Important points about the Egyptian civilisation

River	The Nile
When city-states emerged	Around 3000 BCE
Why the land was fertile	Annual inundations left rich black mud called kemet , meaning 'the black'
Important places	Giza, Sakkara, Memphis, Heliopolis, Turah, Hermopolis
Script	Hieroglyphic - deciphered in 1822 using the Rosetta Stone
Writing material	Papyrus , made from the papyrus plant
Sources of history	Greek and Roman writers such as Herodotus , the collection de L'Egypte , and papyrus records
Calendar	Three seasons of four months - Inundation, Peret, Shemu; 365 days; based on the rising of Sirius
Ruler	The Pharaoh
Tombs	Mastabas stacked to form pyramids - e.g. the Step Pyramid at Saqqara
Belief about death	Each person had a ka , which lived on if the body was preserved by mummification
Society	Pharaoh → officials, nobles and priests → landholders, artisans and merchants → serfs and slaves
Leisure	Swimming, canoeing, board games, music and dancing
Festivals	Statues paraded with the sistrum ; the Sed festival marked a king's 30th year
Women	More rights than Greek or Roman women - could own property and run businesses