Ancient Egypt Flashcards
What did hieroglyphics help Egyptian scribes to do?
Keep Records of Taxes
What did Egyptian farmers use irrigation to do?
Water their crops
What happened to Napatan rule of Egypt?
The rulers were forced back to Nubia
Why was Nubia called the “land of the bow” by the Egyptians?
Nubian were skilled archers
The ankh is the Egyptian symbol for what?
Life
Who ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid?
Khufu
Who unified Egypt by overthrowing the king of Lower Egypt and became the first pharaoh?
Menes
Who organized a two-year expedition to Punt, expanding trade beyond the Egyptian empire?
Hatshepsut
Who ruled as a poor young pharaoh from about age 9 to 19?
Tutankhamun
Who was the builder of Abu Simbel; pharaoh of Moses?
Rameses II
How did the Nile River affect ancient Egyptian life?
By creating rich farmland in the river valley
In 5000 B.C. where did farming communities appear?
Egypt and Nubia
Who did Egyptian rulers rule with absolute power over?
All Egyptians
What happened to the government toward the end of the Old Kingdom?
Weak and divided
How did religion play an important in Egyptian life?
Explaining natural events to the people
How did the ancient Egyptians demonstrate their belief in the life after death?
They preserved the bodies of their dead
What social class in Ancient Egypt did most of the people belong to?
Peasants
Why did the Ancient Egyptian astronomers study the stars?
To predict the flooding of the Nile River
What happened when Nubians took control of trade routes by using iron weapons?
Meroë became rich
What did Egypt have because of its location on the Nile River?
Rich Farmland
What was the greatest achievement of the pharaoh Menes?
He United Upper and Lower Egypt
How did Egyptian rulers govern their empire?
They maintained absolute power over the people.
What was a very important religious practice in Ancient Egypt?
To prepare the dead for the afterlife
What did ancient Egyptians do to keep track of the kingdom’s growing wealth?
They used hieroglyphs.
What was Nubia because of its location between Egypt and Central Africa?
A center of trade
How was society set up in Egypt?
- priests, nobles
- merchants, craftsmen
- many farmers, laborers
- slaves, POW’s
What were the symbols for writing called?
Hieroglyphs
On what did the Egyptian scribes eventually write?
Papyrus
When the picture writing was figured out, what was the key to that decoding?
Rosetta Stone
What was studied in science and medicine?
- cut stone for pyramids
- closely related to religion, medicine made out of herbs
Who finally broke the code of the picture writing?
Jean Francios Champollion
What was the new Egyptian writing called?
Demotic
What did the Egyptians call their kings?
Pharaohs
Why was Tutankhamen famous?
- tomb was best archeological find ever
Who was the first female “leader” of Egypt?
Hatshepsut
Why was Thutmose III so mad at his stepmother?
She wouldn’t give hair the throne when he was old enough to rule.
Who finally conquered Egypt?
Alexander the Great
What was the most important belief of the ancient Egyptians?
The afterlife
What is preserving a dead body called?
Mummification
Why were the king’s possessions placed in the tomb?
- possessions would travel with him to the afterlife
Why did they build the pyramids in the first place?
- pyramids would become the pharaoh’s palaces in the afterlife
What was ancient Egypt?
The Nile and its flood plain
What was Egypts nickname?
The gift of the Nile
What are the two parts of the Nile?
- White Nile
- Blue Nile
How long is the Nile River?
4,000 miles
What is Lower Egypt also called?
Nile Delta
What does the inundation mean?
The flood
What is black land-dark soil?
Kemet
What was Egypt’s first highway?
The Nile
What three things were Nubia known for?
- gold
- archers
- trade
What are time periods?
Kingdoms
What are the three kingdoms?
- Old Kingdom
- Middle Kingdom
- New Kingdom
What is special about the Old Kingdom?
- trade
- peace
- pyramids
What is special about the Middle Kingdom?
- building not battle
- bad leaders lost control
What is special about the New Kingdom?
- pharaohs took over
- Alexander the Great conquered
Who had absolute power?
Pharaohs
What kind of pharaoh was Hatshepsut?
Trading Pharaoh
How did Hatshepsut die?
Toothache
Were Egyptians polytheistic or monotheistic?
Polytheistic
What did Egyptians call a coffin?
Sarcophagus
What god was Osiris?
God of the living and the dead
What goddess was Isis?
Goddess of motherhood
What god was Horus?
Skygod
What was the relationship between Osiris, Isis, and Horus?
- Osiris - father
- Isis - mother
- Horus - son
What is the system of pictures and symbols that the Egyptians used to write?
Hieroglyphics
Why were hieroglyphs needed in Egypt?
Keep track of kingdom’s growing wealth
What writing system was lost when demotic was formed?
Hieroglyphics
What is the Egyptian social pyramid?
- Pharaohs
- Priests, Courts, Nobles
- Merchants, Skilled Workers
- Pheasants
- POW’s
What was key to breaking hieroglyphics?
Rosetta Stone
Between what two locations is Upper Egypt located?
Memphis - Aswan
Between what two locations is Lower Egypt located?
Memphis to Med
What did Egypt call Nubia?
The land of the bow
What three ores did Nubia collect?
- gold
- copper
- iron
What were the two powerful cities in Upper Nubia?
- Napata
- Meroë
What was the powerful city in Lower Nubia?
- Kerma
What was Kerma known for?
Artisans
What Egyptian pharaoh conquered Nubia?
Thutmose I
What happened when the Kushites rose to power?
- pushed down into Egypt
- Thebes - Memphis
- Taharka ruled
- 25th dynasty
What happened when the Egyptians took back control of Egypt?
- Nubians were first forced to Nubia
- Nubians were second forced to Meroë
What was Meroë known for?
- iron weapons and tools
- surplus food
- rich from trade
