What have we learned about Ancient Egypt so far? Look at the images below

Pharaohs Pharaohs •

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• What do you think the Pharaohs were in charge of? - Pharaohs were very rich and powerful - People often thought of them as Gods - They were in charge of the government, army, law, etc. - Not very much is known about the pharaohs because they often had more than one name, and there very few surviving texts, statues and paintings of them - On the next slides are short descriptions of some powerful Pharaohs King Djoser: The Great Builder

Summary of reign: Djoser increased the wealth of Egypt by exploring the Sinai Peninsula area looking for turquoise, copper and other precious metals. He was a great military commander, who waged successful wars against the inhabitants of the Sinai Peninsula. He built many temples and shrines, including a great temple at Heliopolis.

Remembered because: He was responsible for the world's first known monumental stone building, the Step Pyramid at Sakkara. The main purpose of the step pyramid served to protect Djoser for eternity by protecting his mummy and wealth.

Photo courtesy of isawnyu (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution Thutmose III: A Skilled Warrior

Summary of reign: Thutmose III was a brilliant general who never lost a battle. He brought the Egyptian empire to the pinnacle of its power by conquering all of Syria, crossing the Euphrates river to defeat the Mitannians, and travelling south along the Nile River to Sudan.

Thutmose III built a great number of temples and monuments to commemorate his deeds. He also set up a number of obelisks (a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument), one of which, called Cleopatra’s Needle, now stands on the Embankment in London.

Remembered because: His military achievements brought fabulous wealth AND power to Egypt.

Photo courtesy of j. kunst (@flickr.com) - granted under creative commons licence - attribution Narmer: The First Egyptian Pharaoh

Summary of reign: The first pharaoh of Egypt was Narmer, who united Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Egypt was once divided into two kingdoms. The kingdom in Lower Egypt was called the red crown and the one in Upper Egypt was known as the white crown.

Around 3100 B.C. Narmer, the pharaoh of the north, conquered the south and Egypt became united. He founded the first capital of Egypt where the two lands met. It was called Memphis. The story of Ancient Egypt begins from when the north and the south were united as one country.

Remembered because: He was not the first to attempt unifying Egypt, but he was the first to accomplish it, bringing together what had previously been two separate tribes.

"NarmerPalette-CloseUpOfNarmer-ROM" by Keith Schengili-Roberts - Own Work (photo). Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Civilisation

• Ancient Egypt is one of the longest lasting and oldest civilisations

• Can you remember from last week what civilisation means?

• Civilisation is a settled community who live in a certain area

• During these periods various families or dynasties existed

• Dynasties are a series of rules (pharaohs) from the same family or ethnic group (similar to your family including your cousins, etc.) Dynasties

• There were about 170 pharaohs and each belonged to a dynasty

• There were 31 dynasties (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.) • Narmer or Menes (2950 BCE) was the first Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

• Ptolemaic was the last (31st)dynasty, which Cleopatra VII was part of Married life

- Pharaohs had one main wife, the Queen, but also many other wives (often)

- Ancient Egyptian Kings often married their sisters, sometimes daughters or even granddaughters. Why do you think this might be?

- Because then they were from the same family, descendant (God of the sun) Sources of evidence

• Not much is known about the pharaohs, why do you think that is?

• Did they have cameras? Phones with cameras? Was everyone able to write?

• In Ancient Egypt they had scribes (who were important people) to record important information. However, certainly not everyone was able to read and write. Have a look at the website below to find out more about scribes.

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/writing/explore/scribe.html Sources of evidence

• Written work (produced by the scribes) is a form of evidence but this kind of work is limited

• We can refer to statues to give us some information about a society but there is less evidence and data than they are likely to find about our civilisation!

• In history we look at a wide range of (historical) sources for information. Why is it important to look at more than one book, painting, website, etc? Sources of evidence

To be a good historian you should: • Search for clues about the past to put them together • You should search various trusted sources so that you can check that the information is correct (not fake news) • Make sure you read what you find critically (think about whether it makes sense or would be possible) • Where might you find such evidence? • In books, paintings, the internet, etc. Research a Pharaoh I would like you now to be a historian and use trusted sources to research a pharaoh and create a PowerPoint, poster or a fact sheet about them. Pharaohs you could research: Cleopatra, Thutmose III, or Ramesses the Great III Think about: • When the Pharaoh was born • The (approximate) dates of their reign • Which dynasty they were part of • Their main wife (queen) • Other wives • Any major monuments that they had built • Anything else? Extra learning: Crowns

• The kings and queens of Egypt wore complex and beautiful crowns to signify their power and position.

• Some kings and queens seem to have been particularly fond of certain crowns, and some were particularly associated with certain gods

• There were lots of types of crowns: The Deshret crown (The Red One) confirmed the king as the ruler of Lower Egypt (top image) • The Khepresh (The Blue One) crown (bottom image) Extra crown: choose a crown and create your Deshret crown Pschent crown own!

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