Ancient Egyptian Civilization

Kemet- the Black Land

Egypt: “Gift of the Nile”…stretched 600 miles long by 14 miles wide

No rain but agricultural prosperity was unmatched.July Inundation receded in October leaving rich, fertile soil.

Isolation impacted on psyche-

harmony, everything was in balance: “ma’at”

Egyptian motto: “Eat, Drink and be Merry”

Women in ancient Egypt:• Kept anything inherited from their

parents• Entitled to one-half the wealth

both partners acquired within their marriage

• Work at jobs other than a housewife

• Own and sell property• Be a witness in a court case or

represent themselves in court• Make a will giving their wealth to

whomever they wished• Go out in public and be in mixed

company with men• Keep their own name• Be supported by their ex-

husband after divorce

Like Mesopotamia, religion was the center of Egyptian life.

Religious beliefs reflected the importance of nature as a benevolent force

The Hall of Justice: key to an immortal afterlife

The Palette of Narmer, (King Menes) 3100 BC: The Archaic Period

The Old Kingdom, or Age of the Pyramids, 2686-2181 BC

The Rosetta Stone 196 BC Ptolemy V

Discovered in 1799

3½ x 2 ½

Jean Francois Champollion

• took 13 years to decipher the Rosetta Stone, 1822.

• At 5-read French and Latin• At 11-translated Virgil & Horace into

french• At 15-mastered Hebrew, Arabic,

Aramaic, Syrian, Ethiopian• At 19-learned Persian, Sanskrit,

Chinese• At 32, began Rosetta Stone

• “Father of Egyptology”

Civil War between Noble families ended the Old Kingdom(Flood pattern of Nile changed- floodwaters fell 12 feet reducing arable land by 40%)

Mentuhotep II >re-established the central government and built a new capital at Thebes

>major rebuilding program

>drained swamps

>restored irrigation systems

>built canal to the Red Sea

>Repelled the Nubians

>trade flourished with the Kush, Syria, Mesopotamia and Crete

The Middle Kingdom, 2090-1650 BCE

Thy Hyksos invasions, 1720 BC – led to the 2nd intermediate period

• Hyksos invaders introduce the chariot

• Ahmose I - founder of the New Kingdom

(1570-1070 BC

Queen Hatshepsut, “Restorer of Egypt”

(1479 - 1458 BC)

Deir el-Bahri

Thutmose III“The Napoleon of Egypt”(1479-1426 BC)

>17 military campaigns during 32 year reign- never lost a battle!

>captured 350 cities in Palestine & Syria

Akhenaton 1379-1362 BC Nefertiti

Tutankhamen

King Tut’s burial mask.Howard Carter, 1922

Anubis, God of the Dead

Abu Simbel- temple of Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great)

The Battle of Kadesh, 1275 BCE

Temple of Horus, Ramses III

• Hekla volcano in Iceland???

• Labor strikes• Civil unrest• Series of droughts• Below-normal

flooding• Famine• Official corruption• Power grabs by

High Priests at Thebes

• Invasions by Sea Peoples and Libyan tribesmen

Ptolemy I

Cleopatra VII 

Any questions?