Ancient Egypt

Question 1

How long did Ancient Egyptian Civilization last?

Answer 1

3k BCE to 332 BCE

Question 2

How did the Nile shape the World View of Egypt?

Answer 2

1. Nile is regular, navigable, and benign, making it one of the safest and richest agricultural places in the world.
2. Each summer the river flooded the fields at the right time, leaving behind nutrient rich silt for planting season

Question 3

How did Egyptians grow crop

Answer 3

The tossed seeds on the ground and had the cattle step on the seeds to push them into the ground

Question 4

How did Egyptians use the Nile

Answer 4

1. To grow crop
2. Because it was so navigable, it was used to transport goods for trade like wood and gold - which Egyptians coined as the “Divine Metal” creating an idea that would later culminate
3. Because the Nile was so tame, the Egyptians didn’t have to build complex irrigation systems, they used basin irrigation - where they dig holes in the land and let the Nile flood it, creating canals
4. The Nile meant that Egyptians could create heavy food surpluses without much work - allowing time and energy for projects (ie. sphinx, pyramids)
5. Because the Nile made things easy, and Egyptian religion saw the afterlife as a continuation of their current life, Egyptians didn’t fear death and the afterlife, unlike Sumerians, who saw the afterlife as a desolate place

Question 5

What is the first time period of Egyptian Civilization?

Answer 5

The Old Kingdom: 2649 - 2152

Question 6

What is the second time period of Egyptian Civilization?

Answer 6

The Middle Kingdom: 2140 - 1640

Question 7

What is the third time period of Egyptian Civilization?

Answer 7

The New Kingdom: 1550 - 1070

Question 8

What happened in between the time periods?

Answer 8

Intermediate Kingdoms

Question 9

What happened during the Old Kingdom?

Answer 9

Pyramids - Represent social and political control over the population, Sun King Ra, Pharaohs

Question 10

Why did people comply to building the pyramids?

Answer 10

Pharaohs were believed to become gods after death, and were believed to hold the control of the cosmos

Question 11

What were the two forms of writing?

Answer 11

Hieroglyphics for sacred writing and demonic script for contracts etc.

Question 12

What happened at 2250 BCE?

Answer 12

Series of droughts caused pharaohs to fight over power

Question 13

What happened to the government at the start of the Middle Kingdom?

Answer 13

Restored pharaonic rule but with some changes.

Question 14

What were the changes to the Pharaohs’ rule?

Answer 14

1. New rulers were outsiders from Nubia
2. Fostered a new array of Gods, the star being Amun - meaning “Hidden”
3. Amun pharaoh forged with Ra to create Amun Ra which the Middle Kingdom completely devoted themselves to

Question 15

What else happened during the Middle Kingdom?

Answer 15

1. Egypt conquered the new Pharaohs land Nubia
2. Conquered by the Semitic peoples from the Levant - who used superior military technology like bronze weapons, compound bows, and chariots to conquer some of Egypt
3. The Hyksos conquered Northern Egypt and assimilated into Egyptian civilization, giving Egypt better military tech
4. Egypt then destroyed the Hyksos and drove them out of Egypt

Question 16

What was significant during the New Kingdom?

Answer 16

1. Expanded in military conquest in search for gold and slaves in the South
2. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for 22 years and she expanded Egypt not through conquest but through trade
3. Most pharaohs were men, and sought military conquest - which brought conflict with the Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great, and the Romans
4. King Tut