Standard(s) 15.Describe the culture of ancient Egypt including: class structure/governance

1. Standard(s) 15.Describe the culture of ancient Egypt including: • class structure/governance • beliefs, including polytheism and monotheism • accomplishments

2. Ancient Egypt

3. The NileRiver Valley

4. The Geography • Egypt is surrounded by desert • The Nile River runs north, 4,000 miles to the Mediterranean Sea • Through modern Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt • From May until September is the rainy season

5. Egypt • Northern Egypt is called Lower Egypt because it lies downstream on the river • Upper Egypt in the south is “upstream”

6. At the Mediterranean Sea the Nile deposits much of its silt Then divides into a fan-shaped delta Very fertile, flat land made of silt The Nile River

7. The Importance of the Nile • The Nile River flooded every year. • But every April the ancient Egyptians' waited for it

8. “The Gift of the Nile” • The floods helped ancient farmers turn the Nile Valley into a fertile agricultural area.

9. Times of High Water or Hunger • Too much water • villages were destroyed and farm animals drowned • Too little • crops failed.

10. In October, farmers planted wheat, barley, and other crops, and flax Flax is a plant that makes linen In March farmers harvested Nile Farming

11. Irrigation • Ancient Egyptians dug canals • And used a shadoof to lift water into their fields

12. The Nile River was the center of ancient Egyptian civilization. • Annual floods provided rich soil for their fields • The river was used for irrigation and transportation

13. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/28707-assignment-discovery-uses-of-the-nile-river-video.htmhttp://videos.howstuffworks.com/discovery/28707-assignment-discovery-uses-of-the-nile-river-video.htm

14. The Kingdoms of Egypt • Egypt was a thriving culture • Surplus crops • Crafts workers • Tools • Pottery • Jewelry • Trade along the river • Cooperation among communities

15. 3100 B.C. Menes, king of Upper Egypt overthrew the king of Lower Egypt Designed the double crown Represented the unification of Egypt King Menes

16. Menes - The First Pharaoh • Pharaoh refers to the “great palace” where the rulers of Egypt lived • Later it became the name given to the rulers

17. From about 2700 B.C. to about 2200 B.C. A time when Egypt’s pharaohs worked to build unity in the country Old Kingdom

18. Egypt’s Government • Menes made Memphis his capital

19. The pharaoh made local leaders serve the new government • To collect taxes • To serve as judges • To make sure canals and storage pools were shared fairly

20. Egypt’s pharaohs had religious duties “The sun god … entrusted me with what he protected.” Egypt had many gods with a variety of responsibilities Religion

21. Horus • The god who united the two Egypts. • The Egyptians believed the pharaoh was the “beloved of Horus”

22. Isis • The most important goddess • The mother of Horus • Protected people from sickness and harm

23. Ra • The most important god • The sun god • Gave life to Earth • Just as the pharaoh, the child of Ra, gave life to Egypt and its people

24. Ancient Egyptians believed they would need their bodies in the afterlife. They preserved the bodies of the dead They anointed the body with spices Wrapped the bodies in cloth Then encased them in wood or stone cases Mummification

25. Huge stone structures built as tombs, or burial places, for the pharaohs The first was for Pharaoh Zoser Around 2780 B.C. A stepped pyramid The Pyramids

26. The three largest pyramids are at Giza near Cairo The largest pyramid built was for Pharaoh Khufu in 2600 B.C. It took 22 years to build About 100,000 people worked on it The Great Pyramid

27. Building pyramids was expensive • Most of the collected taxes were used to feed and cloth the workers • It put a strain on Egypt’s people and economy • Then local rulers began to demanded pyramids • Which weakened the unity of Egypt

28. Egyptian writing system It had about 800 picture signs Each sign could stand for an object or a sound Hieroglyphics

29. Travelled around Egypt keeping records, and preparing letters and contracts Only boys could become scribes Training began at about 10 years old Scribes

30. A reed plant that grows along the Nile It was pressed together to form a kind of paper A sharpened reed was used as a pen Reeds were dipped into red or black ink Papyrus

31. Scribes also had to be good at math • To keep accurate records of taxes and the pharaoh’s goods

32. Lost Meaning • Around 300 B.C. Egypt was conquered by the Greeks • Egyptians stopped using hieroglyphics • The meanings became a mystery

33. Found by French soldiers near the Egyptian city of Rosetta The stone had Egyptian hieroglyphics, a later Egyptian writing called demotic, and Greek In 1822 Jean Champollion figured out how to read hieroglyphics The Rosetta Stone

34. The Egyptian Number System

35. Hieroglyphic records tell us the Egyptian economy was based on a surplus of crops The pharaoh collected taxes which could include Part of a farmers crops Portions of products Leather goods, linen cloth, baskets Days of work The Egyptian Economy

36. Slaves • Were prisoners of war • Some worked in government owned gold mines • Others were trusted with government positions

37. Middle Kingdom • The Old Kingdom of Egypt ended around 2000 B.C. • The Middle Kingdom was a time of change and prosperity • Egyptians gain new rights • The Pharaohs increased their control over Egypt

38. Nubia • Located to the south of Egypt • Was a wealthy kingdom with important gold mines • Was conquered by pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom

39. Trade Expeditions • Expeditions were sent from Egypt to Greece and to the Fertile Crescent • As trade grew people from Asia began to settle in the Nile area

40. The Hyksos • Were people who lived in the hills of western Asia • They were skilled in warfare • They conquered Lower Egypt and ruled for about 100 years

41. The New Kingdom • Pharaoh Ahmose I led an Egyptian army and defeated the Hyksos • He made Egypt the strongest military power in its part of the world

42. Egypt Becomes an Empire • Egypt’s armies captured nearby lands • The pharaohs created an empire from Kush in the south to the Euphrates River in the north

43. Was a wealthy kingdom Controlled trade routes with other African Kingdoms Traded gold, copper and precious stones for ebony, leopard skins, and elephant ivory Enriched the economy of Egypt Kush

44. Amenhotep I • Made allies and traded in Africa, Asia, and southern Europe • He was one of Egypt’s great builders

45. Hatshepsut • One of Egypt’s few female pharaohs • During her reign Egypt enjoyed a long period of wealth and peace • She is known for her burial temple

46. The Empire Weakens • Amenhotep IV • Angered Egypt’s priests • Forbid the worship of Amon • Chief god • Replaced Amon with Aton • God of the sun

47. He renamed himself Akhenaton • In honor of Anton • Practiced monotheism • He was unpopular • After his death the Egyptian restored Amon and returned to the worship of many gods

48. Tutankhamen became pharaoh after Akhenaton’s death He restored the old gods But he only ruled for a few years and died young Reconstruction of Tutankhamun’s face. Changes in the Empire

49. The last strong pharaoh Ruled for 67 years The kingdom collapsed about 100 years after his death The empire was followed by many small kingdoms Ramses II

50. Egyptian Medicine • Most doctors were priests • Could measure a person’s heartbeat • New that moldy bread prevented infections • Today antibiotics are often made from molds