Ancient Egyptian Civilization
By: Maryam Shafiekhorassani, Safa Hijazi, Doaa Basma
Time period:
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
They emerged at 3200 BC
Very stable kingdoms that were separated by periods of instability-1600-110 B.C.E
They were at their peak 2 million years ago when conquered by rome
They fell at 300 BC
Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom
Government:
❖ Pharaoh was the king/ruler
❖ Agriculture was the foundation of the government
and economy.
❖ single ruler
❖ Old kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom:
➔ Old- 2700-2200 B.C.E.,Pharaoh set up central government, pyramids and tombs
built, age of pyramids.
➔ Middle-2000-1800 B.C.E.,period of reunification, chaos, disunity, literature, art,
architecture
➔ New-golden age, peace, stability
❖ Pharaoh's right hand man- Vizio
❖ Pharaoh owned everything
Economy:
❖ Egypt=isolated from other areas, but when trade opportunities
came along they took those opportunities
❖ Trade was important
❖ Pottery vases, linen, papyrus, gold vessels, ox hides, ropes,
lentils, and dried fish
❖ Geo Pro: Nile River provided transportation
❖ Geo Con: Isolation (desserts) made trade complicated
❖ Social classes: noblemen, administrators, soldiers, personal attendants,
and a multitude of citizens
❖ Economy depended on social class
❖ successful economy in the Middle kingdom
❖ Agriculture was the foundation of Egypt’s government and economy
❖ people payed taxes in forms of crops
❖ After the new kingdom, monetary(money,currency) economy was established.
Geography:
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
❖
Located in North Africa and the Middle East.
It was along the Nile River
Today it is called Egypt and the area it’s in is the Middle East.
Water, topography, and vegetation greatly affected the civilization in good and bad
ways.
Water: Nile River- drinking source, food source
Topography- pros= plains for farming, cons= mountains-hard to cross and settle on
Egypt was partially isolated from other regions due to nearby desserts and such
things.
They were exposed to the Nile River.
Beliefs:
❖ Religion played a central role in Egypt’s
social and political order.
❖ Pharaohs were believed to be gods.
❖ They believed in afterlife:believed after Pharaoh's
death he lived an endless afterlife.
❖ They believed in many gods (pharaohs)- polytheism
Technology:
❖ They were skilled in pottery, weaving, and
metalworking
❖ Messengers who ran on the roads were punished
harshly if the message was not accurately delivered;rarely happened.
❖ Inca built variety of bridges: suspension bridges and pontoon bridges.
❖ Main forms of medicine used by the Inca was the coca leaf.
❖ Inca developed aqueducts to bring fresh water into town.
❖ Basic unit of distance used by the Inca was one pace or a "thatki".
Writing:
❖ Egyptian form of writing was called hieroglyphics.
❖ Hieroglyphics began as pictures.
❖ Farming and the growth of the cities created the need
for record keeping and accounting.
❖ Developed shorthand and each picture would represent a sound.
❖ Example: If “sit” was a hieroglyphic and we would represent
it as a chair. When we write the word “situation” we would draw
a chair to represent the first syllable of the word, which is how
hieroglyphics work.
Contributions:
❖ They contributed to modern mathematics.
❖ They gave us the The Great Pyramids of Giza which are one of The 7
Wonders of The World.
❖ The world's earliest surgery was developed by the Egyptians .
❖ They were the first to develop paper and granite tools.
❖ They wrote on the Rosetta Stone.
Slavery:
❖ There is very small amount of evidence that there was slavery.
❖ The slaves were used and sold to different owners .
❖ Pyramids were built by slaves and they were paid beer.
❖ Egyptians treated them poorly but depend on their work .
❖ They lived in mud brick houses with furniture that was usually woven mats.
❖ Their daily meal had onions, cucumbers, fish, bread , peas, and lentils.
❖ When they barely had food they had to boil a papyrus.
❖ They had no spare time of their own.
Art/Architecture
❖ Artisans knew how to make many crafts.
❖ Some workers included are carpenters, jewelers, leather workers, metalworkers,
painters, potters, sculptors, and weavers.
❖ Most artisans were men, but there were women too.
❖ They built the Pyramids.
❖ Rigid structures held pharaoh at the top, and slaves at the bottom.
Rise And Fall:
❖
❖
❖
❖
Egypt was conquered by the Arabs In 600 A.D.
Egypt was ruled by the Ottoman Turks in 1500 A.D.
Egyptians control Nubia in 2000 B.C.
Started to rise in 3500 B.C when early settlers settled in the Nile
Valley.
❖ Persians Conquered Egypt in 600 A.D.
❖ Conquered by Alexander the Great in 300 B.C.
Golden Age:
❖
❖
❖
❖
Golden age was during 1600-1100 B.C.E.
There was peace and stability.
Pharaohs increased trade and monument building.
It ended after the death of the Pharaoh of that kingdom.
Sources:
❖ Source 3
❖ Source 1
❖ Source 2
❖ Source 6
❖ Source 5
The End!