Ancient Egypt

Nile River

The river in which early kingdoms in Egypt were centered around.

Valley of Kings

An area were many tombs where built after the great pyramids because it allowed for easier guarding and less grave robbery.

Papyrus

A reed that grows along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. From it was produced a coarse, paperlike writing medium used by the Egyptians and many other peoples in the ancient Mediterranean and Middle East.

Sarcophagus

stone coffin

Pharoah

a king of ancient Egypt, considered a god as well as a political leader

Thutmose III

Stepson of Hatshepsut; considered a great pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt

Hieroglyphics

An ancient Egyptian writing system in which pictures were used to represent ideas and sounds

Osiris

Egyptian god of the underworld and judge of the dead

Ra

Egyptian god of the sun

Horus

God of the sky

Isis

Egyptian goddess of fertility

Pyramids

Huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point on top

Obelisk

A tall, four-sided pillar that is pointed on top

Thebes

Capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms.

Rosetta Stone

a huge stone slab inscribed with hieroglyphics, Greek, and a later form of Egyptian that allowed historians to understand Egyptian writing.

Tutankhamen

a 10 year old pharaoh who ruled for nine years and then died unexpectedly; restored the old gods. Better known as King Tut

Dynasty

A series of rulers from the same family

Vizier

a high government official in ancient Egypt or in Muslim countries

Mummy

A dead body preserved in lifelike condition

Ankh

an Egyptian symbol of life

Amulet

ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Hatsheptut

woman who exercised all the rights of a pharoah in the New Kingdom.

Nubia

A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE

Kush

an ancient Nubian kingdom whose rulers controlled Egypt between 2000 and 1000 B.C.

Piye

king of Kush around 750 B.C., who gained control of Egypt, becoming pharaoh and uniting Egypt and Kush