AP World History POD #1 – Out of Africa Kingdom of the Nile.
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Transcript of AP World History POD #1 – Out of Africa Kingdom of the Nile.
AP World HistoryPOD #1 – Out of Africa
Kingdom of the Nile
Class Discussion Questions
McKay - “Egypt, the Land of the Pharaohs” pp. 16-22
1. What impact did the Nile River have on
Egyptian life? • The Nile River was fundamental to
Egyptian life as it flooded yearly on a predictable schedule bringing fertile soil
• The land along the banks of the Nile was very easy to farm leading to agricultural surpluses that facilitated population expansion
• Egypt was within close proximity to all of the resources it needed
2. What is a theocracy?
• This is a system of government in which the political and religious leader is one in the same
• a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided); the belief in government by divine guidance
3. How does the Egyptian political and
religious system interact? • The Pharaoh (king) • The Pharaoh commanded the wealth,
resources, and the people of Egypt • The Pharaoh served the dual purpose of
being a living god • The Pharaoh was considered a
descendent of the gods • The Pharaoh was considered the god
Horus in human form
4. What was the purpose of pyramids?
• The great house (tomb) of the Pharaoh for the afterlife
• Contained all of the things needed by the Pharaoh in afterlife
• The walls of the burial chamber were inscribed with religious tests and spells relating to the kings journeys after death
5. Describe the social structure of Egypt?
• Egypt had no caste system
• Egypt had no color bias
• Egypt had social mobility
• Most people were serfs who were forced to remain on their land and work government projects such as pyramids, canals, etc.
6. Describe the Egyptian experiment with
monotheism? • King Akhenaten and his wife Queen Nefertiti were more
concerned with religion than conquest • Their religious fervor was not favored by the Egyptian people and
was abandoned after their death • They believed in only the worship of the sun-god Aton, whom they
worshiped, was universal, and only god • They considered all other Egyptian gods and goddesses frauds
and disregarded their worship • Their belief suffered from an obvious flaw as the Pharaoh was
considered the son of god and monotheism obviously cannot have two gods
• Akhenaten's monotheism, imposed from above, failed to find a place among the people as it had no connection to the past of the Egyptian people who trusted the old gods and felt comfortable praying to them