Egypt: The Kingdoms
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Transcript of Egypt: The Kingdoms
Global History Honors: Spiconardi
EGYPT: THE KINGDOMS
The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BCE)Egyptian Culture
Unthreatened by outside invadersAlthough Egypt was in contact with lands as far
away as Afghanistan and Mesopotamia
The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BCE)Nomes
Prior to the unification of Egypt under Narmer,Egypt was divided into nomes
Nomes independent city-states; under unification they were administrative divisions
The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BCE)The Pharaoh
The rulers of Egypt had various titles
Pharaoh originally referred to the royal palace
The ruler was worshipped by a cult The ruler was deemed
a living god during this period
Had absolute power during the Old Kingdom Djoser, pharaoh of the
third dynasty
The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BCE)Pyramids
Pyramids were only built during the Old Kingdom
First pyramids were step-like
The pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara designed by vizier and
polymath, Imhotep
The Old Kingdom (2700 – 2200 BCE)Pyramids
Under Khufu pyramid building took on form you most associate with Egyptian pyramids
Pyramids were costly and very visible Easy targets
for robbers
The Middle Kingdom (2050 – 1652 BCE)Egypt’s Golden Age
Trade, arts, literature flourished at this timeEgypt built up its army to protect itself from
invadersPharaoh
Near the end of the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh Pepi II gave away pharaonic power
The pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom wasn’t as powerful, but was expected to be a wise and good ruler
The Middle Kingdom (2050 – 1652 BCE)
TombsThe rising cost of
pyramids and increased robbery led to the development of a new resting place for Egypt’s kings
The Valley of the Kings Series of hidden
tombs to avoid robbery located in Thebes
The Valley of the Kings (discovered tombs)
The Middle Kingdom (2050 – 1652 BCE)
Hyksos InvasionMarks the end of the Middle
KingdomBenefits
Improved Egyptian bronze casting
Future pharaohs borrow Hyksos chariot fighting technique
Hyksos preserved papyri of Egyptian medical texts
The New Kingdom (1567 – 1085 BCE)Reunification
Under Ahmose, the Hyksos were defeated and Upper and Lower Egypt were reunified
The New Kingdom (1567 – 1085 BCE)Period of Chaos
The Reign of Akhenaten (King Tut’s father)Changed the Egyptian religion to worship one
god, Aten
The New Kingdom (1567 – 1085 BCE)
Invasion of the Hittites, Assyrians and “Sea Peoples” Constant state of war led to the depletion of the
treasuryFor the next thousand years Egypt was dominated
by Libyans Nubians Persians Macedonians