The Nile River Valley Ancient Egypt Essential Questions

The Nile River Valley (Ancient Egypt)

Essential Questions n What effect did geography have on the development of the ancient Egyptian civilization? n What contributions did people in Egypt make to civilization? n What was the importance of religion in Egypt?

Geography of the Nile n Fertile soil surrounds the Nile – Predictable flooding Nile Delta n Protected from the outside n – Cataracts (rapids) – Deserts on both sides

Religion n Polytheistic n Sun gods – Atum – human form – Ra – human body, head of falcon n River and land gods – Osiris – resurrection, new life through the Nile – Isis

Major Egyptian Gods Atum Ra Osiris Isis

The Old Kingdom @ 3100 B. C. – King Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt (started dynasties) n @ 2700 – 2200 B. C. n Pharaohs n – Absolute power, seen as a god on earth – Bureaucracy n Pyramids – Mummification – Great Pyramid (Khufu @ 2540 B. C. )

Middle Kingdom n@ 2050 – 1652 B. C. n Expanded territories – Lower Nubia – Palestine and Syria n Pharaohs take more public role n Ended by the invasion of the Hyksos (Asia) – Horse-drawn chariots – Bronze weapons

New Kingdom @ 1567 – 1085 B. C. n Queen Hatshepsut (first female leader) n Thutmose III – invaded Syria, Palestine, Libya n Amenhotep IV n – Monotheistic worship of Aton (sun disk) § Destroyed old gods – Tutankhamen restored old gods n Ramses tried to expand again (1279 – 1213 B. C. )

Society and Daily Life n Pyramid Class Structure – Pharaoh owned all the land – Upper class of merchants and artisans n Family Life – Male-dominated but women had more equal rights than Mesopotamia

Writing and Education n @ 3000 B. C. Egyptian priests develop hieroglyphics – Created to record religious rituals n Papyrus n Scribes (paper)