Mr. Hessel: Global History I: Ancient Egypt
"Protected by nature from enemies and blessed with natural
resources, the Ancient Egyptians were more self-contained than most
have been, but the need for the cedars of Lebanon brought them into
the stream of influences emanating from Mesopotamia." Charles
Alexander Robinson Jr. Ancient History
Geography
Desert
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96.5% of Egypt is desert
almost no rain
Nile River
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"Giver of Life"
Annual flood
o Silt
o fertilizes the land
irrigation
o canals, dams
Six Cataracts
Sun
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Amon Ra
absence resembles death
Egypt is isolated
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Six cataracts
Large deserts
Mediterranean Sea
Egyptians considered themselves blessed
History of Ancient Egypt
Neolithic Egyptians
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lived in huts of mud-brick
worshipped spirits
put objects of daily use into graves
used flint and copper tools
sculptured figures
need for irrigation gave rise to the first governments
Dynasties I and II (3000-2780BC)
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initially many little kingdoms
Finally two emerged
Upper and Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt
Unified Kingdom
The Old Kingdom (2780-2280BC)
Dynasties III-VI
Eyptians were, "...independent, self reliant, full of vigor and
zest for action and accomplishment." Charles Alexander Robinson Jr.
Ancient History
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capital at Memphis
Pharoah (Great House)
This period is also known as The Pyramid Age
o Khufu (Cheops), Khafre, Menkaure
 expensive building projects
o high taxes
provincial Governors gained in power
o challenged the authority of the Pharoah
Egypt plunged into Civil War
The First Intermediate Period (2280-200BC)
"Misery and Poverty stalked the Land."
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3 rival families fouight for power
o Memphis
o Thebes
o Heracleopolis
Thebes conquers Lower Egypt
unifies Egypt
The Middle Kingdom (2000-1785BC)
Dynasties XI-XII
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Provincial Governors had hereditary office
Kings had Agents
o Eyes and Ears of the Pharaoh
Amenemhet III
o conquered Nubia
o built a canal around the first cataract
o canal connecting the Red Sea to the Nile River
o a professional army
a series of strong rulers ,such as Amenemhet III, was followed
by a series of weak rulers
civil wars broke out
then Invasion
The Third Intermediate Period (1785-1580)
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The Hyksos Invasion
o crossed the Sinai to conquer Egypt
o brought the horse and the war chariot
 unknown in Egypt
o Ruled harshly
o ravaged the Delta
Ahmose roused the Egytpians and they expelled the Hyksos
The New Kingdom (1580-1085BC)
Dynasties XVIII-XX
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Egypt was reunited
Nubia was reconquered
Southern Palestine was conquered
Pharoahs were Generals
o splendid armies
 horse and war chariot
o officers from the nobility and middle class
o each soldier was given 8 acres
o kings also hired mercenaries
Ahmose owned all the land, collected produce for taxes
o "never again must an invader be allowed to reach
Egypt"
Pharaoh bought the loyalty of the Priests with lavish gifts
Thutmose I
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successor of Ahmose
built the Valley of the Kings
Thutmose III
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gifted military leader
no less than 17 expeditions to Syria
o 1485BC Battle of Megiddo
 first recorded battle in History
o defeats the King of Kadesh
o empire expands to the Euphrates
collected annual tribute from conquered lands
o horses, slaves, gold, silver, cedars
Amenhotep III
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expanded Empire into Asia Minor
into Mesopotamia
South to the 4th Cataract
o princes from the empire were kept hostage in Egypt
 educated in Egypt
 occasionally sent back to rule
Akhnaton (Amenhotep IV)
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developed a monotheistic religion
o Aton the sun disc
unpopular with the people and the priests
son was Tutankhamon
Ramses II
o spent his reign fighting off invaders along the borders of
the empire
 Sea Peoples
 Hittites
 Assyrians conquer Egypt
 introduce iron
Social Classes
Ruling Class
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Pharaoh
o son of the Sun God
Priests
o gods needed constant attention
o collected taxes
 grains, wine
Nobles
o governors of Provinces
o court officials
o Tax collectors
o owned vast estates
Middle Class
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merchant, artisans, physicians, skilled workers
Peasants
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farmers
o Three fifths of each harvest to the government
o required to work on palaces, temples, irrigation
o served in the army
lived in simple mud-brick houses
Slaves
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Prisoners of war
Women in Egypt
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high status
o valued as wife and mother
o property descended through the female line
two were Pharoahs
o Hatshepsut
o Cleopatra
Education in Egypt
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schools originally for training priests
eventually education expands
o students learned by dictation
learned a trade
o scribes, clerks, officials
Accomplishments
Hieroglyphics
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pictograms and ideograms
Mathematics
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geometry
o used for surveying land after the flood
Astronomy
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365 day calendar
12 months
3 seasons
o flood, planting, harvest
predict eclipses
Stone buildings
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monuments, pyramids
Religion
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mummification
reincarnation
polytheistic
o Gods of Nature
Some Gods of Egypt
A
mon Ra
O
siris
I
sis
Sun God
Nile River God, God of the Underworld
The Egyptian Goddess of Funeral Rites, and the Protectress and
Divine Mother of the Pharoah
orus
H
The hawk-headed god is the son of Isis and the newly
resurected Osiris.
eth
S
God of drought and storm, Lord of the Red Land (the desert),
God of War.