The Nile River Valley

1
The Nile River Valley

• With an astounding length of 4,145 miles, the
  Nile River is the longest river in the world, and
  the only major river that flows south to north.
• The Nile River is often called the lifeblood or
  The Gift of Egypt.

2
Upper and Lower Egypt

• Ancient Egypt includes two regions, upper
  (southern) and lower (Northern) Egypt

3
Blue and White Nile

• At its source, The Nile is 2 separate rivers the
  Blue Nile flows out of the mountains and meets
  with the White Nile.

4
Cataracts

• Along the Nile there are locations called
  cataracts. The cataracts prevented invasions from
  the South along the Nile River. The rushing and
  swirling water was too difficult to travel along.

5
Geography of Egypt

• Harsh deserts surrounded the Nile river. The
  Libyan and Eastern deserts acted as a natural
  barrier against invasions.
• The Nile River flooded each year to create a long
  narrow corridor about 12 miles wide of very
  fertile soil.
• When the land was covered in silt ,it looked
  black. They called this the black land or Kemet.
• The dry area looked red so they called it the red
  land.

6
Delta

• Before the Nile reaches the Mediterranean Sea, it
  splits into many branches. These waterways form a
  fan-shaped area of fertile land called a delta.

7
Flood season

• The Inundation was the time from June to
  September. This was the time of the flood. During
  this time, Egyptians were paid to work for the
  Pharaoh on building projects.

8
Flood season

• The Emergence of the land from the water
  covering was from October to February. During
  this time, Egyptians planted and captured as much
  water as possible in irrigation ditches.
• The last of the three seasons was the drought
  season. During the drought, the harvest took
  place.

9
Papyrus

• Papyrus was one of the most versatile plants
  growing along the Nile. The plant was used to
  make paper, sandals, boats, ropes, and even
  paintbrushes.

10
Hieroglyphics

• The Egyptians came up with a writing system
  called hieroglyphics. It was a combination of
  pictures and sound symbols.
• Scribes wrote on papyrus.

11
People of the Nile

• Egyptian people also ate fish from the river, but
  the Pharaoh never ate fish because it was
  considered unclean from the Nile waters.
• Most Egyptians were farmers. They lived in
  mud-brick one story houses on small rented plots
  of land.

12
Advances in farming

• Canals were dug from the Nile to the farms for
  irrigation. Egyptians also used a shadoof (bucket
  attached to a long pole) to get water from the
  river.

13
Uniting Egypt

• At first Upper and Lower Egypt were not united.
• Upper Egypt was symbolized by a white cone-shaped
  crown.
• Lower Egypt was symbolized by a red crown.
• Around 3100BC, Narmer (Menes) from Upper Egypt
  conquered Lower Egypt and married one of their
  princesses, uniting both kingdoms.

14
Dynasties

• Menes is considered Egypts first Pharaoh.
• He also created the first dynasty (line of rulers
  from the same family) in Egypt.
• He also built a new capital city that was later
  called Memphis.
• From 3100 BC to 332 BC a series of 32 dynasties
  ruled Egypt. These time periods are known as the
  Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, and New Kingdom.