Ancient Egypt - Its Rise and Fall

1. The rise of the Egyptian empire

During 12,000 B.C. early hunter-gatherers had appered to have moved into the Nile River Valley. Through time, these groups turned to farming and formed settlements along the river. This was the begining of the Ancient Egyptian empire. Throughout this empire many scientific advancements were made in mathematics and scienc alike. Many monuments were built in Giza and Luxor that still stand as monuments in the eternal desert sands today. In this period of history the idea of mummification came about which was to dehydrate a body and prepare them for there eternal sleep in the afterlife whch took about 105 day. This was usually done to a pharaohs who had the wealth to build a pyramid. This was a very important part in history which was why it was one of the most known civilizations to man.

A. The dynasties of the pharaohs

Over many centuries there were strong leaders that helped to unite early Egyptian settlements. Through these rulers two kingdoms were born-Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. The form of government in these kingdoms was a monarchy where the king or queen rules the kingdom. Throughout this time period many kings and Queens led Egypt like Ramses II and Hatshepsut. many wars broke out and many conflicts were solved due to the power of the current king or Queen. This is one way that each kingdom was diverse in many ways.Upper Egypt layed south from the Mediteranean Sea which was along the upper Nile River. Lower Egypt was north of that at the Nile River Delta. Sometime around 3200 B.C. a ruler from Upper Egypt named Menes united all Egypt into one Kingdom. This increased Egypts power and prosperity. Later on Egyptian rulers took the title of pharaoh which meant great house after the luxurious houses they dwelled in. Menes also founded a dynasty which was a family of rulers in which the right to rule passes on within the family usually from father to son or father to daughter.

1. Old Kingdom

The old kingdom lasted from about 2650 to 2180 B.C. This is the period when many important developmeants in science and the arts took place. One example of their great accomplishments are the mighty pyramids that still stand in the Egyptian sands today. Around this time is when the upper class of Egypt consisted of the pharaoh, the royal family, and the priests and officials who helped govern the city. These were the people who usually had pyramids bulit for them. A pyramid is a large building where mummified bodies were placed. These pyramids were trangular and were almost geometricaly perfect. Scientsis and acheoligists are still amazed on how they were built. The bodies that were placed in these pyramids were first tookien through the long process of mummification. This proess involved removing the untrails of the deceised and placing them in canopic jars. Then the body was left to dehydrate in salt for many day. Then franksence was placed in the body after dehydaration. After that the body was wrapped in linen and placed in the sarcofigus in the pyramid. around the tomb were placed objects that the dead could use in the after life such as chariots and even boats. These tombs were very luxurious while the tombs of the peasants were nothing but a hole in the ground. The peasants and farmers who stood for most of the population were considered the lower class. The lower class owed the pharaohs certain services, such as duty in the army or work on the pyramids and irrigation systems. Near the end of the old kingdom the group of upper class Egyptians gradually became a hereditary group of noble which grew stronger as the pharaohs grew weaker. Throughout the last 100 years of the old kingdom civil wars divided the country as rivals claimed the thrown.

2. First intermediate period

The first intermediate period is one of two intermediate periods. This period is when a series of weak pharaohs ruled Egypt. During this time many invasions and civil wars occured throughout Egypt. Most of Egypt was in conflict and was very difficult to control. That is a reason why the rulers were so weak for a long period of time and were not able to reastablish order. Since the kingdom was broken apart during the old kingdom this period was very hard to control and that is one reason why the pharaohs in this period were weak. During this period there was also widespread famine due to low Nile floods. This period lasted from 2134 to 2040 until the Middle kingdom was created.

3. Middle Kingdom

The Middle Kingdom was a time of rebirth for Egypt. There was a new line of pharaohs that reunited Egypt. Once again the hereditary class of nobles