Egypt Flashcards
What are the 8 centers of civilization?
China India Mesopotamia Near East Kush Nubia Anatolia Greece
What existed outside of the 8 centers?
Pastoralists peoples
What are pastoralists peoples?
“barbarian” tribes that were backwards when compared to established civilizations
What characteristics did pastoralists peoples share?
did not practice agriculture
every necessity came from animals
constantly on the move to keep the animals grazing (were not tied to their land)
didn’t own property which meant no hierarchy
did not read/write
not artistic
excelled at war, loved to fight, developed superior military technologies to give them the advantage
destroyed or conquered civilizations, had huge impact on world civilization
When did Mesopotamia rise?
3500 BC
How did Mesopotamia begin their civilization?
began along large rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) that gave fresh water for people, food, fertile soils, and highways
What did people of Mesopotamia develop?
rise of major city-states and urban people (consisting of 50,000 people)
had complex government codes
concentration of tech like the sail and system of writing
When did Egypt rise?
3100 BC
What did Egypt have?
Nile River
How was the Nile River an advantage for Egypt?
longest river on earth
was predictable, people knew when it would rise from floods and deplete and leave behind fertile mud
easy to harness (use water for drinking and feeding crops)
easy to construct irrigation systems
leaves behind fertile mud to produce large amounts of food that leads to large population and ability to make money on surplus of food
Why was the Nile River easy to navigate?
Going North, the flow of current pushes you
Going South, the flow of winds pushes you
Egypt was the worlds first what?
nation state (large country)
Who was Narmer?
AKA Menes
the first man to unify Egypt, the first pharaoh
made Egypt an absolute monarchy, so King could exercise absolute power (a God on earth)
Why was Egypts geographical location good?
They were safe from attack since they were plotted in the middle of the desert
What was Egypt blessed with?
Gold, silver, and papyrus (a reed that grow along Nile, and the Nile only for paper making)
made Egypt wealthy
What are the three periods of Egypt?
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
What was Egypt characterized by?
The three Ps
Peace: they were the chosen people by the gods, considering the advantages of Egypt
Prosperity: Wealthiest place on earth
Pyramids: demonstrated their powers/abilities
What are pyramids used for and when were they built?
a tomb for pharaohs
monuments of power
built during Old and Middle Kingdom
When did “all things come to an end” and why?
1652 -1551 BC
Egypt was attacked by a pastoralists people, the Hyksos
What did the Hyksos develop?
a longer, stronger sword with reach advantage
a superior bow, firing bows further
developed body armer made of bronze
developed the chariot
Why did Egypt fall to the Hyksos?
Egypt didn’t have a military, didn’t think they needed it, it wasn’t a noble profession
Who was the Egyptian pharaoh who gained Egypt back? How did he do it?
Ahmose I, 1567-1542
He adopted the technologies of the Hyksos
revamped the Egyptian army
He lead Egypt into the New Kingdom
Why was the New Kingdom different?
Had a professional army of 20,000 men
Pharaoh is now a warrior king who leads the army
Being a soldier becomes noble
How was the army built and what was its purpose?
had 4 units of 5,000 foot soldiers, named after 4 gods
has newest tech
new unit of chariots with 3500 teams totaling 27,000 men
Purpose is to conquer an empire and expand beyond the Nile
allows them to control lands as buffer zones
makes Egypt safer
Who were the two greatest queen/pharaoh of all time?
Hatshepsut, 1478-1458
Thutmosis III, 1458-1425
Who was Hatshepsut?
First woman to rule Egypt, first woman ruler of world
aunt and stepmother to Thutmosis III
was removed by Thutmosis III and attempted to be erased from history so she didn’t have an afterlife
What was the goal of Thutmosis III and what was the result?
goal was to conquer into the Near East
city-states of Near East joined to resist Egyptians
resulted in the Battle of Meggido in 1457
What was the battle of Meggido?
led by Thutmosis III
took the more difficult but shorter northern path through the mountains and surprises the enemies by his speed
defeats the enemy and conquers all of Near East
first and only pharaoh to cross Euphrates into Mesopotamia
in 1425 becomes greatest pharaoh when he conquers the most land ever
Who was Amenhotep IV?
1364-1347
AKA Akhenaten
beloved the Egyptian priest were too powerful, too wealthy so developed a monotheistic god, Amen to remove the power of the priests
didn’t last long
What was Rameses II?
1279-1213, longest running pharaoh AKA Rameses the Great
found out that previously conquered territories had been taken back by the Hittites
Who were the Hittites?
an Indo-European people that stretched from India to Europe
they expanded south into the Near East and conquered territories that once belonged to Egypt
What did Rameses II do?
Campaigned in the Near East to drive out the Hittites which leads to the 2nd major battle (biggest chariot battle)
Battle of Qadesh in 1274
How did the Battle of Qadesh play out?
The Egyptians are outnumbered, have a chariot core
Hittites were hidden in valley
Hittites send spies (as deserters) to tell Rameses that Hittites are nowhere nearby (organized by Muwatallis)
At camp, Hittites surprise the Egyptians and all scatter except for Rameses
Rameses prays to gods, Aman comes to him and defeats the entire army
Actually, the fleeing Egyptians came back
Ended in tie even though Rameses believes he had won
What did Battle of Qadesh lead to?
The first peace treaty, where the Near East was divided between the Hittites and Egyptians
Who is Maathorneferure?
A Hittite who marries Rameses II
What happened after the Battle of Qadesh?
Rameses II continues to conquer neighboring nations
builds 4 self images in the south in stone inside a tunnel that illuminates from the sun to tell others not to mess with Egypt
dies in 1213
What happens in 1100BC?
New pastoralists people rise and destroy civilizations with their new technologies
they overcome the chariot
Have: lighter, stronger armor; longer, stronger swords; javelin to throw at the enemy and incapacitate the chariot team
They destroy the Greeks, Hittite Empire, and Near East
Who is Rameses III?
1186-1154, the last great period of Egypt
accounts the destruction imposed by barbarians
4 invasions of Egypt during this time
Egypt is the last nation to be attacked and is prepared for the enemies new methods and survives
Weakened Egypt finally falls to foreign invaders
