The history of ancient Egypt lasted several millennia. During this time, the state managed to disintegrate several times, unite and change its cultural foundations. That is why ancient Egyptian history has an established periodization that helps to get a general idea of the chronology of those long-standing events.
Prehistoric period
The civilization that arose on the banks of the Nile is considered almost the oldest on Earth. However, even before its formation, people lived in northeast Africa. These were the Upper Paleolithic cultures that appeared 40 millennia ago. The generally accepted periodization of the history of ancient Egypt begins precisely from this point. The earliest archaeological cultures are Atherian and Hormusan. Found artifacts related to them are rare and sketchy.
Monuments of half culture belong to the Mesolithic era. Its traces were preserved not only in Egypt, but also in Nubia. In the Neolithic appeared carriers of the Fayum culture A, who arrived in Africa from the Middle East. The remains of their settlements have been preserved, including the ancient sites of Omari and Merimde.
Many tribes attracted Ancient Egypt. Periodization shows how often peoples changed here in prehistoric times. Egypt was a transit region - the border between Asia and Africa. In the Late Neolithic, the Tasian, Badary and Herzey archaeological cultures formed there. The last of them was replaced by the Zero Dynasty.
Dynastic Egypt
About five thousand years BC, pre-dynastic ancient Egypt was formed. The periodization of history shows that it was then that the decomposition of obsolete tribal relations began. A society began to emerge in which there were already its demarcated classes. Slaveholding relations appeared, followed by slaveholding states.
No single Egypt has existed. Consolidation took considerable time. She contributed to the development of agriculture and the construction of settlements with fortified walls. The sedentaryness of the inhabitants of Egypt was strengthened. There were metal products: pins, needles, jewelry made of gold.
Presumably in 3200 BC, the Zero Dynasty arose. This term experts designate a number of Egyptian rulers who ruled in Lower and Upper Egypt. They were not relatives, but were only contemporaries. It was during the Zero Dynasty that the process of unification of the country began.
Early kingdom
With the advent of the Early Kingdom, the first pharaoh Menes, who belonged to the 1st dynasty, began to rule. He finally united the Lower and Upper kingdoms into a single Egypt. The capital of this ancient state was Memphis. Then began the construction of adobe tombs for rulers who turned out to be the forerunners of the famous pyramids.
The first pharaohs fought with the Bedouins and hiked in neighboring Nubia. The periodization and chronology of the history of Ancient Egypt says that the most ancient scientific achievements of the Egyptians (in the fields of astronomy and geometry) belong to the era of the Early Kingdom. In the XXVIII century BC, sea trade with Levantine cities in the Mediterranean was born.
The I and II dynasties belong to the Early Kingdom. In their era, writing developed and the first annals appeared. Polytheism took shape - faith in many gods, personifying the forces of nature, life, death, etc. The state controlled the irrigation work on the banks of the Nile.
Ancient kingdom
Scientists attribute the boundary between the Early and Ancient kingdoms to the XXVII century BC. e. The founder of the new state was Pharaoh Sanakht. The ancient kingdom includes the III – VI dynasties. During this period, an unprecedented for the then world economic, cultural and military-political growth of Egyptian civilization took place.
Pyramids appeared that replaced the mastaba. The construction of these monumental architectural monuments drove artisans, peasants and slaves. The state was rigidly centralized and, having a power resource, mobilized the population at its discretion. Ancient Egypt, whose periodization was compiled by modern archaeologists and historians, under Pharaoh Pepi I conquered southern Syria. In the XXIV century BC e. priestly simplified writing was separated from the usual hieroglyphic. According to the annals, one of the pharaohs of the Ancient Kingdom of Pepi II reigned in '94, which is a kind of historical record.
Fragmentation
After the fall of the Ancient Kingdom in Egypt, the era of fragmentation began. VII – X dynasties belong to it. At this time, the country plunged into anarchy. In fact, the pharaohs did not have any power and were only nominal figures. The periodization of the history of the state in Ancient Egypt is such that in the era of fragmentation, nomarchs enjoyed real influence, each of whom controlled a specific city or province.
The collapse of the state led to the destruction of a single system of irrigation canals, which led to devastation and increasing hunger. Numerous gangs robbed tombs and temples. Ancient Egypt, periodization, the social and political structure of which continues to be studied by experts from different countries, at that time suffered greatly from raids of neighboring nomads.
Middle kingdom
The period of fragmentation ended when two forces arose that were able to reunite Egypt. In the struggle for primacy, the kingdoms of Heracles and Thebes clashed. The conflict between them lasted several decades. Finally, Thebes defeated, and the ruler of this city, Mentuhotep II, founded the XI dynasty.
The era that began in the 21st century BC is called the Middle Kingdom. It refers not only to the XI, but also to the XII dynasty. At that time, the state was not very centralized for ancient despots, which, however, did not prevent Egyptian civilization from subjugating the Middle East. From the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean, silver, copper, gold and other valuable goods were delivered to the banks of the Nile. The middle kingdom was the richest state of its era. The periodization of the culture of Ancient Egypt says that it was during this period that the heyday of national ancient Egyptian literature fell (the legend of Sinuhe is considered the most famous story).
Decline
A period of new political fragmentation began in 1782 BC. e., and ended in 1570 BC. e. The country was divided into independent provinces. Then the Hyksos strangers invaded it. Periodization of the history of Ancient Egypt is an alternation of the heyday and decline of the country. During the new decline, the state was in a deep crisis. The rulers controlled only the Nile Delta and could not cope with the provinces that wanted independence.
In the end, the title of the Pharaohs was accepted by the leaders of the Hyksos. Their rule includes the XV and XVI dynasties. Thebes' main center of resistance to strangers. Their rulers today are reckoned with the XVII dynasty. It was they who expelled the Hyksos and rallied the country around Thebes. The then periodization of the history of Ancient Egypt, in short, is a lot of scattered segments, the details of which are often unknown.
New kingdom
The new kingdom existed in the XVI-XI centuries BC. This is a "classic" period. It is about him that most of the information has been preserved. In this era, the young Tutankhamun also ruled, the opening of the tomb of which became the greatest archaeological event of the 20th century.
The new kingdom left another significant name. Pharaoh Akhenaten tried to reform the Egyptian religion. He abandoned the former pantheon and made the country pray to one god. Akhenaten's efforts were in vain. Polytheism was soon revived.
In the New Kingdom (the dynasty from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth) lived a fifth of the human population of the planet. The periodization of the art of Ancient Egypt relates to this era the largest number of monuments that have survived to this day. The new kingdom fell after the power in the south of the country seized the priestly estate. The collapse was preceded by a “Bronze Age catastrophe”, when the “peoples of the sea” invaded Egypt in the 12th century BC, causing great damage to the country.
Split
The last period of Egyptian fragmentation continued in the XI-VI centuries BC. During this time, the dynasties changed from the twenty-first to the twenty-sixth. Due to civil strife, Egypt has ceased to claim leadership in the Eastern Mediterranean. Power lost its last possessions in the Middle East and Phenicia. The Libyans continued to settle Lower Egypt. The leaders of these foreign tribes became rulers of the nomes, were related to the Egyptian nobility.
At the peak of fragmentation, the country was divided into five weak kingdoms. The periodization of the history of Ancient Egypt consists of many periods, but it was precisely at that era that the greatest number of dynasties and internal wars took place. A fragmented country was regularly targeted by Ethiopia in the south and Assyria in the north.
Late kingdom
Historians combine dynasties from XXVII to XXX in the late period of ancient Egypt. Its chronological framework: 525-332 years BC. The conquest of the Nile Valley by Persia is considered the beginning of the Late Kingdom. Northeast Africa was considered the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid empire. Memphis became the administrative center of the country again.
When the war broke out between Persia and Greece, the Hellenes invaded Egypt, hoping for an anti-Persian uprising of the local population, but the rebellion did not happen. The last period of independence of the country dates back to the 4th century BC. The pharaohs tried to defend their own sovereignty, using the pressing problems of the Persians. Nevertheless, Artaxersk III conquered Egypt again. The second dominion of the Persians lasted only twenty years.
Alexander the Great conquers Egypt
In the IV century BC, Ancient Egypt, the chronology and periodization of history of which are full of sharp turns, became part of the Macedonian state. If before that, people from the banks of the Nile developed as an Eastern civilization, now it has become part of a single Hellenized space.
Having conquered Persia, Alexander of Macedon began to plant ancient Greek culture in the Middle East. In 332 BC, it was the turn of Egypt, which was part of the defeated power of the Achaemenids. Alexander conquered the African country and proclaimed himself a pharaoh. In the Nile Delta, he built a new port, which became one of the greatest cities of antiquity. Alexandria became famous for its library and lighthouse (one of the 7 wonders of the world). The same city became the burial place of the illustrious military leader.
Ptolemaic period
The Ptolemaic period is the last chapter in the history of Ancient Egypt. She received this name in honor of the dynasty, which established its power over the country after the premature departure from the life of Alexander the Great. His entourage (diadochi) divided the power of the great commander. One of them, Ptolemy, began to rule Egypt.
Although the country remained independent for another three centuries, it was no longer an independent civilization. As mentioned above, Egypt was heavily influenced by Hellenistic culture. Everything was mixed up - from languages to religion. Alexandria became the capital from which Ancient Egypt was ruled. Periodization of the history of this country says that during the heyday of the Ptolemies, their state belonged not only to the Nile Valley, but also to Palestine, Cyprus, part of Syria and Asia Minor.
Meanwhile, in the territory of modern Italy, a new great empire was growing. Having conquered the Western Mediterranean, the Roman Republic turned its eyes to the east. Consul Octavian Augustus declared war on Egypt, where Cleopatra ruled. The country was conquered in 30 BC. Then the Roman Republic became an empire. Egypt was proclaimed one of its provinces and finally lost its independence.