Quick History of Ancient Egypt
- The Nile River was the main reason as to why ancient Egypt thrived
- The Nile River is the longest river in the world at a length of 4,000 miles
- Egypt was divided into two regions, upper and lower Egypt in relation to how the river flowed
- People moved into Egypt over 12,000 years ago and began farming, producing an abundance of crops
- Around 3100 BC, King Menes unified both upper and lower Egypt and declared himself to be the first pharaoh of Egypt
- Menes wore a crown that was a combination of the crown from both upper and lower Egypt
- Menes built his capital Memphis at the tip of the Nile Delta
- This first dynasty was a successful theocracy that lasted for about 200 years
- In 2700 BC, a third dynasty rose to power beginning the Old Kingdom (a period of Egyptian history from 2700 to 2200 BC)
- During the Old Kingdom, Egyptians continued to develop their political system and
- The position of the pharaoh was also enriched
- The pharaoh was believed to have come to earth to manage Egypt for the gods making him both king and god
- Khufu was a famous pharaoh of the Old Kingdom that ruled during the 2500s BC and his known for his monuments built honoring himself
- At the end of the Old Kingdom, there was a population of about 2 million people in Egypt
- During the end of the Old Kingdom, the wealth and power of the pharaohs began to decline
- By 2200 BC, the Old Kingdom had fallen, and nobles ruled Egypt for the next 160 years
- The Middle Kingdom was a period of stability and order that lasted until 1750 BC when a group of people from Southwest Asia called the Hyskos conquered Egypt using advanced weaponry and ruled for the next 200 years as pharaohs
- In the mid-1550s BC, Amhose of Thebes ruled Egypt as the pharaoh
- Amhoses power marked the eighteenth dynasty and the beginning of the New Kingdom
- After previous invasions, Egyptians began to fear more in the future
- They began to conquer nearby powers beginning with the Hyskos
- Egypt had the most military power in the region by the 1400s BC
- Conquered cities made Egypt rich from sending them gifts constantly to keep good relations
- During the 1200s BC, the pharaoh Ramses the Great fought the Hittites from Asia Minor
- After Ramses the Great died, the Sea Peoples invaded their Asia territory, and after constant fighting the empire was drained of their money and resources and ancient Egypt fell into violence and chaos that they would never come back from