2. 1. Geography of Egypt
Egypt grew around the
river Nile. The river
flooded every summer
its banks and fertilised
the lands with silt.
3. LOWER EGYPT
UPPER EGYPT
1. Geography of Egypt
Egypt had two major
regions:
• Upper Egypt (South).
It was a narrow valet
surrounded by the
desert.
• Lower Egypt (North).
It was the delta of
the river. Its lands
were marshy and low.
4.
5. Chadouf: object to obtain water
in a dry season.
Dikes and cannals
for storing and
distributing water
6. Four stages:
- Old Kingdom
- Middle Kingdom
- New Kingdom
- Late Kingdom
31 dynasties
2. Historical evolution
7. Beheaded enemies
Name (Menes)
Horus (helping
Menes)
Menes
defeating the
Lower Egypt
king
2. Historical evolution
Around 3100 BC, the legendary king Menes unified the
territories of Upper and Lower Egypt and began the history
of Egyptian civilisation:
11. Primer periodo
intermedio
Segundo periodo
intermedio
New Kingdom (1550 – 1069
BC): Thebes continued to be
the capital city and Syria and
Palestine were conquered.
During this period, there were
famous pharaohs such as
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten),
Tutankhamun and Ramesses
II.
13. Primer periodo
intermedio
Segundo periodo
intermedio
Late Period (715 – 31 BC):
Egypt entered a period of
decline and was dominated
by foreign peoples such as
the Assyrians, Persians
and Greeks (Alexander
the Great). Cleopatra VII
was the last pharaoh of
Egypt. In 31 BC, Egypt was
conquered by Rome.
14.
15. Military leader
Religious leader
Political leader
3. Political
organisation
The Egyptian leader was called
pharaoh and he was considered a
god. The pharaoh held political,
military and religious power.
16. Privileged class:
nobles, priests and
scribes.
Non-privileged class:
merchants, cfratsmen
and peasants.
Slaves
The Egyptian society was divided into:
25. WOMEN
- Rights and freedoms
(inherit, properties,
divorce)
- Fabrics, bread,
agriculture…
- Pharaohs:
Hatshepsut or
Cleopatra.
Did you know…
Men and women wore makeup in Egypt.
The dark-lined eyes that look out at us from
the artwork of ancient Egypt was the height
of fashion and was called kohl
26. 4. Economy
The economy was based in irrigated agriculture. The main
crops were wheat, barley, linen, papyrus, vines, olives, fruit
trees and legumes. In cities there were artisans
(stonemasons, carpenters, potters, weavers) and
merchants.
27. 4. Culture and
religion
The Egyptians made
important advances in
mathematics and
astronomy. They
invented a calendar that
predicted the rise of the
Nile. It was divided into
365 days of 24 hours.
28. Amon Ra
The religion was polytheistic, they believed in
many gods which were represented with human
and animal features.
29. Some of the most important were: Ra
(the sun god), Horus (god of the sky)
30. Anubis (guardian of the toms and
patron of embalmers), Hathor
(goddess of love, joy and music)
31. Isis (wife of Osiris and goddess of
fertility) and Osiris (god of the dead
and agriculture).
32. Egyptians believed in afterlife. When someone died,
the ka (soul) had to pass the Judgement of Osiris.
33. To ensure that the Ka
returned to the body, the
Egyptians mummified their
corpses: they embalmed the
corpse and wrapped it in
linen (mummy). Their entrails
were extracted and kept in
containers (canopic jars).
34. 4. Art
Egyptian architecture used stones, columns and flat
roofs.
Tombs evolved over a long period of time:
Mastaba: oldest kind of burial with a subterranean
chamber.
37. AVENUE OF
SPHINXES
OBELISK
PYLON COURTYARD HYPOSTYLE
HALL SANCTUARY
POND
Temples: were the house of a god with different parts:
avenue of sphinxes, obelisks, pylons, courtyard, hypostyle
hall and sanctuary. The main examples are Karnak and
Luxor.
38. Sculpture was very rigid and idealised. Painting was
used to decorate the wall of temples and tombs. The
human figure was depicted using frontalism.
