1. Egypt

2. Biblical Dates 2000 B.C. –Abraham 1650 B.C. –Joseph
1000 B.C. –David & Solomon’s Dynasty

3. Social Structure Pharaoh Treated like a god
Was the ultimate power in control of the land—responsible for flooding of Nile and rising of sun.
Nobles
Led a relatively good life
Every noble owned a garden, pool, & servants
Women were treated as equals
They could own land
They could file for divorce

4. Social Structure, cont. Peasants Had hard working lives.
Field workers.
Built pyramids and other public projects
Lives were simple, but they always had enough to eat.

5. Social Structure, cont. Slaves (P.O.W.’s).
Worked as house slaves, field workers, and miners
Social Advancement
You could advance by showing courage in the army
You could advance if you became a scribe (learning to read and write)

7. Major Time Periods Old Kingdom (2660-2180)
Religion and government were the same
The Pharaoh was both the religious & political leader
Had unlimited power
Owned all the land
Believed to control nature
Married sisters to keep their bloodlines pure
Their spirit (Ka) ruled forever in the afterlife

8. Old Kingdom, cont. Time of the Great Pyramids
Used over 100,000 workers (Herodutus) OR 20,000-30,00 according to recent Egyptologists
Pyramids were tombs—the final resting place for the pharaohs
Largest pyramids!?
Giza!!

9. The pyramids of Giza. The largest pyramids, from left to right, are Menkaure's pyramid, Khafre's pyramid, and the great pyramid of Khufu.

11. Question: Why mummify if the afterlife is spiritual?
Mummification
Preserved the body
Question: Why mummify if the afterlife is spiritual?
Answer: Even though the afterlife is spiritual, they believed they needed to enter their body at times in the afterlife.

12. First Illness It caused the downfall of the Old Kingdom The cause?
Most likely famine

13. Middle Kingdom (2080-1640 B.C.) Pharaohs had to earn respect
They began public projects to please people
Religion changed. Why?
Everyone had a ka and an afterlife
All were judged by Osiris (god of the dead) based on their good deeds (maat)
Priests began to have more power than the pharaoh
This is when the Israelites came to Egypt under Joseph

14. Second Illness It caused the downfall of the Middle Kingdom The cause?
The Hyksos

15. New Kingdom (1570-1075 B.C.) The Egyptians built a strong army.
Why? The Hyksos conquered them during the 2nd Illness.
This was the Egypt of Moses day (The Exodus)
They began to trade and gain control of land far beyond the Nile
They built the Valley of the Kings—tombs for New Kingdom pharaohs
Egypt eventually fell in 671 B.C. to the Assyrians

16. The Egyptian Empire about 1450 B.C.
Notice trade routes

17. Valley of the Kings

21. Kingdom? Kingdom? Kingdom?
New
Middle
Old
Kingdom? Kingdom? Kingdom?
Pharaohs organized a strong central state, were absolute rulers, and were considered gods.
Egyptians built pyramids at Giza.
Power struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
Powerful pharaohs created a large empire
that reached the Euphrates River.
Hatshepsut
encouraged trade.
Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria.
Egyptian power
declined.
Large drainage project created arable farmland.
Traders had contacts with Middle East and Crete.
Corruption and
rebellions were
common.
Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta
region.

22. Key Rulers
Menes- first king over a united Egypt (3200 B.C.)

23. Key Rulers
Hatshepsut—(New Kingdom) most important female pharaoh (1400’s B.C.)
She encouraged trade, not war.

24. Key Rulers Thutmose III (son of Hatshepsut)
Led Egypt during its strongest and richest era

25. Key Contributions to Society
Hieroglyphics, numbers, geometry, surveying, and medicine

26. Key Contributions, cont.
The Rosetta Stone—the key to unlocking Ancient Egypt’s mysteries.

27. The Rosetta Stone