Go back in time and learn all about The Ancient Egyptians and The Roman Empire. In Discover… The Ancient Egyptians and Discover… The Roman Empire by Isabel and Imogen Greenberg. readers are welcomed into Ancient Egypt and Rome, and told to look out for Ahmes in Egypt and Octavia in Rome, who will give them a first hand account of life in each of these regions. Archaeologistsl also accompany readers on their journey, showing treasures that have ben found from each culture.
In Ancient Egypt you will learn about Egyptian rule by pharaohs
“Pharaohs ruled Ancient Egypt and were the head of the government, and the high priest of every temple. The Egyptians believed the Gods watched over the pharaohs as they ruled. Djoser was the first ruler of the Old Kingdom and he ruled Egypt from the capital at MEMPHIS. He was the first pharaoh to be buried in a pyramid.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, 2055-1650 BC
In the Middle Kingdom, the capital moved to THEBES. While the first pharaohs were buried in huge pyramids, these pharaohs were buried in hidden tombs underground, nearly impossible to find.
THE NEW KINGDOM, 1150-1069 BC
These pharaohs expanded the borders of Egypt, waging war against other lands. They were buried in the VALLEY OF THE KINGS, in tombs filled with treasure and gold.”
You will also learn about Egyptian culture.
“The ancient Egyptians wrote in HIEROGLYPHS, a series of symbols that they used instead of an alphabet. Each hieroglyph represented a sound, a letter, or an entire word. They could be written in any direction – up or down, right to left, or left to right.
THE ROSETTA STONE
For thousands of years, hieroglyphs were a mystery to historians and archaeologists, and they couldn’t understand what they meant. Then they discovered the Rosetta Stone. It has the same text on it in HIEROGLYPHS and in ANCIENT GREEK. Because they were able to read Ancient Greek, they could unlock the mysteries of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The ancient Egyptians wrote on PAPYRUS. Because of the hot, dry desert sand, some of this papyrus has survived thousands of years. Hieroglyphics were complicated, and it took many years of training to be a SCRIBE. They started when they were still children.”
Readers will also learn about mummies!
“The Egyptians believed they travelled to an AFTERLIFE when they died. They prepared their bodies so the gods would help them travel to paradise. Here’s how the bodies were MUMMIFIED.
The body was WASHED. 2. All the ORGANS were removed, except the heart, which Anubis would weigh to check they had led a good life. 3. The body was DRIED for a few weeks with a substance like salt. Sometimes, special oils were used to PRESERVE the body. 4. Then the whole body was carefully wrapped in layers of LINEN strips. 5. Finally, the body was covered in a shroud and placed inside a coffin called a SARCOPHAGUS.
CANOPIC JARS
Each organ was MUMMIFIED in a special jar, which had the head of a god to protect the organ. The Egyptians didn’t think the brain was important, and removed it through the nose and discarded it. Rich people could have gems and amulets between the layers of linen, and a gold sarcophagus. Some had lots of coffins that fitted inside each other. TUTANKHAMUN had a gold mask of his face. Priests performed ceremonies to make sure the person entered the afterlife. Sometimes spells were painted on their coffin to guide them. Egyptians complied these spells in the BOOK OF THE DEAD.
When readers travel to the Roman Empire, they will learn about the rise of the empire!
The Romans were very good at winning battles, and so they started to gain lots of new land, which became the ROMAN EMPIRE. As they got bigger, they made enemies of other great empires.
First they fought the CARTHAGINIANS, a huge and powerful empire in Africa. There were three great wars between the Roman Republic and Carthage, known as the Punic Wars.
THE FIRST PUNIC WAR: 264-241 BC
This started with a fight over the island of Sicily. The great general HAMILCAR BARCA led the Carthaginians. The Romans destroyed the whole of his fleet and won.
THE SECOND PUNIC WAR: 208-201 BC
Hamilcar Barca’s son, the general HANNIBAL BARCA, crossed the Alps to invade Italy with an army of 38,000 men, 8,000 horses, and 38 elephants. The freezing Alps were no place for an elephant and nearly all of them died, but even so, Hannibal was winning! So the Romans attacked Carthage, and Hannibal had to go back to Africa to defend it; the Romans defeated him.
THE THIRD PUNIC WAR: 146 BC
This time the Romans destroyed the city of Carthage completely.
THE PARTHIANS
In the East, the Romans fought THE PARTHIANS. Parthia was a ferocious empire is Asia. In 53 BC, a general named CRASSUS launched a huge attack against them. It was one of the most humiliating defeats the Romans ever faced. They even took the legions’ standards – a terrible omen!
THE GOTHS
In the North, the GERMANIC TRIBES lived I the dark forests across the River Rhine. For many years the Romans tried to conquer them but failed. In 9 AD, the Roman general VARUS was marching his three legions through Teutoburf Forest, when they were ambushed by an allegiance of tribes. They were massacred entirely, making it one of the worst Roman defeats ever.
You can learn all about Roman Invention!
LATIN
Their language was called Latin, and when they invaded somewhere, they took Latin with them. Lots of Latin words are still used, and European languages, like Spanish, Italian, and French, have Latin roots.
LAW
Most legal systems in Europe are based on the way the Romans used the law to protect its citizens and make sure they were treated fairly. However, anybody that came from outside of the Roman Empire has no rights or legal protection at all!
CALENDARS
The Romans invented a calendar with days, weeks, and months, similar to the one we use today. Months were named after important people – July was named after Julius Caesar, August was named after Augustus, and March was named after the god, Mars.
WELFARE
The Romans fed many government programmes that helped the people, which even included food for the needy. When grain was expensive, the government helped by giving out cheap grain or sometimes free bread. Augustus was the first emperor to do this.
MEDICINE
The Roman army doctors learned lots of tricks to help save soldiers’ lives. They invented clamps so people would lost less blood during surgery, and even invented the Caesarian section to help women give birth.
See how the gladiators lived!
The most famous amphitheater, the COLOSSEUM in Rome, took nearly ten years to build! We guess that between 50,000 and 80,000 Romans could fit in there to watch the games and gladiator fights. On special occasions, there could be days and days of fights for the city’s entertainment, often in honor of the imperial family – and apaid for by them too! At the end of a fight, when one gladiator had the other at his mercy, he would look to the emperor (or another VIP), and wait for his signal to kill or spare his opponent.
DAILY LIFE OF A GLADIATOR
Gladiators were usually SLAVES who were trained to fight for sport and entertainment. Sometimes, they fought chained tigers. Other times, they fought on chariots with horses. Many gladiators died fighting, but the best ones could become rich and famous, even win their freedom.
Both of these books provide insight into two fascinating ancient cultures!
Discover… The Ancient Egyptians
Authors: Isabel and Imogen Greenberg
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
ISBN: 9781847808554
Publisher: Francis Lincoln
Series: Discover…
US:
$14.99
Discover… The Roman Empire
Authors: Isabel and Imogen Greenberg
Format: Hardcover, 32 Pages
ISBN: 9781847808554
Publisher: Francis Lincoln
Series: Discover…
US:
The post Travel back to Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome! appeared first on Quarto Knows Blog.