Chapter 2
Ancient Egypt and Kush
Sec. 1- Nile Valley
Sec. 2- Egypt’s Old Kingdom
Sec. 3- The Egyptian Empire
Sec. 4-The Civilization of the Kush
http://www.carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/MidEl
em_Home.html
Introduction
• About the same time as the early civilizations
were in and about the fertile valley of
Mesopotamia , another civilization was
forming near the Nile River. This civilization
was ancient Egypt.
• Between 6000BC and 5000BC, huntersgatherers moved into the Nile River valley.
They settled, farmed and created villages
along the river banks.
Key Words
• Cataract-narrow cliffs and boulders that form
wild rapids
• Delta- an area of fertile soil at the mouth of a
river
• Papyrus-a plant of the Nile Valley used to
make a form of paper
• Hieroglyphics-a system of writing made up of
picture symbols developed by ancient
Egyptians
• Dynasty-line of rulers from the same family
Where did Egyptian civilization begin
and why that location?
• Egypt was warm and sunny but received little
rainfall so people relied on the Nile River. The
river provided:
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Drinking water
Bathing
Farming
Cooking
Cleaning
Fish
Plants
Fed and watered animals
Settling the Nile-A Mighty River
• World’s longest river
• Flows north from the mountains in the heart of
Africa to the Mediterranean Sea.
• 4000 miles long (a little longer that the distance
across the US from Georgia to California)
• Begins as two rivers-Blue Nile (mountains of east
Africa) and White Nile (marshes in central Africa)
• Two rivers meet and form the Nile just south of
Egypt.
• At the meeting point cataracts are formed and
because of this large ships can only use the 650
miles of the river where it flows through Egypt.
A Sheltered Land-Nile River and Delta
Nile
• Surrounded by desert (west-Sahara)(eastEastern Desert)
• Ancient Egyptians called deserts “the Red
Land” because of burning heat.
• Desert could not support farming or human
life but did KEEP OUTSIDE ARMIES AWAY
• In the south -Nile’s dangerous cataracts did
keep enemy boats from reaching Egypt
• In the north-delta marshes offered no harbors
for invaders from the sea.
Nile
• The natural barriers protected Egypt and they
were able to grow and prosper
• The Red Sea to the east and the Mediterranean
Sea to the north gave the Egyptians a way to
trade with outsiders
• Within Egypt the Nile was used for trade and
transportation. Winds from the north pushed
sailboats south and water flow brought them
back north
• Egyptians had frequent, friendly contact with one
another
Nile-The River People
• Regular Flooding
– Floods were consistent and gentle so the
Egyptians were able to farm and live securely
• How Egyptians Use the Nile
– From July to Oct. the Nile would spill over leaving
a dark, fertile silt. Because of this they called their
land “Kemet”- the Black Land
– The soil made for great farming-wheat, barley, flax
Nile
• (Technology)
– Used irrigation-dug basins to trap flood water,
then canals to carry water from basins to fieldsdikes to strengthen the basin walls
– Shadoof-bucket attached to a pole used to lift
water from the Nile to the basins(still used today)
– Geometry to survey or measure land
– Papyrus-a reed plant that grew along the river
used to make baskets, sandals, rafts. Later they
used it for paper
What Were Hieroglyphics?
• Complex Egyptian system of writing
• Began with picture symbols later symbols
stood for sounds
• Combination of picture symbols that stood for
objects or ideas and symbols for sounds(like
our alphabet)-created Heiroglyphics
• Some people could read and write but they
still had scribes. Scribes wrote/carved onto
stone and paper
The Rise of Government
• Due to technology and growth in population,
wealth and land ownership, Egypt needed
government to direct.
• Earliest rulers were village chiefs.
• A few strong chiefs united groups of villages to
form kingdoms-stronger overpowered weaker
• Egypt became 2 large kingdoms
– Nile delta was LOWER Egypt
– South upriver was Upper Egypt
Govt. Continued
• About 3100 BC, Narmer (king of Upper Egypt),
led his armies and took over Lower Egypt.
This made a united Egypt-one
Egypt’s Ruling Families
• Narmer ruled from Memphis
– Wore a double crown-helmet like, white-Upper
Egypt, open red-Lower Egypt
– First in a long dynasty of kings
Egypt had 31 dynasties lasting about 2,800 years.
The dynasties are divided into 3 main (times
periods)kingdoms
Old Kingdom-earliest
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Early Egyptian Life
• Egyptian society was divided into social groups
based on wealth and power.
• King and family
Social classes
• Upper class-nobles, priests, other wealthy
government officials
– Lived in cities and on large estates on the Nile
– Elegant homes made of wood and mud brick
– Large gardens, ponds, servants
– Wore white linen and heavy makeup and jewelry
• Middle class
– Skilled Middle
• Business people, tradesman, craftsman, artisans
• Lived in smaller homes, dressed simply
Social classes
• Unskilled (Lower) Class
•
Farmers- largest group of Egyptians-rented land and paid
with crops, lived in villages in one room huts with palm
leaf roofs, ate simply-bread,beer, veg., fruit
• Unskilled workers-did physical labor, lived in crowded city
neighborhoods, small mud-brick homes with dirt floors,
courtyard for animals, flat top roofs where families talked,
played, slept. Women worked on rooftops drying fruit,
making bread and weaving cloth
Family Life
• Father was head of family
• Women had more rights than earlier
civilizations
– Own and pass on property
– Buy and sell goods
– Make wills
– Obtain divorces
– Upper class women were in charge of temples and
could perform religious ceremonies
Family
• Only a few children went to school
• Mothers taught daughters, sewing, cooking,
running household
• Boys learned farming, skilled trades from
fathers
• Children enjoyed recreation time
– Board games, dolls, spinning tops, stuffed leather
balls
Review
• The deserts on either side of the Nile Valley,
along with the Nile cataracts and delta marshes,
protected Egypt from invaders
• He Egyptians became successful farmers using
the Nile River’s floods and irrigation
• About 3100 BC, Narmer united Lower and Upper
Egypt
• Egypt’s society was divided into upper-class
priests and nobles, middle-class artisans and
merchants and lower-class workers and farmers
Quiz
1. Where did Egyptian civilization begin?
2. Why is the Nile River important to Egyptian
society?
3. Explain the development of a system of
writing in Egypt.
4. Explain the structure of Egyptian society.
5. How did government arise in Egypt?