 The Nile River flows northward 4,200 miles from the highlands of east-central Africa to the Mediterranean Sea › Longest river in the world › Egypt’s only major fresh water supply

 Yearly flooding brought the water and rich soil, creating arable farmland › Expanding agriculture › Increased human settlement › Egyptians worshipped it as a god that gave life › Cyclical life: flood, plant, harvest, repeat › Made travel easy which unified the kingdom and promoted trade

“Hail to you, oh Nile, Spring from the ground, come to keep the land alive…. Who floods the fields the Ra [the sun god] has created To make all the animals live…. Who produce barley and make wheat grow, If he is sluggish, everyone is impoverished (poor and hungry) If he rises, everyone is in joy”

 Egypt was very well protected by the Nile River, the Sahara Desert, and other natural barriers › Forced population to stay close to the river › Delayed interaction with other peoples › Protected from invaders (rarely invaded)  In comparison, Mesopotamia was often invaded as they were not protected as well.

 Egypt was a polytheistic religion (believed in many gods)  Egypt mixed religion and government  Known as a theocracy  The kings of Egypt (known as pharaohs) were seen as gods  Believed the pharaohs were responsible for the kingdom’s well being Rule based on heredity › Passed down through the family › Known as a dynasty

 Polytheistic Religion › Believing in over 2,000 gods. Isis: Goddess of fertility Ra: God of sun/light Osiris: God of the Dead Horus: God of light and sky Seth: God of desert and storms

 Egyptians believed that after death, the pharaoh's eternal spirit continued to take part in government. › Since this was their belief, their tombs were even more important than their palaces.  For the early kings, the resting place after death was a pyramid. › Egyptians preserved the dead using mummification › Showed belief in an afterlife

 Dead bodies were preserved by mummification  Drying and preserving a body to prevent decay  Body placed inside a coffin in a tomb  Four Canopic jars stored with body : stomach, lungs, intestine, liver  Heart left in, brain was thrown out  The tomb was filled with items for the afterlife › Clothing, food, cosmetics, jewelry, and writings

 Social Movement possible › Could gain higher status through marriage or success in jobs  Later, slavery became widespread source of labor › They were usually captives from foreign wars › Served the homes of the rich or in gold mines

King, Queen, Royal Family Landowners, government officials, army commanders Merchants and Artisans Peasant farmers, unskilled laborers Flexible Class System

 Egyptian writing is know as hieroglyphics. › A picture stands for an idea (a man stood for a man, a bird stood for a bird) › One of the first civilizations to write on paper  Paper known as papyrus  Translated thanks to the Rosetta Stone

 Egypt was divided into Lower (North) and Upper (South) Egypt with two separate rulers  About 3100 BCE, Menes, the ruler of Upper Egypt united the two kingdoms › Established his capital at Memphis, where the two kingdoms meet  He established the first Egyptian Dynasty › Ancient Egypt lasted for over 2600 years with 31 dynasties

 By 2000 BC, Egyptians were traveling up the Nile to the lands to the south called Nubia or Kush. › Egyptian armies eventually took over Nubia  After 1200 BCE, however, Egypt began a slow decline › Kush gained independence › Eventually conquered Egypt

 Kush Empire served as a trade corridor between Middle East/Egypt and sub- Saharan Africa  Kush’s capital, Napata, became the center for the spread of Egyptian culture in East Africa  Nubian King Piankhi › Conquered Egypt in 751 BCE › Became the first black Pharaoh