Ancient Egypt and Kush

Egypt’s Empire
 Golden Age  Middle Kingdom

 2055 B.C to 1650 B.C

 Capital city —> Thebes
 Egypt conquered new territories  Egyptian armies gained control of Nubia to the south and
expanded northeast into present-day Syria.
 The pharaohs added to the kingdom’s wealth.
 Within Egypt, the pharaohs made many improvements.
1. They added thousands of acres to the land to increase crop production.
2. They improved irrigation.
3. They also ordered the construction of a canal Nile River and the Red Sea so the trade expanded.
 Golden age Middle Kingdom

 Painters decorated the walls of tombs and temples with colourful scenes.
 Sculptors carved hunting, fishing, and battle scenes
 Created statues of the pharaohs
 No longer building pyramids  they had their tombs cut into limestone cliffs
west of the Nile River which became known as the Valley of the Kings.
Valley of the Kings
 The Hyksos – rulers of a foreign land

 They were warriors who used methods of warfare unknown to the Egyptians.
 They rode in horse – drawn chariots and fought with sturdy weapons made of bronze and iron.
 They took control of the land.
 For more than 100 years, they ruled Egypt.
 Over time, the Egyptians learned how to use Hyksos’ art of warfare. They improved their
fighting skills by learning to drive chariots and to use new weapons.
 Around 1550 BC, Ahmose formed an army and drove Hyksos out of Egypt.
Q. How did the Hyksos help the Egyptians?
They provided knowledge that made the Egyptians more powerful.
Characteristics of Hyksos and Egyptians
 Building An Empire – New Kingdom

 Ahmose founded a new dynasty  New Kingdom

 From 1550 BC to 1070 BC

 During this time, Egypt prospered through trade, gained more lands through conquest, and
reached the height of its power.
 Hatshepsut

 Woman pharaoh

 Reigned- 1473 BC – 1458 BC

 Dressed in male clothing

 Wore a false beard

 Built temples

 Her tomb is in the Valley of the Kings

 Interested in promoting trade

 She chose loyal government officials and paid

attention to common Egyptians
 Trade in the New Kingdom

 Egyptians traders exchanged beads, metal tools, and weapons for gold, ivory, ebony wood, and
incense.
 The Egyptians were interested in trading for wood because the Nile River Valley had few trees.
 They traded with a group of people from the region of the present day Lebanon called the
Phoenicians .
 The Egyptians traded wheat, paper, gold, copper, tin and tools to the Phoenicians for purple
dye wood and furniture.
 They exchanged goods for supplies they needed rather than selling goods for money.
 The Phoenicians then traded Egyptian goods to other people.
The Phoenicians

 From present day country of Lebanon

 They invented the alphabet and a system of writing .
 The spread goods across the ancient world.
 Politics – New Kingdom

 New kingdom pharaohs developed political ties between Egypt and nearby kingdoms.
 They became joined by treaty or marriage.
 To maintain close ties pharaohs and other rulers rulers also exchanged envoys .
 Envoys : a government representative to another country
Expanding the empire – Thutmose III

 When Hatshepsut died , Thutmose III became pharaoh

 He expanded Egypts control north to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia and south far up the
Nile and conquered Nubia
 Egyptian armies captured almost 350 cities during his reign
 Egyptian empire grew wealthier and slavery became more common
 Egypt acquired gold, copper, ivory, and other valuable goods from conquered peoples.
 Egyptians enslaved many prisoners of war however they had the right to own land, marry and
eventually gain their freedom.
Two unusual Pharaohs -> New Kingdom

1) Ahmenhotep IV

• Came to power in 1370 BC

• Two
His wifeunusual
was namedPharaohs
Nefertiti -> New Kingdom
• He tried to change Egypt’s religion because he felt threatened by the priests because they were
powerful and wealthy
• He introduced a new religion Aton ‘ a son god’
• Many people opposed this change
• He changed his name to Akhenaton ‘ spirit of Aton’
• the capital was moved to a city called Akhetaton
• Many Egyptians rejected this new religion and were unhappy under his rule
• They believed that he was devoted to his new religion and neglected his duties as pharaoh
• During his rule, Egypt lost most of its land in western Asia to outside invaders
 Two nusual Pharaohs -> New Kingdom

2) Tutankhamen

• Came to power in 1360 BC

• Also known as ‘King Tut’
• He was 10 years old when he became pharaoh
• He relied on advice from priests and officials to
rule Egypt
• He restored the worship of many deities
• Only after nine years of ruling , he died.
 Recovery and decline - Ramses II

 During the 1200s BC, the Egyptian fought battles for more territory , increased Egypt’s wealth
through trade and built large temples and monument.
 Ramses ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC. He conquered the region Canaan and moved north into
Syria. He fought the Hittites and many battles later him and the Hittite king signed a peace treaty.
 He and other New Kingdom rulers built many temples and one of them was the Karnak at Thebes.
 Temples were very important to Egypt economy because priests hired people to work in in the
temple workshops and granaries. Temples also served as banks in which Egyptians used them to
store valuable items such as gold, jewelry, and woven textiles.
 Why did Egypt Decline?

 When Ramses II, Egypt declined.

 By 1150 BC, the Egyptian empire controlled only the Nile delta.
 By 900s BC, the Libyans conquered Egypt.
 Then the people of Kush seized power.
 In 670 BC, Egypt was taken over by the Assyrians from Mesopotamia.
 Questions about Lesson 3

What are two specific examples of how the pharaohs of the new kingdom use their
power over Egyptian religious life ?
 Amenhotep were able to change the religion however tut restored the worship of many
deities .
What was the effect of Amenhotep’s new religion on the priests army leaders and
Egyptian citizens ?
 They were unhappy with the change citizens kept worshiping their many deities in the
priests and army leaders became discontent.
What was the final result of his rule Akhenaton’s rule?
 Egypt lost most of its land in western Asia to outside invaders.
 Questions about Lesson 3

Why did Egyptian‘s want to trade with the Phoenicians?

 They traded with the Phoenicians in order to obtain goods they could not make or grow for
themselves especially furniture in wood for building ships.
Why were these two pharaohs considered unusual pharaohs?
 Akhenaten took the unusual step of changing Egyptian religion to the worship of one
deity(from polytheism to monotheism). King Tut was also unusual because he was a young
pharaoh who died after ruling for years .
What were the accomplishments of Ramses II?
 Rameses II regained lost territory in western Asia and signed a peace treaty with the Hittite
king. He also had temples built which helped Egyptian a economy.