Ancient Egypt

3100-671 B.C.

Geography and Early Egypt

The Big Idea

The water and fertile soils of the Nile Valley allowed a great
civilization to develop in Egypt.
Main Ideas
Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile
River was so important.
Civilization developed after people began farming along
the Nile.
Strong kings unified all of Egypt.

Main Idea 1:
Egypt was called the Gift of the
Nile because the Nile River was so
important.
The Nile River brought life to Egypt and allowed it to thrive.
Biannual flooding of the Nile made farming possible.

Features of the Nile

The Nile is the longest river in the world, with a distance of over 4,000
miles.
Ancient Egypt included two regions, a southern and a northern region
given their names by their relation to the Nile.
At several points, the rough terrain caused cataracts, or rapids, to form.
The Nile divided into several branches, forming a delta, a triangular area
of land made from soil deposited by a river.

Using this
map what are
some physical
characteristics
of Egypt?

The Floods of the Nile

Little rain fell in the Egyptian desert, but the Nile flooded every year, in
the summer and fall.
The Niles flooding coated the land around it with a rich silt that made the
soil ideal for farming.
Without the floods, people could never have farmed in Egypt.

Main Idea 2:
Civilization developed after people
began farming along the Nile.
The Nile provided both water and fertile soil for farming.
Egypts location offered another advantage because it had natural barriers
that made it hard to invade.

Increased Food Production

Canals were built

to carry water to
fields of wheat,
barley, fruits, and
vegetables.

The Nile allowed

farmers to raise
animals such as
cattle and sheep.

The river also

provided many
types of fish to eat,
and hunters
trapped ducks and
geese.

Why did most Egyptians live in

the Nile delta?
The Nile provided rich soils for farming
and protection

Two Kingdoms
Protected from invaders, the villages of Egypt eventually grew into two
kingdoms.
The desert was harsh to cross.
The Mediterranean and the Red Sea kept enemies away.
Cataracts in the Nile made it hard to travel.
The capital of Lower Egypt was called Pe, and the capital of Upper Egypt
was called Nekhen.

Main Idea 3:
Strong kings unified all of Egypt.
According to tradition, Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt and unified
the two kingdoms by taking control of Lower Egypt and marrying a
Lower Egyptian princess.
Menes was probably Egypts first pharaoh, or ruler.
He also founded Egypts first dynasty, or series of rulers from the same
family.

The Old Kingdom

The Big Idea

Egyptian government and religion were closely connected

during the Old Kingdom.
Main Ideas
Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by pharaohs, roles
in society, and trade.
Religion shaped Egyptian life.
The pyramids were built as huge tombs for Egyptian
pharaohs.

Main Idea 1:
Life in the Old Kingdom was
influenced by pharaohs, roles in
society, and trade.
The Old Kingdom was a period in which the Egyptians developed a
system based on the belief that the pharaoh was both a king and a god.
As the population grew, social classes appeared.
Egypt began to trade goods with its neighbors.

Egyptian Society
Social classes
Pharaohs ruled Egypt as gods.
Nobles were officials and priests who helped run the government.
Scribes and craftspeople wrote and produced goods.
Farmers, servants, and slaves made up most of Egyptian society.

Main Idea 2:
Religion shaped Egyptian life.
The Egyptians had
gods for nearly
everything,
including the sun,
the sky, and the
earth. These gods
would often mix
human and animal
forms.

Egyptian religion
focused on the
afterlife, or life
after death.
They believed that
when a person
died, his or her ka
left the body and
became a spirit.

They developed
embalming to
preserve bodies
and keep the link
between the body
and the spirit. The
specially treated
bodies wrapped in
cloth were called
mummies.

Old Kingdom 2600 B.C.

Religious Beliefs
Egyptians studied
Book of the Dead to
learn magic spells in
order to be granted life
after death
Embalming-preserve
bodies of the dead

Old Kingdom 2600 B.C.

Religious beliefs-Embalming
Involved placing the
body in a box and
covering it with the
chemical natron. The
body would dry up
causing shrinkage.
Body was then
wrapped in linenmummy

1st used because they

believed pharaohs souls
could not live w/o their
body
Important so soul could
take care of Egypt
Later used for everyonerich in coffins in tombs,
poor in sand

A hole was made

in the body, and
the embalmers
pulled out all the
internal organs
except for the
heart.

Hole stuffed
with linen and
spices

After 40 days,
the body was
carefully
wrapped in
linen
bandages.
Priests said
spells while
the body was
wrapped.

Main Idea 3:
The pyramids were built as huge
tombs for Egyptian pharaohs.
Pyramids are
huge stone tombs
with four triangular
sides that meet in
a point on the top.
Historians are
unsure how they
were built.

Pyramids displayed
amazing
engineering, or
the application of
scientific
knowledge for
practical purposes.

The size and shape

of the pyramids
showed the
importance of
pharaohs. They
were the peoples
link to the gods, so
the Egyptians
wanted their spirits
to be happy.

Pyramids in
Giza

Pharaoh Djoser
Step Pyramid at
Saqqara

The Middle and New Kingdoms

The Big Idea

During the Middle and New Kingdoms, order and greatness

were restored in Egypt.
Main Ideas
The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government
between periods of disorder.
The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and
military power, but their greatness did not last.
Work and daily life were different among Egypts social
classes.

Main Idea 1:
The Middle Kingdom was a period
of stable government between
periods of disorder.
Following a period
of competition for
power between the
nobles and the
pharaohs, the
Middle Kingdom
began.

Egypt fell into

disorder around
1750 BC. A group
called the Hyksos
invaded and ruled
the region for
200 years.

The Egyptians
fought back, and
Ahmose of Thebes
declared himself
king and drove the
Hyksos out of
Egypt, beginning
the New Kingdom.

Main Idea 2:
The New Kingdom was the peak of
Egyptian trade and military power,
but their greatness did not last.
Fearing future invasions, the Egyptians took control of all possible
invasion routes into the kingdom.
Egypt took over vast lands and was the leading military power in the
area.
Egypt became rich because of the lands it conquered.

Growth and Effects of Trade

Conquests brought traders into contact with distant lands, and trade
routes, or paths followed by traders, developed.
Queen Hatshepsut encouraged trade and used the profits to support the
arts and architecture.
Led by Ramses the Great, Egypt fought invaders for many years,
leaving their empire diminished.

Temple of
Hatshepsut

Main Idea 3:
Work and daily life were different
among Egypts social classes.
The complex society required people to take on many different kinds of
jobs.
Family life was very important in Egyptian society, and most Egyptians
lived in their own homes.
Women had many legal rights, including owning property, making
contracts, and divorcing their husbands.

Egyptian Jobs
Scribes
Few people were
more respected
than scribes. They
did not have to pay
taxes, and many
became wealthy.

Artisans, Artists,
and Architects

Merchants and
Traders

These jobs
required advanced
skills and were also
very admired in
Egypt.

Although trade was

important, few
held these
positions. Some
had to travel very
long distances to
buy and sell goods.

Additional Egyptian Jobs

Soldiers

Egypt created a
permanent army
that offered
soldiers a chance
to rise in social
status and receive
land as payment.

Farmers and
Other Peasants

This group made

up the vast
majority of the
population. They
grew crops to
support their
families and to pay
taxes.

Slaves

Slaves were
usually criminals or
prisoners. They
had some legal
rights, however.

Egyptian Achievements
The Big Idea
The Egyptians made lasting achievements in writing, architecture, and
art.
Main Ideas
Egyptian writing used hieroglyphics.
Egypts great temples were lavishly decorated.
Egyptian art filled tombs.

Contributions of Egyptians
Papyrus- paper made from a reed called papyrus,
also used to make sandals, baskets, rafts, river
boats
Ink
Number system based on 10, fractions and whole
numbers, geometry to survey land after floods
Used flooding to create a calendar
First specialist in medicine- dentists, eye doctors,
animal doctors, surgeons, splints, bandages,
compresses, settling bones

Main Idea 1:
Egyptian writing used hieroglyphics.
Hieroglyphics was the Egyptian
writing system.

Historians learned how to read

hieroglyphics after discovering
the Rosetta Stone written in three
now
languages.

The Stone is
Egyptians learned to write
hieroglyphics on papyrus,
a long-in the British
housed
Hieroglyphics
lasting, paper-like material made
Museum.
The
Stone
from reeds.
A later form of Egyptian
has hieroglyphics
Greek
Demotic,
then Greek

Scribes wrote on papyrus using

first, then
brushes and ink.

Main Idea 2:
Egypts great temples were lavishly
decorated.
Egyptians believed
the massive
temples were
homes of the gods.

People visited to
worship, offer gifts
to the gods, and
ask for favors.

Temples had
Stone sphinxes
and other
statues
obelisk: tall,
four-sided pillar
that is pointed at
the top
Painted walls and
columns that
also had
hieroglyphics

Sphinx

Temple of Ramses II, Abu Simbel

This entire temple (and a few others) were
moved uphill to save them from Lake Nasser
after the High Dam was completed in 1971.

Main Idea 3:
Egyptian art filled tombs.
Egyptian art was filled with lively,
colorful scenes, but only kings,
priests, and other important people
could enter the tombs.

Tombs contained art such as

Art and hieroglyphics on walls
and columns
Stone statues and carvings
Jewelry

Boats found in
Tutankhamuns
Tomb

Pharaoh Tutankhamun Canopic

Coffins