The Old Kingdom Flashcards
When did the Old Kingdom start and end ?
2686 BC to 2181 BC
Which dynasties were formed during the
Old Kingdom ?
The Third to the Sixth Dynasties
What is the Old Kingdom otherwise known as ?
The ‘Age of the Pyramid Builders’ or
‘Age of the Pyramids’
Who designated the era ‘Old Kingdom’ and when ?
Historians in the 17th century
Who was the first ruler to commission the building of Egypt’s first pyramid ?
Pharaoh Djoser
What is the name given to Djoser’s first pyramid ?
The Step Pyramid
Where can the Step Pyramid be found ?
Saqqara
What is the name of the highest official or vizier to serve Pharaoh Djoser ?
Imhotep
What was Imhotep also known as ?
The ‘Father of Medicine’
What became of the former rulers of various Egyptian states when power was passed to Djoser ?
They became governors or tax officials
Which pharaoh began the Forth Dynasty ?
Sneferu
What else did Sneferu do for the Old Kingdom ?
He brought the Old Kingdom to its peak
Sneferu was responsible for the building of numerous pyramids. What are the 3 most famous ?
- The Meidum pyramid
- The Red pyramid
- The Bent pyramid
Which of Sneferu’s sons built the ‘Great pyramid of Giza’ ?
Khufu
What did Khufu’s son Khafra build ?
The Sphinx
In addition to architecture, what else was extremely important in the Old Kingdom ?
Art
In which areas of art did the artists of the Old Kingdom perfect their techniques ?
Sculptures, Relief and paintings
What materials did artists uses to construct life-sized structures ?
Copper, stone and wood
What was the majority of art in the Old Kingdom centred on ?
Life after death and how to achieve it
What other items became popular in artistic circles in the Old Kingdom ?
Jewellery, carved furniture and other decorative items
Into which country did the military of the Old Kingdom expand Ancient Egypt’s interests ?
Today’s Sudan
In which Dynasty did the construction of pyramids start to diminish ?
The Fifth Dynasty
Instead of building pyramids where did the Egyptians of the Fifth Dynasty channel their efforts towards ?
Constructing Sun temples
The Sun temples were built to worship which god ?
The sun god Ra
Apart from building sun temples, what other avenue did they turn their efforts towards ?
The trade market
Name some of the commodities that the Fifth Dynasty Egyptians traded in ?
Myrrh - Frankincense - Copper - Gold - Ebony - Ivory - Cedar
What did the Egyptians build when they were inspired by the trade they were carrying out ?
Ships
Why did they build ships for trading ?
To widen their trading activities
What commodity did Egypt trade in with Somalia ?
Ivory and Ebony
What was Somalia known as during the
Fifth Dynasty ?
The Kingdom of Punt
From which country did Egypt trade for cedar ?
Lebanon
When did the rulers power begin to weaken ?
During the Sixth Dynasty
Who started to gain strength when the rulers power began to dwindle ?
The regional governors
What were the regional governors otherwise known
as ?
Nomarchs
What did the regional governors begin to create ?
Local Dynasties
What sort of power did the regional governors of the regional governors have ?
Powers independent of the ruler
While the regional governors were gaining power
what were the rulers preoccupied with ?
Flood control of the river Nile and building canals amongst other interests
What happened towards the end of the
Sixth Dynasty ?
Egypt fell into civil war
Who was the long reigning pharaoh during the civil
war of the Sixth Dynasty ?
Pepi II
For what reason did this civil war start ?
Because there was no clear plan on who would succeed Pepi II
What happened shortly after the period of civil war ?
A drought gripped Egypt
What was the consequence of the drought ?
It prevented the River Nile from flooding normally
What was the outcome of having a civil war, no clear plan and a drought in Egypt ?
The Old Kingdom collapsed
What happened when the Old Kingdom collapsed ?
Ancient Egypt was thrown into famine and war
Which period followed the Old Kingdom ?
The First Intermediate Period
