Lo-3- The Land of the Pharaohs- Egypt

The Nile and the "Two Lands"

• Egypt is divided into two sections- Two Lands.
• The cycle of labor and of life itself depended on its annual flooding and receding of the Nile.
• Around 3100 B.C. the two lands were unified under a simple king.
• Country's rulers were known as pharaoh's.

Government by a god-King

• For the Egyptians, the pharaoh was to be obeyed as a man given power by the gods and venerated as a god who dwelt among men.
• It was up to the pharaoh to control the stability and harmony of nature.
• The pharaoh was believed by the people to have been chosen by the gods to conduct the rituals and sacrifices that won their favor and made sure they did their work of upholding the universe.
• All of Egypt belonged to the pharaoh

Men and Women Under the Pharaohs

• The women who were closest to the pharaoh, the King's mother and principal wife, had a touch of divinity
• The pharaoh had many wives and a principal wife
• Female pharaohs weren't often, but were said to undermine maat.
• Daughters equally inherited wealth and property, but not government positions.

Gods, Humans, and Everlasting Life

• Though there were many gods, there was still one main god that had made them all or that ruled over the rest of the gods. 
• After the pharaoh was said to be immortal, ideas started to form that there was an afterlife, in which the soul goes to after death in everyone not just the pharaoh.

The Writing of the Words of God

• Writing began for religious needs, instead of record keeping.
• The hieroglyphs-
• The earliest Egyptian writing
• Was devised about 3100 B.C. as a part of carvings and paintings intended to honor the pharaohs.
• Pictures of events instead of letters and words
• Written with ink on papyrus
• Usually having to do with religious buildings and words

Calendar and Sailboats

• Egyptians understood the knowledge of sickness, but believed it was caused by a demon entering the body.
• They had magical formulas and healing drugs used by physicians and surgeons.
• They wrote books about disease and established medical buildings and schools.
• Egyptians built large boats with sails to improve water transportation.

Pyramids and Temples

• Pyramids were mainly religiously based on the fact that their god-like king went to on.
• Most were mainly built under the rule of King Khufu around 2650 B.C.
• They were made with blocks that weighed 5000 pounds each.
• The humanistic quality of the pyramids are evident due to the tomb paintings of human forms.

The Rhythm of Egypt's History

• Because of rivalry between the pharaohs and lack of officials, dynasties were cut down by failure to produce heirs.
• There were times when Egypt broke down into fragments, each with their own pharaoh
• Therefor there were different states of prosperity, stability, and unity of Egypt.
• In 2200 B.C. there was a series of weak pharaohs, leading to local officials gaining rule.
• By then the world around Egypt was changing and this country was not the most powerful anymore, and Egypt started to have to worry about conquering other countries.