Ancient Egypt 7 th grade Chapter 4

Egyptian Timeline Old Kingdom ( ) – Hieroglyphics and religion develop in Egypt – pyramids built Middle Kingdom ( ) – extension of Egyptian control into Nubia New Kingdom ( ) – militaristic - Hebrews enslaved – mummification perfected

Geography River dominates Egyptian world/thought Surrounded by desert with occasional oasis – Permits some trade – Defense from invasion Contributes to feeling of safety – preserves artifacts

“Egypt is the gift of the Nile” -Herodotus

The Nile Yearly flooding - no concern for soil depletion – Predictable – Irrigation systems Encourages – Trade – Communication – Political unity Impact on religion – divided life - living and dying. East (sunrise) is land of the living - cities, temples West (sunset) is land of the dead - tombs

The Nile

Religion Omnipresence of religion Polytheistic – interaction with the natural environment shows interrelated gods and goddesses yearly rebirth of Nile and daily rebirth of sun – over 2000 gods Pharaoh as living god Afterlife – Evolution of who has an afterlife Old vs. New Kingdom

The Pharaoh God-King - unlike Mesopotamia – Temporal power owns all the land and people and what people posses law vs. Pharaoh's will irrigation no city walls God-King - unlike Mesopotamia – Religious direct descendant of the Sun god controls access to the afterlife July-Sept, during floods life is controlled by the Pharaoh – 365 day calendar.

Daily Life in Egypt Cosmetics, cleanliness (bathe 3 times a day), shaved bodies, wigs main food is beer and bread – Grow many crops: emmer, barley, flax, lentils, onion, beans, and millet common building made of sun-dried mud bricks - up to three stories in height Four social classes - slaves on the bottom Most common job … farming

Social Hierarchy Pharaoh – Egyptian kings of a centralized state – Claimed to be gods living on earth in human form Bureaucrats – Because the pharaoh was an absolute ruler there was little room for a noble class as in Mesopotamia – Instead professional military forces and an elaborate bureaucracy of administrators and tax collectors served the central government Patriarchal – Vested authority over public and private affairs in men – However, more opportunities for women than in Mesopotamia as evidenced by Queen Hatshepsut reigning as pharaoh Peasants and slaves – Supplied the hard labor that made complex agricultural society possible – Among the slaves were the Hebrews

Egyptian Social Hierarchy

Bureaucrats Below the pharaoh, the most powerful officer in the hierarchy was the vizier, the executive head of the bureaucracy – All royal commands passed through the vizier before being transmitted to the scribes in his office. The scribes dispatched orders to the heads of towns and villages, including rules related to the collection of taxes.

Farmers in Egypt

Shaduf To lift water from the canal Egyptians used a shaduf, a large pole balanced on a crossbeam with a rope and bucket on one end and a heavy counter weight at the other. When the rope was pulled, the bucket would be lowered into the canal. The counterweight would raise the bucket. The farmer would then carry the bucket to the field and water it.

Economic Exchange Egypt needed to trade because, beside the Nile, it had few natural resources – For example, Egypt had very few trees so all its wood came from abroad, especially cedar from Lebanon Much trade between Egypt and Nubia – Importance of trade was reflected in the names of southern Egyptian cities Aswan comes from the ancient Egyptian word swene which means “trade” Elephantine owed its name to the elephant ivory trade

Hieroglyphics Language is written without vowels Different pronunciations – MNFR as Memphis – SR as Osiris – TTMS as either Thutmose, Thutmosis, Tatmusa or Atithmese Who learns this writing style?

Hieroglyphics Use in temples Rosetta Stone Napoleon and Egyptology.

Egyptian Artwork Egyptian Farmers & animals Stela (carved stone) Notice, all people drawn from the side – even when looking right at you!

Role played by size in Egyptian Artwork

Middle Kingdom BCE

End of civil wars, farming and trade return move capital south to Upper Egypt (Thebes) public improvements – drain swamps, canal to Red Sea belief in afterlife expands to include common people tombs instead of pyramids – better protection for mummies.

New Kingdom BCE Ahmose I expelled the invading Hyksos and reunited Egypt Known as the Empire period development of “public” and “private” zones at temples.

Ahmose I leading Egyptians against the Hyksos

New Kingdom BCE Characterized by a more militaristic and imperialistic nature – incorporated chariot, bronze working, horses – development of a professional army became a slave based economy fueled by war and expansion

Threats to Tradition Amenhotep IV (c B.C.) introduced the worship of Aton, god of the sun disk, as the chief god and pursued his worship with enthusiasm. Changed name to Akhenaten (“It is well with Aton”) He closed the temples of other gods and especially endeavored to lessen the power of Amon-Re and his priesthood at Thebes.

Threats to Tradition BCE Nefertiti – Wife of Akhenaton the only pharaoh to even partially reject polytheism – political move against priests of Amon-Re – moved capital to Amarna – worshipped Aton, the sun disk royal inbreeding.

Tutankhamen BCE (King Tut) child ruler ruled nine years, died at 18 young death meant burial in the tomb of a lesser person (noble) resulting in preservation

Ramses II ( ) greatest New Kingdom ruler military leader of Egypt expanded into southern Turkey built many monuments to himself last gasp of Egyptian power.

Ramses II ( )

Nubia  Trading with Egypt since Pharaoh Snefru from the Old Kingdom  Egypt bought gold and elephant tusks (Ivory) from Nubia  Egyptians sold grain, cloth, papyrus, glass, and jewelry with Nubia  Egypt relied on Nubia’s gold, Nubia relied on Egyptian grain  Nubians adopted many Egyptian cultures and the religion  Land  Little rainfall  Narrow ribbon of fertile soil beside the Nile River  Travel was done on foot in Nubia because the Nile River cataracts made boat travel impossible  Often short of food due to small area of farm land  Closer contact with peopl eof Africa south of the Sahara Desert

 Government  Modeled after the Egyptian kingdom  Powerful kingdom  Saw their king as a god  Issues  By the time of the Middle Kingdom most of Nubia now belonged to Egypt through battles  By the end of the New Kingdom Nubia regained their lands and became an independent kingdom ruled by their own king again  In 700s BC, Nubian King conquered the Egyptian city of Thebes  The next Nubian King Piye continued conquering Egyptian cities until he declared himself Pharaoh over Nubia and Egypt (over 100 years)

 Nubia tried to increase their land and fought with the Assyrains in the Fertile Crescent and lost (returned to Nubia and gave up Egypt)  Nubia in 591 BC had its capital city Napata destroyed by the Egyptians  Nubia moved its capital to Meroe which became an ironworking center for all of Africa  Nubians were pyramid builders as well  Nubia created Meroitic script, one of the world’s first alphabets  Nubia became an important kingdom of Africa and a center of trade for ebony, iron weapons, gold, and cloth  Nubia was conquered by Axum (present day Ethiopia) in the 300s AD

Activity Make a list of achievements accomplished by the Egyptians. Compare it to the list on the next slide.

Achievements Pyramids  There were about 80 along the banks of the Nile River.  The largest is the Great Pyramid, built by King Khufu in about 2600 B.C.  It stands about 481 feet high and covers 13 acres.  The pyramids functioned as huge burial tombs for the Egyptians’ dead pharaohs and queens. Ship-building  They used the Nile River like a highway to transport people and goods to foreign lands.  The first ships were made out of bundles of papyrus reeds tied together to make a canoe-like vessel.  As the ship trade flourished, the hulls of the ships were made of cedar, and oars and sails were added for greater speed. Hieroglyphics  These were pictures and symbols that served as one of the first written languages in the world. Calendar  Calendars were developed in 4241 B.C. with 365 days in a year.  It was based on the flooding of the Nile River.  New Years was on June 1, not January 1!

Activity to follow Copy the chart and complete it using your notes and textbook

Ancient Egyptian History PeriodsTime Frame Nile Culture Begins Archaic Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom New Kingdom Late Period Greek Ptolemaic Era Roman Period

Answers on next slide

Ancient Egyptian History PeriodsTime Frame Nile Culture Begins3900 B. C. E. Archaic3100 – 2650 B. C. E. Old Kingdom2650 – 2134 B. C. E. Middle Kingdom2040 – 1640 B. C. E. New Kingdom1550 – 1070 B. C. E. Late Period750 – 332 B. C. E. Greek Ptolemaic Era 332 – 30 B. C. E. Roman Period30 B. C. E. – 395 C. E.

Activity to follow Copy the chart and complete it using your notes and textbook

MesopotamiaEgypt Agriculture Specialization Cities Social Hierarchy

MesopotamiaEgypt Religion and Education New Technologies Economic exchange Art and Writing

Answers on next 2 slides

MesopotamiaEgypt Agriculture+“Land between the rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates forms Fertile Crescent +Artificial irrigation +”Gift of the Nile” +Artificial irrigation Specialization+Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather, brick making, stonecutting, masonry +Pottery, textiles, woodworking, leather production, stonecutting, masonry Cities-Numerous, densely populated city-states (Ur and Babylon) -Fewer cities with high centralization (Memphis and Thebes) Social Hierarchy -Noble class -Patriarchal +Slaves -Absolute authority of the pharaoh made a noble class unnecessary (had bureaucrats instead) -Patriarchal, but the presence of Queen Hatsheput may indicate greater opportunities for women +Slaves

MesopotamiaEgypt Religion and Education -Polytheism -No afterlife -Polytheism, but brief period of monotheism under Akhentan -Afterlife and judgment (mummification) New Technologies-Superior in metallurgy -Papyrus, shipbuilding, pyramids Economic exchange -Trade by land and water -Trade principally by water along the Nile -Trade more important because Egypt lacked natural resources beside the Nile Art and Writing-Cuneiform-Hieroglyphs (more pictorial than cuneiform)