OBJECTIVE: Analyze the cultural achievements of the Ancient Egyptians.
Environment Nile River flows north longest in world flooding provides silt predictable farming wheat barley irrigation travel & trade
Environment Nile River worshipped by Egyptians as god who gave them life East – land of living sunrise cities, temples West – land of dead sunset tombs
Environment Deserts lack of rain Arabian Libyan east of Nile Libyan west of Nile both are part of Sahara Villages & cities built along Nile River first farming villages about 5000 BCE
Quick Write What are some geographical similarities between Egypt and Mesopotamia?
Egypt Unites Menes (Narmer) Pschent King who united Upper & Lower Egypt into one kingdom Double crown around 3000 BCE Capital at Memphis Deshret of Lower Egypt Hedjet of Upper Egypt
Ptolemy VI
Pharaohs: God Kings Theocracy Pharaohs government in which rule is based on religious authority Pharaohs fully responsible for kingdom religion military run government promote justice & truth believed to make sun rise
Pharaohs: God Kings Ka eternal life force of king continued after death needs & pleasures must continue to be met
Pharaohs: God Kings Pyramids final resting place represent economic strength, technology & leadership of Egyptian civilization
Religion Polytheistic more than 2000 gods & goddesses believed in afterlife Anubis weighed each dead person’s heart all classes prepared for burials upper classes had great tombs filled with clothes, gems, tools, art
Ancient Egyptians Part II OBJECTIVE: Analyze the cultural achievements of the Ancient Egyptians.
Pyramids built by peasants Giza completed about 2556 BCE
Pyramid of Khufu an almost perfect square (deviation .05%) Orientation is exactly North, South, East, West 2,300,000 blocks, almost 500 ft high 20 years to build Average block weighs 2.5 tons Some weigh 9 tons!
Social Classes king, queen, family wealthy landowners, gov’t officials, priests, army commanders artisans & merchants peasant farmers & laborers largest slaves from war
Writing Hieroglyphics “sacred carving” started with pictures grew to resemble an alphabet first on stone & clay later papyrus
Writing The Rosetta Stone discovered by Napoleon’s troops 1799
Calendar Features: 365 days 12 months 30 days each 5 holidays tracked: flooding planting harvesting
Artwork
Art
History Old Kingdom 2660-2160 BCE ends with decline of pharaohs influence civil wars
History Middle Kingdom 2060-1750 BCE strong pharaohs restored order improved irrigation, trade, transportation with canal from Nile to Red Sea Hyksos invade from Palestine rule from 1630-1523 BCE
History New Kingdom 1550-1070 BCE Ahmose I expelled the invading Hyksos and reunited Egypt Known as the Empire period
History New Kingdom Militaristic & imperialistic nature incorporated chariot, bronze, horses development of a professional army became a slave based economy fueled by war and expansion
History Ramses II 1279-1213 BCE greatest New Kingdom ruler military leader of Egypt expanded into southern Turkey built many monuments to himself last gasp of Egyptian power