Ancient Egypt: Why so stable?
• Ancient Egypt lasted
for 3500 years due to
factors in:
• Geography
• Politics
• Social structure
• Education
• Economy
• Religion
Stability was goal and
change slow and
cautious
http://ancient-egypt-book.com/images/map1.jpg
What was the
“SOUL” of
Ancient Egypt?
• THE NILE was considered the SOUL as it was the source
of life and path to immortality
• Egyptians lived on Eastern side but were buried on
Western side
• River was symbol of passage of one life to next (eternity)
• Creation story began in swirling waters of the Nile when
god Horus gave power to Pharaohs
The Fertile Nile Valley
The Annual Flooding of the
Nile
Nile Irrigation-the Shaduf
Irrigation means to
bring water to farm
lands.
Farming in the Nile floodplain
The Nile floodplain
Felucca
boats
The Nile River
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Flooded every year
Provided fertile soil for crops
Was the “Lifeline” for Egypt
Transportation Route
Used for Irrigation
Flows south to north
Mouth = “Delta”
Perfect Location
• Deserts provided
protection and shelter
from outside influences
• Access to Mediterranean
Sea allowed for trading
• Deserts were an
important source of
minerals and building
supplies (copper, tin,
gold and natron)
• Video
What determined Egypt’s
economic prosperity?
Wealth
• Agriculture made up most of
Egypt’s wealth – grain,
vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats,
pigs, and fowl
Economy
•Simple economy based on agriculture and minerals from desert
•Trading was done by bartering goods (grain, oil, wheat)
•Extensive trading made Egypt a powerful influence on culture, art,
ideas and technology
•Trade eventually grew and expanded, bringing new ideas and goods
into Egyptian society
Menes: Unifier of Upper & Lower Egypt
c. 3050 B. C. E. ?
UNIFICATION OF EGYPT: King
Menes unites Upper and Lower
Egypt and wears double crown in
3100 BCE. Following Menes
came 31 dynasties over 3000
years. Video
A mural of Narmer or
Menes conquering
Lower Egypt (c.a.
3100 B.C.)
The first pyramid built for King
Zoser, which exists even today,
in Sakkarah, the necropolis of
Memphis.
Built in the year 2650 BC by the
architect Imhotep,
It is the oldest monumental
work in stone known to man.
Exterior walls of white
limestone.
The wall has 14 doors, 13 of
them false.
Stepped Pyramid at
Saqqara
Pyramids
• These are the Giza
pyramids, the most
famous.
• Pyramids were
tombs for the
kings.
• These were built in
2500 B.C.
• How old are they?
“Bent” Pyramid of King
Sneferu
Plan of the Great Pyramid
of Khufu
The burial of the king, as well as his passage from this world to
the next, was of great importance to everyone.
The ritual cycle by which the living pharaoh, the god Horus,
became Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, guaranteed the survival
of Egypt itself.
By building the pyramids all Egyptians believed in a single
religion of ancestor worship in which the pyramids served as
reminders.
Video about Pyramids
Video- Journals
Through History
End of the Old Kingdom
• With a lot of resources being given to build
the pyramids, many of the Upper Egyptians
were upset.
• They set up a new King in Thebes and the
country became divided.
• This along with a severe famine brought an
end to the Old Kingdom.
Relief showing men, women, and
children suffering from the effects of
severe famine
The End of the Old Kingdom
Professor Fekri Hassan examining
ancient hieroglyphs which tell of
appalling suffering. A third of the
population died and the most ordered
of empires was brought to chaos.
This marked the end of the Old
Kingdom.
Education
• All children, regardless of social class,
received some education
• Goal for education was to ensure youth
exhibited self control and good manners
• At 14, young boys followed fathers in jobs,
and girls learned from mothers in the
household
• Children of priests were schooled more
formally
• Literacy was stressed for government jobs
• Education respected for creating a well
rounded individual
Hieroglyphics
Papyrus  Paper
Hieratic Scroll
Piece
Papyrus Plant
Hieroglyphics “Alphabet”
24 “letters” + 700 phonetic symbols
• History of Writing:
1) pictograms (sun= sun)
2) ideograms (sun = sun, daylight,
warmth, light)
3) phonograms: symbols that suggest a
particular sound; related ideas and also
sound (Sun = sun, son, Sunday)
• Each hieroglyph found in pyramids and
tombs often symbolized more than one
consonant. Not only that, but actual
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a combination
of sound-signs, pictograms, and
ideograms. No wonder it was so hard to
decode them!
Hieroglyphic
“Cartouche”
• Eventually
scribes adapted
hieroglyphic
symbols
• By 700 BCE,
script was used
for secular
matters such as
letters, accounts
and record
keeping
• Video
Rosetta Stone
• A stone with writing on it in Egyptian
and Greek. It was carved in 196 BC.
• Written in three scripts (hieroglyphs
for religious documents; demoticcommon script of Egypt; Greeklanguage of the rulers of Egypt at that
time)
• Written so that the priests,
government officials and rulers of
Egypt could read what it said.
• Found in 1799
• Written by a group of priests in Egypt
to honor the Egyptian pharaoh. It lists
all of the things that the pharaoh had
done that were good for the priests
and the people of Egypt.
Egyptian Math
1
10 100 1000 10,000 100,000 1,000,000
What number is
this?
PHARAOHS CROWNED WITH
SHEPHERD’S CROOK AND FLAIL
The Middle Kingdom (2050-1653 B.C.) was
characterized by a new concern of the pharaohs for
the people. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh had
been viewed as an inaccessible god-king. Now he
was portrayed as the shepherd of his people.
The Hyksos were a neighboring group that had new horse-drawn warchariots. This invention, never seen before in Egypt, allowed the Hyksos to
control this region.
They utilized superior bronze weapons and chariots to help them take
control of Egypt.
Within 50 years, they had also managed to take control of the important
Egyptian city of Memphis. This was the end of the Middle Kingdom.
Starting in 1567 B.C., the pharaoh Ahmose I eventually
managed to defeat and expel the Hyksos from Egypt, reuniting
Egypt and establishing the New Kingdom (c. 1567-1085 B.C.).
The New Kingdom was characterized by a new militaristic and
imperialistic path. A more professional army was developed.
Ahmose and his army driving out the Hyksos.
Queen Hatshepsut
• Ruled from 1503-1482
B.C.
• Married to Thutmose II
• After her husband died,
Hatshepsut dressed like a
man and ruled as a
pharaoh.
• She became the first
female pharaoh in
Egyptian history.
Hatshepsut’s Accomplishments
• Worked hard to increase
Egyptian trade through trade
routes.
• As a result:
– trade expanded
– Increase of wealth in the
economy
Results of Hatshepsut’s
Accomplishments
• She used the money that was
gained from trade to support
the arts as well as
architecture.
• A temple near Thebes was
built to honor Queen
Hatshepsut for the many
great temples and
monuments that were built
during her reign.
Honoring Queen Hatshepsut
• Queen Hatshepsut died
after ruling for 15 years.
• After her death, Queen
Hatshepsut’s step-son,
Thutmose III, took the
throne.
The Valley of the Queens
1473-1458 B. C.
Temple of Queen
Hatshepsut
Ramses II
1297 BCE - Reign of Ramses
II. He had over 200 wives and
girlfriends, approximately 90
sons and 60 daughters and
reigned over 67 years!
His reign saw massive building
projects in Egypt. The Exodus
of Jews from Egypt also may
have occurred during his
reign.
Ramses II
1279-1212 B. C.
King Ramses’ Accomplishments
• Although known for
being one of Egypt’s
greatest warriors, he was
also known as a peacemaker, by being the first
king in history to ever
sign a peace treaty with
his enemies, the Hittites.
King Ramses’ Death
• King Ramses died in
the early 1200’s BC.
• His mummy is
known to be one of
the best preserved.
Abu Simbel:
Monument to Ramses II
1279-1213 B. C.
Akhenaton: First Monotheist?
•Amenhotep IV (c. 1362-1347
B.C.) introduced the worship
of Aton, god of the sun disk,
as the chief god and pursued
his worship with enthusiasm.
•Changing his own name to
Akhenaton (“It is well with
Aton”), the pharaoh closed
the temples of other gods.
1352-1336 B. C.
The Ankh – The “Cross” of
Life
Queen
Nefertiti
Nefertiti (ca. 1370 BC – ca. 1330 BC) was the
Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh
Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were
known for the worship of only one god.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nofretete_N
eues_Museum.jpg
Invasion of the “Sea Peoples” around 1200 B.C.
The days of Egyptian empire were ended, and the New Kingdom expired in 1085
B.C. For the next thousand years, despite periodic revivals of strength, Egypt
was dominated by Libyans, Nubians, Persians, and Macedonians.
Egyptian
Drawings of Two
Different Tribes of
Sea People
Egyptian Social Pyramid
Egyptian Social
Classes were
based on wealth,
job and
education
Social Roles
Role of Women
• Well treated and had
considerable legal rights
compared to other
civilizations
• Same legal rights as men
(land, property, divorce)
• Left women to be
economically independent
• Primary role was in domestic
life
• Bear and raise children
Role of Men
• Head of the family
• Men could have numerous wives
but economically men had only 1
wife
• Laborers, craftsmen
• Jobs were hereditary
Jobs
• Labor required for construction
projects and was mostly filled by
poor serfs
• Stability of Egypt thrived as skilled
trades were passed from father to
son
• Children always learned the trade
from parents; seldom could choose
occupation
Scenes of Ancient Egyptian
Daily Life
Food
• Irrigation systems watered crops
• Main crops were barley, wheat and flax
• Main food was bread and beer, fish,
vegetables and fruit. Only the wealthy ate
meat.
•
•
•
•
Clothing
Egypt’s weather is very warm
People wore linen robes
Women wore make-up and jewelry
People shaved their heads and wore wigs for
special occasions.
Homes
• People built homes from mud bricks
• More important people had better houses.
• Only the wealthy had “bathrooms”
Ancient Egyptian Housing
Middle Class
Homes
Peasant
Homes
An Egyptian Woman’s “MustHaves”
Mirror
Perfume
Wigs
Egyptian Scribe
Scribes kept records
of everything. Armed
with the knowledge of
writing and reading,
they were highly
regarded and
considered
themselves a superior
class of men. Their
high standard of living
reflected their exalted
status.
•Egypt was divided up into
provinces, or nomes.
•A governor, or nomarch,
was at the head of each
nome and was responsible to
the pharaoh.
•These governors tended to
amass large holding of land
and power within their
nomes, creating a potential
rivalry with the pharaohs.
Egyptian Nobility
Egyptian Priestly Class
Pharaohs
• Egyptians were led by
Pharaohs.
• They were priest-kings
• There were at least four
female kings. (Hatsheput is
pictured)
• Pharaohs ruled for over 3500
years in Egypt.
• 31 dynasties in all
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:
HatshepsutStatuette_MuseumOf
FineArtsBoston.png
How did Pharaoh's rule?
P
o
l
i
t
i
c
s
•Absolute rulers of the land
•Believed to be the earthly
embodiment of the god Horus.
Therefore they had the divine right
to rule. People followed their
orders because they believed they
were from god
•No one would challenge the King’s
authority and he could rule in
peace
•Pharaohs owned all the land
The Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings is a place where many pharaohs were
buried.
Archaeologist, Howard Carter
(1922)
Howard Carter
is the
archaeologist
who finally
discovered King
Tut’s tomb. It is
so famous
because it was
untouched by
grave robbers.
Entrance to King “Tut’s” Tomb
Death Mask
Using computers, this image was
reconstructed using his remains
1336-1327 B. C.
King Tutankhamen
Tutankhamen was the son of Akhenaten. He
ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age
of nine or ten, taking the reign name of
Tutankhamen.
What caused Tutankhamen 's death has been
the subject of considerable debate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kingtut2.jpg
King Tutankhamun’s Tomb
Shabtis: The Pharaoh’s
Servants
in the Afterlife
Treasures From Tut’s Tomb
End of the Pharaohs
• Darius III was the last Egyptian pharaoh.
Egypt was then taken over by Alexander the
Great.
• After this, Egypt was ruled as a province of
the Roman Empire.
Life and Death
Death viewed as a new beginning
• Afterlife common to all, regardless of social status
• 2 Common Principles:
1) body preservation in a lifelike form
2) the deceased must have items necessary for life in the afterworld MA’AT
• Personal belongings were usually placed in the tomb to assist the dead in their
journey into the afterlife.
• Text was read from the 'Book of the Dead' which was a collection of spells,
charms, passwords, numbers and magical formulas for the use of the deceased
in the afterlife.
Egyptian Book of the Dead
This scene depicts what occurs after a person has died, according to the
ancient Egyptians.
• panel of 14 judges
• Ka (soul /spiritual duplicate), ba (personality) ankh (form mummy took in
afterlife / the key of life)
• Weighing of the heart vs Ma’at
• Judgment of scale
• record of the outcome
Mummification
• Egyptians who could afford to do so would
have themselves mummified.
• They believed in a better afterlife if their body
was preserved.
• Afterlife would be spent enjoying best of life
experiences
• Body wrapped in linen coated with resins and
oils
• Middle Kingdom became customary to place a
mask over the face
Mummification Process
• Took out internal organs (lungs, stomach,
intestines, liver), except the heart.
• Removed organs were put in canopic jars, that
were put in the tomb with the mummy.
• Jars were closed with stoppers in the shape of a
human, baboon, falcon, and jackal - representing
the four protective spirits called the Four Sons of
Horus.
Mummification Process
• Did not take out the heart because it was
believed to be the intelligence and emotion of
the person.
• Thought the brain was worthless, so they took
it out through the nose and threw it away.
• The body was packed and covered with natron
(a salty drying agent). After this the body was
left for 40-50 days.
Materials Used in
Mummification
Preparation for
the Afterlife
Egyptian Mummies
Seti I
1291-1278 B. C. E.
Queen Tiye,
wife of
Amenhotep II
Ramses II
1279-1212 B. C. E.
Preparations for the
Underworld
ANUBIS weighs the
dead person’s heart
against a feather.
Priests protected
your KA, or soulspirit
Journey to the Underworld
The dead travel
on the “Solar
Bark.”
A boat for the
journey is
provided for a
dead pharaoh in
his tomb.
Gods and Goddesses
Creation Story
GEB
NUT
TEFNUT
ATUM
NUT
MA’AT
SHU
HORUS
ANUBIS
Website: Gods and Goddesses
Click here for Creation Story
ATUM
ISIS
Religion: How did it
contribute to stability?
• Deeply religious people
• Religious roots were in the worship of
nature deities – their first gods were in
animal forms
• Those responsible for creation were the most
important gods (Atum is the creator God)
• They later developed national gods around
the Middle Kingdom (Amon- local god of
Thebes; gods of Dead: Osiris, Anubis,
Horus and Thoth)
• Religion was instrumental to stability of
Egypt (life, social structure, education,
laws, rule of Pharaoh, economy, death,
afterlife)
Atum
What were the legal
traditions?
• Law was governed by religious principle of
Ma’at
• Laws were applied equally to all classes
specifically protected the family (children and
wives)
• Punishments could be quite severe(Examples: minor crimes had 100 lashes;
corrupt officials had their hands amputated;
crimes resulted in a death sentence could
choose: devoured by a crocodile, suicide,
burning alive)
Egyptian Inventions
•
•
•
•
•
Glass and Linen
Paper and ink
Calendar- 365 day calendar
Waterclock
Jewelry and metalwork
Egyptian Contributions
• Medicine- including casts,
amputation, stitches
• Architecture- fluted
columns, obelisk
• Mathematics-geometry,
algebra, calculations,
fractions
• Writing- symbols to
represent sounds and words
VideoJournals
through
History