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Location
The Nile valley and delta, northeast Africa
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Modern country
Egypt
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Capitals
Memphis, Thebes, Amarna, Alexandria and others
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Writing
Hieroglyphic, hieratic and demotic scripts
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Known for
Pyramids, temples, mummies, the Book of the Dead
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What is Ancient Egypt known for?

Ancient Egypt grew up along the Nile, the only steady water in a desert land. Upper Egypt (the southern valley) and Lower Egypt (the delta) were joined under one king around 3100 BCE, and Egyptian rule lasted, with breaks, for about three thousand years until Rome took the country in 30 BCE.

Historians divide its story into the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms with weaker periods between them, and number its rulers in about thirty dynasties, a scheme that goes back to the Egyptian priest Manetho. The pyramids at Giza belong to the Old Kingdom; Thebes and its temples were the great center of the New Kingdom.

Egyptian writing, religion and building have left more surviving records than almost any other ancient culture: temple walls, tomb texts, papyri and king lists. Those records are the base for many pages on this site, from the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead to the Turin King List.

Why it is on Credible Theories

Home of the Pyramid Texts, the Book of the Dead, the Turin King List and Manetho, and the setting for many files on the site.

Mentioned on these pages

Sources

  1. WikipediaA free online encyclopedia written and edited by volunteers. It is a good starting point and usually lists its own sources, but anyone can change it, so we treat it as a guide to better sources, not the final word.Wikipedia, 'Ancient Egypt'Reference
  2. WikipediaWikipedia, 'Dynasties of ancient Egypt'Reference

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