Image from here.
What are the major developments of the ancient egyptian world?
The pyramids are a major development and a key landmark of ancient Egypt. When you think about Egypt, you probably think pyramids, right? Below is a link to a page where you can learn about the pyramids!
Hatshepsut
Why was Hatshepsut important?
Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh, but that was not known for a long time as she was depicted as a man. She didn't want to be a woman as she believed that being a man would make her a better pharaoh. This is not true, but was believed in ancient Egypt. Despite her belief that she couldn't be as good as male pharaohs, she still did some amazing things! Hatshepsut said that building and fixing things was important, and she proved it by remodeling her fathers hypostyle hall, building obelisks, and making temples! She built lots of things. But, more importantly, she encouraged trade rather than war! Before Hatshepsut, the foreign policy was directed towards war and defense from war, but because of Hatshepsuts peaceful reign with little war, she was able to change the policy to be geared towards trade rather than war! Great, right? Near the end of her reign, she passed a lot of power to Thutmose III. Thutmose III was supposed to be the king in the first place, but was too young so Hatshepsut was queen by default. And after she died, Thutmose III gained full control and reigned alone for 33 years. However, Thutmose didn't like Hatshepsut being a woman and a king. He didn't think a woman could be a king. So he did all he could to erase every trace of her from history, so that people wouldn't know that there was a female king in his dynasty. He destroyed and defaced monuments and statues of her, he removed her name from the official king list, and ensured that no one would remember her. Thutmose wanted the succession to go on with no female interruption. This made it very hard for historians to discover Hatshepsut.
Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh, but that was not known for a long time as she was depicted as a man. She didn't want to be a woman as she believed that being a man would make her a better pharaoh. This is not true, but was believed in ancient Egypt. Despite her belief that she couldn't be as good as male pharaohs, she still did some amazing things! Hatshepsut said that building and fixing things was important, and she proved it by remodeling her fathers hypostyle hall, building obelisks, and making temples! She built lots of things. But, more importantly, she encouraged trade rather than war! Before Hatshepsut, the foreign policy was directed towards war and defense from war, but because of Hatshepsuts peaceful reign with little war, she was able to change the policy to be geared towards trade rather than war! Great, right? Near the end of her reign, she passed a lot of power to Thutmose III. Thutmose III was supposed to be the king in the first place, but was too young so Hatshepsut was queen by default. And after she died, Thutmose III gained full control and reigned alone for 33 years. However, Thutmose didn't like Hatshepsut being a woman and a king. He didn't think a woman could be a king. So he did all he could to erase every trace of her from history, so that people wouldn't know that there was a female king in his dynasty. He destroyed and defaced monuments and statues of her, he removed her name from the official king list, and ensured that no one would remember her. Thutmose wanted the succession to go on with no female interruption. This made it very hard for historians to discover Hatshepsut.
Why was the Middle Kingdom period a "golden age" for Egypt?
The Middle Kingdom period was between the 12th and 14th dynasty, or 12th to 13th or somewhere around the end of the 11th to the 12th, depending on who you ask. It doesn't really matter, as long as you know it started around the 12th dynasty and ended in the 13th to 14th dynasty, around the years 2000 BCE to 1800 BCE. It was a golden age for Egypt because it was peace following a time of great war. Just before the middle kingdom period, two families fought for control over Egypt. The fight involved so much power switching that some scribes at the time described it as "70 pharaohs in 70 days." That is a lot of power switches. Obviously, it was an exaggeration, but you get the idea. The middle kingdom period was described as a period of reuniting, as the Egyptians finally had a stable ruler, known as Mentuhotep II. Under his rule, the Egyptians improved tons! They learned a lot about art and created new styles. New irrigation systems improved harvests and writing was used to tell stories as well as recording information. What's more, the first ever school was created in ancient Egypt to allow kids to learn how to read and write. With all this new writing popping up everywhere, it became easier for archaeologists to learn about ancient Egypt. Almost as much as someone who has gone back in time! (like me!)
Below is a little slideshow that shows the achievements of the three kingdom periods of Egypt.
Thank you Prezi for letting me use this!
Note; you may get a message saying that your browser can't fully display the presentation. If that is the case, you can watch the simplified version, or go to the source website and watch the full version.
Why can the exchange of "envoys" be considered a major development in ancient Egypt?
Well, first, WHAT EVEN IS AN ENVOY?!? In French, an envoy is like a messenger. In late middle English, it means a type of writing. They were important to ancient Egypt because it was like ancient texting. The pharaohs could send envoys (messengers) carrying envoys (messages) to faraway countries to send a message or ask for a favor. This was the first time in history that rulers of different nations worked together and communicated!
Where are the pictures from?
Want to know where all of these great pictures are from? Just click on them to find out!
Want your own great pictures? Click here. It takes you to this awesome website called Google images!
Citations;
Tyldesley, Joyce. “Hatshepsut.” Britannica, library.eb.com.ezproxy.kcls.org/levels/referencecenter/article/Hatshepsut/39510.
“Ancient Egypt - the Middle Kingdom.” Mr. Giottos site, www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1596776.
“Middle kingdom advancements.” Anthropology msu, anthropology.msu.edu/egyptian-archaeology/2011/08/04/middle-kingdom-advancements/.
Tyldesley, Joyce. “Hatshepsut.” Britannica, library.eb.com.ezproxy.kcls.org/levels/referencecenter/article/Hatshepsut/39510.
“Ancient Egypt - the Middle Kingdom.” Mr. Giottos site, www.penfield.edu/webpages/jgiotto/onlinetextbook.cfm?subpage=1596776.
“Middle kingdom advancements.” Anthropology msu, anthropology.msu.edu/egyptian-archaeology/2011/08/04/middle-kingdom-advancements/.