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Chapter 4
Ancient Egypt
Geography and Ancient Egypt

The Gift of the Nile
– The Nile River
 Is the longest river in the world
 It flows north from Lake Victoria to the
Mediterranean Sea
 It flows through Upper and Lower Egypt
 Along the river are several areas of rapids,
called cataracts
 At the end of the river, it divides into several
branches creating a fertile delta
Geography and Ancient Egypt

The Gift of the Nile
– Floods
 Because it received so little rain, most of the
land was desert
 Floods deposited fertile silt that made the
land well suited for farming
Geography and Ancient Egypt

Civilization Develops Along the Nile
– Civilization was able to develop in the region
because of farming and geography
 Farmers developed irrigation systems to help
crops grow
– Farmers developed, and used, a shadouf to
water their crops in their fields
– They grew an abundance of wheat, barley,
fruits, and vegetables
 Because of natural barriers, Egypt was hard
to invade
What is a shadouf?
Geography and Ancient Egypt

Kings Unify Egypt
– Initially, Upper and Lower Egypt were separate
kingdoms
– Menes, unified both parts into one kingdom
 To show this, he wore the double crown
 He became the first pharaoh of Egypt
 He started the first dynasty
– A dynasty is a series of rulers from the
same family
 He made the city of Memphis the capital
Geography and Ancient Egypt

The Crowns of Egypt
Double
Lower
Upper
The Old Kingdom

Rule by Pharaohs
 During the Old Kingdom, the Egyptians
developed their political system
 They believed pharaohs were kings and
gods
 Pharaohs had supreme power
 They were blamed if crops did not grow
well or disease struck
 The Old Kingdom was known as the Pyramid
Age
The Old Kingdom

The Social Structure
 Society was broken into different classes
based on what jobs people had
 80% of Egyptians were farmers
The Old Kingdom

Religion and Egyptian Life
 The Egyptians were polytheistic
 Their religion was focused on the afterlife
 People were mummified before being buried
 Mummies were placed in tombs that were filled
with art, jewelry, and other treasures
 Egyptians believed they needed these items
in the afterlife
The Old Kingdom

The Pyramids
 Are huge stone structures that
served as pharaoh’s tombs (royals)
 Were paid for by collecting taxes
 The Great Pyramid was built for
Khufu
 Is symbolically protected by a
sphinx
 Is a human-headed lion statue
The Middle and New Kingdoms

The Middle Kingdom
 Because so many pharaohs built pyramids, the
Old Kingdom ended
 The power of the pharaoh was taken away
 Chaos disrupted life in Egypt
 Invaders, called the Hyksos, conquered lower
Egypt
 Eventually, Ahmose, defeated the Hyksos
and re-established the rule of the pharaohs
The Middle and New Kingdoms

The New Kingdom
 Ahmose started the new kingdom
 During this time period, Egypt grew into an
Empire by conquering neighboring lands
 These conquests made Egypt rich
 They also opened new trade routes
 Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s only female
pharaoh led huge trade expeditions
 Ramses the Great was the best pharaoh of
the New Kingdom
The Middle and New Kingdoms

Work and Daily Life
 Most Egyptians lived in their own homes
 Men were usually farmers and women cared for
the home
 Most children went to school and received an
education
 Children would follow in their parents
footsteps
Egyptian Achievements

Egyptian Writing



Hieroglyphics developed in
Egypt to keep track of taxes
Scribes were the main writers
 They wrote on papyrus
 Paper made from reeds
We were able to discover what
the hieroglyphics meant when
Champollion cracked the code
of the Rosetta Stone
Egyptian Achievements

Temples, Tombs, and Art
 The Egyptians were known for their elaborate
temples
 They were built to honor the gods
 They often had sphinxes, obelisks, and
pillars decorating them
 The walls were covered with paintings and
hieroglyphics
Egyptian Achievements

Temples, Tombs, and Art
 One of most amazing tombs in Egypt is King
Tutankhamen’s tomb
 It was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter
 The tomb was filled with treasures including
King Tut’s mummy
 The golden mask found on his mummy is one
of the most valuable discoveries ever made
Ancient Kush

The Geography of Early Nubia
 The land to the south of Egypt was called
Nubia
 The word “nub” in Egyptian meant gold
 There were huge deposits of gold here
 In ancient times, the land was very fertile
 Over time, the land became more desert like
making it harder to grow food
Ancient Kush

Kush and Egypt
 Kush and Egypt were neighbors and at peace
with each other
 They were trade partners for many years
 As Kush grew larger, Egypt was threatened
by their power and so they conquered them
 As a result, Kushite culture became more like
Egyptian culture
 Shabaka, a later ruler in Kush, was buried in a
pyramid when he died
Ancient Kush

Later Kush
 Kush became a nation based on trade
 They established a large trade network, a
system of people in different lands who trade
goods
 They exported gold, pottery, and iron
 They imported jewelry and other luxury items
 Kushite merchants brought back items and
ideas from other cultures
Ancient Kush

The Decline of Kush
 There were many problems that brought the
end of Kush
 Cattle overgrazed the fertile farmland
 Forests were cut down and wood became
scarce
 New trade route bypassed Kush
 In the end, Kush was taken over by the
kingdom of Aksum
Study Guide

What to study?
The role of the pharaohs
 The importance of hieroglyphics
 What happened in each kingdom
 Understand the geography of Ancient Egypt
 Upper and Lower Egypt
 The Nile River
 Where the best farming was located
 What Kush was like
 Study notes!
