The document discusses the key features and importance of the Nile River to the development of Egyptian civilization. It describes how the annual flooding of the Nile provided fertile soil that allowed for agriculture. Egyptian society was organized around the flooding cycle of the Nile. Key periods of Egyptian history saw the construction of pyramids and the rise and fall of powerful pharaohs and kingdoms. The Nile Valley provided an environment conducive to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and the emergence of one of the earliest civilizations.

1. EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION
1. How Egyptian Civilization developed
2. Features of the Nile River Valley
3. The Old Kingdom – foundation of Egyptian culture
a) Pyramids
b) Pharaohs
c) Religion
4. Intermediate Periods ~ Hyksos Invasion
5. New Kingdom ~ Amarna Period
6. Egyptian Writing Systems
Historical Theme = Geographic Determinism &
Historical Theme = History & the Environment
“Why didn’t Egypt experience a complete environmental
collapse as happened in the Levant?”

3. Herodotus, the great Greek philosopher and historian,
called Egypt
the Gift of the Nile:
"the river rises of itself, waters the fields, and then sinks back again;
thereupon each man sows his field and waits for the harvest."
This description would lead the casual reader to imagine Egypt as
being a great paradise where the people simply sat and waited for
the sowing and harvesting to be done. But the ancient Egyptians
knew better. Too high a flood from their river, and villages would be
destroyed; too low a flood, and the land would turn to dust and bring
famine. Indeed, one flood in five was either too low or too high.

4. The Nile is the longest river in the world, flowing
north from East Africa for approximately 4,200
miles. Three rivers flowed into the Nile from the
south and serve as its sources: the Blue Nile, the
White Nile and the Arbara. As the Nile flows
through Nubia, it passes through formations of
hard rock, creating a series of rapids, named
cataracts, which form a natural boundary to the
south. Between the first and second cataracts lay
Lower Nubia, and between the second and sixth
cataracts lay upper Nubia.
As the Nile flowed through Egypt, it scoured a
deep, wide gorge in the desert plateau. Southern
Egypt, thus being upstream, is called Upper Egypt,
and northern Egypt, being downstream and the
Delta, is called Lower Egypt. In addition to the
Valley and the Delta, the Nile also divided Egypt
into the Eastern and Western Deserts. The Delta
spans some 8,500 square miles and is fringed in its
coastal regions by lagoons, wetlands, lakes and
sand dunes.

5. The Flooding of the Nile
From the earliest times, the waters of the Nile, swollen by monsoon rains in Ethiopia, flooded
over the surrounding valley every year between June and September of the modern calendar. A
nilometer was used to measure the height of the Nile in ancient times. It usually consisted of a
series of steps against which the increasing height of the Inundation, as well as the general level
of the river, could be measured. Records of the maximum height were kept. Surviving
nilometers exist connected with the temples at Philae, on the Nubian Egyptian border, Edfu,
Esna, Kom Ombo, and Dendera, as well as the best-known nilometer on the island of
Elephantine at Aswan.
The ancient Egyptian calendar, made up of twelve months of 30 days each, was divided into
three seasons, based upon the cycles of the Nile. The three seasons were: akhet = the
Inundation; peret = the growing season; and shemu = the drought or harvest season. During the
season of the Inundation, layers of fertile soil were annually deposited on the flood-plain.
Chemical analysis has shown how fertile the Nile mud is. It contains about 0.1 percent of
combined nitrogen, 0.2 percent of phosphorus anhydrides and 0.6 percent of potassium.
Since most of the Egyptian people worked as farmers, when the Nile was at its highest and they
could not plant, they were drafted into labor projects such as building Pyramids, repairing
temples and other monuments and working on the kings tomb.

6. The Nile flowed from south to north at an
average speed of about four knots during
inundation season. The water level was on
average about 25-33 feet deep and
navigation was fast. That made a river
voyage from Thebes (modern Luxor) north
to Memphis (near modern Cairo) lasting
approximately two weeks. During the
dryer season when the water level was
lower, and speed slower, the same trip
would last about two months. At the great
bend near Qena, the Nile would flow from
west to east and then back from east to
west, slowing down travel. No sailing was
done at night because of the danger of
running aground on one of the many
sandbank and low islands.

7. The Nile River and Egypt
The Delta represented 63 percent of the
inhabited area of Egypt, extending about
200 kilometers from south to north and
roughly 400 kilometers from east to west.
While today the Nile flows through the
Delta in only two principal branches, the
Damietta and the Rosetta, in ancient
times there were three principal channels,
known as the water of Pre, the water of
Ptah and the water of Amun. There were
additionally subsidiary branches or
artificially cut channels.
There were several major oases of the
Western desert, which comprised about
2/3 of Egypt, became one of the most
densely populated and agriculturally
productive areas in Egypt. The Eastern
Desert was exploited in Pharaonic times
for its rich minerals.

8. The Egyptian god Hapi was the personification of the
annual flooding by the Nile and it fertile deposits of
nutrient-rich silt, on which the agricultural life of all
Egyptians depended. The River filled all areas of life with
symbolism. In religion, for example, the creator sun-god Ra
(Re) was believed to be ferried across the sky daily in a
boat, and Hymns to the Nile praised its bounty and
offerings as religious rituals were made to ensure its
continued to bless Egypt with life. Creation myths revolved
around the primordial mound rising from the floodwaters
surrounding it. Rituals and writings revered Nile creatures
such as the hippopotamus, whose shape the goddess
Tawaret took, or the crocodile, called Sobek, or Heket the
frog - deities deemed powerful in the processes of
childbirth and fertility. Floral images such as the lotus and
papyrus figured prominently in architecture where the
very structure of temples emulated these plants on
mounds of the Nile and its waves depicted from the
bottom to the top of capital columns and the trim on walls.

9. Egypt was divided into two geographical regions,
known as Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Lower
Egypt, also known as the Delta, was the northern
most area where the Nile branched out into
tributaries that emptied into the Mediterranean
Sea. Upper Egypt lies to the South and constitutes
a long area along the banks of the Nile River as it
flows through entrenched valleys where the first
practice of agriculture occurred in all of Egypt.
The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were
united c. 3000 BCE, but each maintained its own
regalia. Thus, after the unification, the pharaohs
were known as the rulers of the Two Kingdoms
(alternatively: Two Lands), and wore the double
crown, each half representing sovereignty of one
of the kingdoms.
The terms "Upper" and "Lower" are based on
elevation – the Nile flows from the highlands of
East Africa northwards seeking lower elevations
on its path to the Mediterranean Sea. So Upper
Egypt lies to the south of Lower Egypt, which is
mostly the Nile Delta. The 2 Egypts spoke different
dialects and had different customs. Many of these
differences, and tensions still exist today.
Lower and Upper Egypt

10. Afro-asiatic languages are spoken
across North Africa, the Horn of
Africa, and the Middle East. There
are approximately 375 Afro-asiatic
languages spoken by 300 million
people. The main subfamilies of
Afro-asiatic are the Semitic
languages, the Cushitic languages,
Berber, and the Chadic languages.
Its most famous sub-branch, the
Semitic languages (including Arabic,
Amharic and Hebrew among
others), developed in the Arabian
peninsula. The Semitic languages
are the only branch of the Afro-
Asiatic family of languages that is
spoken outside of Africa.
Of the world's surviving language
families, Afro-asiatic has the
longest written history, as both
Ancient Egyptian and the Akkadian
language of Mesopotamia are
members.

13. Before the unification of Egypt, the land was
settled with autonomous villages – agricultural
hamelts up and down the Nile River Valley. With
the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history
thereafter, the country came to be known as the
Two Lands. The rulers established a national
administration and appointed royal governors.
State formation in Egypt was primarily indigenous
in character, and it is likely that a common
language, namely Egyptian, was spoken in Upper
and Lower Egypt in variant dialects, which
facilitated the unification.
According to the historian Manetho (3rd C. BCE), an
Egyptian historian and priest who lived during the
Ptolemaic era, the first king was Menes (likely reign
circa 3100–3050 BC). However, the earliest
recorded king of the First Dynasty was Hor-Aha
(reign c. 3050–3049 BC), and the first king to claim
to have united the two lands was Narmer (the final
king of the Protodynastic Period). It is possible that
all three names refer to the same person.

14. The Macehead of King 'Scorpion'.
The ritual mace head of 'Scorpion' is a rounded piece of
limestone, shaped like the head of a mace 25 cm. high. The
beautifully sculpted central figure is king 'Scorpion', identified
by the floral element and the scorpion in front of him. He wears
the White Crown of Upper-Egypt, a simple skirt with an
animal's tail. He holds a hoe in his hands, ready to cut open the
ground. Before him stands a man, facing the king and pouring
sand on the ground. This type of scene is known throughout the
Pharaonic history: it shows the king preparing the foundations
of some kind of building. It has sometimes
been suggested that the king might
have been represented wearing the
Red Crown, normally associated
with Lower-Egypt, on the missing
part of the mace head.
The White Crown, called hdt (The Bright One)
adorned the king as ruler of Upper (Southern)
Egypt, while the Red Crown, called dsrt (The Red
One) marked him as ruler of Lower Egypt.

15. The Narmer Palette
Narmer’s name is
known because it is
written on a votive
palette (the Narmer
Pallette) used for
grinding minerals for
kohl, used by ancient
Egyptians to outline
the eyes.
This commemorative slate palette was carved circa 3168 B.C. (Dynasty 0) for King Narmer and was
found at Hierakonpolis. This palette may be commemorating the unification of Egypt; Narmer may in fact
be Menes, the legendary unifier of Egypt. The Narmer Palette is notable for being one of the earliest
depictions of the standard elements of canonical art including a smiting scene, the use of registers to
organize the picture, a depiction of both the red and white crowns, the use of hieroglyphic writing –
including the use of the serekh to write the king’s name – and the use of the bull as a symbol of kingly
power. Earlier palettes were truly functional, being used to grind cosmetics. They evolved into purely
decorative or commemorative palettes such as this one. On the obverse side (right), one can observe that
the circular depression where the cosmetic powder would have been ground has been retained though it is
clearly not meant to be used.

19. Interior decoration in Catal
Huyuk 8,000 years ago
Beast Master
Motif in Egypt
Sumerian seal (carved cylinder), early dynastic period (third
millenium B.C.). "Master or Mistress of animals" (beast master)
themes took many forms in ancient Near Eastern art, including
this Sumerian example.

21. A necropolis, city of the dead, at Giza.
Mastaba tombs are rectangular structures with sloping sides that enclose
vertical shafts leading to underground burial chambers. Egypt's high officials
and their family members were buried in mastabas during the Old Kingdom.

22. The Old Kingdom established a
legacy for all subsequent eras of
Egyptian history, setting a
standard of centralized power by
its pharaohs in grand scale
architecture and religious rituals
that secured the status of the
pharaoh as being divine.

23. Pyramids at Giza
Djoser, 2nd king of the 3rd
dynasty (c. 2650–c. 2575 bce)
of the Old Kingdom, whose
architect Imhotep, constructed
the earliest important stone
building in Egypt with his
Stepped Pyramid and temple
complex at Saqqara –
important preceding structure
to Egyptian classic pyramids
Stepped Pyramid, Saqqara Snefru , 1st king of the 4th
dynasty, presided over a
period of expansion and
technical innovation in the
construction of pyramids. The
three major pyramids he built
were far larger than those
constructed by his
predecessors, and their forms
illustrate the transition from the
step pyramids of the 3rd
dynasty to the flat-sided true
pyramids built in the 4th
dynasty and after.

24. Pyramid Complex at Giza
Memphis was the capital city of ancient Egypt during
the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-c. 2130 BCE). Closely
associated with the ancient city's site, 25 km south of
Cairo, are the cemeteries, or necropolises, of Memphis,
where the famous pyramids of Egypt and the Great
Sphinx are located. Memphis was founded around
3100 BCE, perhaps by the pharaoh Menes who united
upper and lower Egypt for the first time. One of the
greatest cities of the ancient world, it was filled with
palaces, gardens, and temples. Apart from the royal
pyramids and other tombs of its necropolises, much of
it is permanently lost.

25. The greatest monumental sculpture in the
ancient world, the Sphinx is carved out of a
single ridge of stone 240 feet (73 meters)
long and 66 feet (20 meters) high. The head,
which has a markedly different texture from
the body, and shows far less severe erosion,
is a naturally occurring outcrop of harder
stone. To form the lower body of the Sphinx,
enormous blocks of stone were quarried
from the base rock (and these blocks were
then used in the core masonry of the
temples directly in front and to the south of
the Sphinx).
Egyptologists maintain that the Sphnix
was constructed in the 4th Dynasty by the
Pharaoh (Khafre, other theories, both
archaeological and geological, indicates
that the Sphinx is far older than the 4th
Dynasty, and was only restored by Khafre
during his reign. The geological findings
indicate that the Sphinx seems to have
been sculpted sometime before 10,000
BC, and this period coincides with the Age
of Leo the Lion (constellation), which
lasted from 10,970 to 8810 BCE.

26. Khufu, son of Snefru, was
second ruler of the 4th
dynasty. His is the largest
pyramid ever built, it
incorporates about 2.3 million
stone blocks, weighing an
average of 2.5 to 15 tons
each. It is estimated that the
workers would have had to set
a block every two and a half
minutes.
The Great Pyramid was the centerpiece of
an elaborate complex, which included
several small pyramids, five boat pits, a
mortuary temple, a causeway, a valley
temple, and many flat-roofed tombs for
officials and some members of the royal
family.

27. Khafre was a son
of Khufu and his is
the second largest
known pyramid in
Egypt, only
approximately 10
feet shorter than
the Great Pyramid.
Remnants of its
original casing are
still apparent at the
top of the structure.
After the building of
the Great Pyramid,
King Khafre had a
hard act to follow.
Khafre rose to the
occasion by
building his pyramid
on higher ground
giving the illusion
that his pyramid
was taller.

28. The statue of the Pharaoh Menkaure (Mycerinus) and his
Queen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, carved out of
slate and dating to 2548-2530 BCE, is an example of Old
Kingdom 4th Dynasty royal sculpture. The statue, which
stands about 4 feet 8 inches high, was found in a hole dug
earlier by treasure-hunters below the floor of a room in the
Valley Temple of the pyramid of Menkaure at Giza during
excavations undertaken by the Harvard University and
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston expedition under the
direction of the archaeologist George Reisner in 1908-10.
On January 18, 1910.
Menkaure flanked by two goddesses
- from Giza - Old Kingdom - 4th
Dynasty - circa 2472 BCE
The Pyramid of Menkaure is the
smallest of the three at Giza. It was
begun during his rule (2490-2472)
and completed by his son. This
pyramid was to be fully encased in
granite but it was never finished due
to the Pharoah's early death.

29. Pepi II's pyramid in South Saqqara
was the last to be built in the best
traditions of the Old Kingdom. It was
named "Pepi's life is enduring", which
indeed it was. His reign we believe
lasted 94 years, longer then any
other Ancient Egyptian pharaoh.
The pyramid is located on
the southern edge of the
necropolis, about three
miles south of Djoser's
Step Pyramid, which
probably made it a source
of inspiration for Middle
Kingdom pyramid builders.

30. Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and
commemoration of pharaohs in their afterlife. Temples were seen as houses
for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated. Within them, the
Egyptians performed a variety of rituals, the central functions of Egyptian
religion: giving offerings to the gods, reenacting their mythological
interactions through festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos. These
rituals were seen as necessary for the gods to continue to uphold ma’at, the
divine order of the universe. Housing and caring for the gods were the
obligations of pharaohs, who therefore dedicated enormous resources to
temple construction and maintenance. Out of necessity, pharaohs delegated
most of their ritual duties to a host of priests, but most of the populace was
excluded from direct participation in ceremonies and forbidden to enter a
temple's most sacred areas. Nevertheless, a temple was an important
religious site for all classes of Egyptians, who went there to pray, give
offerings, and seek oracular guidance from the god dwelling within.

31. Pyramid Texts – Old Kingdom
Coffin Texts – Middle Kingdom
Book of the Dead –
New Kingdom
Pyramid texts are collection of rituals and magical texts in hieroglyphs inscribed on the walls of the burial
chamber, ante-chamber and other rooms and corridors inside the royal pyramids. These spells were texts
necessary for the deceased Pharaoh to utilize for his successfully journey to immortality in his afterlife. The
Coffin Texts superseded the Pyramid Texts in the First Intermediary Period. They were written on papyrus or
wood coffins in an early form of Middle Egyptian, mostly in cursive hieroglyphs or sometime hieratic. Aferlife
expectations became available to more citizens than just royalty. The Book of the Dead texts were generally
written in cursive hieroglyphs on papyrus with vignettes. This text served to protect the deceased. The
general Judgment of the Dead, to which every deceased is subject, played an important part.

32. The Book of the Dead was a collection of formulas, hymns, and prayers for the deceased of ancient Egypt that originated
from the Pyramid Texts. The Egyptians believed the deceased needed instructions to lead them safely through the
demons of the Underworld when they died. The deceased Book would of the Dead, be judged Thebes, by Osiris Dynasty in a 21, ceremony ca 1070-945 called BCE.
Weighing of
the Heart. Standing before Osiris, the deceased was asked to name each of the divine judges and swear that had not
committed any offences, ranging from raising the voice to stealing. This was the "negative confession". If found innocent,
in the judgment at the Weighing of the Heart the deceased was declared "true of voice" and allowed to proceed into the
Afterlife. The heart of the deceased was weighed against the principle of truth and justice ( known as ma’at ) represented
by a feather, the symbol of the goddess of truth, order and justice, Ma’at. If the heart balanced against the feather then
the deceased would be granted a place in the Fields of Hetep and Iaru. If it was heavy with the weight of wrongdoings,
the balance would sink and the heart would be grabbed and eaten by the Devourer of Souls, Ammit, "the gobbler", a
composite animal with the head of a crocodile, the front legs and body of lion or leopard, and the back legs of a
hippopotamus. Anubis tended to the scales while the proceedings were recorded by Thoth, the scribe of the gods, and
the deity of wisdom. Thoth was often depicted as a human with an ibis head, writing on a scroll of papyrus. His other
animal form, the baboon, was often depicted sitting on the pivot of the scales of justice.

33. 1st Intermediate Period:
Egyptian intermediate periods are times when the centralized government weakened and Egypt divided
into separate kingdoms, Upper and Lower. The 1st Intermediate Period is often characterized as chaotic
and miserable, being brought about by a prolonged failure of the annual Nile floods, leading to famine and
collapse of the monarchy of the Old Kingdom. In spite of this collapse, there is evidence of thriving culture
and the development of towns as non-royal people gained in status. The 1st Intermediate Period ended
when the Theban king of Upper Egypt, King Mentuhotep II, defeated his unknown Lower Egyptian rival
and beginning the era of the Middle Kingdom.

34. • Middle Kingdom fell due to weakness of its
later kings,
• = Egypt invaded by an Asiatic, desert people
• Hyksos = Semitic kings of Egypt over two
centuries.
• Hyksos means "ruler of foreign lands".
• The Jewish historian Josephus depicts them as
sacrilegious invaders who despoiled the land
• Hyksos presented themselves as Egyptian
kings
• The Hyksos, known as the Shepherd Kings or
Desert Princes,
• sacked the old capital of Memphis and built their
capital at Avaris, in the Delta.
• They brought technical innovations to Egypt,
• fbronze working, pottery and looms t
• new musical instruments and musical styles.
• New breeds of animals and crops
• most important changes were in warfare;
• composite bows, new types of daggers and
scimitars,
• above all the horse and chariot.
• the Hyksos modernized Egypt and
• Ultimately Egypt benefitted from their rule.

35. The Hyksos were a group of mixed Semitic-Asiatics who settled in
northern Egypt during the 18th century BC. In about 1630 they seized
power, and Hyksos kings ruled Egypt as the 15th dynasty (c. 1630-1521
BC).

37. The Amarna period comprises the reigns of Akhenaten, Smenkhkare,
Tutankhamun and Ay. The period is named after the capital city founded by
Akhenaten, son of Amenhotep III. Akhenaten ascended the throne as
Amenhotep IV, but changed his name when he rejected traditional religion
in favour of the worship of the Aten or sun disc. He closed all the temples
to other gods and obliterated their names from monuments.

38. Ahkenaten, shown here enjoying a moment with his wife
Nefertiti. His original name was Amenhotep IV, but he
changed it to Ahkenaten ("spirit of Aten") to signify an
extraordinary shift he made from traditional Egyptian
religion to worship of the Aten, or sun disk, whose rays
are shown extended down towards the royal family.
This move to a monotheistic religion was very
radical and probably alienated the traditional
priesthood, so Ahkenaten tried to solidify the change
by constructing a new capital called Akhetaten
("horizon of Aten"), which is now referred to as
Amarna. He also introduced many changes into Egyptian
artistic expression, including unusually informal family
settings like the one shown here, as well as changes in
portraiture such as pot bellies and very strangely shaped
hips and facial features. After his death the old
establishment reasserted itself, all of his changes were
eliminated and a systematic attempt was made to erase
him completely from history by the destruction of
monuments and artworks and the removal of his name
from records, often by defacing his name on carved
works. It's thought that Tutankhamun was either his son
or grandson, but even he changed his name Tutankhaten
to Tutankhamun to signify the destruction of Ahkenaten's
heretical beliefs.

39. Nefertiti, which means "a beautiful woman has come" (aka Neferneferuaten) was queen of Egypt and wife
of the pharaoh Akhenaten/Akhenaton. He ruled from the middle of the 14th century B.C. Nefertiti's origins
are unknown. She might have been a Mitanni princess or the daughter of Ay, brother of Akhenaton's
mother, Tiy. Nefertiti had 3 daughters at Thebes before Akhenaten moved the royal family to Tell el-
Amarna, where the fertile queen produced another 3 daughters.
Nefertiti played religious roles in Akhenaten's new religion, as part of the triad that consisted of Akhenaten's
god Aton, Akehenaten, and Nefertiti. As shown in the picture, the beautiful Queen Nefertiti wore a special
blue crown. However beautiful and unusual she may seem in this picture, in other pictures, it is hard to
distinguish Nefertiti from her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten.

40. King
“Tut”ankhamun
Tutankhamun, the 11th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Ancient Egypt,
was unremarkable, is famous due to the discovery of his completely
intact tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter in 1922.
He was about 17 when he died and was likely to have inherited the throne at the age of eight or nine. He is
thought to have been the son of Akhenaten, commonly known as the 'heretic king'. Akhenaten replaced the
traditional cult of 'Amun' with his solar deity 'Aten', thus asserting his authority as pharaoh in a new way.
According to documents, ancient Egyptians believed that Akhenaten’s reforms angered the traditional
gods, and seeing their temples in ruins and their cults abolished, had abandoned Egypt to chaos. When
Tutankhamun came to the throne, his administration restored the old religion and moved the capital from
Akhetaten back to its traditional home at Memphis. He changed his name from Tutankhaten - 'living image
of Aten [the sun god]' - to Tutankhamun, in honour of Amun. His queen, Ankhesenpaaten, the third
daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, also changed the name on her throne to read Ankhesenamun.

41. Seti I and Ramesses II of the 19th Dynasty, reclaimed the lost territories abroad and continuing
the formidable building activity started in the 18th Dynasty. Again, large parts of Asia were
conquered, but the international situation had changed and the Egyptians found themselves
facing a new and powerful enemy: the Hittites, an Indo-European Empire on the Anatolia
peninsula. Conflicts between Egypt and the Hittites ended with peace during the reign of
Ramesses II. His successors, however, were unable to follow in his footsteps. The 19th Dynasty
gradually slipped away in dynastic disputes and chaos.
With the 20th Dynasty, Egypt’s prosperity and relative stability drew to an end. Ramesses III’s
reign was marked by corruption, social turmoil and a conspiracy against his life. During the
years following his death, Egypt’s declined quickly: the Theban priests of Amun became the de
facto rulers of Upper-Egypt, while Lower-Egypt was administered by the Pharaoh. Another
powerful group in the Egyptian society was the military, who claimed their part in the
government and in Egyptian territory. By the end of the 20th Dynasty, Egypt was again divided
into many fractions and the New Kingdom came to an end in 1070 BCE.
The period following the New Kingdom is the 3rd Intermediate Period (1070 - 712 or 1070 -
525), composed of the dynasties 21 through 24 or 26. This period, followed by the Late Period
(712 - 332 or 525 - 332), is often described as a period of decline and chaos.