Transcript Egyptian Society

9/27 & 9/28
•Compare and contrast
the river civilizations of
Egypt and Mesopotamia in
a five paragraph essay
•Explain unique
characteristics of Egyptian
and Mesopotamian
civilization
•Be able to submit an essay
using turnitin.com
Objectives
Ancient Egypt
The Gift of the Nile
Geography
Hail to thee, O Nile! Who
manifests thyself over
this land, and comes to
give life to Egypt!
Excerpt from Hymn to the Nile
Talk to your partner for 30 seconds about
this excerpt. Why is the Nile the most
important geographic feature to Egyptian
civilization?
The Nile flows North
and empties into the Mediterranean
Sea. The fertile marshy land of
lower Egypt is called the Nile River
Delta.
Lower Egypt refers to the lower
part of the river and it is located in
the north. Upper Egypt is located
south.
Cataracts are rapids or waterfalls
where riverboats could not pass.
Only the land on the banks of the
river is fertile. Away from the
Nile, the land is desert.
The deserts provided protection
From invaders.
Nile River Delta
The Nile is the
longest river
in the world
at 4,100
miles long.
How did the Geography influence the
development of Egyptian civilization?
•Rich soil along the Nile allowed for the
development of agriculture
•Deserts provided natural barriers from invasion
•The river allowed for trade with other civilizations
Egyptian history is divided
in to three periods:
•Old Kingdom
2700-2200 B.C.E.
•Middle Kingdom
2050-1652 B.C.E.
•New Kingdom
1567-1085 B.C.E.
These periods were characterized by
political, economic and social stability.
The periods in between were periods of
instability caused by weak rulers and
governments
Political
Around 3100 BCE, the first
dynasty arose when a king
called Menes united upper
and lower Egypt into a single
kingdom. The capital was
Memphis.
Upper
Egypt
Lower
Egypt
United
dynasty
Political, Continued
Strong kings or pharaohs and bureaucratic
governments would continue in each of the
three time periods, maintaining the unity of
Egypt for 2000 years.
Dynasties or
hereditary rule was
common.
What is the impact of a strong ruler and
government on a civilization?
Brainstorm this with your neighbor.
Political, continued
Strong Centralized Government = peace and
prosperity, strong economy, and a stable, ordered
society.
Features of Egypt’s Political system:
•Divine rule: Pharaohs were god-kings
•Pharaohs were absolute rulers: guided by Ma’at or order
and harmony through truth and justice
•A Vizier was a royal advisor who was in charge of the
government bureaucracy
•The Bureaucracy consisted of many departments to carry
out the functions of government.
•Pharaohs were the religious leaders.
Religious rule = theocracy
Economic
Egyptians
• farmed along the narrow strips
of land bordering the Nile River
• traded along the Nile (Nubia)
and into Mesopotamia
•Paid taxes to the Pharaoh in the
form of crops and forced labor
on building projects
•Made paper from papyrus
•Linen clothing
Economic
Trade goods included gold, ivory,
cattle, granite blocks, paper and
linen
•The Egyptians were
polytheistic – there
were 2,000 gods and
goddesses
•Sun god Re was very
important as were river
and land deities, Osiris
(god of the dead), Isis Horus
and Horus.
Religion
Isis
Osiris
The Egyptians believed in an
afterlife. When an Egyptian
died, his soul was judged by
the God, Osiris.
Then the soul reconnected
with the body to enjoy the
same pleasures of their
mortal life in the afterlife.
The body had to be
recognized so it was
mummified.
Worldly goods such as
jewelry, pottery and gold
were buried with the body to
be enjoyed in the afterlife.
Religion
Pyramids were built as the final resting place for
Pharaohs who, according to Egyptian beliefs, would
rule again through their spirit in the afterlife.
Egyptian Society
Pharaoh, queen, royal family
Vizier, landowners, government officials
priests, army commanders, scribes
Merchants, artisans
Peasant farmers
Unskilled laborers
later, slaves. The largest
group of people fell
into this category.
Egyptians could move up or down in society and slaves
could buy their freedom. To win the highest positions,
one needed to be able to read and write.
Society continued
Women had almost as many rights as men.
They could own and trade property, were
allowed to divorce and there were one or
two women who served as Pharaohs.
It is believed that women could not read
or write.
Hatsepshut
Egyptian society enjoyed stability and cultural
continuity because the kingdom was united and
because of its political stability over long
periods of time.
Intellectual
The Egyptians
developed a
pictographic
language called
hieroglyphics.
First written on
stone or clay, the
Egyptians later
developed a
paper-like
product
called Papyrus.
It came from
reeds that grew
in the Nile River
delta.
Papyrus
Achievements
Egyptians were skilled mathematicians.
They used a number system and
geometry. Why would these be useful to
the Egyptians?
Accurate measurement of angles
would be necessary for
building the pyramids
Achievements - continued
The Egyptians would develop a 365-day
calendar that was comprised of 12 months, each
comprised of 30 days with one 5-day
celebration.
Why would the Egyptians need a calendar?
They needed to know when to plant crops which was
based on regular flooding of the Nile. The floods
came each year at the same time.
As the floods
receded, rich silt was left behind which made the soil
very fertile –the perfect time for planting crops.
Other Achievements:
•Medicine – The Egyptians were
advanced in developing medicines,
performing surgery and in setting
broken bones.
Characteristics of the Old Kingdom 2700 – 2200 BCE
•Building period in which the greatest pyramids were built
•Egyptians enjoyed prosperity
•Capital was Memphis
Characteristics of Middle Kingdom 2050 – 1652 BCE
•Focused on the people and public building projects
Chracteristics of the New Kingdom 1567 – 1085 BCE
• Hyksos invasions
•Bronze weapons and tools adopted from Hyksos
•Use of Chariot adopted from Hyksos
•Newer buildings of Luxor and Karnak were luxurious
Slide 1: http://ancientegyptmoberly.pbworks.com/f/king_tutankhamun_golden_mask.jpg
Side 2: http://www.bl.uk/learning/images/whywrite/new/hieroglyphics-lg.jpg
Slide 5: http://i646.photobucket.com/albums/uu185/marinasamedi/Pyramids_of_Giza_Egypt.jpg
Slide 6: http://www.mrsk.net/wh06as_c04map003aa.jpg
http://www.toutankharton.com/IMG/gif/pschent.gif
Slide 7: http://smu.edu/bridwell_tools/specialcollections/avlane/canopic.jpg
Slide 9: http://room162c.edublogs.org/files/2010/12/Ra-The-Sun-God-Of-Egypt-1mva713.jpg
Slide 10:
http://media.washtimes.com/media/community/image/2011/04/23/EgyptandNubiaWeb_t268.jpg?7f6c82c4e3ebc52d
bf2e980dcc8631719b6d5f11
Slide 11: http://parkbuilderssupply.com/products/images/granite_cobble/cobble0001-440.jpg
Slide 12: http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/images/isis5.jpg
http://mythsoftheworld.net/egypt/images/horus.jpg
Slide 15: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__rvkznGa-eU/TMRtJ62H0aI/AAAAAAAAAT8/aW_dvO11n8U/s1600/ankh.png
Slide 16:
http://egyptologyscribbles.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/hatshepsut_as_osiris_stone_statue_fragment.jpg?w=450&h=
600
Slide 17: http://www.courseweb.unt.edu/gknezek/07spring/4100009/quevedo/hieroglyphics.jpg
Slide 18: http://bazaarinegypt.com/catalog/images/EP01.jpg
Slide 21: http://students.cis.uab.edu/snow4312/project/egyptian-princess.jpg
Slide 25: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/2279411722_17c2675fb1.jpg
http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/previews/32311-illustration-nile-river-ancient-egypt.jpeg
http://www.freewebs.com/practicehtml2/phoney_arm_cast.jpg