Brief History
- First people came to the Nile 12000 years ago
- These people learned to farm later on
- in 4500 BC the first villages started appearing
- Around 3100 BCE Menes took power in upper Egypt
- Menes Unified Upper and Lower Egypt
Geography
- The Nile river was influential in Egypt's development
- The Nile sometimes floods which covered the land in rich silt
- The Nile is divided by several deltas
- The Egyptians relied on the floods for farming
Social Structure
- At the top are Pharaohs and priests
- After priests and government officials are scribes
- After scribes are artists, artisans and Architects
- After them are merchants and traders
- Next are soldiers
- Finally there are farmers and peasants
Government
- Pharaohs ruled Egypt
- Egypt also had dynasties
- Egypt's first dynasty was a theocracy
- A theocracy is a government ruled by religious leaders
- The people believed the pharaoh was a king and a god
Religion
- Egypt practiced polytheism
- Certain cities were centers for the worship of specific gods
- Egyptians worshiped household gods at shrines found in their homes
- Much of Egyptian religion was dedicated to the afterlife
- The Egyptians believed in the Ka
- The Ka is a persons life force
- According to Egyptian belief, the ka left the person's body on death but remained linked to the body
- To keep the ka alive, Egyptians would mummify their dead so that the person could go to the afterlife
- In the afterlife the person's heart is weighed next to a feather
- If the person's heart was light, they would go to the after life but if it was heavy, it would be eaten
- Only the rich and powerful could be mummified
Architecture
- The Egyptians were good architects
- They built pyramids as tombs for the rich and powerful dead
- Slaves were hired to build the pyramids
- The slaves were paid in beer and wheat
- Scientists do not know exactly how the Egyptians built the pyramids
- The Egyptians also built massive pointed pillars called obelisks
Achievments
- The Egyptians built massive buildings
- The Egyptians had a writing system called hieroglyphics
- The Egyptians wrote on a paper like material called papyrus
- Egyptian artists were very talented
- Egyptian people were also skilled stoneworkers