Ancient+Egypt

=Ancient Egypt= 3500 B.C. - 500 B.C media type="custom" key="11397224"

==="The Egyptian Nile surpasses all the rivers of the world in sweetness of taste, in length of course and usefulness. No other river in the world can show such a continuous series of towns and villages along it's banks."===

--An Arab traveler, as written in //Ancient Near Eastern Texts// by James B. Pritchard, 1969
Egyptian history started around 3100 B.C. The king, Menes, united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. He also created the first Egyptian dynasty. Another great thing that came from Ancient Egypt were pyramids, which were built as tombs. Bodies were mummified after death and then put into their pyramids. In around 2540 B.C., King Khufu made the Great Pyramid atGiza as a tomb for himself. The Great Sphinx, which has the body of a lion and the head of a human, stands in front of the Great Pyramid as a symbol of guarding it.
 * The Old Kingdom**

Once the Old Kingdom ended, after about 150 years, the Middle Kingdom began. It was a stable period of time from 2050 to 1652 B.C. and was known as the "golden age". Egypt began to expand. South of Egypt, Nubia was conquered, and armies were send to Palestine and Syria. Traders were also send to Kush, Syria, Mesopotamia and Crete. Also, in the Middle Kingdom, a canal was built to connect the Nile River to the Red Sea to make trade and transportation easier.
 * The Middle Kingdom**

The Middle Kingdom ended when the Hyksos invaded Egypt around 1652 B.C. The Hyksos had ruled Egypt for nearly a hundred years when a new dynasty eventually restored Egypt. After this period, Egypt was the most powerful state in Southwestern Asia. Hatshepsut and her nephew, Thutmose III, pharaohs of Egypt, built many temples and buildings to show how great the empire was. In the New Kingdom, Akhenaton introduced monotheism until his death, when Tutankhamen restored the original gods. The New Kingdom collapsed in 1085 B.C. after the invasion of the Sea Peoples.
 * The New Kingdom**




 * 5 Key Terms**
 * Dynasty**: //A lineage of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family such as was the case when king Menes took the crown, his was the first dynasty in Egypt.//
 * Pharaoh**: //The title given to Egyption monarchs when they become the ruler, the word pharaoh translates to mean "great house" in egyptian.//
 * Vizier**: //Steward or govenor of the whole land appointed by the pharaoh and also serves as the pharaoh's royal adviser in times of need.//
 * Mummification**: //Process of slowly drying a dead body to prevent it from rotting by removing the internal organs which are then put in jars and salting the body.//
 * Hieroglyphics**: //The earliest Egyptian writing that was a mixture of symbols, and characters.//

1. Menes: //First Pharaoh of Egypt; united Upper and Lower Egypt into one single kingdom; created the first dynasty of Egyptian royals.// 2. Ramses II: //"Ramses the Great"; strongest Pharaoh; made the 1st written treaty in history.// 3. Hatshepsut: //First woman to be a Pharaoh; built a temple at Deir el Bahri.// 4. Tutankhamen: //Boy Pharaoh that restored the original Egyptian gods.// 5. Cleopatra VII: //Tried to restore independence in Egypt; was defeated and committed suicide; last Pharaoh of Egypt.//
 * 5 Most Important People in Ancient Egypt**

media type="custom" key="11414774"
 * Timeline**
 * 3100 BC:** King Menes unites villages of Upper and Lower Egypt
 * 2700 BC:** Old Kingdom begins
 * 2450 BC:** Great Pyramid of King Khufu finished
 * 1792 BC:** Hammurabi comes to power
 * 1652 BC:** The Hyksos invade Egypt
 * 1652 BC:** Middle Kingdom ends
 * 1567 BC:** New Kingdom begins
 * 1085 BC:** The New Kingdom collapses
 * 970 BC:** Solomon becomes king of Isreal
 * 539 BC:** Babylonia falls

To Learn More:
[|Ancient Egypt] [|History of Egypt] [|Ancient Egyptian] [|Ancient Egypt for Kids] [|Ancient Egpt Timeline]