The great Ancient Egyptian civilization arose more than 5,000 years ago among farmers living on the banks of the River Nile. It lasted for 3,000 years – longer than any other civilization on Earth. What is really remarkable is that throughout this long history, the way of lite and the art and sculpture of Ancient Egypt remained largely unchanged.
Six famous Pharaoh and their significance
Khufu
Ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid. This is the only surviving statue of king Khufu.
Hatshepsut
Powerful queen who ruled Egypt for 20 years and even wore the pharaoh’s ritual false beard.
Akhenaten
Banished the traditional gods and set up his own religion.
Tutankhamun
In 1922, the tomb of this boy-pharaoh was found with all its magnificent burial goods intact.
Rameses ll
Reignecl over Egypt for 67 years and built more monuments and statues than any other pharaoh.
Cleopatra VII
One of the most famous women in history, she killed herself when Egypt fell to the Romans.
Pharaohs FAST FACTS
01: The king of Egypt was called the “pharaoh”, a word that originally meant “great house”, or “palace”, but came to describe the man who lived there.
02: He was thought to be a living god and wore a ritual false beard as a symbol of royalty.
03: He also wore a red crown and a white crown symbolizing the union of Upper Egypt (the river valley) with Lower Egypt (the Nlile delta).
Great Pyramid facts and figures
The Great Pyramid is the largest stone structure on Earth.
2.5 tonnes
The average weight of each block used in the construction of the Great Pyramid is 2.5 tonnes.
20
How many years it took to build Great Pyramid.
1 46 m
(480 ft) The height from ground to capstone of Great Pyramid.
230 m
(755 ft) The length of each of the four sides of Great Pyramid.
800 km
(500 miles) The distance blocks were transported from the quarry to the pyramid site.
4,000
The number of workers involved in building of the Great Pyramid.
2,300,000
The total number of blocks used in construction of Great Pyramid.
6,500,000 tonnes
The total weight of the pyramid.
RECORD BREAKER
The pharaoh Pepy II reigned for 94 years – the longest reign in all of recorded history. He was only six when he came to the throne in 2278 BCE and died in 2184 BCE, at the ripe old age of 100.
What’s in the name of Egypt
The Egyptians knew their country as Kemet, which means “the Black Land”, from the rich dark soil of the Nile valley. They called the surrounding desert “the Red Land” – Deshret.
How to: make a mummy
Egyptians are well known for their mummies. Let’s find out how did they make a mummy.
01. Wash the body as soon as possible after death.
02. Take out the brain. It is useless, so you can yank it out through the nostrils using a hook and throw it away.
03. Remove the internal organs and place them inside special containers called canopic jars. Leave the heart as it contains the soul.
04. Fill the body cavity with a salty mineral called natron to absorb moisture. Cover the body with more natron and leave it to dry for 40 days.
05. Rub the skin with oils, stuff sawdust inside the body to give it shape, and put balls of linen into the eye sockets.
06. Wrap the body in linen bandages, placing amulets (magic charms) between layers to protect the mummy on its journey to the afterlife.
Egyptian gods
The Sun god, who also represented kingship.
Creator god, associated with fertility.
Wife of Amun and goddess of war.
Jackal-headed god of the dead and mummification.
Crocodile god and ruler of the Nile.
God of the dead and the afterlife.
Wife of Osiris and goddess of nature and fertility.
Falcon-headed god of the sky, light, and life.
God of deserts, storms, chaos, and evil.
God of wisdom and writing.
Egyptians worshipped around 2,000 different gods and goddesses.
Ra
The Sun god, who also represented kingship.
Amun
Creator god, associated with fertility.
Mut
Wife of Amun and goddess of war.
Anubis
Jackal-headed god of the dead and mummification.
Sobek
Crocodile god and ruler of the Nile.
Osiris
God of the dead and the afterlife.
Isis
Wife of Osiris and goddess of nature and fertility.
Horus
Falcon-headed god of the sky, light, and life.
Seth
God of deserts, storms, chaos, and evil.
Thoth
God of wisdom and writing.
Pyramids and royal burials
The pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs during the period known as the Old Kingdom, more than 4,500 years ago.
You won’t believe it!
Egyptian noblewomen at court tied scented cones of animal fat to the tops of their wigs to make themselves smell nice as the perfumed fat melted. Both men and women wore coloured eye make-up.
Egyptian kingdoms and dynasties
Early Dynastic Period
c 3100-2686 BCE
1st and 2nd dynasties.
Old Kingdom
c 2686-2181 BCE
3rd-6th dynasties
First Intermediate Period
c 2181-2055 BCE
7th-11th dynasties
Middle Kingdom
c 2055-1650 BCE
11th-14th dynasties
Second Intermediate Period
c 1650-1550 BCE
15th-17th dynasties
New Kingdom
c 1550-1069 BCE
18th-20th dynasties
Third Intermediate Period
c 1069-715 BCE
21st-25th dynasties
Late Period
c 715-332 BCE
26th-30th dynasties
Ptolemaic Period
c 333-30 BCE
Macedonian and Ptolemaic dynasties