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Chapter 11 - History of Ancient Egypt: Section Notes Video
Chapter 11 - History of Ancient Egypt: Section Notes Video
Images
Quick Facts The Old Kingdom
Chapter 11 Visual Summary Egyptian Society
Ancient Painting of Ramses
Howard Carter
Geography and Early Egypt
Main Ideas
• Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile
River was so important.
• Civilization developed after people began farming along
the Nile River.
• Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.
Main Idea 1:
Egypt was called the gift of the Nile
because the Nile River was so important.
• The Nile River, the longest river in the world, brought life to
Egypt and enabled it to thrive.
– It begins in central Africa and runs north through Egypt to the
Mediterranean Sea.
– The civilization of ancient Egypt developed along a 750-mile stretch
of the Nile.
• In Lower Egypt, the Nile divided into several branches that fanned
out and flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.
– These branches formed a delta, a triangle-shaped area of land
made from soil deposited by a river.
– Two-thirds of Egypt’s fertile farmland was located in the Nile
Delta.
Main Ideas
• Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by pharaohs, roles
in society, and trade.
• Religion shaped Egyptian life.
• The pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s pharaohs.
Main Idea 1:
Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by
pharaohs, roles in society, and trade.
Pharaoh
Egypt’s ruler, also considered to be a god
Nobles
Officials and priests, many nobles, people from rich and powerful
families
Middle Class
Lesser government officials, scribes, and rich craftspeople
Lower Class
Farmers, servants, and slaves
Re • Sun god
Both the size and shape of the pyramid were symbolic. Pointing
to the sky above, the pyramid symbolized the pharaoh’s
journey to the afterlife.
Main Ideas
• The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government
between periods of disorder.
• The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and
military power, but its greatness did not last.
• Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social classes.
Main Idea 1:
The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable
government between periods of disorder.
• At the end of the Old Kingdom, the wealth and power of the
pharaohs declined.
– In time, nobles gained enough power to challenge the pharaohs.
– By about 2200 BC the Old Kingdom had fallen and local nobles ruled
for the next 160 years.
• Children’s lives were less structured. They hunted and played with
balls, dolls, tops, and animal figurines.
• At school, they learned morals, writing, math, and sports.
• At age 14 most boys entered their father’s profession.
Egyptian Achievements
Main Ideas
• Egyptian writing used symbols called hieroglyphics.
• Egypt’s great temples were lavishly decorated.
• Egyptian art filled tombs.
Main Idea 1:
Egyptian writing used symbols
called hieroglyphics.
Rosetta Stone
• People have known about hieroglyphics for centuries, but did
not know how to read them.
• In 1799 a French soldier found the Rosetta Stone, a huge,
stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form
of Egyptian.
• Because the message in all three languages was the same,
scholars who knew Greek were able to translate the
hieroglyphics.
Egyptian Texts
• Because papyrus did not decay in Egypt’s dry climate, many
ancient Egyptian texts still survive.
• They include government records, historical records, science
texts, medical manuals, and literary works, including The Book
of the Dead, telling about the afterlife.
Main Idea 2:
Egypt’s great temples were lavishly
decorated.
• Temples were the homes of the gods.
• People worshipped, offered gifts, and asked for favors.
• Common temple features:
– Rows of stone sphinxes—imaginary creatures with the bodies of
lions and the heads of other animals or humans—lined the entrance
path.
– Entrance was a huge, thick gate.
– On either side might stand an obelisk, a tall, four-sided pillar that is
pointed on top.
– Inside was lavishly decorated, with huge columns supporting the
roof, often covered with paintings and hieroglyphics like the walls.
Main Idea 3:
Egyptian art filled tombs.
Many of the Egyptians’ greatest works were created to fill the tombs of
pharaohs and nobles because they believed the dead could enjoy them
in the afterlife.