1. Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was one of the greatest and most powerful civilizations in the history of the world.
It lasted for over 3000 years from 3150 BC to 30 BC.
The Nile River
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was located along the Nile River in northeast Africa. The Nile
was the source of much of the Ancient Egypt's wealth. Great Egyptian cities grew up along the
Nile as the Egyptian people became experts in irrigation and were able to use the water from the
Nile to grow rich and profitable crops. The Nile provided food, soil, water, and transportation for
the Egyptians. Great floods would come each year and would provide fertile soil for growing
food.
2. Kingdoms and Periods
Historians usually group the history of Ancient
Egypt into three major kingdoms called the Old
Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New
Kingdom. It was during these times that Ancient
Egypt was at its strongest. The times between the
Kingdoms are called intermediate periods.
3. Culture
Ancient Egypt was rich in culture
including government, religion, arts, and
writing. The government and religion
were tied together as the leader of the
government, the Pharaoh, was also
leader of the religion. Writing was also
important in keeping the government
running. Only scribes could read and
write and they were considered powerful
people.
4. Pyramids and Treasure
The Pharaohs of Egypt were often
buried in giant pyramids or in secret
tombs. They believed that they needed
treasure to be buried with them to help
them in the afterlife. As a result,
archeologists have a lot of well
preserved artifacts and tombs to
examine in order to find out how the
Ancient Egyptians lived.
5. Questions
What is ancient Egypt known for?
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and
construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and
obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation
systems and agricultural production techniques.
What religion is in Egypt?
The state religion of Egypt is Islam.
How old is ancient Egypt?
For almost 30 centuries—from its unification around 3100 B.C. to its conquest by Alexander
the Great in 332 B.C.—ancient Egypt was the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean
world.
6. Questions
What skin color were ancient Egyptian?
From Egyptian art, we know that people were depicted with reddish, olive, or yellow skin tones. The Sphinx
has been described as having Nubian or sub-Saharan features. And from literature, Greek writers like
Herodotus and Aristotle referred to Egyptians as having dark skin.
Why Egypt is called Egypt?
The name 'Egypt' comes from the Greek Aegyptos which was the Greek pronunciation of the
ancient Egyptian name 'Hwt-Ka-Ptah' ("Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah"), originally the name of the city of
Memphis.
Who Found Egypt?
King Menes
Ancient Egypt (3100–332 BC)
A unified kingdom was formed in 3150 BC by King Menes, leading to a series of dynasties that
ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. Egyptian culture flourished during this long period and remained
distinctively Egyptian in its religion, arts, language and customs.
7. End of the Empire
The Ancient Egyptian Empire began to weaken in about 700 BC. It was
conquered by a number of other civilizations. The first to conquer Egypt was
the Assyrian Empire, followed a hundred or so years later by the Persian
Empire. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Egypt and set
up his own ruling family called the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Finally, the Romans
came in 30 BC and Egypt became a province of Rome.
8. Facts about Ancient Egypt
Egyptian men and women wore makeup. It was thought to have healing powers, plus it
helped protect their skin from the sun.
They used moldy bread to help with infections.
They were one of the first civilizations to invent writing. They also used ink to write and
paper called papyrus.
The Ancient Egyptians were scientists and mathematicians. They had numerous
inventions including ways to build buildings, medicine, cosmetics, the calendar, the plow
for farming, musical instruments, and even toothpaste.
Ancient Egypt plays a major role in the Bible. The Israelites were held captive there as
slaves for many years. Moses helped them escape and led them to the Promised Land.
The Pharaoh kept his hair covered. It was not to be seen by regular people.
Cats were considered sacred in Ancient Egypt.
9. Ancient Egyptian Art
The civilization of Ancient Egypt ruled the
land of the Nile for over 3000 years.
Surprisingly enough, their art changed
little during that time. The original style
of art was first used in 3000 B.C. and the
most respected artists continued to copy
these styles for the next 3000 years.
10. Religion and Art
Much of the artwork created by the Ancient
Egyptians had to do with their religion. They
would fill the tombs of the Pharaohs with
paintings and sculptures. Much of this artwork
was there to help the Pharaohs in the afterlife.
Temples were another popular place for art. The
temples often held large statues of their gods as
well as many paintings on the walls.
11. Egyptian Sculpture
The Egyptians are famous for their giant
works of sculptures. Some examples of
this include the Great Sphinx of Giza and
the statues of Ramses II at the Abu
Simbel temples.
12. Egyptian Sculpture
In the above picture the statues of Ramses II are shown. They are each over 60 feet tall. The
Sphinx at Giza is over 240 feet long! Although they are famous for their giant statues, the
Egyptians also carved smaller, more ornate sculptures. They used various materials including
alabaster, ivory, limestone, basalt, wood gilded with gold, and sometimes even solid gold.
13. Egyptian Painting and Tomb Walls
In Ancient Egypt the tomb walls of the rich and powerful were often filled with paintings. These
paintings were there to help the person in the afterlife. They often depicted the person buried
passing into the afterlife. They would show scenes of this person happy in the afterlife. In one
painting the man buried is shown hunting and his wife and son are in the picture.
Nefertari from the Yorck Project Click picture for larger view The above painting is a picture on a
tomb wall of Queen Nefertari, wife of Ramses the Great.
14. Interesting Facts about Ancient
Egyptian Art
They mostly used the colors blue, black, red, green, and gold in their paintings.
A lot of Egyptian art depicted the pharaohs.
This was often in a religious sense as the pharaohs were considered gods.
Many of the paintings of Ancient Egypt survived for so many thousands of years
because of the extremely dry climate of the area.
Small carved models were sometimes included inside tombs.
These included slaves, animals, boats, and buildings that the person may need in
the afterlife.
A majority of the art hidden in tombs was stolen by thieves over thousands of
years.
15. Famous Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs
1-Djoser (reign 2686 BC – 2649 BC) ...
2-Khufu (reign 2589 ‒ 2566 BC) ...
3-Hatshepsut (reign 1478–1458 BC) ...
4-Thutmose III (reign 1458–1425 BC) ...
5-Amenhotep III (reign 1388–1351 BC) ...
6-Akhenaten (reign 1351–1334 BC) ...
7-Tutankhamun (reign 1332–1323 BC) ...
8-Ramses II (reign 1279–1213 BC)
9- Xerxes I (reign 486 – 465 BC)
10-Cleopatra VII (reign 51 – 30 BC)
