ancient egypt. geography “gift of the nile” offered protection from invasion limited where...
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Ancient Egypt
Geography
• “Gift of the Nile”• Offered protection
from invasion• limited where
people could settle
• “Black Land”- fertile
• “Red Land”- desert
What was it about Egypt’s topography that promoted peace and prosperity?
•Nile Valley was protected on 3 sides by desert
•natural barriers to invaders
•didn’t have to use as much of their wealth for defense
•Irrigation=cooperation
Why is Egypt referred to as “Gift of the Nile”?
• Animals– Fish, ducks, geese,
edible fowl• Papyrus-baskets,
paper, sandals• Food-grains• Influenced art, religion
etc.• Provided for basic
survival• inspired civilization
What is a “Shaduf”?
•Raised water from Nile to irrigate
•Prevented salt from building up & destroying fertility of soil
How did flood patterns effect Egypt?
• Emerged from south
• Spring rains sent water downstream into Nile
• Rich silt deposited
• Cooperation was essential
• Dikes, reservoirs, irrigation ditches channeled river & stored water for dry season
• Lower
• Upper
What were the environmental challenges?
• Small changes in amount of water led could lead to starvation or destruction
• Deserts reduced interaction with other cultures
• Led to self-sufficiency
How was Upper and Lower Egypt Unified?
Who was Narmer?
• 3100 BCE, King of Upper Egypt united the two regions
• Linked north & south• First united state• Significant trade with
rest of Africa, Middle East & Mediterranean world
• Sailboats, barges
What is a dynasty?
• A ruling family• Power passed from
family member• If no family member,
then another was chosen
• Pharaoh-”great house”
Who/What was Pharaoh?
• Claimed divine support
• Living God• Absolute power• Owned & ruled over
all the land
What was Pharaoh’s job?
• Preserve justice & social order- Ma’at
• Depended on vizier or chief minister to supervise government
What did the Vizier do?
• Managed the bureaucracy
• Tax collection• Farming• Irrigation system• Thousands of scribes
carried out his instructions.
Who was Ptah-hotep?
• Trained many young officials
• Wrote Instruction of Ptah-hotep
• Advised his son how to avoid errors.
Timeline of Three Kingdoms
Old Kingdom (2700 BCE - 2200 BCE)
• Pharaohs organize strong government– Khufu – harsh ruler,
built Great Pyramid • Pyramid Age
– giant pyramids at Giza• New developments in
agriculture• Increased trade• Development of cities• Power struggles, crop
failures, cost of pyramids caused collapse
Djoser2630 – 2611 BCE
– fought off invaders and expanded territory
– New developments in agriculture, increased trade, development of cities
– constructed Step Pyramid at Saqqara
– Ended a famine
Khufu2551-2528 BCE
• Ruled a united Egypt
• Used his relatives to help him
• Harsh ruler who treated his subjects cruelly
• Built the Great Pyramid at Giza
Middle Kingdom (2050 BCE – 1800 BCE)
• Corrupt government
• Frequent rebellions
• Food shortages– People rebel
• land drained for farming
• Hyksos conquer Egypt
Senusret I(1971 – 1926 BCE)
• fought against Nubia & Libya
• built fortresses• Protected gold, copper,
granite resources in Sinai• Encouraged cultural
development• Supervised construction of
buildings• created elaborate
improvements to existing shrines & temples
• Jubilee Chapel at Karnak• Craftwork & literature
Ramses II“The Great”(1290 -1224 BCE)
• Most powerful ruler of the period
• Battle of Kadesh- fought to standoff against much larger Hittite force
• Signed 1st known peace treaty
New Kingdom Period
• Time of Reunification
• Hyksos expelled• Pharaohs created
large empire• Traded w/ lands
along eastern Mediterranean & Red Sea
• Great temples built• Nubians, then
others invaded
Queen Hatshepsut(1540-1482 BCE)
• Daughter of one Pharaoh/ widow of another
• Ruled in stepson’s name but then declared herself Pharaoh
• Encouraged trade
• Brought back ivory, spices, incense
Hatshepsut’s Mortuary Temple at Deir el-Bahri-
Akhenaten (Amenhotep)1353 – 1335 BCE
– Created new religion of one god-Aten
– Controversy, disputes over his religious beliefs
– Abandon Thebes & built new city
– New spectacular, buildings, elaborate ceremonies, works of art
– Married to Nefertiti– After death he was
so unpopular that his city was abandoned- destroyed
El Amarna
Akhenaten: Rebel
Nile Tour of the Pharaohs Tombs
Nubia• Also known as Kush• Egyptians traded/ fought w/them• Gold, Ivory, cattle, slaves• Nubians served in Egyptian
armies• Egyptian art shows Nubians as
soldiers, musicians, prisoners• As Egypt declined, Nubia
regained its independence• 750 BCE Nubian kings took
control• Saw themselves as restorers of
Egyptian glory• Ruled like earlier pharaohs-
respected traditions• 650 BCE Assyrians w/ iron
weapons conquered Egypt & pushed Nubians south
Religion
How did religious beliefs shape the lives of Egyptians?
• Each soul had to pass test to win eternal life
• Dead soul would be ferried across a lake of fire to the hall of Osiris
• Osiris would weight the soul against feather of truth
• Sinners would be fed to the crocodile-shaped Eater of the Dead
• Worthy souls would enter the Happy Field of Food
Book of the Dead
• “I have made no man to suffer hunger. I have made no one to week. I have done no murder…I have not encroached upon the fields of another. I have not added to the wrights of the scales to cheat the seller…I have not turned back water when it should flow… I am pure. I am pure. I am pure.”
•Spells, charms, formulas for the dead to use in the afterlife
Mummification
• Afterlife was same as life
• Body must be preserved
• Originally a privilege for rulers and nobles
• Eventually ordinary people won the right to mummify their dead
• Led to knowledge of human anatomy
Egyptian Society
Egyptian Writing
• Hieroglyphics a form of picture writing used for important records
• Ideograms symbolized an idea or action
• Demotic-simpler form of script for everyday
• Papyrus
What was the Rosetta Stone?
• Black basalt slab bearing an inscription dating from the year 196 BCE
• Crucial key to the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs, and the foundation of modern Egyptology.
• discovered in 1799 by the French troops in Napoleon's military expedition
• Deciphered by Jean Champollion
• Hieroglyphics, demotic and Greek
Medicine• Belief in magic• Knew human
body• Observed
symptoms, diagnosed illness
• Surgery, medicines
Science
• Priest astronomers studied heavens, mapped constellations
• Charted movement of planets
• Practical geometry to survey land
• Engineers for the pyramids and irrigation systems
Egyptian Painting and Sculpture
• Statues, wall paintings• Everyday scenes of
trade, farming, family life, religious ceremonies
• Military victories• Unchanged style for
thousands of years• Pharaohs & gods larger• Heads & limbs in profile• Eyes & shoulders
facing viewer• Some humans have
animal heads showing special qualities
Story of Sinuhe: Popular Egyptian Folk Tale
• “His majesty said, “Behold thou art come. Thou has trodden the foreign countries and made a flight. But now elderliness has attach thee; thou has reached old age… Do not live in exile any loneg…I answer: What is it that my lord says to me? Behold, I am before thee… may thy majesty do as he pleases…
• Tells us how Egyptians viewed both themselves and the people of the surrounding desert