Ancient Egypt

One of the first great civilizations

 Timeline
• Old Kingdom 2650 BC – 2134 BC

• Middle Kingdom 2125 BC – 1550 BC

• New Kingdom 1550 BC – 1295 BC

 1

Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt

OLD MIDDLE NEW

KINGDOM KINGDOM
Pharaohs organized LargeKINGDOM
drainage Powerful pharaohs
a strong central project created arable created a large
state, were absolute farmland. empire
rulers, and were that reached the
considered gods. Traders had contacts Euphrates River.
with Middle East and
Egyptians built Crete. Hatshepsut
pyramids at Giza. encouraged trade.
Corruption and
Power struggles, rebellions were Ramses II expanded
crop failures, and common. Egyptian rule to Syria.
cost of pyramids
contributed to the Hyksos invaded and Egyptian power
collapse of the Old occupied the delta declined.
Kingdom. region.
 Geography
• Egypt is located in
northeastern Africa
• The Nile River runs the
length of the country
flowing south to north
• The river begins in the
mountains of Africa and
empties into the
Mediterranean Sea
• The climate is hot and
dry, part of the Sahara
Desert

http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Egypt.php
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html
 Facts About the Nile River
Length 4,184 miles
2 Sources Lake Victoria, Uganda (White Nile);
Lake Tana, Ethiopia (Blue Nile)
Mouth Mediterranean Sea, off Egypt

Countries Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia,

Flows Through Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda,
Burundi
Name Origin Greek word Nelios, which means
"River Valley"
 Geography
• Ancient Egypt was divided into
two regions: Upper and Lower
Egypt
• Lower (northern) Egypt
consisted of the Nile River's
delta made by the river as it
empties into the
Mediterranean.
• Upper Egypt was the long,
narrow strip of ancient Egypt
located south of the Delta.
 Life in Ancient Egypt
• Life centered around
the Nile river
• Yearly floods brought
nutrients to the soil
• The river was a main
route of travel
 Social Pyramid of Egypt
• Pharaoh
• Upper Class
– Royal Family, Government Officials,
Army Officers, Priests, Landowners,
and Doctors

• Middle Class
– Merchants, Manufacturers, and
Artisans

• Lower Class
– Unskilled Laborers and Farmers

• Slaves and Servants

Egyptian Religion
• Polytheism
– About 2000
gods & goddesses
– Amon-Ra
– Osiris
– Isis
– Horus
– Thoth
– Anubis
– Hathor
• Death and Funerals
– Two souls “ka and ba”
– Embalming
– Burial Tombs
 Religion

• Belief in eternal life after death.

Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them through the afterworld.

• Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life.
 Book of the Dead

Collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure a safe

passage to the underworld for the deceased
Union of Two Crowns
• White Crown
– Upper Egypt
• Red Crown
– Lower Egypt
• Menes
– Overthrew the king of
Lower Egypt
– Wore a Double Crown, both
red and white
• Unification
– Joining of separate parts
into one whole
 Egypt’s Economy
• Pharaoh was at the
center of the economy
• Based upon Agriculture
• Pharaoh took taxes on
the crops that were
grown, and goods that
were made
• Goods were “bartered” or
traded for other needed
goods
A System of Writing
• Hieroglyphics
– Used to keep record
• Scribes
– Record keepers
– Original Accountants
• Papyrus
– Paper made from plants
• Rosetta Stone
– Transcribed Hieroglyphics,
Greek, and Demotic
 What is hieroglyphics?
• Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used in
ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is made
up of two Greek words - hieros, which means
sacred, and glyphe, which means carving.
• The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system
consists of several hundred picture signs. The
signs can be divided into two classes,
phonograms and ideograms
Phonograms represent sounds, much as
alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs
that represent whole words or concepts.
 Building the Pyramids
• Built as tombs for the Pharaohs
• Afterlife
– Housed everything needed for the
Paraoh
• Khufu’s pyramid
– Total number of blocks
• 2,300,000
– One block’s average weight
• 2.5 tons
– Number of blocks added each day
• 285
 Children in Egypt
RICH POOR
• Children of Pharaoh • Swam in canals
swam in palace pools • Worked alongside
• Learned their parents their parents
trade • Little time to play
• Spun tops, and • Daily chores
played games