Social Studies/Chapter 3/Egypt, The Middle Kingdom

Question 1

What replaced Memphis as the capital city of Egypt when order was restored to the nation

Answer 1

Thebes

Question 2

What did the anarchy of the Dark Ages make clear to the rulers of the Middle Kingdom

Answer 2

That Egypt needed a very strong central government

Question 3

Explain what happened to the middle class during the reign of the monarchs of the 12th Dynasty

Answer 3

The middle class greatly enriched the artistic and intellectual life of Egypt. Lots of poetry, myths, and legends were written. Trade expanded so they could get more luxury items.

Question 4

What were 3 important contributions to Egypt from King Senwosnet

Answer 4

1. He ordered a channel cut through the rocks beside the rapids of the First Catarct- so his war ships could sail directly into Nubia (which he then conquered). So all the gold then belonged to Egypt.
2. He extended the Egypt frontier upstream to the Third Cataract
3. He built the fortified town of Buhen on the Nubian border- so he could control the trade route into Africa

Question 5

Why was a canal cut through the desert to connect the Nile to the Red Sea

Answer 5

The canal eliminated the need to cross the hot sands of the desert. This simplified transporting goods into and out of Egypt

Question 6

In order to guarantee enough food for the nation when the level of the Inundation was low, what did the engineers build

Answer 6

An immense irrigation system in the Fayum, southwest of Memphis.

Question 7

What was the benefit of the Fayum irrigation project to the Egyptian farmers

Answer 7

Gave the farmers access to a huge amount of fertile land to grow crops and pasture land for the cattle. The Egyptians no longer had to worry about famines.

Question 8

Who were the Hyksos

Answer 8

Nomads from Palestine who defeated the pharaoh’s troops. Hykos means “foreign invaders”

Question 9

How were the people of Hyksos able to defeat the pharaohs troops

Answer 9

They had the latest military technology: the horse and chariot.

Question 10

How did the horse and chariot work as a fighting tool?

Answer 10

Horse pulled a cart carrying 2 soldiers.
1 soldier controlled the horse
1 soldier shot arrows from a composite bow or hurled bronze-tipped spears.

Question 11

List the 5 contributions of the Hyksos to the Egyptian way of life

Answer 11

1. Introduced the upright loom
2. Imported musical instruments (like the lute, oboe, lyre)
3. Introduced the concept of the potter’s wheel
4. Brought humpbacked cattle to plow the fields
5. melted copper and tin to make bronze