LO3

LO3 Land of the Pharaohs

• LO3 contrasts the ancient civilization of the Nile with that of the Tigris- Euphrates, and discuss the defining features of Egyptian life
• Egypt stretches along the lower reaches of the Nile's four thousand mile course from Central Africa to the Mediterranean
• this country is divided into two sections called the ancient Egyptians the "Two Lands"
• upper Egypt is a narrow strip of fertile land, five hundred miles length and 12 miles in width, and flows across North African desert
• Lower Egypt is a pattern of waterways, formed by the Nile
• 3100 BC was when the "Two lands" were unified under a single king
• pharaohs- a name derived from the Egyptian word for "palace" which they used to mean "the king"
• maat- universal stability and harmony
• the Egyptians believed that it was she whom the gods and goddesses had appointed to conduct the rituals and sacrifices that won their favor and made sure that they did their work of upholding the universe
• Egyptian society was organized in such a way as to be under the pharaoh's control and responsive to his will
• people brought and sold, inherited land, houses and goods throughout the Two Lands
• the pharaoh had many wives
• Hatshepsut- was the king a little after 1500 BC
• women as well men were entitled to benefit from the pharaohs rule
• "Great ones of musical troupes" meant directing the worship of the gods with music and song
• there are no records of women's expectations of men, but men were expected to respect the women in their families
• in 1800 BC a book of "wisdom" was written
• on tomb carving of married couples, the wife is usually depicted smaller compared to her husband than she would naturally be, and it is placed on the left, the humbler side
• the Egyptian priests and rulers believed that one god had created all others
• Akhenaten(pharaoh of New Kingdom) took this idea so far that he tried to abolish the worship of other leading deities
• He failed in the "religious revolution"
• Old kingdom inspired a great new idea after 2000 BC that local administrators who now held power independently of the pharaoh came to expect that they would also live independently of him after death
• it was now believed that every person, possessed a life or soul after the body died, and preserving the body and putting comforts in the tomb would help it in the life to come
• hieroglyphs- in 3100 BC carvings and paintings intended to honor the pharaohs 
• hieroglyphs were actual pictured of real life or mythical creatures and objects
• the Egyptian name for hieroglyphs was "the writing of the words of god"
• hieratic- priestly script
• demotic- popular script
•  most Egyptian writing was done with ink on papyrus
• by 2500 BC the Egyptians had adapted sail boats to travel the open sea to the Mediterranean's eastern shoreline
• the Mediterranean then became a highway
• Egyptians god-king must have a stone tomb as a resting place for all time
• pyramids- the masterpieces of practical engineering
• king khafu who ruled in 2650 BC
• great pyramid measures 476 feet in height and 760 feet on each side of the base
• the pyramid consists of 2.3 million cut blocks each weighing 5,000 pounds
• temple buildings were usually constructed of horizontal beams held by columns
• in 1530 BC the temple of Amon at Karnak had begun it ended in 1300 BC
• it was the largest building ever constructed
• covered ground area about 400 yards by 110 yards by 10 acres
• the roof of the main hall was on 134 columns
• the columns are 70 ft high and 12 in diameter
• on tombs they were rules like the left foot usually was forward and wigs and beards were treated in a standard stylized lifestyle
• in 2200 BC week pharaohs allowed local officials to gain independent hereditary power in the regions that they controlled
• Hyksos- semitic immigrant tribes
• the end of the New Kingdom was in 1100 BC
• 525 BC Libyans, and the Nubians
• 333 BC province of the empire of Persia
• 30 BC ruled by the greeks and then conquered by the Romans
• the last great temples of the Nile were built after 250 BC