Ancient Egypt
The Nile River
1. The Nile River, 4000 miles
long, is the world’s longest
river.
2. The Nile River Valley
provided the early Egyptians
with rich farm land while the
surrounding deserts gave
them protection from foreign
invaders.
3. Cataracts, which are rockfilled rapids, protected Egypt in
the south.
4. The Mediterranean and Red
Seas gave the Egyptians a
way to trade with people
outside of Egypt.
Egypt and the Nile River
Egyptian Government
The earliest Egyptian rulers were village chiefs.
1. Over time, a few strong chiefs united their
villages to form kingdoms.
2. The strongest of the kingdoms eventually conquered
the weaker kingdoms and by 4000 B.C. there were
only two, the Upper and Lower Kingdoms.
3. Around 3100 B.C., Narmer, the king of the Upper
Kingdom, conquered Lower Egypt, uniting the two.
4. Narmer became Egypt’s first pharaoh.
Dynasties
1. Narmer began the first ruling dynasty of Egypt.
2. A dynasty is a group of rulers from the same
family.
3. Egypt was ruled by 31 different dynasties.
4. These dynasties are divided into three separate
“kingdoms”.
a. The Old Kingdom
b. The Middle Kingdom
c. The New Kingdom
Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom lasted from 2600 B.C. to 2300
B.C.
1. As Egypt grew and prospered, the pharaohs
developed a bureaucracy, which is a body of
officials who are used to carry out various duties
within the government.
2. The pharaoh was still the head of the government
and the people of Egypt considered him a god on earth
who controlled Egypt’s welfare.
3. Egypt practiced a polytheistic religion.
Life After Death
The Egyptians believed in an afterlife.
1. In order for a person’s spirit to
make the journey to the afterlife, they
needed their body.
2. To protect the pharaoh’s body, they
were embalmed.
3. The body’s organs would be
removed and then salt would be used
to dry out and preserve the body.
4. The body would then be filled with
spices, cleaned and wrapped with
linen.
5. The wrapped body was known as a
mummy.
The Pyramids
Pyramids were built as the tomb of the pharaohs.
1. The pyramids protected the pharaohs bodies and held
the supplies they would need in the afterlife.
2. The pyramid were made of huge blocks of stone using
human labor.
3. The largest of the pyramids is the Great Pyramid at
Giza, which is the only Ancient Wonder of the World still
in existence.
4. The Step Pyramid is the oldest pyramid in existence.
The Middle Kingdom
1. Around 2300 B.C. the Old Kingdom collapsed due to
civil war.
2. In 2100 B.C. a new dynasty came to power and the
Middle Kingdom began (it went to1670 B.C.).
2. The Middle Kingdom was a golden age of stability,
prosperity and achievement.
3. Egypt conquered new lands and forced them to pay
tribute, or forced payments, to Egypt.
4. The arts grew with wall paintings, sculptures and
literature.
5. The pharaohs quit building pyramids and instead
were buries in tombs cut into the cliffs of the Valley of the
Kings.
The Valley of the Kings
The Hyksos
In 1670 B.C. the Hyksos (from western Asia)
invaded Egypt.
1. The Hyksos brought an end to the Middle
Kingdom.
2. The Hyksos defeated the Egyptians because
had horse-drawn chariots and weapons made of
bronze and iron – the Egyptians still used
weapons made of copper and stone.
3. The Hyksos ruled Egypt for 150 years and
introduced the horse and chariot, the compound
bow, improved battle axes, and advanced
fortification techniques into Egypt
The New Kingdom
1. Around 1550 B.C., Ahmose
drove the Hyksos out of Egypt.
2. Ahmose’s reign was the
beginning of the New Kingdom,
which lasted until 1080 B.C.
3. During the New Kingdom,
Egypt was at the height of its
power.
4. Most pharaohs during this
period worked to conquer new
lands, which were forced to pay
tribute.
5. The Egyptians made slaves
out of their prisoners of war.
Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
1. In 1479 B.C., Thutmose became pharaoh
around the age of five.
2. Because he was so young, his step-mother
Hatshepsut acted as regent, or someone who rules
for a child until the child is old enough to rule.
3. When he Thutmose turned 20, Hatshepsut
refused to step down and ended up ruling as
pharaoh until she died (she ruled around 22 years).
4. Later, all of the monuments built to Hatshepsut
were defaced.
Hatshepsut and Thutmose III
King Tut
1. Tutankhamen, more commonly
known as “King Tut”, became
pharaoh at the age of 10.
2. Tut ruled for nine years before
he died.
3. Tut is mainly remembered
because his tomb, which was
discovered by Howard Carter in
1992.
4. The tomb contained Tut’s
mummy and other incredible
treasures.
Tut’s Tomb
The End of the New Kingdom
1. After King Tut, Egypt became a great power again
under the leadership of Ramses II.
2. After Ramses’ reign, later pharaohs had trouble
keeping Egypt’s neighbor’s under control.
3. One big problem was Egypt had no iron to make
weapons and they had to spend a great deal to buy
them.
4. By 1150 B.C., Egypt only consisted of the Nile River
Valley.
5. During the 900’s B.C., Egypt came under the rule of
several outside groups and were eventually
conquered by the Assyrians.
Egyptian Advancements
1. The Egyptian civilization made many advances over the
course of it’s history.
2. Early Egyptians developed geometry, which is the
mathematics of points, lines, angles, surfaces, and solids.
3. The reed plant papyrus was used to produce paper.
4. The Egyptians developed hieroglyphics, which were
symbols that stood for objects and ideas.
5. In the course of embalming, Egyptians learned a great
deal about the human body and Egyptian doctors used herbs
and drugs to treat illnesses, stitched up cuts and set broken
bones.
6. The Egyptians developed principles of astronomy and
invented a 365 day calendar divided into 12 months.
Papyrus
Hieroglyphics and the
Rosetta Stone