Pyramids on the Nile

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Pyramids on the Nile

• KEY IDEA The earliest civilization in Africa
  arose along the Nile River. A ruler called the
  pharaoh brought people together in a united
  kingdom

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The Geography of Egypt

• Another civilization arose along the banks of the
  Nile River of East Africa.
• The Nile flows to the north, toward the
  Mediterranean Sea. It, too, floods each year, and
  the waters leave rich soil on the river banks.
  The change from fertile soil (Black Land) to
  desert (Red Land) was so abrupt that a person
  could stand with one foot in each.
• There the people of ancient Egypt grew food and
  began to build their own culture.

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The Gift of Yearly Flooding

• The flooding of the Nile was very predictable
  unlike the flooding of the rivers in Mesopotamia.
  
• Farmers were able to accurately predict the
  floods and take full advantage of the fertile
  soil. They could grow 3 crops a year.
• The River was so important to the Egyptians that
  they worshipped the river as a god.

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Upper and Lower Egypt

• For many centuries, the people of Egypt lived in
  two kingdoms, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt.
• Lower Egypt extended from the Niles marshy delta
  region north to the Mediterranean, just 100 miles
  away. For most of their history, Egyptians only
  knew this region.
• Upper Egypt began at the Nile delta and extended
  south to the Niles first area of churning rapids
  (cataracts).

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Transportation System

• The Nile provided a reliable system for
  transportation between Upper and Lower Egypt.
• For northward travel, boats would drift with the
  current toward the Mediterranean Sea.
• For southward travel, sailboats were used to
  capture the prevailing winds of the region which
  blew from north to south.

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Transportation Technology
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Environmental Challenges

• Farming along the Nile was much more prosperous
  than farming along the Tigris and Euphrates
  rivers because of the predictable flooding cycle
  of the Nile.
• The flooding of the Nile did not always insure
  prosperity. Some years too little flooding
  occurred which resulted in starvation, while in
  other years, the flooding was too great resulting
  in death and destruction.

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Protection of the Deserts

• The deserts on either side of the Nile river
  provided a natural barrier between Egypt and
  other lands.
• There was a reduction in contact with outsiders
  and invaders. Egypt was spared the constant
  warfare experienced by the people of Mesopotamia.

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Movement of Goods and Ideas

• By 3200 B.C. , Egyptians were coming in contact
  with the people of Mesopotamia.
• It is at this time when ideas of Sumerian
  civilization were adopted by the Egyptians.
• At first, the cultures became blended but over
  time, a very unique Egyptian culture emerged.

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Egypt Unites into a Kingdom

• By 3200 B.C., Egypt was ruled by two kings one
  ruled over Upper Egypt while another ruled over
  Lower Egypt.
• In 3100 B.C. King Menes of Upper Egypt united
  the kingdom and blended the royal crowns
  representing both region. He established his
  capital at Memphis and the dynastic period begin
  in Egypt.

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King Menes Unites Egypt
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• In the years between 2660 and 2180 B.C.(Old
  Kingdom), the basic marks of the culture of Egypt
  arose. It is during this time that the great
  pyramids are built as tombs for the pharaohs.
• Ruling over the land was the pharaoh, who was
  not only a king but also seen as a god.
• Pharaohs believed that they had an eternal spirit
  that allowed them to rule the land after their
  death. So these kings built themselves
  magnificent tombs

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Egyptian Religion

• Egyptians spent their lives preparing for death.
  They had a very pleasant concept of the
  afterlife. Mummification of the body was done to
  preserve the body for use in the afterlife.
• One god, they thought, weighed the hearts of each
  dead person. Hearts judged heavy with sin were
  eaten by a beast. Good people, with
  feather-weight hearts, would live forever in a
  beautiful Other World. This was a brighter
  outlook of the afterlife than the Sumerian
  afterlife.

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Egyptian Social Divisions

• The pharaoh and his family were at the top of
  Egyptian society.
• Below them were people of wealth who owned large
  amounts of land, the priests, and members of the
  government and army.
• Then came the middle classmerchants and people
  who worked in crafts.
• At the base were the peasants. In later times,
  the Egyptians had slaves. People could move from
  one rank of society to another. Those who could
  read and write held important positions.

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Egyptian Social Structure
Pharaoh Family
Priests and Govt Officials
Middle class- merchants and craftsmen
Slaves
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Egyptian Writing

• The Egyptians, like the Sumerians, developed a
  way of writing. They used pictures to stand for
  sounds. The pictures could be put together to
  make words and sentences. At first they wrote on
  stone, but later they began to make a kind of
  paper out of a water plant (papyrus).

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The Rosetta Stone

• The Rosetta Stone was key to unlocking the
  ancient Egyptian language. It was found in 1799
  by French soldiers. It had inscriptions in three
  languages, one being Greek. Scholars used their
  knowledge of Greek to decode the message on the
  stone.

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Egyptian Technology

• The Egyptians a calendar that had 12 months, each
  of which had 30 days.

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Important Egyptian Inventions

• Geometry for setting property boundaries after
  the annual floods
• Columns used inside homes
• 365-day calendar based on the movement of the
  stars. 12 months of 30 days five days for
  feasting.
• Medicine and surgery

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Chariot Riders Invade Egypt

• After 2180 B.C., the pharaohs lost power. Egypt
  went through a time of troubles until strong
  rulers once again took control. They ruled for
  four centuries until the land fell prey to the
  Hyksos, invaders in 1640 B.C.

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Hyksos Rule Egypt

• The Hyksos ruled Egypt for 70 years. This time
  is called the Second Intermediate Period.
• In 1570 B.C., the pharaohs regained control and
  established the New Kingdom.

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Egyptian Time Line

• Old Kingdom 2660 BC 2180 BC Building of the
  Egyptian civilization , pyramids.
• 1st Intermediate Period 2180 BC 2080 BC Time
  of chaos and turmoil
• Middle Kingdom 2080 BC 1640 BC Building of
  dykes to control floodwaters, and irrigation
  systems
• 2nd Intermediate Period 1640 BC-1570 BC
  Hyksos invasion and occupation
• New Kingdom 1570 BC 1075 BC

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Answer these Questions
Restate the question and answer in complete
sentences

• What was the main difference between the
  flooding of the Nile and that of the rivers in
  Mesopotamia?
• What were the main achievements of the ancient
  Egyptians?
• What effects did the geography of the region have
  on the Egyptian civilization?

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The End