Chapter 5 Lesson 3Egypt’s Empire

I. Middle KingdomA. When

1. 2055 B.C. to 1650 B.C.B. Achievements

1. Conquered new territories

2. Increased crop production

3. More irrigation dams and channels

4. Constructed a canal between the Nile River and the Red Sea

C. Art1. Tomb paintings

a. Illustrated stories about the deities, as well as scenes from everyday life

2. Sculptorsa. Carved hunting,

fishing, and battle scenes

3. Tombsa. No more pyramidsb. Cut into limestone

cliffs (The Valley of the Kings)

D. Fall of the Middle Kingdom1. Hyksos

a. Powerful warriors b. Had chariots and weapons made of bronze and

ironc. Ruled for more than 100 years until around 1550

B.C. Ahmose formed an army and drove them out

II. New KingdomA. When

1. 1550 B.C. to 1070 B.C.B. Political Leaders

1. Hatshepsuta. Made herself pharaoh (1473

B.C.)b. She had to prove she was a

strong leaderc. Promoted trade

2. Thutmose IIIa. Became pharaoh after

Hatshepsutb. Strong leader and generalc. Egypt became wealthy and

slavery became more common

3. Amenhotep IVa. 1370 B.C.b. Tried to change Egypt’s religionc. Changed his name to Akhenaton

“Spirit of Aton”d. Moved capital to a new city called

Akhetaton

4. Tutankhamena. Son-in-law of Akhentatonb. Became pharaoh at 10 years oldc. Restored the worship of deitiesd. Died after only 9 years of his rein

5. Ramses IIa. 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C.b. Conquered Canaan and moved north

to Syriac. Built temples during his time

C. Political ties1. Between Egypt and nearby

kingdoms 2. Exchanged envoys

a. Representativesb. First time a group of nations tried

working together to reach common goals

D. Economics1. Trade with Arabia and East

Africaa. Egypt exchanged beads, metal

tools, and weapons for gold, ivory, ebony wood and incense

2. Trade with Phoenicians a. Egypt needed wood b. Spread the alphabet and

writing systemc. Egypt traded wheat, paper,

gold, copper, tin and tools for purple dye, wood and furniture

3. Templesa. Priests hired people to work in

temple workshops and granaries

b. Served as banks

E. Religion1. Amenhotep (Akhenaton)

introduced the worship of Aton, the sun god, as Egypt’s only god

a. Felt the priest had grown too powerful and wealthy

2. Templesa. Used for special occasionsb. Seen as the homes of the

deitiesc. Priests and priestesses

performed daily rituals, washed the statues of the deities and brought them food

F. Fall of the New Kingdom1. Declined after Ramses II2. By 1150 B.C., the

Egyptian empire controlled only the Nile Delta

3. 900s B.C. Libyans conquered Egypt

4. Kush took over next5. 670 B.C. Egypt was

taken over by the Assyrians