Egypt
Mummification

Religion
Sumer
–

Believed in afterlife – a grim
the preservation of the
underworld from which there
dead
was no release
Sun god was chief

god
Gods were thought to
control every aspect of life
Pharaohs


were

Polytheistic

Many independent city –
looked upon as a god as
well as a monarch
Buried

with
great
pharaohs
care
and
filled tombs with riches
Pharaoh ran the

land
Vizier - chief

Government
states

Each city – state ruler was
advisor who oversaw
responsible for maintaining city
all activities (enforced
walls and irrigation
laws, collected taxes)

Led armies in war and
enforced the laws
Based on trade, but

surplus and advances
Economy

Trade brought riches to city

Using rivers and the first
allowed for new
wheeled vehicles were able to
opportunities
expand trade routes
(merchants)
Foreign conquests

brought new riches to
Egypt
Geography

Nile River Valley

Fertile Crescent

Yearly floods helped

Between the Tigris and
leaving layer of silt (rich soil)

Cataract - waterfall of the
Nile

Delta – triangular area of
Euphrates Rivers

Rivers frequently rose
and flooded, causing the
soil to be ruined
marshland formed by
deposits of silt at the mouth
of some rivers

Pharaoh – top of social

Social hierarchy
order

Ruling family, high
Social

High priests/priestesses
priests, leading
Structure

Nobles(fought the
officials (highest class)
pharaohs wars)


Merchants (developed
lesser priests, scribes
from surplus of food),
(small middle class)
scribes, artisans (small

class)

Merchants, artisans,
Peasant farmers (largest
Peasant farmers
(largest class)

Slaves (lowest class)
class)

Slaves
Accomplish 
Building of pyramids

First wheeled vehicles
ments
Advancement in medicine,

1st writing system

astronomy, and

(cuneiform)
mathematics

used iron
Developed form of picture

development of
writing (hieroglyphics)

Developed simpler form
of writing (demotic)

Irrigation projects

Developed new military
technology
geometry and algebra

built ziggurats