Transcript Nile River Valley

River
Civilizations
of Egypt
Pyramids of the
Nile
Cultural
Hearth:
Nile
River
Valley

Lower Egypt –
land upstream

Upper Egypt –
land to the south
The Gifts of the Nile
1. Water - food
2. Transportation
3. Protection
4. Sense of security &
confidence
Egypt’s History
Old
Kingdom 2700-2200 B.C.
 Age
of prosperity and splendor
Middle
 “golden
New
Kingdom 2050-1652 B.C.
age of stability”
Kingdom 1567-1085 B.C.
 Egypt
became and empire
1. Cities
Established
in the Nile River
Valley at the tip of the delta
– the point at which the Nile
divides



Cairo
Giza
Saqqara
2. Government
Theocracy
Dynasty
– “God-Kings”
Pharaohs
Famous Pharaohs
 Hatshepsut
– first
woman pharaoh
 Akhenaton –
worshiped only one
god – Aton (god of
the sun disk)
 Tutankhamen – “King
Tut” – restored the
worship of multiple
gods
King Tut
Only
Pharaoh
found with
his treasure
Ramses II
 Ruled
 Put
60 years
Egypt back on the offensive
 Wars
and building projects
weaken Egypt
 New
Kingdom collapses 1085 BC
Ramses II
Cleopatra VII
 Tried
to reestablish
Egypt’s
independence
 Involvement with
Rome led to suicide
& defeat
 Egypt became part
of Rome’s empire
3. Religion
Polytheistic
Gods
associated with heavenly
bodies & natural forces – sun
gods & land gods (p. 46, 47)
No word for religion –
inseparable from their world
Anubis, god of mummification
Mummification
Pyramids
as tombs
4. Social Structure
Upper class
pharaoh, nobles, priests
Middle class – merchants, artisans,
scribes, tax collectors
Lower class – peasants who farmed the land &
military service
5. Writing
Emerged
around 3000 BC
Hieroglyphics – “priest
carvings” or “sacred writings”
Hieratic script
papyrus
Hieroglyphics
The
Rosetta
Stone
Greek
6. Art & Science
Pyramids,
temples,
monuments
Math and engineering
Accurate calendar
Effective medicine
Abu Simbel