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Ancient Egypt | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 3150 BC–332/30 BC[a] | |||||||||
 Map of ancient Egypt, showing major cities and sites of the Dynastic period (c. 3150 BC to 30 BC) | |||||||||
| Capital | see List of historical capitals of Egypt | ||||||||
| Historical era | Ancient history | ||||||||
• Established | c. 3150 BC | ||||||||
| c. 3150 BC – 2686 BC | |||||||||
| 2686 BC – 2181 BC | |||||||||
| 2134 BC – 1690 BC | |||||||||
| 1549 BC – 1078/77 BC[b] | |||||||||
| 664 BC – 332 BC | |||||||||
| 332 BC – 30 BC | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 332/30 BC[a] | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa. It was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River, situated within the contemporary territory of modern-day Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology)[1] with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under pharaoh or king Menes (often identified with Narmer).[2] The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as "Intermediate Periods". The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age, or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.
Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and a sizable portion of the Levant. After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Achaemenid Persians, and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province.[3] Egypt remained under Roman control until 642 AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate.
The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.[4]
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats,[5] Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites.[6] Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to be studied, admired or coveted in the far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy.[7]
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- ^ Chronology (2000).
- ^ Dodson & Hilton (2004), p. 46.
- ^ Clayton (1994), p. 217.
- ^ James (2005), p. 8; Manuelian (1998), pp. 6–7.
- ^ Ward (2001).
- ^ Clayton (1994), p. 153.
- ^ James (2005), p. 84.