Ancient Egypt: 4-2

Today’s Discussion Questions 4-2 (Part I) 1. The Old Kingdom lasted from ____ to ____. 2. Egypt’s political system was based on what belief? 3. What were the pharaoh’s 2 titles? 4. What were the duties of the pharaoh? 5. What were some of the pros and cons to being pharaoh? 6. What were the Egyptian social classes and who made up each class?

Central Idea Understand the Egyptian government and religion were closely connected during the Old Kingdom.

If You Were There… How do you feel about working for the pharaoh? You are a peasant farmer in ancient Egypt. To you, the pharaoh is a god, a descendent of the sun god. You depend on his strength and wisdom. For part of the year, you are busy planting crops in your fields. But other times, you work for the pharaoh. You are currently helping to build a great tomb in which the pharaoh and many of his belongings will be buried when he dies. How do you feel about working for the pharaoh? What might be the pros and cons of this job? Could this possibly be related to modern times?

Early Egyptian Society The first and second dynasties ruled Egypt for about four centuries. Around 2700 BC, the Third Dynasty rose to power. Its rule began the Old Kingdom, a period in Egyptian history that lasted from 2700- 2200 BC. The Old Kingdom is the earliest period of Egyptian history

Rule by Pharaohs During the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians continued to develop their political system. This system was based on the belief that the pharaoh was both a king and a god. Because of this belief, he was never questioned.

Pharaoh’s Titles Political & Religious Leader Titles: “Lord of Two Lands” “High Priest of Every Temple” What do you think are the significance of each title?

Pharaoh Egyptians believed Egypt belonged to the gods Believed the pharaoh had come to earth to manage Egypt for the gods As a result, he had absolute power of all the land and people of Egypt.

Duties of the Pharaoh 1. Government, Laws, Taxes, Administration, Increasing wealth, Architecture, etc. 2. Protect the people from invaders, ensure order, etc. 3. Expected to visit the temples & perform rituals to prevent crop failure, disease, poor economy, and invasion. 1. Head of State/Nation 2. Head of the Army 3. Supreme Religious Leader What would these duties include?

What would be the Pros & Cons of being Pharaoh? Believed to be a god Powerful Wealthy Easy life Monuments built to honor you Cons: Blamed for crop failure Blamed for disease Blamed for poor economy Blamed for invasion.

Famous Pharaoh Most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Khufu Ruled in the 2500s Legend says he was cruel Best known for the monuments built for him.

Social Structure By 2200 BC, Egypt had about 2 million people. At the top of society was the pharaoh The pharaoh had complete authority and his word was “law”

Comparison Sumer Egypt Pharaoh Nobles Scribes/Craftspeople Upper: King, Priest, Government Officials Middle: Artisans, Merchants, Farmers Lower: Slaves Pharaoh Nobles Scribes/Craftspeople Farmers, Servants, Slaves

Use your judgement Approx. 80% of the Egyptian population were farmers. What may be some advantages for such a large segment of the population being farmers? Possible disadvantages?

End of Part I

Assignment A Day in the Life… Due Friday: 9/25/15

4- 2 (Part II) Who did Egypt trade with? What products? Describe the religion of ancient Egyptians. How was mummification tied to the Egyptian’s belief in the afterlife? List the steps of embalming.

Egypt and its Neighbors During the Old Kingdom, Egypt began to trade with its neighbors. Nubia: gold, ivory, slaves, and stone Punt: incense and myrrh Syria: wood/timber

Religion Polytheistic Everyone was expected to worship the same gods & make tribute (Payment) to the gods. Built temples to the gods Temples collected payments from both the government and worshippers These payments allowed the temples to grow more influential.

The Afterlife Egypt had a highly developed view of the afterlife with elaborate rituals for preparing the body and soul for a peaceful life after death Beliefs about the soul and afterlife focused heavily on preservation of the body, or ba (the soul was known as the ka). This meant that mummification was practiced in order to preserve the individual's identity in the afterlife The intestines, lungs, liver and the stomach were preserved separately and stored in jars during the embalming process.

Steps to Embalming 1. Priests removed the body’s organs 2. Salt was applied to the body and it was stored for a number of days to dry 3. The body was filled with spices and perfumes, then stitched closed. 4. Cleaned with oils and tightly wrapped with long strips of linen. 5. The mummy was placed in several wooden coffins, one fitting inside the other. The Pharaoh was ready for burial.

The Pyramids Egyptians believed that burial sites, especially royal tombs, were very important. As a result, they built huge monuments in which to bury their rulers. The most spectacular of all were the Pyramids.

The Great Pyramid Largest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu Covers 13 acres 481 feet high Consists of over 2 million limestone blocks Historians are still not sure exactly how the pyramids were built.

Assignment Label the internal diagram of the Great Pyramid