Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Nile River: Main water source for ancient Egypt, flows south to north, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Flooding of this river brought rich silt (soil) to the Nile River Valley for farming. Cataracts: Wild and difficult to navigate rapids that choke the Nile River through southern Egypt. Made travel difficult. Delta: A triangle shaped formation at the mouth of a river, created by deposit of sediment. Often fan shaped with smaller rivers splitting up and flowing into the larger body of water. Sahara Desert: The largest desert in the world, located to the west of Ancient Egypt. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Kemet: Means “black land.” The Egyptians called their lanf Kemet because of the the dark, fertile mud (silt) left behind by the Nile’s annual floods. Shaduf: Irrigation device invented in Egypt-a bucket attached to a long pole to dip into the river. Still used by egyptian farmers today. Upper Egypt: The southern area of Egypt, where the city of Thebes and the Valley of the Kings are located. Called “Upper Egypt” because of higher elevation. Lower Egypt: The northern area of Egypt, where the Nile River delta, the Great Pyramids at Giza and the city of Cairo are located. Called “Lower Egypt” because of lower elevation. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Memphis: Capital city of the Old Kingdom, located in Lower Egypt, founded by Pharaoh Menes. Strategically located as a link between Upper and Lower Egypt. Cairo: Modern capital city of Egypt, rose to importance after the fall of Memphis. Alexandria: City founded by Greek conquerer, Alexander, at the end of Egypt’s reign of power. Capital city for many years. Giza: Settlement on the western bank of the Nile. Location of the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. Thebes/Luxor: Ancient city in Upper Egypt (southern). The site of the Valley of the Kings and the Temples at Karnak and Luxor. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Karnak: Site of a massive temple complex in Upper Egypt. Site of worship of the god Amun. Construction began in the Middle Kingdom (around 2,000 B.C.) and continued into the Greek conquest (30 B.C). Valley of the Kings: Located across from Thebes, on the west bank of the Nile. The site of burials of Egyptian Kings and nobles for nearly 500 years. Location of King Tut’s tomb. Kush/Nubia: Ancient kingdom on the southern border of Upper Egypt, located in modern-day Sudan. Shared cultural similarities with Egypt (gods and pharaohs). Conquered Egypt in 760 B.C. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Pharaoh: The name for male and female rulers of Egypt. Name meant “great house” in Greek. Pharaoh was believed to be a human form of a god. Religious, government and military leader in one. Dynasty: A line of rulers that passes ruling power from father to son to grandson. A line of rulers from one family is known as a dynasty. When one dynasty died out, another took its place. Vizier: Second in command to the pharaoh. Carried out the commands of the pharaoh. Appointed and supervised the other government officials. Narmer (Menes): The king credited with United Upper and Lower Egypt by marching his army from Upper Egypt to Lower Egypt and taking control. Ruled from Memphis. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Khufu: Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom. Built the Great Pyramid at Giza on the west bank of the Nile as his tomb. Hatshepsut: First known female ruler of Ancient Egypt. First influenced her husband as he ruled, and when he died, she declared herself pharaoh. Focused on trade and the economy. Wore men’s clothes to convince people she could be as effective as a man. Thutmose III: Nephew of Hatshepsut. Conquered much of Mesopotamia and established an empire. Enslaved the people he conquered. Akhenaton: New Kingdom pharaoh that changed religion in Ancient Egypt from polytheism to monotheism. Seized land from resistant priests, closed temples. Never enjoyed popular support. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Tutankhamen: Son in law of Akhenaton. Became king at age 10, died unexpectedly around age 19. Famous today because of the discovery of his undisturbed tomb. Ramses II: Pharaoh for 66 years at the end of the New Kingdom. Conquered land, built temples and monuments. Most well- known example of a powerful, successful pharaoh. Old Kingdom: Period of time in which Egypt’s great cities were built and expanded and power centralized. Pharaohs buried in great pyramids. Middle Kingdom: Time of peace, prosperity and and advances in culture. The Egyptians prospered, built up their army, and created beautiful art and literature. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture New Kingdom: Egypt reaches the height of power. Thebes becomes the most powerful city. Pharaohs buried in tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Ramses and Tutankhamen are pharoah during this period. Papyrus: A reed plant that grew along the Nile River. Egyptians used this plant to make baskets, sandals and river rafts. Later, they used papyrus to make paper by cutting strips from the stalks of the plant, soaking them in water and pounding them together. Hieroglyphics: Symbols that stood for objects and ideas, and later, sounds, just like our alphabet today. The combination of picture and sound symbols was the complex system of writing called hieroglyphics. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Rosetta Stone: Ancient black stone discovered in 1799. Contained the same passage written in hieroglyphics, demotic (everyday Egyptian) and Greek. Jean Francis Champoillon translated the stone in 1821. Pyramid: Tombs built of stone blocks for the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. Built by farmers during the Nile flooding periods. Made possible by advances in math and science. Book of the Dead: Collection of around 200 papyrus texts, placed in the tomb of the pharaoh. Had magical spells, devotionals, and instructions on how to reach the afterlife. Name: Period: Egypt: Vocabulary Terms (2) Definition Example Sentence Symbol/Picture Embalming: Process of preserving the dead. Priests removed the body’s organs. A special salt, natron, was applied to the body and was left to dry for several days. The body was then filled with oils and spices and stitched closed, and wrapped with strips of linen. Mummy: The preserved and wrapped body was then known as a mummy and was placed inside of several wooden coffins, each one fitting inside the other..