Uncover the secrets of one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Ancient Egypt, a civilization in northeastern Africa that dates from the 4th millennium BCE, holds a fascination that continues to grow as archaeological finds expose its secrets. Its many achievements were preserved in its art and monuments.
It’s the year 2490 B.C. Wooden boats cruise along the Nile River in Egypt as thousands of workers stack giant stone blocks into a pyramid. This 200-foot-tall structure honors a pharaoh named Menkaure. This pharaoh’s father, Khafre, ordered construction of a 450-foot-high pyramid nearby, and his grandfather Khufu built the Great Pyramid at Giza-the largest of the three-at about 480 feet. Covered in polished white limestone, the pyramids seem to glow in the sunlight.
The Egyptians working on the pyramids are helping create a culture that will last more than 3,000 years-it will be one of the longest-lasting civilizations in the world. During that time, ancient Egyptians created works of art and engineering that still amaze us today.
This article focuses on Egypt from its prehistory through its unification under Menes (Narmer) in the 3rd millennium BCE-sometimes used as a reference point for Egypt’s origin-and up to the Islamic conquest in the 7th century CE. For subsequent history through the contemporary period, see Egypt.
Ancient Egypt can be thought of as an oasis in the desert of northeastern Africa, dependent on the annual inundation of the Nile River to support its agricultural population. The country’s chief wealth came from the fertile floodplain of the Nile valley, where the river flows between bands of limestone hills, and the Nile delta, in which it fans into several branches north of present-day Cairo. Between the floodplain and the hills is a variable band of low desert that supported a certain amount of game. The Nile was Egypt’s sole transportation artery.
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The First Cataract at Aswān, where the riverbed is turned into rapids by a belt of granite, was the country’s only well-defined boundary within a populated area. To the south lay the far less hospitable area of Nubia, in which the river flowed through low sandstone hills that in most regions left only a very narrow strip of cultivable land. Nubia was significant for Egypt’s periodic southward expansion and for access to products from farther south.
West of the Nile was the arid Sahara, broken by a chain of oases some 125 to 185 miles (200 to 300 km) from the river and lacking in all other resources except for a few minerals. The eastern desert, between the Nile and the Red Sea, was more important, for it supported a small nomadic population and desert game, contained numerous mineral deposits, including gold, and was the route to the Red Sea.
To the northeast was the Isthmus of Suez. It offered the principal route for contact with Sinai, from which came turquoise and possibly copper, and with southwestern Asia, Egypt’s most important area of cultural interaction, from which were received stimuli for technical development and cultivars for crops. Immigrants and ultimately invaders crossed the isthmus into Egypt, attracted by the country’s stability and prosperity. From the late 2nd millennium BCE onward, numerous attacks were made by land and sea along the eastern Mediterranean coast.
At first, relatively little cultural contact came by way of the Mediterranean Sea, but from an early date Egypt maintained trading relations with the Lebanese port of Byblos (present-day Jbail). Egypt needed few imports to maintain basic standards of living, but good timber was essential and not available within the country, so it usually was obtained from Lebanon.
Agriculture centered on the cultivation of cereal crops, chiefly emmer wheat (Triticum dicoccum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). The fertility of the land and general predictability of the inundation ensured very high productivity from a single annual crop. This productivity made it possible to store large surpluses against crop failures and also formed the chief basis of Egyptian wealth, which was, until the creation of the large empires of the 1st millennium BCE, the greatest of any state in the ancient Middle East. Basin irrigation was achieved by simple means, and multiple cropping was not feasible until much later times, except perhaps in the lakeside area of Al-Fayyūm.
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As the river deposited alluvial silt, raising the level of the floodplain, and land was reclaimed from marsh, the area available for cultivation in the Nile valley and delta increased, while pastoralism declined slowly. In addition to grain crops, fruit and vegetables were important, the latter being irrigated year-round in small plots. Fish was also vital to the diet. Papyrus, which grew abundantly in marshes, was gathered wild and in later times was cultivated. It may have been used as a food crop, and it certainly was used to make rope, matting, and sandals. Above all, it provided the characteristic Egyptian writing material, which, with cereals, was the country’s chief export in Late period Egyptian and then Greco-Roman times.
Cattle may have been domesticated in northeastern Africa. The Egyptians kept many as draft animals and for their various products, showing some of the interest in breeds and individuals that is found to this day in the Sudan and eastern Africa. The donkey, which was the principal transport animal (the camel did not become common until Roman times), was probably domesticated in the region. The native Egyptian breed of sheep became extinct in the 2nd millennium BCE and was replaced by an Asiatic breed. Sheep were primarily a source of meat; their wool was rarely used. Goats were more numerous than sheep. Pigs were also raised and eaten.
Ducks and geese were kept for food, and many of the vast numbers of wild and migratory birds found in Egypt were hunted and trapped. Desert game, principally various species of antelope and ibex, were hunted by the elite; it was a royal privilege to hunt lions and wild cattle. Pets included dogs, which were also used for hunting, cats, and monkeys. In addition, the Egyptians had a great interest in, and knowledge of, most species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish in their environment.
Most Egyptians were probably descended from settlers who moved to the Nile valley in prehistoric times, with population increase coming through natural fertility. In various periods there were immigrants from Nubia, Libya, and especially the Middle East. They were historically significant and also may have contributed to population growth, but their numbers are unknown.
Most people lived in villages and towns in the Nile valley and delta. Dwellings were normally built of mud brick and have long since disappeared beneath the rising water table or beneath modern town sites, thereby obliterating evidence for settlement patterns. In antiquity, as now, the most favored location of settlements was on slightly raised ground near the riverbank, where transport and water were easily available and flooding was unlikely.
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Until the 1st millennium BCE, Egypt was not urbanized to the same extent as Mesopotamia. Instead, a few centers, notably Memphis and Thebes, attracted population and particularly the elite, while the rest of the people were relatively evenly spread over the land. The size of the population has been estimated as having risen from 1 to 1.5 million in the 3rd millennium BCE to perhaps twice that number in the late 2nd millennium and 1st millennium BCE. (Much higher levels of population were reached in Greco-Roman times.)
Nearly all of the people were engaged in agriculture and were probably tied to the land. In theory all the land belonged to the king, although in practice those living on it could not easily be removed and some categories of land could be bought and sold. Land was assigned to high officials to provide them with an income, and most tracts required payment of substantial dues to the state, which had a strong interest in keeping the land in agricultural use. Abandoned land was taken back into state ownership and reassigned for cultivation.
The people who lived on and worked the land were not free to leave and were obliged to work it, but they were not enslaved; most paid a proportion of their produce to major officials. Free citizens who worked the land on their own behalf did emerge; terms applied to them tended originally to refer to poor people, but these agriculturalists were probably not poor. Slavery was never common, being restricted to captives and foreigners or to people who were forced by poverty or debt to sell themselves into service. Enslaved persons sometimes even married members of their owners’ families, so that in the long term those belonging to households tended to be assimilated into free society.
In the New Kingdom (from about 1539 to 1077 BCE), large numbers of captives were enslaved and acquired by major state institutions or incorporated into the army. Punitive treatment of enslaved foreigners or of native fugitives from their obligations included forced labor, exile (in, for example, the oases of the western desert), or compulsory enlistment in dangerous mining expeditions. Even nonpunitive employment such as quarrying in the desert was hazardous. The official record of one expedition shows a mortality rate of more than 10 percent.
Just as the Egyptians optimized agricultural production with simple means, their crafts and techniques, many of which originally came from Asia, were raised to extraordinary levels of perfection. The Egyptians’ most striking technical achievement, massive stone building, also exploited the potential of a centralized state to mobilize a huge labor force, which was made available by efficient agricultural practices. Some of the technical and organizational skills involved were remarkable. The construction of the great pyramids of the 4th dynasty (c. 2543-c. 2436 BCE) has yet to be fully explained and would be a major challenge to this day.
This expenditure of skill contrasts with sparse evidence of an essentially neolithic way of living for the rural population of the time, while the use of flint tools persisted even in urban environments at least until the late 2nd millennium BCE. Metal was correspondingly scarce, much of it being used for prestige rather than everyday purposes.
In urban and elite contexts, the Egyptian ideal was the nuclear family, but, on the land and even within the central ruling group, there is evidence for extended families. Egyptians were monogamous, and the choice of partners in marriage, for which no formal ceremony or legal sanction is known, did not follow a set pattern. Consanguineous marriage was not practiced during the Dynastic period, except for the occasional marriage of a brother and sister within the royal family, and that practice may have been open only to kings or heirs to the throne. Divorce was in theory easy, but it was costly.
Women had a legal status only marginally inferior to that of men. They could own and dispose of property in their own right, and they could initiate divorce and other legal proceedings. They hardly ever held administrative office but increasingly were involved in religious cults as priestesses or “chantresses.” Married women held the title “mistress of the house,” the precise significance of which is unknown. Lower down the social scale, they probably worked on the land as well as in the house.
The uneven distribution of wealth, labor, and technology was related to the only partly urban character of society, especially in the 3rd millennium BCE. The country’s resources were not fed into numerous provincial towns but instead were concentrated to great effect around the capital-itself a dispersed string of settlements rather than a city-and focused on the central figure in society, the king. In the 3rd and early 2nd millennia, the elite ideal, expressed in the decoration of private tombs, was manorial and rural. Not until much later did Egyptians develop a more pronouncedly urban character.
A Timeline of Ancient Egypt
The history of ancient Egypt is long and complex, spanning several periods and dynasties. Here's a simplified timeline:
| Period | Approximate Dates | Key Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Early Dynastic Period | ca 3100 B.C. to ca 2575 B.C. | Early pharaohs worked to keep the two lands under their control. Claimed they were being watched over by the falcon god Horus. Used hieroglyphic writing to record royal decrees and taxes. |
| Old Kingdom | ca 2575 B.C. to ca 2150 B.C. | Known as the “Age of the Pyramids.” Pharaohs associated with the sun god Ra. |
| First Intermediate Period | ca 2130 B.C. to ca 1938 B.C. | Pharaohs lost power after drought. Local leaders took control and formed independent states. |
| Middle Kingdom | ca 1938 B.C. to ca 1630 B.C. | Mentuhotep II reunited the country. Era known for producing some of Egypt’s greatest pieces of art. Egyptians wrote stories for entertainment. Pharaohs started construction of Karnak Temple. |
| Second Intermediate Period | ca 1630 B.C. to ca 1540 B.C. | Weak pharaohs lost control. Hyksos ruled in the north; people from Kush took control in Upper Egypt. |
| New Kingdom | ca 1540 B.C. to 1075 B.C. | Egyptians took back control. Famous rulers like Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun, and Ramses II. Most prosperous and powerful period. |
| Third Intermediate Period | ca 1075 B.C. to ca 656 B.C. | Time of drought, famine, and foreign invasions. |
| Late Period | ca 672 B.C. to 332 B.C. | Last time that ancient Egypt was ruled by native Egyptians. King Darius I of Persia took control. |
| Macedonian and Ptolemaic Egypt | 332 B.C. to 30 B.C. | Alexander the Great conquered the ruling Persians. Egypt was ruled by Greek pharaohs, including Cleopatra VII. |
People settled in Egypt as early as 6000 B.C. Over time, small villages joined together to become states until two kingdoms emerged: Lower Egypt, which covers the Nile River Delta up to the Mediterranean Sea in the north, and Upper Egypt, which covers the Nile Valley in the south. (The Nile River flows from south to north, so for the ancient Egyptians, the southern part of the country was "up.")
Around 3100 B.C., a king (later called a pharaoh) united these two lands to be one country, and so historians begin the long history of ancient Egypt here, dividing it into different periods. (They don’t always know the exact date of historical events. So that’s why you’ll see a "ca" next to some of the years. It stands for "circa" meaning "around.")
Map of Ancient Egypt showing Lower and Upper Egypt
Early Dynastic Period, about 525 years (ca 3100 B.C. to ca 2575 B.C.):
These early pharaohs worked to keep the two lands under their control. To do this, they claimed they were being watched over by the falcon god Horus, and so the people of Egypt should respect them. They also used record keeping in the form of hieroglyphic writing to record things like royal decrees and the taxes that the people paid in the form of grain. (A dynasty is a series of rulers from the same family.)
Old Kingdom, about 425 years (ca 2575 B.C. to ca 2150 B.C.):
By this time, the pharaohs had enough power and wealth to build pyramids in their honor; that’s why the Old Kingdom is sometimes called the “Age of the Pyramids.” The pharaohs at this time were mostly associated with the sun god Ra, a tradition that would remain for much of Egypt’s history.
First Intermediate Period, about 200 years (ca 2130 B.C. to ca 1938 B.C.):
These pharaohs lost power after drought hit Egypt. Instead, local leaders took control of their own communities, and they stopped passing along grain to the central government. Eventually, these local rulers formed independent states.
Middle Kingdom, about 300 years (ca 1938 B.C. to ca 1630 B.C.):
Around 1938 B.C., Mentuhotep II reunited the country and began an era known for producing some of Egypt’s greatest pieces of art. For the first time, Egyptians wrote stories for entertainment, and pharaohs started construction of Karnak Temple in the modern-day city of Luxor.
Second Intermediate Period, about 90 years (ca 1630 B.C. to ca 1540 B.C.):
Weak pharaohs again lost control. Invaders from western Asia called Hyksos ruled in the north; people from Kush, a kingdom south of Egypt, took control in Upper Egypt.
New Kingdom, about 465 years (ca 1540 B.C. to 1075 B.C.):
Egyptians took back control and crowned some of Egypt’s most well-known rulers: The female pharaoh Hatshepsut ruled for 21 years; Akhenaten tried to start a new religion, and his son, the boy king Tutankhamun, reigned for 10 years. Ramses II built more monuments to himself than any other pharaoh. This was ancient Egypt's most prosperous and powerful period.
Third Intermediate Period, about 420 years (ca 1075 B.C. to ca 656 B.C.):
This was a time of drought, famine, and foreign invasions. But some pharaohs thrived.
Late Period (ca 672 B.C. to 332 B.C.):
This period marks the last time that ancient Egypt was ruled by native Egyptians. Leading an army from Persia (what is now Iran), King Darius I took control.
Macedonian and Ptolemaic Egypt, about 300 years (332 B.C. to 30 B.C.):
In 332 B.C., Alexander the Great conquered the ruling Persians, then gave control to the Greek general Ptolemy I Soter. From then on, Egypt was ruled by Greek pharaohs. The last one, Cleopatra VII, lost a war to the Roman ruler Octavian. Egypt would be under Roman rule for the next 600 years.
The Mummification Process
Life in Ancient Egypt
Most people in ancient Egypt were farmers. They lived with their families in houses made of mud bricks that were near the Nile River.
The Nile flooded each year, leaving behind fertile soil for planting crops like wheat, barley, lettuce, flax, and papyrus. As the Egyptians learned how to move river water to their fields, they were able to grow more food, including grapes, apricots, olives, and beans.
During flood season, farmers couldn’t tend their crops. So instead, some worked building pyramids, tombs, and monuments. Other people worked as scribes (people who recorded events), priests, and doctors.
Women in ancient Egypt had more freedom than those in other ancient cultures. Like men, they could be scribes, priests, and doctors, and they usually had the same rights as men. Women could own their own homes and businesses.
Ancient Egyptians also like to have fun! They swam and canoed in the Nile, played board games, and they enjoyed making music and dancing.
Ancient Egyptians fishing in the Nile River
The Afterlife
In fact, Egyptians enjoyed life so much that they believed that the afterlife would be almost exactly the same-except without things like sadness, illness, or pesky mosquitoes. Even pets like cats, dogs, or monkeys would join them there.
Being mummified-the process of preserving a body-was an important part of how Egyptians believed their soul would enter the afterlife. So were tombs. These burial chambers were filled with things a person would need there: food, games, and even underwear!
According to legend, ancient Egyptian gods also helped people in the afterlife. Some, like the jackal-headed god Anubis, helped guide people to the underworld, where they would be judged by its ruler, the god Osiris.
Egyptians believed other gods helped them in real life, too. For instance, Osiris’s wife, the goddess Isis, helped cure human sickness, and the goddess Tefnut caused the rain to fall.
Papyrus of Ani depicting the Last Judgment Scene
Why Ancient Egypt Still Matters
Today, millions of tourists visit the country of Egypt each year to see the pyramids, tombs, and temples. But these monuments aren’t all this ancient culture left behind.
Ancient Egyptian astronomers created a calendar much like ours-based on the sun’s rotation-and are thought to be the first civilization to measure a year using 365 days. They were also math geniuses: Historians think that division and multiplication were first developed by these people. (Plus, how else would they have figured out how to build pyramids without a lot of math?)
This was also one of the first civilizations to have a written language using a system called hieroglyphic writing, in which symbols-not letters-represent words or sounds.
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