Nile River Valley Civilization

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Nile River Valley Civilization

• Egypt Gift of the Nile

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Geography

• Developed along the Nile River
• Longest river in the world
• Flood, plant, harvest, flood
• Silt rich, fertile soil
• Worshipped as a god
• Deserts
• Protected from invasions
• Reduced interaction with other peoples

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Geography

• Upper Egypt
• South
• 1st cataract (rapids) to where river fans out
• Lower Egypt
• North near the sea
• Nile delta region
• Broad, marshy area formed by silt deposits at
  mouth of river

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Lower Egypt
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GeographyADVANTAGE

• Advantage over Mesopotamian civilizations Nile
  River very predictable in flooding.
  Tigris/Euphrates Rivers very unpredictable.

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Geography

• Flooding
• Yearly flodding in July
• Rain and melted snow traveled from central-east
  Africa
• Navigation
• Drift North towards the delta
• Sail south with the wind

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Geography

• Natural Barriers
• The desert surroundings reduced contact with
  other civilizations
• The desert also provided a natural barrier that
  shut out invaders

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History

• Menes first ruler of a united Egypt
• The Old Kingdom 2660-2180 B.C.
• The Middle Kingdom 2080-1640 B.C.
• The New Kingdom 1640-1075 B.C.

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United EGYPT
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OLD Kingdom

• Social Cultural
• Polytheistic- deities associated with objects and
  emotions
• Pyramids-final resting place for pharaohs
• Hierarchy-royal family and nobles, middle class,
  and lower class
• Afterlife-soul weighed against a feather

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Social Hierarchy
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OLD Kingdom

• Political
• God-Kings- success depended on his ability to
  fulfill his religious obligations and believe to
  be divine
• THEOCRACY- government where the ruler is seen as
  divine
• Capital at Memphis

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OLD Kingdom

• Economic
• Massive Public Works-building of the pyramids
• Pyramids at Giza
• Papyrus-record keeping on first paper
• disadvantage decomposes

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Giza
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Middle Kingdom

• Social
• Hierarchy continues- strong central authority
  established by nobles and pharaohs power
  diminished

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Middle Kingdom

• Political
• Hyksos-asian nomads swept into Egypt with horse
  drawn chariots

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Middle Kingdom

• Economic
• Trade and Transportation- canal dug from Nile to
  Red Sea
• MODERN day Suez canal

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New Kingdom

• Social
• Valley of the Kings
• Hierarchy continues

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New Kingdom

• Political
• Hatshepsut-encouraged trade instead of war
• since queen was not accepted even she is
  depicted as having a beard
• Term Pharaoh is first used
• Capital moved to Thebes
• KING TUT-unimportant rule, but famous

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King Tut
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New Kingdom

• Economic
• First time trade is encouraged

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General Political/Rulers

• God-Kings
• Pharaohs divine
• Theocracy ruler a divine figure
• Responsible for Kingdoms well being
• Dynasties ruling families

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Social/Cultural

• Religion polytheistic (many gods)
• Believed in after-life and judgment
• Pyramids tombs after death
• The Old Kingdom was great age of pyramid building
• Mummification preserve body by embalming and
  drying
• Consumed with the after-life

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What happened when a Pharaoh died?

• When a pharaoh died, the body was preserved by
  people called embalmers.
• Embalmers took the body to the Beautiful House-
  the name of where they worked.
• They removed some of the inner parts of the body
  first. The organs were taken out and stored in
  special containers called canopic jars.
• The heart was left in the body however, so that
  it could be weighed in the afterlife.

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• Then they rubbed the body with special ointments
  and wrapped it tightly with bandages.
• When a body had been treated in this way it was
  called a mummy.
• The mummy was put in a coffin. The coffin was the
  same shape as the body, and had a carved ,
  painted face on it.
• A funeral was held by a Priest in the temple.

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• The coffin was then taken to the pharaohs tomb.
• The pharaoh was buried with all their
  possessions, for use on the journey to the next
  world.
• The Egyptians believed that mummification
  preserved the body of the deceased and ensured
  their survival forever.

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Pyramid
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Great Sphinx
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Social/Cultural

• Society structured like a pyramid
• Royalty at top
• Upper Class wealthy landowners, government
  officials, priests, etc.
• Middle Class merchants and artisans
• Lower Class peasants, etc.
• Women had many of same rights as men

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Pharaohs and Queens

• Who were the Pharaohs?
• They were the kings or Queens of Egypt. They
  were the head of the government and high priest
  of every temple. The pharaoh owned all of Egypt.
  He or she decided what was right or wrong and
  their word was law. The people of Egypt
  considered the pharaoh to be a half-human and
  half-god.

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Priests

• Priests were very important people in Egyptian
  times. Besides serving the gods, priests did many
  other jobs, such as teaching, or even helping
  with the harvest. Priests had to be pure and
  clean. They shaved their heads and bodies and
  washed four times a day.

This statue of a priest has a bald head, a fake
beard and he is in the praying position
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Nobles
Court Officials and Noblemen held high office in
Ancient Egypt and helped the Pharaoh to rule the
country. The Pharaoh would often reward loyal
nobles with gifts of land, so that they would
earn their own money from taxes. Being a noble
was one of the best jobs in Egypt. Nobles were
rich and could enjoy themselves hunting and
having banquets.
Noble on a hunting trip with his family
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Scribes

• What is a Scribe?Scribes were the few
  Egyptians who knew how to read and write. Being a
  scribe was an extremely difficult job because in
  total, there were hundreds of different
  hieroglyphs to remember.
• A scribe's job was highly regarded in Ancient
  Egypt. Although being a scribe was rewarding, the
  training could take as long as twelve years.

Scribes were very wise
This statue of a Scribe was found in his tomb
A peasant making papyrus
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Craftsmen

• Egyptian craftsmen were highly skilled. They
  learned their trade from their fathers and, in
  turn, taught their sons. They used simple
  techniques and tools to make all sorts of useful
  things. The Pharaoh, government or temples often
  employed them.

Craftsmen carving statues and ornaments
Carpenters using a bow drill
Metal workers making precious objects
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Peasants

• The most important business in Egypt was
  farming. Most of the people who worked in the
  fields and barns were peasants. During the flood
  season when no farming could be done the peasants
  did building work on temples and palaces.

Peasants herding cattle for the Pharaoh
Peasants preparing food for a banquet
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Social/Cultural

• Writing
• Hieroglyphics
• Papyrus writing surface (paper)
• Rosetta Stone
• Discovered in 1799
• Clue to deciphering hieroglyphics

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Economic

• Nile River helped unify Egypt and promote trade
• Reliable transportation between Upper and Lower
  Egypt
• During Middle Kingdom, dug canals from Nile to
  Red Sea
• Trade with Mesopotamia and Indus river valley
  civilizations

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Economic

• Wealth from new trade used for public works
  projects
• Dikes and irrigation

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Accomplishments

• Hieroglyphics
• Papyrus
• Geometry-property boundries
• Mathematics and Engineering- building of pyramids
• Solar calendar
• Advances in medicine-pulse, surgery
• Use of bronze-two wheeled chariots

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