5.2—History of North Africa

Vocabulary Pharaoh—a king of ancient Egypt Theocracy—a government based on religion Hieroglyphics—a system of writing used by ancient Egyptians using pictures and other symbols Mummy—a body that has been preserved so that it will not rot

Ancient Egypt This semester we have learned about 3 cultural hearths, all in Asia: the Huang He River Valley in China, the Indus River Valley in South Asia, and the Fertile Crescent of Southwest Asia. Today we will be learning about the last of our great cultural hearths: the Nile River in Egypt, located in northwest Africa. The Nile River Valley gave birth to one of the more well-known civilizations of ancient times: the ancient Egyptians.

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian civilization began about 5,000 years ago, around the year 3,000 B.C. the Nile provided an easy place to farm for locals, and—as we have discussed in class—with access to easy farming, people settled in cities, diversified their jobs, and developed a culture and written language. The language of the ancient Egyptians was written in using hieroglyphics, where pictures stood for letters or whole words depending on the situation.

Hieroglyphics

Ancient Egypt The Ancient Egyptians were ruled by people called pharaohs, who were absolute monarchs. More than that, however, they were worshipped as living gods—not merely someone to obey because they were leaders, but someone to obey because they were more than human—they were divine. This belief that the pharaohs were gods made Ancient Egypt’s government a theocracy. What the Pharaoh said was not merely the law, but the words and will of a god.

Divine Pharaohs

Ancient Egypt Part of Egyptian religion involved the creation of mummies. Ancient Egyptians believed that our “body” in the afterlife reflected how our body was in this life, so by preserving our bodies we would have better, stronger ones in the afterlife. The whole of Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on the Nile River—without it, people would not have been able to settle and grow in the arid climate of North Africa. Video!

Vocabulary Berbers—the indigenous people of western North Africa

Arab North Africa Ancient Egyptian civilization came to an end in the 300s B.C. when Alexander the Great conquered it and spread Greek culture there. After the Greeks came the Romans, who made it a part of their empire. However, in the late 600s—after the death of Mohammad—Arab Muslims swept across not just Egypt but all of North Africa, spreading their religion wherever they went, not only to Egyptians but also the Berbers who lived in Northwestern Africa. Today the vast majority of North Africans are Muslims and Arabs, though many North Africans also claim some Berber ancestry.

The Spread of Arabs and Islam

North Africa: a Crossroads of Three Continents North Africa’s location has had a huge effect on its culture in two ways. First, it is located next to two other continents: Europe (just across the Mediterranean Sea) and Asia (connect to Africa by the small, though important, Sinai Peninsula. Second, the vast Sahara desert has caused the cultures of Sub-Saharan Africa (that is, the areas to the south of the desert) to not have much of an effect on North Africa. – Why do you think this might be so?

North Africa: a Crossroads of Three Continents

The Sahara Desert and the African Cultural Divide

Vocabulary Pan-Arabism—the idea that all Arabic- speaking peoples should unite into one country

European Rule Muslims ruled North Africa from the 600s to the 1800s, when Europeans came and conquered the region, turning the land into different colonies. In the 1950s and ‘60s the colonies of North Africa were given independence—some peacefully, like Egypt, while others fought bitter wars for their independence, like Algeria.

North African Colonies

Nasser and Pan-Arabism By dividing North Africa (and Southwest Asia), European countries had also divided the Arab people living in these areas. The first president of independent Egypt, a dictator named Gamal Abdel Nasser, dreamed of uniting all the Arab people of North Africa and Southwest Asia into one large Arabic country. His belief was called pan-Arabism, and was popular amongst Arabs throughout the region. Nasser saw Israel as an enemy of the Arab peoples (think back to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) and tried to conquer Israel in He and Egypt were defeated, however, and Israel used the war as an opportunity to take yet more Palestinian land.

Nasser and Pan-Arabism

Assignment! The “Word Wise” worksheet is due tomorrow at the beginning of class. I will check and return them for you to keep as notes!