1. The Stable Civilization 3100 BCE – 30 BCE
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
                         
                                        
The Stable Civilization BCE – 30 BCE

2. The “SOUL” of Ancient Egypt
The Nile was the source of life and path to immortality
Egyptians lived on Eastern side but buried on Western side
River was symbol of passage of one life to next
Creation story began in swirling waters of the Nile when god Horus gave power to Pharaohs
Click here for Creation Story

3. Geography: Populated Areas
There were three main areas that were populated in Egypt:
1. The Nile Valley
Sole source of water for Egypt
Predictable flooding provided rich fertile soil
Revered and feared
The Nile Delta
Nile empties into Mediterranean
Largest piece of fertile land
All the major cities of Egypt
Faiyum
Lake Moeris lies at end of branch of Nile is centre of oasis called Faiyum
Irrigation from Nile made Faiyum the third most populated land

4. Geographic Effects on Egypt’s Stability
Regular flooding of Nile = predictability
Deserts
provided protection and isolation
source of minerals and building supplies: copper, tin, gold and natron
Access to Mediterranean increased and expanded trade
Philosophy of stability, rejection of change

5. Historical Highlights
Unification of Egypt
King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt and wears double crown in 3100 BCE.
Beginning of the united and stable civilization
After Menes -31 dynasties over 3000 years
Personifications of Upper and Lower Egypt place their crowns upon Menes head

6. Age of Pyramids Old Kingdom 2690 BCE – 2181 BCE
Embodiment of Pharaoh's god like absolute power
Medium of immortality.
Mastaba – used since before Menes
Step Pyramid at Saqqara for Djoser 2650 BCE
Great Pyramids of Giza for Khufu 2600 BCE

7. Imhotep First non-ruler whose life is recorded
Served Pharaoh Djoser ( BCE)
Designed step pyramid
Furnished and sculpted stone images for tomb
Founded Egyptian medicine
Statuette in bronze of Imhotep at Louvre, from Ptolemaic era ( BCE)

8. National God Amon Re
Popular as Amon or Amun in many areas throughout entire history of Egypt
Associated with bull, goose, ram and protector of the weak
Amon, the local god of Thebes merged with sun god Re and became Egyptian national god Amon-Re
Figure of Amon Re from late period - ROM collection

9. Exodus
Colossal statue of Ramses II from temple of Ptah - Spain
Hebrew slaves under Ramses II leave Egypt in mass migration called Exodus (13th c. BCE)
Moses receives the 10 Commandments at Mount Sinai but never finds the “Promised Land”

10. Was Egypt Really a Stable Civilization?
Your tasks:
Research a particular topic to discover if ancient Egypt really was a stable civilization
Write a thesis statement which answers the research question
Simple thesis statements:
Yes, Egypt was stable OR No, Egypt was not stable.
More complex thesis statements:
Egypt was stable for the most part except for…
Egypt’s was mostly unstable, but we believe it to be stable only because of …
Provide evidence via a class presentation to prove your thesis
Pod Organization
Write an in class paper at the end of all presentations explaining your final point of view.