Ancient Egypt Alexander the Great spread Greek thought to many cultures and countries that he took over. Egypt was one of them.

Egypt is situated in the northeast corner of Africa. Egypt already existed for thousands of years before Alexander the Great came. They taught wild horses how to be used for work and warfare, and they were one of the first cultures to learn how to use irrigation from the River to create a fertile land that could provide food for many people and cultures.

Important!!!!! The Nile River flows North. This means the river flows up, through Egypt and out to the Mediterranean Sea. The current is gentle, and easy to navigate. On both sides of Egypt, they were surrounded by barren, severely hot desert. Egypt is part of Africa. This part of Africa is a desert where very little lives. A large river called the River Nile flows through the country into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile enters Egypt from the Sudan (lower Africa, pure desert) and flows north for about 960 miles out to the sea.

Think About It…… What is the name of the River that runs through Egypt? Answer: The Nile Does it run North or South? Answer: North What sea does it run into? Answer: The Mediterranean Sea What type of River is it? Fast or gentle? Answ: Gentle

The Ancient Egyptians lived along the banks of the river Nile in Egypt The Ancient Egyptians lived along the banks of the river Nile in Egypt. Farmers first settled in Egypt along the River Nile around 5000 B.C. Today, 95 % of Egypt's population still live in the Nile valley (the area next to the river).

Egypt is mainly made up of hot deserts and receives little rainfall Egypt is mainly made up of hot deserts and receives little rainfall. Without the River Nile, the area would be entirely desert. All of Egypt depended on the Nile for water, food and transportation. The Nile also provided the ancient Egyptians with fertile land which helped them to grow their crops and raise their animals. This, they called the “Gift of the Nile”. Before modern dams were built the river Nile would flood each year coating the land on either side of the river with thick back mud. This mud was ideal for growing crops on.

Think About It…… Egypt is made of up deserts with little rain fall. True or False? Answer: True What does the “Gift of the Nile” mean? Answer: The Nile River provided transportation, food, water, and the ability to farm. It empowered Egypt to communicate with other countries and trade. This made Egypt a good place to live. The River gave the “gift of life” to the Egyptians.

The people in Ancient Egypt divided Egypt into two areas. The 'red land' was the deserts protecting Egypt on two sides. These deserts separated ancient Egypt from neighboring countries and invading armies. The black land was the fertile land (near the Nile River) where the ancient Egyptians grew their crops.

Two separate kingdoms (ruled by different kings) developed along the Nile River. The kingdom in Upper Egypt was known as the white crown and the kingdom in Lower Egypt was called the red crown. In about 3200 B. C. the pharaoh of the north conquered the south and Egypt became united. The pharaoh's name was King Narmer or Menes. Menes built a new capital city called Memphis. In the Greek language the word Memphis meant "Balance of the Two Lands."

Upper Egypt

Lower Egypt

King Narmer Almost eight thousand years ago, Egypt was divided into a number of provinces fighting each other one day and acting as close allies the next day. Very much like the early Greek City-States. This prevailed until the state achieved stability as two independent Kingdoms. One in Lower Egypt and the other in upper Egypt. There were many attempts to unite the two Kingdoms. Yet, they all failed. Until King Narmer succeeded in unifying them. This created a different Egypt in 3100BC. It also began a new era: pharaonic dynasty .

Balance of Two Lands

Think About It…… Was lower Egypt next to the Mediterranean Sea? Answer: True When upper and lower Egypt went to war, and became ONE nation, what city was formed which meant “balance of the two lands”? Answer: Memphis Why do you think the GREEK word for the“balance of the two lands” was used. Why Greek? Why use the Greek word Memphis? Who would have taught Egyptians the Greek language? Answer: Alexander the Great had spread the Greek language to ancient Egypt.

Egyptian Military With the unification of Upper& Lower Egypt, it was necessary to establish a strong army whose headquarter was the city of Menf. Egypt was exposed to many raids by  the nomads on its eastern borders. This urged King Zosar to establish an army with its own military traditions and its own distinct banners. This army was regarded as the first regular army in history. Later on, King Zosar (his statue is above) organized Egypt into districts where he set up companies.

Egyptian Fleets Narmar also established a substantial naval fleet of war ships that won many victories.

Egyptian Warfare The army was divided into two sections: spear holders and archery soldiers. The weapons used at that time were bows, arrows, spears, swords, daggers, axes and shields. Moreover, horns were used for calling the soldiers to assemble.

Egyptian Writing The Egyptian writing called hieroglyphics used pictures to represent different objects, actions, sound or ideas. There were more than 700 hieroglyphs. Some pictures stood for whole words. The Egyptians did not write vowels and did not use any punctuation.

Explore Ancient Egypt The CLOSE the window and come back to the Click on this link, and you can explore more about Egypt: The CLOSE the window and come back to the slide show!! http://www.hyperstaffs.info/work/history/nixon/versions/flashindex.html

Think About It……. Here is a fun link with lots of pictures from National Geographic for kids. Go to this link, and click on the information, AND click on the photos. It is fun, not homework…..so smile!!!! http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/egypt/