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Ancient Egypt

Mr. KochForest Lake High School

World History A

Nile River

• Provides life to Egypt– Supports animal life,

irrigation/silt• Flood cycle gave Egypt its

seasons• Flood time• Planting time• Harvesting time

• Flows north and prevailing winds blow south – aids transportation

Egypt• Surrounded by deserts that isolate

and protect

• Cataracts – Waterfalls or rapids– Protected from invaders from south

• Upper Egypt– Southern part of the Nile River– Ends at the last cataract

• Lower Egypt– Delta region of the Nile

• triangular marsh land that formed deposits of silt

Old Kingdom (2700 BC -2200 BC)

• Pharaohs organized strong central govt

• Claimed divine support• Absolute power, owned all

land in the kingdom

– Vizier = pharaoh’s chief advisors• Thousands of scribes

carried out his instructions.

Old Kingdom (2700 BC -2200 BC)

• “The Pyramid Age”– Eternal tombs– Built without tools or the

wheel• Example of the strength of the

empire

– Only period they were built• Why did they stop?

Great Pyramid for Pharaoh Khufu at Giza

• Base was size of 10 football fields• 480 feet tall• 2 million stone block

– 2.5 tons each

• Took 20 years to build

Great Pyramid for Pharaoh Khufu at Giza

Middle Kingdom (2200 BC -1700 BC)

• Armies occupy Nubia, export gold• Expand trade to Middle East, Crete• Many problems

• Crop failures• Power struggles & corruption • Cost of pyramid building

• Hyksos invade 1700 BC– Occupied Delta region– Used horse drawn chariots (awed

Egyptians)– 100 years before new family rises

and force Hyksos out of Egypt

New Kingdom (1600 BC -1000 BC)

• Empire grows to peak of power/territory

• Very powerful rulers– Hatshepsut

• Female ruler (1503 BC – 1482 BC)

• Expanded trade• Rule with same powers as men

– Ramses II• Ruled as far north as Syria• Fought the Hittites of Asia

Minor• Decline began after his rule

Tutankhamen1361-1352 BC

• Becomes pharaoh at age 8.• He dies at age 18.– Buried with everything he would need in

the afterlife• Chariots, weapons, toys, furniture, jewelry,

games, and food• Solid gold coffin

• His tomb and riches discovered by Howard Carter in 1922.

• Why significant?– The only pharaoh to be found with all

riches intact.

Tutankhamen’s Burial Chamber




Egyptian Civilization


• Polytheistic Religion– Amon-Re

• Sun god• Chief god

– Pharaoh • Viewed as a god• Closely linked to Amon-Re

– Osiris = god of the afterlife• God of the Nile• Judged souls of the dead

– Isis = wife of Osiris• Appealed to women• Taught women how to grind corn,

raise children, and weave cloth


• Belief in the afterlife– Dead souls ferried across lake of fire to Osiris to be judged– Heart weighed against feather of truth– Worthy souls entered Happy Field of Food to spend

eternity– Sinners fed to the Eater of the Dead

• Book of the Dead– Gave instructions on how to live your life in order to pass

Osiris’ judgment• Gives us detailed values of Egyptians

Egyptian Civilization• Afterlife Cont’d– Mummification =

preservation of the dead– Embalmers removed

brain through nostrils and most internal organs

– Cavities filled with spices– Body dried and wrapped

in linens

Anubis: god of embalming


• Farmers– Vast majority of population– Had to serve Pharaoh in the off season • Building palaces, pyramids, and tombs

– Women worked fields with men• Raised children• More rights then the rest of the ancient world

Egyptian Civilization• Written Records

– Hieroglyphics = Egyptian picture writing• Kept important records

– Ideograms = pictures that symbolize idea or action• Added later by scribes

– Demotic = simple form of writing for everyday use• Developed by scribes

– Papyrus = paper like writing material from plant that grew on the banks of the Nile• More convenient then carving

hieroglyphics• Stone carvings still used for official records


• Rosetta Stone– Black stone – Same message in three

scripts• Hieroglyphs• Demotic• Greek

– Deciphered by Jean Champollin in early 1800s