Transcript Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt
Unit 5
Geography
• Most important
physical feature in
Egypt.
• Longest river in the
world.
• Flows through the
Sahara desert
(largest desert in the
world).
• Without the river, no
one could live there.
The Nile
• The Nile floods every • Nile delta- an area at
year.
the mouth of the river,
triangle shaped,
• Unlike the others, it’s
made up of silt
floods are predictable.
deposits.
• Monsoons flooded its
• The silt gave the land
sources in the south.
the name the black
land
• The desert is called
the red land.
Relative isolation
• Sahara Desert a
wasteland and difficult
to cross.
• Cataracts- swift
currents, rapids, and
falls at various points.
• Not easy to invade.
Early Egypt
• First farming village appeared 5000 BCE.
• These villages eventually formed two
kingdoms.
• They spoke different dialects of the same
language and had different customs.
Two Kingdoms
Lower Egypt
• Northern in the Delta
• Nile Delta climate milder.
• Cobra goddess .
Upper Egypt
• South of Lower Egypt and
the Delta to first cataract.
• Vulture goddess
Unification
• 3100 B.C. Menes (Meeneez) from Upper Egypt
unifies Kingdoms.
• Menes becomes the first
Pharaoh (Ruler) of Egypt.
• Found city of Memphis,
becomes the capital.
• Adopts both symbols
(gods/goddesses) and
red and white crowns
from both kingdoms.
• 1st dynasty, 31 all
together
Government
• Pharaoh: Ancient Egyptian King or
leader.
• Vizier and other officials helped
organize and govern empire.
(bureaucracy)
• Bureaucracy: a highly structured
organization managed by officials.
(acted upon wishes of the Pharaoh).
Old Kingdom
• Long period of stable rule, 500 years.
• Pharaohs held absolute power and believed
they were gods in human form.
• Daily rituals for even the sun to rise.
• Vizier and other officials helped organize and
govern empire. (bureaucracy)
• Bureaucracy: a highly structured organization
managed by officials. (acted upon wishes of the
Pharaoh).
• Most pyramids are built during this time.
Religion
• Polytheism- belief in
multiple gods.
• Ra- sun god
• Osiris- god of the afterlife
• Isis-Wife & sister to
Osiris, collected the
pieces of him & put him
back together
• Numerous gods and
goddesses.
• They would combine
elements of some to
create others.
• Others came and went.
• Theocracy: government
and religion interwoven.
• The heart was not taken out
• Mummification: the
and left.
Mummification
process to prevent
the
• Organs placed in jars and
breakdown of a dead
buried with the body.
body.
• Packed to keep its shape, salts
• Early on it was for kings
to dry it out, wrapped in linen,
and members of the royal
and facial features were
family
painted on the outside so it
• Later opened to all who
would be recognized.
could afford it.
• Still not fully understood.
• Remove its eternal
organs by an incision on
the side of the body. The
brain may have been
liquefied and brought out
through the nose.
Imhotep
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First known architect.
Commoner at birth.
Known as a healer
Known for his wisdom
Was an aid to the pharaoh
He helped design and build the step
pyramid.
Pyramids
• Mastaba: early tomb with
a flat roof.
• Built as tombs for Egypt's
rulers.
• Inside or below is where
they are buried.
• Sometimes placed traps
to protect treasure buried
with them.
• Smooth sided pyramids
were built later and first
looked like they had
steps.
Pyramids
• Construction would start as soon as a ruler
took the throne.
• Most of them were located at the town of
Giza.
• Not all was done by slave.
• corvée labor- were peasants who worked for
a month out of a year at a time required by
the government. They would be given shelter,
food and clothing.
• They even had many craftsman work on
them as well. (expert builders and
decorators)
Temples and Religious
Practices
• Built temples to honor
their gods and provide
homes for them.
• Huge, decorative,
paintings.
• Obelisks-tall thin pillars.
• Performed rituals to fulfill
gods needs.
• In return peace to Egypt
and eternal life to
Pharaohs
• Priests become important
in rituals.
Shifts in Culture
• The Old Kingdom lost
power to rising noble
class and chaos of
civil war, disease, and
invasions began.
• Middle Kingdom:
2055 BCE new
dynast rises with new
capital of Thebes and
traded with
Phoenicians,
Nubians, and the
Minoans of Greece.
• Fell to invaders
around 1650 BCE.
• The invaders were
called the Hyksos
from Syria and took
lower Egypt.
• Horse drawn chariot,
armor, and strong
bow lead to victory.
New Kingdom
• Hyksos ruled Egypt
for almost 100 years.
• Nobles from Thebes
rose up and defeated
them.
• The New Kingdom
begins.
• Stop relying on
barriers and build
armies.
• Egypt began to
expand and conquer
like Nubia.
Decline
• Egypt's culture spreads and Egypt begins
to incorporate other cultures in a process
called cultural diffusion.
• Egypt is eventually conquered by The Sea
Peoples, Nubia, Persia twice, The Greeks,
and The Romans.
• 343 BCE the Persians depose the last true
Egyptian Pharaoh.
• Alexander the Great
Alexander
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Taught by Aristotle.
Warrior at 14
A general at 18
King at 20
Died at 32
Hellenistic culture
• Alexander believed
in cultures mixing.
• He had the city of
Alexandria built.
• When he died, his
generals split up
his lands.
• Ptolemy (TAHL-uhmee) took control
of Egypt.
• He started a
dynasty of
Pharaohs in Egypt
who were not really
Egyptian.
• This line included
Cleopatra and was
in the control of
Greece and
eventually Rome.
The Persian Empire
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The Medes and the Persians came from Central Asia.
The Medes conquered the Persians.
Persians were allowed their own leaders.
559 BCE Cyrus II takes over and leads a revolt against
the Medes.
• Cyrus the Great conquers many territories. Including the
Chaldeans and Babylon.
Royal Road
• A series of high quality roads linked the
empire together.
• The royal road was an ancient highway
linking the major cities 1,500 miles.
• This improved communication and helped
people govern all parts in a timely manner
• It also helped trade.
Persian Culture
• Satraps (SAY-traps):
governors that each had
a region in the emperor’s
name.
• Zoroastrianism: a religion
popular in Persia at this
time based on the
teachings of Zoroaster.
• This is the first religion to
teach Dualism or two
opposing forces (good vs
evil) that the world is
controlled by.
• This eventually declined
due to the Greeks.