Crash Course: World History - Ancient Egypt

Introduction

Duration: 3000 BCE - 332 BCE (a long period)
Historical Significance:
- Known for the pyramids, the last surviving wonder among the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
- Influential in shaping our knowledge of ancient civilizations

Various approaches to history:
- Philosophy
- Great individuals
- Neglected populations (women, indigenous peoples, slaves)
Each approach has its own gains and losses

Nile River: Shaped Egyptian worldview
- Regular, navigable, benign
- Flooded fields annually, providing nutrient-rich silt
- Enabled easy planting, resulting in food surpluses
- Egyptian communities existed only along the Nile
- Easier irrigation through basin irrigation
Comparisons:
- More stable and less labor-intensive compared to Tigris and Euphrates
- Egyptian religion was more optimistic about the afterlife

Old Kingdom (2649 - 2152 BCE):
- Glory age of Egypt
- Pyramids of Giza, Sun King Ra, Divine Kingship
- Pharaoh: god-like status, calm and benevolent
- Built by peasants (mandatory work) and slaves (not by Moses and Jews)
- Key figures: Khephren, Khufu
Middle Kingdom (2040 - 1640 BCE):
- Restored pharaonic rule
- Nubian rulers
- New pantheon of gods, major god Ammun
- Emphasis on conquering territories
- Invaders: Hyksos with superior military technology (bronze weapons, compound bows)
New Kingdom (1550 -1070 BCE):
- Military expansion, empire building
- Significant figures: Hatshepsut (trade expansion), Ahmosis
- Conflicts with Assyrians, Persians, and Alexander the Great
- Akehenaten's attempt to introduce god Aten
- King Tut (Tutankhamen): brief reign, tomb discovered in 1922, increasing fame

Ra: God of the Sun and Creation
Ammun: Hidden god, merged with Ra
Akehenaten: Introduced god Aten, had a feared police force
King Tut: Famous due to discoveries made in his tomb
Writing Systems: Hieroglyphics (sacred), Demotic Script (contracts, boring stuff)
Old Kingdom Riches: Followed by droughts and internal conflicts
Middle Kingdom Conquests and Defenses: Trade and military technology adoption
New Kingdom's Expansion: Empire building, external conflicts

Ancient Egypt’s unified culture lasting over millennia
Comparatively longer-lived civilizations than Western Civilization and Christianity