Objectives• Students will discover how geography influenced Egypt’s early

history.• Students will apply the six themes of history when studying Egypt.• Students will explore the contributions of the Egyptians to Math,

Science, arts and trade.

Main IdeaEgypt was one of the most stable and long-lasting civilizations of the ancient world.

Egypt

Geography of Egypt• The Nile flooded every year

– Predictable floodwaters with spring rains– Left rich, black silt

• Narrow band of fertile soil • Became home of Egyptian civilization

Geography and Early Egypt• The Nile

– Most important physical feature in Egypt– 4,000 miles long; flows through the

Sahara Desert • Without the Nile’s waters, no one could live

there.

Unification of Egypt• Two kingdoms unified around 3100 BC• Upper Egypt ruler Menes conquered north

– Founded capital city of Memphis– Adopted both symbols, the snake and the vulture

• First of 31 dynasties

Theme 1: Government of Egypt

The Pharaohs• The head of the government was the king• Became known as pharaoh (“means great house”)• Had great power because he was believed to be a god• Egypt a theocracy, a state ruled by religious figures

Egyptian Bureaucracy• Pharaoh could not rule Egypt alone• Aided by bureaucracy, many of whom were pharaoh’s relatives • Most powerful official was the vizier• Hundreds of lesser officials kept Egypt running smoothly

• Old Kingdom collapsed around 2100 BC

• New dynasty began Middle Kingdom 2055 BC– Strong leadership brought stability

– Trade with surrounding lands encouraged

• Trade routes not always safe – Fortresses built along the Nile

– The Hyksos invaded, conquered around 1650 BC

–Pharaohs built army to protect Egypt from invasion ***ADD TO NOTES

Egypt expanded empire• Fought campaigns in Nubia and Syria• A new foe around 1250 BC• Hittites invaded from Mesopotamia

Ramses’ rule• Reign marked with extravagant splendor• Built more temples and monuments than other pharaohs• Many political and artistic achievements• After Ramses' rule Egypt began to decline because of

massive spending on war and temples ****Add to NOTES***

Confrontation with Hittites• Ramses the Great led army• Accounts of battle vary, but two armies signed truce• Ramses married Hittite princess and conflict ended

Ramses the Great

Egyptians worshipped many gods “polytheism”

• Some from the earliest days of the Old Kingdom• Believed that gods controlled all natural events

Theme 2: Egyptian Religion

Monotheism in Egypt• Amenhotep IV, 1353 = (Akhenaton)

– Worshipped only one god, Aten– Banned worship of all other gods

• Built temple to Aten at Akhetaten • The next pharaoh, Tutankhamen, restored worship of

traditional gods• Tried to remove all traces of Amenhotep

• Engineering an Empire: 101:14 – 1:11:00

Temples built to honor, provide homes for gods

Ruins can still be seen in Egypt • Features

– Decorated with massive statues

– Elaborate paintings, detailed carvings

• Obelisks – Tall, thin pillars with

pyramid-shaped tops– Made from single piece

of stone– Carved with intricate

designs

Central to Egyptian religion was the belief in an afterlife, a land of the dead where souls would go to live. Because of this belief, Egyptians developed elaborate rituals regarding death and burial.

• Physical body dies, releases ka

• Ka was individual’s personality

• Ka needed food and drink to survive

• Sought to prevent decomposition so ka would not vanish

Teachings• Developed process to

prevent breakdown of body

• Mummification only for kings, royal family at first

• Process available later to any who could afford

Mummification• Internal organs

removed• Heart left in body• Body wrapped with

linen strips• Features painted on

mummy to help ka recognize its body

Process

Mummification and Burial

http://youtu.be/WBlwUM9uFes

People in most ancient civilizations were afraid of their gods. This was not true in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians loved their gods. They had little fear and great wonder.

There was one exception - the god Ammut. Almost everyone in ancient Egypt was afraid of Ammut! Ammut was the Devourer. The ancient Egyptians believed if you did something bad, your heart would be heavy, and the god Ammut could suddenly appear and gobble you up! The god Ammut had a big part in the weighing of the heart ceremony. When you died, the ancient Egyptians believed you traveled to an afterlife, a heavenly place where you spent eternity. You had to earn your way. There were rules. To enter your afterlife, you had to have a light heart. Light hearts were earned from a lifetime of doing good deeds.

To find out if your heart qualified for the trip to the afterlife, your spirit had to enter the Hall of Maat. The god Anubis weighed your heart. The god Thoth recorded the findings. (In ancient Egypt, everything was recorded and written down.)

If your heart was light, lighter than a feather, you passed the test and entered your afterlife. BUT, if your heart was heavy because your deeds were dreadful, the god Ammut would suddenly appear ... and eat you up!

Egyptians used the pulp of the papyrus plant that grew along the Nile to make paper like sheets. Many papyrus scrolls are still readable today.

• The main Egyptian writing system• Uses picture symbols to represent objects • formal writing, stone monuments, religious texts• Difficult to learn, time consuming

Hieroglyphics

Theme 3: Egyptian Writing

Egyptian Writing

Historians could not decipher hieroglyphs

• Rosetta Stone

– Discovered near Nile Delta village of Rosetta in 1799

– Long passages of writing on the broken stone

• Same text in hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek

– Using Greek as guide, hieroglyphs and demotic meanings revealed

– Unlocked the mystery of Egyptian writing

Theme 4: Egyptian Math and Science

Science• Greatest scientific advances were in medicine• Egyptians masters of human anatomy • Doctors treated wounds, performed surgery, used medicines made

from plants and animals• Prescribed regimens of basic hygiene to prevent illness

Math• Egyptians had thorough understanding of basic arithmetic• Also understood basic principles of geometry • This along with grasp of engineering helped them build pyramids• Buildings still standing, so skills were great

Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted more than 2,000 years and made many tremendous advances, particularly in art, literature and science.

• Very distinctive and easily distinguished from art of other ancient civilizations

• Paintings

– Detailed and colorful– Stories of gods– Pictures of daily life– Most on walls of tombs, temples– Some in manuscripts

Egyptian Art• Statues

– Large, imposing– Most show gods, pharaohs– Show power and majesty

• Great Sphynx, the largest and most famous

Egyptian Statues

Theme 5: Egyptian Art

King Tutankhamen's Tomb• Valley of the Kings

Appraised value $850 million dollars (est. 1998)

• Most famous symbols of Egypt• Largest located near Giza• Built as tombs for rulers

– Hollow chamber for burial – Treasures buried with them– Deadly traps within

• Design changed to smooth-sided over time

The Pyramids

• Took great planning and skill• Ordered when kings took the throne • Built from the inside out• Not built by slaves

– Peasants required to work one month per year– Professional craftspeople like architects, artists

Engineering an Empire: 31:09-41:30

Building Pyramids

http://youtu.be/PtxiYMMosbE

Theme 6: Egyptian Trade

• Pharaohs encouraged sailors and merchants to import goods from surrounding lands.

• Historians have found evidence that Egyptians traded with Nubians, Phoenicians, the Minoans of Greece.

Fertile Crescent Empires

Sumer 4000 - 2230 bceBabylon 1792 - 1595 bceHittites 2000 - 1200 bceAssyrians/Chaldeans 1300 - 539 bcePhoenicians 1500 - 300 bce

India and China Indus River Civilization 2500 – 2000 bceAryans 2000 – 500 bceShang 1766 – 1100 bceZhou 1100 – 200 bce

Egypt

Working with your group you will draw a poster that represents one civilization (random draw) by using at least 4 themes of history