Egypt
 Geography
• Desert
o “Redlands”
o Natural barriers to invasion
• Nile River
o “Blacklands” Kemet
o Unlike Mesopotamia, river serene and predictable
o River was everything to Egyptians: life and communication
• Mediterranean and Red Seas
 Political
• Egypt separated into two
distinct regions: Upper
and Lower Egypt
• These regions unified by
King Menes during the
Archaic Period 3000 BC
to 2700 BC
• Pharaoh – “great house”
or “palace”
• People began to use
hieroglyphics to write
• Use of irrigation ditches
History
•
Archaic Period: Narmer(Menes)
united Upper and Lower Egypt
1. Old Kingdom (2700 BC. To 2200
BC)
2. Middle Kingdom (2050 BC to
1800 BC)
3. New Kingdom (1500 BC -1000
BC
• Covers a huge block of
time….over 3,000 years.
Historians noticed something
interesting. During this huge
time period Egypt was ruled by
Pharaohs. Power was passed in
families called dynasties.
Historians noticed that much of
the history of Egypt could be
divided into three large blocks
of time. In each block, the
Pharaohs of the 31 dynasties
behaved in a certain way
 Age of Pyramid Builders
 2700 BC– 2180 BC
 step pyramid(series of
mastabas) for King
Zoser(Djoser) near Memphis
 His vizier was Imhotep Power
virtually unlimited
 Pharaoh was considered child
of the sun god (Re)
 Pharaoh’s chief subordinates
were the priests – pharaoh was
the chief priest… believed to
enjoy eternal life
 Egypt eventually divided into 42 provinces administered
by a governor
 Governors reported to the Pharaoh or his chief
bureaucratic official, the Vizier
 The Old Kingdom was a period of great peace
 Pharaoh had no standing army – each local area had its
own militia
 There was little to no slavery
 Most of the large pyramids were constructed during the
Old Kingdom
The pyramids at Giza built for King Khufu(Cheops)
Contrary to popular belief, the pyramids were not built with slave labor but by the
Egyptian people. How was it done?
 The Old Kingdom fell about
2200 BCE
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•
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Financial problems due to
construction of the pyramids
Crop failures
Provincial nobles usurped
power from central government
– warred against each other
Pyramids, tombs statues and
temples looted and destroyed
Period of chaos called the First
Intermediate Period – ended
with rise of Middle Kingdom
around 2050 BCE
 Ruled through an alliance
composed of middle class –
nobility kept in check
 Period of expansion – Nubia
conquered
 Construction of public works
versus pyramids
 Religion democratized –
hope of salvation of common
people
 Trade increases with Syria
and Mesopotamia
 Middle Kingdom considered
golden age of Egypt
 Middle Kingdom possibly
weakened by nobles
revolting
 Period of chaos followed
 Weakened Egypt conquered
by Hyksos
 Hyksos introduce horse
drawn chariot, use of bronze,
new weapons
 Hyksos gained power
through superior weapons:
chariots and bronze
weapons
 Egyptians learned from
Hyksos – united as one
people to oust them
 Ahmose became powerful as
power of nobility severely
curtailed
 Thebes becomes capital of
Egypt
 Egypt became imperialistic –
appetite whetted for war and
conquest
 The large army gathered to
destroy the Hyksos used by
pharaoh to expand territory
 Egypt conquered into Libya
and Syria
 Prisoners of war = large
slave population
 Hatshepsut
• First of four female rulers
of Egypt
• Became pharaoh as
regent for son
• Succeeded by son
Thutmose III
• Son destroyed most
records of Hatshepsut
 Amenhotep IV
(Akhenaton)
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•
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Established monotheism
Aton- the sun god
Queen Nefertiti
Short reign (~15 years)
 Polytheism restored by boypharaoh Tutankhamen
 Ramses II (The Great)
 The Treaty of Kadesh Egypt & Hittites
 Conquered by nomadic Sea
People
 Last real independent
kingdom
• Libyans, Nubians (Kush),
Assyrians, Persians,
Greeks, Romans, Muslims,
Europeans
Forensic experts have re-created the
real Tutankhamen