1. Chapter 2 First Civilizations of Africa and Asia

2. What is this?

3. Geography of the Nile Valley “Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile” – Herodotus Nile River would flood every Spring Egyptians would look forward to the annual flooding of the Nile because the flood improved farmland by depositing a rich layer of soil called silt Built dikes, reservoirs and irrigation to divert water and store it for dry season.

4. Geography of the Nile Valley Two Regions – Upper Egypt in the south – Lower Egypt in the north (Delta Region) Look at page 23 Menes – King of Upper Egypt – United Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt Worlds first unified state Used the Nile as highway to transport armies and to trade

5. Old Kingdom Pyramid Age Pharaohs – Egyptian Rulers viewed as god Vizier – supervised tax collection, farming and irrigation systems Ptah-hotep wrote “Instructions of Ptah-hotep” where he advised his son on how to avoid errors he had seen in other viziers. Collapsed due to power struggles, crop failures and the cost of pyramids

6. Pyramids Still standing in Giza Tombs for eternity – Used for Pharaoh – Took long to build – Egyptians believed in afterlife Suggested the strength of Egyptian civilization – Planning and Organization – You can not build anything as large or as beautiful as us attitude

7. Middle Kingdom Described as a turbulent period – Nile became unpredictable – Corruption and rebellions were common Hyksos awed Egyptians with new military technology – Egyptians mastered new technology – Hyksos adopted Egyptian customs

8. New Kingdom Large empire was created by powerful rulers – Hateshepsut – Woman who exercised all rights of a pharaoh – Ramses II – most powerful pharaoh Pushed Egyptian Rule Northward as far as Syria Egypt benefited from contact with the Middle East and parts of Africa

9. Egypt and Nubia For centuries, Egypt and Nubia traded and fought against each other Nubia – South of Egypt

10. Section 2 Egyptian Civilization

11. Egyptian Religion Polytheistic Amon-Re – Chief God, Sun God Osiris – God of the Nile Isis – Special Appeal to women Most humans identified easily with Osiris and Isis because they touched humans emotions such as love, jealousy and fear of death.

12. Afterlife Affected all Egyptians Pass feather test in order to win eternal life Book of the Dead – Used to survive dangerous journey of the underworld. – Contained spells, formulas and charms – Placed in tombs Afterlife would be much like life on Earth

13. Mummification Developed to give a soul use of its body in afterlife Brain extracted through nostrils and removed most internal organs. Body filled with spices and wrapped in linnen Took months to complete

14. King Tut (Tutankhamen) Found by Howard Carter Tomb remained untouched for approx 3,000 years – Provides a wealth of information about Egyptian civilization. 18 years old Minor King

15. Egyptian Society Peasant Farmers were the majority in Egypt Egyptian women enjoyed a fairly high level of independence. – Manufactured perfume and textiles, managed farming, served as doctors, priests. – Excluded from government jobs

16. Egyptian Learning Scribes played a central role in Egyptian Society Hieroglyphics, ideograms and demotic were writing systems Papyrus = paper Egyptians used Rosetta Stone – Jean Champollion – Unlocked the meaning of Egyptian Hieroglyphics

17. Hammurabi’s Code Hammurabi – King of Babylon First major collection of laws in history – Wanted everyone to know and follow the laws Criminal Law – Robbery, assault or murder – “An eye for an eye, a leg for a leg, a life for a life”

18. Civil Law – Business contracts, property inheritance, taxes, marriage an divorce – Designed to protect the powerless such as slaves

19. Developed knowledge in fields such as medicine, astronomy and math. Learned about body through mummification Learned astronomy – Calendar was developed – Basis of our modern day calendar Geometry was developed to draw field boundaries.

20. Egyptian Literature Hymns and prayers to god Folk tales were popular – “The Tale of Sinuhe” Shows how Egyptians viewed themselves