EGYPT

Egypt is one of the oldest

countries en the world. It
has at least 5 000 years
of recorded history.

Land:

Egypt at the northeast corner of

Africa on the Mediterranean
Sea.

The country can be divided into

five regions: The Nile River
valley, The Nile Delta, The
Western Desert, The Eastern
Desert and The Sinai
Peninsula.

Government: Republic

National Holiday: Revolution Day, July 23

Monetary unit: Egyptian pound

Languages:

Egyptians speak Arabic, with a few words and phrases that may be derived from
language of Ancient Egypt, English and French.

Religion: Islam
Climate:

Egypt is a hot, dry country.

Summer temperatures go up as high as 40C, winter temperatures drop to freezing

0C.

Upper Egypt and the deserts have hotter days and colder nights throughout the
year.

Natural resources:

The natural resources of Egypt mainly refer to the oil, natural gas, honey, zinc, iron
ore, phosphate, talc, papyris plant, petroleum, etc.

ANCIENT EGYPT
Ancient Egypt was one of
the greatest and most
powerful civilizations in the
history of the world. It
lasted for over 3000 years
from 3150 BC to 30 BC.

The civilization of Ancient

Egypt was located along
the Nile River in northeast
Africa. The Nile was the
source of much of the
Ancient Egypt's wealth.
Great Egyptian cities grew up
along the Nile as the Egyptian people became experts in irrigation and were able to
use the water from the Nile to grow rich and profitable crops. The Nile provided
food, soil, water, and transportation for the Egyptians. Great floods would come
each year and would provide fertile soil for growing food.

Kingdoms and Periods

Historians usually group the history of Ancient Egypt into three major kingdoms
called the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. It was during
these times that Ancient Egypt was at its strongest. The times between the
Kingdoms are called intermediate periods.

Pharaohs

The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were

the supreme leaders of the land. They
were like kings or emperors. They
ruled both upper and lower Egypt and
were both the political and religious
leader. The Pharaoh was often
thought of as one of the gods.

Historians divide up the timeline of

Ancient Egyptian history by the
dynasties of the Pharaohs. A dynasty
was when one family maintained
power, handing down the throne to an
heir. There are generally considered to
be 31 dynasties over the 3000 years of Ancient Egyptian history.

There were many great Pharaohs throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Here are
some of the more famous ones:

Akhenaten - Akhenaten was famous for saying there was only one god, the
sun god. He ruled with his wife, Nefertiti, and they closed many of the
temples to other gods. He was the father of the famous King Tut.
 Tutankhamun - Tutankhamun is largely famous today because much of his
tomb remained intact and we have one of the greatest Egyptian treasures
from his rule. He became Pharaoh at the age of 9. He tried to bring back the
gods that his father had banished.

Hatshepsut - A lady Pharaoh, Hatshepsut was originally regent for her son,
but she took on the power of Pharaoh. She also dressed like the Pharaoh to
reinforce her power including the crown and ceremonial beard. Many
consider her to be not only the greatest woman Pharaoh, but one of the
greatest Pharaohs in the history of Egypt.

Amenhotep III - Amenhotep III ruled for 39 years of great prosperity. He

brought Egypt to its peak of power. During his rule the country was at peace
and he was able to enlarge many cities and construct temples.

Ramses II - Often called Ramses the

Great, he ruled Egypt for 67 years. He
is famous today because he built more
statues and monuments than any other
Pharaoh.

Cleopatra VII - Cleopatra VII is often

considered the last Pharaoh of Egypt.
She maintained power by making
alliances with famous Romans such as
Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.

Mythology: Gods and Goddesses

The ancient Egyptians believed that many gods and goddesses inuenced their
lives in this world and the next. As time passed the importance and function of
each deity changed, but here are some commonly seen in Egyptian art:

Amun: Principal god during the New Kingdom, closely associated with Re

Anubis: God of burial and the afterlife, usually depicted with a jackals head
Apis: The sacred bull of Memphis, closely associated with kingly authority

Aten: The sun disk; the sole deity during Akhnatens reign

Bastet: Goddess of motherhood, usually depicted as a cat

Hapy: God of the ood, depicted as a pot-bellied man

Hathor: Goddess of kingship, music, joyfulness, and fertility, depicted as a

cow

Horus: God of kingship and the sunrise, often depicted with a falcons head

Imhotep: Deied architect of the Step Pyramid, god of learning and

medicine

Isis: Goddess of motherhood and healing, wife of Osiris and mother of

Horus

Khonsu: God of the moon, associated with healing

Maat: Goddess of truth, justice, and harmony, the daughter of Re, depicted
as a woman with a feather on her head

Min: God of male fertility, dating from the Predynastic Period, depicted as a
man with an erect penis

Mut: Goddess of motherhood, wife of Amun

Nun: God of water or primeval chaos, from which order was created,
depicted as a man carrying a boat
 Nut: Goddess of the sky overarching the earth; important in funerary rites

Osiris:
God of
death,

resurrection, and
fertility

Ptah: God of craftsmen and creation, associated with the city of Memphis

Re: Creator god of the sun.

Culture

Ancient Egypt was rich in culture including government, religion, arts, and writing.
The government and religion were tied together as the leader of the government,
the Pharaoh, was also leader of the religion and considered a god. Writing was
also important in keeping the government running. Only scribes could read and
write and they were considered powerful people.

The Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead is a series of written spells that the Ancient Egyptians
believed helped them in the afterlife. It isn't one giant book, but is more of a bunch
of individual chapters.
The spells from the Book of the Dead were written on papyrus sheets or on the
walls of the tomb. Scribes used hieroglyphics to write down the spells. They also
illustrated the stories of the Book of Dead with colorful pictures.

Pyramids
and Treasure

The Pharaohs of Egypt were often buried in giant pyramids or in secret tombs.
They believed that they needed treasure to be buried with them to help them in the
afterlife. As a result, archeologists have a lot of well preserved artifacts and tombs
to examine in order to find out how the Ancient Egyptians lived.

Mummies
The afterlife was an important part of Ancient Egyptian culture. One of the ways
they prepared for the afterlife was to try and preserve the body as long as possible.
They did this through a process called embalming. These embalmed bodies are
called mummies.

End of the Empire

The Ancient Egyptian Empire began to weaken in about 700 BC. It was conquered
by a number of other civilizations. The first to conquer Egypt was the Assyrian
Empire, followed a hundred or so years later by the Persian Empire. In 332 BC,
Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Egypt and set up his own ruling family
called the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Finally, the Romans came in 30 BC and Egypt
became a province of Rome.

Fun Facts about Ancient Egypt

 Egyptian men and women wore makeup. It was thought to have healing
powers, plus it helped protect their skin from the sun.
They used moldy bread to help with infections.
They were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink
to write and paper called papyrus.
The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had
numerous inventions including ways to build buildings, medicine, cosmetics,
the calendar, the plow for farming, musical instruments, and even
toothpaste.
Ancient Egypt plays a major role in the Bible. The Israelites were held
captive there as
slaves for many
years. Moses
helped them
escape and led
them to the
Promised Land.
The Pharaoh
kept his hair
covered. It was
not to be seen by
regular people.
Cats were
considered
sacred in Ancient
Egypt.