Egypt

        Egyptian civilization, one of the world's oldest, developed in the valley of the Nile over 5,000 years ago. An advanced culture developed early, including a [1a] hieroglyphic writing system by 3500 BC (Langer, 1968/72). Two simpler systems--hieratic and demotic were later developed from the hieroglyphics (Ogg, 1971). The rival kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united by a king named [1b] Menes, who established his capital at Memphis. This was the beginning of the [1c] First Dynasty (3100-2890). About 2776 BC they adopted a 365-day calendar with twelve 30-day months and 5 extra days.

3rd Dynasty 2686-2575 BC

1. to 5.

4th Dynasty 2575-2467 BC

1. Snefru reign 2575-2551

2. Khufu=Cheops son of Sneferu reign 2589-2566

3. Radjedef reign 2528-2520

4. Khafre=Chephren son of Khufu reign 2520-2494

5. Menkaure son of Khafre reign 2490-2472

        The construction of [2a] pyramids began during the [2b] Third Dynasty (2686-2575 BC). Cheops (Khufu), the second king of the [2c] Fourth Dynasty (2575-2467 BC), was the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza and founder of the Giza Plateau near modern Cairo and Memphis. His son Khafre (Chephren), the fourth king, built his own [2d]pyramid and the [2e] Great Sphinx next to his father's pyramid at giza. Menkaure, the fifth king, son of Khafre and the grandson of Khufu built the [2f] smallest pyramid of the three.

        During the Old Kingdom (Dynasties 3-6) Egyptian culture and commerce flourished. Its fall introduced a period of anarchy. Mentuhotep II (c. 2060 - 2010 BC) was responsible for the reunification of Egypt during the [3a] 11th Dynasty (c.2134 - 2040 BC) and the establishment of the Middle Kingdom, with its capital at Thebes. During the reign of Amenemhet III, the 6th Ruler of the [3b] 12th Dynasty, many foreign workers--peasants, soldiers and craftsmen--came to Egypt. A group of Asians, known as the Hyksos, settled in the Delta and established their own dynasties in Egypt. Somehow the Hyksos came into power in Egypt and were largely accepted throughout the country as the ruling dynasty. They did, however, tolerate other [3c] coexisting dynasties. The 15th ''Heksus'' Dynasty at Memphis was not the only dynasty of Hyksos: there was also the less important 16th Dynasty, about which little is known. It is possible that there were still some kings of the 13th Dynasty who ruled a part of the country. The kings of the 14th Dynasty--if there ever was a 14th Dynasty--are said to have ruled the Western part of the Delta. And in Thebes ruled an Egyptian house: the 17th Dynasty.
        When Tao I (Senakhtenre), the fourteenth king of the 13th ''Theban'' Dynasty, received word from Apophis, ruler of the Hyksos capital in Avaris, that the hippopotami in the sacred pool at Thebes (400 miles away) kept him awake with their snoring, Tao regarded it as an insult and declared war. He died in battle, but about 1522 BC a successor named Ahmose I, founder of the [4a] 18th Dynasty, finally succeed in pushing the Hyksos out of Egypt and several later rulers continued to raid their cities in the Middle East.

18th Dynasty 1540-1070 BC

1. Ahmose I son of x and y reign 1550-1525

2. Amenhotep I son of Ahmose reign 1540 - 1515

3. Tuthmosis I married into the royal family reign 1494-1482

4. Tuthmosis II son of Tuthmosis I and a minor royal queen married Hatshepsut reign 1482-1479

5. Hatshepsut daughter of Tuthmosis I reign 1473-1458

6. Tuthmosis III born 1504 son of Tuthmosis II and a harem girl reign 1458-1450

7. 8. and 9.

10. Akhenaten son of Amenhotep III but a family outcast reign 1369-1332

11. Smenkhkare brother or son of Akhenaten and a minor wife reign 1336-1334

12. Tutankhamun probably a son of Akhenaten reign 1336-1327

        The third King of the 18th Dynasty [4b] Tuthmosis I (reigned 1494 - 1482) staged a series of brilliant military campaigns that established Egypt's 18th Dynasty. His greatest campaigns were in the Delta and his battles against the Syrians as he finally reached the Euphrates River.
        Tuthmosis II married his older half-sister Hatshepsut, the oldest daughter of Tuthmosis I and Queen Ahmose. She became a much better known pharaoh then her husband. Tuthmosis II had only one son by a harem girl named Isis. Tuthmosis III, however, would have to wait to rule Egypt until after Hatshepsut's death. When Tuthmosis II died, his son was still very young, so Hatshepsut took advantage of the situation by at first naming herself as regent, and then taking on the full regalia of the pharaoh. Her reign (1473-1458 BC) was the longest of all the female pharaohs. She dressed as a king, even wearing a false beard. Hatshepsut accomplished what no woman had before her. She ruled the most powerful, advanced civilization in the world. Her consort and true love was her advisor, Senmut. She remained in power for twenty years during which time the Egyptian economy flourished. She expanded trade relations. She built magnificent temples most notably the Red Chapel.
        Tuthmosis III (reigned 1504-1450 BC) probably spent much of Hatshepsut's rule in a foreign military position, while she took care of the homeland. When Hatshepsut finally died, he was at last able to truly inherit the thrown and proved to be a great pharaoh in his own right. He has been referred to as the Napoleon of ancient Egypt. But perhaps this reputation is due to the fact that his battles were recorded in great detail by the archivist, royal scribe and army commander, Thanuny.

        The tenth king [5a] heretic Pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1369-1332 BC, later known as Akhenaten) enraged the Nile Valley by preaching monotheism (one god), leaving Thebes behind, and moving to Akhetaten (present day El-Amarna)--a new capital half way between Memphis and Thebes. Less than 100 years after his death, [5b] Moses preached monotheism to the Israelis on the bank of the Nile River. The idea of a single God now embraced by Moslems, Christians, and Jews throughout the world.
        Little is known about the12th king of the 18th Dynasty [5c] King Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC). He died at the age of 19 by a head injury. Many suspect that he was murdered. He was buried in the Valley of the Kings.But King Tut became very famous after Howard Carter's discovery of his [5d] tomb.

        The first king of the [6a] 19th Dynasty was the son of a military commander named Seti. Ramesses I entered the military service and worked his way up to commander of troops, superintendent of the cavalry and eventually general. A short time later he became vizier to King Horemheb. Horemheb died with no heir so Ramesses I assumed the throne. But ruled for less than two years (1295 - 1294 BC). His grandson Ramesses II had a 67 year reign (1279 - 1213 BC), during which everything was done on a grand scale. Ramesses was named co-ruler with his father, Seti I, early in his life. No other pharaoh constructed so many temples or erected so many colossal statues and obelisks. Ramesses the Great lived to be 96 years old, had 200 wives and concubines, 96 sons and 60 daughters. Ramesses' victory over the Hittities at Kadesh was celebrated in one of the most repeated Egyptian texts ever put on record. By the time he died in his 90s, he had set his stamp indelibly on the face of Egypt. In 1817, Shelley published a poem giving his impression of the once mighty Ramesses:

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And Wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
My name is [Ramesses], king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!
Nothing besides remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.