Ancient Egypt power point

Ancient Egypt

One of the first great civilizations

Timeline• Old Kingdom 2650 BC – 2134

BC• Middle Kingdom 2125 BC – 1550

BC

• New Kingdom 1550 BC – 1295 BC

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

Hatshepsut encouraged trade.

Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule to Syria.

Egyptian power declined.

Large drainage project created arable farmland.

Traders had contacts with Middle East and Crete.

Corruption and rebellions were common.

Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta region.

Pharaohs organized a strong central state, 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 climate is hot and dry, part of the Sahara Desert

http://www.worldcountries.info/Maps/GoogleMap-Egypt.phphttp://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/geography/explore/ter.html

Facts About the Nile RiverLength 4,184 miles

2 Sources Lake Victoria, Uganda (White Nile); Lake Tana, Ethiopia (Blue Nile)

Mouth Mediterranean Sea, off Egypt

Countries Flows Through

Egypt, Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi

Name Origin Greek word Nelios, which means "River Valley"

Geography• Ancient Egypt was divided into

two regions: Upper and Lower Egypt

• Lower (northern) Egypt consisted of the Nile River's delta made by the river as it empties into the Mediterranean.

• Upper Egypt was the long, narrow strip of ancient Egypt located south of the Delta.

Life in Ancient Egypt

• Life centered around the Nile river

• Yearly floods brought nutrients to the soil

• The river was a main route of travel

Social Pyramid of Egypt

• Pharaoh• Upper Class

– Royal Family, Government Officials, Army Officers, Priests, Landowners, and Doctors

• Middle Class– Merchants, Manufacturers, and

Artisans

• Lower Class– Unskilled Laborers and Farmers

• Slaves and Servants

Egyptian Religion• Polytheism

– About 2000 gods & goddesses

– Amon-Ra– Osiris– Isis– Horus– Thoth– Anubis– Hathor

• Death and Funerals– Two souls “ka and ba”– Embalming– Burial Tombs

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.

Book of the Dead

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

Union of Two Crowns• White Crown

– Upper Egypt

• Red Crown– Lower Egypt

• Menes– Overthrew the king of

Lower Egypt– Wore a Double Crown, both

red and white

• Unification– Joining of separate parts

into one whole

Egypt’s Economy• Pharaoh was at the

center of the economy • Based upon Agriculture• Pharaoh took taxes on

the crops that were grown, and goods that were made

• Goods were “bartered” or traded for other needed goods

A System of Writing• Hieroglyphics

– Used to keep record

• Scribes– Record keepers– Original Accountants

• Papyrus– Paper made from plants

• Rosetta Stone– Transcribed Hieroglyphics,

Greek, and Demotic

What is hieroglyphics?• Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used in

ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is made up of two Greek words - hieros, which means sacred, and glyphe, which means carving.

• The Egyptian hieroglyphic writing system consists of several hundred picture signs. The signs can be divided into two classes, phonograms and ideograms

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

Building the Pyramids• Built as tombs for the Pharaohs• Afterlife

– Housed everything needed for the Paraoh

• Khufu’s pyramid – Total number of blocks

• 2,300,000– One block’s average weight

• 2.5 tons– Number of blocks added each day

• 285

Children in Egypt

RICH• Children of Pharaoh swam in palace pools• Learned their parents

trade• Spun tops, and

played games

POOR• Swam in canals• Worked alongside

their parents• Little time to play• Daily chores