Astempt: The Rise And Fall Of Ancient Egypt

The pharaoh served as the ruler, as the people believed that the pharaoh was the closest thing to a god on

Ancient Egypt is such an interesting and amazing society to study due to the various factors that allowed the city and population to thrive. The culture, quite different to other cultures around the world in ancient times, developed quite unique traditions, technologies and ideas. Small features of this society including aligning the 4 corners of the pyramids and being able to divide the year into 365 days makes it truly fascinating, The main reason that this society was able to thrive and be successful can be attributed to the great Nile River. Due to this people were able to settle which lead to the creation of a surplus, which could be sustained for around 2000 years.

The pharaoh was seen as a human god. Pharaohs were the bridge between human and god. “As supreme overlord, the Pharaoh oversaw an army of government officials… All egyptians were subservient to the pharaoh, whose word was regarded as divine,” meaning the pharaoh was able to do whatever (in accordance with Ma’at of course) because he was viewed as god himself. The appointed officials would collect taxes, watch irrigation works, kept records, and were in charge of foreign trade. The egyptians did not necessarily view their life as the Mesopotamians did.

In Egypt there are many important people in the government. The pharaoh was the supreme leader or not only the government but also of the religion. The pharaoh owned all the land even the slaves land.

Before Egypt was ruled over by Rome, it was a major religious and political center. The Pharaohs ruled over Egypt was a strong fist, and acted benevolently towards their people, as they were seen as protectors of the natural order. This is due to the fact that Egyptian politics is intertwined with religion. Egyptian religion was much more complex than any other belief system in the surrounding area. This is due to the idea that separate interpretations of religion do not contradict each other, but instead are both accepted equally among members of the society.

As widely admired civilizations both Ancient Egypt and ancient Greece prospered for many years, and is due to its political governing. In ancient Egypt the Pharaoh was perceived to be the embodiment of the all mighty sun god, and regarded him as a god himself. Therefore the Pharaoh was the ruler of all of Egypt and citizens did not have a say in politics. Egyptian class structure is best portrayed by

Egyptians began to settle along the banks of the Nile River, Starting as far north as to the city of Alexandria all the way down south to Aswan. They developed into a well-structured society as Far East to the Red Sea and west to Dakhia, Oasis among many (Figure 1.). The Nile River reached far lending a hand in creating a well-known civilization that consisted of building pyramids and producing crops for their pharaoh. Evolving from hunters and gatherers into agriculturalists throughout history, Egypt has claimed to be one of the earliest and most spectacular civilizations of ancient times. One could wonder if, what led to the collapse of this great society resulted from the Egyptians interaction with the environment by overusing

Although Egyptians were polytheistic, they worshiped the sun god, Atum or Re, as he was the source of life. This is important because the Egyptian king took the title of “Son of Re”. The king, hence the descendant of the god, was the mother and father of all men without equal. The king akin to the living god, and his rule was law. Despite there being no laws, the words out of the king’s mouth were the law. As a king, he handles the army to protect his possessions and people.

The Nile shaped Egypt by influencing its geography, popular distribution, and settlements. The majority of settlements in Ancient Egypt were located around the Nile River Delta (Doc. A), where land was fertile, trade was good, and there were many natural resources. Because of geography in this civilization, Egyptians could easily protect and defend themselves, as well as settle down and have good lives.

The people groups in ancient Egyptian were very different than our societies social groups today. Ancient Egyptians were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest to the top of society were the richest and most powerful. The Pharaoh was believed to be a god on earth and had the most power. He was responsible for making laws and keeping order. Ensuring that Egypt was not attacked or invaded by enemies and for keeping the gods happy so that the Nile flooded and there was a good harvest. The Vizier was the Pharaoh's chief advisor

The Ancient Egyptians government would be compared to as a kind of monarchy. Their King was called the Pharaoh and everyone in the civilization listened to everything that he said. Every Law and Business transaction went through this man. In our day we have only one leader but thousands of others that decide the laws of our country. We also have a vice president in America, if I had to pick a person to be the vice president of a Pharaoh in Egypt it would be the man called the vizier's. He was also well respected in the community and mostly was involved in the business aspect of the Pharaoh's job. The people of the Egyptian community really had no influence in the pharaoh's decisions, unlike America where we vote on all of our government officials. We also have people that don't allow our president to gain too much power, Unlike the Egyptians, where the Pharaoh had all the power in the community.

The government of Ancient Egypt brought order and stability to the civilization, while also being combined with religion. Egypt’s government revolved around a pharaoh, who was seen as the head of state and the divine representation of the gods on earth. In order to ensure the welfare of the people, the Pharaoh would have advisors, priests, officials, and administrators. The land of Egypt was divided into 42 Nomes, or city-states, which were led by Noble governors who were appointed by the Pharaoh (TimeMaps). The legal system of Ancient Egypt was based on common sense and followed the teaching of Ma’at, the goddess of justice. Taxation was also heavily implemented on the Ancient Egyptians to allow the wealthier people of society to maintain lavish lifestyles (Aldokkan). The military was not a big part of Egyptian life, and was not very advanced. In ancient Egypt, the rulers were usually the son of the current pharaoh or the declared heirs. Pharaohs had a main responsibility, to maintain universal harmony, using their absolute power. Therefore, rulers in Ancient Egypt were more assertive and self-assured than harsh. To reiterate the combination of religion and

Ancient Egypt was one of the greatest ancient civilizations in human history. Ancient Egypt was the longest lasting civilization in the ancient world and lasted for about 2,500 years. ancient Egypt was able to last so long because of their many great accomplishments. The most important thing that lead to the accomplishments and success of ancient Egypt was The Nile River. Ancient Egypt is often referred to as the “Gift of the Nile” because of how important the Nile River was to the success and longevity of ancient Egypt. Without the Nile River, ancient Egypt would have never been able to things like farm, use papyrus, build boats, trade or fish. The Nile River was the sole reason as to why ancient Egypt was able to become so successful.

Before explaining the developments of these disciplines of ancient Egypt, these geographical characteristics and their general impact on this civilization must be explained. About 95 percent of Egypt’s population was concentrated in less than 5 percent of Egyptian land. This small percentage of land that a mass majority of the population was located on was located alongside the Nile River (Humanities, 15). The Nile River is the single most impactful geographical marker for the ancient Egyptian people, and is also the most fundamental in the consideration of the importance of location’s impact on a people group’s worldview. The Nile river ran on a very consistent schedule that would give the Egyptian people security for the growth of their crops. First, the river would consistently flood

The Egyptian Civilization is a compelling culture that has numerous theories on how it all began. Trigger, Hassan, and Kemp are archeologists that studied the Egyptian society, and what made Upper and Lower Egypt transform. Robert J Wenke does a compelling job of teaching us about the geography, and different events that had an effect on the Egyptian settlement. Environmental changes and the climate from 10,000B.C. with out a doubt played a strong role in the society.