EGYPT: THE GIFT OF THE

NILE(THE NILE NOT

DENIAL!) Ms. Jerome

KINGDOM OF THE NILE Without the Nile, Egypt would be a

baron desert. Its waters flooded annually It soaked the land with life-giving water

and deposited a layer of rich silt (fine clay, carried by running water, saturated with nutrients)

Flooding was PREDICTABLE! The Nile flows south to north!

Why is this very significant for the development of Egypt?

UNITING UPPER AND LOWER EGYPT Ancient Egypt had 2 distinct regions,

Upper (the South) and Lower Egypt (the North).

They were divided at the first cataract (waterfall)

DELTA

NILE DELTA: TRIANGULAR AREA OF MARSHLAND FORMED BY DEPOSITS OF SILT

UNIFICATION OF EGYPT King Menes: credited with unifying upper

and lower Egypt at about 3100 b.c.e. Built a central government Ruled by the pharaoh – Menes being the

first A pharaoh is a god living on earth Egypt operated under the rule of a pharaoh

and his bureaucracy—system of gov’t that includes departments and levels of authority.

As in Mesopotamia—most Egyptians were peasants, or poor farmers

UNIFICATION SYMBOLIZED IN RULERS’ HAT

CONSTRUCTION OF PYRAMIDS Began during the Old Kingdom (2660-

2160 b.c.e.) Tombs and shrines to pharaohs

84,000Builders!

NOTABLE LEADERS OF THE NEW KINGDOM Hatshepsut: the first female ruler 1472

b.c.e. to 1458 b.c.e. Established trade in the Mediterranean lands

Thutmose III took over as pharaoh (stepson). A great military general Thutmose III expanded the empire to its greatest reaches

Ramses II ruled for 66 years form 1279 to 1213.

EGYPTIAN IMPERIALISM OF THE NEW KINGDOM

THE DECLINE OF EGYPT After 1100 b.c.e. Egyptian power slowly

declined Invaders such as Assyrians and Persians

conquered the Nile region In 332 b.c.e. the Egyptian dynasty

ended as the Greeks took control In 30 b.c.e. Roman armies displaced the

Greeks

MUMMIFICATION http://www.eyelid.co.uk/egyptian-

mummification.html