Ancient+Egypt

**3500-500 B.C**  By 3000 B.C. the art of Egypt was so ripe and so far advanced that it is surprising to find any student of early culture proposing that the crude contemporary art of the early Babylonians is the product of a civilization earlier than that of the Nile. - James H. Breasted Ancient Egypt was the start of an empire and an age. Egyptian civilization surrounded around the Nile River. The Nile gave life to Egyptian land and culture. The yearly flooding of the Nile was an important event for Egyptians. In the summer the river would flood and left behind miles of rich black soil. They called the land where it flooded the Black Land. The Nile ultimitely was the center of life for the Egyptians. It made them feel secure and made them have the feeling of changelessness.
 * Ancient Egypt**  **Kaylee Stock, Makenzie Preston, Nicole Johnson**

The religion of Egypt had no name. Even though it had no specific name it was thought of as an inseparable part of the world order. Egyptians were polytheistic and each god was thought to be associated with heavenly bodies and natural forces. There were two groups of gods, the sun gods and land gods.The most worshiped god was the sun god called Amon-Re. Other gods included Osiris, Isis, Horus, Anubis, and Hapi. Along with the belief of many gods, Egyptians also believed in a process called mummification after death. This was a process of slowly drying out a dead body to prevent it from rotting.This was to protect and preserve the body for the afterlife. After the mummification they would put the body into a pyramid or mastaba,based on your social standing. The soul of the body was then believed to be judged by the God Osiris and declared worthy of heaven "happy field of food" or if they were to be destroyed by the Eater of the Dead. It was the decision of what happened to you in the afterlife that dominated most of Egyptians behavior while still living.

The rulers of Egypt were thought to be chosen by the gods and were looked at as divine humans.It is the rulers, called pharoaohs in Egypt, that made decisions that paved the way of Egyptian history. The first pharaoh of Egypt was Menes. He came to power in 3100 B.C and united the two kingdoms of Egypt, Lower and Upper. By 2700 B.C Egypt was in what it known today as the Pyramid Age. It was during this time the Great Pyramids were built in Giza. The Great Pyramids were built under the rule of King Khufu. The Sphinx was also built in this time pyramid and is believed to be for King Khafre. After the Pyramid Age came the Golden Age, or also known as the Middle Kingdom. During this time a canal was built to link the Nile to the Red Sea and mummification had started for lower classe. Also, the first invasion of Egypt, by the Hyksos, happened during the Golden Age. With the invasion of the Hyksos the Middle Kingdom came to an end around 1652 B.C. After the fall of the Middle Kingdom came the New Kingdom. This was know as the Empire Age. A new dynasty of rulers was born during this time and they gained massive wealth. The first woman pharaoh Hatsheput was brought to power and showed the wealth by building the great temple at Deir el Bahri. Many other temples and buildings were built to show the greatness of the empire. After Hatsheput came Akhenaton who had changed his name to honor the sun god. He closed the temples of other gods and made the Egyptians just worship the sun god. This was soon undone by King Tutankhamen who went back to worshiping all gods. After, the religious revolution of Akhenaton Egypt's empire fell. Under the rule of Ramses II they went back on the offensive.. The Empire Age was over and the New Kingdom collapsed in 1085 B.C. Egypt was dominated by many invaders for the next thousand years. The pharaoh Cleopatra tried to rebuild the empire but was defeated and Egypt became a province of the Rome Empire in the first century B.C.

__ Important People __
**1.Menes- 1st pharaoh of Egypt, united Upper and Lower kingdoms** **2.Hatsheput- 1st woman pharaoh, built temple at Deir el Bahri** **3.Amenhotep IV- a.k.a Akhenaton, converted Egypt to monotheism** **4.King Tutankhamen- "boy king" at age 18, restored polytheism** **5.Ramses II- regained control of Palestine, thought of as the strongest pharaoh**

**Dynasty- family of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family**
**Pharaoh- title of Egyptian monarch, meaning "great house"**
 * Mummification- process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent it from decaying **
 * Black Land- area of rich soil several miles wide on the sides of the Nile River **
 * Mastabas- burial alternative for people who are not part of the royal court **

[|Video]-video giving a closer look at the Great Pyramids [|Pharaohs]-biographies of Egyptian pharaohs [|Fun facts]-click here for some fun facts about Egypt! [|Game]-fun adventure game based on Ancient Egypt [|Gods and goddesses]-learn more about the gods and goddesses of Egypt

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Timeline of important Events: During this time the Egyptians developed a permanent army. Ramesses XI was the last of the rulers of the New Kingdom. 642 AD- The Arabs captured Alexandria and Egypt became an important part of the Islamic Empire
 * 3100 BC-** The Egyptian civilazation began when King Menes founded the first Egyptian Dynasty
 * 2575 BC- **The Old Kingdom (the 4th-8th Dynasties) - The Great Pyramids of Egypt were built at Dahshur and Giza and revered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
 * 1539 BC- ** The 18th-20th Egyptian Dynasties New Kingdom and the building of the tombs of the Valley of Kings. The great Pharoahs included Hatshepsut (the famous female Pharoah), Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, Tuthmosis and Ramesses II. King Akhenaten established a new religious order worshipping the sun god Aten.
 * 332 BC- ** Alexander the Great conquers Egypt. Alexander the Great occupies Egypt and his general, Ptolemy, becomes king and founds a dynasty. Greek culture was spread throughout Egypt during this dynasty. The city of Alexandria was founded and became famous for the Great Library and the great Lighthouse of Alexandria which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
 * 196BC- ** The Rosetta Stone is carved
 * 51 BC ** - Cleopatra VII reigns and became the mistress of Julius Caesar and gave birth to his son, Octavian.
 * 37 BC- **Queen Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemies marries Mark Antony
 * 31 BC- **Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra in the sea Battle of Actium . Both Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide
 * 395 AD- ** The Roman empire split into West and East and Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire