WHO WERE THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS ncient Egyptian civilization lbegan over 5 000 years ago around 3100 BC Their civilization lasted for over 3 000 years and was a time of great stability and little change In Egypt was ruled by its kings who became known as pharaohs They were thought of as living gods and had tremendous power over their people The next most important people in society were the nobles priests scribes soldiers and government officials who kept records and collected taxes Then came the craftsmen Most people were peasant farmers RIGHEnnan's This wall painting shows Egyptian children with their parents Children often wore no clothes and had partly shaved heads Until the age of 10 most children wore a long lock of hair over the right ear SOME IMPORTANT DATES IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY Most of these events are so far back in time that the dates are only approximate Early Period Old Kingdom Middle Kingdom 5000 BC The earliest settlers 3100 BC Menes king of 2650 BC The first pyramid 2060 BC Thebes becomes live along the River Nile Upper Egypt conquers is bui the capital of Egypt Lower Egypt and unites the 2575 BC The Great Pyramid 1780 BC Egypt is invaded country Hieroglyphic writing is built for King Chufu who by the Hyksos people below begins to develop was called Cheops from Asia A A do 44 AM
MEDTERRANEAN SEA DELTA ANCIENT EGYPT Memphis AFRICAN CONTINENT RED SEA THE GIFT OF THE NILE An ancient Greek historian IL called Egypt the gift of the Nile because the river back was at the center of the Egyptian way of life Without a the river floods which made a it possible to grow crops in this desert land few people Mention could have lived there The desert and river swamps also kept Egypt from having much contact with other countries another reason why the Egyptian way of life changed so little for thousands of years Dendern The bes NUBIAN DESERT New Kingdom Late Period 1567 BC The Hyksos are 1350 BC The pharaoh 525 BC Egypt is conquered 323 30 BC The Ptolemies driven out Akhenaten attempts to set by the Persians rule as pharaohs 1458 BC Tuthmosis III up a new supreme god 332 BC Alexander the Great 30 BC Egypt becomes part conquers Syria and Palestine the Aten of Greece conquers Egypt of the Roman Empire 1323 BC The death of Tutankhamun His tomb was discovered in
HOW DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS Dis e know a great deal about the ancient Egyptians because large numbers of their records pictures and personal possessions have survived One reason for this is that the hot dry climate preserved objects that normally would rot away like bodies paper and wood Equally important is the ancient Egyptians belief in life after death which meant that they put all sorts of objects into tombs with their dead The Rosetta Stone discovered in 1799 IMMENSE STRUCTURES Egypt is full of huge structures such as pyramids temples and obelisks tall stone monuments The pyramids were built as gigantic WRITTEN EVIDENCE tombs for Egypt s pharaohs The ancient Egyptians left behind The pyramid at writings of many types But as Chephren built their language had died out no one knew how to read it until the ca 2570 BC discovery of the Rosetta Stone above Scholars realized that the stone was engraved with three versions of the same text one in ancient Greek and two in different forms of Egyptian writing Using the Greek text the Frenchman Jean Francois Champollion was able to understand the Egyptian writing Over time the entire language was
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AT WORK Archaeologists dig up the buried past and often are as interested in everyday objects as in valuables In 1922 Howard Carter a British archaeologist discovered the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamun which was packed with priceless ancient Egyptian treasures It had not been disturbed since it was sealed 3 000 years before Howard Carter at the front opens the entrance into the fourth chamber of Tutankhamun's tomb PAINTING AND SCULPTURE Many paintings have survived on the walls of tombs temples or inside books They show all sorts of scenes and activities from ancient Egyptian life Some enormous sculptures also survive alongside of tomb monuments which often show affectionate couples and groups The Egyptians also placed many small wooden or stone statues inside tombs to represent the dead person's wealth and pleasures This tomb monument shows a
