By Ms. Fockler Project Sample

 North Africa  Located around the Nile river  Flood plains = year-long agriculture  2 distinct regions: upper and lower Egypt

 egypt video egypt video

 The Old Kingdom  The New Kingdom

 Menes unites Upper and Lower Egypt in 3150 BCE  Becomes the first Pharaoh of a unified Egypt  First capital at Memphis  Lots of innovation in arts and science The Double Crown of Unified Egypt  *see your sample slide content worksheets

 Time of a strong empire, powerful pharaohs, and expansion  This could be called Egypt’s “Golden Age”

 Conquered many territories for Egypt  Made the first written peace treaty  Was the most famous and powerful Pharaoh in all of Egyptian history

 Had rulers that were like kings, but were considered gods on earth. They were called Pharaohs.  Pharaohs appointed advisors to help run the different branches of the government - called a bureaucracy  Allowed the Pharaoh to keep tight control on his people The anointing of the Pharaoh by Horus and Thoth, gods of the pharaoh and of wisdom

 The Economy was strictly controlled by the government  Temples gathered and distributed grain  Egyptians used a money-barter system, where a certain amount of grain equaled a certain amount of copper or silver. Workers got paid in grain.  Coinage (money) did not evolve until the 5 th century BCE

 Egyptian society was very divided  Most people were farmers, but the government owned the land AND the farmer’s crops.  Farmers also had to pay taxes and work on the government’s construction projects

 Artists and craftsmen had higher status than farmers, but were still controlled by the government  Scribes and officials were members of the upper class  Priests, physicians (doctors), and engineers were also part of the upper classes  The highest class in Egypt was the nobility, or the Pharaoh’s family

 Egyptian law viewed everyone, except slaves, as equal under the law  This meant that men and women could own and sell property, marry and divorce, receive inheritance, etc  Ancient Egyptian women had a lot more freedom than women in other ancient societies.

 We know there was slavery in Egypt, but no one knows exactly how it worked  Maybe you can study it in college and find out for us?

 The Pharaoh was the head of justice in the kingdom – he was responsible for law and order  Egyptians relied on agreements and resolving conflicts instead of abiding by a set of strict laws.  Serious cases, like murder, were referred to the Great Kenbet, or a council that the Pharaoh or his advisors oversaw.  Court scribes wrote down everything that happened in the cases – like ours do today!

 Punishments for breaking a law/causing harm were fines, beatings, facial mutations, or exile.  Punishment for serious crimes, like robbery or murder, was often execution.

 Egypt is famous for its pyramids  Most famous: the pyramids at Giza  Built between BCE  Built for Pharaoh Khufu  Housed the remains of the Pharaohs for the afterlife

 Polytheistic  meaning many gods  Each god looked over a certain part of life or death  Examples: *See sample slide worksheet #2 Ra, god of the sun Anubis, god of embalming Osiris, god of the dead Isis, goddess of magic and wife of Osiris

 The body had to be preserved for the soul to return to every evening. This led to…  Mummies!  Internal organs removed  Body embalmed in oils and wrapped in cloth

 Once you died, your soul travelled to the hall of Two Truths  Heart vs the Feather of Truth  Weighs more  fed to the Eater of the Dead  Weighs less  pass into the afterlife

 Science and Math  Geometry and Engineering: used in building the pyramids  Great medical practices thanks to their knowledge of the body from mummies  Developed a 365 day calendar

 Writing  Hieroglyphics: symbols for certain words and sounds  Written on papyrus scrolls  Used formal and informal writing  Example at right is formal

 The Rosetta Stone helped scholars decipher the Egyptian language, which no one was able to understand until the mid-1800s  That’s over 2000 years of not knowing what the Egyptians wrote!

 Overrun by different invaders  Finally fully under foreign control by the Persians in the s BCE  Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE and started a new dynasty of rulers Alexander the Great

 Questions?  Let’s review your notes

 Read a portion of Ramses II’s peace treaty  Consider the following:  Why is this a primary source?  What is the document telling us?  Who is involved?  Why is this important?