Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Religion
1. an ancient civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern nation of Egypt.
2. polytheistic. Astronomy, medicine, geography, agriculture, art and laws all blended into or part of religion so everyone needed to believe in gods.
3. Gods in Ancient Egypt were not only formless entities they were also the forces of nature, the elements, and the characteristics of certain powers.
4. There were hundreds of different gods. Most gods had the head of an animal and the body of a human
Society
1. The ancient Egyptian people were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest the top of society were the richest and most powerful.
  1. The Pharaoh was believed to be a God on earth and had the most power. He was responsible for making laws and keeping order, ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or invaded by enemies and for keeping the Gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there was a good harvest.
    1. The Vizier was the Pharaoh's chief advisor and was sometimes also the High Priest. He was responsible for overseeing administration and all official documents had to have his seal of approval. He was also responsible for the supply of food, settling disputes between nobles and the running and protection of the Pharaoh's household.
      1. Nobles ruled the regions of Egypt (Nomes). They were responsible for making local laws and keeping order in their region.
        Priests were responsible for keeping the Gods happy. They did not preach to people but spent their time performing rituals and ceremonies to the God of their temple.
        Scribes were the only people who could read and write and were responsible for keeping records. The ancient Egyptians recorded things such as how much food was produced at harvest time, how many soldiers were in the army, numbers of workers and the number of gifts given to the Gods.
        Farmers worked the land of the Pharaoh and nobles and were given housing, food and clothes in return. Some farmers rented land from nobles and had to pay a percentage of their crop as their rent.
        There were no slave markets or auctions in Ancient Egypt. Slaves were usually prisoners captured in war. Slaves could be found in the households of the Pharaoh and nobles, working in mines and quarries and also in temples.
Geography
1. The Nile River
  1. Seasons
    1. The Egyptians even built their calendar around the Nile River. They divided their calendar up into three seasons. Akhet, or inundation, was considered the first season and was the time of the flooding of the Nile. The other two seasons were Peret, the growing season, and Shemu, the harvest season.
  2. The Nile River also provided a lot of building materials for the Ancient Egyptians. They used the mud from the riverbanks to make sundried bricks. These bricks were used in building homes, walls, and other buildings.
  3. The most important thing the Nile provided to the Ancient Egyptians was fertile land. Most of Egypt is desert, but along the Nile River the soil is rich and good for growing crops. The three most important crops were wheat, flax, and papyrus.
  4. The Nile River flows north through Egypt and into the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. This looks a bit confusing on a map because Upper Egypt is to the south and Lower Egypt is to the north. This is because the names come from the flow of the Nile River.
Power of the Pharaoh
1. The most powerful person in ancient Egypt was the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the Egyptian people.
2. The pharaoh was the ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt. He owned all of the land, made laws, collected taxes, and defended Egypt against foreigners.
3. As 'High Priest of Every Temple', the pharaoh represented the gods on Earth. He performed rituals and built temples to honour the gods.
4. Many Pharaohs went to war when their land was threatened or when they wanted to control foreign lands. If the Pharaoh won the battle, the conquered people had to recognise the Egyptian Pharaoh as their ruler and offer him the finest and most valuable goods from their land.
Trade
1. Ancient Egyptians produced excess crops and mined valuable stones and metals that they were able to trade with foreign countries.
2. Illustrations on tomb walls describe expeditions sent by the pharaoh to Nubia to the south, and Punt to the southeast on the Red Sea. These expeditions were sent to barter Egyptian items for valuable foreign goods.
3. Egypt also set up trading relationships with Syria for cedar wood since their natural trees did not produce good lumber.
Afterlife
1. Belief of life after death was that they would make a journey to another world where they would lead new life.
  1. Egyptians also believed that being mummified was the only way to have an afterlife. Only if the corpse had been properly embalmed and entombed, could the dead live again.
    1. pets also mummified and buried with the owner for a short time.
2. Wealthy Egyptians buried with larger quantities of luxury items, but all burials included goods for the deceased. After burial, living relatives expected to occasionally bring food to the tomb and recite prayers on behalf of the deceased.
3. Death was not considered final but simply a temporary interruption of life, and they believed that eternal life could be ensured by being pious to the gods and by preserving their physical bodies by mummification.

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