Timeline of Ancient Egypt by Margaret Lynch

Early Dynastic Period

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:02:44 UTC

The nations of Upper and Lower Egypt became united under a king, later called a “pharaoh.” Early images of the king were usually brutal ones, commonly showing smiting scenes or the slaughter of prisoners of war. The leader of the Early Dynastic Period was Narmer.

Old Kingdom

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:05:14 UTC

During the Old Kingdom (also called the Pyramid Age) the power of the Egyptian monarchy reached its zenith. The king was powerful enough to mobilize a significant percentage of the population to move to Giza during the farming off-season and help to build a pyramid. The leaders of the Old Kingdom Period were King Djoser and Khufu.

Middle Kingdom

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:09:24 UTC

Pyramids were smaller and there was less wealth in the hands of the rulers. The middle class gained access to consumer items such as jewelry and books. The Middle Kingdom was a time of great literature. Scribes would copy the stories and instructional writings of this time for thousands of years.

Middle Kingdom pharaohs strengthened their borders by building fortresses in the western and eastern delta to keep out invading Libyans and peoples of the Levant, respectively. In Nubia, to the south, the Egyptians maintained or expanded extensive outposts dating back to the Old Kingdom.

New Kingdom

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:11:41 UTC

Egypt guarded itself after the Second Intermediate Period. She carved out an empire using foreign allies as “buffer states” to guard against invasion. Some of these lands never realized the Egyptians were “using” them. They constantly asked the pharaoh why he had not sent them presents of gold.

The New Kingdom, often called the “Empire Age,” began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, famous for such fascinating rulers as Hatshepsut and Amenhotep III.

Saite and Late Period

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:13:14 UTC

The Assyrians (in the northeastern part of modern Iraq) invaded Egypt in 663 BCE. They drove out the Nubians and then, distracted by troubles at home, they left Egypt to its own devices. Psamtik, an Egyptian king of Libyan descent, set up the Twenty-sixth Dynasty.

Greco Roman Period

margaretlynch5 — 2024-01-10 18:16:40 UTC

The Macedonian/Greek army of Alexander the Great occupied Egypt in 332 BCE, and the young Alexander declared himself pharaoh. Alexander’s generals, including a man named Ptolemy, split up his empire when he died. Ptolemy gained control of Egypt, establishing a dynasty that lasted for nearly three hundred years, concluding with the tragic story of Cleopatra.

After Cleopatra’s death, the Romans seized Egypt as its province and used her people to farm food for its troops. The life expectancy of common people dropped sharply under Roman rule. In 384 CE the Roman Emperor Theodosius effectively converted.