This December I traveled back in time several thousand years to ancient Egypt. Since childhood, I’d always been interested in ancient Egyptian civilization. In fact, when I went off to college, I intended to become an archaeologist. Somehow, I got sidetracked into various other careers and now, in my mid-70s, I was finally able to fulfill my dream of seeing the pyramids and the treasures of the pharaohs.
As usual, prior to the trip (a 15-day OAT adventure called Ancient Egypt and the Eternal Nile), I did a lot of preparation. It took a while, which is not surprising considering the 5000 years of Egyptian history I tried to cover. To learn about ancient Egypt, I spent several weeks listening to a series of 48 half-hour lectures on the subject from The Great Courses. By the time I left on my trip, my brain was full of facts and stories about Egyptian religion and practices (mummification, for example) as well as dates, events, and names of pharaohs, gods, and goddesses. A friend even gave me a quick lesson in deciphering hieroglyphs. For more recent history (the past 2000 years), I only had time for some cursory reading.
I hope you find the following summary of Egyptian history to be helpful as you follow my adventures in the coming posts about my trip. (I apologize in advance if there are any factual errors in the information below.) Keep in mind that the since the Nile River flows from south to north into the Mediterranean Sea, Upper Egypt is in the south and Lower Egypt is in the north.
Civilization began in Upper and Lower Egypt around 6000 years ago, i.e. 4000 BCE. In 3150 BCE, King Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom. The early pharaohs ruled from Memphis (12 miles south of Cairo). They identified with the sun god, Ra.
The Old Kingdom (2700-2200 BCE) was a time of peace and prosperity. It was the age of pyramid building, thanks to innovative architect Imhotep. Important pharaohs from this period include Djoser (3rd dynasty) who built the step pyramid at Saqqara; Khufu (4th dynasty), who built the Great Pyramid at Giza; and Khufu’s son, Khafre, who built the Great Sphinx at Giza.
The First Intermediate Period, a time of drought and internal conflict of warring states, began around 2200 BCE and lasted about 150 years.
The Middle Kingdom began when the ruler of Thebes (in Upper Egypt) reunited Egypt in 2100 BCE. Peace and prosperity lasted about 300 years. This period was marked by the construction of irrigation canals; trade and commerce by ship; and the building of the temple to the god Amun at Karnak.
The Second Intermediate Period began when the Hyksos people invaded from the north in 1800 BCE and occupied Lower Egypt. The capital was moved from Memphis (Lower Egypt) to Thebes (Upper Egypt). The Hyksos were defeated and expelled in 1570 BCE by an army from Upper Egypt.
During the New Kingdom (c. 1550-1070 BCE), Egypt expanded into an empire through conquests from Syria to Upper Nubia. Pharaohs from dynasties 18-20 include the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (late 1400s BCE); Amenhotep III (mid-late 1300s BCE); Akhenaten, with his radical ideas about religion; the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen (early 1300s BCE); and Ramesses II (aka Ramesses the Great). The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt probably took place during the reign of the pharaoh Merneptah, son of Ramesses II. During the New Kingdom, pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings.
As the New Kingdom declined, Egypt was ruled by priest-kings from 1100-945 BCE. For the next few centuries, Egypt fell under the rule of the neighboring Libyans and then by the neighboring Nubians (from Kush, in modern-day Sudan).
The victory of Achaemenid king Darius over the Egyptians in 525 BCE ushered in two lengthy periods of Persian rule, interrupted by the brief reign of Nectanebo, the last native Egyptian ruler. Persian rule lasted until 332 BCE, when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and appointed his Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy to take control of Egypt.
During the Greco-Roman Period, the new city of Alexandria became the capital of Egypt and the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled as pharaohs. The Greek language and Hellenistic culture dominated Egypt. The Romans sought control of Egypt during the reign of Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler. Unable to overcome Roman military power, Cleopatra VII committed suicide in 30 BCE and Egypt was forced to become a Roman province. This is considered the end of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Following the Roman conquest, Alexandria remained an important Greek-speaking center of trade, scholarship, science, and technology. Christianity reached Egypt in the 1st century CE and gradually expanded, especially after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. The Egyptian Coptic Church was established in 451 CE.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, Egypt became part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman world. This lasted until Arab Muslims conquered Egypt in the mid-7th century. With Egypt part of the Islamic Empire, many Egyptians became (Sunni) Muslims. In the centuries following the Arab conquest, Egypt came under the control of various Islamic rulers (the Fatimids, Ayyubids, and Mamluks).
In 1517, the Ottoman Turks (also Muslims) conquered Egypt. Although Egypt became part of the Ottoman Empire, its rulers had a fair amount of autonomy. Economic and social conditions gradually deteriorated as the Ottoman Empire weakened over the centuries. The French, under Napoleon, invaded Egypt in 1798, but were expelled three years later by a combined Ottoman, Mamluk, and British force. In 1805, the Ottomans named the Albanian Muhammad Ali as viceroy in charge of Egypt. Under Muhammad Ali and his successors, cotton was introduced as a cash crop and Egypt began to modernize. The Suez Canal opened in 1869.
European countries exerted increasing influence over Egypt in the 19th century as Ottoman power declined. While the dynasty established by Muhammad Ali remained at the head of the government, the British took indirect control of the country starting in 1882 when they defeated the Egyptian army. At the start of World War I in 1914, Britain officially declared a protectorate over Egypt.
In 1922, Britain granted “independence” to Egypt while retaining control of the Suez Canal and maintaining a military presence. The head of the dynasty established by Muhammad Ali became the king. Six years later, the Muslim Brotherhood was founded to resist British domination. British occupation lasted until the monarchy was overthrown in 1952. When Nasser became president in 1956, he nationalized the Suez Canal. A lot has happened in Egypt since then, but I think you’re ready now to join me on a trip back in time to ancient Egypt. See you there soon!
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