1. “The
Gift of
the
Nile”
ANCIENT EGYPT

2.  Longest river in the
world- 4,132 miles long!
 From Falls Church to San
Francisco, CA is 2,811
miles!
 Located in Africa
 Dumps into the
Mediterranean Sea
 Floods leave behind
fertile soil
 Warm climate
THE NILE RIVER

3. Irrigation
 Enables farmers to grow
a variety of crops and
feed a large number of
people.
 Wheat, barley, flax, cotto
n
Transportation
 Flows South to North!
 Paddle down river with
water currents
 Sail up river with wind
currents!
THE NILE
Upper
Lower

4. The Sahara Desert
and surrounding
seas provide
protection from
invaders.
PROTECTION

5. Ancient Egyptian form
of writing
Around 3000 BCE
600 signs that
represent words and
objects
Carved in stone
 Difficult to produce
Made paper from
papyrus
Made ink from
soot, water, plant juice
HIEROGLYPHICS

6. Stone found with 3
languages written on
it
Greek, Egyptian
Hieroglyphics, and
Demotic
This stone was used
to unlock the secret
of the hieroglyphics!
THE ROSETTA STONE

7.  Before 3400 BCE: two
kingdoms
 Upper Egypt (south)
 Lower Egypt (north)
 Menes (Namer) King of
Upper Egypt unites
Upper and Lower Egypt
and establishes a ruling
dynasty
 Dynasty-a series of
rulers from the same
family or line.
 They rule Egypt from about
3200-300BCE
EGYPTIAN KINGDOMS

8.  Kings of Egypt were called Pharaohs.
 They were political AND religious leaders= Theocracy
 Absolute, or unlimited power
 “divine right”- could so whatever they wanted!
 They were regarded as godlike and temples were built in their
honor!
 They were mummified and placed in tombs
 Sometimes in Pyramids to protect them and help escort them into
the afterlife
PHARAOHS

9. Menes united Egypt
Memphis= capital
During the Old
Kingdom many of the
pyramids were built!
 The Great Pyramid of
Giza was built as a tomb
for the pharaoh Khufu
There were also many
great advancements
in science and the
arts.
THE OLD KINGDOM

10.  Peasants, farmers, army, labor (most production goes to king)
>> little/ NO social mobility
 Pharaoh, royal family, priests, scribes, government officials
>> eventually form a noble class
 The pharaoh had helpers to help him rule over the large
empire.
 Nobles gained more power and have a power struggle with the
pharaoh! < Internal Strife
THE OLD KINGDOM

11.  Mentuhotep- 2040 BCE Re-united Egypt!
 He created a central monarchy and made Thebes the new capital!
 The Pharaoh once again had all the power in the land!
 Known as the “Golden Age” and a period of stability and
prosperity.
 Egypt experienced a period of expansion. Traders went to neighboring
lands.
 PROJECTS:
 A) Draining of swamp land in the Nile Delta>> New Farmland
 B) Digging of a canal to connect the Nile to Red Sea> increase trade
and transportation
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

12.  The Middle Kingdom comes to an end when foreigners from
western Asia known as Hyksos came into the country with
their horse drawn chariots and superior weapons and ruled
over Egypt for about 100 years!

13.  Eventually leaders in Egypt drove out the Hyksos and were re-
united by a line of strong pharaohs.
 Ruled strong and strict
 Gained land, build an empire >> when an individual or single
people rule over many other people and their territories
THE NEW KINGDOM

14. female Pharaoh
Kept boarders
secure and
increased trade with
other lands
Built a huge temple
Deir el Bahri
HATSHEPSUT 1503 BCE- 1482 BCE

15. (stepson/nephew)
Great conquests and
trade
ruled at the height
of Egypt’s power
Called “the
conquerer”
THUTMOSE III 1482-1450 BCE

16.  Believed in 1 god, the sun
god Ra (re, Aten,Aton ect.)
 He tries to being about
religious and social
changes.
 Tries to get all Egyptians to
only worship Ra
 Changes his name to
Aknetaton> “He who
pleases Aton”
 Not successful!
 Many believed that destroying
the Egyptian gods was the
same as destroying Egypt
 Nefertiti was his wife
 Monotheism- the belief in
one god
 Polytheism- the belief in
many gods
 Most Egyptians were
polytheistic
AMENHOTOP IV

17.  A boy Pharaoh
 Undoes Akhenaton’s changes and restores polytheism back to
Egypt
 His tomb was found untouched in the “Valley of the Kings”
TUTANKHAMEN (KING TUT)

18.  Ramses II 1279-1213 BCE- Ordered temples and monuments
to be built
 Also called Ramses the Great!
 Unable to re-establish strong borders
 The Pharaoh’s that followed were not strong leaders and the
next thousand years, Egypt was dominated by outsiders.
 Cleopatra VII- tried to re-establish Egypt’s independence in
the 1st century BC but was unsuccessful and Egypt became a
providence in Rome’s empire.
EGYPT’S DECLINE

19. LETS TAKE A TOUR OF A
THE NILE!

20. CAIRO MUSEUM OF EGYPTIAN
ANTIQUITIES