Ancient Egypt Origins of Egypt This Photo by

Ancient Egypt Origins of Egypt This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Origins of Ancient Egypt: • The Land of Egypt 8000 years ago was a very different place: the climate was more temperate, the lands were covered in a savanna, and herds of ungulate (gazelles, zebras etc. ) ate the grass. • By about 5500 -5000 B. C. the first farmers settled in the Nile Valley. • Over 2 millennia these settlements slowly developed into fortified towns such as Hierakonpolis and Naqada.

Hierakonpolis: 3200/3100 B. C.

Images from Nekhen/Hierakonpolis Tomb

Upper and Lower Egypt

Unification: 3100 B. C. • Accor ding to tra ditio n ar ound 31 00 B. C. the semi-legendary le ader Narme r or Men e s e xt ended hi s power as far as t he Uppe r Ni le delta, c onqu e rin g Lower Egypt. • He founded a n ew capital M emphis – meaning “t he Cit y of the Whi te W alls” – whic h wou ld r emai n t he principal home o f the pharaohs f or almost 1, 5 00 yea rs. • Thi s new state was save fr om out side int erference as t he m ounta in s on e ac h side of the Nil e va ll ey were surrounded by desert – to the sou th cata ra ct s ( ra pids) on t he Ni le prevented invas ion. • The New ruler s wo re a do u ble cr own representi ng the powers of both king do ms, a c ro ok (c urved staff), flail (mace used in a gr icultu re ), an d an artif ic ia l bear d worn on the chi n as a si gn of powe r.

Examine Visual Evidence: • An important skill of an Ancient Historian is to examine ancient archaeological evidence. • We saw some examples of this evidence already. • Now try to exam one of the earliest artefacts from Ancient Egypt: the palette of Narmer, 3, 100 B. C. - Can you guess the figures on the palette? - How is Narmer depicted? - What can this tell us about this Early Egyptian dynasty?

The Palette of Narmer This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

The Pharaohs: • The new title of these kings was Pharaoh a word derived from a word meaning ‘great house’ or palace. This king had absolute power, but would in practice delegate. • In theory he had control over all Egypt: he could control trade, distribute land among his subjects as he pleased. He symbolised national unity and served as high priest to the nations many deities. • He himself was semi-divine.

The Dynasties of Ancient Egypt: What we call Ancient Egypt today in fact lasted several millennia and includes several dynasties, cultural shifts, and languages. • It is important to be able to recognise the different periods of Ancient Egypt. • Look at the table to the right and answer: Egyptian Chronology Pharaonic Period • Early Dynasty 3050 -2660 B. C. Dynasties 1 -2 Old Kingdom 2660 -2190 B. C. Dynasties 3 -6 1 st Intermediate Period 2190 -2066 B. C. Dynasties 7 -11 Middle Kingdom 2066 -1780 B. C. Dynasties 11 -12 2 nd Intermediate Period 1780 -1549 B. C. Dynasties 13 -17 New Kingdom 1549 -1069 B. C. Dynasties 18 -20 3 rd Intermediate Period 1069 -664 B. C. Dynasties 21 -25 Late Period 664 -332 B. C. Dynasties 26 -31 - How many different Periods were there? - What is a “dynasty”? - How many Egyptian “Kingdoms” were there? Ptolemaic Period 332 -30 B. C. - What do you think the term “Intermediate” means? Roman Period 30 B. C. – 395 A. D.