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 Key Events AEGYPTIACA Our main source for the description of who was who in Ancient Egypt is a priest from the Ptolemeic period called Manetho. He wrote the Aegyptiaca, a text which organised the country's history into thirty dynasties. Egyptian history is broadly broken into the following key periods: PRE-DYNASTIC AND ARCHAIC (3200-2755 BC) This period marked the first appearance of Egyptian writing or hieroglyphics. It also saw the uniting of the disparate states that made up the early Nile Valley settlements into one administration. THE OLD KINGDOM (2755-2255 BC) These years see the building of the first pyramids. The architect, physician and priest Imhotep revolutionised pyramid construction by using stone rather than mud to build the famous Step Pyramid for the ruler Zoser. King Cheops later built the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Old Kingdom Egyptians also made huge advances in academic fields such as navigation, astronomy and medicine. THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD A chaotic period was sparked by the death of the Sixth dynasty King Pepi the second, who had ruled for ninety-four years. There was increasing decentralisation and political confusion, as well as a period of civil war as local princes clashed with each other. THE MIDDLE KINGDOM (2134-1784 BC) Egypt was again reunited and the country's administration reorganised under Menthuhotep, who based his capital at Thebes. He managed to maintain the unity of the state against regional insurgencies. The twelfth dynasty king Sesostris I and his successor Sesostris III built fortresses in Nubia and formed standing armies to fight against the Nubians. THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD The Hka-Hasut, or Hyksos, migrated to Egypt from Western Asia introducing the horse and chariot. He established a dynasty in the middle and north of the country which battled with the Theban-based ruler Kamose. Kamose's brother, Ahmose I, eventually defeated the Hyksos and reunited Egypt. THE NEW KINGDOM (1570-1070) Amenhotep I began a new period of expansion into Nubia and Palestine. Queen Hatshepsut ruled for two prosperous decades and organised an expedition to the land of Punt, to the south of Egypt. She was overthrown by Thutmose II who extended the Egyptian empire by waging seventeen foreign campaigns. With the country politically stable Egyptian art and building revived under Amenhotep III. This period also sees the short rule of the young Pharaoh Tutankamun whose richly furnished tomb was found in 1922. Ramses the second waged war against the Hittite peoples from Asia and conducted successful campaigns in Palestine and Syria.  Listen to Mahmoud El Halwagy, Curator of the Egyptian Museum, describing Pharaoh Tutankamun's faceTHE THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD Towards the end of the New Kingdom the power of the Pharaohs was challenged by the priests of the god Amun. Eventually Egypt was divided between Kings ruling from Tanis in the north and high priests based in the southern town of Thebes. THE LATE PERIOD (767-671 BC) The Kushite kings of the 25th Dynasty emerge as rulers of Egypt inaugurating the period of 'black pharaohs', from a culture which showed far more African influences than previous administrations. The Kushites were eventually ousted by the Assyrians. THE GREEK AND ROMAN PERIODS Alexander the Great occupies Egypt in 332 BC and one of his governors, Ptolomy, founds a dynasty, which comes to an end with the famous Queen Cleopatra. Cleopatra's forces were defeated by the Roman legions under the Roman commander, Octavian, and Egypt effectively became a province of the Roman Empire. |
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