PHARAOHS
5500 BC / 3100 BC
prehistoric egypt
This period covers all of ancient Egyptian prehistory, from the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age), down to the end of the Neolithic (New Stone Age). Strictly speaking, “prehistory” refers to the phase of a culture before it had writing. In Egypt’s case, writing appears at around the same time as the end of its Stone Age, around 3100 BC. This is also when Egypt as a unified political entity came into being, making it the world’s oldest nation state
3100 BC / 2686 BC
Early Dynastic Period
Ancient Egyptian history before the Graeco‑Roman Period is called the Dynastic Period, which is divided into 30 dynasties. The Early Dynastic Period begins with the unification of Egypt into a single political entity around 3100 BC, and consists of the very first two dynasties.
2686 BC / 2181 BC
Old Kingdom
The Third to Sixth Dynasties make up the Old Kingdom. The king’s power continued to grow during this period. The early-Third Dynasty King Djoser built an even grander tomb, this time back in Saqqara. He intended to built a mastaba tomb like the kings of the First and Second Dynasties. This was gradually expanded, and five successive mastabas were built on top of one another,
2181 BC / 2055 BC
First Intermediate Period
The weakness of the rulers of the Sixth Dynasty resulted in the loss of order and control over the country, and an increase in the power of provincial governors. These local administrators eventually became completely independent from Memphis and, seeking to extend their respective territories, came to establish their own forces. This resulted in civil wars and the deterioration of political and economic conditions. It is believed that it was during this period of turmoil that the royal pyramid complexes were robbed.
2055 BC / 1650 BC
Middle Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom was a time of great prosperity. It consists of the Eleventh to Thirteenth Dynasties. Although the Eleventh Dynasty had its origins in the First Intermediate Period, it is a later king in this same royal family who reunified Egypt, thus initiating the Middle Kingdom.
1650 BC / 1550 BC
Second Intermediate Period
Already during the Twelfth Dynasty in the Middle Kingdom, large numbers of migrants from the Levant (the area of Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria) had started to come into Egypt. Most settled in the north-eastern Delta. A contemporary text names one of their leaders Heqa khasut “the ruler of foreign lands”. This word is more familiar to us today in its Hellenized (Greek) form, Hyksos. It is unknown how they came to power, but the weaker Thirteenth Dynasty was unable to prevent this from happening, and they moved their capital from Itj-Tawy in the north to Thebes (modern Luxor) in Upper Egypt, away from the sphere of influence of the Hyksos
1550 BC / 1069 BC
New Kingdom
During the New Kingdom, Egypt became a great empire of the ancient Near East. Its southern borders reached the Fourth Cataract in Nubia, and to modern-day Syria in the north. The economy flourished to an astounding degree, and most of the most famous and impressive surviving ancient Egyptian monuments date to this period.
1069 BC / 747 BC
Third Intermediate Period
The Third Intermediate Period was, on the whole, a period of decentralization and weakness. By the end of his reign, Ramesses XI (c.1099–1069 BC), the last king of the New Kingdom, was no longer in effective rule of the whole of Egypt. After his death, a branch of the Ramesside family ruled from Tanis (modern San al-Hagar) in the north-eastern Delta.
747 BC / 332 BC
Late Period
When the Kushite kings conquered Egypt, one of the line of rulers that had emerged in Egypt was the Twenty-fourth Dynasty, based in Sais in the western Delta. The Nubians killed their king, Bakenrenef (Bocchoris to the Greeks). After the Assyrians conquered Egypt and the Kushite king Tanutamani retreated to Nubia, King Assurbanipal installed the Saite kings to rule Egypt on his behalf.
