1. Honors World Studies Egypt Mrs. Steinke

2. Egypt  At the time that the Sumerian civilization was developing along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Egyptian civilization arose along the banks of the Nile in Northeastern Africa.

3. Egypt  Every July the river would flood, replenishing farmland along its banks with moisture and rich silt. In addition to fertile land, the river provided a watery highway for travel and trade. It was also a source of fish. Without the river, the land would be as barren as the deserts that surrounded it.

4. Egypt  At first, the villages along the Nile were divided into two countries: Upper Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. In about 3100 B.C. the ruler of Upper Egypt conquered lower Egypt and so created one realm.

5. Egypt  Unlike the Mesopotamian kings, who were powerful but human figures, the pharaohs were looked upon as gods. At no time was their godlike power more apparent than in the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.). During this period, many pharaohs had peasants and slaves built them giant pyramids.

6. Egypt  These large structures, some of them made of millions of stones, housed the pharaoh's body household furniture, and fortune after his death.

7. Egypt  Not only was the pyramid a symbol of the afterlife, it was also an image of Egyptian society. At the top, of course, was the pharaoh.

8. Egypt  Beneath him was the priests, who were important as the intermediaries between society and the Egyptian gods. It was the priests who developed the system of writing called hieroglyphics.

9. Egypt  Like the Sumerian language, invented about the same time (3100 B.C.), hieroglyphics developed from a system based on pictures to one in which symbols could also represent sounds.

10. Egypt  These symbols were written on papyrus, a paper like writing material made from reeds that grew by the Nile.

11. Egypt  The nobles were on the same level as the priests in society’s pyramid. Usually they help important administrative positions in the palace. They lived on luxurious estates, and their children could study at schools attached to various temples.

12. Egypt  Noble women enjoyed many privileges, such as the right to testify in court and the right to buy and sell property.

13. Egypt  Farther down in the social pyramid, and more numerous, were the people of the middle class. These were the artisans, merchants, and physicians who served the ruling class.

14. Egypt  Lowest and most numerous were the peasants and slaves. Living in low, mud-brick shelters, peasants farmed their small holdings and turned over much of their crops to the pharaoh. The also had to serve on the pharaoh's construction gangs.

15. Egypt  Religion was a key aspect of ancient Egyptian culture. Many of the gods the Egyptians worshiped were associated with nature. Amon-re, the sun god, was the chief deity.

16. Egypt  Also important was Osiris, the god of the Nile, whose death and rebirth were linked with the rise and fall of that river. Osiris was the god of the underworld as well and had the power of judging the dead. Egyptians of every class were very concerned about life after death.

17. Egypt  Like Egypt itself, Egyptian science was also a gift from the Nile. Since the yearly flooding of the river washed away boundary markers, farmers had to learn methods of surveying. This, in turn, led to the development of geometry.

18. Egypt  The need to predict the Nile’s floods resulted in the creation of a 12 month, 365 day calendar.

19. Egypt  Egyptian literature varied with the mood of the times. In the Old Kingdom, when the power of the pharaoh was unquestioned, literature was characterized by sacred hymns as cold and formal as the pyramids themselves.

20. Egypt  As society became less rigidly structured, literature began to reflect personal feelings. The love poetry that came out of the ancient Egyptian culture still speaks to us over thousands of years.