Pyramids on the Nile Chapter 2 section 2

First…a review What are the two rivers of Mesopotamia? Tigris and Euphrates Was flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates good or bad? Good Who was the leader of cities during peaceful times priest

More review Who was at the top of the Sumerian social pyramid? Priests and kings Who was at the bottom? slaves What was Hammurabi’s legacy? code of laws

Geography of Egypt West of the Fertile Crescent in Africa, another river makes its way to sea- the Nile in Egypt Nile flows northward for over 4,100 miles- longest in the world That’s the same distance from Chicago Illinois to Paris France!

Nile River brings its water to Egypt from distant mountains and plateaus Settlements sprung up on narrow strip of land made fertile by the river Change from fertile soil to desert was so abrupt that a person could stand with one foot on each

Nile River Every July, rains and melting snow from the mountains cause the Nile to rise and spill over its banks Left behind is a rich deposit of fertile black mud Before it could dry, peasants would prepare fields for planting Cycle repeated itself every year: flood, plant, harvest; flood, plant, harvest

Nile River Abundance brought by the Nile was so great, Egyptians worshiped it as a god Greek historian remarked Egypt was “the gift of the Nile”

Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt Ancient Egyptians knew only the lower part of the Nile- the last 750 miles before it empties north into Mediterranean Sea Didn’t pass point called cataract- boulders turning river to rapids Between the First Cataract and Mediterranean lay 2 different regions: Upper and Lower Egypt

HUH??? Terms Upper and Lower Egypt can seem confusing because of the location of these regions Upper and lower refer to land elevation Region of Upper Egypt was at a high elevation Lower Egypt was at a low elevation closer to Mediterranean Sea

Nile River River provided transportation between Upper and Lower Egypt Helped unify Egypt's villages an promote trade Nile was as regular as clockwork If floodwaters were few feet lower than usual, amount of silt, crops, and food was reduced If waters were higher, water could spread beyond fields to the mud-brick villages nearby and destroy homes

Deserts on both sides of the Nile acted as natural barriers between Egypt and other lands By 3200 B.C. Egyptians coming into contact and trading with people of Mesopotamia Searched for gold, ivory, cattle and granite for massive temples and tombs

Moving goods and ideas Egyptians moved freely from region to region searching for better land for farming Egypt blended cultures of Nile Valley people’s and became a land of cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity throughout its 3,000 year history

Egypt unites into a Kingdom By 3200 B.C. Upper and Lower Egypt ruled by 2 different rulers King of Lower Egypt wore a red crown and king of Upper Egypt, a white crown 3100 B.C. Menes, King of upper Egypt united all of Egypt, and created a double crown

Menes Established capital, Memphis, place where Upper and Lower Egypt meet Establish 1 st Egyptian dynasty

Pharaohs To Egyptians, Kings were gods and became known as pharaohs Pharaoh stood at center of religion, government, and army Theocracy- ruler is a divine figure Believed pharaoh responsible for kingdom’s well being, sun rising, the Nile to flood and crops to grow

Pyramids Egyptians believed King ruled after his death and tombs were bigger than palaces For Kings of the Old Kingdom, rested in a structure called a pyramid

The Pyramids Used large supply of granite and limestone For the Pyramid of Giza, each block weighed at least 2 ½ tons, some weighed 15 Stacked more than 2 million blocks with precision 481 ft

Do you know how heavy that is? A car- 1 ton whaleshark-15 tons

Peasants forced to build pyramids when the Nile was in flood and couldn’t farm Government provided food and housing

Egyptian Culture Egyptians were polytheistic Most important gods, Ra, the sun god and Horus, the god of light Important goddess, Isis represented ideal mother and wife

Egyptians believed in afterlife Preserved a dead body by mummification- embalming and drying the corpse to prevent from decaying Placed the mummy in a tomb filled with items the dead may need in after life Book, Book of the Dead provided guidance for the afterlife

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Egyptian Society Pyramid King, queen, royal family Upper class (wealthy landowners, priests, gov’t officials) Middle class (merchants, artisans) Lower class (large population, peasants, workers)

Women in Egypt Had many rights of man Could propose marriage or seek divorce Wore make-up (so did men) Kohl- powdered minerals mixed with water applied to eyes

Hieroglyphics Flexible writing system Earliest form of hieroglyphics picture stood for an idea Changed system to also stand for sounds Could be used like letters of the alphabet Wrote on papyrus reeds that grew

Science and technology Developed written numbers for counting, adding, subtracting Developed a calendar to keep track of floods based on a star appearing each year before the floods Calendar was based on 365 days, broke it into 12 months of 30 days So accurate, short of the solar year by 6 hours

Chariot Riders Invade Egypt Power of pharaohs decline 2180 B.C B.C. Asian nomads swept into Egypt in horse-drawn chariots by people called Hyksos “rulers of the uplands” Egypt will rise again, and will be known as the New Kingdom