Ancient Egypt

The entrance is flanked by four 66 foot high statues of the pharaoh. However, the structure you see in the photo is not in its original location. When dam construction of the Nile River threatened to flood the temple, workers cut the entire structure into blocks and rebuilt it on higher ground.

Geography and Ancient Egypt

The water, fertile soils, and protected setting of the Nile Valley allowed a great civilization to arise in Egypt around 3200 BC.

Main Ideas

Egypt was called the gift of the Nile because the Nile River gave life to the desert.
Civilization developed along the Nile after people began farming in this region.
Strong kings unified all of Egypt.

Features of the Nile

The Nile is the longest river in the world, with a distance of over 4,000 miles.
Ancient Egypt included two regions, a southern and a northern region, that were given their names by their relation to the Nile.
At several points, the rough terrain caused cataracts, or rapids, to form.
The Nile divided into several branches, forming a delta, a triangular area of land made from soil deposited by a river.

The Nile provided both water and fertile soil for farming.
Egypt’s location offered another advantage because it had natural barriers that made it hard to invade.
The Nile was an important means to transport soldiers and resources.

Canals were built to carry water to
fields of wheat, barley, fruits, and vegetables.

The Nile allowed farmers to raise animals such as cattle and sheep.
The river also provided many types of fish to eat, and hunters trapped ducks and geese.

Natural barriers made Egypt hard to invade.
Desert in the west was too big and harsh to cross.
Mediterranean and Red Sea provided protection from invasion.
Cataracts in the Nile made it difficult to invade from the south.

According to tradition, Menes rose to power in Upper Egypt and unified the two kingdoms by taking control of Lower Egypt and by marrying a Lower Egyptian princess.
Menes was probably Egypt’s first pharaoh, the title used by the rulers of Egypt.
He also founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or series of rulers from the same family.
The First Dynasty lasted for about 200 years and extended Egyptian territory southward along the Nile.
Social classes
Pharaohs ruled Egypt as gods.
Many nobles, or people from rich and powerful families, were officials and priests who helped run the government.
Scribes and craftspeople wrote and produced goods.
Farmers, servants, and slaves made up most of Egyptian society.

was a period of stable government between periods of disorder:
The Middle KingdomFollowing a period of competition for power between the nobles and the pharaohs, the Middle Kingdom began.
In last ,, enjoying photes.