1. Egyptian and Nubian Empires
Chapter 4 Section 1

2. Main Idea and Key Terms
Two empires along the Nile, Egypt and Nubia, forged commercial, cultural, and political connections
Hyksos
New Kingdom
Hatshepsut
Thutmose III
Nubia
Ramses II
Kush
Piankhi
Meroë

3. Nomadic Invaders Rule Egypt
After the prosperity of the Middle Kingdom, Egypt descended into war and violence
Weak pharaohs and power disputes led to the fall of Egypt to the Hyksos
During the Hyksos rule was when the Hebrews arrived in Egypt
The Egyptians resented the Hebrews

4. Egyptian & Nubian Empires
Around 1600, Queen Ahhotep helped drive out the Hyksos
The next pharaoh, Kamses, and his successors drove the Hyksos out of Egypt to Palestine
The Hebrews that remained in Egypt were enslaved
They left during the “Exodus”

5. The New Kingdom
The pharaohs of the New Kingdom sought to build an empire
Using bronze weapons and two-wheeled chariots, the Egyptians became conquerors

6. New Kingdom Hatshepsut declared herself pharaoh around 1472 b.c.e.
She encouraged trade instead of war
She sent a trade expedition to the Land of Punt, near present day Somalia
They brought back many items for ceremonies, as well as gold and ivory

7. New Kingdom Hatshepsut’s stepson, Thutmose III, was much more warlike
May have murdered his stepmother to take the throne
He invaded Palestine and Syria, as well as south into Nubia, along the upper Nile
This was the height of the Egyptian Empire

8. Hatshepsut

9. New Kingdom Later, the Egyptians faced the Hittites
Ramses II signed a treaty
Like the Old Kingdom, rulers of the New Kingdom erected great buildings
They hid their tombs beneath desert cliffs at the Valley of the Kings near Thebes

10. Decline
Shortly after Ramses died, the entire Eastern Mediterranean faced a series of invasions
After the invasions, Egypt never recovered
The empire broke apart, and became regional kingdoms
Eventually the Nubians came north and seized power

11. New Kingdom

12. The Kush For centuries, Egypt dominated Nubia and the kingdom of Kush
After the fall of the Egyptian empire, Kush began to rise
Nubia then established a Kushite throne in Egypt
The Kushites adopted clothing, Gods, writing, and customs from the Egyptians

13. Kush
In 751 b.c.e., a Kushite king named Piankhi overthrew the Libyan dynasty ruling Egypt
The Assyrians invaded in 671 b.c.e. and drove out the Kushites
They fled south, where they experienced a golden age, despite their loss of Egypt

14. The Golden Age of Meroë
After the defeat in Egypt, the Kushite royal family moved south to Meroë
Meroë lay along the Red Sea
It became active in trade with Arabia, Africa, and India
Unlike Egypt, Meroë enjoyed significant rainfall and had iron ore
Became a manufacturer of weapons and tools

15. Meroë
Natural resources flowed out of Africa and luxury goods from India and Arabia flowed in
After four centuries of prosperity, from about 250 b.c.e. to 150 c.e., Meroë began to decline
Aksum began to dominate North African trade