ANCIENT EGYPT

Ancient Egypt was one of the world’s great civilizations. It was

blessed by a moderately warm climate, a river that fl ooded regularly

and fertilized the land with soil carried by the fl oodwaters from

the highlands of Ethiopia, and relative isolation from foreign invaders

for the fi rst 10 centuries of its existence. The people were industrious,

obedient to a government that ensured cooperation and justice, and

faithful to a pantheon of gods and goddesses who they believed ensured

their well-being in this life and after death.

The accomplishments of the ancient Egyptians are many and varied.

They pioneered in architecture, building comfortable homes as well as

monumental temples and tombs. Their builders devised every method

of joining wood (scarce even in ancient Egypt) known to carpentry, as

well as methods of air-cooling houses and even building latrines. Their

scribes developed one of the world’s fi rst writing systems, which they

used to keep records and to create stories, poems, and religious texts.

They also developed an early system of numbers, which they used to

survey land, calculate taxes, and measure weight, distance, and time.

Their artisans developed techniques and tools for working with copper,

tin, bronze, and precious metals such as silver and gold. Their scientists

explored astronomy, engineering, and medicine, and their artists created

sculptures ranging from miniature fi gures found in tombs to the

Great Sphinx of Giza, which rises 65 feet (20 m) above the bedrock out

of which it was carved.

Since ancient times historians have customarily divided Egypt’s past

by dynasties (ruling families), usually numbering 30. Egypt’s history is

generally divided into the following periods: the Predynastic Period (to

3100 B.C.E.), the Early Dynastic Period (First–Second Dynasties, 3100–

2686 B.C.E), the Old Kingdom (Third–Sixth Dynasties, 2686–2181 B.C.E)

the First Intermediate Period (Seventh–Tenth Dynasties, 2181–2040

B.C.E), the Middle Kingdom (Eleventh–Thirteenth Dynasties, 2040–

1750 B.C.E), the Second Intermediate Period (Fourteenth–Seventeenth

Dynasties, 1750–1550 B.C.E), New Kingdom (Eighteenth–Twentieth

Dynasties, 1550–1069 B.C.E), the Third Intermediate Period (Twentyfi

rst–Twenty-fourth Dynasties, 1069–715 B.C.E), and the Late Period

(Twenty-fi fth–Thirtieth Dynasties, 747–332).