Amenhotep IV and a Major Change
Amenhotep IV made major changes in Egypt's civilization, he attempted to make them monotheistic and moved their capital. According to connected.mcgraw-hill.com, It states that he felt threatened because of the priests authority. Amenhotep IV tried to change Egypt's religion to only worship Aton, he sun god in order to decrease the priest's power. His poor reign resulted in losing much of Egypt in western Asia to outside invaders. The website, https://ehistory.osu.edu/biographies/amenhotep-iv-akhenaton tells us, "in a move to further distance he created a new capital at Akhenaton now known as el-Armana."
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Amenhotep IV
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Why is the Middle Kingdom Considered a Golden Age?
The Middle Kingdom was thought of as a "golden age" because Egypt became larger, wealthier, and they gathered many more crops. Connected.mcgraw-hill.com says that during the "golden age," that Egyptians expanded their territories. In order to do this they conquered other lands. They required the people from the defeated armies to pay tribute to them which increased Egypt's wealth. "They added thousands of acres to the land already being farmed to increase crop production," states Discovering Our Past: A History of the World. This proves that the colleted more crops because it shows that thy produced more.
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This picture shows a major development of the middle kingdom, the increase in crops.
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Building the Pyramids
Building a pyramid was hard work. Livescience.com says, "To move the stones (For the Pyramids) overland, the Egyptians would have used large sledges that could be pushed or pulled by gangs of workers. The sand in front of the sledge was likely dampened with water, something that reduced friction, making it easier to move the sledge." It states that many Egyptologists agree once the stones arrived at the tombs, a ramp system was used to haul the them up. Additionally it tells us,"When nearly complete, each of the Giza pyramids was furnished with a smooth outer casing made of limestone."
Egyptians had many issues while they built the pyramids that lead to big discoveries. For example, connected.mcgraw-hill.com says, "each pyramid rested on a square-shaped foundation, with an entrance facing north. To find north, the Egyptians studied the skies and developed an understanding of astronomy." Knowing this , they created a 365-day calendar which became the basis for our modern calendar. Other problems also occurred like having to calculate how much stone was needed. Also, Discovering Our Past: A History of the World mentions that the Egyptians had to measure angles so they could construct a pyramid's walls. In order to do this, the textbooks says, "they invented a system of written numbers based on 10. They also created fractions, using them with whole numbers to add, subtract, and divide." |
This primary source shows that the Egyptians believed In the afterlife. The pyramid was one of Egypt's major developments and it relates back to their religion. The religion is a big part of the Egyptian life and the pyramid proves it because the afterlife is part of their beliefs.
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