Ancient Egypt
Land and History
Overview
•	Geography
•	Old Kingdom 
•	1st Intermediate Period 
•	Middle Kingdom 
•	2nd Intermediate Period 
•	New Kingdom 
•	3rd Intermediate Period
•	Graeco-Roman Period
Geography
•	The Nile Valley
–	Unchanged until Aswan Dam built in 1960’s
•	Annual floods
–	Alluvial soils good for farming
–	Requires little irrigation
Village Life to 3000 BC
•	Archaic culture
–	Nile delta
–	Hunting and fishing
•	Agriculture
–	Sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, geese
–	Emmer wheat, two-rowed barley
•	4221 BC
–	Base year of Egyptian calendar
The Predynastic Period
•	Origins in earlier Sumerian empire
•	Upper and Lower Nile cultures
•	Larger towns and cities
–	Craft specialization
–	Divine kingship
•	Development of religious system
–	temples, priest class, writing
•	New cultigens
–	flax, cotton
–	grapes, wine for export
Early Dynastic Period 
•	Mystery of Unification
–	Ancient Egyptians: People of Two Lands (Upper & Lower Egypt)
–	King Scorpion, Narmer
•	Kings of southern Egypt
•	Shown wearing combined Red (Lower) and White (Upper) Crown
•	1st Dynasty
•	First Pharaoh: Menes 
•	founded city of Thebes, capital city: Memphis
•	National administration, royal governors
The Old Kingdom
2nd to 4th Dynasty
•	3rd Dynasty
–	Djoser
•	Step Pyramid
•	Imhotep: architect & doctor
•	4th Dynasty
–	builders of Pyramids
•	Khufu (Great Pyramid)
•	Chephren
•	Menkaure
–	locations: Giza, Dashur
–	first embalming
First Intermediate Period
•	Weakened Old Kingdom
–	major famines
–	weak leadership
•	Intermediate Period
–	nomes (provinces) self-governing
–	many kings 7th - 11th Dynasties
–	Mentuhotep II
•	Re-establishes order
The Middle Kingdom
•	11th Dynasty
–	Mentuhotep II 
•	Established capital at Thebes
•	Expansion south along Nile
•	12th Dynasty
–	Amenemhet I
•	Mentuhotep’s vizier
–	Senusret I
•	Conquest of Nubia
•	Fortresses, mining
–	first rock-cut tombs
–	Amenemhet III
•	Land reclamation
•	Labyrinth pyramid at Hawara
Second Intermediate Period
•	13th & 14th Dynasties
–	Military decline
•	Hyksos Dynasties (15 & 16)
–	“rulers of foreign lands”, from Canaan
–	settled in eastern Delta
–	introduced chariots, horses, bows, armour
–	adopted Egyptian language, customs
•	17th Dynasty
–	Fierce families from Luxor
•	Challenged Hyksos kings
The New Kingdom:
18th Dynasty, Part 1
•	Dynasty of empire building
–	Conquest & lavish temples, tombs
•	Ahmose I
–	Drove Hyksos out of Egypt
–	Tight central control
•	Thutmose I
–	Extended empire to 3rd cataract
–	Led army to Euphrates River
•	Queen Hatshepsut
–	Commercial expansion e.g. Punt
–	temple at Deir El-Bahari
The New Kingdom:
18th Dynasty, Part 2
•	Thutmose III
–	Conquest of Palestine and Syria
–	Effective army and navy, administration
–	Tribute built temples at Karnak, Abydos
•	Amenhotep III
–	Extensive architecture e.g. Luxor, Thebes
–	Peace and prosperity, height of empire
–	Amarna Letters:  clay records of diplomacy
•	Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten)
–	Banned all cults except sun god Aten
–	Queen Nefertiti: famous beauty
–	Removed wealth of Amen temples
–	New styles in art and literature
The New Kingdom:
18th Dynasty, Part 3
•	Tutankhamen
–	Child Pharaoh
–	Priest advisers restored old cults
–	Intact tomb found in 1922, Howard Carter
•	Horemheb
–	Tutankhamen’s general of army
–	Restored order, central administration
–	Moved army against invaders
The New Kingdom:
19th  & 20th Dynasty
•	restoration of military power
•	Seti I
–	Reconquest of Palestine
•	Ramses II
–	Military campaigns:  Battle of Kadesh
–	Extensive building program
•	Temple of Amen at Karnak
•	Temple of Rameses at Abu Simbel
–	Queen Nefertari
•	End: weak leadership, powerful Theban priests ruled Upper Egypt
Third Intermediate Period:
Libya
•	period of peace and stability, divided kingdom
•	21st Dynasty
–	Egypt split, two capitals
•	Tanis in North (Nile Delta)
•	Thebes in South
•	22nd Dynasty
–	Libyan military
–	reconquered Palestine & Syria
–	ended in competing dynasties
Third Intermediate Period:
Nubia
•	25th Dynasty
–	Nubia conquered Egypt
–	kept Egyptian traditions
•	Invasion by Assyria
–	Thebes sacked
•	26th Dynasty
–	Libyan power assured peace
–	Suez canal built, Syrian campaigns
–	Peace, prosperity
•	Strong Greek influences
Third Intermediate Period:
Persia
•	27th Dynasty
–	Egypt as Persian satrapy, breadbasket
–	Peace, prosperity
•	28th - 30th Dynasty
–	Return of Egyptian rule under Artaxerxes II 
•	31st Dynasty
–	Persian Artaxerxes III reconquers
–	dark period: temples sacked, heavy tribute demanded
The Graeco-Roman
Period
•	Alexander the Great
–	Founded Alexandria
–	Installed Ptolemies as rulers
•	Ptolemy I
–	Alexander’s general as satrap
–	Later became independent
–	Introduction of coins
•	Eliminated barter system
–	Fusion of Egyptian & Greek elements
Ptolemies
•	Ptolemy II
–	Called Philadelphus
–	Unified administration, did census
–	Alexandria library, literature & science
•	Ptolemy III 
–	Consolidated empire
–	Built Horus Temple at Edfu
•	Ptolemy V
–	Golden age of arts and science
–	Rosetta Stone written in Greek and Egyptian
End of Egyptian Rule
•	Ptolemy VI - XII
–	Increasing Roman influence
•	Cleopatra VII
–	Ruled with brother Ptolemy XIII
•	3 years, then civil war
–	Julius Caesar defeated brother
•	Caesar murdered 44 BC
–	Romance with Mark Antony
•	Antony defeated by Octavian (Augustus Caesar) at Actium
–	Death of Cleopatra
•	Egypt becomes Roman province
•	Supplies food to Roman Empire