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History Notes Term 2

The document provides an overview of ancient Egypt, including details about the Nile River, the development of kingdoms in Upper and Lower Egypt, important pharaohs like Hatshepsut and Tutankhamun, Egyptian gods, beliefs about the afterlife including mummification, and aspects of daily life and warfare.

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cluck steven
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40 views

History Notes Term 2

The document provides an overview of ancient Egypt, including details about the Nile River, the development of kingdoms in Upper and Lower Egypt, important pharaohs like Hatshepsut and Tutankhamun, Egyptian gods, beliefs about the afterlife including mummification, and aspects of daily life and warfare.

Uploaded by

cluck steven
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Ancient Egypt !!!!!!!!!!!

The Land Of Egypt and The First Egyptians:


● The Nile River (main feature of Egypt’s geography) starts as two different rivers (Blue/White Nile)
which join later in Khartoum (Sudan’s capital)
● The Nile flowed South to North through several cataracts (rapids/waterfalls),
● Nile Delta - the Nile divided into several streams that spread in a fan shape, before flowing into the
Mediterranean Sea
● First Cataract to the Delta (1000 km) was called Upper Egypt
● Land around the Delta was called Lower Egypt
● Egypt relies on the Nile for irrigation and it’s floods which would help grow crops
● Had 3 seasons based on the Nile (flood season, seed season, harvest season)
● Fish, papyrus reed, other animals, transport were provided by the Nile
● Infertile desert = “Red Land”
● Fertile desert = “Black Land”
● The Red Land had limestone, granite, copper, gold
● 7000 BC - People started living on the Nile banks
● 3400 BC - Two kingdoms grew due to size/wealth (Upper/Lower Egypt)
● 3100 BC - Kingdoms were united by Menes
● 2680 - 2180 BC … Old Kingdom
● 2130 - 1780 BC … Middle Kingdom
● 1560 - 1085 BC … New Kingdom\
● Pyramids, tombs, temples, statues, paintings, artefacts, Rosetta Stone, etc helped us learn about the
Egyptians and their life (eg. language, culture, routines)
● Hieroglyphics - Ancient Egyptian writing system, symbols/pictogram, discovered/translated using the
Rosetta Stone

Pharaohs:
● Pharaoh - “Great House”, the place where the Pharaoh lived
● Pharaoh then became the definition for the “king/leader”
● Pharaohs thought they were related to the Gods
● Built statues, temples, monuments for themselves
● Several duties (eg. ceremonial purification, sacrifices)

Life in Ancient Egypt:


● Ranks of Egyptians are as follows:
○ Pharaoh
○ Nobles
○ Government ministers/High priests
○ Mayors, governors, doctors, priests
○ Scribes
○ Artists/craftsman
○ Soldiers
○ Farmers/townspeople
○ War captives/prisoners
● Many men/women were farmers
● Barley, flax, beans, cucumbers, leeks, grapes, dates, figs, pomegranate were grown by farmers
● Cattle, geese, ducks, pigs, goats, oxen, sheep were kept by farmers for meat, milk and work animals
● Farming tools included hoes, baskets, sickles, shadufs and wooden scoops
● Jobs for men eg, brewers, builders, coopersmiths, doctors ,goldsmiths, jewellers, metalworkers, paper
makers, potters, sandal makers, stonemasons, weavers, wig makers, wood workers, artists, fishermen,
incense roasters, priests
● Jobs for women were mainly stallholders in marketplaces
● Artists/sculptors created several pieces for tomb/temples

Hatshepsut:
● Wife of pharaoh - known as a deity, “Great Royal Wife”
● Unusual for female pharaohs to rule solely
● Husband died, leaving her 6 year old step son to rule
● She became “regent”
● Regent = a person who becomes the head of a state/kingdom bc the monarch is a minor
● After a few years, she gave herself the role of pharaoh
● Called herself the daughter of the God, “Amun Re”
● Wore male clothing
● People called her “his majesty”
● Helped achieve peace, prosperity, good building programs, restored/added to temples, trade to areas
of Africa

Tutankhamun and his curse:


● Tomb discovered 1920s
● Tomb was the only pharaohs tomb not emptied by tomb robbers
● Became pharaoh at 9
● People who went in his tomb mysteriously died
● Lord Carnarvon - mosquito bite, then fever, then death, dog died at the same time

Egyptian Gods:
● Egyptians believed that Gods/goddesses controlled several aspects of their left
● Monotheistic religion
● Beliefs in gods for fertility, wisdom, love, music, dance, health, childbirth etc
● Gods were shown in animal/human form
● Main god - Ra, the sun god
● Several temples were built to honour them
● Priests/priestesses served the deities who were believed to live there
● Burnt incense, made offerings, sacrifices
● Main Egyptian gods - Ra, Anubis, Osiris, Horus, Seth, Amun, Hapi, Min, Sobek, Ma’at
Afterlife:
● Egyptians believed bodies needed to be in perfect condition to rach afterlife
● Were very careful in preserving bodies → mummies
● How to mummify something:
○ Memorise spells/prayers from Book Of The Dead → tell them while preparing the body
○ Pull out all organs (except the heart, so you can have an adorable personality in the afterlife)
○ Cover all organs with natron to dry them out, then oil them, resin them, wrap in bandages and
place them in jars
○ Bury body in natron for 40 days (dry it out)
○ Rub dry skin with oils/ointments
○ Pack wounds/stomach cavity with linen
○ Place charms on stomach and scarab (beetle shaped charm) on heart
○ Wrap the body with bandages dipped in gum
○ Place amulets, charms (eg. ankhs) with bandages
○ Place a mask over person’s head/shoulder
● To summarise, take out all the organs (except the heart) and dry them out. Then bury the body with
natron for 40 days, to dry it out. Then oil the organs and body, pack the stomach with bandages, and
add ointment. Place charms and amulets (eg, ankhs, scarabs) on the body. Then wrap the body with
bandages. Place a mask over the person’s head/shoulder. While doing all of these steps, read
incantations and prayer from the Book of the Dead. The most important step to good mummification
is to make everything dry so it is well preserved.
● Beliefs of the journey to afterlife being filled with poisonous snakes, lakes, executioners
● Weighing of the heart - person’s heart is weighed against the feather of justice (Ma’at, god of justice),
if the heart is heavier, the person is sent to be eaten by Ammit (devourer, bone eater, crocodile, lion,
hippo)
● Book Of The Dead importance - helps person throughout the journey to the afterlife

Contact With Other People:


● Tomb paintings, text, artefacts prove that Egyptians did make trade contact with other countries
● Trade was through the Nile, Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and across the deserts
● Traded grain, dates, papyrus, falx, stone, fish, oxen, salt

Warfare in Ancient Egypt:


● Early Egyptian times - army was a loose police force, protected pharaoh and his palace
● Short campaigns were made to Nubia
● Egyptians believed a proper funeral needed to be made, were afraid to die on foreign soil
● Changed when the Hyksos came
● Hyksos arrived in Egypt as migrant workers, Semitic people
● Hyksos introduced new weapons, helmets, shields, strategies to Egypt
● No horses till Hyksos came
● Thutmose III set up Egypt’s first professional army
● Resulted in great military strength and Egypt’s expansion during the new kingdom
● Many Egyptians had to join the army due to conscription
● Conscription - necessary enrollment in the army
● Ranks of the army…
○ Pharaoh - led troops into battle
○ Braves of the King - highly trained soldiers
○ Etc etc there's no need to memorise all this such a waste of time

● Chariot/horses were expensive, having those was an elite role, heroes, symbol of power
● Chariots also hunted for games
● Jewellery, land, social positions were given to members of the army as well as being a war hero
● If a brave fighter died in the war, they were an Amkhu (funeral would also be paid by Pharaoh)
● Navy, included a few sea battles, sea expeditions
● Grappling hooks were used to engage with enemy vessels
● Boats were primarily for trade
● Armour - short tunic, belt, leather straps, too hot to wear a lot of gear
● Weapons - axes, spears, sticks, mace ( a lot of weapons were inspired by and could be used like a
farming tool)
● Treatment of enemies - sometimes barbaric (mutilation, executions), sometimes merciful (conquered
leaders → rule local region if they acknowledged pharaoh as the supreme leader, prisoners of war
were also enlisted in the army)

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