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S.Rinoshan2013/AD/009

Ancient Egypt The Old Kingdom

• Early Egyptian Society

• Ruled by Pharaohs

• Egyptian Social Structure

• Egypt and Its Neighbors

• Religion and Egyptian Life

• Gods of Ancient Egypt

• Burial Practices 1

• Burial Practices 2

• The Pyramids

• Comparing Mesopotamia to Egypt

• Video about the Egyptian Civilization

• Sources

• The end

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Early Egyptian Society

• Egypt is the Gift of the Nile .• The Old Kingdom lasted for 500

years; 2700 - 2200 BC. • During those 500 years,

Egyptians created a political system based on the belief that the pharaoh was both a king and a god.

This is Khufu, and he is the most famous pharaoh to rule in the 2500s BC. It is most known for the monuments built for Khufu.

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Ruled by Pharaohs• Egyptians believed Egypt belonged to the gods and

that pharaohs had come to earth to manage Egypt.

• Since they were considered gods, he/she had ultimate power.

• However, they were also blamed for wars, floods, and disease.

• With so much responsibility and so many people to please, pharaohs hired government officials to help.

• These officials usually came from the pharaohs’ families. FLOOD!

WAR! DISEASE!

RESPONSIBILITY!

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• The PHAROAH was at the top of the social hierarchy.

Ancient Egypt achieved stability through the co-operation of all levels of the population.

• Under them were the HIGH PRIESTS, followed by ROYAL OVERSEERS (administrators) who ensured that the 42 DISTRICT GOVERNORS carried out the pharaoh's orders.

• Next to him, the most powerful officers were the VIZIERS, the executive heads of the bureaucracy.

• At the bottom of the hierarchy were the SCRIBES, ARTISANS, FARMERS, and LABORERS.

xEgyptian Social Structure

Egypt and Its Neighbors

• During the Old Kingdom, Egypt began to trade with its neighbors.

• Traders returned from Nubia with gold, ivory, slaves, and stone.

• Traders traveled to Punt for incense and myrrh.

• They traveled to Syria for wood.

Incense is a product that creates smoke when it is burned. It is created from many things including: woods, seeds, leaves, flowers, and barks.

Ivory is a hard white substance that is the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals such as the elephant, hippopotamus,

and walrus.

Myrrh is resinous dried sap from specific trees. It was used during the embalming process and burned as incense.

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Religion and Egyptian Life

• Many religious customs focused on what happened after people died, or the afterlife.

• Egyptians believed the afterlife was an ideal world where everyone was young and healthy.

• Egyptians believed the idea of “ka,” which was a person’s life force.

• When a person died, their “ka” left their bodies and became a spirit but remained at the burial site and couldn’t leave.

• The “ka” had all the same needs that the person had when he or she was living.

Objects Left for the “Ka.”

Relatives would also bring food and water for the “ka.”

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Gods of Ancient Egypt• Egyptians practiced polytheism.

• Everyone was expected to worship the same gods.

• Temples were built for gods all over the kingdom.

• Major gods include: *Re, or Amon-Re, the sun god*Osiris, the god of the underworld*Isis, the goddess of magic*Horus, a sky god, god of the pharaohs* Anubis, weighed each dead person’s heart against

the feather of truth. If they weighed the same amount, the person was allowed to pass to the

underground.

Amon-Re Osiris

Isis Horus

I judge the souls of the dead.

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Burial Practices• Egyptians believed bodies had to be

preserved so a spirit could recognize it when it returned. So the “ka” did not suffer,

• Egyptians developed a process of embalming their dead.

• Embalming allowed bodies to remain preserved for many years as mummies, or

specially treated bodies wrapped in cloth.

Embalming took weeks!It was a process that only

elite could afford.

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Burial Practices

• The body’s organs were preserved in special containers, canopy jars, and kept next to the mummies.

• The body was kept in a case called a sarcophagus.

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The Pyramids

• Egyptians built pyramids in which to bury their rulers.

• The largest pyramid was built for King Khufu and took more than 2 million limestone blocks.

• Burial in a pyramid demonstrated a ruler’s importance. The larger the pyramid, the more important the ruler.

• Egyptians believed that the happier the pharaoh in the afterlife, the happier the afterlife for all Egyptians.

Egyptians’ understandingof engineering

made it possible to buildsuch outstanding structures.

Engineering is the application of

scientific knowledgefor practical

purposes.

Tens of thousands ofworkers must have workedfor decadesto build the structures

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Comparing Mesopotamia to EgyptMesopotamia Egypt

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Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PVcEx33bXM

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=old+kingdom+of+egypth&title=Special%3ASearch&go=Go

https://www.google.lk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=the+early+kingdom+of+egypt

http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=egypth

http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcivile.html http://showcase.netins.net/web/ankh/

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Thank you

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