6-3 Notes: Egypt and Kush

The Middle Kingdom• Following the collapse of

the Old Kingdom, historians call the next period the Middle Kingdom (2100 – 1700 B.C.E.)

• During this time, Egypt’s trade and empire expanded

• Egypt conquered kingdoms in Nubia, gained control of gold mines

• People from the Fertile Crescent began to move to Egypt’s delta region

The Hyksos• 1650 B.C.E. – Hyksos

(Greek for “rulers of hill lands”) began to challenge the pharaohs of Lower Egypt

• 1650 – 1550 – Hyksos use horses, chariots, bronze weapons, and bows and arrows to defeat Egyptian armies in battle (Hyksos control Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt still ruled by Egyptians at Thebes)

• 1550 B.C.E. – Ahmose, pharaoh of Upper Egypt, rallied the Egyptians to use Hyksos technology to defeat the Hyksos

New Kingdom Expansion• The New Kingdom (1550 –

1069 B.C.E.) began with Ahmose’s reunification of Egypt

• Egypt reclaimed Nubia (gold mines)

• Egypt also won territories in Israel, Syria, and Lebanon

• Kush, Egypt’s primary trading partner to the south, came under Egyptian rule

• Egyptians primarily traded grain, papyrus, linen, jewelry, and bronze goods for ebony, ivory, and animal hides (Kush); gold (Nubia); perfume, ivory, incense, apes (Punt); and silver, copper, timber, wine, and olive oil (from Lebanon and Greece)

Hatshepsut• 1500 B.C.E. – Hatshepsut

becomes pharaoh

• Her husband was pharaoh and when she died, their son was only 10 years old, so Hatshepsut claimed to rule on his behalf

• In 8th year of her reign, she organized a great trading expedition to Punt, Egypt’s southern trading partner

• Hatshepsut traded jewelry, papyrus, and bronze weapons in exchange for gold, perfume, ivory, leopard skins, and live apes

Egyptian Innovations• Most Egyptian doctors were

priests trained in temple schools

• Temple storehouses accumulated vast stores of knowledge about diseases and injuries, making them good places to study medicine

• Egyptian doctors learned how to stitch cuts, set broken bones, measure a pulse

• Raw meat used to reduce swelling on wounds, chamomile used to treat upset stomachs

• Egyptians also developed mathematics, charted 5 of the planets, many constellations, figured out what eclipses were