ancient egypt

Predynastic period

5500 BCE

By about 5500 BC, small tribes living in the Nile Valley had developed into cultures demonstrating firm control of agriculture and animal husbandry. These cultures were identifiable by their pottery and personal items, such as combs, bracelets, and beads. The largest of these early cultures in upper (southern) Egypt was the Badarian culture, which probably originated in the Western Desert; it was known for its high-quality ceramics, stone tools, and use of copper.

Naqada I Period

3500 BCE

As early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes.[13][14] Mutual trade with the Levant was established during Naqada II (c. 3600–3350 BC); this period was also the beginning of trade with Mesopotamia, which continued into the early dynastic period and beyond.

Language

3200 BCE

The Egyptian language is a northern Afro-Asiatic language closely related to the Berber and Semitic languages. It has the longest known history of any language having been written from c. 3200 BC to the Middle Ages and remaining as a spoken language for longer. The phases of ancient Egyptian are Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian (Classical Egyptian), Late Egyptian, Demotic, and Coptic.

Early Dynastic Period

3000 BCE

The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilization of Mesopotamia and ancient Elam. In the Early Dynastic Period, which began about 3000 BC, the first of the Dynastic kings solidified control over lower Egypt by establishing a capital at Memphis, from which he could control the labor force and agriculture of the fertile delta region, as well as the lucrative and critical trade routes to the Levant.

Maritime technology

3000 BCE

Early Egyptians knew how to assemble planks of wood into a ship hull and had mastered advanced forms of shipbuilding as early as 3000 BC. The Archaeological Institute of America reports that the oldest planked ships known are the Abydos boats. A group of 14 discovered ships in Abydos were constructed of wooden planks "sewn" together.

Writing

3000 BCE

Hieroglyphic writing dates from c. 3000 BC, composed of hundreds of symbols. A hieroglyph can represent a word, a sound, or a silent determinative; the same symbol can serve different purposes in different contexts. Hieroglyphs were a formal script, used on stone monuments and in tombs, that could be as detailed as individual works of art. In day-to-day writing, scribes used a cursive form called hieratic, which was quicker and easier.

Old Kingdom

2400 BCE

Major advances in architecture, art, and technology were made during the Old Kingdom, fueled by the increased agricultural productivity and resulting population growth. Some of ancient Egypt's crowning achievements, the Giza pyramids and Great Sphinx were constructed during the Old Kingdom. With the rising importance of central administration in Egypt, a new class of educated scribes and officials arose who were granted estates by the king in payment for their services.

First Intermediate Period

2100 BCE

After Egypt's central government collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, administration could no longer support or stabilize the country's economy. Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and the ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. By 2160 BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt in the north, while a rival clan based in Thebes, the Intef family, took control of Upper Egypt in the south.

Middle Kingdom

1900 BCE

The kings secured the country militarily and politically and had vast agricultural and mineral wealth at their disposal, flourishing the nation's population, arts, and religion. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom displayed increased expressions of personal piety. Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written confidently and eloquently.

Second Intermediate Period

1600 BCE

The king was treated as a vassal and expected to pay tribute. They and other invaders introduced new tools of warfare into Egypt, most notably the composite bow and the horse-drawn chariot. After retreating south, the native Theban kings found themselves trapped between the Canaanite Hyksos ruling the north and the Hyksos' Nubian allies, the Kushites, to the south. After years of vassalage, Thebes gathered enough strength to challenge the Hyksos in a conflict that lasted more than 30 years.

Tecnology

1600 BCE

In technology, medicine, and mathematics, ancient Egypt achieved a relatively high standard of productivity and sophistication. Traditional empiricism, as evidenced by the Edwin Smith and Ebers papyri (1600 BC), is first credited to Egypt. The Egyptians created their alphabet and decimal system.

New Kingdom

1400 BCE

The New Kingdom pharaohs began a large-scale building campaign to promote the god Amun, whose growing cult was based in Karnak. Around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened when Amenhotep IV ascended the throne and instituted a series of radical and chaotic reforms. Around 1279 BC, Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great, ascended the throne and went on to build more temples, erect more statues and obelisks, and sire more children than any other pharaoh in history.

Literature

1300 BCE

Some of the best-known pieces of ancient Egyptian literature, such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, were written in Classical Egyptian, which continued to be the language of writing until about 1300 BC. Late Egyptian was spoken from the New Kingdom onward and is represented in Ramesside administrative documents, love poetry, and tales, as well as in Demotic and Coptic texts. During this period, the tradition of writing had evolved into the tomb autobiography, such as those of Harkhuf and Weni.

Third Intermediate Period

900 BCE

Following the death of Ramesses XI in 1078 BC, Smendes assumed authority over the northern part of Egypt, ruling from the city of Tanis.The south was effectively controlled by the High Priests of Amun at Thebes, who recognized Smendes in name only.During this time, Libyans had been settling in the western delta, and chieftains of these settlers began increasing their autonomy.

Literature ll

700 BCE

Towards the end of the New Kingdom, the vernacular language was more often employed to write popular pieces such as the Story of Wenamun and the Instruction of Any. The former tells the story of a noble who is robbed on his way to buy cedar from Lebanon and of his struggle to return to Egypt. From about 700 BC, narrative stories and instructions, such as the popular Instructions of Onchsheshonqy, as well as personal and business documents were written in the demotic script and phase of Egyptian.

Late period

500 BCE

The Assyrians left control of Egypt to a series of vassals who became known as the Saite kings of the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty.By 653 BC, the Saite king Psamtik I was able to oust the Assyrians with the help of Greek mercenaries, who were recruited to form Egypt's first navy. Greek influence expanded greatly as the city-state of Naucratis became the home of Greeks in the Nile Delta.

Ptolemaic period

200 BCE

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt with little resistance from the Persians and was welcomed by the Egyptians as a deliverer. The administration established by Alexander's successors, the Macedonian Ptolemaic Kingdom, was based on an Egyptian model and based in the new capital city of Alexandria.The city showcased the power and prestige of Hellenistic rule, and became a centre of learning and culture, that included the famous Library of Alexandria as part of the Mouseion.

Roman period

30 BCE

Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire in 30 BC, following the defeat of Mark Antony and Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII by Octavian in the Battle of Actium. Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome.Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than the Greeks towards the Egyptians, some traditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods continued.

Roman Period ll

200

The art of mummy portraiture flourished, and some Roman emperors had themselves depicted as pharaohs, though not to the extent that the Ptolemies had.The former lived outside Egypt and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration became Roman in style and closed to native Egyptians.

New discovery

2010

In 1977, an ancient north-south canal was discovered extending from Lake Timsah to the Ballah Lakes.In 2011, archaeologists from Italy, the United States, and Egypt, excavating a dried-up lagoon known as Mersa Gawasis, unearthed traces of an ancient harbor that once launched early voyages, such as Hatshepsut's Punt, expedition onto the open ocean. In 2013, a team of Franco-Egyptian archaeologists discovered what is believed to be the world's oldest port, dating back about 4500 years.