The Egyptians

Egyptian History and Geography

The Nile River cuts through a valley in northeast Africa. Seen from the sky, the river is surrounded by a narrow band of blazing green on both sides. Beyond the green is dry desert. Stark red cliffs rise on either side of the valley.

The ancient Egyptians called their land Kemet, which meant "black land" — the rich black earth watered yearly when the Nile flooded. Crops grew only where the floodwaters moistened the land. Farmers learned to irrigate, so they could grow two or three crops a year before the flood waters retreated completely. Crops could not be grown in the desert, called the "red land." There was very little rain. Over most of Egypt the sun blazed down day after day, and only in the evenings did the air grow cool.

Ancient Egyptians believed that people could return to life after death, just as plants grew back each year with the Nile's flood. They believed that bodies, if preserved and reunited with their spirits, could enter afterlife (the life people led after leaving this world). They buried their dead with the supplies they would need for eternal life. They soaked pharaohs' bodies in a mineral called natron to preserve them as mummies. They buried the pharaohs in pyramids or rock-cut tombs meant to last forever.

The Egyptians spent much time preparing for the afterlife. They loved this life and they believed something quite like it would continue after they died. Tomb paintings show vivid pictures of people feasting and playing, as well as working hard in fields, workshops, and homes. Both rich and poor Egyptians played board games and enjoyed singing and dancing. They owed their lives and their pleasures to the gifts of the Nile — food, water, and transportation.

Nature made the Nile a wonderful means of travel. This huge river is the largest in the world running from south to north. While the current rushes one way, the wind blows the other. Nature helped ancient Egyptian travelers go in either direction. Boats could float with the current down the river to the north, and sail up the river to the south.

It was fairly easy to get from one end of Egypt to the other, but it was hard to get into Egypt from other countries. The desert, the sea, and fierce river rapids isolated Egypt from cultures on all sides. Its geography protected Egypt from most invaders. It also kept other cultures from greatly changing the Egyptian way of life.

Over the 3,000 years covered in this book, Egyptian culture changed in many ways — but not nearly as much as our own has changed in a shorter period of time. An Egyptian from 2800 B.C. would still recognize many ways of living in 300 B.C. Do you think a Native American or European from 500 B.C. — long before the beginning of the English language, many religions, electricity, or computers — would recognize anything in the modern United States?

Our book begins in 3100 B.C., the start of the first Egyptian dynasty (DIE-nus-tee), or family of kings. (Some scholars give that date as 3000 B.C., or even 2675 B.C.) Ancient Egyptians believed their civilization began when Upper Egypt united with Lower Egypt under a king named Menes (MEN-aze).

Egyptian history is usually sorted into periods of time called kingdoms. There were three kingdoms in ancient Egypt: old, middle, and new. The Old Kingdom began around 2675 B.C. In between the kingdoms were periods of conflict called intermediate periods. Sometimes during the intermediate periods more than one king claimed to be pharaoh. In two of the intermediate periods, foreigners ruled Egypt. People called Hyksos (HEEK-sose) ruled Egypt during one of them, and Nubians ruled Egypt during part of another.

After the New Kingdom came the Third Intermediate Period, followed by a Late Period. The Late Period ended in 332 B.C. when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt.

After Alexander's death, his general Ptolemy (TALL-uh-mee) and Ptolemy's descendents ruled, during a time called the Ptolemaic (tall-uh-MAY-ik) Period. The Ptolemies formed the last dynasty in Egypt. In 30 B.C. the Romans defeated the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra, beginning Roman rule of Egypt. Cleopatra's death marks the endpoint of this book.

Egyptian Architecture

Jutting into the sky, the pyramids look as if they will endure forever. The Egyptians meant the pyramids to inspire awe, both among the pharaoh's subjects and among foreign visitors. The builders strove to make the pyramids grand and glorious because they were meant for gods. The Egyptians believed their kings were gods. They wanted the tombs, like the gods, to last for eternity.

In fact these pyramids, especially the early ones, have held up remarkably well. The Great Pyramid of Giza was called one of the Seven Wonders of the World by an ancient Greek traveler Herodotus (her-ODD-o-tus) because it was one of the biggest man-made structures of the time. (The other six wonders were the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Hanging Garden of Babylon, and the Pharos at Alexandria.) Many of the pyramid's outer blocks were removed to build the modern city of Cairo. Even without its smooth limestone exterior, the pyramid still inspires awe.

The earliest Egyptian pharaohs were buried in mud-brick tombs called mastabas (ma-STA-bas), until a brilliant man named Imhotep (im-HO-tep) designed the first pyramid for King Djoser (JOE-sir), around 2660 B.C. Imhotep was the king's architect, as well as an astronomer, priest, physician, and scribe. He was called the eyes, ears, and hands of the pharaoh and was appointed the king's vizier (prime minister). He was such an amazing man that thousands of years later Imhotep was worshipped as a minor god. This first pyramid was later called the Step Pyramid because it looked like a staircase. In fact, the Egyptians believed the king would climb the steps to heaven when he died.

This pyramid is remarkable for many reasons. It was the first time people in Egypt used stone for building. Before then they used mud brick. Also, the architect kept changing his mind while building it. First Imhotep...