Section+2-2+Pyramids+on+the+Nile

Chapter 2-2: City States in Mesopotamia

**__ Key Words: __** - Cataract: where boulders turn Nile into rapids - Delta: a triangular tract of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river, typically where it diverges into several outlets. - Pharaoh: a ruler in ancient Egypt. - Theocracy: Type of government in which the rule is based on religious authority - Ka: Eternal life force - Pyramid: resting place of pharaoh after death - Papyrus: Egyptian paper made from reeds - Hieroglyphics: Egyptian writing - Mummification: Egyptian way of preserving bodies for afterlife

**__Important People:__** - Egyptians - Herodotus - Namer

**__ Key Points: __**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//The Geography of Egypt:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Nile flows across Africa over 4,100 miles <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Comes from several sources (Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//The Gift of the Nile:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Like Mesopotamia, yearly flooding = Nile over flows; rich silt deposited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Through fall and winter, fields watered with irrigation ditches <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Nile worshiped as god who gave life/rarely turned against them

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Environmental// //Challenges:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Nile more predictable than rivers around Mesopotamia <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Nile water lower/less silt/people staved <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Nile water high/floods/destroyed houses/seeds <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Deserts on sides of Nile/prevent interactions with other people

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Upper and Lower Egypt:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- South/near cataract = Upper Egypt <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- North/near sea = Lower Egypt (includes Nile delta region)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Egypt Unites into a Kingdom:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- 5000 BC villages, 3200 BC two kingdoms, around 3000 BC one kingdom <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Finally united possibly Scorpion, more evidence towards Namer

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Pharaohs Rule as Gods:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Pharaohs = Gods <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Egypt ruled under theocracy

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Builders of the Pyramids:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Pharaohs rule forever <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Old pharaohs had pyramids built for their death

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Religion and Life:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Early Egyptians = polytheistic <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Worshiped over 2,000 gods and goddesses <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Mummified bodies to preserve them for the afterlife

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Life in Egyptian Society// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Royal family, wealthy landowners, government officials, priests, army commanders = 1st <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Merchants, artisans = 2nd <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Peasant famers, laborers = last (largest class) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Women had same opportunities as men

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Egyptian Writing:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Egyptians developed writing system of hieroglyphics <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Written on papyrus

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Egyptian// //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> Science and Technology: // <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Developed calendar <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Calculated number of day in year (counted days between one rising star and another) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Missed true solar hour by 6 hours

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">//Invaders Control Egypt:// <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Pharaoh power declines in 2180 BC (end of old Kingdom) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">- Hyksos ruled Egypt from 1630 to 1523 BC