ANCIENT EGYPT

1
ANCIENT EGYPT

• LAND OF THE PHAROAHS

2
Geography

• Egypt is almost all desert.
• Egypt is located next to the Nile River.
• The Nile stretches 4,500 miles making it the
  longest river in the world.
• The Nile was Ancient Egypts lifeline.

3
Gifts of the Nile

• Egyptian farmers depended on the predictable
  annual flooding of the Nile to grow crops.
• The Nile was a good source of fish and water
  birds for food.
• Papyrus Plants grew by the banks, and were used
  for paper boats.

4
The Union of Two Lands

• Legend says that around 3100 B.C., Upper Egypt
  and Lower became one kingdom under King Menes,
  who founded the first Egyptian dynasty.
• Ancient Egyptian History began around 3000B.C.
  and is divided into three major periods.
• In the 1,000 years before Egypts written history
  began, Egyptians learned to farm, formed
  governments, and invented hieroglyphic writing.

5
The Egyptian Religion

• Egyptians believed in afterlife, and that after
  death, each person needed an undecayed physical
  body to keep his or her spirit alive.
• Egyptians placed possessions in tombs for use by
  the dead person in the afterlife.
• Egyptians believed in many gods. Some gods
  created the world and ran the afterlife, while
  others oversaw everyday life.

6
A Writing System

• The earliest Egyptian writing was called
  hieroglyphics and used pictures to represent
  objects, ideas, and sounds.
• Decoding the Rosetta Stone, in A.D. 1822, allowed
  modern people to translate Egyptian texts and to
  learn about Egyptian life and beliefs.
• Only a few people knew how to read and write.
  They were called scribes.

7
Art

• Egyptian artwork included beautiful murals on
  buildings and inside tombs.
• Artists craftsmen provided goods for the king
  and his family. Painters smoothed stone walls
  with plaster and used grids to paint.
• Goldsmiths made beautiful jewelry. Egypt had a
  century long control of the nearest gold source
  in Nubia.

8
Architecture

• The Ancient Egyptians built remarkable srtuctures
  including pyramids, the Sphinx, temples, tombs
  monuments.
• Stonemasons gave stone blocks their definate
  shape.
• Builders were often farmers that had no work
  during the flooding season or were slaves.

9
A Social Pyramid

• Egyptian society was like a pyramid, with only
  one person at the top the king. The king was
  believed to be a god.
• Below the king was the royal family, nobility,
  priests, government officials, and scribes. Last
  were craftsmen and skilled workers.
• Farmers formed the large base.

10
New Kingdom RulersQueen Hatshepsut

• During the New Kingdom period, 1570-1070 B.C.,
  Egyptians began calling their kings pharaohs.
• The female pharaoh Hatshepsut concentrated on
  peace and prosperity, sending trade groups to
  other kingdoms, restoring damaged temples, and
  resuming the practice of mining.

11
Pharaoh Thutmose III

• Hatshepsuts successor, Thutmose III, conquered
  Syria, Palestine, and other regions, bringing
  great wealth to Egypt, and making it one of the
  Mediterraneans most powerful kingdoms.

12
Pharaoh Akhenaton

• This pharaoh was seen as a visionary by many, and
  a madman to some.
• He disrupted the balance of power religion by
  believing in only one god.
• He moved the capitol from Thebes to Armana.

13
Pharaoh Tutankhamun

• Believed to be Akhenatons son, Tut became the
  youngest pharaoh at the age of nine.
• He restored peace to Egypt by returning to the
  old religion and rebuilding monuments.
• He only ruled until age 19, dying under
  mysterious circumstances. His tomb is famous
  worldwide for its treasures discovered in 1922.

14
Pharaoh Ramses II

• Ramses was the first pharaoh of the 19th dynasty.
• He was a teen when he was crowned.
• He built the great statues of Abu Sinbel.

15
Achievements of the Egyptians

• The Egyptians developed a more accurate calendar
  than the Babylonians.
• In the 1500s B.C., an unknown Egyptian doctor
  wrote a medical document filled with accurate and
  detailed observations of the human body.
• Tomb painters created paintings that are one of
  Egypts finest achievements.

16
Egypt Dominates Kush

• During the Middle Kingdom period, Egypt built
  forts and trading posts in the Kush kingdom and
  came to see Kush as part of its empire.
• Kushite soldiers helped the Egyptians drive out a
  conquering invader from the north.
• Egyptian culture had a strong influence on the
  religion and crafts in Kush.

17
Kush Conquers Egypt

• When Egypt fell into decline at the end of the
  New Kingdom period, the Kushite ruler Kashta
  rebelled and conquered Upper Egypt.
• His son, Piankhy, conquered the Nile delta and
  the city of Memphis, and his successor became the
  first Kushite pharaoh.

18
Kushs Last Thousand Years

• The Kushites soon lost control of Egypt, but held
  on to their old kingdom.
• The Kushite capital was moved south to Meroe,
  where it became an important center for iron,
  wood, and trade with the Middle East, the Far
  East and many parts of Africa.

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• Over time, Egyptian influence lessened. The
  Kushites developed their own hieroglyphics and
  religion.
• Meroe was conquered and destroyed by a
  neighboring kingdom in A.D. 350 after being an
  important cultural and trade center for more than
  600 years.