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102-741: Saqqara is the site of the first Egyptian pyramid , the Pyramid of Djoser , and thus the first pyramid field in the Memphite Necropolis, established in the 27th Century BCE during the Third Dynasty , with another 16 pyramids built over the centuries though the Fifth Dynasty. However, the site was used for burials at least as early as the First Dynasty (Ca. 32nd Century BCE ), and remained in almost continuous use as

204-560: A 13 ft-long papyrus that contains texts from Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead . The papyrus scroll belonged to a man named Bu-Khaa-Af, whose name is written on it, on his sarcophagus, and on four ushabtis . Excerpts from the Book of the Dead were also painted onto the surface of other coffins. Also found in the shafts were wooden funerary masks, board games, a shrine dedicated to god of

306-454: A 36-foot (11-meter) deep burial shaft revealed almost 30 sarcophagi that had remained completely sealed since their interment. On 3 October 2020, Khalid el-Anany, Egypt's tourism and antiquities minister announced the discovery of at least 59 sealed sarcophagi with mummies more than 2,600 years old. Archaeologists also revealed the 20 statues of Ptah-Soker and a carved 35-centimeter tall bronze statue of god Nefertem . On 19 October 2020,

408-420: A cache of 30 coffins with mummies was discovered, at the time Egypt's largest in more than a century and the first cache to be discovered by a solely Egyptian mission. The coffins were stacked on top of each other and arranged in two rows about three feet below the sandy surface. The first coffin's head was partially exposed in the sand, which led to the cache's discovery. Two of the coffins belonged to children,

510-646: A cemetery for 3000 years until the Ptolemaic Period ( 30 BC E). Dahshur is the second of the pyramid complexes to be established in Egypt, with the unique Bent Pyramid of Sneferu in the Fourth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom ( 27th Century BCE ). The site would be in intermittent use as a burial ground and pyramid field for a millennium where the last of more than six pyramids was built in

612-479: A combination of widespread propaganda and deft political skill. Her co-regent and successor Thutmose III ("the Napoleon of Egypt") expanded Egypt's army and wielded it with great success. However, late in his reign, he ordered her name hacked out from her monuments. He fought against Asiatic people and was the most successful of Egyptian pharaohs. Amenhotep III built extensively at the temple of Karnak including

714-461: A depiction of a chapter of the Book of the Dead . In May 2022, the discovery of the nearly 4,300-year-old tomb of an ancient Egyptian high-ranked person who handled royal, sealed documents of pharaoh was announced. According to University of Warsaw ’s Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology , the elaborately decorated tomb belonged to a man named Mehtjetju who served as a priest and an inspector of

816-542: A different location for their pyramids . During the second half of the Old Kingdom , under the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, Saqqara was again the royal burial ground. The Fifth and Sixth Dynasty pyramids are not built wholly of massive stone blocks, but instead with a core consisting of rubble. Consequently, they are less well preserved than the world-famous pyramids built by the Fourth Dynasty kings at Giza . Unas ,

918-535: A local Berber tribe called the Beni Saqqar, despite the fact that a tribe of this name is not documented anywhere. Medieval authors also refer to the village as Ard as-Sadr ( Arabic : ارض السدر , lit.   'land of the buckthorn'). The earliest burials of nobles can be traced back to the First Dynasty , at the northern side of the Saqqara plateau. During this time, the royal burial ground

1020-411: A more sedentary lifestyle. However, the period from 9th to the 6th millennium BC has left very little in the way of archaeological evidence. The Nile valley of Egypt was basically uninhabitable until the work of clearing and irrigating the land along the banks was started. However, it appears that this clearance and irrigation was largely under way by the 6th millennium . By that time, Nile society

1122-499: A partly damaged wooden coffin . The last time a similar mask was found was in 1939. The eyes were covered with obsidian , calcite , and black hued gemstone possibly onyx . "The finding of this mask could be called a sensation. Very few masks of precious metal have been preserved to the present day, because the tombs of most Ancient Egyptian dignitaries were looted in ancient times." said Hussein. In September 2018, several dozen cache of mummies dating 2,000 years back were found by

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1224-692: A period of thirty years has failed to corroborate this. Archaeological evidence has attested that population settlements occurred in Nubia as early as the Late Pleistocene era and from the 5th millennium BC onwards, whereas there is "no or scanty evidence" of human presence in the Egyptian Nile Valley during these periods, which may be due to problems in site preservation. The oldest-known domesticated cattle remains in Africa are from

1326-478: A rare occurrence in archeology. Mostafa Waziri , secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, explained that one could identify the mummy's gender by the shape of the hands on the coffin, open hands being female and hands balled into fists being male. The colors of the coffin inscriptions---made from limestone, red oak, turquoise, and other natural stones mixed with eggwhites—stayed intact, and

1428-589: A relatively obscure set of pharaohs running from the end of the Sixth to the Tenth and most of the Eleventh Dynasties. Most of these were likely local monarchs who did not hold much power outside of their nome. There are a number of texts known as "Lamentations" from the early period of the subsequent Middle Kingdom that may shed some light on what happened during this period. Some of these texts reflect on

1530-574: A span of about three millennia. The following is the list according to conventional Egyptian chronology. The Nile has been the lifeline for Egyptian culture since nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along it during the Pleistocene . Traces of these early people appear in the form of artefacts and rock carvings along the terraces of the Nile and in the oases. Along the Nile in the 12th millennium BC, an Upper Paleolithic grain-grinding culture using

1632-637: A team of Polish archaeologists led by Kamil Kuraszkiewicz from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw . The Polish-Egyptian expedition works under the auspices of the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw . Investigations were carried out for over two decades in the area to the west of the Djoser Pyramid. The most important discoveries include

1734-463: A unified state, which occurred sometime around 3150 BC . According to Egyptian tradition, Menes , thought to have unified Upper and Lower Egypt, was the first king. This Egyptian culture, customs, art expression, architecture, and social structure were closely tied to religion, remarkably stable, and changed little over a period of nearly 3000 years. Egyptian chronology , which involves regnal years , began around this time. The conventional chronology

1836-653: Is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate , that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis . Saqqara contains numerous pyramids, including the Pyramid of Djoser , sometimes referred to as the Step Pyramid, and a number of mastaba tombs. Located some 30 km (19 mi) south of modern-day Cairo , Saqqara covers an area of around 7 by 1.5 km (4.3 by 0.9 mi). Saqqara contains

1938-775: Is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids". The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of the first pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser , in Memphis' necropolis of Saqqara . It was in this era that formerly independent states became nomes (districts) ruled solely by the pharaoh. Former local rulers were forced to assume the role of nomarch (governor) or work as tax collectors . Egyptians in this era worshiped

2040-514: Is most commonly regarded as spanning the period of time when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty (2686–2181 BCE). The royal capital of Egypt during this period was located at Memphis , where Djoser (2630–2611 BCE) established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number of pyramids , which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, this epoch

2142-547: Is notable for producing the earliest blacktop-ware, a type of red and brown pottery painted black on its top and interior. The Badari culture , named for the Badari site near Deir Tasa, followed the Tasian; however, similarities cause many to avoid differentiating between them at all. The Badari culture continued to produce the kind of pottery called blacktop-ware (although its quality was much improved over previous specimens), and

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2244-469: Is therefore assumed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died childless. Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt, Itjtawy , thought to be located near the present-day Lisht, although Manetho claims the capital remained at Thebes . Amenemhat forcibly pacified internal unrest, curtailed the rights of the nomarchs, and is known to have launched at least one campaign into Nubia. His son Senusret I continued

2346-470: Is very important because it proves that Saqqara was the main burial of the 26th Dynasty ,” said Zahi Hawass , an Egyptologist and Egypt's former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. In January 2021, the tourism and antiquities ministry announced the discovery of more than 50 wooden sarcophagi in 52 burial shafts which date back to the New Kingdom period, each around 30 to 40 feet deep, and

2448-546: The 13th Dynasty during the Second Intermediate Period ( 18th Century BCE ). The necropolis is 2.5 by 6 kilometres, located about 30 kilometres south of Cairo. The Pyramids of Giza were the third site to be built, during the Fourth dynasty . They include the Pyramid of Khufu , which is the only remaining wonder of the ancient world . The Great Sphinx is also on this site. Chronologically Abusir

2550-583: The Amratian culture . Between 5500 BC and the 31st century BC , small settlements flourished along the Nile, whose delta empties into the Mediterranean Sea . The Tasian culture was the next to appear; it existed in Upper Egypt starting about 4500 BC. This group is named for the burials found at Deir Tasa, a site on the east bank of the Nile between Asyut and Akhmim . The Tasian culture

2652-477: The Czech Institute of Egyptology , Mohamed Megahed, discovered a 4,000-year-old tomb near Egypt's Saqqara Necropolis . Archaeologists confirmed that the tomb belonged to an influential person named Khuwy, who lived in Egypt during the 5th Dynasty . "The L-shaped Khuwy tomb starts with a small corridor heading downwards into an antechamber and from there a larger chamber with painted reliefs depicting

2754-573: The Faiyum c. 4400 BC . Geological evidence and computer climate modeling studies suggest that natural climate changes around the 8th millennium BC began to desiccate the extensive pastoral lands of North Africa , eventually forming the Sahara by the 25th century BC. Continued desiccation forced the early ancestors of the Egyptians to settle around the Nile more permanently and forced them to adopt

2856-403: The Fifth Dynasty , and his wife, four children and mother. The tomb is about 33 feet (10 meters) long by 10 feet (3.0 meters) wide and has five burial shafts and a basement. It contains more than fifty sculptures, and is painted with scenes of the family, wine and pottery making, musical performances, sailing, hunting, and furniture making. On 13 April 2019, an expedition led by a member of

2958-470: The Luxor Temple , which consisted of two pylons , a colonnade behind the new temple entrance, and a new temple to the goddess Maat . During the reign of Thutmose III (c. 1479–1425 BC), pharaoh , originally referring to the king's palace, became a form of address for the person who was king. One of the best-known 18th Dynasty pharaohs is Amenhotep IV, who changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of

3060-553: The Pyramid of Unas and added an inscription to its south face to commemorate the restoration. He enlarged the Serapeum , the burial site of the mummified Apis bulls , and was later buried in the catacombs. The Serapeum, containing one undisturbed interment of an Apis bull and the tomb of Khaemweset, were rediscovered by the French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette in 1851. During the periods after

3162-802: The Sixteenth Dynasty . Another short lived dynasty might have done the same in central Egypt, profiting from the power vacuum created by the fall of the Thirteenth Dynasty and forming the Abydos Dynasty . By 1600 BC, the Hyksos had successfully moved south in central Egypt, eliminating the Abydos Dynasty and directly threatening the Sixteenth Dynasty. The latter was to prove unable to resist and Thebes fell to

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3264-579: The Twelfth Dynasty , whose capital was Lisht . These two dynasties were originally considered the full extent of this unified kingdom, but some historians now consider the first part of the Thirteenth Dynasty to belong to the Middle Kingdom. The earliest pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom traced their origin to two nomarchs of Thebes, Intef the Elder , who served a Heracleopolitan pharaoh of

3366-529: The Two Lands . The pharaohs established a national administration and appointed royal governors. According to Manetho, the first pharaoh was Menes , but archeological findings support the view that the first ruler to claim to have united the two lands was Narmer , the final king of the Naqada III period. His name is known primarily from the famous Narmer Palette , whose scenes have been interpreted as

3468-425: The cosmetic palettes used for eye paint since the Badari culture began to be adorned with reliefs . By the 33rd century BC , just before the First Dynasty of Egypt , Egypt was divided into two kingdoms known from later times as Upper Egypt to the south and Lower Egypt to the north. The dividing line was drawn roughly in the area of modern Cairo . The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as

3570-686: The tomb he built for his sons (many of whom he outlived) in the Valley of the Kings has proven to be the largest funerary complex in Egypt. His immediate successors continued the military campaigns, though an increasingly troubled court complicated matters. Ramesses II was succeeded by his son Merneptah and then by Merenptah's son Seti II . Seti II's throne seems to have been disputed by his half-brother Amenmesse , who may have temporarily ruled from Thebes. Upon his death, Seti II's son Siptah , who may have been afflicted with poliomyelitis during his life,

3672-599: The 5th and 6th dynasties, such as a priest inspector named Khnumdjedef, secret keeper called Meri and a judge and writer named Fetek. In April 2024, a rock-cut tomb dating back to the Second Dynasty was uncovered in Saqqara by a team of Japanese and Egyptian archaeologists. The tomb contained artifacts from various periods, spanning over the Late Period , the Ptolemaic period , and the 18th Dynasty . Among

3774-427: The 6th century BC – 1st century AD. Most of the bodies were poorly preserved and all organic materials, including the wooden caskets, had decayed. The tombs discovered most recently (in 2018) form part of the younger, so-called Upper Necropolis. Most of the mummies we discovered last season were very modest, they were only subjected to basic embalming treatments, wrapped in bandages and placed directly in pits dug in

3876-635: The Egyptian rulers of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties were unable to stop these new migrants from traveling to Egypt from the Levant because their kingdoms were struggling to cope with various domestic problems, including possibly famine and plague. Be it military or peaceful, the weakened state of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasty kingdoms could explain why they rapidly fell to the emerging Hyksos power. The Hyksos princes and chieftains ruled in

3978-573: The First Intermediate Period. There is also evidence for military actions against the Southern Levant . The king reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the head of civil administration for the country. Mentuhotep II was succeeded by his son, Mentuhotep III , who organized an expedition to Punt . His reign saw the realization of some of the finest Egyptian carvings. Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV ,

4080-483: The Hyksos for a very short period c. 1580 BC. The Hyksos rapidly withdrew to the north and Thebes regained some independence under the Seventeenth Dynasty . From then on, Hyksos relations with the south seem to have been mainly of a commercial nature, although Theban princes appear to have recognized the Hyksos rulers and may possibly have provided them with tribute for a period. The Seventeenth Dynasty

4182-568: The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of gilded, wooden statues and more than 80 coffins in three burial shafts. Officials believed the coffins contain senior officials and priests from the 26th Dynasty . In November 2020, archaeologists unearthed more than 100 delicately painted wooden coffins dating to the 26th Dynasty and 40 statues of the local goddess Ptah Soker. Other artifacts discovered include funeral masks, canopic jars and 1,000 ceramic amulets. “This discovery

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4284-538: The New Kingdom, when several cities in the Delta served as capital of Egypt, Saqqara remained in use as a burial ground for nobles. Moreover, the area became an important destination for pilgrims to a number of cult centres. Activities sprang up around the Serapeum, and extensive underground galleries were cut into the rock as burial sites for large numbers of mummified ibises, baboons, cats, dogs, and falcons. Saqqara and

4386-661: The Nubian border. He sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the Eighteenth Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh in 1274 BC , where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II and was caught in history's first recorded military ambush. Ramesses II was famed for the huge number of children he sired by his various wives and concubines ;

4488-748: The Pyramid Complex of Senwosret III at Dahshur, Egypt, in Search of Boats from Copyright © 1999–2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All Rights Reserved retrieved 12:06GMT 1.10.11 research on constructions within Dashar necropolis since 2008 © 2011 Deutsches Archäologisches Institut (re-retrieved 12:18GMT 2.10.11) Saqqara Saqqara ( Arabic : سقارة  : saqqāra[t], Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [sɑʔːɑːɾɑ] ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English / s ə ˈ k ɑːr ə / ,

4590-731: The Saqqara site lies the Abusir pyramid complex, and to its south lies the Dahshur pyramid complex, which together with the Giza Pyramid complex to the far north comprise the Pyramid Fields of Memphis , or the Memphite Necropolis , which was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Some scholars believe that the name Saqqara is not derived from the ancient Egyptian funerary deity, Sokar , but from

4692-870: The Southern Levant. His reign marks the beginning of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the New Kingdom . Possibly as a result of the foreign rule of the Hyksos during the Second Intermediate Period, the New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer between the Levant and Egypt, and attain its greatest territorial extent. It expanded far south into Nubia and held wide territories in the Near East . Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria . This

4794-599: The Tenth Dynasty, and his successor, Mentuhotep I . The successor of the latter, Intef I , was the first Theban nomarch to claim a Horus name and thus the throne of Egypt. He is considered the first pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty. His claims brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of the Tenth Dynasty. Intef I and his brother Intef II undertook several campaigns northwards and finally captured

4896-423: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties. The outlines of the traditional account of the "invasion" of the land by the Hyksos is preserved in the Aegyptiaca of Manetho, who records that during this time the Hyksos overran Egypt, led by Salitis , the founder of the Fifteenth Dynasty. More recently, however, the idea of a simple migration, with little or no violence involved, has gained some support. Under this theory,

4998-418: The Two Lands. The reign of its first pharaoh, Mentuhotep II , marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the 39th regnal year of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty , roughly between 2030 and 1650 BC. The period comprises two phases, the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and then

5100-400: The act of uniting Upper and Lower Egypt. Menes is now thought to be one of the titles of Hor-Aha , the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty . Funeral practices for the elite resulted in the construction of mastabas , which later became models for subsequent Old Kingdom constructions such as the step pyramid , thought to have originated during the Third Dynasty of Egypt . The Old Kingdom

5202-478: The ancient Egyptians to navigate the open seas. Evidence from the pyramid of Sahure , second king of the dynasty, shows that a regular trade existed with the Syrian coast to procure cedar wood . Pharaohs also launched expeditions to the famed Land of Punt , possibly the Horn of Africa , for ebony, ivory and aromatic resins. During the Sixth Dynasty (2345–2181 BCE), the power of pharaohs gradually weakened in favor of powerful nomarchs . These no longer belonged to

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5304-419: The ancient necropolis of Saqqara. Three of the tombs were used for cats, some dating back to the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, while one of four other sarcophagi was unsealed. Among the dozens of cat mummies were 100 wooden and gilded statues of cats and one in bronze dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet, and funerary items dating back to the 12th Dynasty . Another of the seven tombs belongs to Khufu-Imhat,

5406-411: The annual flooding of the Nile began to fail, further straining the resources of the government. The Thirteenth Dynasty and Fourteenth Dynasty witnessed the slow decline of Egypt into the Second Intermediate Period , in which some of the settlers invited by Amenemhat III would seize power as the Hyksos . The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when Egypt once again fell into disarray between

5508-471: The breakdown of rule, others allude to invasion by "Asiatic bowmen". In general, the stories focus on a society where the natural order of things in both society and nature was overthrown. It is also highly likely that it was during this period that all of the pyramid and tomb complexes were looted. Further lamentation texts allude to this fact, and by the beginning of the Middle Kingdom mummies are found decorated with magical spells that were once exclusive to

5610-411: The burial site next to the sacred temple of Anubis . It is thought that the mummified animals, mostly dogs, were intended to pass on the prayers of their owners to their deities. In July 2018, German-Egyptian researchers’ team head by Ramadan Badry Hussein of the University of Tübingen reported the discovery of an extremely rare gilded burial mask that probably dates from the Saite-Persian period in

5712-402: The central authority to form the Fourteenth Dynasty . The splintering of the land most likely happened shortly after the reigns of the powerful Thirteenth Dynasty Pharaohs Neferhotep I and Sobekhotep IV c. 1720 BC. While the Fourteenth Dynasty was Levantine, the Hyksos first appeared in Egypt c. 1650 BC when they took control of Avaris and rapidly moved south to Memphis , thereby ending

5814-413: The close of Pepi II 's reign. The final blow came when the 4.2 kiloyear event struck the region in the 22nd century BC, producing consistently low Nile flood levels. The result was the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by decades of famine and strife. After the fall of the Old Kingdom came a roughly 200-year stretch of time known as the First Intermediate Period, which is generally thought to include

5916-400: The construction of the Giza pyramid complex . To organize and feed the manpower needed to create these pyramids required a centralized government with extensive powers, and Egyptologists believe the Old Kingdom at this time demonstrated this level of sophistication. Recent excavations near the pyramids led by Mark Lehner have uncovered a large city that seems to have housed, fed and supplied

6018-422: The country, and kings built their funerary complexes elsewhere. Few private monuments from this period have been found at Saqqara. During the New Kingdom , Memphis was an important administrative and military centre, being the capital after the Amarna Period. From the Eighteenth Dynasty onward, many high officials built tombs at Saqqara. While still a general, Horemheb built a large tomb here, although he later

6120-459: The dead Anubis , bird-shaped artifacts and a bronze axe. A limestone stelae dated to the reign of Ramesses II was found in one of the shafts, depicting the overseer of the king's military chariot Kha-Ptah and his wife Mwt-em-wia worshipping Osiris and sitting with six of their children. Also in January 2021, a team of archaeologists led by Zahi Hawass found the funerary temple of Naert or Narat and three warehouses made of bricks attached to

6222-412: The earliest type of sickle blades had replaced the culture of hunting , fishing , and hunter-gatherers using stone tools . Despite evidence indicating human habitation and cattle herding in the southwestern corner of Egypt near the Sudan border before the 8th millennium BC , the idea of an independent bovine domestication event in Africa must be abandoned because subsequent evidence gathered over

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6324-465: The eastern Delta with their local Egyptian vassals. The Fifteenth Dynasty rulers established their capital and seat of government at Memphis and their summer residence at Avaris. The Hyksos kingdom was centered in the eastern Nile Delta and central Egypt but relentlessly pushed south for the control of central and Upper Egypt. Around the time Memphis fell to the Hyksos, the native Egyptian ruling house in Thebes declared its independence and set itself up as

6426-401: The end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom . This period is best known as the time the Hyksos made their appearance in Egypt, the reigns of its kings comprising the Fifteenth Dynasty . The Thirteenth Dynasty proved unable to hold onto the long land of Egypt, and a provincial family of Levantine descent located in the marshes of the eastern Delta at Avaris broke away from

6528-418: The final pharaoh of this dynasty. Despite being absent from various lists of pharaohs, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future Pharaoh Amenemhat I , the first pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty . Amenemhat

6630-402: The findings were remains of an adult with a colored mask and a small child, in addition to two terracotta statues depicting Isis and Harpocrates . History of ancient Egypt The history of ancient Egypt spans the period from the early prehistoric settlements of the northern Nile valley to the Roman conquest of Egypt in 30 BC. The pharaonic period, the period in which Egypt

6732-407: The god Aten . His exclusive worship of the Aten, sometimes called Atenism , is often seen as history's first instance of monotheism . Atenism and several changes that accompanied it seriously disrupted Egyptian society. Akhenaten built a new capital at the site of Amarna , which gives his reign and the few that followed their modern name, the Amarna Period . Amarna art diverged significantly from

6834-421: The important nome of Abydos . Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasties until the 39th regnal year of Mentuhotep II , second successor of Intef II. At this point, the Herakleopolitans were defeated and the Theban dynasty consolidated their rule over Egypt. Mentuhotep II is known to have commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during

6936-412: The last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, was the first king to adorn the chambers in his pyramid with Pyramid Texts . During the Old Kingdom, it was customary for courtiers to be buried in mastaba tombs close to the pyramid of their king. Thus, clusters of private tombs were formed in Saqqara around the pyramid complexes of Unas and Teti . From the Middle Kingdom onward, Memphis was no longer the capital of

7038-525: The mixture of egg yolk and candle wax spread over the coffins to make them shine was still visible, making this a unique find. On April 28, 2020, archeologists announced they had found a 30-foot-deep (9 meter) burial shaft containing five limestone sarcophagi, four wooden coffins with human mummies, and an array of other artifacts. Among them were 365 faience ushabti and a small wooden obelisk about 40 centimeters tall that had been painted with depictions of Horus , Isis and Nepthys . In September 2020,

7140-423: The monumental enclosure wall around the Step Pyramid complex. Djoser's funerary complex, built by the royal architect Imhotep , further comprises a large number of dummy buildings and a secondary mastaba (the so-called 'Southern Tomb'). French architect and Egyptologist Jean-Philippe Lauer spent the greater part of his life excavating and restoring Djoser's funerary complex. Nearly all Fourth Dynasty kings chose

7242-401: The names. Typically, Egyptologists divide the history of pharaonic civilization using a schedule laid out first by Manetho 's Aegyptiaca , which was written during the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the third century BC. Prior to the unification of Egypt, the land was settled with autonomous villages. With the early dynasties, and for much of Egypt's history thereafter, the country came to be known as

7344-487: The north was found at el-Amreh, and copper, which is not present in Egypt, was apparently imported from the Sinai Peninsula or perhaps Nubia . Obsidian and an extremely small amount of gold were both definitively imported from Nubia during this time. Trade with the oases was also likely. The Gerzeh culture ("Naqada II"), named after the site of el-Gerzeh, was the next stage in cultural development, and it

7446-541: The oldest complete stone building complex known in history, the Pyramid of Djoser, built during the Third Dynasty . Another sixteen Egyptian kings built pyramids at Saqqara, which are now in various states of preservation. High officials added private funeral monuments to this necropolis during the entire Pharaonic period . It remained an important complex for non-royal burials and cult ceremonies for more than 3000 years, well into Ptolemaic and Roman times. North of

7548-499: The overseer of buildings in the royal palace. Also in November 2018, a collection of rare mummified scarab beetles was unearthed in two sarcophagi, one of which was decorated with paintings of large black beetles. Also in November 2018, the Egyptian government announced the discovery at Saqqara of a previously unknown 4,400-year-old tomb. It belongs to Wahtye , a high-ranking priest who served under King Neferirkare Kakai during

7650-632: The pharaoh as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops. The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty . Sneferu , the dynasty's founder, is believed to have commissioned at least three pyramids; while his son and successor Khufu ( Greek Cheops ) erected the Great Pyramid of Giza , Sneferu had more stone and brick moved than any other pharaoh. Khufu, his son Khafre (Greek Chephren ), and his grandson Menkaure (Greek Mycerinus ) all achieved lasting fame in

7752-403: The policy of his father to recapture Nubia and other territories lost during the First Intermediate Period. The Libu were subdued under his forty-five year reign and Egypt's prosperity and security were secured. Senusret III (1878–1839 BC) was a warrior king, leading his troops deep into Nubia, and built a series of massive forts throughout the country to establish Egypt's formal boundaries with

7854-428: The populace adopted a much more sedentary lifestyle, and the larger settlements grew to cities of about 5000 residents. It was in this time that the city dwellers started using adobe to build their cities. Copper instead of stone was increasingly used to make tools and weaponry. Silver , gold , lapis lazuli (imported from Badakhshan in what is now Afghanistan), and Egyptian faience were used ornamentally, and

7956-508: The previous conventions of Egyptian art . Under a series of successors, of whom the longest reigning were Tutankhamun and Horemheb . Under them, worship of the old gods was revived and much of the art and monuments that were created during Akhenaten's reign was defaced or destroyed. When Horemheb died without an heir, he named as his successor Ramesses I , founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty . Ramesses I reigned for two years and

8058-782: The pyramid of the kings of the Sixth Dynasty. By 2160 BC, a new line of pharaohs, the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties, consolidated Lower Egypt from their capital in Heracleopolis Magna . A rival line, the Eleventh Dynasty based at Thebes , reunited Upper Egypt , and a clash between the rival dynasties was inevitable. Around 2055 BC , the Theban forces defeated the Heracleopolitan pharaohs and reunited

8160-598: The pyramid workers. Although it was once believed that slaves built these monuments, a theory based on The Exodus narrative of the Hebrew Bible , study of the tombs of the workmen, who oversaw construction on the pyramids, has shown they were built by a corvée of peasants drawn from across Egypt. They apparently worked while the annual flood covered their fields, as well as a very large crew of specialists, including stonecutters, painters, mathematicians and priests. The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkaf c. 2495 BC and

8262-471: The reign of Ramesses II , and of a military leader named Hor Mohib. In March 2022, five 4000-year-old tombs belonging to senior officials from the Old Kingdom and First Intermediary Period were discovered. On 30 May 2022, 250 sarcophagi and 150 statuettes were displayed at Saqqara, dated back to the Late Period more than 2,500 years ago, in addition to a 9-meter-long papyrus scroll which could be

8364-433: The royal family and their charge became hereditary, thus creating local dynasties largely independent from the central authority of the pharaoh. Internal disorders set in during the incredibly long reign of Pepi II Neferkare (2278–2184 BCE) towards the end of the dynasty. His death, certainly well past that of his intended heirs, might have created succession struggles and the country slipped into civil wars mere decades after

8466-436: The royal property. Kamil O. Kuraszkiewicz, expedition director stated that Mehtjetju most likely lived at about the same time, at some point during the reigns of the first three rulers of the Sixth Dynasty : Teti , Userkare and Pepy I . In January 2023, Zahi Hawass announced the discovery of four tombs at Saqqara including a 4,300-year-old mummy to a man named Hekashepes covered with gold, in addition to finds date back to

8568-637: The sand The research of the Polish-Egyptian expedition also focuses on the interpretation of the so-called Dry Moat, a vast trench hewn around the Djoser Pyramid. The most recent discoveries confirm the hypothesis that the Dry Moat was a model of the pharaoh's journey to the netherworld, a road the deceased ruler had to follow to attain eternal life. In November 2018, an Egyptian archaeological mission located seven ancient Egyptian tombs at

8670-422: The southeastern side for storage of temple provisions, offerings and tools. Researchers also revealed that Narat's name was engraved on a fallen obelisk near the main entrance. Previously unknown to researchers, Naert was a wife of Teti , the first king of the sixth dynasty. In November 2021, archeologists from Cairo University discovered several tombs, including that of Batah-M-Woya, chief treasurer during

8772-436: The surrounding areas of Abusir and Dahshur suffered damage by looters during the 2011 Egyptian protests . Store rooms were broken into, but the monuments were mostly unharmed. During routine excavations in 2011 at the dog catacomb in Saqqara necropolis, an excavation team led by Salima Ikram and an international team of researchers led by Paul Nicholson of Cardiff University uncovered almost eight million animal mummies at

8874-425: The tomb of vizier Merefnebef with a funerary chapel decorated with multi-colored reliefs, which was uncovered in 1997. as well as the tomb of courtier Nyankhnefertem uncovered in 2003. The expedition also explored two necropoles. Archaeologists revealed several dozen graves of noblemen from the period of the 6th Dynasty , dating to the 24th–21st century BC, and 500 graves of indigent people dating approximately to

8976-456: The tomb owner seated at an offerings table", reported Megahed. Some paintings maintained their brightness over a long time in the tomb. Mainly made of white limestone bricks, the tomb had a tunnel entrance generally typical for pyramids. Archaeologists say that there might be a connection between Khuwy and pharaoh because the mausoleum was found near the pyramid of Egyptian Pharaoh Djedkare Isesi , who ruled during that time. In October 2019,

9078-437: The unconquered areas of its territory. Amenemhat III (1860–1815 BC) is considered the last great pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. Egypt's population began to exceed food production levels during the reign of Amenemhat III, who then ordered the exploitation of the Faiyum and increased mining operations in the Sinai Peninsula . He also invited settlers from Western Asia to Egypt to labor on Egypt's monuments. Late in his reign,

9180-463: Was a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. Some of the most important and best-known pharaohs ruled at this time, such as Hatshepsut . Hatshepsut is unusual as she was a female pharaoh, a rare occurrence in Egyptian history. She was an ambitious and competent leader, extending Egyptian trade south into present-day Somalia and north into the Mediterranean. She ruled for twenty years through

9282-456: Was accepted during the twentieth century, but it does not include any of the major revision proposals that also have been made in that time. Even within a single work, archaeologists often offer several possible dates, or even several whole chronologies as possibilities. Consequently, there may be discrepancies between dates shown here and in articles on particular rulers or topics related to ancient Egypt. There also are several possible spellings of

9384-633: Was already engaged in organized agriculture and the construction of large buildings. At this time, Egyptians in the southwestern corner of Egypt were herding cattle and also constructing large buildings. Mortar was in use by the 4th millennium . The people of the valley and the Nile Delta were self-sufficient and were raising barley and emmer , an early variety of wheat, and stored it in pits lined with reed mats. They raised cattle, goats and pigs and they wove linen and baskets. Prehistory continues through this time, variously held to begin with

9486-511: Was assigned the sequence dating numbers between 21 and 29. The significant difference, however, between the Tasian and Badari, which prevents scholars from completely merging the two, is that Badari sites are Chalcolithic while the Tasian sites remained Neolithic and are thus considered technically part of the Stone Age . The Amratian culture is named after the site of El-Amrah , about 120 kilometres (75 mi) south of Badari. El-Amreh

9588-570: Was at Abydos . The first royal burials at Saqqara, comprising underground galleries, date to the early Second Dynasty reigns of Hotepsekhemwy , Raneb and Nynetjer . This is followed by a hiatus, with Seth-Peribsen and Khasekhemwy , the last Second Dynasty king, both buried in Abydos. Khasekhemwy may nonetheless also have built a funerary monument at Saqqara consisting of a large rectangular enclosure, known as Gisr el-Mudir , although this enclosure could also belong to Nynetjer. It probably inspired

9690-419: Was buried as pharaoh in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Other important tombs belong to the vizier Aperel , the vizier Neferronpet , the artist Thutmose , and the wet-nurse of Tutankhamun , Maia . Many monuments from earlier periods were still standing, but dilapidated by this period. Prince Khaemweset , son of Pharaoh Ramesses II , made repairs to buildings at Saqqara. Among other things, he restored

9792-524: Was during this time that the foundation for ancient Egypt was laid. The Gerzeh culture was largely an unbroken development out of the Amratian, starting in the Nile Delta and moving south through Upper Egypt ; however, it failed to dislodge the Amratian in Nubia . The Gerzeh culture coincided with a significant drop in rainfall and farming produced the vast majority of food. With increased food supplies,

9894-621: Was marked by the growing importance of the cult of the sun god Ra . Consequently, less effort was devoted to the construction of pyramid complexes than during the Fourth Dynasty and more to the construction of sun temples in Abusir . The decoration of pyramid complexes grew more elaborate during the dynasty and its last king, Unas , was the first to have the Pyramid Texts inscribed in his pyramid. Egypt's expanding interests in trade goods such as ebony , incense such as myrrh and frankincense , gold, copper and other useful metals compelled

9996-402: Was ruled by a pharaoh , is dated from the 32nd century BC , when Upper and Lower Egypt were unified, until the country fell under Macedonian rule in 332 BC. Egypt's history is split into several different periods according to the ruling dynasty of each pharaoh . The dating of events is still a subject of research. The conservative dates are not supported by any reliable absolute date for

10098-544: Was succeeded by his son Seti I . Seti I carried on the work of Horemheb in restoring power, control, and respect to Egypt. He also was responsible for creating the temple complex at Abydos. Arguably Ancient Egypt's power as a nation-state peaked during the reign of Ramesses II ("the Great") of the Nineteenth Dynasty . He reigned for 67 years from the age of 18 and carried on his father Seti I's work and created many more splendid temples, such as that of Abu Simbel temples on

10200-585: Was the first site where this culture was found unmingled with the later Gerzeh culture. However, this period is better attested at Nagada , and so is also referred to as the "Naqada I" culture. Black-topped ware continued to be produced, but white cross-line ware, a type of pottery decorated with close parallel white lines crossed by another set of close parallel white lines, began to be produced during this time. The Amratian period falls between S.D. 30 and 39. Newly excavated objects indicate that trade between Upper and Lower Egypt existed at this time. A stone vase from

10302-592: Was the fourth and last of the pyramid fields to be established, its 14 pyramids were built during the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the Old Kingdom , that lasted 150 years in the 25th and 24th centuries BC. Burials in the Memphite Necropolis include the Apis bulls , falcons, ibises, baboons, and boats. The tomb of Nakht-Min at the Abusir-Memphite Necropolis ( Kahled Daoud ) [ Egypt Exploration Society ] An Exploratory Geophysical Survey at

10404-472: Was to prove the salvation of Egypt and would eventually lead the war of liberation that drove the Hyksos back into Asia. The two last kings of this dynasty were Seqenenre Tao and Kamose . Ahmose I completed the conquest and expulsion of the Hyksos from the Nile Delta, restored Theban rule over the whole of Egypt and successfully reasserted Egyptian power in its formerly subject territories of Nubia and

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