About 5,000 years ago, a remarkable way of life, or civilization, grew
up along the banks of the Nile River in Egypt. It flourished for over
3,000 years, longer than most other civilizations in the world's
history. Egypt is among the most influential of Arab states. It lies
between Africa and the Middle East. This ancient country holds a history
of over 6,000 years and has many exciting attractions for travelers.
The Pyramids, the Sphinx, the tomb of young King Tut are just a few
attractions that interest and excite people of all ages.
Egypt’s Creation
Egyptian history begins around 3300 BC. This was when the Egyptians
finally had enough symbols in their writing to record history. From 3100
BC inscriptions created a way for later Egyptians. It was also the time
when the pharaoh, King Menes, created Egypt by uniting the two parts of
Egypt, also known as Upper and Lower Egypt, into a single kingdom. He
started Memphis in the north and Abydos in the south as his capital
cities. A series of strong and able rulers established a well organized
government. The calendar was introduced during this time and the sun-god
Re was the most loved god-figure. Over time, authority began to
disappear and Egypt was controlled by foreign princes. These rulers
introduced the horses and chariots to Egypt.
Egypt Reigns
After many failed dynasties and deaths of great rulers, a time span of
more than 400 years, power moved into the hands of priests and the
empire declined. The dynasties became so weak, that Alexander the Great
had no problem taking over Egypt. Although he did not spend much time in
Egypt, his capital city of Alexandria, where he is believed to be
buried, is to this day very successful. His empire was divided among his
generals and this Greek dynasty ended with the reign of Cleopatra VII.
She ruled jointly over Egypt with her son from their city of Alexandria
in Lower Egypt, which became a world center of Greek culture. For over
300 years Greek-speaking pharaohs ruled Egypt, then Egypt became a
province of Rome. A division of power resulted in the abandonment of
Egypt. Many foreign countries came in and took over Egypt for short
times. After many years of hard work and wars, Egypt finally became its
own independent country with a President.
The Nile River
No other civilization in the time of the pharaohs could compete with
Egypt's magnificent buildings, its wealth, or its long centuries of
peace. To a large extent, this is because other civilizations did not
have Egypt's main advantage -- its great river. For tens of thousands of
years the focal point of Egyptian life has been the River Nile. Egypt
is correctly said to be the gift of the Nile and Egypt's two most
important areas are the Delta and the Nile Valley. The Nile Delta is the
heartland of Egypt. The ancient Egyptians believed that the waters of
the Nile came from a "mysterious heaven of plenty". All of Egypt
depended on the Nile for water, food, and transportation. The need to
maintain irrigation channels as well as the convenient transportation
that the river provided were some of the reasons Egypt was the first
country in the world to have a national government. The availability of
this unlimited supply of water allowed the creation of a society which
produced the wonders of ancient Egypt.
Pharaohs
Pharaoh simply means "the one who lives in the palace". Egyptians
addressed their pharaoh as though he were a god with several forms. They
thought he was more than human and addressed him with the names of
several gods. The pharaoh's most godlike names were "son of Re" and
"giver of life like Re". The Egyptians believed that no single name
could express the greatness of their ruler. They also believed by
serving the gods, the king helped the sun to rise every morning and
helped the Nile to flood at the end of each summer. They believed that
in return for the offerings of food and water that only the pharaoh
could make, the gods would feed the souls of the Egyptians after death.
The pharaoh's power was almighty and unquestioned. As a matter of fact,
just touching the pharaoh's crown or scepter, even accidentally, carried
the death penalty. The pharaoh's chief duty was to build and maintain
temples to the gods.
Pyramids
The buildings of Egypt that will impress you the most are probably the
pyramids. All of them were built to contain the tombs of pharaohs. So
far, 46 pyramids have been found. Others may still be discovered, lying
in the ruins, under the desert sands. In the 27th century BC, the first
pyramid was built and pyramids became the most popular way to bury
royalty. It is the pyramids themselves that make Egyptian archeology so
exciting. One reason why the pyramids were so fascinating was that they
were the earliest buildings ever to be made by precisely cutting and
putting together great blocks of stone. In stonework, Egypt led the
world for more than 2,000 years. The Egyptians believed that a dead
person's soul still needed the dead body and special objects buried with
it in order to survive after death. They knew that the dry desert
preserves things well, and they chose burial places there that are often
well preserved today. Important Egyptians were wealthy enough to build
magnificent tombs and furnish them richly with treasures, inscriptions,
paintings, and statues. One of the most famous pyramids is the Great
Pyramid of Khufu. It has 2,300,000 blocks and each block in the pyramid
weighs 2.5 tons.
Hieroglyphic Inscriptions
Egyptians did not paint images to show what people were really like,
instead, a picture was a kind of diagram. These diagrams were thought to
have magical powers. To preserve the magical power of their art, the
Egyptians believed they must copy exactly the style handed down through
the ages. This meant that most artists painted in the same way, and the
people they painted all looked the same. Tomb pictures were closely
connected with Egypt's famous picture writing, or hieroglyphs, invented
about 5,000 years ago. The Egyptians believed hieroglyphs were magical
too, and they used them mostly in temples and tombs. All hieroglyphic
symbols began as pictures standing for whole words. To write all the
words they wanted to, however, the Egyptians needed to put some word
pictures to work as signs for sounds.
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