The Egyptian Empire About 1450 B.C.

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The Egyptian Empire About 1450 B.C.
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Ancient Egypt

• app. 10,000 sq. miles
• the same as Sumer and Akkad
• radically different in shape
• a ribbon of fertile land 600 miles long
• half a dozen miles wide for most of its length
• compared to 165 miles in Mesopotamia

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Egypt, cont

• more arid and more fertile than Mesopotamia
• divided into two parts
• the Delta (Lower Egypt) and the Upper Nile

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Geography of the Ancient Nile Valley
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• Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile.
  Herodotus
• People settled and established farming villages
  along the Nile.
• Egyptians depended on annual floods to soak the
  land and deposit a layer of silt, or rich soil.
• Egyptians had to cooperate to control the Nile,
  building dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation
  ditches.
• Rulers used the Nile to link and unite Upper and
  Lower Egypt.
• The Nile served as a trade route connecting Egypt
  to Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean
  world.

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Three Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt
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NEW KINGDOM
MIDDLE KINGDOM
OLD KINGDOM
Powerful pharaohs created a large empire that
reached the Euphrates River. Hatshepsut
encouraged trade. Ramses II expanded Egyptian
rule to Syria. Egyptian power declined.
Pharaohs organized a strong central state, were
absolute rulers, and were considered
gods. Egyptians built pyramids at Giza. Power
struggles, crop failures, and cost of pyramids
contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom.
Large drainage project created arable
farmland. Traders had contacts with Middle East
and Crete. Corruption and rebellions were
common. Hyksos invaded and occupied the delta
region.
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Historian have divided Egyptian history into
three major periods the Old Kingdom, the Middle
Kingdom and the New Kingdom. These were long
periods of stability characterized by strong
monarchical authority, competent bureaucracy,
freedom from invasion, much construction of
pyramids and temples, and considerable
intellectual and cultural development and
activity. These major periods were punctuated by
ages of political chaos known as the Intermediate
Periods, which were characterized by weak
political structures and rivalry for leadership,
invasions, a decline in building activity, and a
restructuring of society.
Early Dynastic Period c.a. 3100-2700 B.C.
The Old Kingdom c.a. 2700-2200 B.C.
First Intermediate Period c.a. 2200-2050 B.C.
The Middle Kingdom c.a. 2050-1652 B.C.
Second Intermediate Period c.a. 1652-1567 B.C.
The New Kingdom c.a. 1567-1085 B.C.
Post-empire c.a. 1985-30 B.C.
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Two Kingdoms, 3,500 B.C.

• two kingdoms
• upper and lower Egypt
• same culture
• same language
• same gods

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Unification

• tradition is the only source
• Date? around 3000 (3200?) B.C., or so....
• Menes (Namar) the first pharaoh
• reigned for 62 years
• killed by a hippopotamus (ah, well...)

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A mural of Narmer or Menes conquering Lower Egypt
(c.a. 3100 B.C.)
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Culture and Civilization

• Egyptian culture distinctive and peculiar
• already set prior to unification
• continued to evolve through the Old Kingdom
  period
• by the Pyramid Age (3-4th dynasties, ca. 2700
  B.C.)
• it was set and would not change for 2,000 years

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The first pyramid built was the graded one of
Zoser, which exists even today, in Sakkarah, the
necropolis of Menphis. Built in the year 2650 BC
by the architect Imhotep, initially it was
supposed to be a mastaba but later floors were
added until they reached six. It is the oldest
monumental work in stone known to man that
exists. Its exterior walls, of white limestone,
measures 545 metres from North to South and 227
metres from East to West. The wall has 14 doors,
13 of them false. Its height is 66 metres. In its
interior, lies the sepulchral chamber of the
Pharaoh Sneferu with cladding of pink granite and
sealed with a block of stone of three tons
weight.
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The Pyramid of Meydum
The Bent Pyramid
The Great Pyramids of Giza
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The new pharaoh established their capital at the
strategic site of Memphis, just south of the
delta, and over the next several centuries
consolidated their rule. Probably no other
dynasty in history has been so successful in
creating an effective yet apparently timeless
form of government. For thousands of years
Egyptian pharaohs were able to convey to their
subjects a sense of permanence and eternity while
constantly adjusting the system to meet new
needs. (Nagle, 23)
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For administrative purposes, Egypt was divided up
into provinces, or nomes. A governor, or
nomarch, was at the head of each nome and was
responsible to the pharaoh. These governors
tended to amass large holding of land and power
within their nomes, creating a potential rivalry
with the pharaohs. Of special importance to the
administration of the state was a vast
bureaucracy of scribes who kept records of
everything. Armed with the knowledge of writing
and reading, they were highly regarded and
considered themselves a superior class of men.
Their high standard of living reflected their
exalted status.
Seated Scribe, from Saqqara. c.a. 2400 BC.
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The End of the Old Kingdom
Relief showing men, women, and children suffering
from the effects of severe famine
Professor Fekri Hassan examining ancient
hieroglyphs which tell of appalling suffering. A
third of the population died and the most ordered
of empires was brought to chaos. 
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PHARAOHS CROWNED WITH SHEPHERDS CROOK AND FLAIL
The Middle Kingdom (2050-1653 B.C.) was
characterized by a new concern of the pharaohs
for the people. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh
had been viewed as an inaccessible god-king. Now
he was portrayed as the shepherd of his people.
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The Hyksos were the source of the new horse-drawn
war-chariots introduced to Egypt in the second
half of the Hyksos rule. This invention, never
seen before in Egypt, was instrumental in the
continued power of the Hyksos in this region. The
Hyksos utilized superior bronze weapons,
chariots, and composite bows to help them take
control of Egypt, and by about 1720 BC they had
grown strong enough, at the expense of the Middle
Kingdom kings, to gain control of Avaris in the
north eastern Delta. This site eventually became
the capital of the Hyksos kings, yet within 50
years they had also managed to take control of
the important Egyptian city of Memphis.
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Starting in 1567 B.C., the pharaoh Ahmose I
eventually managed to defeat and expel the Hyksos
from Egypt, reuniting Egypt and establishing the
New Kingdom (c. 1567-1085 B.C.). The New Kingdom
was characterized by a new militaristic and
imperialistic path. A more professional army was
developed.
Ahmose and his army driving out the Hyksos.
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Amenhotep IV (c. 1362-1347 B.C.) introduced the
worship of Aton, god of the sun disk, as the
chief god and pursued his worship with
enthusiasm. Changing his own name to Akhenaten
(It is well with Aton), the pharaoh closed the
temples of other gods and especially endeavored
to lessen the power of Amon-Re and his priesthood
at Thebes.
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Invasion of the Sea Peoples around 1200 B.C.
The days of Egyptian empire were ended, and the
New Kingdom expired with the end of the twentieth
dynasty in 1085 B.C. For the next thousand
years, despite periodic revivals of strength,
Egypt was dominated by Libyans, Nubians,
Persians, and Macedonians.
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Egypt and Nubia
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• For centuries, Egypt traded or fought with Nubia.
• During the New Kingdom, Egypt conquered Nubia.
• Nubians served in Egyptian armies and influenced
  Egyptian culture.
• Egyptian art from this period shows Nubian
  soldiers, musicians, or prisoners.

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Egypt and Nubia
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• When Egypt declined, Nubia conquered Egypt.
• Nubians did not see themselves as conquerors.
  They respected Egyptian traditions.

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Section 1 Assessment
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• Why were the Nile floods so important to the
  Egyptians? a) They created a much
  needed supply of drinking water.
• b) The Egyptians held religious ceremonies when
  the floods came.
  
  c) The floodwaters deposited silt,
  which made the land rich for farming.
  
  d) The floodwaters kept
  away potential invaders.
• Which of the following was an achievement of the
  Middle Kingdom?
  
  a) The Egyptians drained land for farming.
  b) The Egyptians
  built the pyramids.
  c) Ramses II expanded Egyptian rule
  to Syria. d) The
  Egyptian empire reached the Euphrates.

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Egyptian Religious Beliefs
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• Belief that many gods and goddesses ruled the
  world and the afterlife.
  
• Amon-Re was the sun god.
• Osiris was the god of the underworld and of the
  Nile.
• The pharaoh was believed to be a god as well as a
  monarch.

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Egyptian Religious Beliefs
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• Belief in eternal life after death.
• Relied on the Book of the Dead to help them
  through the afterworld.
• Practiced mummification, the preservation of the
  body for use in the next life.

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Ancient Egypt A Center of Learning Culture
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Advances in Learning
Advances in the Arts
Statues, paintings, and writings tell us about
ancient Egyptian values and attitudes. Developed
painting style that remained unchanged for
thousands of years. Wrote hymns and prayers to
the gods, proverbs, love poems, stories of
victory in battle, and folk tales. Built
pyramids and other great buildings, such as
temple of Ramses II.
Developed a form of picture writing called
hieroglyphics. Doctors diagnosed and cured
illnesses, performed surgery, and developed
medicines still used today. Developed 12-month
calendar on which modern calendar is
based. Astronomers mapped constellations and
charted movement of the planets. Developed
practical geometry. Skilled in design and
engineering.
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Class System in Ancient Egypt
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PHARAOH Earthly leader considered a god
HIGH PRIESTS AND PRIESTESSES Served gods and
goddesses
NOBLES Fought pharaohs wars
MERCHANTS, SCRIBES, AND ARTISANS Made furniture,
jewelry, and fabrics for pharaohs and nobles, and
provided for other needs
PEASANT FARMERS AND SLAVES Worked in the fields
and served the pharaoh
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Section 2 Assessment
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• Who was the Egyptian god of the underworld?
  a) Amon-Re
  
  b) Osiris
  
  c) Isis
  
  d) Nefertiti
• What is one reason the Egyptians developed
  practical geometry?
  
  a) to help in the mummification
  process b)
  to create large sculptures
  c) to please
  the gods
  d) to survey the
  land