Chapter 2 Ancient Egypt

Chapter 2

Ancient Egypt

Question 1 What led to the fall of the Old Kingdom or the fall of the Age of Pyramids?

Around 2300 BCE, the pharaohs lost control of Egypt as nobles battled one another for power. 200 years of confusion followed. A new dynasty of pharaohs came to power.

Narmer or Menes

Around 3100 BCE the two large kingdoms became one under the rule of the king Narmer also known as Menes. He had been king of Upper Egypt and moved his army north to Lower Egypt and took control. He ruled at the end of the pre-dynastic period and the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period.

Question 2 What happened to the Kushites?

Axum from present-day Ethiopia conquered them.

Question 2 Why did the New Kingdom decline and fall?

Egypt did not have iron ore meaning they could not make strong enough weapons to conquer their enemies. Later pharaohs had trouble controlling the areas outside of Egypt. By 1150 BCE Egypt lost their empire and only controlled the land around the Nile River delta.

Question 1 How did the geography of Egypt differ from the geography of Mesopotamia?

Egypt is on the continent of Africa and Mesopotamia is on the continent of Asia. The Egyptians had more natural barriers to protect them. Also the flooding of the Nile was more predictable and made farming much easier for the Egyptians whereas the flooding of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers was unpredictable.

Question 1 What was the result of Amenhotep IV or Akhenaton not focusing on his duties as pharaoh?

Egypt lost most of its lands in western Asia, greatly shrinking the empire.

Chapter 2 Section 2 & 3

Egypt's Old Kingdom & The Egyptian Empire

Result?

Egyptian civilization was able to grow and prosper.

1 Pharaoh

Egyptian kings called themselves pharaoh. Pharaoh originally meant "great house". The word of the Pharaoh was law, and it had to be followed without question. His subjects thought their pharaoh was a god on earth who controlled Egypt's welfare.

Question 1 How did temples differ from today's places of worship?

Egyptians did not hold regular services at temples they prayed at home. Priests and priestesses performed daily rituals washing statues of the deities and bringing them food. Temples also served as banks. They stored gold jewelry, sweet-smelling oils, and finely woven cloth in the temples.

Result?

Egyptians had more goods to use and trade. The Egyptians traded with the Mesopotamians and maybe learned the idea of writing from them and learned about government from them.

Question 1 What did the Eqyptians grow?

Flax, wheat, barley, beans and lentils were easy to grow along the fertile Nile River. Papyrus, a reed plant, grew along the shores of the Nile.

Chapter 2 Section 2

Focus: Religion in Ancient Egypt

Chapter 2 Section 4

Focus: The Civilization of Kush

Chapter 2 Section 1

Focus: The Rise of Government in Egypt

Question 1 Why did Narmer have his capital city, Memphis, built on the border of Upper and Lower Egypt?

He had the capital city, Memphis, built on the border of these two former kingdoms to symbolize their unity as one kingdom.

Social Hierarchy from highest to lowest

Highest: Pharaoh; following were Priest and Nobles; then Traders, artisans, shopkeepers, and scribes; following them were farmers and herders; lastly unskilled workers. Slaves were slaves and had no status. (Look at the pyramid example of the classes on page 45 in the Journey Across Time Tech book.)

Question 1 Why is King Tut so famous?

His tomb was found intact by archaeologist, Howard Carter, in CE 1922. The tomb contained the king's mummy and incredible treasures. Most royal tombs in Egypt were looted by robbers long ago, which made the discovery of King Tutankhamen so remarkable.

Three Main Time Periods

Historians have grouped ancient Egypt's dynasties into three groups.

Chapter 2 Section 2

Irrigation

Chapter 2 Section 1

Job Specialization Eqypt

The Middle Kingdom also known as the Golden Age: information and a ruler's name to know:

Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom and ruled for 51 years. The capital city of Memphis was moved south to Thebes. In Thebes they restored order and stability, which brought in the new period called the Middle Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom added Nubia present-day Sudan, and Syria under their rule.

Question 1 Why did Meroe become the new capital of Kush?

Meroe's location gave them access to the Nile River for trade and transportation. Meroe became a center of trade and a center for making iron. The rocky desert east of Meroe contained rich deposits of iron ore.

The New Kingdom information and rulers names to know:

Most important rulers to know who reigned during the New Kingdom: Prince Ahmose, Queen Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep IV or Akhenaton and his wife Queen Nefertiti, Tutankhamen or King Tut, and Ramses II The Hyksos ruled Egypt for 150 years.

The Old Kingdom also called the Age of Pyramids information and rulers names to know:

Narmer or Menes, and King Khufu. This is the time period when the pyramids were being built. The capital city was Memphis in the Old Kingdom. King Narmer or Menes c. 3150 BCE united Upper and Lower Egypt into one unified dynasty. He is considered the first pharaoh of Egypt. King Khufu is famous because the Egyptians built the largest and grandest of the pyramids known as "The Great Pyramid" for him c. 2540 BCE. The Great Pyramid is about 10 miles from Cairo, Egypt. This pyramid covers the size of 9 football fields, and contains more than 2 million stone blocks. Each block weighs an average of 2.5 tons. The height of the Grand Pyramid is almost 500 feet.

Question 3 Did the natural barriers of Egypt totally isolate the Egyptians?

No, the Egyptians used the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea to trade with people outside of Egypt. Within Egypt the Egyptians traveled on the Nile River to trade with their fellow Egyptians.

Question 1 What did Queen Hatshepsut do with some of the wealth accumulated, through trade, during the New Kingdom?

She had a great temple and tomb built in the limestone cliffs of the Valley of Kings.

2 kingdoms

Strong village chiefs united groups of villages and formed kingdoms.

Question 2 What were the natural barriers that protected the ancient Egyptians?

The Delta in the north, the Nile's cataracts to the south, the deserts to the west and east of them were the natural barriers that protected them and they rarely faced threats.

Question 4 How did the Egyptians and Mesopotamians differ in their relationship towards each other?

The Egyptians had friendly contact with one another, unlike the hostile relations between the Mesopotamian city-states.

Question 3 What did the Eqyptians make out of papyrus

The Egyptians made paper, rope, and matting sandals, river rafts, and eventually paper.

Question 4 Who were the Hyksos?

The Hyksos were a group people from western Asia, a mix of Semitic-Asiatic people, who immigrated into Egypt's delta region.

n 5 How were the Hyksos able to conquer the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt?

The Hyksos were mighty warriors and had better weapons than the Egyptians. They used horse-drawn chariots and weapons made out of bronze and iron. The Egyptians fought on foot and had weapons made out of copper and stone. They could not compete with the invaders' might and better technology.

By 850 BCE the independent kingdom of Kush was established.

The Kushite kings ruled from the city of Napata. The location of Kush was where trade caravans crossed the river. Kush became very wealthy due to trade.

Egypt has four geographic regions

The Nile and its Delta or mouth of the river, the Western Desert, the Eastern Desert, and the Sinai Peninsula.

Question 5 What is the earliest form of egyptian writing?

The earliest form of Egyptian writing was hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics was made up of hundreds of picture symbols. Some symbols stood for objects like boat, and ideas like government. Some of the symbols stood for sounds, just like the letters in our alphabet.

Question 7 Whom did the scribes work for?

The scribes worked for rulers, priests, and traders.

Question 2 Where is the evidence that Narmer existed?

There is some direct evidence from seal impressions found in the Abydos tombs (300 miles south of Cairo on the west side of the Nile River, and it belonged to the Upper Kingdom) with an ancient list of kings and Narmer is recorded as the first Pharaoh. Freidman (1995) Also, a inscribed stone vessel found in the Step Pyramid of Djoser dates to the reign of Narmer.

Question 4 Why did the Egyptians make paper?

They came up with a writing system to record governmental information, trade transactions and religious beliefs.

Question 1 What did the Middle Kingdom demand from their conquered people?

They demanded "tribute" or forced payments to enrich the Pharaoh and the kingdom. During the Middle Kingdom the pharaohs added more waterways and dams. They increased the amount of land being farmed. They built a canal between the Nile River and the Red Sea.

Question 2 What was the result of successful farming in ancient Egypt?

They had enough food to feed themselves and their animals. In time they would be able to provide areas even outside of Egypt with food.

Question 1 What technology did the Egyptians invent to help them use the water of the Nile?

They invented basins, dikes, and canals to help them use the water from the Nile.

Question 6What were the Egyptian men called who could write?

They were called scribes.

Question 3 What led to the fall of the Middle Kingdom?

This opening of trade eventually led to the downfall of the Middle Kingdom, induced by an invasion from the Hyksos.

2 Deity

a god or goddess

9 Papyrus

an important crop that grows along the Nile River used to make paper, rope, matting sandals, river rafts and eventually paper.

Savannas or grasslands

are where the cattle of Kush grazed.

Tutankhamen or King Tut

became ruler after the death of Amenhotep IV as he was his son-in-law and next in line to rule. He brought back the old religion of many gods. He ruled for 9 years

8 Nile River and its Delta

become very rich in nutrients from the hills in Ethiopia.

3 two large kingdoms

by 4000 BCE Eqypt had two main kingdoms. Lower Eqypt, which was in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, which was located in the South along the Nile River. 23. Narmer or Menes:

A queen named Hatshepsut

came to power in Egypt around 1473 BCE. Her focus was trade to built up the Egyptian economy not conquest. Her reign was from 1473 BCE to 1458 BCE.

Amenhotep IV or Akhenaton with the help of his wife Nefertiti

came to the throne about 1370 BCE. He is most famous for changing the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians were polytheistic and Amenhotep introduced a new religion based on the belief there was only one god, called Aton. He even changed his name to Akhenaton, which means "spirit of Aton". He angered many Egyptians. When the priests refused to accept this new god he removed many from their jobs and took their lands, and closed temples. He focused so much on religion that he allowed the Hittites from present-day Turkey to control the lands Egypt had in Asia Minor.

4 Canals

farmers built canals to carry water from the basins to the fields beyond the river.

1 village chiefs

first rulers in Eqypt

2 Deity/deities

god or gods and goddesses. Egyptians believed their pharaohs were descended from the god Re. Re was the sun god.

12 Savannas

grasslands south of Egypt

10 Sahara

if one omits Antarctica the Sahara desert is the largest in the world. The Egyptians called their land Kemet, the Black Land, because of the silt left after the Nile spilled its banks.

3 Upper Egypt

in ancient Egypt it was South of Lower Egypt next to the Nile River. (The Nile River starts in the south in Uganda and flows northward then it empties into the Mediterranean at its delta.)

2 Lower Egypt

in ancient Egypt many people lived here. (The Nile Delta region.)

7 Floods

in the spring, heavy tropical rains in Ethiopia flood the Nile in the north.

5 The Book of the Dead

is one of the most important manuscripts written in ancient Egypt. It was a collection of spells and prayers

The Old Kingdom also called the Age of Pyramids:

is the first of the dynastic groups.

The Middle Kingdom also known as the Golden Age of peace, prosperity, and advances in the arts and architecture

is the second dynastic group.

5 White Nile

is the southernmost portion of the Nile River starting in Uganda on the northern shore of Lake Victoria.

The New Kingdom

is the third of the dynastic periods, which acquired new territory and reached the height of its power.

1 Nile River

it is the most important feature of Egypt's geography and played a major role in the development of Egypt's civilization. It is the longest river in the world.

6 Blue Nile

it starts in Sudan and joins the White Nile and both become together the Nile River.

An Egyptian prince named Ahmose

led an uprising that drove the Hyksos out of Egypt around 1550 BCE. This was the beginning of the New Kingdom. From c. 1550 BCE to 1080 BCE Egypt became even richer and more powerful. Most pharaohs during the New Kingdom made "empire building" a priority.

Question 2 Now that the capital city was in Thebes, how did the tombs for the pharaohs differ from the tombs built for the pharaohs in the Old Kingdom? (New form of architecture)

ombs in the Middle Kingdom were cut into cliffs west of the Nile River. This area is known as the Valley of the Kings, whereas the tombs for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom were pyramids built out of very heavy stones. Art during the Middle Kingdom done by painters on the walls of tombs and temples showed colorful scenes of the deities and daily life. Sculptors made wall carvings and statutes of pharaohs showing them as ordinary people rather than godlike figures. The Middle Kingdom can be noted for the expansion of trade outside of the kingdom that occurred during this time.

Ramses II

reigned over the New Kingdom for 66 years. He ruled from 1279 BCE to 1213 BCE. He regained the lands in western Asia lost to Amenhotep IV. He launched building projects constructing several new major temples. The most magnificent temple was built at Karnack at Thebes. This temple has a huge columned hall decorated with colorful paintings.

4 Silt

rich soil deposited by the river, in this case, the Nile River from heavy tropical rains in Ethiopia.

3 dynasty

s a line of rulers from one family. The ruling power passed from father to son to grandson. Over time Egypt would be ruled by 31 dynasties, which lasted for about 2,800 years.

9 Horus

son of Isis and Osiris was the god of vengeance, sky, protection and war.

6 a collection of spells and prayers

that Egyptians studied to obtain life after death.

Kush

took over Egypt by 728 BCE. They lost control of Egypt when the Assyrians had that secret of making iron weapons in the 600's BCE.

Thutmose III

was Hatshepsut's stepson and took over the dynasty after her death. Under his rule Egypt controlled more territory than it ever had.

3 Shadoof

was an invention of a bucket and pole used to get water from the Nile River to the basins.

Kush a religion in Nubia

was in a region called Nubia. Nubia then changed its name to Kush. Kush was located south of Egypt in the present-day Sudan. Evidence suggests that cattle herders arrived there around 2000 BCE.

1 Polytheism

was practiced in ancient Egypt.

4 memphis

was the capital city under the rule of Narmer. Memphis was built on the border of the two kingdoms

11 ]Anubis

was the god of mummification.

10 Hapi

was the goddess who ruled the Nile River.

8 Isis

was the goddess who ruled the underworld with her husband Osiris, and was also seen as a loyal wife and mother.

7 Re

was the son god and the main Egyptian god, who was responsible for good harvests.

4 Mummification

was the wrapping of the embalmed body in long strips of cloth. The pharaoh would then be placed in several wooden coffins, each fitting into the other. Then the pharaoh would be placed in his tomb. (Old Kingdom/pyramids, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom/tombs in the sides of cliffs.)

1 Basins

were bowl-shaped holes in the earth to trap water.

2 Dikes or earthen banks

were built to support the basin walls

1 Artisians

were people who did not have to work on the farm. They worked with their hands making cloth, pottery, carved statues, or shaped copper into weapons and tools. The artisans made up Egypt's middle class, which included people who ran businesses or produced goods.

3 Pharaohs

were seen as gods and had tombs built to prepare them for the after life

11 Cataract

wild rapids formed by boulders and narrow cliffs