Name:______Date:______

Civilization / Era:
EGYPT / Political Characteristics
  • 30 dynasties of kings spanning 3 eras:
    Old Kingdom – (2575 BC – 2134 BC)
    Capital near delta at Memphis (time of pyramid building)
    Middle Kingdom – (2040 BC – 1640 BC Capital at Thebes in south (time of turmoil: political change and invasion)
    New Kingdom – (1532 BC – 1070 BC)
    Capital at Thebes (time of expansion)
  • Pharaoh – king, considered god on earth
  • Large bureaucracy attended to king (tax collectors, scribes, administrators, etc)
  • Menes (aka Narmer) – credited as first king to unite Upper and Lower Egypt in 3100 BC. He wore 2 crowns to symbolize this unity.
  • During Old & Middle Kingdoms, Egypt remained isolated, regarded foreigners as enemies, & utilized local militia to back up pharaoh’s standing army.
  • Foreign policy largely focused on gaining important access to resources, not about territory gain. (Ex: Nubia/Kush to south)
  • 2000 BC – Egypt invades Nubia & extends southern border to 3rd cataracts
/ Achievements (Cultural)
  • Book of the Dead – hand-guide to after-life proceedings/policies
  • Pyramid building
    (tombs to honor leaders)
/ Religious Characteristics (Cultural)
  • Polytheistic Beliefs – Many gods that represented nature
  • Glorified the afterlife – extensive building of timeless tombs
    2630 BC – 1st stepped pyramid built by Djoser at Saqqara
    2550 BC – 2490 BC – Smooth sided pyramids built by Khufu & Khefren at Giza (largest stone structures on earth at 480 ft)
  • Gods of Note:
    Re (sun god) travels in chariot of fire daily across sky
    Osiris (god of underworld)
    Ptah – Amon-Re – combination all-powerful gods later in Egypt
  • When a city became a capital, its god became Egypt’s #1 overall god

Time Period:
5500 BC - Present
Related Key Concepts
1.2. The Neolithic Revolution and Early
Agricultural Societies
1.3. The Development and Interactions of
Early Agricultural, Pastoral, and Urban Societies
Most Important Thing to Remember:
NileRiver = Life
Pharaoh – God & King
Technological Characteristics (Cultural)
  • Writing system – Hieroglyphics (written language of picture symbols)
    Later, a cursive script was created.
  • Papyrus (paper)
  • Beer-making
  • Human anatomy and medicine (thanks to practice of mummification)
  • Most accurate calendar in ancient world
  • Mathematics (for field surveying and record-keeping)
  • Quarrying & Barge transport
/ Interaction with Environment
  • NileRiver is world’s longest river (from Lake Victoria it flows north to empty in Mediterranean Sea)
  • Huge delta region – Nile splinters into small rivers as it empties into sea
  • Egypt is 90% desert
  • Lower Egypt = delta region in north
  • Upper Egypt = south
  • Cataracts (rapids/waterfalls) along river create impassable roadblocks to south (considered boundary)
  • Floods generally predictable and annual (in September)
/ Economic Characteristics
  • NileRiver floodplains provide grain, papyrus reeds, transportation, EVERYTHING!
  • Egypt much more self-sufficient due to isolation in desert
  • Importation/exploitation of precious luxury items
    (gold, turquoise, ivory, cedar)
  • Much of countries’ wealth went to religious purposes to win gods’ favors
/ Social Characteristics
  • Class hierarchy in place:
    1. Pharaoh
    2. Government bureaucrats(administrators, priests, scribes)
    3. Middle Class (less pronounced)
    (farmers, craftsmen, laborers)
    4. Peasants
    5. Slaves (limited role)
  • Heterogeneous society: dark-skinned and light-skinned mixed on daily basis
  • Women had more rights and were better treated than Mesopotamia (ability to marry, own property, etc)
  • Forced labor utilized to construct monumental buildings (pyramids, temples)