Ancient Egypt: Pharaohs, Pyramids, and the Nile River

Government

• The pharaohs had viziers.

• Almost every pharaoh was a man.

• When a pharaoh died, his son or wife would sometimes become the next pharaoh.

• The pharaoh was the king and was considered a god.

• They had a dynasty, meaning there was a series of rulers from the same family.

• Menes was the first king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt.

Innovation

• Egypt prospered under effective pharaohs.

• The pharaohs used their enormous wealth and power to build pyramids.

• The pyramids represented the Egyptian belief that life is a passageway to the afterlife, an existence believed to follow death.

• The pyramids took many years to build.

• The first pyramid built was Khufu.

• The pyramids were built in the Old Kingdom.

Vulnerability

• The Hyksos came to live in Egypt and brought an end to the Middle Kingdom.

• The Nile River overflowing too much could kill people.

• Egypt expanded very fast.

• It was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt.

• Surrounded by deserts, Egypt was difficult to access.

• The Nile River was unpredictable.

Religion

• The Egyptians believed that the gods controlled every aspect of life and death.

• They believed that a dead person's spirit needed food and a body to live in.

• Pharaohs were mummified and put in a pyramid.

• They believed in the afterlife.

• They believed in many gods, like Horus, the god of pharaohs; Ra, the god of the sun; Anubis, the god of death; and others.

• The rich people were put in the pyramids, and they were mummified.

Social Structure

• Ancient Egypt was a hierarchical society.

• It was divided into five parts:

  1. Pharaoh
  2. Priests and nobles
  3. Officials and scribes
  4. Craftsmen and merchants
  5. Laborers and slaves

• Women had similar rights to men.

Geography

• The Nile River was central to the civilization that developed in Egypt.

• Its current carried ships gently downstream, while the winds above it usually blew upstream, making it easy for ships to row downstream or sail upstream.

• Without the Nile River, there could be no agriculture in Egypt's desert.

• The Nile's flood was predictable, occurring every summer. The waters spilled over the riverbanks.

• The soil made agriculture extremely productive.

Language

• Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics.

• There were over 800 hieroglyphs.

• They wrote hieroglyphics on the pyramids.

• They painted hieroglyphics in tombs, monuments, temples, and more.

• Only scribes could write hieroglyphics.

Influential Women from Ancient Egypt

• Hatshepsut was a pharaoh. Because her husband died and her son was too young to be pharaoh, she took the throne. She was a royal warrior. She expanded the infrastructure of Luxor. She built temples and monuments.

• Nefertari was Ramses' wife. They dedicated a temple to her, and she was at the heart of power. She was the ultimate trophy wife. She got sick, so she never got to see the temple they made for her. They decorated a very large tomb for her, but they didn't put photos of her husband on it. Some people say that was because she wanted to live in the afterlife alone.

Benefits and Disadvantages of the Nile River

Benefits:

• The Nile floods.

• The soil was rich; silt helped with farming.

• Transportation on the river helped with trade.

Disadvantages:

• The Nile could overflow too much and kill people.

• Flooding was very unpredictable.

• If the Nile flooded too much, it could kill crops and harm farming.

Mummification

1. They needed to make a small incision to remove the intestines.

2. They would stick a sharp hook up the nose to remove the brain.

3. They would throw away the useless organs and clean the others to put them in canopic jars.

4. They put the heart back into the body.

5. They used a special salt called Natron to fill up the cavities and cover the body.

6. They left the body for 40 days so it could dry out.

7. They started to scoop out the Natron.

8. They stuffed the body with spices, rags, and plants.

9. They wrapped up the body with bandages and put some lucky amulets inside to give it magical protective powers.

10. They put the mummy in a coffin and then put it in the tomb. They did this process to put the mummies in the pyramids to prepare them for the afterlife.