Pyramids on the Nile
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Transcript Pyramids on the Nile
Pyramids on the Nile
Geography of Egypt
Nile
4,100 miles
Longest in World
Gift
River
of Nile
Yearly flooding
July
• Rains
• Snow melting
Nile’s Gifts
After
floods
Plow
Plant
Harvest
Everything
revolved around Nile
Worshiped Nile
Upper vs. Lower Egypt
Lower Nile
Last 750 miles
Only part known for a
while
Ended at cataract
Delta
Northern
Upper Egypt
South of 1st cataract
Southern
Transportation
North
bound boats drift
South bound boats raise sails
Winds blow North to South
Environmental Challenges
Floods
unpredictable
Problem
Too little water = not enough silt (thousands
die)
Too much water = villages flooding &
destruction
Desert
Natural barriers
No invaders
Movement of Goods & Ideas
3200
B.C. had contact w/ Mesopotamia
Caravans trade
2000 B.C. trading to Upper Egypt
Gold
Ivory
Cattle
Granite Blocks
Land of Multiplicity
Multicultural
Multiethnic
Influences
from Fertile Crescent & Africa
3000 year history
Egypt Unites into Kingdom
5000
Each had their own gods
Each had their own rituals
Chieftains
3200
B.C. lived in villages
B.C. = 2 different kingdoms
Upper Egypt
Lower Egypt
United Kingdom cont.
3100 B.C.
Menes unites 2 Kingdoms
From Upper Egypt
1st Dynasty
Establish capital near 2 meeting points
2,600 years w/ 31 dynasties
1st two dynasties shady
3rd dynasties had better record keeping
2660-2180 B.C. – Old Kingdom (3rd dynasty)
Pharaohs rule as gods
Pharaoh was god
Theocracy
Responsible for well-being of people
Nile to flood
Sun to raise
Promote truth & justice
Divine ruler
Head of government & religion
Mesopotamia king was reprehensive of gods
Builders of Pyramids
Pharaohs rule after
death
Ka = eternal spirit
Tombs more
important than
palaces
Old Kingdom = Golden Age
Built
w/o wheel
Supply of rock
Granite
Limestone
Quarried
2
400 miles up river
Weighed between 2 ½ - 15 tons
million stones stacked @ height of 481’
13 acres
What did this Represent?
Economic
strength
Massive public works project
Leadership
Government organization
Religion
Polytheistic
Worship many gods
Ra: sun god
Horus: god of light
Isis: goddess, ideal mother & women
2,000 gods & goddess
After life
Judged on deeds after they die
Osiris: god of death judged
• Heart had to be light
• Meant no sin
• Devourer of souls to the impure hearts
Why were Egyptians happier than Fertile Crescent?
Social Classes
King & Queen
Wealthy landowners, Priests, Government officials, Army commanders
Merchants & Artisans
Peasant farmers, unskilled laborers
Slaves came later
Social Classes
Could move up in social classes
Marriage
Success in jobs
To be high
Read
Write
Careers
•
•
•
•
Army
Royal treasury
Priesthood
Kings court
Women
Own/trade land
Propose marriage/divorce
• Divorce entitled 1/3 of couples property
Egyptian Writing
Started
as drawing
Moved to hieroglyphics
Picture stood for idea
Picture then stood for sounds
1st written on stone
Moved on papyrus
• Reeds dried
• Glued strips together
• Make paper
Science & Technology
Collected taxes
Early form of geometry
Survey
Reset property boundaries after floods
Math
System of written #’s
Counting
(+) & (-)
Help architects
Engineers
Stone columns
Science cont.
Medicine
Feel for pulse
Splints
Calendar
Time between floods
Growing season
Used star Sirius
12 months/30 days
5 days for holidays &
feasting
W/in 6 hours of solar year
Chariots Invade Egypt
Power of pharaohs decline
2180 B.C.
End of Old Kingdom
1st Intermediate period
• Weakness
• Turmoil
Middle Kingdom 2080-1640 B.C.
Improve trade & transportation
• Canal dug from Nile to Red Sea
Dikes built
• Capture flood waters
• Irrigation
1,000’s acres of new farmlands by draining swamps in Lower
Egypt
1640
B.C.
Asian nomads
Cross Isthmus of Suez on Chariots
Hyksos, “Rulers of Uplands”
• Ruled 1640-1570 B.C.
• 2nd intermediate period