Nhe sands of the Sahara Desert might not seem a likely home for one of the world's greatest empires But the Nile River made the Egyptian empire pos sible The Nile is a lifeline winding north from Ethiopia's highland through Egypt to drain into the Mediterranean Sea The Egyptians could grow plentiful crops because each year the river flooded bringing dark silty soil Learning how to manage the flooding and then to reclaim and irrigate the land helped the Egyptians develop into a coherent society As the ancient Greek historian Herodotus said Egypt is the gift of the Nile The Nile and its location helped Egyptian civilization to last in a relatively unchanged form for more than 3 000 years During that same time mighty empires had risen and fallen in Mesopotamia and other A ess protected places But hemmed in by the forbidding desert Egypt was aside from the trade it carried on mostly a world apart In this volume you will learn how in pre historic times the Egyptians changed from being hunters and gatherers to farmers and craftsmen As the climate gradually became drier cooperation helped the early Egyptians to form villages then cities In approximately 21E
INTRODUCTION nila FED This massive statue shows Ramses II one of Egypt s most famous pharaohs Shutterstock com
A NCIENT EGYPT 3000 BC when written records started being kept the legendary King Menes brought Upper southern and Lower northern Egypt together to form a single nation Egypt s three most powerful periods of the historical era are called the Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom It was during the Old Kingdom that the great pyramids were built Over time Egypt gradually weakened and became vulnerable to foreign invaders such as the Assyrians the Kushites and the Greeks Finally despite the efforts of Egypt s last ruler the wily Cleopatra the powerful Roman Empire took over in 31 BC Upper class Egyptians had elegant lives They wore simple linen sheaths but for spe cial occasions both men and women wore jewelry used perfume and makeup and wore elaborate wigs They had relatively little furniture but what they did have was sophis ticated and made of fine materials Farmers had a harder time They were not only taxed heavily but they could also be called upon to work on giant public work projects Some of these were grand stone temples to honor their gods Other extravagant structures were gigantic tombs for the pharaohs The Egyptians loved life and were hope ful that their souls would be reunited with
INTRODUCTION their bodies after death This hopefulness combined with the fact that bodies could stay well preserved in the dry atmosphere led to the practice of mummification Not only were humans given this elaborate preserva tion treatment but so were certain animals including cats which were considered sacred by the Egyptians From studying their tombs and other ancient buildings we have learned much about Egypt s culture Their art represented ideas of Egyptian society for example a servant might appear smaller than a lord Images often painted on tomb walls as fresco showed all kinds of scenes of Egyptian life from queens communing with god desses to farmers cutting grain or waterbirds flying over marshes We have also learned about their three different types of writing including hieroglyphics the beautiful styl ized picture language They wrote on paper made from the papyrus plant Ancient Egypt is long gone but the civi lization remains a source of fascination Its long stable history refined art and vast engineering accomplishments hint at a way of life that is both familiar and very differ ent from our own and continues to inspire creativity
