Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Late period
Kings List
The Ancient Egyptian civilisation was remarkable in many ways, not least in its durability. For over two thousand years their culture dominated the area leaving memorable monuments to their ingenuity and skill and their love of beauty and art. Unfortunately, there are many gaps in our knowledge of this ancient civilisation, and many arguments which may never be settled. For further information on the sources of Egyptian history and some of the areas of contention please refer to the chronology section.
Predynastic Period
Orthodox dates 5000 B.C - 3000 B.C With the development of farming, writing, animal husbandry and religion the ancient peoples of Egypt moved away from their nomadic past and established the foundations of the Ancient Egyptian culture.
Ramesses I. His successors Seti I and Ramesses II (Ramesses the Great) left their mark on the ancient world both in terms of their military campaigns and their building works. The kings of the Twentieth Dynasty took the name Ramesses to connect them with their illustrious predecessors, but they did not live up to the name. This was partly due to a mass displacement of people around the Mediterranean (caused by the Trojan War and the fall of the Mycenaean culture) and a series of poor harvests causing widespread famine. A confederation of races known as the "Sea Peoples" destroyed Egypts historical enemy, the Hittites, and threatened Egypts borders. By the end of the dynasty, Egypt was torn by civil war and the treasury was empty.