750 Miles x 5-15 miles

Great Pyramid at Giza ~2556 BCE

The need to manage Nile/flooding leads to political organization Geographic advantages Predictable flooding Natural barriers (desert) Shared important geographic features unification of Upper ( ) and Lower Egypt ( ) The Niles navigability: up/down river transport Early unification between Upper and Lower Egypt Stone, a plentiful building material

5000 BCE agricultural villages 3200 BCE 2 centralized kingdoms Unification around 3000 BCE Competing theories? Scorpion King (3250 BCE) vs. Narmer *Menes* (3000 BCE) Development of writing earlier than Sumer? Memphis capitol 31 dynasties of rulers for 2,600 years Old Kingdom 2660 to 2180 BCE

 The

pharaoh vs. Mesopotamian kings

Both theocratic

Ka

and the Pyramid Pyramid at Giza: A wonder of the ancient world:

Doing the numbers: up to 80 ton blocks, 2.5

million blocks, 481x756, 14 years

 Polytheism
Ra, Osiris, Horus, Isis

2000 in all Afterlife: belief in divine judgment of soul continuation of life in a beautiful Other world Think of what practices such as mummification, pyramid building, solid gold death mask crafting, entombing of material items, Book of the Dead, etc., suggests about Egyptian culture

Isis & Horus

Madonna (Mary) & Child (Jesus)

Osiris God is killed and (eventually) resurrected, after which he becomes immortal and goes into the beyond to be the God of the dead. Horus son god immaculate conception Isis mother of god

King/Queen Royal Family Upper Class wealthy landowners, govt officials, priests, army commanders Middle Class merchants/artisans Lower Class (largest) peasant farmers & unskilled laborers Slaves captives of foreign wars domestic servants for rich mined gold built pyramids

There WAS social mobility marriage jobs slaves earning freedom Status wealth (land ownership) literacy Women secondary social status to men**YET own property, propose marriage, seek divorce (1/3)

 Evolution

of Hieroglyphics over time Representation of only ideas then phonetics (sounds) Clay/stone Papyrus Calendar: 365-day, 12-month, 30-day, (5 feasting days) Numbers/mathematics: numbers, mathematical processes, early geometry Knowledge of human body

 Pharaohs

power declined 2180 B.C. weakness/turmoil (Intermediate period) Middle Kingdom (2080 B.C. 1640 B.C.) pharaohs regained control Asian Nomads Hyksos chariot riders New Kingdom --- later