Chapter 11 – History of Ancient Egypt
Section Notes
Video
Geography and Early Egypt
The Old Kingdom
The Middle and New Kingdoms
Egyptian Achievements
Impact of the Egyptian Pyramids
Close-up
Building the Pyramids
The Temple of Karnak
Quick Facts
Chapter 11 Visual Summary
Maps
Ancient Egypt, 4500-500 BC
Ancient Egypt
Egyptian Trade, c. 1400 BC
Assessment Map: Ancient Egypt
Images
The Old Kingdom
Egyptian Society
Ancient Painting of Ramses
Howard Carter
Geography and Early Egypt
The Big Idea
The water and fertile soils of the Nile Valley
enabled a great civilization to develop in Egypt.
Main Ideas
• Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile
River was so important.
• Civilization developed after people began farming along
the Nile River.
• Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.
Main Idea 1:
Egypt was called the gift of the Nile
because the Nile River was so important.
• The Nile River, the longest river in the world, brought life to
Egypt and enabled it to thrive.
– It begins in central Africa and runs north through Egypt to the
Mediterranean Sea.
– The civilization of ancient Egypt developed along a 750-mile stretch
of the Nile.
• Ancient Egypt included two regions, southern and northern.
– Southern Egypt was called Upper Egypt because it was upriver in
relation to the Nile’s flow.
– Northern Egypt, or Lower Egypt, was downriver.
The Nile
• South of Egypt, rocky terrain caused cataracts, or rapids, to form.
– The first cataract marked the southern border of Upper Egypt.
– Five more cataracts lay farther south.
• In Lower Egypt, the Nile divided into several branches that fanned
out and flowed into the Mediterranean Sea.
– These branches formed a delta, a triangle-shaped area of land
made from soil deposited by a river.
– Two-thirds of Egypt’s fertile farmland was located in the Nile
Delta.
• Each year rainfall south of Egypt caused floods in Upper Egypt in
mid-summer and in Lower Egypt in the fall.
– The Nile’s flooding coated the land around it with a rich silt.
– Without the Nile’s regular flooding, people never could have
farmed in Egypt.
Main Idea 2:
Civilization developed after people began
farming along the Nile River.
Hunter-gatherers first moved into the Nile Valley more than
12,000 years ago.
By 4500 BC farmers living in small villages grew wheat and
barley.
Over time farmers in Egypt developed an irrigation system.
Egyptians enjoyed a varied diet, with wheat, barley, fruits,
vegetables, cattle, sheep, fish, wild geese and ducks.
Two Kingdoms
• Egypt’s location had natural barriers, which made it hard to
invade Egypt.
– To the west, the desert was too big and harsh to cross.
– To the north, the Mediterranean Sea kept many enemies away.
– To the east, more desert and the Red Sea were barriers.
– To the south, Nile cataracts made sailing into Egypt hard.
• Villages grew—wealthy farmers became village leaders—
strong leaders controlled several villages—
villages banded together to form two kingdoms.
• Capital of Lower Egypt was Pe in the Nile Delta.
• Capital of Upper Egypt was Nekhen on the Nile’s west bank.
Main Idea 3:
Strong kings unified all of ancient Egypt.
• According to tradition, Menes rose to power in Upper
Egypt around 3100 BC.
– Invaded Lower Egypt and married one of their princesses to
unify the two kingdoms
– Many consider Menes to be Egypt’s first pharaoh, the title
used by the rulers of ancient Egypt.
– Founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or series of rulers from the
same family.
– Built a new capital city, Memphis, at the southern tip of the
Nile Delta.
• Egypt’s First Dynasty lasted for about 200 years.
• In time some 30 dynasties would rule ancient Egypt over
a span of more than 2,500 years.
The Old Kingdom
The Big Idea
Egyptian government and religion were closely connected
during the Old Kingdom.
Main Ideas
• Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by pharaohs, roles
in society, and trade.
• Religion shaped Egyptian life.
• The pyramids were built as tombs for Egypt’s pharaohs.
Main Idea 1:
Life in the Old Kingdom was influenced by
pharaohs, roles in society, and trade.
• The Old Kingdom lasted for about 500 years, from
about 2700 to 2200 BC, beginning with the Third
Dynasty.
• Ancient Egyptians believed that Egypt belonged to the
gods, and the pharaoh had come to Earth in order to
manage Egypt for the rest of the gods.
• The most famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was
Khufu, who ruled in the 2500s BC. He is best known for
the monuments that were built to him.
Society and Trade
As Egypt’s population grew, social classes appeared. Egyptians
believed that a well-ordered society would keep their kingdom
strong.
Pharaoh
Egypt’s ruler, also considered to be a god
Nobles
Officials and priests, many nobles, people from rich and powerful
families
Middle Class
Lesser government officials, scribes, and rich craftspeople
Lower Class
Farmers, servants, and slaves
As society developed, trade grew as Egypt traded with neighbors for
gold, copper, ivory, slaves, stone, and wood.
Main Idea 2:
Religion shaped Egyptian life.
• Worshipping the gods was a part of daily life.
• The Egyptians practiced polytheism.
• Before the First Dynasty each village worshipped its own gods.
• During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian officials expected everyone
to worship the same gods.
• The Egyptians build temples to the gods all over the kingdom.
• Egyptian families also worshipped household gods at shrines in
their homes.
Major Egyptian Gods
Ptah
Anubis
Re
Osiris
Isis
• Creator of the world
• God of the dead
• Sun god
• God of the underworld
• Goddess of magic
Horus
• Sky god; god of the pharaohs
Thoth
• God of wisdom
Geb
• Earth god
Emphasis on the Afterlife
• Much of Egyptian religion focused on the afterlife, or life after
death.
• The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a happy place.
• The Egyptian belief in the afterlife stemmed from their idea of
ka, or a person’s life force.
– When a person died, his or her ka left the body and became a
spirit, but could not leave its burial site.
– It had all the same needs as a living person.
• Egyptians believed that a body had to be preserved so that its
spirit could recognize it.
– They developed a method called embalming to preserve bodies
and to keep them from decaying.
– They preserved bodies as mummies, specially treated bodies
wrapped in cloth.
• Only royalty and other members of Egypt’s elite, or people of
wealth and power, could afford to have mummies made.
Main Idea 3:
The pyramids were built as tombs
for Egypt’s pharaohs.
The Egyptians believed that burial sites, especially royal tombs,
were very important, so they built spectacular monuments in
which to bury their rulers.
The most spectacular were the pyramids—huge, stone tombs
with four triangle-shaped sides that met in a point on top—first
built during the Old Kingdom.
The largest is the Great Pyramid of Khufu near Giza. It is an
amazing example of Egyptian engineering, the application of
scientific knowledge for practical purposes.
Pyramids required huge labor forces. As many as 100,000
workers may have been paid to work on just one pyramid.
Significance of the Pyramids
Burial in a pyramid showed a pharaoh’s importance.
Both the size and shape of the pyramid were symbolic. Pointing
to the sky above, the pyramid symbolized the pharaoh’s
journey to the afterlife.
Egyptians believed the pharaoh, as their link to the gods,
controlled everyone’s afterlife.
To ensure the pharaoh’s safety after death, the Egyptians
sometimes wrote magical spells and hymns on tombs.
Together, these spells and hymns are called Pyramid Texts.
The Middle and New Kingdoms
The Big Idea
During the Middle and New Kingdoms,
order and greatness were restored in Egypt.
Main Ideas
• The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable government
between periods of disorder.
• The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian trade and
military power, but its greatness did not last.
• Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s social classes.
Main Idea 1:
The Middle Kingdom was a period of stable
government between periods of disorder.
• At the end of the Old Kingdom, the wealth and power of the
pharaohs declined.
– In time, nobles gained enough power to challenge the pharaohs.
– By about 2200 BC the Old Kingdom had fallen and local nobles ruled
for the next 160 years.
• Around 2050 BC a powerful pharaoh defeated his rivals,
reuniting Egypt and beginning the Middle Kingdom, a period of
order and stability that lasted to about 1750 BC.
• Around 1750 BC the Hyksos from Southwest Asia invaded and
conquered Lower Egypt.
– They ruled the region as pharaohs for 200 years.
Main Idea 2:
The New Kingdom was the peak of Egyptian
trade and military power, but its greatness
did not last.
Building an Empire
• In the mid-1500s BC Ahmose of
Thebes drove the Hyksos out of
Egypt.
• Start of the New Kingdom, the
period during which Egypt
reached the height of its power
and glory
• Egypt’s leaders conquered a large
area, including kingdom of Kush,
south of Egypt.
• By the 1400s BC Egypt’s empire
extended from the Euphrates
River to southern Nubia.
Growth and Effects of Trade
• As empire expanded, so did
trade.
• Conquest brought Egyptian
traders into contact with more
distant lands and profitable trade
routes, or paths followed by
traders, developed from Egypt to
these lands.
• One of Egypt’s rulers who worked
to increase trade was Queen
Hatshepsut who used the money
gained from trade to support the
arts and architecture.
Invasions of Egypt
Hittites
• In the 1200s BC
the pharaoh
Ramses II, or
Ramses the
Great, fought the
Hittites from Asia
Minor. Neither
could defeat the
other.
Tehenu
The Sea Peoples
• The Tehenu
invaded the Nile
Delta and were
defeated by
Ramses.
• Soon after
Ramses the
Great died, the
Sea Peoples
invaded.
• Built a series of
forts to
strengthen
Egypt’s defenses,
and the Tehenu
were defeated
again when they
invaded a
century later.
• They crushed the
Hittites and
destroyed cities
in Southwest
Asia.
• The Egyptians
turned them back
after 50 years of
fighting.
Main Idea 3:
Work and daily life differed among Egypt’s
social classes.
A complex society requires people to take on different jobs. In
Egypt, these jobs were often passed on within families.
• Worked for the government and the temples
Scribes
• Kept records and accounts, wrote and copied
religious and literary texts
• Worked for the government and the temples
Artisans
Architects
and Artists
• Sculptors, builders, carpenters, jewelers,
metalworkers, and leatherworkers
• Designed the temples and royal tombs
• Artists worked for the state and temples, and
painted the walls of the pharaohs’ tombs
Merchants, Soldiers, Peasants, and Slaves
• Small group of Egyptians were traders
Merchants
• Usually accompanied by soldiers, scribes, and
laborers
• Professional army
Soldiers
• Received land as payment, kept captured
treasure, promotion to officer possible
• Vast majority of Egypt’s population
Farmers and
• Paid crops as taxes; worked on special
Peasants
projects for the pharaoh
Slaves
• Worked farms, projects, workshops, and
homes
• Had some legal rights
• Could earn their freedom
Family Life in Egypt
•
Most Egyptian families lived in their own homes.
•
Men were expected to marry young so that they could start
having children.
•
Most Egyptian women were devoted to their homes and families.
•
Some women had jobs outside the home, serving as priestesses
and working as royal officials, administrators, or artisans.
•
They could own property, make contracts (binding legal
agreements), divorce their husbands, and keep their property
after a divorce.
•
Children’s lives were less structured. They hunted and played
with balls, dolls, tops, and animal figurines.
•
At school, they learned morals, writing, math, and sports.
•
At age 14 most boys entered their father’s profession.
Egyptian Achievements
The Big Idea
The Egyptians made lasting achievements
in writing, art, and architecture.
Main Ideas
• Egyptian writing used symbols called hieroglyphics.
• Egypt’s great temples were lavishly decorated.
• Egyptian art filled tombs.
Main Idea 1:
Egyptian writing used symbols
called hieroglyphics.
Hieroglyphics, the Egyptian writing system, were one of the
world’s first writing systems.
The earliest known examples are from around 3300 BC.
Later, Egyptians learned how to make papyrus, a long-lasting,
paperlike material made from reeds. Scribes wrote on papyrus
using brushes and ink.
The hieroglyphic writing system used more than 600 symbols.
Hieroglyphics could be written in any direction.
The Rosetta Stone and Egyptian Texts
Rosetta Stone
• People have known about hieroglyphics for centuries, but did
not know how to read them.
• In 1799 a French soldier found the Rosetta Stone, a huge,
stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form
of Egyptian.
• Because the message in all three languages was the same,
scholars who knew Greek were able to translate the
hieroglyphics.
Egyptian Texts
• Because papyrus did not decay in Egypt’s dry climate, many
ancient Egyptian texts still survive.
• They include government records, historical records, science
texts, medical manuals, and literary works, including The Book
of the Dead, telling about the afterlife.
Main Idea 2:
Egypt’s great temples were lavishly
decorated.
• Temples were the homes of the gods.
• People worshipped, offered gifts, and asked for favors.
• Common temple features:
– Rows of stone sphinxes—imaginary creatures with the bodies of
lions and the heads of other animals or humans—lined the entrance
path.
– Entrance was a huge, thick gate.
– On either side might stand an obelisk, a tall, four-sided pillar that is
pointed on top.
– Inside was lavishly decorated, with huge columns supporting the
roof, often covered with paintings and hieroglyphics like the walls.
Main Idea 3:
Egyptian art filled tombs.
Many of the Egyptians’ greatest works were created to fill the tombs of
pharaohs and nobles because they believed the dead could enjoy them
in the afterlife.
• Egyptian artists painted on tomb and temple walls,
canvas, papyrus, pottery, plaster, and wood.
Paintings
• Subjects included historical events, major religious
rituals, and scenes from everyday life.
• More important figures are larger than less important
people.
Stonework
Jewelry
• Huge statues and detailed carvings
• Made for men and women out of gold and precious
stones
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