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Ancient Egypt
First Thoughts
When you think about Egypt, things like the
Great Pyramid at Giza, the largest humanmade structure ever built, or King Tut’s
tomb, filled with priceless treasures of gold
and jewels, probably come to mind.
For thousands of years, Egypt was one of
the most powerful and advanced
civilizations in the ancient world. Many of
the monuments that the Egyptian pharaohs
built to glorify themselves and their gods
still stand majestically in the desert. Today
millions of tourists come to marvel at these
wonders of the world.
Some also take a ride on a camel. These
“ships of the desert” have carried people
and goods across the sands of the Sahara for
centuries.
The Mighty Nile
The Nile River made the
ancient Egyptian civilization
possible. Besides bringing
life giving water, the river’s
annual floods created the
fertile land along its banks.
The Nile region is now one of
the most densely populated
places in the world.
Early History
Egypt was once two lands:
Upper and Lower Egypt.
Upper Egypt was located in
the south while Lower Egypt
was located in the north.
This was because the Nile
River flowed from south to
north.
Egypt United
In 3100 BC King Menes united the two
Egypts into one and combined the crowns
of the two lands.
The Three Kingdoms
The history of united Egypt is divided into
three periods: the Old Kingdom, the
Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.
Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BC)
The first pyramid, called a step pyramid
was built.
The largest pyramids were built.
Memphis was the first capital of this
kingdom.
Middle Kingdom (2000-1800
BC)
The Egyptians learned to build ocean-going
ships made of cedar.
Egypt was controlled for a time by the
Hyksos.
Middle Kingdom
Amenemhet ruled.
Trade between Egypt and Palestine started.
New Kingdom (1550-331 BC)
The peak of Egypt’s power.
Queen Hatshepsut ruled.
Alexander the Great conquered Egypt.
New Kingdom
King Tutankhamen (Tut) was pharaoh.
Ramses II ruled.
Monuments of Egypt
The Egyptians
built many lasting
monuments such
as the Sphinx and
pyramids.
Pyramids
Pyramids were built as tombs for the
pharaohs of Egypt.
Hieroglyphs
Hieroglyphs are picture symbols the ancient
Egyptians used for writing.
Egypt was one of the first civilizations to
make paper from the reed like papyrus
plant.
The Rosetta Stone
In July 1799 French troops
under Napoleon found a
curious stone with three types
of writing on it.
This stone turned out to be the
key to deciphering the
Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Three writings: hieroglyphs,
demotic (cursive Egyptian) and
Greek were on the stone.
Discovery of Riches
In 1922 a young Egyptologist named
Howard Carter discovered the tomb of the
boy pharaoh Tutankhamen.
King Tut
This discovery opened up a world-wide
interest in ancient Egypt.
What you should have learned:
The Nile River made the Egyptian
civilization possible.
Egyptian history is divided into 3 kingdoms.
Lasting monuments like the Sphinx and the
pyramids were built as tombs for the
pharaohs or leaders of ancient Egypt.
Rosetta Stone made hieroglyph
decipherment possible.
Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King
Tut