History of Ancient Egypt

1. History of Ancient Egypt Chapter 11 Mrs. Truskowski Social Studies 7

2. Delta Lower Egypt Upper Egypt Section 1Geography and Early Egypt • The Gift of the Nile • Location and Physical Features • Nile River • Longest river in world • Flows north to the Mediterranean Sea • Two regions • Upper Egypt (south) • Lower Egypt (north) • Cataracts = Rapids (rough areas of river water) • Delta = Triangle shaped area of land made from soil deposited by a river

3. Great Pyramid of Khufu and the Great Sphinx • The Floods of the Nile • Most of Egypt is desert • Nile River floods every year • Deposits land around the river with silt and soil that is very fertile • Allows a major civilization to develop

4. Timeline of Ancient Egypt Old Kingdom 2700 – 2200 B.C. New Kingdom 1550 – 1050 B.C. Middle Kingdom 2050 – 1750 B.C. The Roman Empire conquers Egypt 30 B.C. King Menes unifies Egypt 3100 B.C. Alexander the Great of Macedon conquers Egypt 332 B.C.

5. Civilization Develops in Egypt • Increased Food Production • Fertile Nile River soil • Developed irrigation systems to carry water to fields • Provides a lot of food • Raised cattle and sheep • Two Kingdoms • Natural barriers • Desert on east and west • Mediterranean Sea to north • Red Sea to the east • Protected from invasion • Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt form two kingdoms

6. Menes • Kings Unify Egypt • 3100 B.C.: King Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt • Wanted to unify two kingdoms • Invades and conquers Lower Egypt • Menes is Egypt’s first pharaoh • Pharoah = The title used by the rulers of Ancient Egypt • Forms the first dynasty • Dynasty = A series of rulers from the same family • Builds new capital city at Memphis • Government was a theocracy • Theocracy = A government ruled by religious leaders • First Dynasty lasts 200 years

7. Khufu Section 2The Old Kingdom • Life in the Old Kingdom • Period lasted 500 years (2700 to 2200 B.C.) • Believed that the pharaoh was a god • Khufu: Most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom • Built the Great Pyramid at Giza • Society and Trade • Social classes develop • Pharaoh at the top • Upper class: Priests and high government officials • Middle class: Low government officials, scribes and rich craftspeople • Lower class: Farmers, servants and slaves • Made up 80% of the population

8. Religion and Egyptian gods and goddess

9. Ptah Ptah • Creator of the World • God of creation, arts, and fertility • Craftsman of the gods • Father of Imhotep

10. Re Re • Re or Amon-Re • Sometimes spelled Amun-Re • King of the gods • God of the wind • Sun god • Depicted with sun and as a bird • Re and Horus are sometimes regarded as the same

11. Isis Isis • Goddess of magic and nature • Pictured as ideal mother • Friend of slaves, sinners, and artisans • Wife of Osiris • Mother of Horus

12. Osiris Osiris • God of afterlife, underworld, and the dead • Pictured with green skin • Symbol holding crook and flail

13. Horus Horus • God of kings • God of the sky, war, protection, and sometimes sun • Depicted as falcon • Pharaohs used as a symbol • Eye of Horus was an all-seeing eye

14. Thoth Thoth • God of knowledge, hieroglyphs, and wisdom • Pictured with head of an ibis or baboon • Maintained the universe

15. Anubis Anubis • God of dead and embalming • Associated with afterlife and mummification • Ushered souls into the afterlife • Attended weighing scale – “weighing of the heart” – determined if soul could enter the realm of the dead • Jackal-headed

16. Geb • God of the Earth • Symbols were geese, snakes, bulls, and barley • Regarded as father of Osiris and grandfather of Horus

17. Maat • Goddess of truth, order and justice • Regulated stars, seasons • Regulated actions of mortals and dieties • Created order out of chaos

18. Afterlife • Emphasis on the Afterlife • Afterlife = Life after death • Believed it was a happy place • All people are young and healthy • Ka = A person’s life force (soul) • Ka left the body upon death and became a spirit, but could not leave the burial site • Still needed to eat, sleep and be entertained • Buried body with everything they needed in the afterlife • Furniture, clothing, tools, jewelry and weapons • Relatives brought food and drink on a regular basis

19. Afterlife Cont. • Weighing of the Heart • Egyptian belief that after they died they would be judged based on their behavior during life • Book of the Dead states that after people die their hearts (or souls) would be weighed • This was done before Osiris by Anubis on his scales, and recorded by Thoth. • Heart was weighed against the principle of truth and justice (known as Maat) • This was represented by a feather • If the heart balanced against the feather the deceased would be granted a place in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru • If the heart sank – then it would be devoured by a terrifying beast called Ammit – or “the gobbler”

20. Weighing of the Heart Ceremony

21. Mummy of Lower Class Citizen • Burial Practices • Body had to be preserved so the spirit could recognize it • A decayed body would cause the Ka to die • Developed embalming process and mummification • Mummy = A specially treated body wrapped in cloth to preserve it • Embalming was a complex process • All internal organs removed except for the heart • Organs stored in special jars • Body was dried out with special substances • Applied oil to the body • Wrapped body in cloth and bandages • Placed mummy in a sarcophagus • Sarcophagus = Decorative coffin • Only the rich could afford mummification • Lower classes buried bodies in shallow graves in the desert and the heat naturally preserved the bodies

22. Unknown Mummy Mummy of Queen Hatshepsut

23. Mummy inside a sarcophagus

24. The Pyramids • Pyramids = Huge, stone tombs with four triangle-shaped sides that meet in a point at the top • First pyramids built during the Old Kingdom • First were called Bent Pyramids – like Sneferu’s Pyramid • Many are still standing • Largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza • 13 acres wide at the base and 481 feet tall • Building the Pyramids • Up to 100,000 workers needed to build a pyramid • Workers were paid, they were not slaves • Stones were most likely dragged up brick ramps on wooden sleds

25. Sneferu’s Bent Pyramid

26. Great Pyramids at Giza

27. Mentuhotep II Section 3The Middle and New Kingdoms • The Middle Kingdom • Wealth and power of the pharaohs declined at the end of the old kingdom • Local nobles ruled Egypt for 160 years • 2050 B.C.: A powerful pharaoh, Mentuhotep II, defeated the nobles to take central control • Ends with the invasion of the Hyksos in 1750 B.C. • Hyksos ruled Egypt for 200 years

28. A fragmentary statue of Ahmose I • The New Kingdom • Ahmose of Thebes declared himself pharaoh and drove the Hyksos from Egypt • Beginning of the New Kingdom • Egypt reached the height of its power and glory • Conquest and trade brought great power to the pharaohs

29. Statue of Queen Hatshepsut • Building an Empire • First conquered the homeland of the Hyksos • Conquered Syria in the north • Took over the kingdom of Kush to the south • By 1400 B.C. the Egyptian Empire extended from the Euphrates River to southern Nubia • Conquest made Egypt very rich • Natural resources in conquered lands • Assyrian, Babylonian and Hittite kings gave valuable gifts to Egypt to keep good relations • Growth and Effects of Trade • Controlled many trade routes in the middle east • Queen Hatshepsut worked to increase trade • Used the wealth to build a temple in her honor in Thebes

30. Temple of Hatshepsut in Thebes

31. Mummy of Ramses the Great • Invasions of Egypt • 1200 B.C.: Ramses II (the Great) battles the Hittites • 1100’s B.C.: The Sea Peoples invade the Middle East • Strong warriors of unknown origin • Conquered the Hittites • Egypt spent 50 years fighting them off • Egypt survived but lost much of its empire • Never regained its lost power

32. Work and Daily Life • Scribes • Most respected people after the rulers, priests and government officials • Kept records and financial accounts • Wrote and copied religious texts • Did not have to pay taxes, so many became very wealthy • Artisans, Artists, and Architects • Craftspeople with advanced skills • Sculptors, builders, carpenters, jewelers, metalworkers and leatherworkers • Talented architects became high government officials • Many artists worked on the Pharaoh’s tombs

33. Merchants and Traders • A small part of the population • Traveled long distances to trade goods • Soldiers • A professional army was established after the Middle Kingdom wars • Received land as payment • Allowed to keep any treasure captured in battle • Farmers and Other Peasants • Bottom of the social scale • Made up the majority of the population • Depended on the Nile River to grow crops • Wheat and barley were common crops • Had to give some of their crops to the Pharaoh as taxes • Required to do “special duty” for the Pharaoh on command • Building pyramids, mining gold, fighting in the army

36. Slaves • Very few slaves were in Egypt • Considered lower than farmers in social class • Many were convicted criminals or prisoners of war • Had some legal rights and could earn their freedom • Family Life in Egypt • Very important in Egyptian society • Few women worked outside the home • Women had some legal rights • Could own property, make business contracts and file for divorce • Children went to school to learn morals, writing, math and sports • Most boys joined their father’s profession at 14 years old Egyptian woman with traditional makeup and jewelry

37. Sample of the Hieroglyphic Alphabet Section 4Egyptian Achievements • Egyptian Writing • Egyptian hieroglyphics were one of the world’s first writing systems • Hieroglyphics = Egyptian pictograph writing • Contained nearly 600 different symbols • Could be written horizontally or vertically • Made papyrus by pressing layers of reeds together and pounding them into sheets • Papyrus = A long-lasting, paper-like material made from reeds

38. The Rosetta Stone • A.D. 1799 – A French soldier discovers a huge stone slab with a message written in Greek, hieroglyphics and Egyptian hieratic script • Allowed for the translation of the hieroglyphics • Rosetta Stone = A huge, stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics which help decode the ancient Egyptian language

39. Egyptian Texts • Many survive because papyrus does not decay in dry climates • Historical documents include government and historical records, science texts, medical manuals and literary works such as the Book of the Dead • Book of the Dead = Ancient Egyptian text that explains Egyptian beliefs of the afterlife

40. The Great Sphinx Computer Generated Sphinx • Egypt’s Great Temples • Built massive temple complexes • Believed that temples were homes for the gods • Decorated with sphinxes and obelisks • Sphinx = An imaginary creature with the body of a lion and the head of another animal or a human • Obelisk = A tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed at the top

41. Egyptian Obelisk Brought to Rome by Caesar Augustus Obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut Obelisk at Luxor

42. Temple at Karnak • Temples were decorated with lots of color and detailed artwork on the walls • Some of the greatest surviving temples are located in Karnak, Abu Simbel and Luxor

43. Temple at Abu Simbel

44. Temple at Luxor

45. Egyptian Art • Paintings • Filled with lively, colorful scenes • Painted on canvas, papyrus, pottery, plaster, wood and the walls of tombs • Important figures like pharaohs were drawn large in size compared to other people • Animals were usually drawn more realistically than humans

46. Carvings and Jewelry • Skilled stoneworkers • Statues and wall carvings were common • Made jewelry for men and women out of gold and precious stones • Included necklaces, bracelets and collars • Most jewelry was stolen by treasure hunters over the centuries • Largest archeological find of Egyptian treasure was the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 • Filled with boxes of jewelry, robes, a burial mask and ivory statues