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Ancient Egyptian History |
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The Nile Valley has been a concentrated area of extended population growth and agricultural cultivation for at least the last 5,000 years. It is estimated that the Neolithic period of agricultural settlement for ancient Egyptian culture began about 5500 B.C., subsequent by about 3,000 years to the same developments in other parts of the Near East. The delay in the development of agriculture could be attributed to the vast natural resources of the Nile Valley that made it unnecessary for the resident populations to cultivate cereals and other crops and indeed, throughout the subsequent periods of settlement, the Nile would continue to provide abundant offerings to the inhabitants of the river basin.
The earliest kingdom known in Africa was the kingdom of Egypt. Although initially people lived in separate groups along the Nile, with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and about 3100 B.C. the introduction of writing the recorded history of Egypt began. The kings of the thirty dynasties who ruled Egypt throughout its history were recognized by people as the gods on earth and therefore they believed they had the divine right to rule the country. Archaeological evidence shows that the earliest settlements originated in the northern regions and presumably spread, along with farming techniques, to the south where the larger population centers would eventually develop. The changing environment of the 5th millennium, towards a more arid and less hospitable climate, also would have directed migrant herders and hunters to the Nile Valley where they would cultivate and settle. By about the 4th millennium B.C. the pre-dynastic settlements of ancient Egypt had developed and only a thousand years later the First Dynastic state would be established. Although initially people lived in clusters of small villages along the Nile, the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt in about 3100 B.C. began the dynastic period during which the first historical records of the region would be kept. It is believed that Egyptians’ exposure to Mesopotamian society introduced them to the idea of writing and that from their own artistic repertoir of symbols they subsequently developed their hieroglyphic vocabulary. The earliest displays of hieroglyphic have been records of events and ceremonies having to do with royal administration and it is to these early records that we owe the classification of ancient Egyptian government into a series of dynasties. The history of ancient Egypt can be divided into a few main periods: Prehistory (up to 3100 B.C.), the Archaic Period (3100-2650 B.C.), the Old Kingdom ( 2650-2150 B.C.), the Middle Kingdom ( 2040-1640 B.C.), the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.), the Late Period (712-332 B.C.), and the Ptolemaic (Hellenistic) and Roman Periods (332 B.C.-A.D. 395). In more prosperious times the kings started many building projects and led wars to extend Egypt's borders and include new trade routes in Egypt's territory. During the so-called First, Second, and Third Intermediate Periods (2150-2040 B.C., 1640-1550 B.C., and 1070-712 B.C.), the land was politically fragmented and later Egyptian dynasties were weakened while Egypt was subjugated at times by foreign invaders including Libyans, Assyrians, Nubians, and Persians. In 332 B.C. Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great. He was then followed as ruler by his general Ptolemy and his descendants - a period when Egypt was included into the Hellenistic world and later became part of the Roman Empire in 30 B.C. The interesting fact about Egyptian chronology is that time was not counted from a particular point on but chronology was based on the number of years each king ruled. Besides, there are just a few surviving king lists which are very fragmented. From 664 B.C. onward the dating system can be related to our calendar because of the mention of a solar eclipse in an Egyptian papyrus and correspondences with Greek and Persian sources which were dated. Egypt has played an important role through a period of five thousand years and today still a lot of monuments evidence Egypt's participation in most of the world's historic events. Egypt's history encompassed the origin of civilization, the rise of the Greeks and Romans, the establishment of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions, the colonial era and the return to independence. Therefore knowing more about Egyptian history can give us a better understanding of mankind's glories and achievements or often repeated mistakes. |
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