BELLRINGER Read the following excerpt from the

Book of the Dead. Turn to your bellringer page and answer the following questions:

After reading this passage, what can you deduce about the afterlife and its importance in Egyptian daily life?

Why would someone be listing everything they did not do?

BELLRINGER – PRE-AP Read the following excerpt from the

Book of the Dead and Song of the Nile. After reading this passage, what can

you deduce about the afterlife and its importance in Egyptian daily life?

Why would someone be listing everything they did not do?

ANCIENT EGYPT

OLD KINGDOM: THE “AGE OF PYRAMIDS”

THE NILE RIVER Flooded once/ year (July) and receded in

October leaving fertile soil Lived along lower part of Nile early on… Ended along the cataracts: churning rapids

with jagged cliffs and boulders

LOWER EGYPT AND UPPER EGYPT 3200 BCE Egypt under rule of 2

different kings 3100 BCE Menes united Egypt

1st dynasty of 31 that will last 2600 years

OLD KINGDOM EGYPT Begins with 3rd dynasty around 2660

BCE Pharaohs were god-kings

Center of religion (theocracy) Government Military

“AGE OF PYRAMIDS” Pharaoh had an eternal spirit or ka Resting place after death was a pyramid More stone than Fertile Crescent

RELIGION More optimistic than Mesopotamia Ra (god of sun) and Horus (god of light)

most important Over 2000 gods and goddesses Afterlife- heart weighed

DEATH IN EGYPT All classes planned burials to safely reach Other

World Built tombs Preserved the body through mummification Put in coffin in tomb with scrolls, clothes, cosmetics,

food, and jewelry

CLASS SYSTEM IN EGYPT

CLASSES AND WOMEN IN EGYPT Social classes were not set in stone Could gain status through marriage Slaves could gain freedom Education could lead to high positions Women had many similar rights as men

Own or trade property Propose marriage or seek divorce Entitlement to 1/3 of family property in

divorce

EGYPTIAN WRITING Pictographs quickly developed into

hieroglyphics which means “sacred carving”

1srt written on stone and clay, but later on papyrus- reeds that grew in the marsh

ACTIVITY: WRITE YOUR OWN HIEROGLYPHICS

Look at the worksheet. Using the information provided, try to decipher the code.

Once you are finished, try creating your own hieroglyphics on a separate sheet of paper.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Many inventions served a practical purpose Numbers, addition, and subtraction for

taxes Geometry for boundaries of farms Builders used mathematical calculations

for constructing pyramids and monuments Architects used columns in homes,

palaces, temples Calendar to help planting season Medicine, pulse rate, splints, and surgery

THE DECLINE OF OLD KINGDOM 2180 BCE, power started to decline First Intermediate Period (100 years) Middle Kingdom 2080-1640 BCE

improved trade, transportation, and irrigation

1640 BCE Hyksos “chariot riders” took over for 70 years (Second Intermediate Period)

After that, the New Kingdom rises…

NEW KINGDOM EGYPT: EGYPT’S GOLDEN AGE (1570 BCE- 1075 BCE)

THE NEW FACE OF THE NEW KINGDOM Now had bronze weapons

and 2 wheeled chariots Army included archers,

charioteers, and infantry New crown- a battle

helmet

NEW RULERS OF NEW KINGDOM

HATSHEPSUT THUTMOSE III Declared self Pharaoh in

1472 BCE Encouraged trade over

warfare

Stepson of Hatsheput Invaded Palestine, Syria,

and Nubia

RAMESSES II 1290- 1224 BCE Lived to 99 years old Considered one of the greatest

pharaohs “The Great Ancestor” Father of 150 children Discovered in 1881, on display

at Cairo Museum

EGYPT AND THE HITTITES Taking Syria and Palestine

led the Egyptians into conflicts with the Hittites

Met at Battle of Kadesh 1285 BCE– ended in standstill

Ramses II and Hittite king made a treaty that lasted the rest of the century

AGE OF BUILDERS Beautiful palaces, tombs, and temples

were built but hidden from grave robbers

Chose Valley of Kings, near Thebes

VALLEY OF KINGS

DECLINE OF THE NEW KINGDOM Attacked by “people of the sea” Egypt never recovered Broke apart regionally Libyan pharaohs ruled Egypt and

adopted culture After that, the Nubians took over and

also embraced Egyptian culture.

KUSHITES (NUBIANS) CONQUER THE NILE Egypt ruled Kush for

1000 years As Egypt declined, took

over as power Nubia was between first

cataract and division of Blue and White Nile

Served as link between Africa and the Mediterranean

KERMA Started a little after 2000

BCE 1st Nubian kingdom Buried in chambers larger

than Egyptian princes Prospered during Egypt’s

Hyksos period Done by Piankhi in 751 BCE

KUSH Studied under Egyptians while ruled by

Egypt Adopted architecture, clothing, and

customs from Egypt Attempted to take over Libyans to help

preserve culture

MEROE Royal family moved here for better

protection More rich in resources, better weather Traded along the Red Sea Prospered 250 BCE – 150 CE