Ancient Egypt Gift of the Nile

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Ancient Egypt - Gift of the Nile
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• Nile River
• longest in world at 4145 miles long
• Upper vs. Lower backwards
• annual flood until Aswan High Dam (1970)
• Nile Delta wide, fans at mouth of river
• Nile Valley long, fertile, length of river
• natural resources include wheat papyrus
• first people in 10000 BC sedentary in 7000 BC

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Map of Egypt The Nile River
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Overview- 3 Kingdoms Old Kingdom 2700 BC 2200
BC Middle Kingdom 2050 BC 1800 BC New Kingdom
1600 BC 945 BC

• Old Kingdom
• Menes (Narmer) king of Upper Egypt
• conquers Lower in 2850 BC
• unites 2 kingdoms into one dynasty
• king called Pharaoh (great house)

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• Egyptian Religion
• Characteristics
• Extremely polytheistic- over 2000 gods many deal
  with nature. Greatest god is Ra
• Animism- deification of forces of nature/animals
• Illogical Inconsistent- gods can move from
  creature to creature
• Gods separate from morality- gods have same
  weaknesses desires as humans

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Egyptian Creation Story
Only the ocean existed at firstthen Ra, the sun,
came out of an egg that appeared on the surface
of the water. Ra brought forth four children,
the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and
Nut, who became the sky. Ra ruled over all. Geb
and Nut later had two sons, Set and Osiris, and
two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris
succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by
Isis, his sister-wife. Set, however, hated his
brother and killed him. Isis then embalmed her
husbands body with the help of Abubis, who thus
became god of embalming. The powerful charms of
Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the
netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, who
was the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated
Set in a great battle and became king of the
Earth.
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Egyptian Gods
THOTH APIS BAST BUTO SEBEK HATHOR HEQET TAURT ANPU
SEKHET KHNUM HORUS
baboon wisdom bull brute force cheetah
hunter, animal sexual passion cobra
judgment, death, fertility crocodile death
cow mother, wise, pregnancy, music, dance
frog fertility, reproduction hippopotamus
pregnancy, destruction jackal death lion
god of war ram creation, conception falcon
- royalty
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Egyptian Afterlife

• Belief in afterlife
• Mummification- process (Genesis 503)
• Break nose, remove brain
• Open chest, remove all organs except heart
• Used salt called natron cover for 40 days
• Uncover wrap in linen strips (twice)
• Put body possessions in tomb (70 days total)
• Book of the Dead found telling about Egyptian
  beliefs in afterlife not complete
• Hall of Justice- identify 42 gods
• Underworld Osiris- weighs heart against feather
  (Babbe)

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Scribes Writing

• Scribes
• among most important members of Egyptian society
  best educated- kept detailed records
• Hieroglyphics Hieratic
• Earliest form of writing simplified
  hieroglyphics
• 600 signs type of handwriting
• used by priests used by scribes
• religious purposes legal papers, records
• carved into stone monuments written in ink on
  papyrus

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Middle Kingdom Begins

• Between Kingdoms (2200-2050 BC)
• power struggle between priests, nobles, pharaoh
• pharaoh loses power, Egypt divided
• Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 BC)
• Pharaoh restored to power (Mentuhotep II)
• Country united, capital moved to Thebes
• Pharaoh has changed
• still seen as a god
• no longer has absolute power
• shared power with priests

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Middle Kingdom (cont.)

• Middle Kingdom characteristics
• time of peace prosperity
• plenty of trade (1st canal built)
• poor receive funerals too
• priests gain too much power
• Power struggle again between priests pharaohs
• Civil War breaks out
• Hyksos invaded Egypt around 1730 BC
• used chariots and copper bronze weapons
• attack while Egypt is concerned with their own
  problems
• rule for 150 yearsnot accepted by Egyptians

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New Kingdom Begins

• New Kingdom
• Pharaoh regains absolute powerno power to
  priests or nobles
• Required tribute from commoners
• No political rightspharaoh owned ALL land
• Hyksos revealed weakness Egypt builds a large
  military spreads borders (Turkey to Ethiopia)

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Important Pharaohs

• Hatshepsut
• 1st powerful female ruler ruled as regent for
  stepson
• wise, builds prosperous society (1500-1480 BC)
• women given full legal rights
• restored temples destroyed by Hyksos
• obelisk introduced

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Thutmose III

• stepson of Hatshepsut jealous of her power
  popularity
• tries to destroy record of her accomplishments
  records of her rule
• Warlike king (most expansion done during his
  rule)
• New territories had to pay tribute
• Educated (brainwashed) conquered children
• P.O.W.s become slaves

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Amenhotep IV

• created a new, monotheistic religion worshipping
  Amen
• changes name to Akhenaton, moves capitol to
  Akhetaton
• priests upset, lose money
• commoners oppose, leads to rebellions
• Amenhotep loses power former religion restored

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Tutankhamen

• Known more commonly as King Tut
• 8 years old when takes power
• regent ruled for him
• dies early (around 14 or so)
• most famous for his tomb (riches found)
• Valley of the Kings

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Ramses II

• greatest Egyptian king called The Great
• rules for 67 years thought to be same pharaoh
  during Moses Exodus
• 200 children 50 sons
• Treaty of Kadesh 1st recorded peace treaty
• Egypt rapidly declines after his death
• - Pharaoh remains until Cleopatra, but main Egypt
  dynasties finished after Ramses II