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Chapter 2

Early Civilizations
World History
Fall 2008 Hasquin
Section 1 – The Nile Valley
Setting the Scene
Terms:
Monarchy, Dynasty, Theocracy, Bureaucracy,
Pharaoh, Empire, Polytheism, Hieroglyphics
People to Meet:
Narmer, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaton,
Ramses II
Places to Locate:
Nile River valley, Memphis, Thebes
Ancient River Valley Civs
A River Valley & It’s People
One of the First civilizations developed on
the Nile
Kemet – “black land”
Greeks name it Egypt (Aígyptos)
Land receives little rainfall
People rely on the Nile
4160 mi, longest river in the world
650 miles are navigable
Ends in delta
The Importance of the Nile
Gifts of the river
Black rich soil
Tropical rains in central Africa and melting
snow in east Africa feed the river
5000 BC – hunter gatherers began to settle
along the Nile
• Took up farming and grew wheat and barley
• Provided ducks, geese and fish
• Harvest papyrus – made rope, matting, sandals,
baskets and eventually paper
The Nile River Compared to the
United States
Uniting Egypt
Protected from invasion by desert & cataracts
• Farming villages prosper
• Strong leaders unite villages into kingdoms –
monarchies
• Weak kingdoms loose control to the stronger ones
4000 BC
• Two large kingdoms left
• Lower Egypt & Upper Egypt
3000 BC
Narmer – King of Upper Egypt
• Led forces from the south to invade Lower Egypt
• Set up a government and ruled both from Memphis
 Near the border of the two kingdoms
 Narmer’s reign establishes the first dynasty
 A line of rulers from one family
• From 3000 BC to 332 BC, 30 dynasties have ruled
Egypt
 Historians organized these dynasties into 3 great periods
 Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom
Narmer Unites Egypt
The Old Kingdom
2700 BC- 2200 BC
• Before 2700, Upper and Lower kept separate
identities
• Kings eventually build up a strong national govt
 Build the basic features of a civilization

The Egyptian Monarchy


• People worship the king as a god
• Theocracy – government and religion are controlled
by the same ruler
• King performed rituals to benefit the entire kingdom
• King also wielded absolute power
 Law of the land
 Could not control the everyday needs
 Created a bureaucracy
 Officials headed by a vizier – prime minister
 Collected taxes and monitored trade
 Indirectly controlled projects – dams canals,
storehouse – for ag
The Pyramids
• To honor the god-kings – monuments were built for
the final resting place
• Step Pyramid – Built for King Djoser - <2600 BC
 Built at Memphis
• Three Pyramids at Giza
 Great Pyramid is 481 ft tall
 Burial chamber is deep in the pyramid
Step Pyramid of Djoser
Pyramids at Giza
Mummies
Egyptians who could
afford to do so would
have themselves
mummified.
They believed in a
better afterlife if their
body was preserved.
The Middle Kingdom
2200 BC
Kings of Memphis began to lose their power
Instability lasted until 2050 BC
• New dynasty takes control and moves the capitol
south to Thebes
• Middle Kingdom lasts until 1800 BC
Theban kings become as powerful as the Old
Kingdom rulers
• Supported irrigation projects that added 1000’s of
acres
Seized new territory
 Built fortresses along the Nile to capture Nubia
 Attack Syria
• Constructed a canal between the Nile and the Red Sea
 Egypt traded with Arabia and East Africa

1700’s
• Local leaders began to challenge authority
• Peace comes to an end
• Egypt is invaded by the Hyksos from West Asia
 Hyksos had bronze weapons and chariots
 Egypt had copper and stone weapons
 The Hyksos rule for 110 years
The New Kingdom
Amenhotep
• Assumes power in 1370 BC
• Wife Nefertiti
• Breaks polytheistic tradition
• Should only worship Aton – sun disk god
• He claims to be Aton's equal
 Changes name to Akhenaton
 “Spirit of Aton”
Recovery and Decline
• 1200’s – Pharaohs work to restore the prestige
• Ramses II fights Hittites for the control of Syria
 Ramses the Great
 Led to a standoff at the Battle of Kadesh in 1285 BC
 The two empires sign a treaty
 Pledge to keep the peace and to fight as allies against
enemies
Treaty of Kadesh
Ramses II (the Great)
Life in Ancient Egypt
At height Egypt was home to 5 million people
Society was divided into classes
• Lower classes could improve their status
Levels of Society
• Royalty, nobles, and priest form the top of the social order
 Control religious and political affairs
• Middle Class
 Artisans, scribes, merchants and tax collectors
• Poor Class
 Farmers
 Paid pharaoh rent for the farm land
 Worked on building projects
Life -- Continued
Worship
• Polytheistic
• Gods and Goddesses were part human and part animal
 Horus – God of the Sky
 Head of a Hawk
• Many worshipped local deities
 Ra the Sun God
 Combined with Amon to make Amon-Ra
 Osiris is the most popular
 God of the Nile & God of life, death and rebirth
 His wife was Isis
 They determined the fate of the dead
 Believed in an afterlife
Life - Continued
“Cursive” Hieroglyphics
Life Continued
Achievements in Science
• Developed a system of Math that allowed the
calculation of area and volume
• Developed an accurate 365 day calendar
• Used the movement of the Moon and Sirius
• Knowledge of Anatomy was exhibited in their
embalming processes
• Papyrus scrolls demonstrated knowledge of use of
bandages, splints and compresses and also remedies
for many diseases.

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