2/3/14 west civ notes

 

The Land of the Pharaohs: Egypt

 

• Contrast the ancient civilization of the Nile with that of the Tigris- Euphrates, and discuss the defining features of Egyptian life
• During Neolithic Age people of the Nile (Egypt) had moved toward civilization in response to the cities of Sumer, but Egypt civilizations were more stable then Mesopotamian
• Egyptian settlements depended on the Nile river
• In 3,100 B.C. the two lands of Egypt were unified under a single king or ruler
• Pharaohs- the name for kings and rulers in Egypt
• The Egyptians, from the start, linked a single state under a single king unlike Mesopotamia
• Egyptians believed that the universe had to be kept in harmony in order for them to live and for the cycle of nature to continue, this job belonged to the pharaoh
• Hatshepsut- female  pharaohs, eventually erased from Egyptian tradition
• The Great Sphinx- Famous monument in Egypt that expressed the belief in the pharaoh as god king, the sphinx body is a lion, symbolic of the God Re, and its face is that of King Khafre (2,500 B.C.)
• Many Egyptian deities in the stone age were conceived in the form of animals
• By 1800 B.C. Egyptians believed that every deceased persons soul had to stand before Osiris, the underworld king, each persons heart (character) was weighed on a balance if the persons heart was good and pure the soul would live in the garden of paradise, if the soul was bad it was cast into the crocodile jaws of a monster
• In 3100 B.C. Egyptians drew their earliest writings called hieroglyphs, they were carvings and paintings made to honor pharaohs
• Egyptians created the demotic script which allowed them to write books and record things
• Egyptians also created the calendar that we use today and created the 365 day solar year
• Egyptians believed that illness was caused by demons so they created "magical potions" to make demons go away
• Egyptians recorded their knowledge about types of illnesses and found cures, they also established many medical libraries and schools
• Mummification- Taking organs out of a dead persons body and then wrapping the person completely in cloth, the organs were put in spiritual jars, this process was practiced by the Egyptians
• By 3100 B.C. the Egyptians had created boats with sails that allowed them to get around on the water more efficiently  
• Egyptians were mostly known for the buildings they constructed
• They built giant tombs called pyramids
• The temple of Anon was started in 1530 B.C. and was completed in 1300 B.C.
• The Egyptians had an enormous supply of stone
• Through 2700-1900 B.C. the Egyptians found themselves in turmoil over power in the kingdom but by the 1800 the internal conflict was renewed