World History Chapter 5 Outline
I. The Nile River-Lesson 1
A. Around 5,000 B.C., early Egyptians settled in the Nile River valley because of its fertile soil. Nearby desert lands provided protection from invaders.
B. The Nile River provided resources and protection. The river kept out invaders but allowed Egyptians to travel and trade with one another. They were protected because:
a. To the east and west they were surrounded by deserts
b. To the north by the Marshlands in the Nile Delta-fertile marshland
c. To the south the cataracts in the Nile River
C. The Nile was the lifeblood of Egypt due to regular flooding of the Nile River which brought fertile soil from the mountains to the valley.
D. Egyptians took advantage of the Nile’s yearly spring flooding by becoming successful farmers.
E. Egyptians farmed during the dry season by irrigating their crops. They dug basins to hold water and canals to carry water directly to the crops.
F. The Egyptians developed:
a. their own form of writing called Hieroglyphics where they used picture symbols and letters to represent objects and ideas.
b. The use of papyrus-a read plant used to make paper
G. By 4,000 B.C., Egypt was made up of two kingdoms, Upper Egypt (to the south) and Lower Egypt (to the north).
H. The effect of increased farming and trade forced Egypt to develop an organized government.
I. In 3100 B.C., King Narmer united the two kingdoms and established a system of rule called a dynasty where power is handed down through the family, usually from father to son.
II. Life in Ancient Egypt
- Egypt’s Old Kingdom-
- Began around 2600 B.C.
- The capital city was Memphis.
- The ruler of Egypt was called a pharaoh.
- The pharaoh was the political and religious leader of the people.
- A religious leader and political leader running the government is called a theocracy.
- Ancient Egyptians:
- Worshipped gods that controlled nature-like god of the sun (Re) and god of the Nile (Hapi)
-
Believed in the afterlife:
- After death a person’s soul took a long journey to a better place.
- They preserved the bodies through embalming-this taught them about the human body and medical treatments
- Pharaohs were buried in magnificent stone pyramids along with their possessions.
- Pyramids-
1. Thousands of workers were needed to plan and build pyramids
2. This helped the Egyptians develop skills in mathematics, geometry, and engineering.
3. Imhotep was the first great engineer who build the pyramids
4. Egyptians built pyramids to protect the pharaoh’s bodies from floods, wild animals, and robbers. They placed the pharaoh’s personal belongings-clothing, furniture, weapons, and jewelry in these pyramids because they thought they would make the pharaohs happy in the afterlife.
- Egyptian Society-
1. Was made up of several classes or groups.
2. The upper class included the pharaoh and his family, his army generals, nobles, and priests.
3.The middle class was made up of merchants and artisans.
4.The largest class included unskilled workers, such as farmers and laborers.
a. the farmers worked on land that was owned by wealthy nobles and paid their rent with a portion of their crops. They generally lived in simple one room houses and had simple diets of bread, vegetables, and fruit.
III. Egypt’s Empire-Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom
- During the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 B.C.), Egypt took over nearby lands. The additional farmland and wealth helped Egypt’s population to grow.
- The Capital City was Thebes
- The arts became important during the Middle Kingdom because pharaohs ordered the building of new temples, tombs, and other structures
- Egypt declined in the 1600s B.C. when it fell under the rule of the Hyksos.
- An Egyptian king named Ahmose later forced an army and drove Hyksos out of Egypt.
- During the New Kingdom:
a.Queen Hatshepsut expanded Egypt’s boundaries peacefully through trade, and King Thutmose III expanded it through war.
b.Roles of Women:
1. pass on property
2. buy and sell goods
3. right to make wills
4. obtain divorces
5. Upper Class Women tended temples and performed religious ceremonies
c.Egyptians traded items such as beads, metal tools, weapons for gold , ivory, ebony wood and incense-a material burned for its pleasant smell.
d. Pharoahs and other rulers also exchanged envoys or representatives to maintain close ties with other nations.
- In the late 1300’s B.C., King Amenhotep IV decided to change the Egyptian religion based on one deity, Aton. The people did not like the change, and Egypt grew weak.
- King Tutankhamen (Tut) restored the traditional religion, but he died young. His is famous today because of the treasures found in his tomb during the early 20th century.
- After the death of Ramses, Egypt declined and was conquered by the Libyans. The Kush people form the south also ruled Egypt for 60 years before the Assyrians took over in 670 B.C.
IV. The Kingdom of Kush
A. The Nubians:
1. lived in an area later known as Kush, located south of Egypt, along the Nile.
2. they did not have to rely on the Nile River for their water; their lands were fertile and contained gold.
B. Egyptians:
1. Egypt conquered Nubia in the 1400’s and ruled it for 700 years.
2. Nubians adopted Egyptian traditions such as building tombs and using hieroglyphics.
3. During the Egyptian rule, the kingdom of Kush rose to power. Around 750 B.C., the Kushites conquered Egypt, and in the 720 B.C., Piye established a new dynasty.
4. The Kushites were overthrown by the Assyrians in 671 B.C., but they learned to make iron their new rules, which made their tools and weapons stronger.
5. In 540 B.C., the Kushites established the city of Meroe. For centuries, the city was a major center for trade and iron production. Meroe was different from a typical Egyptian city because of the iron furnaces and the iron production.
6. In A.D. 350 the armies of Axum invaded Kush and destroyed Meroe. Axum was an important trading center located in the present-day country of Ethiopia.