Ancient Egypt Essay Research Paper Ancient EgyptThe

Ancient Egypt Essay, Research Paper

Ancient Egypt

The giant pyramids, temples, and tombs of ancient Egypt tell an exciting

story about a nation that rose to power more than 5,000 years ago. This mighty

civilization crumbled before conquering armies after 2,500 years of triumph and

glory. The dry air and drifting desert sands have preserved many records of

ancient Egypt until modern times.

The ancient Egyptians lived colorful, active, and eventful lives. Many

were creative artists, skilled craftsmen, and adventurous explorers. Bold

Egyptian warriors won many battles, and their rulers governed wide areas of the

known world. The ancient Egyptians loved nature and had a lively sense of humor.

They were among the first people to try to find answers to questions concerning

man, nature, and God. They also considered the relationship of man to society,

but regarded other people as savages. They captured and enslaved thousands of

men and women from other lands.

The Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt the gift of the Nile, because

floodwaters of this great river deposited rich, black soil on the land year

after year. Egyptian farmers planted their crops in this fertile soil. Sandy

plateaus and towering cliffs bordered the river valley. Beyond these waters

stretched the barren wastes of the Sahara desert. On the edge of the desert,

the Egyptians built giant pyramids as burial places for their pharaohs. They

carved the Great Sphinx out of solid rock as a guardian of King Cheops. Great

Pyramid at Giza. The ancient Egyptians called their country Kemet, which means

black (after the land). The Greeks called the country Aigyptos, from the name

Ha-ka-ptah, the main temple of the Egyptian capital at Memphis.

Many modern beliefs and ideals, as well as much of man.s knowledge, had

their origin in Egypt. The ancient Egyptians developed the world.s first

national government. Their religion was one of the first to emphasize a life

after death. They produced an expressive art and literature. The Egyptians

introduced stone architecture and made the first convenient writing material,

papyrus. They developed a 365-day year and set up the basic methods of geometry

and surgery.

The boundaries of ancient Egypt changed many times during its history.

When the Kingdom of Egypt was formed in about 3100 B.C., it occupied only the

fertile valley of the Nile River in northeastern Africa. The kingdom extended

south about 680 miles from the Mediterranean Sea to the First Cataract (rapids)

of the river. It averaged only 12 miles in width from the Nile delta to the

First Cataract. Egypt covered about 8,000 square miles and was a little smaller

than the state of Massachusetts.

In later years, ancient Egypt usually controlled neighboring areas

around the Nile Valley, including oases (fertile green patches), in the desert

to the west. It usually governed part of the Nile Valley south of the First

Cataract, the Red Sea coast, and the western part of the Sinai Peninsula in Asia.

At the height of its power, around 1450 B.C., Egypt claimed an empire that

reached as far south as the Fourth Cataract in Nubia, a part of ancient Ethiopia,

and as far northeast as the Euphrates River in western Asia.

Ancient Egypt was a lot less crowded than Modern Egypt. Historians

believe that from one to eight million people lived in ancient Egypt. In Roman

times, estimates set the figure at about six million. Most Egyptians lived near

the Nile, with an average of 750 people per square mile. Today, the valley

averages almost 2,400 people per square mile, although Egypt as a whole averages

only 85.

The black-haired, dark-skinned ancient Egyptians were short and slender.

The belong to the Mediterranean race of the Caucasoid (white) stock. As time

went on, the Egyptians mixed with people from Asia, Negroes from other parts of

Africa, and people from lands around the Mediterranean Sea.

The Egyptians were divided into four social classes. They were from

most important: the royalty and nobles; artisans, craftsmen, and merchants;

workers; and slaves. The professional army gradually became almost a separate

class. Egypt had no fixed caste system. A person of the poorest class could

rise to the highest offices in the land.

The ancient Egyptians spoke a mixed language. It included words from

the Semitic language group of southwestern Asia and the Hamitic group of

languages of northeastern Africa. The language died out of everyday use about a

thousand years ago but the Coptic (Christian) Church still uses it.

No one knows just how the spoken language of ancient Egypt sounded.

Written Egyptian developed from picture writing into an elaborate system of

symbols called hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics consisted of 24 alphabetic

characters for consonants and semi-consonants. These characters were used in

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