Tessa+Chapman+research+notes

Type in the content of your new page here. __ Ancient ____ Egypt ____ : Middle Kingdom __ __ Climate and Geography: __

- Egypt is located in North Africa - Egypt is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north - The Nile which is the longest river in the world flows northward toward the Mediterranean Sea - The Nile floods every year enriching the soil which is used for agriculture -  Snow from the mountains melt thus causing the Nile to flood - 96% of Egypt is desert - temperatures range from 27 °C to 32 °C in the summer and 13 °C to 21 °C in the winter

__ Events and Leaders:  __ - Middle Kingdom stretches from the 11th dynasty to the end of the 14th dynasty - Mentuhotep II first king in 11th dynasty - Known as the second founder of Egypt - Mentuhotep and his successors built many impressive monuments - Mentuhtop II defeated the Herakleopolitans, Theban dynasty ruled once again - During the 11th dynasty Egypt once again became a prosperous nation - Last king to rule in the 11th dynasty was Mentuhotep IV  -   Mentuhotep IV vizier Amenemhat, became the first king of the 12th dynasty - Amenemhat I made new city Itj-tawi - Amenemhat and his son Sesostris regained control of Nubia - Sesostris III known as warrior-king built fortresses throughout Egypt to establish boundaries -  Built fine religious temple at Abydos -  Amenemhat III last great king of the Middle Kingdom -  Increased food production aswell as changed the laws of the pharaohs - Golden age as well as the 12th dynasty was over when Queen Sobekneferu died leaving no heirs

__ Socio-Political Structure:  __ - Middle Kingdom ruled by a succession of Pharaohs - Political system developed around the concept of god incarnate - Government system was a monarchy - Beginning of Middle Kingdom each region ruled by a government official that was blood related to king - Caused separation and weakness of country - During the middle of the middle kingdom, pharaoh regained power of whole nation - Pharaoh most important person in Egypt - Sons and close relatives acted as principal advisers and aids - Woman close to the King held in very high regard - Scribes and craftsman were also valued - Slaves and workers were seen as the lowest class

__ Agriculture and Economy __ : - Nile used as main water source for crops - Nile flooding every year caused nutrients to flood into surrounding land - Wheat, fruits, vegetables main crops grown - Vegetables grown include: onions, garlic, leek, radishes, cabbage, asparagus, cucumbers, lentils, peas, beans and spices - Oils were extracted from sesame, flax and castor oil seeds - Animals such as oxen used to pull ploughs over fields - Animals used to tramp seeds into soil after seeds were placed in the field - Ecosystem very effective in middle kingdom - Flooding allowed farmers breaks and gave ideal growing conditions

__ Art, Literature and Music:  __ - Art plays a big role in Middle Kingdom - Many paintings depict everyday life including hunting - Paintings about life and death very popular - Many pharaohs buried with paintings of the after life and gods - Sculptures of Pharaohs were very detailed - Colors were used to represent different types of people - Reliefs carved into walls, very detailed and skillfully done - Egyptians made statues, paintings, pottery, jewelery, sculptures and coffins - Religion and gods are a common theme in Egyptian art - The book of dead an important artifact from middle kingdom depicts a funeral represents death - Music was an integral part of Egyptian society - Instruments used include: hand held drums, rattles, castanets, bells, and the sistrum

__ Industrial and Artistic Technology:  __ - During the middle kingdom many great pyramids and temples erected - Pyramids were made out of marble and granite - They were put together with manual labor - Unlike today where we have cranes and trucks, these huge stones were lifted using shear man power and ramps - Paint colors that were mostly used were reds, yellows, golds and sometimes blue and green white and black were used as well - Blues, greens and reds were made by mixing a variety of different metals together - Whites were made from chalk while black was made from burnt bones and ash - Reliefs were made by carving limestone or granite with sharp spears

[] __ []



[] [] __