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Ancient Egyptian Government: United!
The Nile is 4,132 miles long! There was a lot of land along the Nile on which to
settle. The early farmers who settled along the Nile seemed to settle in two main
regions. One region was at the mouth of the Nile, where the Nile enters the
Mediterranean Sea. The other main region was to the south, at the base of the
mountains.
Each of these regions had a king. It was easy to tell the kings apart by the color of
their crown (which was more like a hat.) The king who ruled the people who lived in
the north, at the mouth of the Nile, wore a Red Crown. Their land was called Lower
Egypt. The king who ruled the people who lived in the south, at the base of the
mountains, wrote a White Crown. Their land was called Upper Egypt.
These two regions were always fighting. They spoke the same language. They
worshipped the same gods. They had the same culture. But, for some reason, they
could not get along.
About 5,000 years ago, King Menes ruled Upper Egypt, at the base of the
mountains. He conquered Lower Egypt. These two regions were
combined into one country. But it didn't help. The people kept
fighting amongst themselves. To help his people think of themselves as one people, the king had a
special crown made, a double crown. It was not white. It was not red. It was a mix of white and red.
And it did the trick. The people started calling their combined land the "The Two Lands". Over
time, "The Two Lands" became known as Egypt.
Many historians consider Menes to be Egypt’s first pharaoh, the title used by the rules of ancient
Egypt. The title pharaoh means “great house.” Menes also founded Egypt’s first dynasty, or
series of rulers from the same family. These dynasties were a theocracy, which is a government
ruled by religious leaders such as priests or monarchs considered to be divine.
United, Egypt grew in power and strength. They built irrigation systems, maintained surplus grain, specialized
workers, and developed trade with other civilizations.
Reading Guide Questions
1. What attracted early settlers to the Nile Valley?
2. Which part of Egypt, Upper or Lower, do you think was more valuable to a ruler? Why?
3. Who is Menes?
4. How did the pharaoh’s crown display the unification of Egypt?
5. Why is being united important? What was the impact of a unified kingdom?
6. Why does a word meaning “great house” refer to the leader?
The Kingdoms
Archaeologists divide ancient Egypt's history into three big blocks of time. In each block of time, all pharaohs
behaved in a certain way. These blocks of time were called kingdoms. Scientists named these blocks the Old
Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom.
The Old Kingdom was a period in Egyptian history that lasted for 500 years, from 2700 to
2200 BCE. During this time, the Egyptians continued their political system. The system
they developed was based on the belief that Egypt’s pharaoh was both a ruler and a god.
The ancient Egyptians believed that Egypt belonged to
the gods. The pharaoh had come to earth in order to
manage Egypt for the rest of the gods. As a result, he
had absolute power over all of the land and people in
Egypt. This led to many elaborate building projects, such as the pyramids. This
position of power also meant a lot of responsibility.
Near the end of the Old Kingdom, Egypt had about 2 million people. As the
population grew, social classes appeared. The Egyptians believed that a wellordered society would keep their kingdom strong.