Culture
Ancient Egypt flourished between 5500 B.C.E with the rise of technology and 30 B.C.E. This included the rise of technology and the death of Cleopatra VII. She was the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt. Ancient Egypt is famous today for the great monuments. They celebrated the triumphs of the rulers. They also honored the gods of the land. The Ancient Egyptian religion was strongly influenced by their traditions. A strong belief that the Egyptians had was the Divine Kingship. It was focused on the king being the ruler and the god. The Pharaoh is associated with Horus, son of Re. It was believed that after death he became Osiris. Osiris was believed to help people in the afterlife. Because of their beliefs, the Pharaoh’s would have a gigantic amount of power. Priests would also be very powerful. When life was good, people assumed the Priests and Pharaohs were doing their jobs right. When things were not going well, people assumed that the Priests and Pharaohs were to blame. Religion in Ancient Egypt was a polythetic. They believed in over 700 gods and goddesses! Dietes were foten combined to make a new diete. The Ancient Egypt culture is very often misunderstood for being obsessed with death. They had a mumification system that they used. They used this because before they used this method the burried bodies in the gorund but with the blazing sun the bodies got dehydrated very quickly. Mummification is when dead bodies are wrapped in linen, embalming. Lastly, the Egyptians were paliothistic. This is when you believe in more than one god. Some gods and goddesses took part in cretaing objects, some bring danger to the land, some offer protection to the community, and some took care of people after they died, etc. Others were either local gods who represented towns and cities, or minor gods who represented plants or animals and nature. The ancient Egyptians believed that it was important to recognise and worship these gods and goddesses so that life continued smoothly. For more about culture, click the learn more button.
Leaders:
OLD KINGDOM- Pharaoh Khufu (2551-2528 B.C.E.)
Helped establish the pharaoh as a central authority, and kept a strict control of food supply. He emphasized himself by declaring himself a god. He built amazing pyramids that are still recognized today. No one knows how they did it, but people know it took them 20 years to build with over 100 workers on site.
MIDDLE KINGDOM- Pharaoh Senusret I (1971-1926 B.C.E)
He was a strong leader who unified; art literature, architecture flourished. He controlled mines loaded with many valuables such as; gold, copper, and gems. He wanted his memory too live forever, but later a pharaoh took apart the white chapel and used the pieces to make an monument for himself.
NEW KINGDOM- Pharaoh Ramses II (1290- 1224 B.C.E)
He was called Ramses The Great, he is one of the most well known and famous pharaohs. He reigned for more than 60 years which is longer than any other pharaoh has ruled. He was best known for military leadership and for building numerous monuments. Amazingly, he had over 100 wives and children.
Leaders:
OLD KINGDOM- Pharaoh Khufu (2551-2528 B.C.E.)
Helped establish the pharaoh as a central authority, and kept a strict control of food supply. He emphasized himself by declaring himself a god. He built amazing pyramids that are still recognized today. No one knows how they did it, but people know it took them 20 years to build with over 100 workers on site.
MIDDLE KINGDOM- Pharaoh Senusret I (1971-1926 B.C.E)
He was a strong leader who unified; art literature, architecture flourished. He controlled mines loaded with many valuables such as; gold, copper, and gems. He wanted his memory too live forever, but later a pharaoh took apart the white chapel and used the pieces to make an monument for himself.
NEW KINGDOM- Pharaoh Ramses II (1290- 1224 B.C.E)
He was called Ramses The Great, he is one of the most well known and famous pharaohs. He reigned for more than 60 years which is longer than any other pharaoh has ruled. He was best known for military leadership and for building numerous monuments. Amazingly, he had over 100 wives and children.
Location
Ancient Egypt
5500 B.C.E - 30 B.C.E The ancient Egyptians thought that Egypt was divided into two parts of land. The lands were called 'black land' and the 'red land'. The 'black land' was a piece of fertile land that was on the banks of the Nile River. The ancient Egyptians used this land for growing crops. This was the only land that Egypt could use as farming land. This was because of the black silt that came there every year because of the Nile River flooding. The 'red land' was the barren desert that would protect Egypt on the two sides. The deserts separated ancient Egypt from many things like, invading armies and neighboring countries. Ancient Egyptians were also provided with a great source of precious metals and semi-precious stones. |
Gallery
Hieroglyphs (Right picture above)
Scholars have discovered that there are three different classes of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Some signs belong to more than one class. One of the three classes is Phonograms. Phonograms are signs that represent a specific sound. Some correspond with the sound of two or more letters. Another one of the classes is Ideograms. Ideograms represent ideas instead of sounds. Examples of ideograms are the hieroglyphs that represent the gods. The last class of hieroglyphs is called Determinatives. Determinatives are hieroglyphs that were not spoken or translated. They help make the meaning of words clearer and mark the end of words. The Egyptians placed no spaces between words or sentences. Scholars believe that Egyptian hieroglyphs developed around 3200 BC. At first, the Egyptians used between 700 and 800 signs. By 300 B.C. Over 6,000 signs were in the written language. Many hieroglyphs came from nature or daily life. Did you know that only 3% of the population could read the hieroglyphs?