History
What was ancient Egypt?
Quick answer
Ancient Egypt was a great civilisation along the River Nile that lasted about 3,000 years. It is famous for pharaohs, pyramids, hieroglyphs and mummies.
In one sentence
Ancient Egypt was a civilisation that grew up beside the River Nile in north-east Africa and lasted for about 3,000 years.
Explained
Most of Egypt is desert, but the River Nile runs through it like a green ribbon. Each year the river flooded and left behind dark, fertile mud. Farmers grew wheat, barley and flax there, so people could settle, build towns and feed many families. Read more about the river in the River Nile.
Around 3100 BCE, the land of Upper and Lower Egypt was joined under one ruler. Egyptian kings were called pharaohs. People believed a pharaoh was linked to the gods, and he or she was in charge of law, building projects and the army. Egyptians worshipped many gods, such as Ra the sun god and Osiris, god of the afterlife.
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Egyptians believed life continued after death, so they prepared carefully. They dried the body with salt and wrapped it in linen, a process we call mummification. Pharaohs were buried in huge tombs filled with things they might need. The pyramids of Giza, built about 4,500 years ago, are the best-known tombs. Evidence suggests that they were built by organised teams of paid workers.
Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphs, picture signs that stand for words and sounds. They wrote on papyrus, made from a river reed. After the writing was forgotten, the Rosetta Stone, found in 1799, helped Jean-François Champollion work out how to read it in the 1820s.
Egyptian rule ended in 30 BCE, when Egypt became part of the Roman Empire. Its last ruler was Cleopatra VII.
Examples
| Thing | What it was |
|---|---|
| Pharaoh | the king or queen of Egypt |
| Pyramid | a stone tomb with sloping sides |
| Hieroglyphs | Egyptian picture writing |
| Papyrus | paper made from reeds |
| Tutankhamun | a young pharaoh whose tomb was found almost untouched in 1922 |
| Scribe | a trained writer; very few people could read and write |
Common mistakes
- "Slaves built the pyramids." Archaeologists have found workers' towns, bakeries and tombs, which point to skilled paid labourers.
- "All pharaohs were buried in pyramids." Later pharaohs were buried in hidden tombs in the Valley of the Kings.
- Mixing up the dates. Ancient Egypt lasted so long that Cleopatra lived closer in time to us than to the building of the Great Pyramid.
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Ancient Egypt
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What was the Great Pyramid of Giza built as?
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