Exploring Egypt
By Shane & Hunter
Major Developments
What major change, to ancient Egypt, did Amenhotep IV make? What affect did it have on the civilization?
His reign started off normally, he inherited a peaceful and prosperous Egypt. But in his fifth year of his reign he changed his name to Akhenaton and made a new capitol city. But he did not stop there “in the ninth year of his reign he declared that Aten was the only god.”(Hill). The people of Egypt did not want to accept this new god and many kept there same religious practices. Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) died in his seventeenth year on the thrown and the people then disregarded his ways, he is now remembered today as one of the only pharaohs who tried to change the religion in Egypt.
Why was the Middle Kingdom period a "golden age" for Egypt?
Amenhotep IV (Akhenaton) a very controversial egyptian pharoah.
The Middle Kingdom in Egypt was called a golden age because of the improvements the pharaohs made, and the advancements in art and architecture. The pharaohs made many improvements during the golden age “They added thousands of acres to the land already being farmed to increase crop production.”(Textbook). More irrigation dams were built to supply water to the fields, and there was even a canal built added between the Nile and the Red Sea.
Why can the exchange of "envoys" be considered a major development in ancient Egypt?
Because for the first time leaders/kings were working together on issues, this marked the first time in modern history that leaders were trying to work together towards a goal, other than for military purposes.
The pryamids were on of egypts biggest major developments
There are a few theories to how the pyramids were built. Research a few of the strategies that historians believe the Egyptians used to build these ancient wonders. Describe advancements in math and technology that were developed to build these tombs.
There are many theories about how the pyramids were built, one of them was that twenty to thirty thousand laborers built the pyramids. Two scholars believe that a crew of workers would work year around, but when the Nile flooded “a large labor force would appear at Giza to put in time on the Pyramids.”(Lehner, Hawass). But how was the stone actually brought to the pyramids? They say that the ancient Egyptians would get stone from local quarries and they would then get teams of men to roll the stones on logs to the pyramids. Another theory very similar to the first one was that the stone blocks were “moved over ground first on sledges made by slippery liquid. blocks were then brought up ramps to their positions in the pyramid.” (Smithsonian) This theory is proven by the paintings found on tomb walls depicting stone blocks being moved over the ground in the fashion just described. Technological advancements were also needed to help build the pyramids, the Egyptians actually used astronomy to help align the pyramids, and water filled trenches were used to level the parameter.
Here is an example of how they egyptians might have moved stone bricks to help build the pyramids
liambuchanan.weebly.com
Mummification was also an important development in egypt, they preserved the bodies so well that some are still around today!