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World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras ­ Egypt
From ABC-CLIO's World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras website
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EGYPT
Egypt, located in northeast Africa, was the site of an ancient civilization that
endured for thousands of years and developed rich and complex cultural,
artistic, and religious traditions. The name Egypt is derived from the Greek word
Aegyptus, which comes from the ancient Egyptian term Kik up tah ("house of the
spirit"). Major archaeological discoveries in Egypt have inspired worldwide
fascination with the nature and development of Egyptian civilization. Many sites,
particularly along the Nile Delta, have not yet been explored, suggesting that new evidence will ⤀褅ll gaps still
remaining in Egypt's past.
Early Development
Dynastic Egypt lasted from about 3100 BCE until 332 BCE (when Alexander the Great took power), but the
beginnings of Egyptian culture and civilization lie even deeper in the past. Many communities of Paleolithic
Age hunters and gatherers lived in the Nile River Valley and across Egypt's savannas well before 5000 BCE.
As rainfall decreased, especially after 4000 BCE, savannas turned to deserts, and
people moved to the fertile Nile Valley, which is where more than 90% of
present-day Egyptians live. Neolithic life in northern Egypt can be traced to
Merimdeh and Fayyum, where strong agricultural and artisan communities
thrived. Less is known of southern Neolithic life, but two distinct, highly civilized
cultures (known as Tasian and Badarian) existed in Lower Egypt.
According to tradition, Menes united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt around 4000 BCE. This development is
believed by many scholars to signal the true beginning of Egyptian history. In the newly-united Egypt,
agricultural surplus created an elite class that controlled valuable resources, like copper and precious
metals. Larger river ships were built to accommodate expanding trade along the Nile, as foreign countries
(largely Assyria and Palestine) grew in in⤀褅uence during 5000–3100 BCE. By 3000 BCE, southern culture had
spread north, which fostered social as well as political unity.
Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
The age of the great pyramids of Giza (built by pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure) occurred during the
Old Kingdom, which lasted from ca. 2650 BCE to ca. 2100 BCE. The Old Kingdom was followed by a long
period of political obscurity (despite cultural and economic growth) that is known as the First Intermediate
Period.
Egypt's central government was restored and strengthened during the Middle Kingdom
(ca. 2000 to ca. 1600 BCE) under the rule of such powerful pharaohs as Amenemhet I
and Sesostris III.
The Eighteenth through Twentieth Dynasties are known as the New Kingdom (ca.
1550–ca. 1075 BCE). Much of this period represented Egypt's golden age, which
included the rule of the young pharaoh Tutankhamen toward the end of the 14th
century BCE. Egypt's law codes were decreed by the pharaoh and enforced through
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World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras ­ Egypt
courts. Architecture reached its zenith in the city of Thebes, from where the priesthood virtually ruled the
country as a theocracy for centuries. The dynasties ruled by a series of pharaohs named Ramses were
succeeded by a 200-year Libyan dynasty and by a short-lived Nubian dynasty, until Assyrian invaders
launched an era of foreign domination in 712 BCE. Persia invaded in 525 BCE.
Hellenistic and Roman Periods
Macedonian king and conqueror Alexander the Great seized control in Egypt and ended the last native
Egyptian dynasty in 332 BCE. Shortly after founding Alexandria, the Macedonian king was succeeded by his
general Ptolemy I Soter. Alexandria became the intellectual center of the Hellenistic world as the Ptolemaic
dynasty maintained a formidable empire. They wielded great power in the Mediterranean for two centuries.
However, Rome came to overshadow Egypt, and in 58 BCE the Romans seized power.
Queen Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator tried to save Egypt from Roman annexation through relationships with
Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. When that attempt failed, she committed suicide in 30 BCE and the Romans
completed their conquest of Egypt. Ethnic-based massacres among large Jewish and Greek populations in
Egypt dominated most of the second century CE. During that period, Coptic Christianity became Egypt's
national faith.
Egypt's Later History
Roman rule prevailed until Arab caliphs conquered Egypt in 639 and ruled for more than eight centuries.
They made Egypt an integral part of the Muslim world. Greek and Coptic languages fell out of use, and Arabic
became the o⤀ꀈcial language. The Fatimid dynasty founded Cairo in 969.
The Turks later absorbed Egypt into the Ottoman Empire, which was overrun by Napoleon I's armies in 1798.
Napoleon opened the country to European collectors and scholars, which led to important collections of
Egyptian antiquities in the Louvre, the British Museum, and the museums of Turin and Berlin. A more
important result of Napoleon's invasion was the chance discovery of the Rosetta Stone with its Greek and
Egyptian inscriptions that enabled French scholars to make a breakthrough in deciphering hieroglyphics in
1822.
ABC-CLIO
Further Reading
Brewer, Douglas J., and Emily Teeter. Egypt and the Egyptians. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007;
Shaw, Ian, and Paul Nicholson. Dictionary of Ancient Egypt. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003; Shaw, Ian, ed.
The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003; Trigger, Bruce, et al. Ancient
Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983.
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Image Credits
Ramses II sculpture at Abu Simbel: Waiheng/Dreamstime
Bank of the Nile River: Elzbieta Sekowska/Dreamstime.com
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Pyramids at Giza, Egypt: Corel
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