Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt Vocabulary Cataracts Delta Pharaoh Dynasty Nobles Afterlife Mummies Elite Pyramids Engineering Trade routes Hieroglyphics Papyrus

Ancient Egypt Sphinxes Obelisks Trade network Merchants Exports Imports

Ancient Egypt Nile Starts as the Blue Nile, originating in Ethiopia; and the White Nile, originating in Sudan/Uganda Flows South to North into the Mediterranean Sea

Ancient Egypt Nile Divided in two main parts Upper Nile (most of the it) and the lower Nile Lower Nile is the delta of the Nile Annual flooding called the “Miracle of the Nile” brings water and fertile soil (silt) Those silt fields brought great wealth to the civilization

Ancient Egypt Nile Four Kingdoms Lower Egypt Upper Egypt Nubia Kush

Nile Delta Lower Egypt Upper Egypt Nubia Kush Nile Delta

Ancient Egypt History Menes, the first king who joined the Upper and Lower kingdoms; capital at Memphis (not TN) became the first Egyptian dynasty around 3100 B.C. Menes is considered the first pharaoh part god, part human

Ancient Egypt The Old Kingdom (2700-2100 B.C.) Pharaohs ruled with absolute power Vizier – was the “steward of the whole land” Under the vizier where the governors of the 42 provinces One famous vizier was Imhotep Built the first pyramid

Ancient Egypt Social Structure Three Classes (below pharaoh) Nobles – government officials and priests Scribes/craftsman Farmers, servants, and slaves

Ancient Egypt Influences Sumerian designs Nubian poetry Trade with other areas brought in even more influences

Ancient Egypt Religion Polytheistic Two groups Sun gods The sun, to the Egyptians, was the source of life In human form, he was Atum Or as Ra, with a falcon head

Ancient Egypt Religion (continued) Land gods Osiris, King of the Afterlife Isus, Osiris’ wife and sister Seth, Osiris’ brother Horus, Osiris and Isus’ son

Ancient Egypt Religion Mummies To preserve the bodies of the dead, priests mummified (embalmed) the bodies mostly for wealthy families who could afford it removed certain organs and buried them in jars with the body process took about 70 days

Ancient Egypt Religion– Pyramids Massive tombs for the pharaohs Large one for the pharaoh Smaller ones for the family even smaller for pharaoh’s officials Tombs included chairs, boats, chests, weapons games, food, etc.

Ancient Egypt Religion (continued) Afterlife (life after death) Believed in ka, a person’s life force (spirit), and that it left the body after death, but could not leave the burial site At burial, everything a person might need for the afterlife was placed in the tomb (including food)

Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom – Pyramids The Great Pyramid Great Sphinx built for King Khufu at Giza, Egypt 481 feet tall, 756 feet along each side Great Sphinx Supposedly the face is a likeness to the son of Khufu, Khafre And supposedly it is the guardian of the sacred site

Ancient Egypt Middle Kingdom Egypt conquered Nubia, the area south of Egypt, in present day Sudan Public works were widespread Provided for the public welfare Canal dug from Nile to the Red Sea

Ancient Egypt Middle Kingdom Invasion of the Hyksos Had horses and chariots won against the Egyptian army Ahmose of Thebes learned and used the Hyksos’ technology to defeat them and brought forth the New Kingdom

Egypt New Kingdom Egypt conquered Kush, forced them to pay annual payments Conquered some of western Fertile Cresent Assyrian, Babylonia, and the Hittites sent gifts to keep the Egyptians happy

Ancient Egypt Leaders of the New Kingdom Hatshepsut - first woman pharaoh Thutmose III – expanded the kingdom to parts of the Fertile Crescent

Ancient Egypt Amenotep IV or Akhenaton – introduced a god named Aton. wanted Egyptians to worship only Aton (Monotheism-worship of only one god) Tutankhamen – restored old pantheon, boy King Tut Ramses II – Expanded the previously lost borders back into Palestine

Ancient Egypt New Kingdom A still unknown “Sea Peoples” (Greeks?) invaded SW Asia Egypt defeated them, but lost their empire and never again was powerful

Ancient Egypt Work and Daily Life Scribes Accountants, record keepers, and writers Artisans, Artists, and Architects Highly regarded because their skills and because they designed the pyramids and temples

Ancient Egypt Work and Daily Life Soldiers Farmers/Peasants Were paid in land and could keep some treasures of war Farmers/Peasants Had to pay taxes in grain and could be forced to go to war or work on building projects

Ancient Egypt Work and Daily Life Family Life Men married early; started work at 14 Women stayed at home; had legal rights Children were educated in writing, math, morals, and sports

Ancient Egypt Achievements/Advancements Writing (Hieroglyphics) Over 600 symbols that had sounds Papyrus, paper made from reeds Kept preserved by the dry climate Can read many texts from ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt Rosetta Stone Napoleonic French soldier in 1799 found a key to reading the hieroglyphics Had Greek, later Egyptian writing, and hieroglyphic translations

Ancient Egypt Architecture Pyramids and temples Sphinxes – images/sculptures of human/animal heads on a lions body Obelisks – tall, four-sided pillar with pointed top

Ancient Kush Nubia Today it is a desert Ancient Nubia was fertile from flooding like in Egypt and had easily accessible gold, copper, and stone Ancient Nubia relied on grains and livestock

Ancient Kush From Nubia to Kush One rich farmer took over several villages along the Nile, made himself king, and renamed Nubia Kush They traded with Egypt and lived in peace of a time

Ancient Kush Egypt-ruled Kush Thutmose I took over Kush The people assimilated into Egyptian culture Lasted 450 years until the end of the New Kingdom

Ancient Kush Kush-ruled Egypt Kushite kings Kashta and Piankhi took over all of Egypt Piankhi’s brother Shabaka proclaimed himself pharaoh and renewed old Egyptian customs building new temples and pyramids

Ancient Kush Late Kush Iron Assyrians gained power and conquered Egypt kicking out Kushites Iron Kush started to produce iron and opened a trade network with Greece, Egypt, and perhaps even China They would export iron and import foreign goods

Ancient Kush Decline Kushites allowed cows to overgraze and cut down all of their trees which allowed the desert to encroach Could no longer trade and Ethiopia conquered them and eventually converted them to Christianity