Egyptian Civilization By: Sasha Jacobson *Group 2*

Nile River The longest river in the world that begins in the heart of Africa and is more than 4,000 miles long.

Lower Egypt Called the Nile Delta.

Upper Egypt The land upstream, to the south.

Menes A king who united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom and created the first royal dynasty.

Dynasty A family of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family.

Pharaoh Egyptian monarch, meaning “great house” or “palace”.

Bureaucracy An administrative organization with officials and regular procedures.

Vizier The steward of the whole land who is directly responsible for the pharaoh and is in charge of the bureaucracy.

Mummification Preserves the physical body after death, process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent it from rotting.

Giza Where the Great Pyramid of King Khufu was constructed.

Hyksos People from western Asia who used horse- drawn war chariots to overwhelm the Egyptian soldiers.

Hatshepsut One of the first women to become pharaoh.

Akhenaten Pharaoh Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten and introduced worship to Anten.

Tutankhamen Boy-pharaoh who killed Akhenaten and restored the old gods.

Ramses II Reigned from 1279 B.C to 1213 B.C.

Cleopatra VII Pharaoh who tried to reestablish Egypt’s Independence. She got involved with Rome which led to her defeat and suicide.

Hieroglyphics Earliest Egyptian writing meaning “priest carvings” or “sacred writings”. Used both pictures and abstract forms which made it very complex.

Hieratic script Highly simplified version of hieroglyphics. Used for business transactions, record keeping, and the general needs of daily life.