The Ancient Near East: Egypt Flashcards

1
Q

What did agriculture in Egypt depend on?

A

The flood of the Nile river each year - not the climate or weather

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2
Q

When did the floods of the Nile occur?

A

Floods peaked in September, and receded in October

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3
Q

What did the flooding of the Nile bring?

A

Brought silt from the riverbed, which made the soil very fertile - all you needed to do was drop seeds and stamp them into the ground

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4
Q

What is a nome?

A

A group of villages

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5
Q

How many dynasties occurred in Ancient Egypt?

A

History shows 20 occurred, although they were “implemented” later by an outsider Greek priest

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6
Q

How is the Egyptian history normally divided?

A

Three kingdoms: Old, Middle, and New

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7
Q

How is the area of Egypt normally divided?

A

Upper Egypt ( Southern) and Lower Egypt (Northern/Delta area)

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8
Q

Who was Narmer?

A

A Pharaoh in the Archaic period, who worked to unite Upper and Lower Egypt (may also be known as Menes) and finally succeeded in unifying the civilization

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9
Q

What is Cartush?

A

Means the name of the current king/pharaoh

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10
Q

When was there a period of confusion?

A

Between Old and Middle Kingdom, but it was important that the Pharaoh show divine power

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11
Q

What was considered the Classical Period of Egypt?

A

The Middle Kingdom, due to a stand-up army, as well as building innovations

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12
Q

Who were the Hyksos?

A

Semitic speaking people not from Egypt; they rose up and took Upper Egypt

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13
Q

What did the Hyksos bring to Egypt?

A

New ideas (bronze age), use of horse-drawn chariots, development of scales (armour), the composite bow, new daggers and weapons, and peaceful ideas

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14
Q

When did the New Kingdom begin?

A

When a Prince rose up in 1570 and drove out the Hyksos

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15
Q

Who was Hatshepsut?

A

Daughter of Thotmes I, married to Thotmes II; became a Pharaoh, and was depicted as a man, as there was no word for ‘Queen’ so she was addressed as “His majesty”

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16
Q

Who was the Napoleon of Egypt?

A

Thotmes III; he was a warrior king who brought the Egyptian empire to the zenith of its power, by conquering all of Syria, crossing the Euphrates river, and going down to Sudan and Nubia

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17
Q

Who was Amunhotep IV (Akhenaten)?

A

He was a Pharaoh that ascended to the throne after being appointed as heir after his father Thotmes III died. Nefertiti was his wife.

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18
Q

What did Amunhotep IV/Akhenaten do?

A

He abolished priests/worship of Amun, and instead placed worship on the sun as a disk, and was very unaware of what was going on outside his city

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19
Q

Who was Tutankhamun?

A

Younger brother of Amunhotep IV, he rose to the throne after him, and died young

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20
Q

Who had to fight off many attacks from the North East?

A

Ramses III

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21
Q

When did the kingdom fall?

A

After Ramses III

22
Q

Which crown is the crown of Upper Egypt?

A

The white rounded crown (Hedjet)

23
Q

Which crown is the crown of Lower Egypt?

A

The red crown with the swirl (Deshret)

24
Q

What did the presence of weapons show?

A

That Egypt was fashioned for war

25
Q

What is the Narmer Pallet?

A

25” high artifact from the Dynastic period that has scenes depicting King Narmer (Menes) as a triumphant ruler

26
Q

What is on the left side of the Narmer Pallet?

A

King’s name is on the top, flanked by the heads of Hathor/Isis (mother of Horus); large depiction of the King wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, and he is holding a mace and has a Libian captive at his feet; above the captive is the falcon god Horus who is poised on a 6 stylized Lotus blossoms; court official on the left side of the King; two captives trying to escape below

27
Q

What do the 6 Lotus blossoms possibly represent? (Narmer’s Pallet?)

A

6000 captives

28
Q

What is on the right side of the Narmer Pallet?

A

Narmer wearing red crown of Lower Egypt and holding a mace; four standard bearers in front, 10 decapitated captives on the top right, in the middle two men holding ropes attached to mythical creatures with long necks; bottom bull is breaking into a city

29
Q

What does the Narmer Pallet represent?

A

It represents and glorifies the Pharaoh, as Narmer is the one who unified Egypt

30
Q

What was the mace commonly used for?

A

It was used for close-range combat, and was the weapon of the period

31
Q

What were maces made out of?

A

Some were made of copper, but most were stone, with the handle stuck in a hole and held together with leather wrappings

32
Q

What were axes made out of?

A

Stone or copper blades were very common; bronze blades were effective but there was still a problem of fitting the blade to the handle

33
Q

Who introduced the socket axe and sickle sword?

A

The Hyksos

34
Q

When did military success become part of political propaganda?

A

In the Middle Kingdom

35
Q

What is the Fort of Buhen?

A

Was regarded as virtually impregnable; it had moats, watchtowers, gates, etc. and 400-500 soldiers stationed there at one time

36
Q

What was Egypt’s biggest concern?

A

Protecting its borders rather than pushing past it

37
Q

When was the birth of imperialism?

A

The Middle Kingdom

38
Q

What types of weapons emerged in the Middle Kingdom?

A

Bronze swords, arrowheads, javelins

39
Q

What did Egypt swear to do in the New Kingdom?

A

Swear to never allow foreigners to dominate them again

40
Q

When did warlike Pharaohs emerge?

A

New Kingdom

41
Q

Why did warlike Pharaohs emerge?

A

New classes of beaureaucrats were needed, militaristic culture, ideology of royalty was altered: Pharaoh was humanized into the commander-in-chief, so the king would ride into battle with his troops

42
Q

What is the composite bow?

A

Different from the simple bow due to the double curve shape; it is also much shorter, was easier to use, provided greater strength and recoil power; originated in Sumer

43
Q

What were composite bows made out of?

A

Various materials: wood, horn, and gut of an oxe

44
Q

How long did it take to make a composite bow?

A

5-10 years as they were difficult to make and moisture made it useless

45
Q

When was Nubia lost?

A

End of Middle Kingdom; New Kingdom Pharaohs wanted it back

46
Q

What was the composite bow good for?

A

Chariot warfare (mobile firing platform)

47
Q

What was the Battle of Meggido?

A

Thotmes III captured Meggido in 1485

48
Q

How did Thotmes III capture Meggido?

A

Chariots used in battle with a two man crew; he could deploy about 1000 chariots, which was very expensive

49
Q

When did the Egyptians become a military people?

A

Under the 18th Dynasty

50
Q

What did the Egyptians imploy in the 18th Dynasty?

A

Conscription (infantry), chariots (King’s + aristocratic in the front), archers, spearmen, etc. (no cavalry), a complete hierarchy of military rank, a new military class emerged

51
Q

What is the Battle of Kadesh (Qadesh)

A

13th century, it was between the Egyptians (under Ramses II) and the Hittites; Egyptians had to withdraw to safety in the battle but Ramses succeeded victory

52
Q

Who were the Hittites?

A

Indo-European people who lived in the Middle East and dominated in that area for a time