ancient egypt/nubia Flashcards
what river flowed through the center of ancient egypt?
the nile
were the pyramids located north or south of the mediterranean sea?
south
how long is the nile river?
4,160 miles (the worlds longest or 2nd largest river)
which direction does it flow?
south to north (begins in a mountainous region and flows downhill to the mediterranean sea)
who names it egypt?
the greeks
what was the land orginally called near the nile?
kemet after the black soil
when does the nile flood and why is it important?
in the springtime, depositing fertile silt (good for farming)
what is the flooding of the nile sometimes called?
“gift of the nile”
what shape does the nile go into before emptying into the mediterranean sea?
a triangular area of marshland which is formed by silt deposits
what diverted water from the nile to lands nearby (to grow more and better crops)
irrigation channels
what desert that was on both sides of the nile reduced the amount people interacted with each other?
the sahara desert
what are the rapids in the nile sometimes called?
cataracts
when was the old kingdom (pyramid age)?
2660-2180 BCE
when was the middle kingdom (rebellion and foreign invasions)?
2040/80-1640 BCE
when was the new kingdom (empire and wealth)?
1570-1075 BCE
what was the old kingdoms government like?
- strong central authority
- paraoh
- controlled all aspects of life
- theocracy (government where rule is based on religious authority)
- vizier (chief minister)
what was the rulers of egypt called?
pharaohs (a monarch), believed to be a god, had absolute power
who is the vizier?
- chief minister
- supervised day to day life
- head of large bureacracy
what were some of the old kingdom’s achievements?
- first pyramids were step pyramids
- pyramids at giza (tombs of the pharaoh for eternity, pharaohs started building when they took the throne)
what were the pyramids like?
- inside the pyramid was a burial chamber
- outside were two temples
- there were millions of blocks of stone, mostly limestone, and some granite blocks that would make up the pyramids
- pyramids would normally take around 20-25 years to build
how were pyramids built?
- probably got stone from the nile and brought it downstream
- theories of using stone blocks along lubricated runway or ramp might have been sufficient
- ramps and levers were probably used to lift the stones
- built by 20,000-35,000 people who would need to be fed, housed and provided other amenities to keep them healthy
- probably had a permanent crew of specialized workmen (reaped rewards in the afterlife)
what is the great sphinx?
- body of a crouching lion and head of the pharaoh khafra
- carved out of natural limestone
- at one time was colored and had a beard
why did the old kingdom decline?
- crop failures (lack of rain)
- famine
- cost of the pyramids (taxes, labor and human lives)
- power struggles
- pharaoh power declines