2. Studies of Pharaonic
Power
Through this theme, students will come to understand
the nature of pharaonic power in the history of Ancient
Egypt, including the rise and decline of the pharaohs
during the Archaic, Old and Middle Kingdoms, and
important historic events of the New Kingdom. Students
will also investigate changes and continuities over time,
and major aspects of the culture of the above periods.
QSA Ancient History Syllabus (2004)
4. Crash Course in Ancient
Egypt
As you watch this video, write down five
points that you can identify about Ancient
Egypt - it could be a person, place, event,
year etc.
Video
6. Power is the ability to do things and
control others. Simply put, power is
the ability to get the outcomes you
want and to affect the behaviour of
others to make this happen.
Source: Held & KoenigArchibugi, American Power in the 21st
Century, p.125
7. Soft power
Soft power is about getting others
to want what you want…if I can get
you to want to do what I want, then
I do not have to force you to do
what you do not want. Simply
put, soft power is attractive power.
Source: Held & Koenig-Archibugi, American Power in the 21st Century, p.125
8. Hard power
Military and economic power are
examples of “hard” and command
power that can be used to get
others to change their position.
Source: Held & Koenig-Archibugi, American Power in the 21st Century, p.125
9. Power is universal and
generational
Barry Kemp claims that the
“ancient world contains the seeds
of the modern world: TV news presidential motorcades on
thronged boulevards, excited
crowds cheering a leader, public
acts of worship”.
Source: www.ancientegyptmagazine.com/reviews05.htm
10. Who has power/influence in society today?
Leaders & Revolutionaries
Dalai Lama
Vladimir Putin
Barack Obama
Hillary Clinton
Hu Jintao
Kevin Rudd
Heroes
Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie
Oprah Winfrey
Hugh Jackman
Roger Federer
16. The physical environment
of ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt owes much of its character to
the nature of the Nile River, the length and
shape of the river valley, the enclosing deserts
and the climate.
17. The physical environment
of ancient Egypt
“Not only is the Egyptian climate peculiar and
the Nile different in its behaviour from other
rivers elsewhere, but the Egyptians themselves
in their manners and customs seem to have
reversed the ordinary practices of mankind”
Herodotus
18. The physical environment
of ancient Egypt
Nile river and the sun were the two great
forces which dominated the lives of the
ancient Egyptians
Their gifts of water, fertile soil and
warmth created life and potentially
brought death
19. The Nile River
The Nile’s source is in tropical Africa
Every year at the same time the Nile flooded
Flood referred to as the inundation – most important
event in the lives of the Egyptian people
Nile’s life-giving waters and annual deposits of
rich, black soil enabled the Egyptians to develop a
prosperous agricultural society instead of remaining as
desert-dwelling nomads
20. The Nile River
September –
Flood waters
reach their
peak
May – River at
its lowest
June – Nile
began to rise
and flood the
valley between
Aswan and
Memphis
21. The Two Lands of Upper
and Lower Egypt
Upper Egypt (Shemau)
amount of land available for growing food was
limited and it was a constant battle for the
inhabitants to keep the desert sands from covering
their valuable farmland
Lower Egypt (To-mehu)
more naturally fertile than Upper Egypt
Desert was further away from the settlements of
Lower Egypt
More contact with other cultures due to being on the
Mediterranean coastline
More vulnerable to invasion
22.
23. The Two Lands of Upper
and Lower Egypt
Before the Two Lands were united into one
kingdom (c. 3100 BC), each one had its own
ruler who wore a distinctive crown
The tall conical White Crown of Upper Egypt
The Red Crown of Lower Egypt
24. Egyptian Lifestyle
Almost all activities in Egypt, from the
more mundane tasks of the farmer to the
coronation of the king, were determined
by the Nile and its annual flood
25. Egyptian Lifestyle
Three seasons in the yearly calendar
Akhet
Season of the flood (approx July)
The first day of the inundation, was one of only
two days when a king could hold his coronation
Large-scale building activities carried out
Perit
Began approx November
The time of sowing the seeds
The first day of this season was the only other
time that the king could be officially crowned
Shemu
Began approximately early March
Season of harvest
26. Administration
Survival of Egypt depended on the Nile
A central bureaucratic government was required:
To make predictions about the timing and nature of the flood
To plan irrigation works
To organise local community effort to get the land back in
order after the flood
To re-survey the land and mark out farm boundaries which had
disappeared under the floodwaters
Local nobles, responsible to the central
government, conscripted, organised and supervised
large work gangs to build and maintain irrigation
schemes
27. Religious beliefs and
morality
Egyptian religious beliefs were partly
inspired by the nature of the land and its
climate
Physical environment reflected in:
Their view of creation
The nature of their gods
Their belief in life after death and the nature
of the afterlife
29. Activity
Using Microsoft PowerPoint, create a one slide
timeline which identifies the key time periods of
Ancient Egyptian history.
This will include the Old Kingdom, Middle
Kingdom and the New Kingdom. Also look to
refer to the intermediate periods. Based on
your research, try to include some key events.
Try your best to make the timeline visually
attractive.