Ancient Egypt:3100 BCE to 330 BCE

Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that reached the Euphrates River.

Hatshepsut encouraged trade.

Egyptian power declined.

Large drainage project created arable farmland.

Corruption and rebellions were common.

Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta region.

Pharaohs were absolute rulers and were considered gods.

Egyptians built pyramids at Giza.

Power struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom.

NEW KINGDOM

MIDDLE

KINGDOM

OLD KINGDOM

Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt1

Geography• Egypt is located in

northeastern Africa • The Nile River runs the

length of the country flowing south to north

• The river begins in the mountains of Africa and empties into the Mediterranean Sea

• The Nile River is created with the confluence of two rivers: The White Nile and Blue Nile.

• The climate is hot and dry, part of the Sahara Desert

The Nile River• The Nile was the

lifeblood of ancient Egypt

• It made life possible in the otherwise barren desert of Egypt.

• It is the longest river in the world (over 4,000 miles).

• It served as a source of food for the people of ancient Egypt

• It was the major source of water for bathing and drinking

• The Nile was crucial for farming

Nile

Floodplain

Floodplain

• The low strip of fertile land located on either side of the Nile River

• The river flooded during the annual inundation

• When the inundation subsided, it left the earth soaked and overlaid with a fresh layer of black silt.

• Most of the farming occurred here

Bordered on the south, east and west by the Sahara Desert, and on the north by the sea, ancient Egypt was protected from outside influences.

Great Sahara Desert

Daily Life

Homes

Houses were made out

of mud. Rooms were

brightly painted,

sometimes with birds,

flowers or with the

figures of protective

gods. Cooking was often

done out side over a fire.

What did Ancient Egyptians Eat?

• Most people ate bread, cheese, beans and salad and drank water. Adults ate their food sitting on simple stools. They also ate beef, pork, antelope and hyena meat as well as goose, pigeon and fish from the Nile. Wealthier people had more varied diets. Most farming families ate fairly simple food.

HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSESServed gods and goddesses

PHARAOHEarthly leader; considered a god

NOBLESFought pharaoh’s wars

MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANSMade furniture, jewelry, and fabrics for

pharaohs and nobles, and provided for other needs

PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVESWorked in the fields and served the pharaoh

Social Classes2

Writing

Making paper from papyrus

What is papyrus?

A material similar to paper, created by flattening a papyrus reed that grew along the Nile River.

“Papyrus” is the root word for “Paper”

What is hieroglyphics?Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used by

scribes in ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is made up of two Greek words - hieros, which

means sacred, and glyphe, which means carving.

How is Hieroglyphics different from cuneiform writing?

Cunieform used triangular shaped objects for writing, while hieroglyphics used pictures or a symbol of something to represent a sound.

Phonograms represent sounds, much as alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs that represent whole words or concepts.

Religion

• Belief that many gods and goddesses ruled the world and the afterlife Amon-Re: sun god Osiris: god of the underworld and of the Nile

• The pharaoh was believed to be a god as well as a ruler

Falcon Headed Sun God

Religion

• Belief in the Afterlife: This life’s purpose was to prepare for the Afterlife. This is the reason they mummified their rulers. They also placed many riches inside the tombs so that the Pharaohs could be wealthy in the after life.

• Pharaohs were the king or Queen of Egypt. Most pharaohs were men but some well-known pharaohs, such as Nefertiti and Cleopatra, were women.

• A Pharaoh was the most important and powerful person in the kingdom. He was the head of the government and high priest of every temple. The people of Egypt considered the pharaoh to be a half-man, half-god.

• The Pharaoh owned all of Egypt.

Pharaohs

•The first true pharaoh of Egypt was Narmer (sometimes called Menes), who united Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians believed that their Pharaoh was the god Horus, son of Re, the sun god. When a pharaoh died he was believed to be united with the sun and then a new Horus ruled on earth.

• In the Old and Middle Kingdoms (2628-1638 BC), Egyptian kings were buried in pyramids. About 50 royal pyramids have survived. They were built on the desert edge. In the New Kingdom (1504-1069 BC), Egyptian kings were buried in tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. These tombs were tunnels cut deep into the natural rock. Pharaohs often had several wives but only one was queen. The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without doubt, Tutankhamen.

• Hatshepsut: Her Father was a Pharaoh, and she married another Pharaoh. First Woman to be Pharaoh. Ruled for around 20 years; peaceful time for Egypt, where its wealth grew.

• Ramses II: War like Pharaoh who spent most of his time fighting wars. Built many monuments.

Famous Pharaohs

Valley of the Kings

Tut was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was only 18 years old when he died. The people did not have a lot of time to build Tut's tomb. Tut's tomb was very small compared to the tombs of other pharaohs. Because his tomb was so small, it was overlooked for thousands of years.

In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter entered King Tut's tomb. It was almost like entering a time machine. Robbers might have been there because a bag of gold rings was found on the floor, as if dropped in haste. But they did not take everything because Carter and his team found many treasures inside the tomb including a solid gold mask of King Tut's face and an ankh.

Tutankhamen

The ankh was a common symbol in ancient Egypt. But no one is quite sure what it symbolized. Some historians believe it symbolized the key that turned on the annual flooding of the Nile. Some believe it represents the key to eternal life. 

Pyramids

The Great Sphinx

Religion

• Belief in eternal life after death. Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them through the afterworld.

• Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life. The best way the ancient Egyptians knew how to preserve a body was to mummify it. The poor placed the bodies of their dead relatives out in the sun, in the desert sand. The bodies mummified naturally.

• Anyone who could afford it went to a professional mummy maker. People wanted to look their best in their afterlife.

•The first mummies were just dried out in the desert. The ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.

• Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert.

• .

Steps

1. Announcement of Death 2. Embalming the Body 3. Removal of Brain 4. Removal of Internal Organs 5. Drying Out Process 6. Wrapping of the Body 7. Final Procession

Each of the organs was individually mummified, then stored in little coffins called canopic jars.

There were four canopic jars, one for each of the organs. These jars were protected by the four sons

of the God Horus.

•Remember Ramses II ???

•These are the mummified remains of a pharaoh named Ramses II.

Book of the Dead

Collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure a safe passage to the underworld for the deceased