4,000 miles long
Arid climate
4 inches of rain along northern coast
1 inch of rain in south
Desert ecology
Flood
"Inundation" season
June to September
*"Black" soil
*"Red" soil
Agriculture
Barley and wheat
First Egyptian Transportation Revolution
Paddles for currents flowing north
Sails for winds blowing south
Farming villages ca. 5500 BCE
Small kingdoms, 4000-3300 BCE
Unification into one kingdom, ca. 3200 BCE
*Narmer
Burial place of Pharaoh Khufu and his wife
Constructed from 2589-2566 BCE
Specialization of labor
5,000 skilled craftsmen
Social divisions
15,000-20,000 laborers during Inundation season
Archaic Period (ca. 3200-2686 BCE)
*Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE)
1st Intermediate Period (2180-2040 BCE)
*Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE)
2nd Intermediate Period (1782-1570 BCE)
Hyksos invasion and rule (1650-1570 BCE)
*New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE)
Capitals shifted
Memphis
Thebes
*cataracts
desert
seas
War cart
Chariot and horse
Military value
Speed
Frees hands
Central Asian invention Ca. 2100 BCE
Hyksos invasion and rule (1650-1570 BCE)
Expelled Hyksos
Military Expansion
Extensive diplomatic and economic relations
“Brother” kings
“Servant” kings
30 dynasties
*Sacred kingship
*Pharaoh
Ruler
Judge
Priest
Son of Sun god Ra
Bureaucracy
Vizier
Scribes
40 districts
*hieroglyphics, 3100 BCE
hieratic cursive script, 2500 BCE
1. Why is Egypt the "gift of the Nile"? Think about agriculture and transportation.
2. How did Egypt's geography influence its history? How do the gifts of the Nile help to explain why periods of unity under the kingdoms lasted much longer than periods of disunity during the intermediate periods? Why did Egypt's geography protect it from invasion before the 2nd Intermediate Period?
3. What new transportation and military technologies allowed the Hyksos to overcome the geographical barriers, and occupy and rule Egypt from 1650 to 1570 BCE? How did New Kingdom Egypt use the Hyksos' technologies to expand to its greatest extent?
4. Why was the invention of writing important to the development of Egyptian complex society?
1. Even though Egyptians mainly lived in farming villages and towns, why does the construction of pyramids provide evidence that Egypt had become a complex society during the Old Kingdom? Think critically: How was labor mobilized to construct the pyramids? What does labor mobilization reveal about the political and social structures of the Old Kingdom?
2. What advantages in transportation and military technology did the Hyksos have when they invaded and ruled Egypt from 1650-1570 BCE? (p. 40)
3. How did the political systems, religions, writing systems, and social structures of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia differ? What characteristics made them both complex societies?
People in story in order of social pyramid:
King (of Egypt)
Rensi: Chief steward (of district near capital)
Nemtynakhte: Rich man (son of a subordinate of the chief steward)
Khunanup: “Eloquent peasant”
1. How does the rich man, Nemtynakhte, take advantage of the eloquent peasant? What does this tale teach us about ancient Egyptian society?
2. How did the eloquent peasant finally obtain justice? Does his case seem typical? Why or why not? Based on a comparison of the "Tale of the Eloquent Peasant" and the previous Supplementary Reading: 04) "Judgments of Hammurabi" was it easier to obtain justice in ancient Egypt or ancient Mesopotamia? Explain your answer.