Empire~Egypt

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Movie Notes:

In 3000 B.C., the rain in Egypt formed a river which eventually turned into the Blue Nile. The Nile had flooded and covered miles and miles of peoples' homes and land when it overflowed. The first dam that was built surrounded Memphis, and it kept the city dry. The wall of the dam was 49 feet tall. The first king of Egypt was Menes. Sadd Alkafara was the next dam built, it was 40 ft thick at the top and 80 ft thick at the base. Menes reign lasted 62 years, and he was killed by a hippo which mauled him. Egyptians constructed and used canals to travel from place to place. Djoser became the first egyptian pharaoh to be deified. Imhotep was Djoser chief architect. The Pharaohs had chambers and tunnels going through the ground where they were buried. 2659 B.C. the egyptians started the first stone megastructure. Djoser had his people build the first pyramid. In 2648 B.C. Djoser died. He reined for 19 years. 2613 B.C Snefru took the throne of Egypt. Snefru built the collapsed pyramid, the bent pyramid, and the red pyramid. The red pyramid is the fisr pyramid the world has ever seen, and its still standing today. Snefru reigned from 2613-2589 B.C. (Masteba is what the first layer of a step-pyramid is called) Snefru married his half-sister so he could take the throne. The pyramid of Meydum was poorly built and the outter shell completely collapsed. They used large blocks of limestone at the base and changed the incline of the (red) pyramid, which made it the strongest ever built.

Define:
**catastrophic**- involving or causing sudden great damage or suffering
 * coalition**- alliance: an organization of people (or countries) involved in a pact or treaty
 * divine**- of, from, or like God or a god
 * empire**- the domain ruled by an emperor or empress; the region over which imperial dominion is exercised
 * façade**- the face or front of a building
 * inconceivable**- impossible: totally unlikely
 * obelisk**- a stone pillar having a rectangular cross section tapering towards a pyramidal top
 * subterranean**- being or operating under the surface of the earth
 * symmetrical**- having similarity in size, shape, and relative position of corresponding parts
 * unprecedented**- never done or seen before

¡Questions!
 2. Do you think ancient Egypt could have become a majestic civilization without the Nile? No 
 * 1. What role do you think the Nile River played in Egypt’s prosperity? It helped grow crops which gave them food, and it gave them water

3. What were some of the ways Egyptians harnessed the power of the Nile? built dams, pyramids, temples, fortresses, and tombs that have become models of engineering innovation. 

4. What was the primary route of transportation they developed, and what were the techniques ancient Egyptians used to develop them? Barges; 

5. How would you describe the power structure of ancient Egypt?

6. What does it mean to describe Egyptian kings and queens as “divine”?

7. What powers did they believe this enabled them?

8. What were some examples of the challenges laborers faced in constructing Egypt’s monuments?

9. What do you think motivated them?

10. This documentary reveals the ways many Egyptian engineering feats were marked by failure initially. Gives one example of mistakes or failures engineers and workers encountered and the solutions they developed. The dam

11. What if the Egyptians had simply abandoned these tasks?

12. Why were pharaohs’ tombs so significant in ancient Egypt?

13. What were some of the hall marks and notable characteristics of Egyptian tombs?

14. Why was the reign of Queen Hatshepsut important among the long line of Egyptian leaders? she was the first female ruler 

15. What were some of the key innovations that resulted from her reign?

16. What are some of the connections between Egyptian engineering and the expansion of its empire?

17. By building such grand monuments, what messages do you think the Egyptians wanted to send to their enemies, to their gods, and to the generations that followed them?

18. Could some monuments achieve all of these goals at the same time? Discuss.

19. Why are Egyptian obelisks considered one of the most amazing architectural feats ever achieved?

20. Do you think they could be constructed today? **