Egyptian history is a tapestry of cultures from the numerous invasions we've had over the millennia. From Persian to Roman to Arabian rule (among many others), we've conquered and been conquered by so many. Yet out of all the ancient civilizations, ancient Egypt lasted the longest - over 3,000 years of relative continuity.
After the nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers settled in the Nile valley, and then unified in approximately 3100 BC, is when we can truly begin our journey of discovery of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Eyptian history was lost for almost 2,000 years. The monuments and artifacts that had remained after the collapse of this grand civilization were an enigma. Pyramids and temples; death masks and mummies; strange writings and carvings on walls... all unexplained to the modern world until the day the Rosetta Stone was deciphered.
The truth is, every time a new discovery is made (which happens often) the history books have to be re-written! And so no matter how much you read or learn about this long lost past it still remains mysterious. No amount of scientific facts can take away its magic and majesty.
Whenever I am facing one of the Egyptian monuments my mind is rendered helpless. All I can do is just feel it. I wonder about the people that walked these halls before me:
- What were their hopes and dreams?
- What was their family life like?
- Who did they love and yearn for?
- Did they strive for happiness and acceptance like we do, or did they only think of magic spells and the afterlife?
And then I look at myself and my life and think of how the history of this people has influenced me. Everything they did has contributed in some way to modern Egypt; my homeland. After the decoding of ancient Egypt, and the rise of a new study dedicated to it - Egyptology , we now know many intricate details of their daily lives. We can even read about what they thought and how they prayed. We can feel their fear during the droughts and wars and imagine their pride after the completion of a colossal temple.
Although Egypt has many other very interesting "histories", in this site we will concentrate solely on the ancient one.
Ancient Egyptian History - A Timeline
It's quite difficult to give an accurate timeline of ancient Egyptian history due to the fact that the Egyptians themselves never had a standardized calendar. The ancient Egyptians dated the years according to the ruling Pharaoh of that time, for example: year 2 of Menuhotep II.
The other thing is that some records are missing. Some kings are not recorded at all. Some lengths of the rule are not exact. Ancient Egyptians also had a habit of erasing (or sometimes not even recording) the names of kings that were unpopular.
And on top of all that, another thing that makes it hard is the fact that there's just so much, over 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history! Trying to make sense of all this is quite the task... Manetho had his work cut out for him!
Ma-who now?
Manetho: The Egyptian historian who formed the Dynastic chronological system.
The Ancient Egyptian Dynasties
The dynastic dating system is still used until today, and although Egyptologists have been able to add dates to the periods, they are not exact. The accuracy of the dates is still under research till today.
Manetho basically divided ancient Egyptian history into parts according to events that signify a large shift or change in Egypt.
Keep in mind we are talking here about the history of the Pharaonic period, there is a history in Egypt that is much older than that. However, the Pharaonic period began from when Menes (King Narmer) unified the land around 3150 BC till the Greeks took over in 332 BC.
Manetho divided all the Pharaohs into 31 dynasties - a dynasty could represent the unbroken line of a royal family, once the succession is broken a new dynasty is begun. These dynasties are then grouped into 3 main kingdoms and intermediate periods in between.
The following is a basic timeline starting from the pre-dynastic period when Egypt was still a collection of hunter-gatherer tribes until the late period up to the fall of the Pharaonic civilization.
Pre-dynastic period: Before the unification of Egypt (before 3100 BC)
Early dynastic period: Dynasties 0–2 (approx. 3150–2686 BC)
Old Kingdom: Dynasties 3-6 (approx. 2686–2181 BC)
First intermediate period: Dynasties 7-10 (approx. 2181–2040 BC)
Middle Kingdom: Dynasties 11-12 (approx. 2040–1782 BC)
Second intermediate period: Dynasties 13-17 (approx. 1782–1570 BC)
The New Kingdom: Dynasties 18-20 (approx. 1570–1070 BC)
Third intermediate period: Dynasties 21-26 (approx. 1080–525 BC)
Late period: Dynasties 27-30 (approx. 525–332 BC)
Fall of the Egyptian Empire - The End of an Era
Finally after over 3,000 years of continuation, over-ridden with invasions, Egypt finally succumbed to foreign rule. Assyrians then Persians dominated Egypt until Alexander III delivered the ancient Egyptians from their rule in 332 BC.
But although the Egyptians loved him for respecting their religion and customs, his appointment of Greeks as the rulers of Egypt and his usage of Egyptian resources to fund his conquest of the Persian empire finally gave way to the first Ptolemaic dynasty - i.e. the end of the Pharaonic period...
...the end of ancient Egyptian History
Ancient Egyptian Civilization Main Events
The course of the ancient Egyptian civilization, starting with the pre-dynastic period till the Ptolemaic period, has a series of events that highlight it. The dynastic period, being the main chunk of ancient Egyptian history, provides some of the most interesting insights into the ancient Egyptian civilization.
Ancient Egyptian history is divided into 31 dynasties, which are then further subdivided into three main kingdoms with intermediate periods in between. Click here to see the timeline.
The Pre-dynastic Period (approx. 5500-3100 BC)
During this period the nomadic tribes of hunter-gatherers that were scattered all over the country were started settling down near the Nile. These settlements were divided into nomes (provinces).
The main division in Egypt was that of the Upper and Lower Egyptians (the two lands). The two were very different.
At around 3100 BC, the dynastic period began with the reign of King Narmer. He managed to unify (through battle) the provinces and the two lands, and Egypt became a single state.
This was the real beginning of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
Early Dynastic Period (approx. 3150-2686 BC)
This was a sort of stepping stone period, where the Egyptians started settling into the idea of a unified Egypt. It only lasted 2 dynasties and was called "the Archaic period".
This period was when the administrative capital of Egypt became Memphis. It is also when elaborate tombs became popular.
The architecture, religious beliefs and art of the ancient Egyptian civilization became more prominent during this period.
The Old Kingdom (approx. 2686-2181 BC)
This period was all about pyramids. In fact, it's called "The Age of the Pyramids". It was a time of wealth and progress for the Egyptians.
The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt's main landmark and the only surviving ancient wonder of the world, was built by King Khufu in the 4th dynasty.
There were also other beautiful pyramids built during this dynasty, such as the Red Pyramid and the Bent Pyramid in Dahshur.
The funerary texts called the Pyramid Texts, which provide us with much information about the ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, were formed in this period.
By the end of this period, the nobles had gained more power and wealth than the royal family itself. Civil wars weakened the kingdom. But what finally ended this dynastic period was the drought, which brought about famine and disease.
The First Intermediate Period (approx. 2181–2040 BC)
Egypt's version of the Dark Ages, it was a time of chaos and famine. The poor who were hit worst with famine and disease began to rise up against the kings. There was anarchy and unrest all over, with plundering and vandalizing of the monuments.
The rule became divided, and conflicts between the kingdoms began, until finally at the end of this period the Theban king Menuhotep conquers and unifies Egypt again.
The Middle Kingdom (approx. 2040–1782 BC)
After the re-unification of Egypt with Thebes as the capital, much of the power was still not entirely in the hands of the Pharaohs. The king depended on the local governors to conscript soldiers from their provinces to pull together an army.
Then during the 12th dynasty, Egypt's army was strong enough to begin a series of invasions to expand the territory. They would build fortresses in the new areas to secure them.
The middle kingdom also saw a rise to trade connections with Nubia.
A large migration of foreign settlers from Assyria happened during this period, which gave rise to many changes in the ancient Egyptian civilization...
...it also gave rise to the Hyksos.
As a child I'd play "Egyptians and Hyksos", much like American children a long time ago used to play "Cowboys and Indians". Neither of which is very "politically correct" if I may say so myself!
But thankfully kids have now stopped those kinds of games and are now playing peaceful playstation :-)
(Don't get me wrong, I love playstation!)
The Second Intermediate Period (approx. 1782–1570 BC)
Division, once again! Does it every end?
So now the Syrians and Palestinians that had migrated gained power and gave rise to the Hyksos kings. And then even when the Hyksos allowed Egyptians to be kings, they were only puppet rulers and had to do as they’re told.
One of those puppet kings however was not very "puppet-y" at all. He and most Egyptians had had enough of these immigrants taking over!
So he called forth the Egyptians to war against the Hyksos King Apopis.
King Seqenenre Tao died in battle with head wounds. His son, Kamose, took over and managed to take back most of Egypt. But then Kamose died young and his brother Ahmose I continued battling the Hyksos until they left completely.
This signals the end of this turbulent intermediate period, and the start of a luxurious time in ancient Egyptian civilization.
The New Kingdom (approx. 1570–1070 BC)
After so many wars and so much chaos, the ancient Egyptians thought it would be smart to have a full-time army. Instead of conscripting men when they needed them they would have well-trained, fully-armed soldiers ready to fight.
They also reinforced their borders and even expanded them.
Some of the most famous pharaohs come from this period, such as Rameses II (picture on the left) and King Tut. Also the mysterious Nefertiti was from the New Kingdom too.
Another drastic change in ancient Egyptian civilization that took place during the New Kingdom was the introduction of a type of early monotheism.
King Akhenaten flipped everything upside down when he changed the religion of Egypt from worshipping hundreds of gods to just one... the sun disc Aten. Not too many Egyptians were happy with this.
One of the most important battles of the New Kingdom was the battle of Kadesh. The ancient Egyptians fought the Hittites for years over control of the area, which had an essential trade route of the near east.
Other battles took place in the New Kingdom with ancient Libyans and the Sea People. But the Egyptians did well both on land and on sea.
Even though the New Kingdom had made a great empire and most of the battles had been won, the ancient Egyptian civilization began to be riddled with division, invasions and economic problems. Ancient Egypt started to decline and slowly fade away.
The Third Intermediate Period (approx. 1080–525 BC)
The trouble began when once again Egypt fell to divided rule. Economic problems weakened the unification and kings from different regions fought - this exposed Egypt to foreign invasions.
Sure enough, Nubia eventually conquered a divided northern Egypt. And to make matters worse, the Assyrians were also expanding in the near east.
The Assyrians ended the Nubian dynasties and their king became the king of a once again unified Egypt. The Assyrians chose to do as the Hyksos did, and enlisted Egyptians as puppet kings.
But then the Assyrian empire began falling, as empires usually do.
Who was there to pick up the pieces? Another, very powerful empire - the Persian.
This marks the start of the late period, the last of the dynastic periods.
The Late Period (approx. 525–332 BC)
...Alexander the Great.
He came to Egypt in 332 BC, and the Egyptians had loved him and thought of him as their liberator. But in the end, the Greeks took over Egypt and started the Greco-Roman period - the fall of the ancient Egyptian civilization.
Foreign rule continued all the way to 1953 AD, until the Egyptian revolution and the establishment of the first Egyptian presidencyAncient Egyptian Armies
Before the New Kingdom the ancient Egyptian armies were made up of soldiers recruited temporarily for the duration of the military campaign. These soldiers were just strong, able men from different villages. They would then return to their homes and original careers once the campaign is finished
This proved to be a disadvantage after a while. Conscription took time, the soldiers had no proper training, and Egypt was left vulnerable to surprise attacks.
Finally, during the New Kingdom, the ruler of Egypt decided that it was just about time to have a full-time army ready for orders from the Pharaoh. The King now didn't need to rely on the nomarch's to conscript men from their provinces. He commanded his own ancient Egyptian armies with the help of his generals.
This intelligent king was the Pharaoh Ahmose. His decision was to be one of the most important in all of ancient Egypt's history...
Ancient Egyptian Military Organization
At the head of the army of course was the King. He was the main decision maker of military campaigns.Under him were his generals. One of the more intelligent decisions the Pharaoh made was to appoint 2 army generals rather than one. This way the power was divided rather than centralized, and the threat of overthrowing the thrown by a general was halved.
There were 2 main ancient Egyptian armies - those of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, with one of the 2 generals at the head of each.
Also, another intelligent tactic by the Pharaoh was to appoint these generals from his own royal family (such as princes). This kept more power in the family.
Then the next division was according to the soldiers' skills. There were charioteers, spearmen and archers.
And then the foot soldiers were divided into infantries of 5,000 men each. These were further divided into platoons and squads of smaller numbers of soldiers.
Ancient Egyptian armies were not only well organized, but they were well-trained and well-equipped too - with training sometimes starting from the age of 5!
Pharaoh's Battle Tactics
One of the great weapons of war during ancient times was the chariot. Funnily enough, before the introduction of the chariot to Egypt by the Asiatics during the Second Intermediate Period, the Egyptians didn't have much use for wheels. They did use them in certain circumstances, but with desert terrains wheels were not very practical.That was until Egypt was threatened by them...
The invasion of the Hyksos is probably one of the most famous periods of war in all of ancient Egypt. The Egyptians had to gather all their wits and resources to fight them.
Read the next section for more info on the most important battles that took place in ancient Egypt.
Another battle tactic was to build fortresses in the areas the army has invaded or secured. These fortresses had towers from which the soldiers could shoot arrows from. They had thick walls and ditches to protect their perimeter.
One of the most important battle rituals back then was to imbue the army and weapons with religious power. Army divisions were named after Gods, soldiers were adorned with protective symbols, and incantations and spells were chanted whenever suitable.
And finally, one of the more gory practices by the ancient Egyptian armies was to sever body parts of the enemy's dead in order to identify them for the records. They would cut off a specific arm (and sometimes other unmentionable parts) and leave them for the scribes to count :S
This Means War!
The ancient Egyptian armies had numerous battles and wars that secured Egypt as one of the great ancient civilizations of all time. Here are some of the most famous ones:The Unification Battle - This is probably the first recorded battle in ancient Egypt. This battle marks the beginning of the dynastic period in approx. 3100 BC, with King Narmer waging war on the separate regions and combining them to form a unified Egypt with himself as its first Pharaoh.
This battle is recorded on the Narmer palette which is now on display at the Cairo Museum.
The Hyksos Battle - After a large scale immigration of people from Syria and Palestine, Egypt began to divide again during the Second Intermediate Period. These immigrants began to gain a lot of power and eventually started to rule Egypt.
But then during the 17th Dynasty, King Seqenenre Tao II had had enough and attacked the Hyksos King Apophis.
After he died in battle, his son Kamose took up the offensive and returned most of Egypt to the Egyptians before he died. His brother Ahmose I then took over and finally expelled the Hyksos out of Egypt and back to Palestine then reinforced the eastern borders as a defensive.
Expansion Battles - During the New Kingdom, with the newly created permanent army, the Pharaohs began campaigns to expand Egypt's borders and gain more land and power.
During the 18th Dynasty, King Thutmosis III and his wife Hatshepsut ruled Egypt together. He was an infant when he was made King, while Hatshepsut was his aunt at the time of their marriage. She ruled Egypt for about 20 years until he matured and took over the throne.
His main achievements were his expansion battles that turned Egypt into an empire. The battle at Megiddo being his first and most famous of the series. At the time it was a coveted Syrian town of trade, and was the site where the Syrian King of Kadesh was assembling an army to march against Egypt.
Thutmosis III took the ancient Egyptian armies all the way to Megiddo, and although the enemy outnumbered the Egyptians, he faced them in his chariot with his men behind him, and came out victorious.
After the Syrians fled, the Egyptian army was left to collect the loot left behind... this distraction could have given the Syrians time to recollect and attack again, but King Thutmosis gathered his men and led a long siege of Megiddo and finally took over.
The Battle Against the Hittites - King Thutmosis was involved in war with the Hittites throughout most of his reign. The most famous of the battles with the Hittites was the battle of Kadesh.
Kadesh was a desirable town that gave access to important trade routes. The Pharaoh was victorious once more and won this battle and the entire war with the Hittites after many years of fighting.
The Battles of Kadesh - The war Thutmosis won against the Hittites was not the last that Egypt saw of them. After the reigns of some uninspired Kings, Egypt once again began to lose power and its borders began shrinking. Political problems as well as problems within the royal families left Egypt vulnerable to attack once more.
Then came King Sety to the rescue, and after a few battles he took over Kadesh again! But his victory was short-lived and the Hittites repelled him back to Egypt.
Sety had too many other battles on his mind to obsess over Kadesh. He had to defend Egypt against the Nubians from the south, and the Libyans from the west. What a drag!
Sety's son however became a legend in ancient Egypt. Rameses II led the offensive to crush the Hittites once and for all! And although they were outnumbered, and had a great many obstacles, the ancient Egyptian armies of the great Rameses II finally won Kadesh.
After the many years of war and hostility, the Egyptians and Hittites signed peace treaties - which unfortunately didn't last for long.
All in all, Egypt was plagued with invasions and wars for most of its existence. Invasion continued from the sea and the land, until finally the ancient Egyptian armies lost all their might and gave in to the Graeco-Roman rulers at the end.
Egypt never saw an Egyptian as its ruler until AD 1953 when an army general became the first president of the Arab Republic of EgyptAllow me to tell you the stories of my ancestors and to share my passion with you.
This site is composed of two main themes: The historical and the touristic. I will provide you with the history and mythology of the Ancient Egyptians and, where relevant, travel advice on how to see it all for yourself. This is a historical site with travel tips, not a travel site with historical facts.
From the alluring legend of Isis and Osiris, to the amazing feat of building a pyramid out of 2.3 million limestone blocks, to the enchanting love story of Antony and Cleopatra - this site will take you there.
History should not be read about or learned; it should be felt and re-lived.
It should be... experienced.
Egyptology - Discovering Ancient Egypt
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egypt. There is a whole section of archeology dedicated only to ancient Egypt... what an honor that is! But if there was ever a lost civilization deserving of that, this would be it.
And of course an Egyptologist is someone who practices in that field... like my mom :-)
There are other "–ologies" of cultures out there, but this one remains the most famous.
Anyway, modern Egyptology is a mix between archeology and sociology. It's basically the act of putting puzzle pieces together to form a more complete picture of an entire civilization.
Puzzle pieces include art, economy, politics, geography, theology, etc...
Sadly though, the work of an Egyptologist is kind of limited nowadays - with excavation reserved for the renowned experts in the field.
Teaching is a popular option though.
The History of the Study of Ancient Egyptian History...
OK sorry, what I wanted to say is: "The History of Egyptology".Basically the first Egyptologists are, funnily enough, the ancient Egyptians themselves. Since the history is a very long one, Egyptians of the later periods studied and restored monuments from the earlier periods.
In fact, tours of ancient Egyptian monuments were popular among ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans! Greek and Roman empires are ancient in their own right.
The Greeks and Romans began recording their accounts of what Egypt was like in those days, but still since so much had already gone by before these records much of the past was lost. Some of the most famous accounts were given by Herodotus. Herodotus is a very famous Greek historian from the 5th century BC.
Also in the 3rd century BC, the Egyptian priest Manetho was the first to devise the dynastic dating system, which records information on most of the Pharaohs and royal families.
The use of the Egyptian language and writing began dwindling down until it finally became obsolete. This is when the history became a mystery.
For a long time (about 2,000 years) people had a hard time deciphering ancient Egyptian history. Without understanding the language and the symbols, early Egyptologists could only take educated guesses at what it all meant.
However, some very important discoveries were still made:
Some Muslim historians in the 9th century discovered the relation between hieroglyphics and the Coptic language which was derived from the Egyptian language.
Coptic Egyptians are the Christian Egyptians by the way, and until today they use the ancient Egyptian language in their churches (mixed with Arabic). They use Greek letters for the Egyptian words.
There were many European explorers who made significant discoveries. One such was finding phonetic elements in hieroglyphics. The Jesuit priest and scientist Athanasius Kircher discovered this by relating the hieroglyphics with the Coptic language (and its Greek letters).
The Founding of Modern Egyptology
Finally, when Napoleon's army discovered the Rosetta Stone, all the guess work stopped.
The Rosetta Stone is a carved text passage in two ancient Egyptian scripts (hieroglyphic and demotic) and Greek. Relating the Greek translation to the ancient Egyptian scripts became the key to unlocking the mystery of Ancient Egypt.
This beautiful artifact has been residing in the British Museum since 1802. Egypt's most famous egyptologist and secretary general of the Supreme councel of Antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass has requested that she be returned to her home country, Egypt.
If you get the chance, I highly recommend that you go view it.
After its discover, Jean-Francois Champollion came to the rescue and published the first ever dictionary of hieroglyphics in 1826.
And that's when Egyptology took a turn and became more and more factual.
Still, till today we cannot say with all confidence that we know everything about Ancient Egypt. New research and discoveries are made often.
We can however say that it will always be a work in progress, which means that there will always be more to learn...
...I like that very much!