Egypt

The Nile

•The Nile is the longest river in the world

• It stretches over 4,000 miles north to south

The Nile Cont.

• The land in the north makes the Nile Delta and is known as lower Egypt.

• The land in the south is known as upper Egypt.

The Nile Delta

•A delta is a triangular shaped piece of land formed by the split of a river.

•The land in between the split is the delta.

The Nile Floods

•The Nile flooded every September or October

•The floods left a thick black mud that was good for growing.

•Crops were then planted and harvested in the spring.

Barriers for Defense

•The desert to the west

•Red Sea to the east

•Churning rapids called cataracts to the south

•Mediterranean Sea to the north

Barriers on the map

Egyptian Religion

• Polytheistic

• Two groups, sun and land gods

• Sun God Ra, the most important.

Religion Cont.

•The other two most important land Gods were Osiris and Isis

• Isis represented the ideal mother and wife.

Religion continued• Osiris the God of

the dead, weighed each dead person’s soul

• If the soul was heavier than a feather a beast called the devourer of souls emerged to eat the person.

Religion Cont.• Pharaohs means

God King

• Pharaohs continued to rule after death

• To appease them the pyramids were built as lavish tombs

Egyptian History

•Egypt’s history begins around 3100 BC when Menes unites the villages of upper and lower Egypt.

The Old Kingdom

•Lasted from 2700-2200 BC

•Powerful kings

•Developed a bureaucracy or an organization with officials and regular procedures.

•Pyramids built

Middle Kingdom

•2050-1652 BC

•Golden age

•Attacked and colonized neighbors.

•Ended with attack of the Hyksos in 1652

New Kingdom

• 1567- 1085 BC

• The pharaoh Kanose began driving Hyksos out

• Hatshepsut drove the Hyksos completely out.

Hatshepsut

•First woman pharaoh

•Built a massive temple

•Killed by her nephew Thutmose III

Thutmose III

•Lead 17 military campaigns

•Built massive buildings and temples

Amenhotep IV

•Made Aton the sun disk god the only god

•Changed name to Akhenaton

•Closed temples of other gods

Tutankhamen

•“King Tut”

•Restored all Gods, reopened all temples

•Became king at age 8.

•Murdered

Ramses II

• Reigned from 1279-1213BC

• Lived to age 99 had 150 kids

• Less than 200 years after his death the empire fell.

Egyptian Society

•Organized like a pyramid

•God Kings at the top

•Upper class nobles and priests

•Merchants artisans and scribes (middle class)

•Slaves

Society cont.

•Husband master of house

•Wives respected in charge of educating children

•Practiced monogamy (one wife)

•Boys got married and left home between the ages of 12-14.

Technology

• Early Egyptian writing were hieroglyphics meaning priest carvings or sacred writings.

• Eventually written on temple walls for all.

Technology Cont.

•Used geometry to survey property lines

•Used splints to set broken bones

•365 day calendar, 12 30 day months, 5 days set aside for feasting