Ancient History: Egypt : The Unification of Egypt

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Ancient History: Egypt

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : The Unification Of Egypt

For what reason did Menes, the first pharoh of unified Egypt, abdicate the throne?

Possible Answers:

He was assassinated by his team of advisors

He was killed by a lion

He was killed by a hippopotamus

None of these

Correct answer:

He was killed by a hippopotamus

Explanation:

According to legend (details are scarce since Menes is estimated to have lived around 3100 BCE), Menes ruled for just over 60 years, until he was killed by a hippopotamus.

Example Question #1 : The Unification Of Egypt

Please select the correct date for the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Possible Answers:

3100 BCE 

332 BCE 

5500 BCE 

3400 BCE 

525 BCE 

Correct answer:

3100 BCE 

Explanation:

For centuries, Upper and Lower Egypt were two separate social and political entities, divided by the many branches of the Nile River and its surrounding Delta plains. The historical record of the unification is murky and filled with inconsistencies, half-truths, and possible legends. In all likelihood, in 3100 BCE, the King Mena (sometimes also known as Narmer) unified the two areas, most likely through military force (either threatened or actually deployed). Mena consolidated his rule over both the Upper and Lower regions by erecting a new capital city, named Memphis, right along the border between the two previously separated locales. Ancient symbolic depictions of this unification portray Upper Egypt as a reed of papyrus and Lower Egypt as a Nile waterlily, often bound together by each plants’ lower tendrils.

Example Question #1 : The Unification Of Egypt

Which of these might be most likely to wear a Pschent?

Possible Answers:

a ruler of Lower Egypt

a ruler of Upper Egypt

the God’s Wife of Amun

a ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt

the Pharaoh’s mother

Correct answer:

a ruler of Upper and Lower Egypt

Explanation:

A Pschent was a crown worn by many Egyptian rulers during the New Kingdom period. The Pschent was a double crown, both red and white, demonstrating the wearer’s authority over both Upper and Lower Egypt. The Pschent was an important part of Egyptian iconography.

Example Question #2 : The Unification Of Egypt

The red and white crown worn by pharaohs during the First Dynasty (see image) represented __________________.

Possible Answers:

The red and white contrast between the land and the built landscape

A unified Egypt through, where the red crown represents Lower Egypt and the white represents Upper Egypt

The unification of land and water, as seen in the annual rise and fall of the Nile river

The unification of the royal dynasty through the marriage of two families during the First Dynasty

The combination of the divine and mortal powers of the pharaoh

Correct answer:

A unified Egypt through, where the red crown represents Lower Egypt and the white represents Upper Egypt

Explanation:

There is only one correct answer. The crowns represented the two divided sections of Egypt that were united during the First Dynasty.

Image from Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Double_crown.svg

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