1. Ancient Egypt

3. Nile River

4. Geography Natural Defense Barriers
Nile Delta: marshland with no natural ports for ships to dock and attack
Cataracts: rapids from boulders/rocks that prevent attackers from sailing up River into Egypt.
Sahara Desert in the West, Eastern Desert in the East

5. Nile River Longest River in World
Flows from south to north and into the Mediterranean Sea.
Dependable, predictable flooding (July – October)
Gentle, generally not destructive flooding
Built basins, canals, and dams, to irrigate crops
Papyrus grew along Nile banks – used for baskets, sandals, rafts, and paper

6. Rise of Egyptian Government
Irrigation needed to be built and maintained, crops stored and distributed, and disputed needed to be settled.
Governments emerged to handle these things.
Earliest Rulers were village chiefs.
Chiefs united into small kingdoms.
Eventually Lower Egypt (Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt (up-river) are formed.

7. Rise of Egyptian Government 2
In 3100 B.C. Narmer united the two kingdoms
Narmer ruled from Memphis
Wore two crowns, one for each early kingdom
Rulers passed down power from father to son: known as a dynasty.

8. Egyptian Social Classes
Upper
King or ruler, priests, army commanders, nobles
Lived in palaces,
Had pools, gardens, servants
Wore linen clothes and wore makeup

9. Egyptian Social Classes 2
Middle
Traders, artisans, shopkeepers
Smaller homes, dressed simply
Lower
Farmers and unskilled laborers
Lived in villages along Nile, mud homes w/dirt floors, family activities on flat roofs

10. Family Life Father was head of family
Women can own property, buy and sell goods, & get a divorce
Upper class women: in charge of temples & perform religious ceremony
Few kids went to school
Had time to play games: board games, spinning tops, dolls
Mother taught daughter to sew, cook, run household
Boys learned farming or a trade

11. Old Kingdom 2600 B.C. – 2300 B.C. Egypt prospered
Built cities
Expanded trade
Set up a strong government
Egyptian kings are called Pharaohs
Pharaoh = “great house”
Lived in palaces
Guided Egypt’s every activity
His word was law

12. Old Kingdom 2 Pharaohs had officials to oversee:
canals, planting crops, grain storage, collecting taxes
Egyptians believed strong leader = strong Egypt
Egyptians thought Pharaoh was the son of their sun god, Re.
Citizens played music when he appeared in public
Bystanders bow down & touch their heads to the earth
1st to cut grain to bring a good harvest, bull ceremony for rich soil.

13. Egyptian Religion Polytheistic: worshipped many gods.
Poly – many, theo – god
Ra: sun god for harvests etc.
Hapi: god of Nile River
Isis: goddess of mothers and wives married to Osiris
Osiris: god of the dead, afterlife

14. Egypt Religion 2 Life After Death
Egyptian afterlife
The next life even better than this one – the dead find peace and plenty
Book of the Dead – collection prayers and spells to obtain life after death.
Osiris meets then at the entrance to the afterlife. Those that were “good” and knew the prayers/spells were allowed in.
Pharaohs’ spirits would need their bodies and belongings for the journey – mummification.

15. Egyptian Mummies

16. I want my mummy!

17. You can’t take it with you….or can you?

18. Mummification
Embalming: Priests removed the body’s organs and placed them in jars for preservation.
The body is then rubbed with salt and allowed to dry.
Next, the body if filled with spices and perfumes, stitched up, and wrapped in clean linen and oil.

19. Old Kingdom 3
2540 B.C. Egyptians built the tallest pyramid – The Great Pyramid in Giza.
500 ft. above the desert
9 football fields in area
2 million stone blocks
Tallest structure in the world for over 4000 years
Tall as a 48 story building

20. The Middle Kingdom 2050 B.C. – 1670 B.C.
Egypt became decentralized, nobles fought for power
Finally, a new dynasty of pharaohs took power.
Moved capital from Memphis to Thebes
New territories paid tribute ( $ ) to the Pharaoh.

21. Middle Kingdom 2 Built canal from Nile to Red Sea
Arts, literature, and architecture thrived.
Pharaohs cut their tombs into the cliffs west of the Nile. “Valley of the Kings.”

22. Valley of the Kings

23. The New Kingdom
Egyptian prince Ahmose lead a rebellion that drove the Hyskos out of Egypt.
Egypt became even richer and more powerful during the NK.
Most Pharaohs during the NK made increasing land and power a priority.
Queen Hatshepsut
1st ruled with her husband until his death.
Then ruled on behalf of her young nephew.
Eventually made herself a Pharaoh.
Dressed like a man so as not to appear weak in public.

24. New Kingdom 2 Hatshepsut greatly increased Egypt’s trade
Traders sailed along the east coast of Africa.
Exchanged beads, metal, and tools for gold, ivory, ebony, and incense.
Built monument to herself in the Valley of the Kings
Amenhotep IV: came to power with wife, Nefertiti
Change Egypt’s religion to worship only one god, Aton
Amenhotep changed name to Akhenaton which means ”spirit of Aton.”

25. 1) most Egyptians believed his attack on the gods was an attack on Egypt.
2) he concentrated on his new religion so much that he neglected his job as a pharaoh.
3) Egypt began to lose land.

26. 5. Tutankhamen a. The Boy King
1.) was 10 years old when he took the throne when Akhenaton died.
2.) he relied on help from priest & palace officials.

27. b. Accomplishments
1) restored old religion
2.) one of the youngest to rule Egypt

28. c. Popularity today
1.) King Tut ruled only nine years and then died from an injury, or was murdered. This is a fascinating mystery for people.

29. 2.) British archaeologist Howard Carter, found King Tut's tomb in The tomb contained incredible treasures.

30. Ramses II Ramses II: Regained lands in Asia that Akhenaton lost.
Launched huge building program and built several major temples.
Many temples built by enslaved people captured during war
Last truly great pharaoh of Egypt
Under Ramses, Egypt was so prosperous that 9 other pharaohs took his name
Had more than 100 children.

31. Egypt’s Decline
After Ramses II, pharaohs had trouble keeping neighboring countries under control.
Egypt was attacked by groups from the eastern Mediterranean who had strong iron weapons.
Egypt had iron weapons too, but they were very costly because Egypt had no iron ore.
Finally the Kush took over and ruled Egypt for 70 years beginning in 760 B.C.
Eventually Egypt was conquered by the Assyrians
*****Egyptians wrote the world’s 1st medical books on scrolls of papyrus.