ANCIENT EGYPT AND KUSH
SECTION 3
Mentuhotep – 96
 finally, around 2050 BC, a powerful pharaoh named Mentuhotep II defeated
his rivals
 Once again all of Egypt was united
 Mentuhotep’s rule began the Middle Kingdom
Ahmose of Thebes – 97
 drove the Hyksos out of Egypt
 once the Hyksos were gone Ahmose declared himself king of all Egypt
 began the New Kingdom
By the 1400’s BC – 97
 Egypt was the leading military power in the region
 It’s empire extended from the Euphrates River to Southern Nubia
Sinai Peninsula – 97
 Many of the lands that Egypt took over also had valuable resources for trade
 had large supplies of turquoise and copper
Farmers and peasants – 100
 made up the vast majority of Egypt’s population
 peasant farmers used wooden hoes or cow drawn plows to prepare the land
before the Nile flooded
Slaves in Egypt – 100
 considered lower than farmers
 worked on farms, on building projects and in households
 has some legal rights and could earn their freedom