Chapter 5, Lesson 3Egypt’s Empire

A Golden Age►Around 2200 B.C., the ruling pharaohs

began to weaken. Ambitious nobles attempted to take control of

Egypt.►For more than 200 years, disorder and

violence swept through the region until a new dynasty of pharaohs came to power and moved the capital city south to a city called Thebes. (THEEBZ)

►This would be start of the Middle Kingdom that lasted from about c. 2055 B.C. to c. 1650 B.C.

Conquest►During the Middle Kingdom, Egypt

conquered new territories. Took the city of Nubia in the south and

moved into Northeast present-day Syria.►They added to their wealth by

receiving tributes from the people they conquered.

Conquest►Within Egypt, the pharaohs made

many improvements. They added thousands of acres to the

land being farmed to increase crop production.

They had more irrigation dams and channels built to supply more of the population with water.

The Construction of a Canal to link the Nile River and Red Sea and could now trade more efficiently with Arabia and East Africa.

The Arts Flourished►Egyptian Art and Architecture advanced

during the Middle Kingdom. Tombs were decorated with colorful scenes that

spoke of deities and everyday life. Sculptors carved scenes of hunting, fishing, and

battles on large stone walls. Also created statues of the pharaohs, depicting

them as humans rather than gods.►Pyramids were no longer built and instead

had their tombs carved in limestone cliffs west of the Nile River. This place became known as the Valley of the

Kings.

The Hyksos►During the 1600s B.C. some Egyptian nobles

challenged the power of the pharaoh Egypt found itself divided by a civil war, ending

the era of peace and prosperity.►As Middle Egypt weakened they were invaded

by people from Asia known as the Hyksos. These were powerful warrior who used war tactics

unfamiliar to Egyptians and had bronze and iron weapons, as well as horse-drawn chariots.

►They overwhelmed Egyptian soldiers and took control of the land.

The Hyksos►For 100 years the Hyksos ruled Egypt.►They borrowed some Egyptian customs

but remained separate from the Egyptian people.

►The Egyptians did not like them and planned to overthrow them. They learned to steer chariots and use

Hyksos weapons. Around 1550 B.C., An Egyptian prince

named Ahmose formed an army and drove the Hyksos out of Egypt.

Building an Empire►Ahmose founded a new dynasty and would

be the start of the New Kingdom. The New Kingdom lasted from about 1550 B.C. to

1070 B.C.►Egypt prospered through trade, gained more

lands through conquest, and reached the height of its power.

►Egypt was no longer isolated and benefited from the spread of goods, ideas, and cultures within their empire.

A Woman Pharaoh►Queen Hatshepsut (hat-SHEHP-soot)

was one of the few women to rule Egypt.

►She came into power about 1473 B.C. and governed with her husband.

►After her husband died, she made herself Pharaoh and ruled on behalf of her young nephew.

A Woman Pharaoh►Because the title of Pharaoh was usually

passed from father to son she needed to prove she was good leader. In order to be accepted she dressed like a

male pharaoh. She went so far as to wear a false beard to look more male.

►She built magnificent temples and restored old monuments. Her tomb has wall carvings that depict some

of the major events of her reign.

Growth and Trade►Hatshepsut was more interested in

trade than wars. She made great efforts to restore trade

relations that had stopped when the Hyksos took over.

►During her rule Egyptian sailors went to Arabia and East Africa. They traded beads, metal tools, and

weapons for gold, ivory, ebony wood, and incense (material burned for its pleasant smell)

Hatshepsut

Growth and Trade►Egyptians valued wood products because the

Nile River valley and had few trees. Wood was needed for the construction of boats,

furniture, and other items.►To find wood, they traveled to the east coast of

the Mediterranean sea where present day Lebanon is located.

►The people who lived in this area where called Phoenicians (fih-NEE-shuns) who had a great impact on the cultures in the region. Invented a system of writing with an alphabet Their trade routes and settlements also help spread

goods and ideas across the region.

Trade and Politics►Egyptians traded wheat, paper, gold, copper, tin

and tools for purple dye, wood, and furniture.►The traders exchanged goods they had for

supplies they needed rather than selling goods for money.

►The Phoenicians traded the Egyptian goods to others which helped spread their goods throughout southwest Asia.

►This made Egypt wealthier and Hatshepsut used some of this wealth to build monuments.

Trade and Politics►New Kingdom pharaohs developed ties

between Egypt and other nearby kingdoms. They joined by either treaty or marriage with the

Babylonian Empire in Mesopotamia, The Mittani in Syria, and Hittite Empire in Anatolia.

►They also maintained ties by exchanging envoys (representatives).

►This marks the first time a group of nations worked together to reach common goals.

Expanding the Empire►When Hatshepsut died, her nephew,

Thutmose III (thoot-MOH-suh) became pharaoh. Strong leader and general who expanded

Egypt’s control north to the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia and south into Nubia, which had once thrown off Egyptian rule.

►During his reign, almost 350 cities were captured.

Expanding the Empire►As Thutmose and his armies

conquered more areas, Egypt became wealthy and slavery was common. Most of this wealth came from gold,

copper, ivory, and other valuables from captured people.

Enslaved people had basic rights such as land ownership, the ability to marry, and eventually gain their freedom.

Thutmose III

A Religious Founder►Amenhotep IV (ah-muhn-HOH-tehp) came

to power in 1370 B.C. and with the support of his wife Nefertiti (nehf-uhr-TEE-tee) tried to change Egypt's religion based on worshipping many deities.

►He felt Priest had grown to powerful and wealthy and wanted to weaken them. He did this by starting a new religion which only

had one god name Aton (AHT-n) the sun god, as the only god.

Amenhotep IV

Nefertiti

A Religious Founder►Many Priest who opposed him lost their post,

lands, and closed their temples.►He also changed his name to Akhenaton

(ahk-heh-tah-tuhn) meaning “Spirit of Aton”►These changes unsettled Egypt.

Many Egyptians kept their old religion and Priest resisted their loss of power.

►Army leaders felt Akhenaton’s obsession to his new religion made him ignore his duties as pharaoh.

►Under his weak rule, most lands were lost to outside invaders from Western Asia.

Who was “King Tut”?►When Akhenaton died about 1360 B.C., his

son-in-law, Tutankhamen (too-tang-KAH-muhn) became pharaoh.

►He relied on advice from priest and officials to rule Egypt and he restored worship to many deities.

►His rule ended unexpectedly when he died 9 years later. His cause of death remains a mystery.

►He has become famous because his tomb was left intact from thieves and his treasures were still in his tomb.

Tutankhamen

Recovery and Decline►During the 1200s B.C., pharaohs tried

to restore Egypt’s greatness.►They fought battles for more territory,

increased Egypt’s wealth through trade, and built large temples and monuments.

Ramses II►The most successful of these pharaohs

were Ramses II (RAM-seez), who ruled from 1279 B.C to 1213 B.C.

►He conquered the region of Canaan and moved into Syria. He fought the Hittites, who lived in present

day Turkey.►After many battles, they signed a peace

treaty.

Age of Temples►During his 66-year reign, he devoted himself to

peaceful activities. He and many New Kingdom rulers had many temples built

throughout Egypt. One of these was Karnak (KARH-nack) at Thebes.

►Most Egyptians prayed from home so temples were for special occasions and were seen as the home for deities.

► Priest and Priestesses performed daily rituals. These included washing the statues of deities, bringing

them food.► Temples were important to the economy and had

workshops, granaries, and also served as banks to store valuable items such as gold jewelry, fragrant oils, and finely woven textiles.

Ramses II

Why did Egypt Decline?►Pharaohs fought costly wars.►Armies from the Eastern Mediterranean kept

attacking.►By 1150 B.C., the Egyptians controlled only the

Nile delta.► IN the 900s B.C., the Libyans conquered Egypt.►Then the people of Kush seized power.►Finally in 670 B.C., Egypt was taken over by

the Assyrians from Mesopotamia.