Ancient Egypt Review

One ruler who worked to increase Egyptian trade was Queen Hatshepsut.  She sent Egyptian traders south to trade with the kingdom of Punt on the Red Sea and north to trade with people in Asia Minor and Greece.  Hatshepsut’s decision to establish these trade routes strengthened Egypt.  Hatshepsut and later pharaohs used the money they gained from trade to support the arts and architecture.  Hatshepsut is especially remembered for the many impressive monuments and temples built during her reign.

According to the passage, how did Hatshepsut transform Egyptian society?

• She invaded Greece and Asia minor and gained vast resources.

• She established trade routes that strengthened Egypts economy.

• She built the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

• She created a strong army to keep Egypt safe from outside invaders.

Egypts geographic location had many advantages.  Settling near the Nile river brought fresh water and good soil for farming.  It also had natural barriers that made it hard to invade Egypt. To the west of Egypt was a desert that was too big and harsh to cross.  To the north, the Mediterranean Sea kept many enemies away.  More desert lands and the Red Sea to the east provided protection as well.  Also, rapids in the Nile made it difficult for invaders to sail in from the south.

According to the passage, how did ancient Egyptian settlements benefit by being surrounded by desert?

• The desert offered protection from attacks.

• The desert made trade and travel easier.

• The desert had plants on which sheep could graze.

• 
  The desert had good land for growing crops.

The Nile’s flooding coated the land around it with a rich silt. As in Mesopotamia, the silt made the soil ideal for farming. That is why Egyptians called their country the black land. They called the dry, lifeless desert beyond the river valley the red land. Each year, Egyptians eagerly awaited the flooding of the Nile. For them, the river’s floods were a life-giving miracle. That is why the Nile is featured in many Egyptian myths and rituals. Without the floods, people never could have farmed in Egypt.

According to the passage, why was the Nile River so important to the development of Ancient Egypt?

• They did not want the Nile River to flood because they would have to move.

• They looked forward to the flooding of the Nile so they could grow their crops.

• The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were more important to Egypt than the Nile.

• The Nile River contributed to Egyptian society by flooding the red land.

Technological and cultural advances meant Egyptians had a high standard of living. Egyptians could sell or trade their innovations to other societies, which made Egypt a powerful and influential nation. Many societies adopted and adapted the cultural and technological innovations of Egypt.  Trading meant that Egyptian innovations and technology were used around the world. People in other countries were able to improve their lives. They adapted the Egyptian products to fit their needs. They added to the knowledge they learned from the Egyptians and invented new technology. Those new innovations traveled to even more places and changed even more lives. Some of their innovations are still used today.

 

According to the passage, for those who traded with the Egyptians, how was their quality of life impacted by trading with Egypt?

• 
  The Egyptians refused to trade goods with others, in fear their advancements would get out.

• They were able to use innovations and technology of the Egyptians to improve their lives.

• Those who traded with Egyptians were not impacted by the goods they received.

• The Egyptians took their innovations and technology and their quality of life decreased.

Conquest brought Egyptian traders into contact with more distant lands.  Egypts trade expanded along with its empire.  Profitable trade routes developed.  Many of the lands that Egypt took over also had valuable resources for trade.  The Sinai Peninsula, for example, had large supplies of turquoise and copper.   Many pharaohs used the money gained from trade to support the arts and architecture.

According to the passage, how did trade and conquest impact the economic development of Egypt?

• 
  Egypt expanded its trade routes through the use of shipping.

• Conquest did not play any role in the profitable trade routes.

• Conquest helped Egypt become very rich through opening more trade routes.

• The lands that Egypt conquered did not have any resources.

Based on the map, how did trade impact the cities in Egypt?

• It allowed the Egyptians to trade with other empires in Antarctica.

• It brought valuable resources, such as copper and gold, to major cities along the Nile.

• The only trade routes that Egyptians found usable were on land.

• 
  The Nile River was only used to transport gold. All other resources travelled by land.

The Old Kingdom was a period in Egyptian history that lasted for about 500 years, from about 2700 to 2200 BC. During this time, the Egyptians developed a political system based on the belief that the pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, was both a king and a god. It was a theocracy, or a government ruled by religious authorities. The ancient Egyptians believed that Egypt belonged to the gods and that the pharaoh had come to Earth in order to manage Egypt for the rest of the gods. This is why he was chosen as a leader. The pharaoh had absolute power over all land and people in Egypt. He made laws, enforced order, and protected individual rights.

According to the passage, why did the pharaohs have absolute power over Egypt?

• Pharaohs taught the Egyptians about the afterlife.

• Egyptians believed that the pharaohs were gods.

• Pharaohs offered free land to the Egyptian people.

• Egyptians chose the pharaohs by voting.

Egyptians believed that the pharaoh acted as a mediator between the people and the gods. This idea provided further reason to justify the pharaoh’s rule. Menes founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or series of rulers from the same family. Under dynasties, rule was generally passed from one generation to the next, which gave them significant political power. Pharaohs used this power to make laws and enforce order.

According to the passage, what allowed the pharaohs of Egypt’s first dynasty to hold onto their power?

• 
  They co-ruled, with members of the family sharing equal amounts of responsibilities over Egypt.

• They passed harsh laws and enforced strict punishments.

• They each conquered foreign lands and created an empire.

• They were members of the same family who had power passed down to them.

The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was a happy place.  Paintings from Egyptian tombs show the afterlife as an ideal world where all the people are young and healthy.  Egyptians believed in the ka, or a person’s life force. When a person died, the ka left the body and became a spirit. Because they believed in the Afterlife, Egyptians thought that the ka needed all the same things a person had when he or she was living. It needed to eat, sleep, and be entertained. Some of the objects the ka needed were furniture, clothing, tools, jewelry, and weapons.

According to the passage, why were the ancient Egyptians buried with their prized possessions?

• They wanted their possessions available to them in the afterlife.

• They wanted their possessions protected from invaders.

• They wanted their possessions to be preserved for centuries.

• They wanted their possessions to help identify them.

What does the social pyramid show about Egypt’s social classes?

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  There were more rich than poor people in Egypt.

• The largest number of people was in the artisan classes.

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  There were many people advising the pharaoh.

• The fewest number of people were in the highest classes.