Ancient Ancient EgyptEgypt

Chris AndersonChris Anderson

Randolph-Henry High SchoolRandolph-Henry High School

Ancient EgyptiansAncient Egyptians

• What do you think of when you hear Egypt?

River Valley and Its PeopleRiver Valley and Its People• The Nile RiverNile River runs through the middle of Egypt like

a green carpet in a sea of brown desert

• the river is 4,160 miles long--the longest river in the world

• the river has predictable floods which bring needed water and fertile soil (siltsilt)

• the river flows to the North from the mountains of east Africa into the Mediterranean Sea

• at the mouth of the river is a fan shaped delta with very rich soil

Flows South Flows South to Northto North

DeltaDelta

• A 10 mile band of rich soil extends from the river out into the desert– this soil is very rich and good for growing crops– the river floods every year in the late spring and

early summer– melting snows in the mountains and spring rains

cause these floods– when the flood waters recede in late fall, a rich

layer of siltsilt is left behind

• 5000 BC: hunter-gatherers began settling in the Nile

Valley

• these peoples eventually learned to farm and learned the river’s flooding pattern

• 1st crops: wheat and barley

• the Nile also allowed the people to hunt water fowl--geese and duck--and to fish

• the river also gave the people papyruspapyrus– papyrus reeds were used to make baskets, rope, sandals,

and paper

Uniting EgyptUniting Egypt• Egypt was protected from invasion because it was

surrounded by a desert in the south• this protection allowed the early small farms to become

large kingdoms• these different kingdoms would eventually become

united into a single Egypt• The two major kingdoms that would eventually unite

were:– 1.) Upper Egypt – 2.) Lower Egypt

Upper EgyptUpper Egypt

• Symbolized by a whitewhite crown

• located in Southern EgyptSouthern Egypt

Lower EgyptLower Egypt

• Symbolized by a redred crown

• located in Northern EgyptNorthern Egypt

• Eventually Upper and Lower Egypt were brought together• the story of the unification is somewhat of a myth• the king responsible for unification is believed to be Narmer

(Menes)– legend says that around 3000 BC, Narmer was the king of Upper

Egypt

– Narmer led his forces into Lower Egypt, taking over Lower Egypt, and, thus, creating a united Egypt

– he built a capital city at Memphis--located between both kingdoms

• the new unified kingdom was symbolized by a white and white and red crown--a double crownred crown--a double crown

• Narmer (Menes) has been given credit as the creator

of the 1st Egyptian dynasty– a dynasty is a family that rules

• 3000 BC--332 BC: Egypt had series of 30 dynasties

• these 30 dynasties have been divided into three periods– 1.) Old Kingdom

– 2.) Middle Kingdom

– 3.) New Kingdom

Old KingdomOld Kingdom• Lasted from 2700 to 2200 BC

• both Upper and Lower Egypt held onto their identities

• slowly, a strong Egyptian government was being created

• the Egyptians felt they belong to a unified Egypt

• people saw their ruler as a god who ruled over the people

• A theocracy was created– when a leader is seen as a political

leader and religious leader

• the kings performed rituals that were believed to help the kingdom

• kings had absolute political power

• however, they were still not able to do all tasks by themselves

• bureaucracy--government officials

• The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom• pyramids were built to pay homage to the god/kings

and as a tomb for the dead king• Egyptians still believed their king ruled over them after

his death• not all pyramids look like those in this slide• 1st pyramids were step pyramids

– one of the 1st step pyramids built was for King Djoser

– built in Memphis

– was the 1st all stone building in the world

• Eventually, the architects wanted to create smoother pyramids– The first attempts were not perfect—Bent

Pyramid

• The three pyramids at Giza are probably the most

famous

• the pyramids are engineering wonders--the last remaining structures of the 7 wonders of the world

• Great Pyramid: built for King Khufu in 2500 BC

– 481 feet tall

– largest of the three pyramids at Giza

• Dead kings were mummified before they were entombed in

the pyramids– process involved the drying and preservation of the body using

spices and oil– internal organs were removed– body was wrapped in strips of linen and placed in a sarcophagus– body was then placed in the burial chamber with all of the king’s

earthly possessions

• The interior of the pyramid contained elaborate wall paintings– Egyptians believed these wall paintings would come to life in the

after life

Middle KingdomMiddle Kingdom• 2200 BC: Egyptian kings

began to loose some power– -nobles were fighting w/ each

other over power

– Old Kingdom was falling apart

• 2050 BC: a new ruling family takes over Egypt– this new dynasty moves the

capital to Thebes

• the new dynasty marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom

• Middle Kingdom lasted until 1800 BC

• new kings regained power– built irrigation systems

– cleared more land for agriculture

– gained land for Egypt by attacking Syria

– constructed a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea to allow for better trade

• 1700 BC: Egyptian nobles again began to challenge the king’s power

• Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos--people from Western Asia

• Hyksos had very good weapons– bronze weapons– horse drawn chariots

• Hyksos conquered the Egyptians who had inferior weapons

• Hyksos ruled over Egypt for 110 years

New KingdomNew Kingdom• Eventually, the Egyptians

learned how to make and use the Hyksos’ weapons

• Egyptians also copied the Hyksos’ style of fighting

• 1600 BC: Ahmose--an Egyptian prince--led an army against the Hyksos

• he was able to drive the Hyksos from Egypt

• Ahmose created a new dynasty in Egypt--ushering in the New Kingdom

• Ahmose and his successor were called pharaohs

• Ahmose tried to rebuild Egypt– rebuilt temples– reopened trade

• 1480 BC: Egypt had its 1st female ruler--HatshepsutHatshepsut• she first ruled along with her husband• after her husband’s death, the throne was left to her young

stepson--Thutmose IIIThutmose III• Thutmose was too young to rule, so Hatshepsut ruled in place

of her stepson• she eventually made herself pharaoh of Egypt, even wearing

the false beard• she did a lot of constructing in her reign

– large funeral temples– large tombs

• After Hatshepsut’s death, Thutmose After Hatshepsut’s death, Thutmose

III became pharaohIII became pharaoh

• Thutmose conquered the SyriansThutmose conquered the Syrians

• he captured land as far east as the he captured land as far east as the Euphrates RiverEuphrates River

• Thutmose created the 1st Egyptian Thutmose created the 1st Egyptian EmpireEmpire

• 1320 BC: Amenhotep IV

became pharaoh• he and his wife--Nefertiti--broke

from the Egyptian tradition of worshiping many gods

• Ahmenhotep wanted the people to worship only 1 god--the god Aton (the sun disk god)

• he believed he was equal to the god Aton

• Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaton--spirit of Aton

• He moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes to a new city devoted to Aton

• he destroyed all temples devoted to other gods

• the people of Egypt did not like Akhenaton and his new religion

• Akhenaton was a weak ruler--he cared more for religion than his empire

• after his death, the priests put the old religion back into place

• Tutankhamen moved the capital back to Memphis

Recovery and DeclineRecovery and Decline

• From 1200 BC, pharaohs were mostly military leaders

• Ramses II: one of the New Dynasty pharaohs– he ruled for 67 years

– built many temples and statues

• Eventually Egypt became weak and split back into 2 separate kingdoms

• by 945 BC, Egypt was ruled by foreigners--the Libyans and Kushites

Levels of Egyptian SocietyLevels of Egyptian Society

• There were different levels to Egyptian society– 1.) Upper Class– 2.) Middle Class– 3.) Lower Class

Upper ClassUpper Class• Royalty, nobles, and priests

• top of the social classes

• had control over religion and politics

• live in cities or estates along the Nile

• had large decorated houses with pools, orchards, and gardens

• family composed of husband, wife, and children

Middle ClassMiddle Class

• Artisans, scribes, merchants, and tax collectors

• business people of Egypt

• comfortable homes--not as elegant as upper class

• some were very wealthy

• many were able to move into upper class

Lower ClassLower Class• Farmers, servants, and others

• farmers had to pay rent to the king in order to use the land

• farmers also had to work on the building projects

• lived in small villages and huts

• families included husband, wife, children, grandparents, and other relatives

Egyptian ReligionEgyptian Religion• They were polytheists--worshipping many gods

• many gods were represented as half animal and half human– Horus (sky god): had the head of a hawk

• major gods:– Ra: sun god

– Osiris: god of the Nile, life, death, and rebirth

– Isis: wife of Osiris, ruled the underworld

• believed in an afterlife– spent much of their lives preparing for death

WritingWriting

• Egyptian writing is called hieroglyphics• earliest forms were carved on stone tablets• picture symbols that stood for objects, ideas, and

sounds• only a few people could read and write

– scribes: Egyptians who were trained to read and write

• after the fall of the Egyptians, hieroglyphics were no longer used– for 2000 years, no one could understand the symbols

– 1799 AD: a French soldier found the Rosetta Stone

• The Rosetta Stone was a piece of tablet that had Greek writing and two forms of Egyptian writing

• 1822: a French archaeologist was able to decode the hieroglyphics by comparing the Greek text with the hieroglyhpics

Rosetta StoneRosetta Stone

Scientific AchievementsScientific Achievements

• Skilled in math and geometry--pyramids

• created a number system

• created a 365 day calendar

• developed advancements in medicine– treating broken bones– treating some diseases