Egyptian Civilization (3100 B.C-332 B.C.) Ancient Egypt -a land of mysteries. No other civilization has so captured the imagination of scholars and public in general. Mystery surrounds its origins, its religion and its monumental architecture of colossal temples, pyramids and the enormous Sphinx. The Egyptian pyramids are the most famous of all the ancient monuments, and the only remaining wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Why did the Egyptians build the pyramids? * Can royal vanity alone explain the event? Or.. *. Is their some other secret motive still buried in the desert?
looking at the sky and you probably have a real feeling of insignificance standing besides these enormous constructions. What kind of questions will rise in your mind? Who and when the pyramids were build? How and why the pyramids were constructed? Now imagine that you are standing in front of the pyramids in the desert of Egypt you are
Pyramids on the Nile- ch.2/sec.2 (objectives) 1. How geography affected the development of Egyptian culture- Nile river /the deserts 2. The Old Kingdom: the importance of pharaohs, pyramids and trade. 3. Egyptian religion, social structure, and technology. 4. The shift from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom.
Geography 1. Location- North-East of Africa. 2. Nile river creates rich soil for crops and promotes Egyptian trade. 3. The geography of Egypt presents drawbacks as well as benefits. 4. Herodotus in 15c B.C. remarked that Egypt was the gift of Nile. What did he mean by that?
Answers# 4: Without the Nile, Egyptian civilization would not have been as prosperous or may not even have existed at all.
The Land of Egypt The ancient Egyptians thought of Egypt as being divided into two types of land, the 'black land' and the 'red land'. The 'black land' (Kemet - black earth) was the fertile land on the banks of the Nile. It stood for life. The ancient Egyptians used this land for growing their crops. This was the only land in ancient Egypt that could be farmed because a layer of rich, black silt was deposited there every year after the Nile flooded. Desert the 'red land' was the barren desert that protected Egypt on two sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies. They also provided the ancient Egyptians with a source for precious metals and semiprecious stones. However it was not a fertile land and it stood for death.
Ancient Egypt had a number of unusual physical characteristics. About 97% of Egypt was and still is desert. The remaining 3% is oasis watered by the Nile river.
The Nile is the longest river in the world- 4160 miles. Nile river rises at Lake Victoria (Tanzania), and flows north through much of eastern Africa. The Nile ends in a large delta (150 miles) that empties into the Mediterranean Sea and contains some of the world s most fertile soil.
In Egypt today,99% of the population lives on about 3% of the land, the 97% of the land is desert. The Nile valley is a very narrow strip of land in places not more than a mile wide. In contrast, the delta is 150 miles across. This rich layer of soil was provided by the Nile s annual 100-day flooding. The Nile river divides Egypt into 2 distinctive regions- the Nile Valley or Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta or the Lower Egypt.
Interpreting the map 1. In which direction does the Nile river flow? 2. Describe the location of Upper and Lower Egypt? 3. Vocabulary: delta, cataract 4. In ancient Egypt black land and red land stood for what? 1.North 2. Upper Egypt lies to the south, Lower Egypt to the north. 3. A cataract is a waterfall. Near the sea the Nile branches into a delta. A delta is an area near a river s mouth where the water deposits fine soil called silt. 4.Black land for life ; red land for death.
Contrasting: Q.- What was the main difference between the flooding of the Nile and that of the rivers in Mesopotamia? A. Nile flooding occurred with great regularity than the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates.
Social Structure in Egypt
Social Pyramid Royal family Upper class: landowners, government officials, priests, army leader. Middle class: merchants, artisans. Lower class: peasants, farmers, unskilled labors slaves
Egypt Unites into Kingdom 1. Who was Menes? 2. Why were Egypt s pharaohs unusually powerful rulers? 3. Who were the pyramids builders? 4. Why do you think the Egyptians used mummification? How does it reflect their religious beliefs?
Menes created a double crown from the red and white crowns
The Pschent - the name of the Double Crown of Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians generally referred to the Two Powerful Ones. It combined the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Upper Egypt. The Pschent represented the pharaoh's power over all of unified Egypt. It bore two animal emblems: An Egyptian cobra, known as the uraeus, ready to strike, which symbolized the Lower Egyptian goddess Wadjet, and an Egyptian vulture representing the Upper Egyptian tutelary goddess Nekhbet. Later, the vulture head sometimes was replaced by a second cobra.
The Old Kingdom The Old Kingdom of Egypt was known as the Age of Pyramids. The pharaohs had great power because people believed they were gods. Pharaohs means the great house or great family. They were considered immortal and they had eternal spirit ka that continued to take part in the government of Egypt. Even though the KA was a spiritual being, it needed to be refresh itself occasionally by preserving the body. The pyramids were build for the pharaohs to preserve their dead bodies called mummies.
The Old Kingdom
Religion Many gods and goddesses: more than 2,000- Ra, Horus, Isis, Osiris Relived in an afterlife: mummification
The Middle Kingdom The Middle Kingdom was called the Age of the Nobles. Egypt is reunified and had more centralized administrative system. The power of the pharos decline. The pharaohs improved farming and long-distance trade. They authorized projects that served more the welfare of the people. Written numbers system developed, calculus and geometry. The capital moved from Memphis to Thebes. During this period the pyramids were relatively small.
The Middle Kingdom
The New Kingdom The New Kingdom is consider as a period of glory. Egypt became an empire. During this period the pharos were wealthier and more powerful than ever before. Three of the most outstanding pharos ruled: Egypt was rules by female pharaoh Hatshepsut. She straighten Egypt through trade; Thutmose III and Ramses II. Under Ramses II the art and architecture were in their peak. The building were more decorated, larger and colorful. The army was very well equipped and trained. The pharaohs paid too much attention to winning new lands. They fought many and costly wars.
The New Kingdom
Egyptian pharos- women
Contributions What were the main achievements of the Ancient Egyptians? Egyptian writing: hieroglyphics, papyrus Egyptian science and technology: mathematics, engineering, astronomy, geometry, chemistry Egyptian medicine: surgery
H E R O G L Y P H S
Rosetta Stone What is the Rosetta Stone? The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts (hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek). Why is it in three different scripts? The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts because when it was written, there were 3 scripts being used in Egypt. The first was hieroglyphic which was the script used for important or religious documents. The second was demotic which was the common script of Egypt. The third was Greek which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time. The Rosetta Stone was written in all three scripts so that the priests, government officials and rulers of Egypt could read what it said.
When was the Rosetta Stone made? - The Rosetta Stone was carved in 196 B.C.. When was the Rosetta Stone found? - The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799. Who found the Rosetta Stone? - The Rosetta Stone was found by French soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in Egypt. Where was the Rosetta Stone found? - The Rosetta Stone was found in a small village in the Delta called Rosetta (Rashid). Why is it called the Rosetta Stone? - It is called the Rosetta Stone because it was discovered in a town called Rosetta (Rashid). What does the Rosetta Stone say? - The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of priests in Egypt to honor the Egyptian pharaoh. It lists all of the things that the pharaoh has done that are good for the priests and the people of Egypt. Who deciphered hieroglyphs? - Many people worked on deciphering hieroglyphs over several hundred years. However, the structure of the script was very difficult to work out. After many years of studying the Rosetta Stone and other examples of ancient Egyptian writing, Jean-François Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs in 1822. How did Champollion decipher hieroglyphs? -Champollion could read both Greek and Coptic. He was able to figure out what the 7 demotic signs in Coptic were. By looking at how these signs were used in Coptic he was able to work out what they stood for. Then he began tracing these demotic signs back to hieroglyphic signs. By working out what some hieroglyphs stood for, he could make educated guesses about what the other hieroglyphs stood for.
Jean-François Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs in 1822
Egyptian Cosmetics
Pharaohs theocracy- Social structure: Pharaoh; priest; nobles; merchants; worker; peasants, slaves Location and physical characteristics: -Nile river; Deserts; Seas The Old Kingdom (2660-2180 B.C)-Age of Pyramids -the pyramids were build-the pharaoh is God and has eternal life ka - afterlife only for the pharaoh- capital Memphis -(the Step pyramid, the Guise pyramids and the Great Sphinx.) The symbols of royal power were the red and the white crown. The Middle Kingdom (2080-1640 B.C.) The Age of Nobles The pharaohs care more about the welfare of the common people.farming improveme New belief: afterlife for ordinary people; new capital-thebes. The symbols of royal power were the red and the white crown. The New Kingdom (1540-1075 B.C.)-The Age of Empire Egypt conquered new lands; equipped army; outstanding pharaohs; new architecture-more decorative and shake the Egyptian confidence in the deserts as natural barriers for protection. The symbols of royal power were the re, the white and the blue crown. Contributions:
Q.- Why do you think Egypt was such a dominant power during the time of the New Kingdom and why did it decline? Conquests brought Egypt riches and cultural influences,; it also brought conflict with conquered people. The pharaohs paid too much attention to winning new lands. They fought many and costly wars. Also they were too much concerned with building pyramids and temples.