ANCIENT EGYPT

THE NILE RIVER; THE LIFEBLOOD OF

EGYPT.

At 6,690 kilometers the Nile is the longest running river in the world as has help shape the history of Egypt.

The river runs north and over several cataracts or waterfalls, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea at the Nile Delta.

The Nile Delta is where the Nile splits into many branches forming a marshy, fan shaped delta or triangle.

GIFTS FROM THE NILE

The Nile’s banks consist of rich black

soil which is deposited when the Nile

floods its banks.

Early in Egypt’s history nomadic

hunter-gatherers settled along the Nile

and began to cultivate , or grow crops

such as wheat and barley.

The Nile presented other gifts such as

geese and ducks in its marshlands and

fish in its waters.

The early Egyptians would learn to

harvest papyrus, which they used to

make rope, sandals, and eventually

paper.

UNITING EGYPT

Protected by the desert sands and the waterfalls of the Nile Egyptians prospered and eventually the two monarchies of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt would emerge

Monarchies are kingdoms ruled by a person with absolute or unrestricted power.

Around 3000 B.C. a man named Narmeror Menes gathered his forces and conquered the northern part of Egypt, uniting the country. He would establish a capital in the center of the country at Memphis.

EGYPTIAN DYNASTY

Narmer’s reign marked the

first Egyptian DYNASTY.

A DYNASTY is a line of

rulers that all come from one

family.

Ex: Father-son-grandson

He was followed by his son

Aha who continued his

father’s plan of solidifying

power in Egypt in one

monarchy.

QUESTIONS

1. __________ The longest river in the world.

2. __________ Another name for waterfall.

3. __________ Date hunter-gathers settled along the river.

4. __________ Resources offered to farmers by the river.

5. __________ This was used to make rope, sandals, and paper.

6. __________ Unrestricted rule of a king.

7. __________ Kingdom of northern Egypt.

8. __________ Kingdom of southern Egypt.

9. __________ This man united the two kingdoms.

10. __________ Date of the unification of Egypt.

11. __________ The capital city of Egypt after unification.

12. __________ A line of rulers from one family.

THE THREE KINGDOMS

To better organize Egyptian history, historians created three

distinct time periods: The Old Kingdom, The Middle Kingdom and

the New Kingdom.

The Old Kingdom lasted from 2700 B.C. to 2200 B.C. It was

during this time the two areas of Upper and Lower Egypt began to

intertwine their cultures into one solid Egyptian society.

It was in the Old Kingdom that the Egyptians would look upon

their leader as a god. This type of government where the political

leader is the religious leader is known as a theocracy.

It was also during this time period that the Egyptians would

undertake the great task of building the Pyramids.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN FLY CATCHER

THE PYRAMIDS

The Pyramids were built to house the bodies of the

Egyptians god-kings.

The first pyramid was the Step Pyramid, built around

2600 B.C. It is believed to be the first all-stone building

in the world. It was built for King Djoser.

The Great Pyramid was built for King Khufu around

2500 B.C. and stands 481 feet tall. It is the largest of

the three pyramids that still stand at Giza today.

THE PYRAMIDS

The Great Pyramid The Step Pyramid

INSIDE THE GREAT PYRAMID

EGYPTIAN BURIAL IDEA…

QUESTIONS

1. __________ Historians have sorted Egyptian history into these three sections.

2. __________

3. __________

4. __________ Form of government where the political leader is also the religious leader.

5. __________ These were built to house the bodies of dead kings.

6. __________ They were built during what age in Egyptian history.

7. __________ The first all stone building built.

8. __________ King who had the first all stone building built.

9. __________ The largest pyramid built.

10. __________ The King that had the largest pyramid built.

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

The Middle Kingdom began around 2200 B.C. and would last to about 1800 B.C.

During the early part of the Middle Kingdom Egyptian nobles fought each other for power until 2050 B.C when a new dynasty reunited Egypt.

The capital of Egypt was moved from Memphis to Thebes.

It was during this time that new land was seized for Egypt from Nubia(Country South of Egypt).

The Egyptians would be conquered in the latter part of the Middle Kingdom by the Hyksos.

THE HYKSOS

The term Hyksos translates into

“rulers from foreign lands”.

They originated from Western Asia

and swept across the desert into

Egypt.

They fought with Bronze Weapons

and Horse Drawn Chariots and

easily defeated the Egyptians who

fought on foot with Copper

Weapons.

THE NEW KINGDOM

In 1600 B.C. an Egyptian

Prince named, Ahmose

raised an army and drove

the Hyksos out of Egypt.

Ahmose would found the

first Egyptian Dynasty of

the New Kingdom (18th

Egyptian Dynasty) and

would adopt the title of

Pharaoh, meaning, “great

house of the king.”

QUESTIONS

1. __________ Dates of the Middle Kingdom.2. __________ During the Middle Kingdom the capital

was moved from Memphis to here.3. __________ Country Egypt seized land from during

the Middle Kingdom.4. __________ “Rulers from foreign lands.”5. __________ The invaders originated from here.6. __________ The invaders fought with these two

things.7. __________ Egyptian Prince who drove out the

invaders.8. __________ “Great House of the King.”

THE NEW KINGDOM

Thutmose I was the third

Pharaoh of the New

Kingdom.

He instructed his architect

Ineni to construct a tomb

for him at Thebes in the

new necropolis which

would become the Valley

of the Kings.

THE NEW KINGDOM

Around 1480 B.C. Queen Hatshepsut

ruled Egypt as regent, ruling on behalf

of her stepson (and nephew, and

brother-in law) Thutmose III.

Hatshepsut assumed all the royal

tapings, including a false beard.

She ruled for 15 years until her death at

which time Thutmose III became

Pharaoh.

She built an extensive funeral temple

and a tomb built into the hills of what is

now called the Valley of the Kings.

THE NEW KINGDOM

Thutmose III was crowned Pharaoh after his mother’s

death.

He immediately undertook efforts to remove her name

and image from monuments as to restore a natural

order of the Pharaoh’s.

He extended Egypt’s borders by conquering the

Mitanni in Syria and established an Empire for Egypt.

Thutmose III also led a campaign to subdue a revolt in

Nubia later in his reign where he captured many

Nubians and took them as slaves.

An Empire is one country having different territories

under its control.

Egypt grew rich from its commerce and tribute from its

territories.

LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT

At its height of its glory was home to 5 million people.

Egyptian society was divided into classes with the Royalty, nobles, and

priests formed the top of the social pyramid.

Members of the wealthy upper class lived in the cities or on estates along the

Nile River.

The middle class carried out the business activities of Egypt. Middle class

homes were comfortable but not elegant.

The majority of the Egyptians belonged to the lower class. They lived in

small villages and worked as farmers and laborers.

Royalty, nobles, priests

Farmers,

fishermen,

tradesmen

Artisans, scribes,

merchants,

tax collectors

Egyptian Society

THE EGYPTIAN FAMILY

In the upper class a family group included Father, mother, and children.

In the lower classes family also included grandparents and other relatives.

Children were taught to respect their elders and sons were expected to maintain and take care of their fathers tomb.

In early Egyptian society women were seen as property of their husbands, but by the time of the Empire they were allowed to own, sell, and buy property and start legal proceeding such as divorce.

HOW TO LOOK GOOD IN EGYPT…

AKHENATON

Pharaoh Amenhotep IV ruled with his

wife Nefertiti from around 1370 B.C.

He broke with Egyptian tradition of

worshipping many gods and declared that

Egyptians should worship one god Aton,

the sun disk god.

He would change his name to Akhenaton

and move the capital to a new city he built

in honour of Aton.

After his death the capital was moved to

Memphis and the old religion was restored.

TUTANKHAMEN

King “Tut” is believed to be

the son of Akhenaton.

He inherited the throne after

his father’s death at the age of

9.

He married his sister and ruled

briefly before he died.

It was first believed he was

murdered but now theories

suggest he died of infection.

His tomb was found intact by

Howard Carter in 1922.

THE PHARAOH REPORT.

EGYPTIAN RELIGION

Religion guided every aspect of

Egyptian life.

Egyptians were polytheistic, meaning

they worshipped many gods.

Egyptian gods are usually pictured

with the body of a human and the head

of an animal.

People in each region of Egypt

worshipped local gods and goddesses

while priests promoted the worship of

specific gods.

Egyptian gods

EGYPTIAN GODS

Osiris was considered to be the god of

life, death, and rebirth. He was the

god of the Nile and he determined a

person’s fate after death by weighing

their heart against a feather.

During the Old Kingdom the

deceased Pharaoh was identified with

Osiris and was believed to experience

re-birth in the afterlife. However in

later Egyptian history this rebirth

became possible for common people as

well.

EGYPTIAN GODS

Horus was considered to be

the god of the sky and is

associated with the Sun and

the moon, and seen as a god of

the east and thus the sunrise.

Pharaoh’s identified

themselves with Horus as he

was a symbol of divine

kingship.

Horus was the son of Osiris

and Isis.

EGYPTIAN GODS

Anubis was the god of

embalming, watcher of the

graveyards and conductor

of souls to the afterlife.

He is pictured with the

head of a Jackal.

EGYPTIAN GODS

Isis was the wife of Osiris and the

mother of Horus. She was considered

to be the god of magic.

She magically healed Osiris and

reanimated his dismembered body

after he had been murdered by his

brother Seth.

According to myth she healed Ra

from a snakebite in exchange for his

secret name. She passed this name on

to her son Horus giving him great

power.

EGYPTIAN GODS

Ra worship reached it’s

peak in the Fourth

Dynasty (2613-2494

B.C.) when the “Son of

Ra” was added to the

royal title.

Ra would be later

“added” to other gods to

create deities such as

Amun-Ra and Ra-

Horakhty.

EGYPTIAN AFTERLIFE

The Egyptians believed that after a person died their

soul or “ka” would go on to an afterlife.

In early Egypt it was believed that only the wealthy and

powerful could go on but in later years everyone could

pass on over to the next existence.

In order to prepare the body for burial a process of

embalming was used which preserved the body. The

process when completed is known as mummification.

EGYPTIAN MUMMIFICATION

Mummification was the process used to preserve the body for use in the

afterlife.

After a brief period of mourning the body would be prepared by:

1. Extracting the brain through the nasal cavity.

2. Cutting the body down the left side and removing the internal organs which

were preserved and buried with the body in separate jars.

3. Body was covered in natron (salt like substance) to dry out the body for up

to 70 days.

4. The body was rubbed with oils and wrapped.

5. If the body was of someone of importance gold caps placed on the fingers

and toes and a gold plate with hieroglyphics was placed in the incision to

ward of bad luck.

6. The body was then completely wrapped in linen and sealed with resin and

painted with hieroglyphics.

7. A pharaoh’s mask was made of gold and placed on his head and

shoulders and the body was laid to rest in a coffin and then a stone

sarcophagus.

THE MUMMY SONG…

EGYPTIAN SECRETS OF THE AFTERLIFE

EGYPTIAN WRITING

The earliest Egyptian writing was

called hieroglyphics. They were picture

symbols that were carved into slate to

stand for objects, ideas and sounds.

For everyday use Egyptians used a

form of writing called hieratic which

simplified and connected the picture

symbols.

Few people in ancient Egypt could

read or write. Some Egyptians

prepared at special schools to be scribes

where they learned how to write

hieratic on papyrus reed.

EGYPTIAN WRITING

Hieroglyphics eventually would

be replaced with other styles of

writing and their meaning would

become a mystery.

In 1799 A.D. French soldiers in

Egypt found a stone near the

town of Rosetta dating back to

200 B.C. It contained Greek and

two forms of Egyptian writings.

In 1822 a French archaeologist

named Jean-Francois

Champollion decoded the Rosetta

Stone.

THE HIEROGLYPHICS SONG…

EGYPTIAN SCIENCE

The Egyptians had a wide variety of knowledge in architecture, and artistic

achievement.

The Egyptians had developed a number system that allowed them to

calculate area and volume, and they used the principals of geometry to

survey flooded land.

The Egyptians worked out an accurate 365 day calendar based on the

movement of the moon and the Dog Star, Sirius.

They Egyptians were also very knowledgeable about human anatomy which

they learned from their embalming process.

EGYPTIAN SCIENCE

EGYPTIAN MEDICINE

They Egyptians were also very

knowledgeable about human

anatomy ,which they learned

from their embalming process,

but had little or no knowledge

of how the body functioned.

They were good however at

treating superficial things like

wounds, headaches, and

sprains.

HISTORICAL HOSPITAL: DR. ISIS

QUESTIONS

1. __________ This woman pharaoh would wear a fake beard.

2. __________ He would expand Egypt’s borders and established an Egyptian Empire.

3. __________ Money or goods paid to a conquering country.

4. __________ At its height Egypt was home to this many people.

5. __________ The belief in many gods.

6. __________ The god of the Nile.

7. __________ The god of the Sky.

8. __________ The god of magic.

9. __________ The god of the Sun and chief Egyptian god.

10. __________ The Egyptian soul.

11. __________ The Egyptian picture writing.

12. __________ The simplified version of writing.

QUESTIONS

13. __________ Stone found containing Greek and

Egyptian writing.

14. __________ French archeologist who decoded the

mystery of Egyptian writing.

15. __________ The Egyptians worked out a calendar

based on this star.

16. __________ The Egyptians were knowledgeable of

this thanks to the process of embalming.