Global 2.1 Ancient Kingdoms of the Nile

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Global I Table of Contents


 * "Egypt is wholly the gift of the Nile." -Herodotus

The Nile River

 * The Nile made the land adjacent to it so fertile that Egypt became known as the "bread basket of the world."
 * Can you think of a Bible story that demonstrated the truth of this statement?
 * Genesis 41
 * Every year the Nile floods. This soaked the ground and deposited a layer of silt, or soil, on the farmland
 * In order to control the water from the Nile, the people of Egypt had to cooperate by building dikes, reservoirs, and irrigation ditches to store water for the dry season
 * Lower Egypt
 * The northern region of Egypt


 * Upper Egypt
 * The southern region of Egypt


 * The Nile had many cataracts, or waterfalls, as it winds its way to the Mediterranean Ses
 * A delta is a triangular area of marshland and is found at the mouths of some rivers.


 * Around 3100 B.C. King Menes of the Upper Kingdom used the Nile to transport his armies north, taking control of the other kingdom of Egypt as he went.
 * King Menes used his power to unite the Upper and Lower kingdoms. He created the world's first unified state.

The Pyramid Age

 * After Menes unified Egypt it remained unified despite power passing from one dynasty, or ruling family, to another.
 * The ancient history of Egypt is broken up into three stages, or kingdoms.
 * Old Kingdom
 * Middle Kingdom
 * New Kingdom
 * Pharaohs were Egyptian kings that maintained a strong central government. Pharaohs claimed not only that the gods supported their rule, but that they were themselves incarnations of god, ruling over Egypt with absolute power.
 * Egyptian Pharaohs depended on a Vizier (a chief minister) to supervise the business of the government.
 * With the aid of thousands of scribes, a vizier would deal with matters of tax collecting, irrigation, law, and farming.
 * Ptah-hotep
 * "Be prudent whenever you open your mouth. Your every utterance should be outstanding, so that the mighty men who listen to you will say: 'How beautiful are the words that fly from his lips.'"
 * The pyramids were built by the Pharaohs as massive tombs, designed to preserve and provide for the Pharaoh in the after-life.
 * With limited tools, how did the Egyptians get stone blocks, each weighing 2.5 tons, to the top of a 400-foot tall pyramid?
 * The mystery behind this structure is astonishing!
 * The Great Sphinx at Giza
 * The Sphinx's Riddle: "Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?"

The Middle Kingdom

 * The old kingdom collapsed due to power struggles, crop failure and the cost of building the pyramids. After a century of disunity, the land was reunited under a new pharaoh. This time period was called the Middle Kingdom.

Turbulence in the Middle Kingdom

 * The Middle Kingdom was marked with corruption and rebellions, however its also included an extensive drainage project and increased trade with the Middle East and the Mediterranean.
 * Pharaohs were no longer considered to be gods.
 * Eventually Egypt was occupied by invaders. The Hyksos had developed war chariots, and occupied the delta region of the Nile.
 * The Hyksos people were so impressed with Egyptian civilization that they soon began to adopt much of it for themselves, even using Egyptian names.

The Egyptian Empire
Egypt and Nubia
 * After a century of Hyksos rule the Egyptians were able to drive them out and set up their own rulers.
 * The New Kingdom was able to to "borrow" the Hyksos war technology of horse drawn chariots, and in doing so became more powerful and advanced, building a large Egyptian empire.
 * Queen Hatsheput began ruling in the name of a male heir who was still too young to take the throne. Eventually she gained the support of the Egyptian officials and declared herself Pharaoh.
 * Queen Hatsheput increased trade in Egypt and maintained a peaceful rule. Mysteriously, after her death many of her images were smashed or removed.
 * Ramses II was a pharaoh who gained fame due to his military conquests. He pushed Egypt's rule north along the Mediterranean Sea all the way into Syria. After years of warring with the Hittites, Ramses II finally signed a peace treaty with them. This is the oldest peace treaty to have survived history.
 * Egypt and Nubia fluctuated between warring states and trading partners. Ramses II used gold from Nubia to pay foreign charioteers in his army.