Chapter 4 : Ancient Egypt and Kush
Chapter 4 Section 1 Geography and Ancient Egypt The Nile River is the most important thing in Egypt. The Nile is the longest river in the world. It stretches about 4000 miles in Africa. Egyptian civilizations developed along a 750 mile stretch of the Nile in northern Africa.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Ancient Egypt included 2 regions. - Upper Egypt which was the southern region (Upstream) - Lower Egypt which was the northern region (Downstream) They were named for the way the river flows, from the south to the north.
Chapter 4 Section 1 The Nile slices through the desert creating a fertile river valley about 13 miles wide. Cataracts are strong rapids in the river These rapids made traveling the Nile river very difficult in Upper Egypt.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Delta a triangle-shaped area of land made of soil deposited by a river. The Nile Delta is located in Lower Egypt. 2/3 of Egypt s fertile farmland was located in the Nile Delta. Flooding was predictable in the Nile, midsummer in Upper Egypt and in the fall in Lower Egypt.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Silt from the Nile made the soil ideal for farming. Egyptians saw the flooding as a life-giving miracle. Without the floods, Egypt would have never been settled.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Farmers in Egypt developed an irrigation system, like in Mesopotamia. They also built a series of canals that could be used in the dry months to direct water from the basins to the fields where it was needed. The Nile provided the Egyptians with an abundance of food.
Chapter 4 Section 1 In addition to stable food supply, the Nile Valley offered a natural barrier that made Egypt hard to invade. The west was to big and harsh to cross, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea also provided protection as well.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Around 3100 BC Menes became the king in Upper Egypt. He wanted to unify Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. His armies invaded and took control of Lower Egypt. He married a princess from Lower Egypt to strengthen his control over the unified country.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Menes wore both the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt. This symbolized his leadership over the 2 kingdoms. Later he would combine the 2 crowns into a double crown. Menes was considered Egypt s 1 st pharaoh. He also founded Egypt s 1 st dynasty.
Chapter 4 Section 1 Dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family. Menes built a new capital city at the southern tip of the Nile Delta and was later named Memphis. The 1 st dynasty lasted about 200 years. The pharaohs after Menes all wore the double crown symbolizing their rule over both Upper and Lower Egypt.
Chapter 4 Section 2 The 1 st and 2 nd Dynasties ruled Egypt for about 4 centuries. The 3 rd Dynasty began the Old Kingdom. It lasted from about 2700 BC to 2200 BC. During the 3 rd Dynasty they believed that the pharaoh was both a king and a god. The pharaohs status as a god came with many responsibilities.
Chapter 4 Section 2 People blamed him if crops didn t grow well or if disease struck the kingdom. The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Khufu. (2500 BC) He is best known for the monuments that were built for him.
Chapter 4 Section 2 Egyptian Society Pharaohs king or god Nobles officials and priest Scribes and Craftspeople wrote and produced goods Farmers, Servants and Slaves
Chapter 4 Section 2 The Egyptians had gods for nearly everything. Many gods mixed human and animal forms. Ex. Anubis the god of the dead, had a human body but the head of a jackal. Re or Amon-Re the sun god Osiris the god of the underworld Isis the goddess of magic Horus a sky god and god of the pharaohs
Chapter 4 Section 2 Much of Egyptian religion focused on the afterlife, or life after death. ka a person s life force When a person died, his or her ka left the body and became a spirit. To fulfill the ka s needs, people filled tombs with objects for the afterlife. These objects included furniture, clothing, tools, jewelry and weapons.
Chapter 4 Section 2 The Egyptians believed that the body should be preserved. They developed a method called embalming. Embalming allowed bodies to be preserved for many, many years as mummies. Mummies were specially treated bodies wrapped in cloth.
Chapter 4 Section 2 Embalming was a complex process that took several weeks. Once embalmed and wrapped the mummy would be placed in a coffin. Only royalty and the wealthy could afford to have mummies made.
Chapter 4 Section 2 Huge monuments were built to bury their rulers in. Pyramids huge royal tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point at the top The size of the pyramid depended on the greatness of the pharaoh.
Chapter 4 Section 2 The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Khufu near the town of Giza
Chapter 4 Section 3 Mentuhotep II rule began the Middle Kingdom, a period of order and stability that lasted until about 1750 BC. Hyksos was a group from Southwest Asia that invaded Egypt. They ruled Lower Egypt for about 200 years. They Egyptians did not like being occupied by the Hyksos.
Chapter 4 Section 3 Eventually the Egyptians fought back. In the mid-1500 s, Ahmose of Thebes drove the Hyksos out of Egypt. Ahmose rise to power marked the beginning of the New Kingdom. Conquest of other lands expanded the new empire. Egyptian trade also began to grow.
Chapter 4 Section 3 Queen Hatshepsut increased Egyptian trade She expanded trade to the North and the South. She is also remembered for the many monuments and temples built during her reign
Chapter 4 Section 3 Ramses II or Ramses the Great he had one of the longest reigns of any pharaoh The Egyptians and the Hittites fought for many years, and would eventually become allies of each other. Ramses was a great warrior and a great builder.
Chapter 4 Section 3 After the Middle Kingdom, Egypt created a professional army. This offered a chance to rise in social status. Soldiers received land as payment and kept any treasure they captured in war. Farmers and peasants were at the bottom of the social scale. They made the majority of the population.
Chapter 4 Section 4 Hieroglyphics Egyptian writing system Papyrus a long-lasting, paper-like material made from reeds. Rosetta Stone a stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics The Book of the Dead stories of the afterlife Sphinxes imaginary creatures with the bodies of a lion and the head of other animals or humans.
Chapter 4 Section 4 Obelisk a tall four-sided pillar that is pointed on the top. The sanctuary was the most sacred part of a temple. 1922 King Tutankhamen s tomb was found. The tomb was filled with treasures, including jewelry, robes, a burial mask and ivory statues.
Chapter 4 Section 5 Nubia was south of Egypt. The Egyptians gave the Nubians the name Kush Kush was a lot like Egypt. Today desert covers much of Nubia, at one time it was a very fertile land. Kush and Egypt did a lot of trading with each other.
Chapter 4 Section 5 Many buildings resembled those in Egypt. They developed their on written language called Meroitic, historians have yet to be able to understand it. The 1 st women to rule Kush was Queen Shanakhdakheto. One major problem in Kush was that the cattle overgraze the land, they ate all the grass and the wind blew the soil away so no food could be produced.