Chapter 2-First Civilizations: Africa and Asia

Objective: To understand the grandeur and accomplishments of ancient Egyptian civilization

Focus: KWL on Egypt

The Nile Rivers Power

The Nile River fueled ancient Egyptian civilization just as it does today

Flows north to the sea from the mountains of interior Africa

Annual floods soaked the land and deposited nutrients making the soil rich

Had to control the floods with irrigation projects

Served as a trade route

Kingdoms of the Nile

3 main periods of Egypt:

– Old Kingdom a.k.a Pyramid Age (2700 B.C.-2200 B.C.)

– Middle Kingdom(2050 B.C.-1800 B.C.)

– New Kingdom (1550 B.C.-1100 B.C.)

– How long ago is this?

Old Kingdom

Government was created Vizier-chief minister of the Pharaoh

Departments (bureaus) Oversaw tax collection, farming and

irrigation Great Pyramids of Giza were constructed Why build such lavish projects?

Why build such grand projects?

Burial purposes Symbolized power

The Old Kingdom’s downfall was created by power struggles, crop failures, and the cost of the pyramids, leading to the Middle Kingdom

Middle Kingdom

During the Middle Kingdom, corruption and rebellions were commonplace.

It occupied part of Nubia (south) By 1700 B.C., they were defeated by

the Hyksos and their war-chariots. After 100 years, the Egyptians drove

out the Hyksos and set up the New Kingdom.

New Kingdom Powerful pharaohs created a large empire Merchant class and skilled artisans rose as a result

from increased trade and war First woman pharaoh-Hatshepsut and the most

powerful pharaoh, Ramses II ruled during the New Kingdom.

After Ramses II, Egyptian power slowly declined. Egyptians forgot the meanings of ancient

hieroglyphics They were invaded by Assyrians, Persians, and

later Greek and Roman armies.

Key Rulers of New Kingdom

Ramses II Hatsheput Akhenaton King Tutankhamen

Women’s Rights Women had the right to divorce, inherit property,

go to court and engage in trade

Women could not be scribes or hold government positions, however.

Egyptian Religion The belief in eternal life had a profound effect on

their civilization

Key gods:– Amon-Re; the sun god who was closely linked

to the pharaoh.– Osiris-ruler of the underworld and god of the

Nile, who controlled the annual floods– Isis; wife of Osiris who taught women

everything– Horus-the son of Osiris and Isis revenged his

parents by killing Set (his uncle)

The Path to the Afterlife Book of the Dead helped navigate someone in their

journey to the other side Osiris puts the soul on trial Anubis weighs the dead person’s heart against the

feather of truth Thoth, the scribe God, records the verdict The heavy, sinful heart that weighs more than a feather

is eaten by the croc shaped eater of the dead After-life was just like this life Mummification and buried with things needed for the

after-life (Book of the Dead, personal items)

Egyptian Society/Social Stratification Class system/society (in order of

importance): Pharaoh, high priests, nobles who fought the wars, merchants, scribes and artisans, and finally, the peasant farmers/slaves

Cont…

Rossetta Stone (demotic, hieroglyphs and Greek) Medicine (anise, saffron) Human anatomy was learned how? Created a calendar through astronomy (12 months

and 30 days-5 days at the end of the year) Used geometry to recalculate boundaries of fields

and what else? Distinctive Art Grand architecture and construction