1. Chapter 4 : Ancient Egypt and Kush

2. The Gift of the Nile
“The Egyptian Nile surpasses all the rivers of the world in sweetness of taste, in length of course and usefulness. No other river in the world can show such continuous series of towns and villages along its banks.” – Arab traveler

3. Geography and Ancient Egypt
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Geography and Ancient Egypt
The Nile River is the most important thing in Egypt.
The Nile is the longest river in the world.
It stretches about 4000 miles in Africa.
Egyptian civilizations developed along a 750 mile stretch of the Nile in northern Africa.

4. Ancient Egypt included 2 regions.
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Ancient Egypt included 2 regions.
- Upper Egypt – which was the southern
region (Upstream)
- Lower Egypt – which was the northern
region (Downstream)
They were named for the way the river flows, from the south to the north.

5. Cataracts – are strong rapids in the river
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The Nile slices through the desert creating a fertile river valley about 13 miles wide.
Cataracts – are strong rapids in the river
These rapids made traveling the Nile river very difficult in Upper Egypt.

6. The Nile Delta is located in Lower Egypt.
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Delta – a triangle-shaped area of land made of soil deposited by a river.
The Nile Delta is located in Lower Egypt.
2/3 of Egypt’s fertile farmland was located in the Nile Delta.
Flooding was predictable in the Nile, midsummer in Upper Egypt and in the fall in Lower Egypt.

7. Silt from the Nile made the soil ideal for farming.
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Silt from the Nile made the soil ideal for farming.
Silt made the land dark in color and they called their country the black land.
Egyptians saw the flooding as a life-giving miracle.
Without the floods, Egypt would have never been settled.

8. Farmers in Egypt developed an irrigation system, like in Mesopotamia.
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Farmers in Egypt developed an irrigation system, like in Mesopotamia.
They also built a series of canals that could be used in the dry months to direct water from the basins to the fields where it was needed.
The Nile provided the Egyptians with an abundance of food.

9. Chapter 4 Section 1
In addition to stable food supply, the Nile Valley offered a natural barrier that made Egypt hard to invade. Desert to the west, Mediterranean to the north, Red Sea to the east, and cataracts in the south.

10. Around 3100 BC – Menes became the king in Upper Egypt.
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Around 3100 BC – Menes became the king in Upper Egypt.
He wanted to unify Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
His armies invaded and took control of Lower Egypt.
He married a princess from Lower Egypt to strengthen his control over the unified country.

11. This symbolized his leadership over the 2 kingdoms.
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Menes wore both the white crown of Upper Egypt and the red crown of Lower Egypt.
This symbolized his leadership over the 2 kingdoms.
Later he would combine the 2 crowns into a double crown.
Menes was considered Egypt’s 1st pharaoh.
He also founded Egypt’s 1st dynasty.

12. Dynasty – is a series of rulers from the same family.
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Dynasty – is a series of rulers from the same family.
Menes built a new capital city at the southern tip of the Nile Delta and was later named Memphis.
The 1st dynasty lasted about 200 years.
The pharaohs after Menes all wore the double crown symbolizing their rule over both Upper and Lower Egypt.

13. The 1st and 2nd Dynasties ruled Egypt for about 4 centuries.
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The 1st and 2nd Dynasties ruled Egypt for about 4 centuries.
The 3rd Dynasty began the Old Kingdom.
It lasted from about 2700 BC to 2200 BC.
During the 3rd Dynasty they believed that the pharaoh was both a king and a god.
The pharaohs status as a god came with many responsibilities.

14. The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Khufu. (2500 BC)
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People blamed him if crops didn’t grow well or if disease struck the kingdom.
The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Khufu. (2500 BC)
He is best known for the monuments that were built for him.

15. Chapter 4 Section 2
Egyptian Society Pharaohs – king or god Nobles – officials and priest Scribes and Craftspeople – wrote and produced goods Farmers, Servants and Slaves

16. The Egyptians had gods for nearly everything.
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The Egyptians had gods for nearly everything.
Many gods mixed human and animal forms.
Ex. Anubis – the god of the dead, had a human body but the head of a jackal.
Re or Amon-Re – the sun god
Osiris – the god of the underworld
Isis – the goddess of magic
Horus – a sky god and god of the pharaohs

17. ka – a person’s life force
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Much of Egyptian religion focused on the afterlife, or life after death.
ka – a person’s life force
When a person died, his or her ka left the body and became a spirit.
To fulfill the ka’s needs, people filled tombs with objects for the afterlife. These objects included furniture, clothing, tools, jewelry and weapons.

18. The Egyptians believed that the body should be preserved.
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The Egyptians believed that the body should be preserved.
They developed a method called embalming.
Embalming allowed bodies to be preserved for many, many years as mummies.
Mummies were specially treated bodies wrapped in cloth.

19. Embalming was a complex process that took several weeks.
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Embalming was a complex process that took several weeks.
Once embalmed and wrapped the mummy would be placed in a coffin.
Only royalty and the wealthy could afford to have mummies made.

20. Huge monuments were built to bury their rulers in.
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Huge monuments were built to bury their rulers in.
Pyramids – huge royal tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point at the top
The size of the pyramid depended on the greatness of the pharaoh.

21. Chapter 4 Section 2
The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Khufu near the town of Giza

22. Hyksos was a group from Southwest Asia that invaded Egypt.
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Mentuhotep II rule began the Middle Kingdom, a period of order and stability that lasted until about 1750 BC.
Hyksos was a group from Southwest Asia that invaded Egypt.
They ruled Lower Egypt for about 200 years.
They Egyptians did not like being occupied by the Hyksos.

23. Eventually the Egyptians fought back.
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Eventually the Egyptians fought back.
In the mid-1500’s, Ahmose of Thebes drove the Hyksos out of Egypt.
Ahmose rise to power marked the beginning of the New Kingdom.
Conquest of other lands expanded the new empire. Egyptian trade also began to grow.

24. Queen Hatshepsut – increased Egyptian trade
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Queen Hatshepsut – increased Egyptian trade
She expanded trade to the North and the South.
She is also remembered for the many monuments and temples built during her reign

25. Ramses was a great warrior and a great builder.
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Ramses II or Ramses the Great – he had one of the longest reigns of any pharaoh
The Egyptians and the Hittites fought for many years, and would eventually become allies of each other.
Ramses was a great warrior and a great builder.

26. After the Middle Kingdom, Egypt created a professional army.
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After the Middle Kingdom, Egypt created a professional army.
This offered a chance to rise in social status.
Soldiers received land as payment and kept any treasure they captured in war.
Farmers and peasants were at the bottom of the social scale.
They made the majority of the population.

27. Hieroglyphics – Egyptian writing system
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Hieroglyphics – Egyptian writing system
Papyrus – a long-lasting, paper-like material made from reeds.
Rosetta Stone – a stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics
The Book of the Dead – stories of the afterlife
Sphinxes – imaginary creatures with the bodies of a lion and the head of other animals or humans.

28. Obelisk – a tall four-sided pillar that is pointed on the top.
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Obelisk – a tall four-sided pillar that is pointed on the top.
The sanctuary was the most sacred part of a temple.
1922 King Tutankhamen’s tomb was found. The tomb was filled with treasures, including jewelry, robes, a burial mask and ivory statues.

29. Nubia was south of Egypt. The Egyptians gave the Nubians the name Kush
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Nubia was south of Egypt.
The Egyptians gave the Nubians the name Kush
Kush was a lot like Egypt.
Today desert covers much of Nubia, at one time it was a very fertile land.
Kush and Egypt did a lot of trading with each other.

30. Many buildings resembled those in Egypt.
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Many buildings resembled those in Egypt.
They developed their on written language called Meroitic, historians have yet to be able to understand it.
The 1st women to rule Kush was Queen Shanakhdakheto.
One major problem in Kush was that the cattle overgraze the land, they ate all the grass and the wind blew the soil away so no food could be produced.