Geography of Egypt

What can we learn from this image?

What can we learn from this image? Where do you think the majority of the people lived? Describe what the Green and Tan areas of the map? How could the location of Egypt help it grow into a great civilization?

Ancient Egyptian Song “Hail O Nile, who comes from the earth, who comes to give life to the people of Egypt”

What are the benefits of living near a river? Water to drink Water for farming Washing Transportation Fishing Hunting animals Mud for building

The Nile Longest river in the world 4145 miles Flows to the north from the Ethiopian highlands high lands to the Mediterranean sea. Begins as two separate rivers-Blue and White Nile

The Nile Lower Egypt-North Egypt near the delta. North of Memphis Upper Egypt-South of Memphis

The Delta A delta is the land at the mouth of a river that is formed by mud and sand as it is deposited by a large river.

Nile Delta from Space

Herodotus “Gifts of The Nile” About 2,500 years ago, Herodotus, a Greek visitor to ancient Egypt called Egypt the “Gifts of The Nile”. The gifts of the Nile were very important to the Egyptians. What are the Gifts?

Herodotus Gifts of the Nile #1-Silt Black Soil/Silt was left by the floods. >The Silt recharged the soil > Allowed Farmers to grow a surplus of crops.

Herodotus Gifts of the Nile #2-Papyrus Papyrus- Large reed that grew wild along the river. They used it to make mats, boats, baskets, ropes, sandals… Strips glued together in sheets made paper. Long sheet is a scroll.

Kemet KMT The Egyptians called their land Kemet or the Black Land. They called it Kemet because of the rich black farm land (silt).

Irrigation Each year the river would flood. Heavy rains and melting snow from central Africa caused the floods Nile floods were more gentle and dependable compared to Mesopotamia.

Irrigation To take advantage of the annual flooding of the Nile, the people built irrigation channels to carry water into fields

Shaduff- Irrigation tool

Natural Boundaries The Sahara Desert (Eastern and Western Deserts) are located next to the Nile. The Mediterranean Sea to the North Red Sea to the East.

Natural Boundaries 6 Cataracts throughout the Nile. Cataracts are rapids, waterfalls. Made transportation difficult in some areas. The boundaries made Egypt less prone to invasion.

Pharaohs and Kings of Ancient Egypt

Monarchy Government/rule by one. They ruled with divine power (power from god) The Pharaoh was treated as a living god The kingdom depended on a strong leader. Had absolute power. Pharaoh (King)= Great House

Pharaoh The Pharaoh acted like and was treated as a living god. Considered the Pharaoh to be the son of Ra the Sun God. Egyptians serviced and honored the Pharaoh in his after life. They believed that they passed to another type of world and still had power over them.

Regent- Someone who rules for a child until child is old enough to rule. Dynasty- A series of rulers from the same family

King Menes Was King of Upper Egypt United Upper and Lower Egypt Created the first empire in Egypt He is known for combining the two crowns White crown for Upper Egypt, red crown for Lower Egypt

King Khufu Known for creating the largest pyramid at Giza Ruled during 4th Dynasty Also known as Cheops

Queen Hatshepsut Served as a Regent for her young son Thutmose III Declared herself pharaoh in 1503 B.C. angering her son, the rightful heir to the Kingdom Created a time of peace and economic success. “Disappeared” when Thutmose III led a revolt to gain power

Thutmose III Destroyed as much evidence as possible of his stepmother to kill her in the afterlife Known as great military leader “Napoleon of Ancient Egypt” Treated defeated people with mercy In his 54 years of rule, he captured over 350 cities Buried in the Valley of the Kings

Amenhotep IV/ Akhenaten Changed Ancient Egyptian Religion to monotheism Took the name Akhenaten, which means servant to Aten Aten, god and disk of the sun Married to Nefertiti Believed to be the father of Tutankhamun Often considered the heretic king

Tutankhamun Known as the “Boy King” Married one of his half sisters Helped to restore the Ancient Egyptian belief in polytheism Took over the throne when he was only 9 Died around the age of 19 due to a head injury Buried in the Valley of the Kings

Ramesses II Known as Ramesses the Great Had 200 wives, 96 sons and 60 daughters Believed to have lived for 96 years He was originally buried in the Valley of the Kings, but was moved to avoid looting

Cleopatra Cleopatra was the last pharaoh of Egypt. Rome took control of Egypt following her death in 30 B.C.

Valley of the Kings Used from the 18th Dynasty to 20th Dynasty Common burial ground for kings/ pharaohs Often robbed by common thieves Recent discoveries have occur in KV 5, this is Ramesses II tomb of his sons

Power and God in Egypt

Pyramids Egyptians would build large Pyramids as burial chambers for the dead Pharaohs. -One of the seven wonders of the world -Taller than the Empire state building

The Great Sphinx is part of the funerary complex of the Egyptian pharaoh, Khafre, who reigned between 2558 and 2532 B.C. more than 4,000 years ago.

Stones from the Great Pyramid in Giza

The First Pyramid was the Step pyramid

The Pharaoh’s Mummy The body was mummified in preparation for the next world. The body was placed in a large tomb, with all his worldly possessions gold, jewels, perfumes, furniture.

Mummy Vocabulary Natron- a natural salt used to dry the body. 4000 square feet of linen was used to wrap the mummy. Canopic Jars- All the vital organs were stored in 4 containers carved to represent 4 gods.

The Ba and Ka Ba- The personality of the deceased. The Ba could leave the body and travel to the heavens. The ba needed to be able to recognize its body, Ka- Invisible twin of the deceased. The soul. Needed food and water to live. Did not leave the tomb.

Book of the Dead What are they doing in the document above?

The Book of the Dead The book of the dead was a description of the ancient Egyptian afterlife and a collection of hymns, spells, and instructions to allow the deceased to pass into the afterlife. The book of the dead was most commonly written on a papyrus scroll and placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased

Entering the afterlife Thoth would weigh the heart (ka) against the feather (maat). Maat- Feather of truth, justice If the person had a good life (light hearted) they could enter the heavens and reside in the realm of Osiris. Heavy hearted (bad deeds) the monster god Ammut would swallow the heart and the Ka could not enter the heavens. Ankh-eternal life

Osiris Anubis- God of mummification Osiris- God of the Dead Lord of the Underworld Thoth- The god of writing and knowledge Ammut

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone

Hieroglyphics Hieroglyphics-Picture writing that was inscribed on pyramid tomb walls, temples, monuments, and papyrus. Papyrus-Egyptian paper made from the inside of a papyrus plant.

Hieroglyphics At first, each hieroglyphic stood for a whole word or meaning. As writing advanced, most hieroglyphics could be used to stand for sounds to spell out words.

Hieroglyphics Scribes- Spent several years going to a special school to learn the complicated system. Scribes wrote down messages, names, and other important information in hieroglyphics. Scribes eliminated vowels when writing to make it quicker and easier. There are over 600 different hieroglyphic symbols.

Cartouche Cartouche-A twisted double loop of rope tied at one end. Names of pharaohs and important leaders were written inside a cartouche.

Rosetta Stone In 1799, Napoleon's troops found a black stone in Rosetta, Egypt. The Rosetta stone had a document inscribed in Greek, Hieroglyphic and Demotic.

Rosetta Stone Jean Francois Champollion- figured out the complicated translation in 1820. Champollion used the Greek letters on the stone to figure out the meanings of the hieroglyphics. Champollion’s results unlocked many ancient mysteries!