"History Is More or Less Bunk." - Henry Ford Rats Multiply So Quickly That in 18 Months, Two Rats Could Have Over One Million Descendants

Nile Civilizations Section 1
“History is more or less bunk.”

- Henry Ford
Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months,

two rats could have over one million
descendants.
The Kingdom of Egypt

Main Idea
Egypt was one of the most stable and long-
lasting civilizations of the ancient world.
Geography and Early Egypt

• The Nile
– Most important physical feature in Egypt
– 4,000 miles long; flows through the Sahara Desert
• Without the Nile’s waters, no one could live there.
Geography of Egypt
• The Nile flooded every year
– Predictable floodwaters with spring rains
– Left rich, black silt
• Narrow band of fertile soil became home of Egyptian
civilization
Geographical Features
Delta Cataracts
• Egypt’s most fertile soil • Nile provided protection
in Nile Delta • Flowed through
• Silt deposits at mouth cataracts to the south
of river • Currents and waterfalls
• Red Land unlivable but made sailing impossible
afforded protection
Two Kingdoms
• First farming villages as early as 5000 BC
• Northern Kingdom, Lower Egypt
– Mild climate; cobra goddess worshipped
• Southern Kingdom, Upper Egypt
– Warmer climate; prayed to a vulture goddess
Unification
• Two kingdoms unified around 3100 BC
• Upper Egypt ruler Menes conquered north
– Founded capital city of Memphis
– Adopted both symbols, the snake and the vulture
• First of 31 dynasties
Wadjet: The Cobra goddess
Nekhbet : The Vulture goddess
Menes
+
Hedjet Deshret
Upper Lower
=
Question:
How did geography affect where the early
Egyptians lived?
Answer(s): They lived in a narrow strip of fertile

land where they could raise crops. It was
surrounded by inhospitable desert, which would
not easily support life.
The Old Kingdom

Many of the institutions for which the Egyptian civilization is known
were created during the period which began around 2650 BC.
The Pyramids Building Pyramids
• Took great planning and skill
• Largest located near Giza • Ordered when kings took the
throne
• Built as tombs for rulers
• Built from the inside out
– Hollow chamber for burial
• Not built by slaves
– Treasures buried with them
– Peasants required to work
– Deadly traps within
one month per year
• Design changed to smooth-
– Professional craftspeople
sided over time
like architects, artists
The Pharaohs
• The head of the government was the king
• Became known as pharaoh (“great house”)
• Had great power because he was believed to be a god
• Egypt a theocracy, a state ruled by religious figures
Egyptian Bureaucracy
• Pharaoh could not rule Egypt alone
• Aided by bureaucracy, many of whom were pharaoh’s relatives
• Most powerful official was the vizier
• Hundreds of lesser officials kept Egypt running smoothly
Question:
What Egyptian institutions were developed
during the Old Kingdom?
Answer(s): a government headed by the

pharaoh, highly structured bureaucracy
The Middle Kingdom

Old Kingdom collapsed around 2100 BC
Warfare, economic strife for almost 200 years
• New dynasty began Middle Kingdom 2055 BC
– Strong leadership brought stability
– Trade with surrounding lands encouraged
• Trade routes not always safe
– Fortresses built along the Nile
– The Hyksos invaded, conquered around 1650 BC
Question:
How did the Middle Kingdom rise and fall?
Answer(s): new dynasty came to power after

almost 200 years of chaos; brought stability and
economic prosperity; Middle Kingdom fell when
Egypt was invaded by the Hyksos, who conquered
Lower Egypt
The New Kingdom

Hyksos ruled almost 100 Securing Egypt
years • Egypt could not rely on
• Not harsh, but resented geography for protection
• Defeated by nobles from Thebes • Had to build powerful military
who became new rulers of Egypt
First permanent army Created an empire

• Traditional foot soldiers • Egypt to rule beyond Nile
Valley
• Archers and charioteers
• Headed south into Nubia and
• Adopted weapons from
east into Asia
Hyksos
The Reign of Hatshepsut

• Hatshepsut best known for encouraging trade
• Only woman pharaoh
– Wanted to be treated like any other pharaoh so dressed like a
man, statues of her as a man
Monotheism in Egypt
• Amenhotep IV, 1353 BC
– Worshipped only one god, Aten
– Banned worship of all other gods
• Built temple to Aten at Akhetaten
• The next pharaoh restored worship of traditional gods
Amenhotep IV Tutankhamun’s Father?
Hatshepsut
and Family
Amenhotep IV and Family

Temple to Aten at Akhetaten

Ramses the Great

Egypt expanded empire
• Fought campaigns in Nubia and Syria
• A new foe around 1250 BC: Hittites invaded from Mesopotamia
Confrontation with Hittites

• Ramses the Great vs. Hittites = truce signed
• Ramses married Hittite princess and conflict ended
Ramses’ rule
• Reign marked with extravagant splendor
• Built more temples and monuments than other pharaohs;
political/artistic achievements
Avaris (Pi-Ramesses)
Ramesseum
Abu Simbel
Ramesses II Temple at Abu Simbel
Nefertari's Temple at Abu Simbel
Egypt’s Decline
• Ramses’ successors faced challenges to
authority
• Major invasions of Egypt
– Sea Peoples devastated empires
– Ended Hittite Empire, weakened Egypt’s control
of Syria
• Egypt broke into small states
– Foreign rulers over next 700 years
– Kushites, Libyans, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks,
and Rome
Question:
How did Egypt grow and change during the
New Kingdom?
Answer(s): built strong military, created own

empire, increased trade
“History, n. An account mostly false, of

events mostly unimportant, which are
brought about by rulers mostly knaves,
and soldiers mostly fools.”
- Ambrose Bierce
Wearing headphones for just an hour will

increase bacteria in you ear by 700x.
Egyptian Culture
Main Idea
The ancient Egyptians are famous for their
religion, their burial practices, and their
advances in art, writing and science.
Egyptian Religion
Egyptians worshipped many gods (polytheistic)
• Some from the earliest days of the Old Kingdom
• Believed that gods controlled all natural events
Chief gods and goddesses
• God of sun always a key figure, Re in Old Kingdom
• Later linked to sky god, Amon (Amon-Re)
• Sun god temple at Karnak the largest ever built in Egypt
Anubis
• The protector of the dead, weighed souls to decide fate
• Light souls had been good in life and were rewarded; unworthy souls
fed to terrible monster
Sun god temple at Karnak
Karnak
The Sacred Lake of Precinct of Amun-Re
Osiris, Isis and Horus

• Osiris introduced civilization into Egypt
• Brother Seth killed Osiris, scattered pieces of his body around Egypt
• Wife Isis reassembled pieces and brought Osiris back to life
• Osiris became new judge of dead, replacing Anubis
Hathor and Thoth

• Hathor was the cow-headed goddess of love
• Thoth was the god of wisdom
• There were also local gods with power over small areas or single
households
Re (Ra) Amon Anubis Osiris

Seth (Set) Isis Horus Hathor Thoth

Temples and Religious Practices

Temples built to honor, provide homes for gods
Ruins can still be seen in Egypt
• Features
– Decorated with massive statues
– Elaborate paintings, detailed carvings
• Obelisks
– Tall, thin pillars with pyramid-shaped tops
– Made from single piece of stone
– Carved with intricate designs
Temples and Religious Practices

• Rituals to fulfill gods’ needs
– Cleaned and refreshed statue of god daily
– This kept gods alive
– In return gods would bring Egypt prosperity
• Priests had responsibility for care
– Common people had no part in rituals
– Ordinary Egyptians never entered temples
– People worshiped gods at annual festivals
Question:
What religious practices did the Egyptians
follow to honor their gods?
Answer(s): They built temples to honor them and

provide homes for them. In the temples, priests
performed rituals to fulfill the gods' needs.
Mummification and Burial

Central to Egyptian religion was the belief in an afterlife, a land of the
dead where souls would go to live. Because of this belief, Egyptians
developed elaborate rituals regarding death and burial.
Teachings Mummification Process
• Physical body dies, • Developed process • Internal organs
releases ka to prevent removed
breakdown of body
• Ka was individual’s • Heart left in body
personality • Mummification
• Body wrapped with
only for kings, royal
• Ka needed food linen strips
family at first
and drink to survive
• Features painted
• Process available
• Sought to prevent on mummy to help
later to any who
decomposition so ka recognize its
could afford
ka would not body
vanish
Burial
Possessions
• Dead Egyptians buried with possessions needed for afterlife
• Food and drink for the ka
• Pharaohs and nobles buried also with treasures and riches
Pharaohs’ tombs
• Filled with statues of servants
• Egyptians thought statues would come to life to serve ka
• Also contained models of animals, chariots and boats
Decorations
• Walls painted with scenes from person’s life
• Walls painted with stories about the gods
• Egyptians believed figures would come to life and maximize ka’s happiness
Four sons of Horus, the guardians of the organs: Imsety (man-
headed): liver; Hapy (baboon-headed): Lungs; Duamutef (jackal-
headed): stomach; Qebehsenuef (falcon-headed): intestines
Question:
How did beliefs about the afterlife shape
Egyptian burial practices?
Answer(s): Egyptians believed in an afterlife for

the ka, or life force. The ka needed food and drink
to survive, so both were buried with bodies. Great
care was taken to keep the body from
decomposing so that the ka would not shrivel
away and vanish.
Daily Life
Burial Practices Social Structure
• Archeologists learned much from • Highly layered: 1) Pharaoh, 2)
items buried in tombs and images nobles/priests, 3) artisans, scribes,
painted on tomb walls (pictures of merchants, doctors, etc., 4)
society, culture) peasants and slaves
Social Structure
• 90% of society were peasant
farmers
• Sometimes recruited to build large
public works, pyramids
• Recruited also for mines, army
Class System
Pharaoh above all
Ruling Class-Nobles (government offices
and large homes) and priests
Middle Class- Merchants, Scribes,

Physicians, Soldiers, and Skilled Workers
Peasants and Slaves- Largest group-

Farmers and they gave 3/5 of the crop to
the pharaoh
Daily Life
Slaves Status
• Egyptian society less rigid than other
• Slaves were not a large part of the
ancient civilizations
population
• Possible to move up in society
• Most convicted criminals or prisoners
of war • Becoming scribe the fastest way to
gain status
• More slaves in New Kingdom
Home and Family Life Houses

• Varied from class to class • Most lived as family units with father
as head of household
• Pharaohs had more than one wife,
most men only one • Poor families lived in huts
• Pharaohs married sisters to keep • Rich families had brick homes
royal blood pure
• Noble families lived in palaces
Daily Life
Women and Children Appearance and Customs
• Woman’s primary duty to • Egyptians paid close

care for home and children attention to their appearance
• Egyptian women had more • Many shaved heads, wore

rights, could work outside wigs, as well as perfume and
makeup
home
• Clothing of linen and wool
• Could be priestess, own
property, divorce husband • Children wore no clothes until
adolescence
• Few children educated
• Enjoyed sports, fishing,
sailing and board games
Question:
How did life differ for rich and poor
Egyptians?
Answer(s): Rich had large homes, poor might live

in tiny huts; wealthy men wore longer skirts or
robes than peasants; wealthy men and women
often wore gold jewelry.
Art, Writing, and Science

Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 2,000 years and made
many tremendous advances, particularly in art, literature and science.
Egyptian Art Egyptian Statues

• Very distinctive and easily • Statues
distinguished from art of other
ancient civilizations – Large, imposing
• Paintings – Most show gods,
pharaohs
– Detailed and colorful
– Show power and
– Stories of gods
majesty
– Pictures of daily life
– Most on walls of tombs,
• Great Sphynx, the largest
temples and most famous
– Some in manuscripts
Egyptian Writing
The Egyptians were prolific writers who recorded events in great detail
and composed beautiful songs and stories. However, before they
could create even the simplest tale, they needed a system of writing.
Hieroglyphics Other Systems
• The main Egyptian writing system • Two other systems for texts that
needed to be written more quickly
• Uses picture symbols to represent
objects • Hieratic, religious texts
• formal writing, stone monuments, • Demotic, legal and literary writings

religious texts • Simpler and less attractive
• Difficult to learn, time consuming • Made on wood, pottery and papyrus
Egyptians used the pulp of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile to
make paperlike sheets. Many papyrus scrolls are still readable today.
Egyptian Writing
Historians could not decipher hieroglyphs until…

• Rosetta Stone
– Discovered near Nile Delta village of Rosetta in 1799
– Long passages of writing on the broken stone
• Same text in hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek
– Using Greek as guide, hieroglyphs and demotic
meanings revealed
– Unlocked the mystery of Egyptian writing
Jean-François Champollion: Translator of the Stone

Egyptian Math
• Egyptians had thorough understanding of basic arithmetic
• Understood basic principles of geometry
• Arithmetic + Geometry + Engineering = Pyramids
Egyptian Science
• Greatest scientific advances were in medicine: masters of
human anatomy
• Doctors treated wounds, performed surgery, used
medicines made from plants and animals, and prescribed
regimens of basic hygiene to prevent illness
Question:
What advances did the ancient Egyptians
make in art, writing, and science?
Answer(s): detailed, colorful paintings, large,

imposing statues, developed several writing
systems, grasp of geometry and engineering,
anatomy

"History Is More or Less Bunk." - Henry Ford Rats Multiply So Quickly That in 18 Months, Two Rats Could Have Over One Million Descendants

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Nile Civilizations Section 1

“History is more or less bunk.”

Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months,

The Kingdom of Egypt

Geography and Early Egypt

Answer(s): They lived in a narrow strip of fertile

The Old Kingdom

Answer(s): a government headed by the

The Middle Kingdom

Answer(s): new dynasty came to power after

The New Kingdom

First permanent army Created an empire

The Reign of Hatshepsut

Amenhotep IV and Family

Temple to Aten at Akhetaten

Ramses the Great

Confrontation with Hittites

Answer(s): built strong military, created own

“History, n. An account mostly false, of

Wearing headphones for just an hour will

Osiris, Isis and Horus

Hathor and Thoth

Re (Ra) Amon Anubis Osiris

Seth (Set) Isis Horus Hathor Thoth

Temples and Religious Practices

Temples and Religious Practices

Answer(s): They built temples to honor them and

Mummification and Burial

Answer(s): Egyptians believed in an afterlife for

Middle Class- Merchants, Scribes,

Peasants and Slaves- Largest group-

Home and Family Life Houses

• Woman’s primary duty to • Egyptians paid close

• Egyptian women had more • Many shaved heads, wore

Answer(s): Rich had large homes, poor might live

Art, Writing, and Science

Egyptian Art Egyptian Statues

• formal writing, stone monuments, • Demotic, legal and literary writings

Historians could not decipher hieroglyphs until…

Jean-François Champollion: Translator of the Stone

Answer(s): detailed, colorful paintings, large,

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