Ancient Egypt (Continuation)

Uniting Lower and Upper Egypt

At one time Lower and Upper Egypt were two different kingdoms. A vast desert lay between them. Each was ruled by a different crown. The King of Upper Egypt wore a white crown. The king of Lower Egypt wore a red crown.

In 3100 B.C., Menes, a king of Upper Egypt history. Menes swept into Lower Egypt and united the two kingdoms. From that time on, the kings of ancient Egypt wore a double crown. The crowns were written in Egyptian writing like this: Menes built the city of Memphis for his capital. Memphis was located where the "stalk" of Upper Egypt meets the "blossom" of Lower Egypt. There Menes built a great palace. After that, Egypt's supreme ruler was always called Pharaoh, which means "great palace."

To the people of ancient Egypt, a pharaoh was more than a king. A pharaoh was also worshiped as a god. Therefore, the people believed that they owed loyalty to the pharaohs.

Government Under The Pharaoh

Ancient Egypt was one of the first societies to have an organized government. The pharaohs divided Egypt into about 40 regions and named a governor to rule each one. Each governor was responsible to the pharaoh and had to obey the pharaoh's commands.

The pharaohs had total power over the lives of their people. They made the laws that the people had to follow. Since the pharaohs owned all of Egypt's land, the people had to pay rent and taxes. Farmers, for example, had to give three fifths of their crops and some of their livestock to the pharaohs in payment for using the land. They also had to spend a few months each year working on building projects ordered by the pharaohs.

The Age Of Pyramids

Even today, more than 5,000 years after Menes united Egypt, people marvel at the accomplishments of ancient Egypt. It was during this time that the Egyptians built huge PYRAMIDS. The pyramids were used as tombs in which the pharaohs were buried. The amazing size of these structures explains why this time is sometimes called the "Age of Pyramids." Even today, the pyramids are among the world's greatest marvels.

People have always wondered how the ancient Egyptians were able to build the pyramids. How did they move huge stone blocks to the building site? How could they raise heavy stones to such heights?

The largest pyramid, called the Great Pyramid, was ordered built by Pharaoh Khufu sometime around 2600 B.C.

The Great Pyramid stands almost 500 feet (150 m) tall, the height of a 48-story building. The Greek historian Herodotous wrote about the pyramids in 450 B.C. He tells us that the building of Khufu's pyramid used 100,000 workers and took 20 years.

Near the Great Pyramid lies the famous Sphinx. This strange statue looks like a crouching lion with a human head ! Historians believe that the statue's face was carved to look like one of Khufu's children. The Sphinx was the largest head of stone in the world until modern times, when Americans carved the faces of four presidents into Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota.

Learning From An Invasion

The powerful leadership of the pharaohs during the "Age of Pyramids" helped Egypt grow stronger and larger. This time, however, was only the first 500 years of early Egyptian history.

In the middle of the long stretch of ancient Egyptian history, however, an event occured that inspired the following words:

The wrongdoer is everywhere. . . . The Nile is in flood, yet none ploweth. . . it is grief that walketh through the land. . . the storehouse is bare.

These sorrowful words were written around 1800 B.C., a time when Egypt was overrun by an invading army. A powerful group of nomads called the Hyksos had settled earlief near Egypt's borders. The Hyksos used weapons and technology unknown to the Egyptians -- horse-drawn chariots, swords, and metal armor. The Egyptians were not able to protect their borders against such weapons, and the powerful Hyksos gradually conquered, or took over, Egypt.

While the Hyksos ruled Egypt, the Egyptians learned important military skills from them. They also learned to ride horses and became expert charioteers. Finally, around 1574 B.C., the Egyptians put their new skills to use and drove the Hyksos out of Egypt.

Building An Empire

During the next 500 years, ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power. After the Hyksos were pushed out, the pharaohs used Egypt's new military strength to conquer other countries. They placed the lands they conquered under Egyptian rule and created an empire. An empire is a group of lands and people under one goverment. What other lands did Egypt rule? In the years that followed, Thebes became the glorious capital city of a great empire.

Trade was extensive during the time of the empire. During the rule of Hatshepsut, the first woman ruler known to history, Egypt traded with many faraway places. As a result, Hatshepsut greatly enriched Egypt's wealth. She was known to send peaceful trading expeditions to East Africa and Asia. Egyptian traders returned with ivory, gold, and spices. The temples she ordered built at Thebes are among the greatest surviving buildings of ancient Egypt.

By about 1100 B.C., however, ancient Egypt had passed its time of greatness. After a long and wonderous existence, the government of Egypt grew weak. Sadly for the Egyptians, their neighbors grew stronger. Libyans from the western desert invaded and the "Sea Peoples" of Mediterranean islands attacked the Nile Delta. Finally, powerful rulers from Kush took over Egypt's southern lands. Egypt was forced to live under foreign rule.

The Valley of the Kings

How is it possible that so much is known today about the history of ancient Egypt? Until recent times, little was known about the pyramid builders and their way of life. However, about 200 years ago, archaeologists began to make many discoveries. Great pyramids have been opened and the passages inside them have been explored.

Through these discoveries many questions have been answered about ancient Egypt.

The Valley of the Kings was the site of one such discovery. The valley received its name because many pharaohs and other rulers of the kingdom were buried there. The tombs are a maze of hallways and rooms cut into the cliffs. To protect the tombs, entrances were tightly sealed or kept secret.

The Valley of the Kings was a great curiosity to archaeologists. What pharaohs were buried there? What could be found inside? After years of research and exploration, an archaeologists named Howard Carter made an impressive discovery. In 1922, Carter found the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen. King Tut, as Tutankhamen is often called, was only nine years old when he began his rule. It lasted until his death, at 19, in 1352 B.C.

The contents of King Tut's tomb were dazzling. There were four rooms filled with golden objects, fine vases, precious jewelry, dired flowers, and furniture. Tutankhamen was found in a separate room, lying in a gold coffin. Imagine how Carter felt to be entering rooms that had been closed for 3,000 years! What he found inside showed how rich and mighty the ancient Egyptian Empire was.