2. The Middle Kingdom
• 2300 B.C. government officials took control of
Egypt
– Jealous of pharaoh’s power
– 200 years of confusion followed
– Then, new pharaohs brought peace and a new period
called the Middle Kingdom
– But pharaohs had less power
– No longer buried in pyramids
3. Foreign Rulers
• Egyptians began to trade w/ other countries
• Middle Kingdom ended in 1786 B.C.
– Egypt invaded by the Hyksos (Western Asia)
4. Foreign Invaders - Hyksos
• Hyksos ruled Egypt for 150 years
• Copied Egyptian customs, Egyptians hated them
• In 1550 B.C. Egyptian prince Ahmose
– Led uprising and drove Hyksos out
7. The New Kingdom
• Ahmose founded a new line of pharaohs
• Began the New Kingdom period
– Egypt became Richer
• Most new pharaohs invaded lands to the East
• New Period of Egyptian Empire
• Empire – group of states under one ruler
• Thutmose III extended control into Syria & Palestine
8. The New Kingdom
• Pharaoh Hatshepsut – chief interest:
– Trade and building temples
– Thutmose III’s stepmother
– Ruled Egypt before stepson
9. Religion
• God of the city Thebes
called Amon
• When Thebes became
capital of Egypt
– Egyptians combined Amon
w/ sun God Re
– To form new god Amon-Re
– Most powerful god of all
– Temples were for worship
& industrial centers
– Gave work to sculptors,
artisans
10. Hieroglyphics
• Scribes kept records of
pharaoh’s laws, tax lists,
wrote religious works
• Hieroglyphics – one kind
of Egyptian writing in
which pictures stand for
words or sounds, or
picture symbols
11. Decline of Egypt
• In 1370 B.C. new pharaoh
Amenhotep IV returned power
to the pharaohs (from priests)
• One reason for Egypt’s decline
was the struggle between
priests and pharaohs
• Another was keeping
neighboring countries under
Egypt’s control
• Too much energy and
money spent on war
• No iron weapons
• By 1150 B.C. Egypt’s
empire was gone
• Taken over by Assyrians
in 671 B.C.
13. Egyptian Contributions
• Papyrus – paper made from
reed
• Egyptians invented ink to write
on it
• Papyrus used for baskets,
sandals, rafts
• Used a number system based
on 10
14. More Contributions
• Used fractions, whole
numbers, geometry
• 360 calendar based on
flooding river in July
• Medicine: first specialists in
medicine
• Dentists, eye doctors, animal
doctors, surgeons
• First to use splints, bandages,
compresses
• Sewing cuts, setting broken
bones
• For indigestion – used castor
oil
• For hair loss – mixture of dog
toes, dates, and donkey hoof
Editor's Notes
History Channel: http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/ancient-egypt/videos
The Hyksos crossed the desert in horse-drawn chariots and used weapons made of bronze and iron. Egyptians had always fought on foot with weapons made of cooper and stone and were defeated.
Artisans carved statues, built furniture, made clothes for priests. There were treasuries, filled with copper, gold jewelry, glass bottles, bundles of grain, dried fish, sweet-smelling oils. The temples were also schools—places where young boys were trained to be scribes. The right to become a scribe was passed on from father to son.
How did hieroglyphics differ from cuneiform?
Much energy and money was spent on
Egyptians skill in medicine was highly valued in the Mediterranean area for 2,500 years.
