Ancient Egypt:
3100 BCE to 330 BCE
1
Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt
OLD
KINGDOM
Pharaohs were
absolute rulers
and were
considered gods.
Egyptians built
pyramids at Giza.
Power struggles,
crop failures, and
cost of pyramids
contributed to the
collapse of the Old
Kingdom.
MIDDLE
KINGDOM
Large drainage
project created
arable farmland.
Corruption and
rebellions were
common.
Hyksos invaded and
occupied the delta
region.
NEW
KINGDOM
Powerful pharaohs
created a large
empire
that reached the
Euphrates River.
Hatshepsut
encouraged trade.
Egyptian power
declined.
Geography
• Egypt is located in
northeastern Africa
• The Nile River runs the
length of the country
flowing south to north
• The river begins in the
mountains of Africa and
empties into the
Mediterranean Sea
• The Nile River is created
with the confluence of two
rivers: The White Nile and
Blue Nile.
• The climate is hot and dry,
part of the Sahara Desert
The Nile River
• The Nile was the
lifeblood of ancient
Egypt
• It made life possible in
the otherwise barren
desert of Egypt.
• It is the longest river in
the world (over 4,000
miles).
• It served as a source of
food for the people of
ancient Egypt
• It was the major source
of water for bathing and
drinking
• The Nile was crucial for
farming
Nile
Floodplain
Floodplain
• The low strip of fertile land
located on either side of the
Nile River
• The river flooded during the
annual inundation
• When the inundation
subsided, it left the earth
soaked and overlaid with a
fresh layer of black silt.
• Most of the farming occurred
here
Bordered on the south, east and west by the
Sahara Desert, and on the north by the sea, ancient
Egypt was protected from outside influences.
Great Sahara Desert
Daily Life
Homes
Houses were made out
of mud. Rooms were
brightly painted,
sometimes with birds,
flowers or with the
figures of protective
gods. Cooking was often
done out side over a fire.
What did Ancient Egyptians
Eat?
• Most people ate bread,
cheese, beans and salad and
drank water. Adults ate their
food sitting on simple stools.
They also ate beef, pork,
antelope and hyena meat as
well as goose, pigeon and fish
from the Nile. Wealthier
people had more varied diets.
Most farming families ate fairly
simple food.
2
Social Classes
PHARAOH
Earthly leader; considered a god
HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES
Served gods and goddesses
NOBLES
Fought pharaoh’s wars
MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANS
Made furniture, jewelry, and fabrics for
pharaohs and nobles, and provided for other needs
PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVES
Worked in the fields and served the pharaoh
Writing
What is papyrus?
A material similar to paper, created by
flattening a papyrus reed that grew along the
Nile River.
“Papyrus” is the root word for “Paper” 
Making paper from papyrus
What is hieroglyphics?
Hieroglyphics is the picture writing used by
scribes in ancient Egypt. The word hieroglyphics is
made up of two Greek words - hieros, which
means sacred, and glyphe, which means carving.
How is Hieroglyphics different from cuneiform
writing?
Cunieform used triangular shaped objects for
writing, while hieroglyphics used pictures or a
symbol of something to represent a sound.
Phonograms represent sounds, much as
alphabet letters do. Ideograms are signs
that represent whole words or concepts.
Religion
• Belief that many gods
and goddesses ruled
the world and the
afterlife
Amon-Re: sun god
Osiris: god of the
underworld and of the
Nile
• The pharaoh was
believed to be a god
as well as a ruler
Falcon Headed Sun God
Religion
• Belief in the Afterlife: This life’s purpose
was to prepare for the Afterlife. This is the
reason they mummified their rulers. They
also placed many riches inside the tombs
so that the Pharaohs could be wealthy in
the after life.
Pharaohs
• Pharaohs were the king or Queen of Egypt. Most
pharaohs were men but some well-known pharaohs,
such as Nefertiti and Cleopatra, were women.
• A Pharaoh was the most important and powerful
person in the kingdom. He was the head of the
government and high priest of every temple. The
people of Egypt considered the pharaoh to be a halfman, half-god.
• The Pharaoh owned all of Egypt.
•
•
The first true pharaoh of Egypt was Narmer (sometimes called
Menes), who united Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. The Ancient
Egyptians believed that their Pharaoh was the god Horus, son of
Re, the sun god. When a pharaoh died he was believed to be
united with the sun and then a new Horus ruled on earth.
In the Old and Middle Kingdoms (2628-1638 BC), Egyptian kings
were buried in pyramids. About 50 royal pyramids have survived.
They were built on the desert edge. In the New Kingdom (15041069 BC), Egyptian kings were buried in tombs in the Valley of
the Kings at Thebes. These tombs were tunnels cut deep into
the natural rock. Pharaohs often had several wives but only one
was queen. The most famous Egyptian pharaoh today is, without
doubt, Tutankhamen.
Famous Pharaohs
•
Hatshepsut: Her Father was a Pharaoh, and she married
another Pharaoh. First Woman to be Pharaoh. Ruled for
around 20 years; peaceful time for Egypt, where its wealth grew.
•
Ramses II: War like Pharaoh who spent most of his time fighting
wars. Built many monuments.
Valley of the Kings
Tutankhamen
Tut was only nine years old when he became Pharaoh. He was only 18
years old when he died. The people did not have a lot of time to build
Tut's tomb. Tut's tomb was very small compared to the tombs of other
pharaohs. Because his tomb was so small, it was overlooked for
thousands of years.
In 1922, a British archaeologist named Howard Carter entered King
Tut's tomb. It was almost like entering a time machine. Robbers might
have been there because a bag of gold rings was found on the floor,
as if dropped in haste. But they did not take everything because
Carter and his team found many treasures inside the tomb including a
solid gold mask of King Tut's face and an ankh.
The ankh was a common symbol
in ancient Egypt. But no one is
quite sure what it symbolized.
Some historians believe it
symbolized the key that turned on
the annual flooding of the Nile.
Some believe it represents the
key to eternal life.
Pyramids
The Great Sphinx
Religion
•
•
•
Belief in eternal life after death. Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them
through the afterworld.
Practiced mummification, the preservation of the body for use in the next life.
The best way the ancient Egyptians knew how to preserve a body was to
mummify it. The poor placed the bodies of their dead relatives out in the sun, in
the desert sand. The bodies mummified naturally.
Anyone who could afford it went to a professional mummy maker. People
wanted to look their best in their afterlife.
•The first mummies were just dried out in the desert. The
ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the
desert. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the
bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural 'mummies'.
• .
• Later, the ancient Egyptians
began burying their dead in
coffins to protect them from
wild animals in the desert.
Steps
1. Announcement of Death
2. Embalming the Body
3. Removal of Brain
4. Removal of Internal
Organs
5. Drying Out Process
6. Wrapping of the Body
7. Final Procession
Each of the organs was individually mummified,
then stored in little coffins called canopic jars.
There were four canopic jars, one for each of the
organs. These jars were protected by the four sons
of the God Horus.
•Remember
Ramses II ???
•These are the
mummified
remains of a
pharaoh
named
Ramses II.
Book of the Dead
Collection of spells, hymns, and prayers intended to secure a
safe passage to the underworld for the deceased