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Evidence suggests that a sophisticated culture
existed before the Pharaonic Age
Egyptians cultivated wheat & barley, domesticated goats,
sheep, cattle, pigs, and domesticated the donkey & the
cow
Egyptians made the first pottery, bricks, cosmetic
palettes, and war maces
This double crown was there for the union of the two lands.
King Menes and his family formed the first ever Egyptian dynasty. A
dynasty is when you have a series of rulers who all come the same
family. After King Menes died his son became king, when his son died
his grandson became king.
A mural of Narmer (or Menes)
conquering Lower Egypt
(c.a. 3100 B.C.E.)
Early Dynastic Period
c.a. 3100-2700 B.C.E.
The Old Kingdom
c.a. 2700-2200 B.C.E.
First Intermediate Period
c.a. 2200-2050 B.C.E.
The Middle Kingdom
c.a. 2050-1652 B.C.E.
Second Intermediate Period
c.a. 1652-1567 B.C.E.
The New Kingdom
c.a. 1567-1069 B.C.E.
Third Intermediate Period
c.a. 1069-747 B.C.E.
Late Period
c.a. 747-30 B.C.E.
OLD KINGDOM
•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.
MIDDLE
KINGDOM
•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.
NEW KINGDOM
•Powerful pharaohs
created a large empire
that reached the
Euphrates River.
•Hatshepsut
encouraged trade.
•Ramses II expanded
Egyptian rule to Syria.
•Egyptian power
declined.
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The crook (heka)
and the flail or
flabellum
(nekhakha), are
two of the most
prominent items
in the royal
regalia of ancient
Egypt.
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Golden Age of prosperity
Witnessed the
construction of the first
funerary monuments
Djoser most well-known
pharaoh of 5 pharaohs of
the 3rd Dynasty
4th Dynasty—Started with
Sneferu and saw the
power of the pharaohs
reach its climax
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Sneferu built 3 pyramids, but
his son & successor, Khufu
credited with building the
Great Pyramid of Giza
Khufu’s son Khafra built
another great pyramid & the
Great Sphinx
Menkaura—built the last
pyramid at Giza and the last
pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty
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Second Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom
Built the first step pyramid at Saqqara, the largest necropolis in
Memphis
Designed by architect Imhotep as a stone replica of Djoser’s palace
Built entirely from cut cubic stone
- Built on the plateau of Giza at the edge of modern Cairo
- Built for the pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty:
Khufu, Khafra, & Menkaura
Architecturally
Most impressive of pyramids in Egypt
Completely made of cut stone & largely remain intact today
For administrative purposes, Egypt was divided up into
provinces, or nomes.
A governor, or nomarch, was at the head of each
nome and was responsible to the pharaoh.
These governors tended to amass large holding of
land and power within their nomes, creating a
potential rivalry with the pharaohs.
Of special importance to the administration of the
state was a vast bureaucracy of scribes who kept
records of everything.
Armed with the knowledge of writing and reading,
they were highly regarded and considered themselves
a superior class of men.
Their high standard of living reflected
exalted status.
Seated Scribe, from
Saqqara. c.a. 2400 B.C.E.
their
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Chief advisor of Pharaoh (P.M.)
Viziers judged most of the
cases in their capital courts.
The Pharaoh appointed two
viziers, one for Upper and one
for Lower
The vizier was responsible for:
 civil law and order
 collection of taxes
 maintenance of archives
 mobilization of troops,
Imhotep: famous Vizier that
designed the step pyramid
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Old Kingdom: the most stable period
the Pharaoh dominated life
 forstalled the emergence of provincial power
 but gradually lost power to royal officials
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gradual drying of the environment
 failure of the Nile to flood on time
The End of the Old Kingdom
Relief showing men, women, and children
suffering from the effects of severe famine
Professor Fekri Hassan examining ancient
hieroglyphs which tell of appalling
suffering. A third of the population died and
the most ordered of empires was brought to
chaos.
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Pharaonic power reached
its peak
Referred to country’s
“Golden Age” due to
great heights in pictorial
art & literature
Capital in Thebes, not
Memphis
Deir el-Bahri
Mortuary temple of Hatshepsut from
above.
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Successfully reduced the
power of the nomarchs &
the power over the nomes
Because the power & wealth
of nomarchs rivaled that of
the pharaoh, Senusret III
abolished the nomes
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He established a new form of
regional government, thus
consolidating power in the
hands of the pharaoh
Senusret III
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Ended the Middle
Kingdom in Ancient
Egypt by invasion
Semite Peoples
Introduced the wheel
and horse to Egypt
Starting in 1567 B.C.E., the pharaoh Ahmose I eventually
managed to defeat and expel the Hyksos from Egypt, reuniting
Egypt and establishing the New Kingdom (c. 1567-1085 B.C.E.).
The New Kingdom was characterized by a new militaristic and
imperialistic path. A more professional army was developed.
Ahmose and his army driving out the Hyksos.
Amenhotep IV (c. 13621347 B.C.E.) introduced
the worship of Aton, god
of the sun disk, as the
chief. For the first time,
Egyptians became
‘monotheistic’.
Changing his own name
to Akhenaten (“It is well
with Aton”), the pharaoh
closed the temples of
other gods.
Invasion of the “Sea Peoples” around 1200 B.C.E.
The days of Egyptian empire were ended, and the New Kingdom expired with
the end of the twentieth dynasty in 1085 B.C.E. For the next thousand years,
despite periodic revivals of strength, Egypt was dominated by Libyans, Nubians,
Persians, and Macedonians.
Egyptian
Drawings of Two
Different Tribes of
Sea People
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In late 332 B.C.E., Alexander the Great drove the
Persians out of the Nile Valley
Egyptians saw Alexander as a “liberator” & recognized
him as a pharaoh
Alexander founded the city of Alexandria,
which became a prosperous commercial
center and seat of culture
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The most famous Egyptian of all
time
She conceived a child (Ptolemy
Caesarian) with Julius Caesar
After Caesar’s death, she returned
to rule Egypt where she forged a
relationship with Marc Antony
Her suicide in 30 B.C.E. brought
to an end the last chapter in the
3,000-year story of Ancient Egypt