Ancient Egypt Unit 5 Geography Most important physical feature in Egypt. Longest river in the world. Flows through the Sahara desert (largest desert in the world). Without the river, no one could live there. The Nile The Nile floods every year. Unlike the others, its floods are predictable. Monsoons flooded its sources in the south. Nile delta- an area at the mouth of the river, triangle shaped, made up of silt deposits. The silt gave the land the name the black land The desert is called the red land. Relative isolation Sahara Desert a wasteland and difficult to cross. Cataracts- swift currents, rapids, and falls at various points. Not easy to invade. Early Egypt First farming village appeared 5000 BCE. These villages eventually formed two kingdoms. They spoke different dialects of the same language and had different customs. Two Kingdoms Lower Egypt Northern in the Delta Nile Delta climate milder. Cobra goddess. Upper Egypt South of Lower Egypt and the Delta to first cataract. Vulture goddess Unification 3100 B.C. Menes (Mee- neez) from Upper Egypt unifies Kingdoms. Menes becomes the first Pharaoh (Ruler) of Egypt. Found city of Memphis, becomes the capital. Adopts both symbols (gods/goddesses) and red and white crowns from both kingdoms. 1 st dynasty, 31 all together Government Pharaoh: Ancient Egyptian King or leader. Vizier and other officials helped organize and govern empire. (bureaucracy) Bureaucracy: a highly structured organization managed by officials. (acted upon wishes of the Pharaoh). Old Kingdom Long period of stable rule, 500 years. Pharaohs held absolute power and believed they were gods in human form. Daily rituals for even the sun to rise. Vizier and other officials helped organize and govern empire. (bureaucracy) Bureaucracy: a highly structured organization managed by officials. (acted upon wishes of the Pharaoh). Most pyramids are built during this time. Religion Polytheism- belief in multiple gods. Ra- sun god Osiris- god of the afterlife Isis-Wife & sister to Osiris, collected the pieces of him & put him back together Numerous gods and goddesses. They would combine elements of some to create others. Others came and went. Theocracy: government and religion interwoven. Mummification Mummification: the process to prevent the breakdown of a dead body. Early on it was for kings and members of the royal family Later opened to all who could afford it. Still not fully understood. Remove its eternal organs by an incision on the side of the body. The brain may have been liquefied and brought out through the nose. The heart was not taken out and left. Organs placed in jars and buried with the body. Packed to keep its shape, salts to dry it out, wrapped in linen, and facial features were painted on the outside so it would be recognized. Imhotep First known architect. Commoner at birth. Known as a healer Known for his wisdom Was an aid to the pharaoh He helped design and build the step pyramid. Pyramids Mastaba: early tomb with a flat roof. Built as tombs for Egypt's rulers. Inside or below is where they are buried. Sometimes placed traps to protect treasure buried with them. Smooth sided pyramids were built later and first looked like they had steps. Pyramids Construction would start as soon as a ruler took the throne. Most of them were located at the town of Giza. Not all was done by slave. corve labor- were peasants who worked for a month out of a year at a time required by the government. They would be given shelter, food and clothing. They even had many craftsman work on them as well. (expert builders and decorators) Temples and Religious Practices Built temples to honor their gods and provide homes for them. Huge, decorative, paintings. Obelisks-tall thin pillars. Performed rituals to fulfill gods needs. In return peace to Egypt and eternal life to Pharaohs Priests become important in rituals. Shifts in Culture The Old Kingdom lost power to rising noble class and chaos of civil war, disease, and invasions began. Middle Kingdom: 2055 BCE new dynast rises with new capital of Thebes and traded with Phoenicians, Nubians, and the Minoans of Greece. Fell to invaders around 1650 BCE. The invaders were called the Hyksos from Syria and took lower Egypt. Horse drawn chariot, armor, and strong bow lead to victory. New Kingdom Hyksos ruled Egypt for almost 100 years. Nobles from Thebes rose up and defeated them. The New Kingdom begins. Stop relying on barriers and build armies. Egypt began to expand and conquer like Nubia. Decline Egypt's culture spreads and Egypt begins to incorporate other cultures in a process called cultural diffusion. Egypt is eventually conquered by The Sea Peoples, Nubia, Persia twice, The Greeks, and The Romans. 343 BCE the Persians depose the last true Egyptian Pharaoh. Alexander the Great Alexander Taught by Aristotle. Warrior at 14 A general at 18 King at 20 Died at 32 Hellenistic culture Alexander believed in cultures mixing. He had the city of Alexandria built. When he died, his generals split up his lands. Ptolemy (TAHL-uh- mee) took control of Egypt. He started a dynasty of Pharaohs in Egypt who were not really Egyptian. This line included Cleopatra and was in the control of Greece and eventually Rome. The Persian Empire The Medes and the Persians came from Central Asia. The Medes conquered the Persians. Persians were allowed their own leaders. 559 BCE Cyrus II takes over and leads a revolt against the Medes. Cyrus the Great conquers many territories. Including the Chaldeans and Babylon. Royal Road A series of high quality roads linked the empire together. The royal road was an ancient highway linking the major cities 1,500 miles. This improved communication and helped people govern all parts in a timely manner It also helped trade. Persian Culture Satraps (SAY-traps): governors that each had a region in the emperors name. Zoroastrianism: a religion popular in Persia at this time based on the teachings of Zoroaster. This is the first religion to teach Dualism or two opposing forces (good vs evil) that the world is controlled by. This eventually declined due to the Greeks.