Ø People called Egyptians
(Egy.) settled in Nile River valley.
Ø They borrowed ideas like
farming and writing from Sumerians.
Ø Civilization lasted longer
over 2000 years.
Ø Nile flows long way from
central to NE Africa.
Ø At the end of the Nile is a
delta (fan shaped area of fertile land).
Ø At different places there
are cataracts (waterfalls).
Ø Nile overflows banks
regularly and spreads good soil.
Ø Egy. used shadoofs to lift
water from Nile to basins which were used for irrigation.
Ø Egy. raised flax wheat,
barley, and grapes.
Ø Egy. had two kingdoms Upper
Egypt (further south) and Lower Egypt (north and delta).
Ø Narmer/Menes first united
kingdoms ~3100 BC.
Ø Old Kingdom started ~2600 BC
and lasted for ~500 years.
Ø Memphis was capital and
cities were centers of religion, trade,
and government.
Ø Most people lived in mud
brick houses in villages on large farms on banks of Nile, not in cities.
Ø Most people farmed and built
monuments, roads, & dug ditches.
The
Pharaoh
Ø Egy. believed in having a
strong leader originally they were kings.
Ø Kings changed to Pharaohs
(which meant Great House)
Ø Pharaohs (Ph.) were
considered to be kings, priests, and god.
Ø Ph. owned all of Egypt and
gave it to priests and people.
Ø Stored grain in huge
granaries in case of famine.
Ø Ph. in charge of all of
government including trade.
Ø Ph. did certain rituals to
help people and harvest.
The
Pyramids
Ø Pyramids were great tombs
for Ph. and their possessions
Ø A lot of effort was needed
for pyramids that took years and thousands of workers to construct.
Religious
Beliefs
Ø Egy. believed in many gods
including Hapi (river gods) and Re (sun god).
Ø Osiris was also important to
harvest and afterlife.
Ø Egy. used Book of the Dead
to learn spells associated with the afterlife.
Ø Egy. embalmed Ph. &
other people to preserve their bodies after death and believed this was
important for afterlife.
Ø Embalmed and chemically
treated body was wrapped and called a mummy.
Ø Old Kingdom ended when government
officials pushed out Ph. ~2300 BC.
Ø Ph. established Middle
Kingdom ~2500 BC.
Ø Ph. now had less power than
in Old Kingdom.
Ø Middle Kingdom defeated by
group called Hyksos in 1786 BC who had iron and bronze weapons and chariots vs.
Egyptians store and copper weapons and foot soldiers
Ø Hyksos ruled for 150 years
but were overthrown by Ahmose.
Ø Ahmose established new line
of Ph. when Egypt grew larger and richer.
Ø Most Ph. fought wars and
extended Egyptian control of area.
Ø Most Ph. were men but a
woman named Hatshepsut ruled after her Ph. husband died.
Ø She helped to extend trade
to E. Africa.
Religion
Ø Memphis city god Amon became more important
when Egy. combined Amon with Re (sun god) to form Amon-Re.
Ø Temples of Amon-Re were religious
and also often used as schools for scribes and workshops for sculptors,
artisans.
Ø Scribes wrote using
hieroglyphs (picture writing) and quicker forms.
The
Decline of Egypt
Ø Priests of Amon-Re gained
lots of wealth and power and this concerned Ph. Amenhotep IV (AIV) when he came
to power.
Ø AIV tried to take back power
from priests and closed temples.
Ø AIV started new religion
with only one god Aton.
Ø Few people outside of royal
family accepted new religion.
Ø When AIV died new Ph.
Tutankhamen was forced to return to old religion.
Ø Struggles between Ph. and
priests caused more problems.
Ø Ph. also spent lots on
armies but could not compete with enemies with iron weapons effectively.
Ø ~1150 BC Egypt’s empire gone
and in 671 BC Egy. were taken over by Assyrians.
Ø Paper made from reeds called
papyrus and ink were first used by Egy.
Ø Egy. used a number system
based on 10 like us.
Ø Egy. used fractions,
geometry.
Ø Egy. had special calendar
with 3 seasons of 120 days and 5 feast days.
Ø Were first medical
specialists.
Ø Doctors were the first to
use splints & bandages and sewed cuts & set bones.