The First Civilizations

1
Chapter 2

• The First Civilizations

2
Chapter 2 - The First Civilizations

• Section 1 Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile

3
C2.1 Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile

• The Story Continues Hail to thee, O
• Nile! Who manifests thyself
• over this land, and comes to give life to
• Egypt! These lines begin
• Hymn to the Nile, an ancient poem
• celebrating the river that gave
• birth to and sustained the culture of the
• Egyptians. Without the Nile,
• there would be no Egypt as we know it.

4
I. The Land Its Geography and Importance

• A. The Nile River

5
A. The Nile River

• For 5000 years, the geography of Egypt has been
  dominated by the Nile River

6
A. The Nile River

• Egyptian civilization was built along the Nile,
  the worlds longest river

7
A. The Nile River

• The Nile flows 4,160 miles to the Mediterranean
  Sea

8
A. The Nile River

• Each summer for 3 months, the Nile flooded and
  left behind fertile soil

This is a "Nilometer". The vertical markings
alongside the stairway were used to measure the
height of the crest of the Nile flooding. The
pharoahs used this information to predict the
bounty of the crops and set the tax rates
accordingly.
9
A. The Nile River

• Egyptian farmers irrigated their fields and
  harvested crops before the floods came

10
A. The Nile River

• Because of irrigation and Egypts warm climate,
  two to three crops a year could be grown

Grape cultivation, one of the ancient Egyptian
crops
11
A. The Nile River

• People moved goods northward with the rivers
  flow, and sailed boats southward with the wind,
  promoting trade

12
A. The Nile River

• The Nile linked all parts of the Nile Valley,
  helping to unite the region into one kingdom

13
B. Other Natural Advantages

• Granite, sandstone, and limestone from the valley
  provided building material

Sandstone quarry
Unfinished obelisk at Aswan
14
B. Other Natural Advantages

• The surrounding deserts and seas provided
  protection against invaders

15
B. Other Natural Advantages

• The Isthmus of Suez, a land bridge between Africa
  and Asia, allowed for trade and exchange of ideas

16
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• (12,000 B.C.) Hunter-gatherers lived in the Nile
  Valley

17
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• (6000 B.C.) A Neolithic farming culture developed
  

18
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• (3800 B.C.) The people mined copper and
  discovered how to make bronze

This tomb painting shows the basic techniques of
the metal workers casting bronze.
19
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• (3000 B.C.) Egyptians developed a form of writing
  using signs, pictures, and symbols called
  hieroglyphics

20
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• Hieroglyphics were carved in stone and later
  marked on papyrus

21
Egypt is important for papyrus in two respects.
First, papyrus plants grew almost exclusively in
the region of the Nile delta. Secondly, the dry
climate of Egypt made it possible for papyri to
endure, in many cases, for over 2 millennia.
Paper is made from the papyrus plant by
separating it with a needle point into very thin
strips as broad as possible. The choice quality
comes from the center, and thence in the order of
slicing. The first use of papyrus paper is
believed to have been 4000 BC.
22
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• (1798 A.D.) A French officer discovered a black
  inscribed stone in the village of Rosetta

23
II. Early Steps Toward Civilization

• The Rosetta Stone told the same story with
  hieroglyphics and in Greek and gave the first
  clue to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics

24
1st Quarter Time Traveler Assignments -
Public Announcement with Perspectives paper due
to Mr. Puhr Sept. 20th - News Article
due to Mrs. Duerr Sept. 21st - Portfolio
due to Mr. Puhr Sept. 28th - Standards -
Syllabus - Assessment Opportunities - Time
Traveler Information Packet - Observational
Essay - Public Announcement with Perspectives
- News Article - Evidence of Research
(Bibliography in MLA Format with at least 5
sources)
25
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• Over time two distinct cultures and kingdoms
  developed, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt

Cobra - Lower Egypt
Vulture - Upper Egypt
26
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• (3200 B.C.) Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt
  into one kingdom

Menes, aka Narmer or Catfish
27

• The pharaoh, Narmer or King Menes, created Egypt
  by uniting Upper and Lower Egypt into a single
  kingdom. Narmer, as with succeeding pharaohs,
  considered himself an incarnation of the god
  Horus. He started Memphis in the north and Abydos
  in the south as his capital cities

28
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• Menes founded a dynasty, where the right to rule
  passes on within the family

Tomb painting in the Temple of Abydos, Egypt,
Dynasty XIX, 1317 B.C.
29
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• Pharaohs were religious and political leaders,
  viewed as gods. The people built temples and
  tombs to honor them

Court of Ramesis II, Luxor Temple
The Step Pyramid of King Djoser - the first
monumental royal tomb and one of the oldest stone
structures in Egypt
30
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• The rulers took the title pharaoh and held
  absolute power

31
III. The Egyptian Kingdoms

• 30 dynasties ruled Egypt until about 300 B.C.
  Historians divide their rule into three kingdoms

32
A. The Old Kingdom

• The Old Kingdom lasted from 2680 B.C. to 2180
  B.C.

33
A. The Old Kingdom

• The Great Sphinx and the largest pyramids were
  built during this period

34
A. The Old Kingdom

• Society was split into 2 classes
• The lower class
• peasants and farmers
• soldiers in the army
• canal and pyramid workers

35
A. The Old Kingdom

• Society was split into 2 classes
• The upper class included the royal family,
  priests, scribes and government officials

36
A. The Old Kingdom

• At the end of the Old Kingdom, pharaohs were weak
  and the nobles grew stronger.
• - 100 years of civil war
• - Known as the first
• Intermediate Period

37
B. The Middle Kingdom

• In 2050 B.C. a new dynasty ushered in the Middle
  Kingdom - Egypts golden age

Arts and crafts flourished during the Middle
Kingdom as is shown in this lovely amulet of
Sesostris III
Mentuhotep II, First Ruler of the Middle Kingdom
38
B. The Middle Kingdom

• By 1780 B.C. powerful nobles and priests were
  again making the kingdom unstable

MAGIC WHEREBY THE PRIESTS OF ANCIENT EGYPT AWOKE
THE MUMMIFIED DEAD
39
B. The Middle Kingdom

• By 1650 B.C. the Hyksos, or foreigners, had
  conquered Egypt with their new tools of war,
  including chariots and powerful bows

composite bow made of woods, horn, sinew and
covered in birch bark - range .25 miles - better
penetration than a magnum firearm
40
C. The New Kingdom

• About 1570 B.C. Egypt was united under a new line
  of pharaohs during the New Kingdom

41
C. The New Kingdom

• The New Kingdom pharaohs conquered new lands and
  built an empire

42
C. The New Kingdom

• 1503 to 1450 B.C. Hatshepshut and her stepson
  Thutmose III brought Egypt to the height of its
  power

43
C. The New Kingdom

• (1380 to 1362 B.C.) Amenhotep IV changed his name
  to Akhenaton (he who is pleasing to Aton) and
  tried to change Egyptian polytheistic beliefs

Akhenaton and his wife, Queen Nefertiti
Akhenaton
44
D. Egypts Decline

• Ramses II (1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C.) was one of the
  last strong pharaohs and constructed many temples
  and monuments

Temple of Karnak - Ramses II with his daughter
Bent'anta 
Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbal
45
D. Egypts Decline

• By the 300s B.C. Egyptian rule had ended after a
  series of invasions by the Assyrians, Nubians,
  and Persians