Welcome to
ANCIENT Egypt
Where is Egypt?
North Eastern Africa

The Delta
(Where the river
flows into an
ocean, sea, etc.)

The Nile
Location! Location!
Location!
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Based on the Nile River
6695 KM
10 miles wide (at times)
6 cataracts (strong rapids
& large waterfalls)
Surrounded by desert
Libyan Desert to the West
Nubian Desert to the
South/East
Arabian Desert to the East
Close to the
Mediterranean Sea and
the Red Sea
« The Gift Of the Nile »
Thanks to the Nile, the development of Egypt was fairly simple. The river
(the lifeblood of Egypt) provided:
1. fertile lands - Regular , predictable flooding; silt was deposited; 2
crops/year
2. irrigation – water diverted into fields; harvest would occur during
the dry season
3. transportation – during
flood season, river flowed
north; wind blew south
The Pharaoh

Pharaoh – Great House

Considered a god in human form

Could be a woman, but still called
“king”

Incarnation of the God Horus

Ruled until death

Devine power/supreme power
King Tutankhamun
 Originally Tutankhaten
 The
“Boy Pharaoh”
 Became
pharaoh of Egypt at age 9 – died
mysteriously at 18
 Lived
in Memphis
 Tomb
discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter
 Didn’t
accomplish much in his reign; famous
because his tomb was found intact
Religion

Polytheistic – 28 gods, anthropomorphic

A PANTHEON – collection of gods from one region

Briefly experimented with MONOTHEISM (one god)
– Aton… but King Tut returned to many gods

Pharaoh held divine power; a god in human form

Believed in a great after life – Pharaoh would
become a god; commoner would stay the same;
slaves could gain freedom/property

Brought much with them into death; tried to
preserve bodies… mummification
Some Egyptian Gods
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Osiris – God of Dead, ruler of the underworld
Isis – Goddess of protection; spells to help people
Horus – God of the sky; protected/was pharaoh
Anubis – preparing & watching over the dead
Ra (Re) – Sun god (most important)
Hathor – protective; love and joy; wife of Horus
Life and Death
 The
Ancient Egyptians took life, death and the
after life very seriously. Here are some of their
beliefs:
Infants
made on potter’s wheel and placed in
belly by a god (Khnum).
This same god also made a spiritual copy of
the baby - the “Ka” - and placed it in the heart.
The Ka was separated from the body at death,
but would return and live in the tomb with the
mummified body and the objects. This kept a
part of the person tied to Earth.
Life and Death
continued…
Within
a human there was also the “Ba” – a
person’s identity or uniqueness.
This identity would be able to leave the body
after death and reunite with the Ka if funeral
rites were performed correctly. When
combined the two things (Ka & Ba) became the
“Akh”.
The Akhu were believed to be the stars in the
night sky and the cycle to fully combine them
was reserved for the royal family through
mummification.
More Life and More Death

After world viewed as the best moments from Earth (all the favourite things!)

Ma’at- belief in truth, order, and justice

Live by Ma’at to keep world order, please the Gods, and get into the after world

Divine Will – will of the gods
After
death, corpses of ordinary
people were placed in hot, dry
sand, where they were naturally
preserved.
Pharaohs
and nobles were
mummified to ensure their
preservation
1) Began with a ceremony with priests and
the representatives of certain gods,
particularly Anubis.
2) Organs were removed and placed in
containers: canopic jars. Heart was left in
place because it contained the spirit (Ka)
3) Bodies were filled with a substance
called “natron”. (salt)
4) Once preserved, the bodies
were wrapped in cloth/linen…
later covered in a mask.
5) Then placed in a box called a
sarcophagus.
6) Finally, placed in a Tomb or pyramid.
Egyptian Afterlife

What happened when an Egyptian passed away?

http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancientegypt/videos/journey-to-the-afterlife
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Balancing the scale meant immortality. Should the
heart not balance perfectly, Amemet devoured it,
and Seth, murderer of Osiris, ate the rest of the
body.

If your heart was not light enough, you were stuck in
your tomb forever.

You would never again be able to watch over your
family, or be able to enjoy your afterlife.
Mummified Animals
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Some have been found in large quantities, while others are
rare.

Many species were raised in the temples to be sacrificed to
the gods.
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Autopsies on cats show that most had had their necks broken
when they were about two years old.

Cats were highly valued members of the ancient Egyptian
household.
Social Structure

Pharaoh
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Nobles and Military Leaders
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Priests and Scribes
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Merchants, Artisans, Craftspeople

Peasant Farmers

Slaves
Pharaoh

Living god, stood at the top of the social
pyramid

Owner of all lands and citzens

Leader of all armies
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High priest of all gods
Nobles & Military Leaders

Held highest positions in the
administrative departments of Ancient
Egypt

Looked after the storehouses of a god

Served as steward to the pharaoh

Supervised engineering and construction
work for the government
Priests & Scribes

Educated class of ancient Egypt

Religious functions (that could not be
looked after by the pharaoh) were
delegated to the priests

Scribes were ranked among the more
important members of the kingdom.

Collected taxes, kept records, wrote
reports, educated the young, and
organized rations for the armies.
Craftspeople

Earned a living in
careers like:
 Weaving
 sandal-making
 Mat-makers
 Incense
moulders
 Potters
 Brick-makers
 jewellers
 Carpenters
 Stonemasons
 Silversmiths
 Goldsmiths
Peasant Farmers
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Majority of the population

Most were illiterate

They were paid just enough to get by… some
even may have been jealous of a slaves.

Often paid high taxes

Were required to provide labour on irrigation
systems, constructing tombs, temples and
other buildings.
Slaves
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Prisoners of war brought back by the armies

Female and child slaves = housework for
wealthy people

Male slaves worked as soldiers, farmers or
maintenance labourers around Egypt.

Slaves could own property or rend land, and
could be set free if owner agreed to it.
Kingdoms of Egypt

3 major kingdoms dominated by peace,
stability, and prosperity… broken up by periods
of conflict and instability

A Pharaoh’s rule:
 Dynasty: ruling family whose right to rule
passes on within the family.
 Absolute Rule: dictating orders, made all of
the decisions, couldn’t be questioned or
stopped
 Bureaucracy: administrative organization;
people appointed to take care of business
and procedures
The Pharaoh could be
helped by:

1) Family

2) Bureaucracy: gov’t officials

3) The Vizier: steward of the entire land,
answered directly to the Pharaoh, in
charge of the gov’t bureaucracy

4) Governors: appointed by pharaohs to
govern the 42 provinces
Pre-dynastic Period
3100 – 2650 BCE

King Menes – unified Upper and Lower Egypt

Recognized as the start of Egyptian civilization

He wore a double crown to
symbolize the unification
of Egypt.
Historical Schema
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Approximately 30 dynasties have been traced
to Ancient Egypt.

The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 B.C.)
The Middle Kingdom (2050-1800 B.C.)
The New Kingdom (1570- 1090 B.C.)
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Old Kingdom
2650 – 2134 BCE

It was the age of pyramids

Hieroglyphics were perfected
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Irrigation improved farming

Traded with neighbors - Crete, Mesopotamia, Syria

Pharaohs were viewed as living gods – absolute
control of the people.
The Pyramids

Pyramids are stone constructions built as tombs for the
pharaohs

Mostly during the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE).

The Pharaohs would bring things they needed in the
next world.

Largest pyramids are found in the city of Giza.

Built in complexes: largest for pharaoh; smaller for
family; mastabas for his officials (flat rectangles)
3 different types:
1. Step Pyramid - One mastabas under another
2. Bent pyramid
3. True pyramid
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Ancient Wonder of the World

Built by Pharaoh Khufu (2540 BCE)

Seen as a symbol of power of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom
Feat of Architecture

Made up of chambers, passages, and
vents

Point line up with exact
N, E, S, W

Contains approx. 1,300,000 limestone
blocks weighing 20-30 tonnes each (up
to 70 tonnes!)
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Blocks cut precisely to fit
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Perimeter forms a near perfect square

Sun sets between 2 Pyramids on
summer solstice

Shafts lined up to view certain
constellations

20-30 years/1-200,000 people
The Sphinx
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Head of a human/body of sphinx
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Possibly Khufu’s son Kafre (had it built)

Possibly guarding the pyramid

Carved out of stone
Pyramids according to
National Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PytLqP4hR-A
Middle Kingdom
2040 – 1650 BCE

Power of the Pharaoh weakened and members of the nobility
took control

Pharaoh… shepherd of the people

Egypt was invaded and foreign rulers took control; a group
known as the Hyksos Kings (Palestinian & Syrian) took over.

The Hyksos introduced technology such as the horse drawn
chariots, the use of copper arrowheads, the compound bow.

Eventually, the Egyptians used the technology against them
and regained control.
New Kingdom
1550 – 1070 BCE

These were the glory days of Egypt – most
documents from this era

Return to the power of the Pharaoh – remove
foreign influence

Ancient world’s most powerful empire – strong
military – leather body armor with metal scales,
large metal shields.

Most kings you’ve heard of were found in this period
– King Tutankhamen, Queen Cleopatra, Ramses II
The Decline of the
Egyptian Empire

In-fighting amongst the nobility: political sabotage and
murders weakened and destabilized the position of
pharaoh.

Egypt, once again, became vulnerable to foreign
powers.
1.
Greek Period – Alexander the Great marched into
Egypt in 332 BCE and took over.
2.
Roman Period 48 BCE– Cleopatra was the last
pharaoh and fell to the influence of Romans Julius
Caesar and Marc Antony.
Hieroglyphs
(sacred carvings)

3000 BCE – system of writing

Hundreds of symbols (pictographs,
ideographs, phonographs)

No spaces or punctuation

Could be read in any direction; artists faced
pictures in the direction to follow

Written by scribes

Possibly influenced by Cuneiforms
Rosetta Stone

Jean Champollion deciphered it.

Found in 1799 by French Soldiers
 Three
kinds of writing found on it
 Demotic
 Greek
 Hieroglyphics