Ancient Egypt

Geography of Ancient Egypt Geography greatly influenced Ancient Egypt.

Geography of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was surrounded by desert regions.

Geography of Ancient Egypt Positive: The deserts protected Egypt from invasion. Negative: Since the desert regions were uninhabitable, the deserts limited where people could settle.

Geography of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt formed along the Nile River in northern Africa.

The Floods of the Nile Each year, the Nile would flood. These floods provided Egypt with water and rich soil essential for farming.

The Floods of the Nile The Egyptians channeled flood water and stored the water for the dry season.

The Floods of the Nile The Nile River was the life source of Ancient Egypt. Without the Nile, Egypt would be swallowed up by the surrounding desert.

Egypt was cut off from the rest of Africa by churning rapids called a cataract Cataracts made it impossible to travel south into the interior of Egypt

Egypt was divided into two very different regions Upper Egypt Lower Egypt

Upper Egypt The river area in the south was called Upper Egypt because it had a higher elevation.

Lower Egypt To the north the Delta region is called Lower Egypt. Delta—A broad, marshy, triangular area of land formed by the deposits of silt at the mouth of the river

The delta begins about 100 miles before the river enters the Mediterranean.

Uniting the Land The Nile River served as a highway, linking Upper and Lower Egypt. Under the rule of Narmer, about 3000 B.C., Egypt became the worlds first unified state.

The Old Kingdom 2700 B.C.-2200 B.C. During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian rulers called pharaohs organized a strong, centralized state. Egyptians believed the pharaoh was a god and gave him complete control.

The Old Kingdom Although the pharaoh was given complete control he appointed a vizier to supervise the business of government. The vizier looked after tax collection, farming and irrigation.

The Old Kingdom The Great Pyramids The pyramids were built as tombs for dead rulers.

The Old Kingdom The pyramids were built without the assistance of iron tools or wheeled vehicles. Workers were forced to pull extremely heavy blocks up ramps on sleds.

The Old Kingdom The pyramids required enormous planning and organization. Farmers took time off from harvesting crops to help build the pyramids.

The Old Kingdom Power struggles, crop failure and the cost of the pyramids caused the Old Kingdom to collapse around 2200 B.C.

The Middle Kingdom 2050 B.C.-1800 B.C. Although the Egypt expanded this time, the Middle Kingdom was a turbulent period.

The Middle Kingdom During this period, the Nile River flooded less frequently. About 1700 B.C. foreign invaders took control throughout much of Egypt.

The New Kingdom 1550 B.C.-1100 B.C. After more than 100 years, Egyptians drove out the foreign invaders and set up the New Kingdom.

The New Kingdom The New Kingdom was a period of conquest. Powerful and ambitious pharaohs created a large empire.

The New Kingdom Many consider Ramses II the last great pharaoh of Egypt. As his death in 1224 B.C., Egyptian power began to slowly decline.

The New Kingdom Around 1100 B.C., Egypt fell to foreign invaders.

Egyptian Religion Egyptians inherited a variety of religious beliefs and practices from their ancestors. Egyptians believed that divine forces ruled the world as well as the afterlife.

Egyptian Religion In Egypt, the chief god was the sun god, Amon-Re.

Egyptian Religion The pharaoh, whom Egyptians viewed as both a ruler and a god, was closely linked to Amon-Re. Only the pharaoh could conduct certain ceremonies for the sun god.

Egyptian Religion Belief in the Afterlife Most Egyptians identified most strongly with Osiris and his wife, Isis.

Egyptian Religion Osiris was god of both the underworld and the Nile. Osiris and Isis promised eternal life after death to the faithful.

Egyptian Religion Sinners would be fed to the Eater of the Dead. Worthy souls enter the Happy Field of Food, where they would live forever in paradise.

Egyptian Religion Egyptians believed that the afterlife would be similar to life on Earth. Therefore, Egyptians buried the dead with everything needed for the afterlife.

Egyptian Religion Mummification Egyptians perfected skills in mummification, to give the soul use of its body for the afterlife. Mummification—preservation of the dead.

Egyptian Religion Although mummification was originally reserved only for rulers and nobles, ordinary Egyptians eventually began to mummify their dead as well.

Egyptian Religion Many pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. Since their tombs were filled with incredible riches, their tombs began targets for theft.

Egyptian Religion In 1922, the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen was discovered. The tomb remained nearly untouched for more than 3,000 years.

Egyptian Religion Tutankhamen is more commonly referred to as “King Tut”. Although “King Tut” was only a minor king, his tomb and its treasures provided a wealth of information about Egyptian civilization.

Egyptian Society Most Egyptians were peasant farmers. In the off-season, peasant farmers worked as laborers, building palaces, temples, and tombs for the pharaoh.

Egyptian Learning The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics, a type of picture writing. Hieroglyphics were used to keep important records.

Egyptians also developed a better writing surface from papyrus reeds that grew in the Nile Delta Egyptians split the reeds into narrow strips, placed them crosswise in two layers, dampened them, and then pressed them, forming paperlike sheets

Egyptian Learning The Rosetta Stone Egyptians forgot the meaning of ancient hieroglyphics until the beginning of the 19th century when a French scholar managed to decipher the Rosetta Stone.

Egyptian Learning The Rosetta Stone had the same message carved in three different languages—hieroglyphics, demotic, and Greek.

Egyptian Learning By comparing the different scripts, scholars were able to determine the meaning of many hieroglyphic symbols. The Rosetta Stone allowed scholars to read the surviving records from ancient Egypt.