Pyramids on the Nile

1. Pyramids on the Nile Chapter 2 section 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVrNV_5LhNE

2. First…a review • What are the two rivers of Mesopotamia? Tigris and Euphrates • Was flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates good or bad? Good • Who was the leader of cities during peaceful times priest

3. More review • Who was at the top of the Sumerian social pyramid? Priests and kings • Who was at the bottom? slaves • What was Hammurabi’s legacy? code of laws

4. Geography of Egypt • West of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another river makes its way to sea- the Nile in Egypt • Nile flows northward for over 4,100 miles-longest in the world • That’s the same distance from Chicago Illinois to Paris France!

5. Nile • River brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains and plateaus • Settlements sprung up on narrow strip of land made fertile by the river • Change from fertile soil to desert was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot on each

6. Nile River • Every July, rains and melting snow from the mountains cause the Nile to rise and spill over its banks • Left behind is a rich deposit of fertile black mud • Before it could dry, peasants would prepare fields for planting • Cycle repeated itself every year: flood, plant, harvest; flood, plant, harvest

7. Nile River • Abundance brought by the Nile was so great, Egyptians worshiped it as a god • Greek historian remarked Egypt was “the gift of the Nile”

8. Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt • Ancient Egyptians knew only the lower part of the Nile- the last 750 miles before it empties north into Mediterranean Sea • Didn’t pass point called cataract- boulders turning river to rapids • Between the First Cataract and Mediterranean lay 2 different regions: Upper and Lower Egypt

9. HUH??? • Terms Upper and Lower Egypt can seem confusing because of the location of these regions • Upper and lower refer to land elevation • Region of Upper Egypt was at a high elevation • Lower Egypt was at a low elevation closer to Mediterranean Sea

11. Nile River • River provided transportation between Upper and Lower Egypt • Helped unify Egypt's villages an promote trade • Nile was as regular as clockwork • If floodwaters were few feet lower than usual, amount of silt, crops, and food was reduced • If waters were higher, water could spread beyond fields to the mud-brick villages nearby and destroy homes

12. Deserts on both sides of the Nile acted as natural barriers between Egypt and other lands • By 3200 B.C. Egyptians coming into contact and trading with people of Mesopotamia • Searched for gold, ivory, cattle and granite for massive temples and tombs

13. Moving goods and ideas • Egyptians moved freely from region to region searching for better land for farming • Egypt blended cultures of Nile Valley people’s and became a land of cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity throughout its 3,000 year history

14. Egypt unites into a Kingdom • By 3200 B.C. Upper and Lower Egypt ruled by 2 different rulers • King of Lower Egypt wore a red crown and king of Upper Egypt, a white crown • 3100 B.C. Menes, King of upper Egypt united all of Egypt, and created a double crown

15. Established capital, Memphis, place where Upper and Lower Egypt meet Establish 1st Egyptian dynasty Menes

16. Pharaohs • To Egyptians, Kings were gods and became known as pharaohs • Pharaoh stood at center of religion, government, and army • Theocracy- ruler is a divine figure • Believed pharaoh responsible for kingdom’s well being, sun rising, the Nile to flood and crops to grow

18. Pyramids • Egyptians believed King ruled after his death and tombs were bigger than palaces • For Kings of the Old Kingdom, rested in a structure called a pyramid

19. The Pyramids • Used large supply of granite and limestone • For the Pyramid of Giza, each block weighed at least 2 ½ tons, some weighed 15 • Stacked more than 2 million blocks with precision 481 ft

20. Do you know how heavy that is? A car- 1 ton • whaleshark-15 tons

21. Peasants forced to build pyramids when the Nile was in flood and couldn’t farm • Government provided food and housing

22. Egyptian Culture • Egyptians were polytheistic • Most important gods, Ra, the sun god and Horus, the god of light • Important goddess, Isis represented ideal mother and wife

23. Egyptians believed in afterlife • Preserved a dead body by mummification-embalming and drying the corpse to prevent from decaying • Placed the mummy in a tomb filled with items the dead may need in after life • Book, Book of the Dead provided guidance for the afterlife • http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/story/page2.html

26. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_is_x2gpxtU

27. Egyptian Society Pyramid King, queen, royal family Upper class (wealthy landowners, priests, gov’t officials) Middle class (merchants, artisans) Lower class (large population, peasants, workers)

28. Women in Egypt • Had many rights of man • Could propose marriage or seek divorce • Wore make-up (so did men) • Kohl- powdered minerals mixed with water applied to eyes

29. Hieroglyphics • Flexible writing system • Earliest form of hieroglyphics picture stood for an idea • Changed system to also stand for sounds • Could be used like letters of the alphabet • Wrote on papyrus reeds that grew

30. Science and technology • Developed written numbers for counting, adding, subtracting • Developed a calendar to keep track of floods based on a star appearing each year before the floods • Calendar was based on 365 days, broke it into 12 months of 30 days • So accurate, short of the solar year by 6 hours

31. Chariot Riders Invade Egypt • Power of pharaohs decline 2180 B.C. • 1640 B.C. Asian nomads swept into Egypt in horse-drawn chariots by people called Hyksos “rulers of the uplands” • Egypt will rise again, and will be known as the New Kingdom • http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=walk+like+an+egyptian