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Ancient Egyptians - Egyptian Civilization |
Ancient Egyptian Civilization Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Fact 1 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography: The land of ancient Egypt was originally divided into two regions, Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to its border with Nubia, now Sudan. Fact 2 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography: Upper Egypt consisted of the Nile Valley in the south of the country that had higher altitudes and terminated at the First Cataract where the lands of Nubia, began. Fact 3 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography: The Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt in the north emptied into the Mediterranean Sea. Fact 4 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography & Economy: The River Nile flowed through both Lower and Upper Egypt. The River Nile is 4160 (6,670 km) miles long and is the longest river in the world. Fact 5 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography & Economy: The Nile river would break its banks each year, saturating the surrounding countryside and a rich silt that was extremely fertile and ideal for crop growing. Fact 6 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography: The flooding of the Nile enabled farming possible surrounding the banks of the river Nile, an otherwise desert region. The Nile provided wealth to ancient Egypt for a prosperous economy. Fact 7 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography: The area next to the River Nile was called the Black Land, further away from the river was the Red Land. The 'Black Lands' were the farming areas on the banks of the Nile and the 'Red Lands' were the desert areas. Both areas were important to the economy and civilisation of ancient Egypt. Fact 8 on Egyptian Civilization: Economy: The Nile and the Black Lands were the source of a major supply of food - fish. Flax grew on the banks which was used to make linen for clothing, rope, papyrus, boats and maps. Fact 8 on Egyptian Civilization: Geography & Economy: The the burning deserts of the Red Lands provided a natural barrier against potential invaders. The Red Lands were also rich in raw materials such as stone and precious metals such as gold, silver and copper and semi-precious stones. Fact 9 on Egyptian Civilization: Natural Resources: The natural resources included stone including limestone, sandstone, flint, granite, alabaster, copper and lead ores, gold, minerals, precious and semi-precious stones. Fact 10 on Egyptian Civilization: The Transport: The River Nile provided an excellent means of transport from one end of the country to another for both people, building materials and goods. Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Egyptian Civilization Egyptian Civilization Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Fact 11 on Egyptian Civilization: Kings and Pharaohs: Powerful kings and pharaohs founded a total of 31 different dynasties uniting and stabilizing Egypt via a central government. Fact 12 on Egyptian Civilization: Central Government: The government provided laws and policies to enable the country to function. The government consisted of the kings and pharaohs supported by officials such as viziers and Nomarchs. Fact 13 on Egyptian Civilization: Communications: The development of Hieroglyphics provided a system of writing enabling the ancient Egyptians to communicate and keep records. Fact 14 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion: Based on the worship of over 2000 gods, most of which were worshipped at a local level. Only the major gods had the backing of the government and became a state religion. The religion of ancient Egypt focused on funerary and mortuary religious beliefs. Fact 15 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion and the Pharaohs: Early kings and pharaohs had absolute power and 'divine rule'. Fact 16 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion: The most important gods of ancient Egypt had political backing which led to the building of magnificent temples, large followings and cult centers. Fact 17 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion: Cult centers provided high status and great wealth to the cities in which they were based such as Heliopolis, Thebes, Memphis and Hermopolis. Fact 18 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion & Magic: The practices and beliefs in magic led to the use of 'magic spells', sacred amulets and lucky charms. Fact 19 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion and Pharaohs: A Pharaoh was perceived as both a human and a living deity who acted as intermediary between the people of Egypt and the gods. Fact 20 on Egyptian Civilization: Pyramids and Obelisks: Colossal pyramids, statues and obelisks were built according to the religious beliefs of ancient Egypt. Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Egyptian Civilization Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Fact 21 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion and Pharaohs: When a king died he became fully deified and many mortuary temples were dedicated to the worship of the deceased king as a god. Fact 22 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion: Pyramids were replaced by massive rock tombs in secret, hidden locations such as those in the Valley of the Kings. Fact 23 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion and Gods: Some ancient gods were depicted as 'human hybrids' with the body of a human but with the heads of animals. Fact 24 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion, Death and the Afterlife: According to the religious beliefs the preservation of the body in death, by the process of mummification, was essential to keep the soul alive and for eternal life Fact 25 on Egyptian Civilization: Religion: The religious texts of the Egyptians included the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts and the famous Book of the Dead Fact 26 on Egyptian Civilization: The most famous examples of these animal-headed gods were Anubis, the jackal-headed god, Khnum the ram-headed god, Set the evil god, Thoth the ibis-headed god and Khepri the scarab god. Fact 27 on Egyptian Civilization: Education: Only about 1% could write in hieroglyphics but simpler writing in hieratic and demotic text was also used. Fact 28 on Egyptian Civilization: Education: Scribes and priests worked in the temple complexes which also included libraries and schools. Fact 29 on Egyptian Civilization: Ancient Egyptian Art: Evidence of the civilization is found in Ancient Egyptian art is found in the monuments, wall paintings, hieroglyphics, sculpture, artefacts, statues, architecture, in fact in all of the artefacts of ancient Egypt. Fact 30 on Egyptian Civilization: Trade: Trading expeditions were initiated and agreements made with neighboring countries Fact 31 on Egyptian Civilization: Military: A standing army was established together with military fortresses along the Nile. Fact 32 on Egyptian Civilization: Egyptian Empire: The far-reaching Egyptian Empire reached its peak in the time period called the New Kingdom. Fact 33 on Egyptian Civilization: Foreign Influences: Ancient Egyptians experienced the influences & cultures of foreign civilizations including their successful use of the horse and chariot, which were introduced by the Hittites, in ancient Egyptian warfare. Fact 34 on Egyptian Civilization: Foreign Influences: The Egyptians were conquered by several other countries including the Nubians, Greeks and Romans. Fact 35 on Egyptian Civilization: Much of the civilization of ancient Egypt disappeared within 100 years of the Roman conquest - the meaning of hieroglyphics were lost for nearly 2000 years Ancient Egypt - Egyptian Civilization Fact Sheet Egyptian Civilization Egyptian Civilization |
