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370 History

Nemes

headdress made

of solid gold

and bands

of coloured

(dark blue)

glass paste

Uraeus (cobra),

symbol of Lower

Egypt (in the north)

Vulture, symbol

of Upper Egypt

(in the south)

Ancient Egypt

From around 3100 BCE to 30 BCE, the dry desert land

of Egypt was home to an advanced civilization. The

Ancient Egyptians produced massive. PYRAMIDS,

fabulous golden treasures, and wonderful works of art.

They invented hieroglyphs, and were expert engineers.

WHY WERE NILE FLOODS IMPORTANT?

The River Nile flows through Egypt on its

way to the sea. Every year, between July

and October, it flooded the surrounding

desert and covered the land with fertile

silt (fine mud). Ancient Egyptian farmers

were able to grow excellent crops on this

land, including wheat, barley, grapes, figs,

and many different types of vegetables.

4 THRESHING WHEAT

These farm workers are threshing wheat to separate the

ripe grains from the stalks. This picture decorated the

walls of an Egyptian tomb built in around 1400 BCE.

Golden ball

representing

life-giving

Sun pushed

along

by scarab

WHO DID THE EGYPTIANS WORSHIP?

The Egyptians worshipped hundreds of gods and

goddesses. Gods like Osiris, ruler of the underworld,

looked human. Others were shown as animals, such as

the cat-goddess Bastet, who brought fertility. The most

important was ram-headed Amun, king of the gods.

WHY DID EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION LAST SO LONG?

Egypt became wealthy through farming and trade.

Its power was built up by strong governments, led

by. PHARAOHS and staffed by well-trained scribes

(officials). The nation was defended by large armies.

1 SACRED SCARAB

This gold bracelet, from the tomb

of Amenemope, is decorated with

a scarab (dung beetle) made from

blue lapis lazuli, a semi-precious

stone. For the Egyptians, scarabs

symbolized the life-giving Sun.

PHARAOHS

Ancient Egypt was ruled by powerful kings called pharaohs, who

took the roles of chief priest, war-leader, and head of government.

Egyptians believed that the pharaohs were living links between

people and gods, and that they actually became gods after death.

WHAT DOES “PHARAOH” MEAN?

The name pharaoh came from two Egyptian words,

per-aa, meaning “great house” or “palace”. Later, the

name for such a building was also used to refer to the

king living there. It was used to show great respect.

FUNERAL BOAT 3

Model boats like this one

were buried with the

pharaohs in royal

pyramid tombs.

Pharaoh’s

spirit carried

through world

of the dead

GOLDEN MASK 3

This portrait mask

covered the face of

the mummified body of

Pharaoh Tutankhamen

(r. 1333–1324 BCE). The tomb of

Tutankhamen was discovered in the

Valley of the Kings, Egypt, in 1922.

Ancient

Egypt