments – tax, farming, irrigation Thousands of scribes followed his orders

Great Pyramids – Old Kingdom built the great Necropolis’ / cemeteries Giza – location of the greatest pyramids Tombs inside of pyramids were where the dead would live for eternity Believed in an afterlife – preserved dead rulers and gave them everything they would need in their new lives Pyramids took a long time to build, so most rulers started building them when they took power

Middle Kingdom Marked by power struggles, crop failures, and the cost of building pyramids led to collapse of Old Kingdom – so not very well financially Turbulent Period – Nile did not rise as it used to Corruption and rebellions were common Some progress – drainage projects at delta made more farm land Egyptian armies also controlled gold rich Nubia / Kush Trade continued with Middle East and Mediterranean

1700 B.C. Hyksos invaded and took over the Nile delta Little conflict between people and new rulers Introduced horse drawn chariot Hyksos impressed with Egyptian culture Adopted Egyptian customs, beliefs, and names After 100 years of Hyksos rule, new Egyptian leaders emerged

New Kingdom Empire grew 1450 B.C. it stretched to Syria and the Euphrates First Female Ruler Hatshepsut – exercised all rights of a Pharaoh Encouraged trade to Mediterranean Thutmose III – stepson – great military leader and stretched borders farther than ever

Ramses II – ruled for 66 years Best known, as he boasted about himself on monuments – some may not have been true Fought many battles against the Hittites to the North Signed a peace treaty with them – first such document known to have survived Egypt conquered Nubia – this gave them gold, ivory, cattle and slaves Ramses II – used gold from Nubia to pay his charioteers

Decline 1100 B.C. Invaders – Assyrians and Persians conquered the Nile region in 332 B.C the last dynasty of the Nile ended as the Greeks took control of the area