Ancient Egypt Lecture Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the historical periods, social structures, geography, and religious beliefs of Ancient Egypt as presented in the lecture.

Manetho

The ancient historian who devised the system of dividing Egyptian history into 31 dynasties.

Narmer/Menes

The traditional first pharaoh who unified Upper and Lower Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period.

Vizier

The chief administrator who sat beneath the pharaoh in the theocratic monarchy's hierarchy.

Nomarchs

Provincial governors who managed the bureaucracy and tax collection within Egypt's 42 provinces.

Kemet

The name ancient Egyptians gave their country, meaning "the black land," named for the rich silt deposited by the Nile.

Deshret

The term for "the red land," referring to the desert that surrounded the Nile Valley.

Cataracts

Rocky rapids on the southern Nile that served as the traditional border between Egypt and Nubia.

Ma'at

The central religious and legal concept of cosmic order, truth, and balance that the pharaoh was responsible for upholding.

Isfet

The concept of chaos, which stood in opposition to the order of ma'at.

Ka

The spiritual component of a person believed to be the life force, which required the body to be preserved after death.

Ba

The spiritual component representing a person's personality or soul.

Aaru

The afterlife fields that the deceased could enter if their heart was balanced against the feather of ma'at in judgment.

Hieratic

A faster, cursive script developed by the Egyptians for daily use, distinct from formal hieroglyphs.

Sopdet (Sirius)

The star whose observation allowed Egyptians to create a $365$-day calendar aligned with the Nile flood cycle.

Shadoof

A tool used in Egyptian engineering for the purpose of irrigation.