Egypt: The Gift of the Nile (the Nile not Denial!)

1. Egypt: The Gift of the Nile(the Nile not Denial!) Ms. Jerome

3. Kingdom of the Nile • Without the Nile, Egypt would be a baron desert. • Its waters flooded annually • It soaked the land with life-giving water and deposited a layer of rich silt (fine clay, carried by running water, saturated with nutrients) • Flooding was PREDICTABLE! • The Nile flows south to north! • Why is this very significant for the development of Egypt?

4. Uniting Upper and Lower Egypt • Ancient Egypt had 2 distinct regions, Upper (the South) and Lower Egypt (the North). • They were divided at the first cataract (waterfall)

6. DELTA

7. Nile Delta: triangular area of marshland formed by deposits of silt

8. Unification of Egypt • King Menes: credited with unifying upper and lower Egypt at about 3100 b.c.e. • Built a central government • Ruled by the pharaoh – Menes being the first • A pharaoh is a god living on earth • Egypt operated under the rule of a pharaoh and his bureaucracy—system of gov’t that includes departments and levels of authority. • As in Mesopotamia—most Egyptians were peasants, or poor farmers

9. Unification symbolized in rulers’ hat

11. Construction of Pyramids • Began during the Old Kingdom (2660-2160 b.c.e.) • Tombs and shrines to pharaohs 84,000 Builders!

12. Notable Leaders of the New Kingdom • Hatshepsut: the first female ruler 1472 b.c.e. to 1458 b.c.e. Established trade in the Mediterranean lands • Thutmose III took over as pharaoh (stepson). A great military general Thutmose III expanded the empire to its greatest reaches • Ramses II ruled for 66 years form 1279 to 1213.

13. Egyptian Imperialism of the new kingdom

14. The Decline of Egypt • After 1100 b.c.e. Egyptian power slowly declined • Invaders such as Assyrians and Persians conquered the Nile region • In 332 b.c.e. the Egyptian dynasty ended as the Greeks took control • In 30 b.c.e. Roman armies displaced the Greeks

15. Mummification • http://www.eyelid.co.uk/egyptian-mummification.html