Who/What/When/Where
Ancient Egypt

 

AhmoseBegan the 18th Dynasty in 1539. He formed an army and finally drove the Hyksos from Egypt, pursuing them to Palestine and defeating them there as well. When he returned, he settled in and ruled for about 26 years. This was the beginning of the New Kingdom. He also started many building projects.
AmenSun god who was also known as Ra.
AmenhotepName of four pharaohs during the 18th Dynasty. The most famous was Amenhotep IV, who became Akhenaten, the famous reformer pharaoh who married Nefertiti. Amenhotep I was the first pharaoh to build his tomb separate from the temple. Akhenaten, who renamed himself that to show that he was a follower of Aten (the sun god), broke with traditional religious practices and declared that the people should worship Aten. Up to that time, Egyptian people had worshiped several gods. Akhenaten said that they should worship only one god, Aten. Akhenaten also moved the Egyptian capital from Thebes to El-Amarna.
AtenSun god who was not widely known in Egypt until Amenhotep IV became Pharaoh, changed his name to Akhenaten, and declared that Aten was the only god to worship.
Book of the DeadBook filled with stories and ideas for how to enjoy the afterlife. Egyptian people believed in an afterlife, and this book was written to help them get there and be ready when they did.
CleopatraName of seven pharaohs. The most famous is Cleopatra VII, the last Pharaoh of Egypt. She came to power at age 15, married to her brother, Ptolemy XIII, also pharaoh. The two began a civil war in 48 B.C. With the aid of the Roman leader Julius Caesar, Cleopatra defeated her brother and kept the throne, this time sharing it with another brother, Ptolemy XIV, to whom she was not married. She went with Caesar to Rome and had a child soon after, naming it Caesarion. After Caesar's murder in 44, Cleopatra returned to Egypt. She courted the support of Caesar's ally, Marc Antony, and won his favor as well. She threw all her military support behind Antony in his war against Octavian, Caesar's adopted son, but it wasn't enough. Octavian and his allies defeated Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31. Rather than be captured, they fled to Egypt and died separately. They were buried together. Soon after, Rome conquered Egypt.
El AmarnaNamed capital city of Egypt by Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). It thrived as the new capital and lasted for years after the capital was moved again. Also known as Akhetaten.
ElephantineCity built on an island in the middle of the Nile and named for its unusual rock formations that resemble elephants. For a long time the southernmost city in Egypt, Elephantine was a center for trade between Egypt and Kush, another ancient African civilization.
GizaSite of several large Old Kingdom Pyramids, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops). Giza was originally associated with Memphis, which was then the capital city of the Pharaohs. The Sphinx is also nearby.
HatshepsutFirst woman pharaoh. She was the daughter of Ahmose, the wife of Thutmose II. His son, Thutmose III, became pharaoh at a very young age; and his mother, Hatshepsut, was named regent. Six years later, in 1473 B.C., she declared herself pharaoh. She ruled by herself for 15 years, then disappeared about the time her son decided he wanted the throne for himself.
HeliopolisCity in northeast Egypt, near Giza. The Egyptians called it Iunu. Heliopolis was the Greek name. This city was the center of the huge sun god cult. The sun god was Ra, or Aten.
HieroglyphsSymbols that formed a language in ancient Egypt. Originally, a hieroglyph represented a concept or an idea, or a group of words. Eventually, one symbol stood for one letter or one sound. This progression later led to the development of an alphabet. Many hieroglyphs honored pharaohs and gods; others described ordinary life.
HorusThe falcon god. He is the symbol of the heavens themselves. He is seen as the divine symbol of kingship and as a protector of Egypt against outside attacks. His main rival is Seth (Seti). He is sometimes seen as the god of the rising sun.
HyksosForeign people who conquered Egypt about 1640 B.C. and ruled for about 100 years, until they were driven out by Thutmose I. The Hyksos let the Egyptians continue with many of their customs but left behind some important technological advances, including the chariot and the scimitar.
IsisMost powerful of all Egyptian goddesses. She was the goddess of funeral rites. She was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, and was also known as the "giver of life." She was represented in the night sky by Sirius, which shone brightest at the time of the year of the annual Nile floods. Isis was then associated with the bringing of new soil and new crops and food to the people who worshipped her.
KhufuPharaoh of the 4th Dynasty. He ruled from 2589 to 2566 B.C. He had built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
MemphisImportant city in ancient Egypt. Memphis was home to many chariot factories, which helped the Egyptian war effort. Memphis was also the site of many huge statues to Ramses II.
Middle KingdomTwo-dynasty period in which foreign trade and building projects rapidly increased. The 11th Dynasty (1986-1937) and the 12th Dynasty (1937-1759) make up this period, which ended with the conquest of Egypt by the Hyksos.
MummyMethod of preserving pharaohs and other important Egyptians for the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians strongly believed in an afterlife, somewhere they would go after their life here on Earth. The body was preserved as a mummy to keep it ready for the journey into the afterlife. Many mummies were placed in pyramids; others were placed in tombs that were elsewhere.
NarmerFamous First King of the First Dynasty. He is the first Egyptian pharaoh. He is almost a legendary figure. He united Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt into one strong land in the 32nd Century B.C. His reign is called the beginning of the Old Kingdom.
NefertitiExotic queen of the famous pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV). She was very supportive of her husband's religious changes and played a very public role in accepting them and making sure other people did, too. She also believed that Aten was the one god who should be worshipped above all others.
NephthysGoddess associated with darkness and death. She was wife to Seth and sister to Isis and Osiris. To the Egyptians, darkness and death weren't bad things. Death was just a step on a journey, and darkness was just a temporary absence of light. So, Nephthys wasn't looked on as a bad goddess.
New KingdomPeriod beginning after the driving out of the Hyksos. The New Kingdom began with the reign of Ahmose, in 1539. Art flourished, as did building projects. Most of the famous pharaohs ruled during this period, including Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV), King Tut, Thutmose II, and Ramses II.
NileLifeblood of Egyptian civilization. This river gave the Egyptians water for their crops and for the lives as a whole. It flooded every year, roughly at the same time; and each time, it left rich, new soil for new crops. The Egyptians also used the Nile for trade, as trading boats traveled to and from Egypt.
Old KingdomFirst of the Kingdoms in Egypt. The Old Kingdom began in 2650 B.C. when Sanakhte took the throne as king. During this period, pyramid-building slowly shifted from step pyramids to "true" pyramids, with smooth surfaces. Khufu, who had built the Great Pyramid of Giza, lived during this period. The Old Kingdom ended in 2152, with the breakdown of centralized government.
OsirisGod of the dead. Husband of Isis and father of Horus. Brother of Seth.
PapyrusPlant used to make many useful things, including a paper-like substance to write on. The Egyptians wrote on rolls of papyrus, using hieroglyphs and other forms of writing. The desert climate of Egypt has preserved many rolls of papyrus even to this today.
PtolemyName of 15 pharaohs. Several of the Ptolemies ruled by themselves; others ruled jointly with other pharaohs. The first ruled after the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 B.C. The last was co-ruler with Cleopatra. These Egyptian rulers are not to be confused with the geographer and scientist Ptolemy, whose real name was Claudius Ptolemy and who lived in the first century A.D.
RamsesName of 11 New Kingdom pharaohs. Ramses I was the first king of the 19th Dynasty. He was a soldier who worked his way up to general and then king. He served only a year. His grandson, Ramses II, lived to be 96 years old, had 200 wives, 96 sons and 60 daughters. He was king for 66 years, outliving 13 of his heirs. He won many famous battles and built many famous buildings. His beautiful wife was Nefertari (not be confused with Nefertiti, wife of Akhenaten). Ramses II was the first monarch to sign a treaty with another. In 1284 B.C., he signed a treaty with the Hittite king Hattusili III. Each civilization agreed not to attack the other and to defend the other if attacked by a third civilization.
SethGod of disorder, war, deserts, and storms. Brother of Nephthys, Osiris, and Isis. He is often thought to be a symbol of pure evil. He is also known as Seti. Oddly enough, several pharaohs were named Seti.
ShadoofDevice used to raise water from one level to another. Operated by hand, this device has a pole that looks like a seesaw. On one end of the pole is a bucket. On the other end is a weight. The Egyptians filled the bucket with water, then let go of the bucket. The weight on the other end would raise the bucket of water.
SphinxGiant limestone statue near Giza, near the Pyramids. The sphinx was a legendary creature that was said to have asked a very difficult riddle "What is it that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?" The legend said that anyone who was asked the riddle but didn't know the answer would be eaten by the big sphinx. Greek mythology says that Oedipus answered the riddle correctly "Man, who crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a cane (three legs) as an older person." No one knows who had the sphinx built. Thousands of years of wind erosion have worn away much of the sphinx's face, but much of its body remains.
ThebesAncient capital of Egypt, from about 2040 B.C. to 1353 B.C., when Akhenaton moved the capital to El-Amarna. It was the center of worship for the god Amen (Amon). Thebes is actually a Greek naming of Waset, the Egyptian name of the capital city.
ThutmoseName of four New Kingdom pharaohs. Thutmose I was the general who drove the Hyksos out of Egypt. He married the king's sister and was named king in 1493 B.C. when King Amenhotep I died childless. His son followed him to the throne in 1481. Thutmose II's wife was Hatshepsut, who took the throne for herself when her son, Thutmose III, was very young. He, in turn, gained the throne in 1573. Thutmose IV was the son of Amenhotep II and ruled from 1392 to 1382.
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