Chapter 2- Ancient
Egypt
-The Nile Valley
-Egypt’s Old Kingdom
-The Egyptian Empire
-The Civilization of Kush
Sphinx
About
Egypt
 Located on the
African
Continent
 Africa
 World Map
The Great Sphinx of Giza
 The Great Sphinx of Giza was considered by the
ancients to be one of the Seven Wonders of the
World
 The Sphinx is oriented due east facing the rising
sun
 A sphinx is a mythical beast of ancient Egypt with
the head of a man and the body of a lion, often
symbolizing the pharaoh as an incarnation of the
sun god Ra
 The Egyptian government has refused permission
for the chambers beneath the Sphinx to be
excavated and explored
Did You Know?
 After developing their method of
papermaking using papyrus, the
Egyptians kept the process secret, so
others could not make paper. In this
way, papyrus became even more
valuable.
Preteaching Vocabulary
What kind of government runs in the
family?
In a dynasty, leadership is passed from
one generation to the next, usually from
father to son. This is how government
worked in Egypt.
The Nile Valley (pg. 38-46)
 I. Settling the Nile
 The Nile River is the longest in the world, stretching for
4,187 miles. The Nile flows from south to north and is
formed by three major tributaries: the White Nile, the
Blue Nile and the Atbara.
 The ancient Egyptians called the river Ar or Aur,
meaning "black," because of the black sediment left
behind after the frequent river floods. The ancient Greeks
called the river Kem, which translates into "black" as well.
But it is as Nile that we know this river today. Nile comes
from the Greek Neilos, which means "river valley."
 Egyptians used the Nile River to drink, clean, farm, and
cook. They ate fish from the river.
 The Nile Valley is a narrow, green valley in Egypt. The
northern end of the valley is a fertile area of land called a
delta.
 See map on page 39 and 40
Nile Delta
I. Settling the Nile
 The Sahara, the largest desert in the
world, lies west of the Nile Valley. The
Eastern Desert lies to the east of the
valley.
The Sahara Desert
 The Sahara receives less than three inches of rain a
year .
 Oases make trade possible between the ports of North
Africa and savanna markets further south. Without
these wet rest stops for humans and animals, crossing
the desert would be almost impossible.
 As the world's biggest desert, the Sahara covers a third
of the African continent-an area about the size of the
United States.
 The Sahara is one of the hottest places on Earth. Even
though temperatures there may rise to 136 F (57.7 C),
its dryness, not heat, that makes a place like the
Sahara a desert. The frozen continent of Antarctica is
so dry that some scientists consider it a desert, too.
Sahara Desert
 Many thousands of years ago, the
Sahara was a green home to waterloving animals, like hippos. Then the
climate changed. Today rising and falling
winds pull moisture away from the desert,
rarely bringing rain.
I. Settling the Nile
 Egypt had several ‘natural borders’ to
protect it. The deserts, dangerous rapids
of the Nile, and marshes in the delta kept
enemies from entering Egypt.
 The Mediterranean Sea to the north and
the Red Sea to the east allowed trade
with other peoples. Within Egypt, people
traveled on the Nile to trade with each
other.
II. The River People
 Floods along the Nile were predictable
and were not devastating.
 Each spring the Nile would flood and
leave a dark, fertile mud along its banks.
 Farmers learned about the waters of the
Nile. They used the soil left behind by
the floods to grow wheat, barley and flax
seeds.
II. The River People
 Farmers learned about irrigation. They dug basins to
trap floodwaters, dug canals to channel water to the
fields, and built dikes to strengthen the basin walls.
 Papyrus was a reed plant that grew along the Nile that
was used to make baskets, sandals, and river rafts. It
was later used to make paper.
 The Egyptians also developed a writing system called
hieroglyphics. This system consisted of thousands of
picture symbols.
 Interdisciplinary connections activity on page 42
Egyptian Hieroglyphic
Alphabet
III. A United Egypt
 Because people in Egypt had a surplus of food,
some became artisans instead of farmers.
Artisans wove cloth, made pottery, carved
statues, and crafted weapons and tools.
 Egyptians traded with each other and with
others in Mesopotamia.
 Over time a few strong chiefs united groups of
villages into kingdoms. Two kingdoms
emerged: Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt.
III. A United Egypt
 Narmer united the two kingdoms. He
ruled from the city of Memphis. Narmer’s
formed a dynasty.
 Ancient Egypt was ruled by 31 dynasties
that historians have grouped into three
time periods: Old Kingdom, Middle
Kingdom, and New Kingdom.
IV. Early Egyptian Life
 Ancient Egypt had social Classes:
 Pharaoh was the highest power.
 Upper Class –nobles, priests, and gov. officials.
 Middle Class-merchants, artisans, shopkeepers,
and scribes.
 Farmers were largest group of people and were in a
lower class than the middle class. Unskilled
workers were the lowest class of people in ancient
Egypt.
IV. Early Egyptian Life
 Women had more rights in Egypt than any
other ancient civilizations. They could own
property, buy and sell goods, make wills, and
obtain divorces.
 Few children went to school. They mostly
played games and had toys.
 Girls learned to sew, cook, and run a
household. Boys learned farming or a skilled
trade.
Ch. 2, Sec. 2- Egypt’s Old
Kingdom (pg. 47-52)
 Old Kingdom Rulers
 Old Kingdom lasted from 2600 B.C.- 2300 B.C.
 Pharaohs were all-powerful Egyptian kings who
guided every activity in Egypt.
 Egyptian people served pharaohs because they
believed the kingdom depended on one strong
leader. They also believed the pharaohs were the
sons of Re, the sun god. They thought pharaohs
were gods on earth.
II. Egypt’s Religion
 Egyptians believed in many gods and
goddesses, or deities. These deities
controlled every human activity and all
natural forces.
 The major god was Re, the sun god.
Hapi ruled the Nile River and Isis was the
most important goddess.
II. Egypt’s Religion
 Believed in life after death
 Book of the Dead contained a collection of
spells that Egyptians believed they needed to
enter afterlife.
 For centuries, Egyptians believed only
pharaohs and a few elite people could have life
after death. To protect the Pharaohs body they
developed an embalming process.
Embalming process
 Body’s organs removed (except heart)
 Body was treated with spices and oils
and wrapped with strips of linen. This
wrapped body was called a mummy.
II. Egypt’s Science
 Doctors used herbs and drugs to treat
illnesses. They also set broken bones
and stitched cuts. Egyptian doctors were
first to specialize in different areas of
medicine, and wrote the world’s first
medical book.
Ancient Egypt
 Egyptian Pyramids
III. The Pyramids
 Built to protect bodies of dead pharaohs.
Contained items the pharaohs might need in
the afterlife.
 Took thousands of people and years of labor to
build. They used astronomy and mathematics
to create the pyramids.
 While studying the skies to create pyramids,
Egyptians created the 365-day calendar that
became the basis for our calendar today.
 The Great Pyramid is the largest pyramid in
Egypt. It was built for King Khufu.
Ch.2, Sec. 3 (pgs. 59-67)
The Egyptian Empire
 I. The Middle Kingdom
 Pharaohs lost control of Egypt in about 2300
B.C. At that time, a new dynasty of pharaohs
created a capital at Thebes.
 Egypt increased its riches during this time by
forcing newly conquered lands to pay a
tribute, or forced payment.
 During the Middle Kingdom, the arts,
literature, and architecture blossomed.
The Middle Kingdom
 The Middle Kingdom ended when the
Hyksos attacked and conquered Egypt.
The Hyksos ruled until around 1550 B.C.,
when the Egyptian prince Ahmose led a
revolt to drive the Hyksos out of Egypt.
The New Kingdom
 Ahmose’s reign ushered in the New Kingdom
from about 1550 B.C. until 1080 B.C.
 Hatshepsut was the first woman to rule Egypt.
 Trade grew during her reign. Trade made
Egypt wealthy.
 Thutmose III became pharaoh after her death.
Slavery became common during his reign.
Slaves had some rights. They could own land,
marry and eventually obtain freedom.
III. The Legacies of Two
Pharaohs
 Amenhotep IV came to power in 1370 B.C.
 He felt priests were gaining too much power.
He introduced a new religion with only one
god. Priests who did not follow the new
religion were removed from power.
 He got so wrapped up in his new religion that
he neglected his duties. Once, when the
Hittites attacked, he did not act. Thus, the
empire diminished greatly.
 He even changed name to Akhenaton.
III. The Legacies of Two
Pharaohs
 Tutankhamen, now called King Tut, was
a boy ruler who took power after
Akhenaton died at the age of 10. He
ruled for only 9 years before his death.
In A.D. 1922, a British archaeologist
found Tut’s grave.
 updated history on Amenhotep and
Tutankhamen
IV. The End of the New
Kingdom
 Ramses II was one of the most effective
pharaohs of the New Kingdom
 During his reign many temples were built.
 After his rule Egypt began to decline.
Egypt was attacked by neighboring
groups and eventually controlled only the
Nile delta.
Ch. 2, sec. 4 (pgs. 69-72)
 The region of Nubia, modern day Sudan,
later known as Kush, was located south
of Egypt on the Nile River.
 The first people to arrive in Nubia were
cattle herders, who grazed their herds on
the Savanna. A savanna is a grassy
plain.
II. The Rise of Kush
 Nubians broke away from Egypt and
formed their own kingdom called Kush.
 Kushite kings ruled from city of Napata,
which was along the upper Nile.
 Assyrians later invaded Egypt and forced
the Kushites out. The Kushites learned
iron working from the Assyrians. They
were the first Africans to use iron.
II. The Rise of Kush
 Kush moved the ruling city to Meroe,
further from the Assyrians. Kushite built
Meroe to look like Egypt, with pyramids
and temples.
 Eventually Axum rose up and invaded
Meroe and burned it to the ground.
THE END