Free Essay On Ancient Egypt

After the prehistoric Egypt is the Ancient Egypt whose history can be captured the concisely by a consideration of the three kingdoms (Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom and the Late Kingdom) that were in existence during the period. It is believed that the ancient Egypt civilization was as a result of the merger of the Lower and Upper Egypt under the leadership of a single pharaoh who happens to be the first pharaoh of Egypt. This was Pharaoh was called Menes; Menes was the King of Upper Egypt, and with help of his army, he invaded Lower Egypt and took control of it. It is the invasion of Lower Egypt that led to the coalescing of the two regions. Identified by many scholars as Kind Narmer, little is known about this pharaoh. One of evidence that he surely existed is a palette with his image found in Hierakonpolis. The validity of the palette that bears the image of King Narmer is always argued from the premise that such palettes were indeed some of the earliest historical artworks preserved and as some authors contend, the palette in by all means an elaborate version of a useful object that was used by the Egyptians to protect their eyes against irritation from the string sun that is typic of Egypt. Nonetheless, the palette at Hierakonpolis has, on its back, an encryption of the image of Kind Narmer wearing the high white and bowling-pin-shapes crown that was typic of the king of Upper Egypt.
Ancient Egypt is mostly symbolized by the pyramids of Gaza, which in historical terms, mark the great flowering of the pharaonic culture that is conventionally known are the Old Kingdom. Notably, according to some writers, the culture, even though symbolized by such magnificent pyramids (which also took a long period of time to be built), did not come into full existence until after a long period of gestation. For many centuries, the communities that lived along the river Nile and some parts of the extensive grasslands that covered most parts of Egypt strived to build a way of living that would later form the Egyptian culture. Admittedly, the people had an admirably unique outlook that was greatly influenced by the unique environment that they inhabited. The development of the Egyptian territories was considerably accelerated by trade, and by the time the first Egyptian dynasty was formed, the main elements of the territories had also been formed. Besides, the development of the dynasties and the culture was also successful since the communities that inhabited the lands along the river Nile as well the Egyptian grasslands were able to bring out the best of these seemingly important features of Egypt. To some researchers and archeologists, the old kingdom, besides encompassing the third dynasty to the sixth dynasty, presents a period when Egypt attained the peak of its civilization.
After the Old Kingdom, several other kingdoms sprouted. The Kingdom that followed the old kingdom is known as the Middle Kingdom. However, there was a dark period after the end of the old Kingdom that saw the division of the formerly united Egypt into to competing power units especially with the growth of monarchy. This period that covers the seventh up to the ninth dynasties is called the First intermediate period. During the period, the government weakened in addition to the famine that was caused a prolonged failure of the Nile floods. Additionally, the period is important in the history of Egypt as it saw the innovation of the fundamental components of the Egyptian way of life. For instance, mummification (the covering of dead bodies with cartonnage which is a line used to cover mummies) came into existence during this period.
The Middle Kingdom emerged after the end of the 1st Intermediate period. the middle kingdom existed in the period between 2055 BC and 1650 BC. Covering the 11th and the 12th dynasties, the medieval kingdom is overly important in the history of ancient Egypt owing to the fact that a reunification of the political units (that had disintegrated at the beginning of the old kingdom) and strengthening of the pharaonic powers. Besides, it saw the creation of a central administration point that could not materialize during the old kingdom.
Later, in 1570 BC, the New Kingdom was formed. Important for being the period in which the 18th dynasty was formed, the New Kingdom was characterized by several success stories that serve to put Egypt on the map of some of the most prosperous empires in the world. During the period, Egypt increased its engagement with the outside world as a result of imperial expansion. Reportedly, the dressing style changed extensively with some clothes that came into existence during the medieval period gaining popularity. Indubitably, the 18th dynasty is perhaps one of the most important dynasties because some of the greatest rulers who are still iconic in the history of Egypt emerged during this period. Kings like Ahmose, Akhenaten and Ramesses the great are some of the iconic figures of the 18th Dynasty. Ahmose reigns as the founder of the 18th Dynasty. The son of the last King of the 17th Dynasty united Egypt and made Egypt one of the first empires controlling lower Nubia and some portions of the Syria-Palestine. He is the builder of the last royal pyramid. Akhenaten was the son of Amenophis III who was the son of Ahmose. Famous for laying foundation of the first ever stone temple, Akhenaten changed his name from Amenophis IV in tribute to his only god and was known to be leader with radical religious ideas. He also moved the capital of Egypt to a site also called Akhenaten in addition to fathering Tutankhamen. The end of his reign is not very clear- his successor too is not well known. However, he is one of the many pharaohs whose sphinxes are existent (there is a sphinx of Akhenaten in one of the most significant Egyptian archeological sites called Amarna); most Egyptian pharaohs have sphinxes to commemorate their existence.
At some point the united Egypt was led by Remesses I who gave birth to Remesses II. Remesses II was the pharaoh of the 19th dynasty which also prospered extensively; perhaps its level success surpassed the level success attained by the 18th Dynasty. Because of the many milestones he achieved during his reign as king, he is oftentimes referred to as Remesses the great. His successors were full of praise of him because of his bravery and numerous military expeditions that he led. Besides, unlike all the other pharaohs, he took the throne in his teens; this makes him a very illustrious pharaoh Egypt ever had.
The period prior to the new kingdom was known as the second intermediate period which is not pleasant especially because it lies between two kingdoms that were by all means good with regards to the development of Egypt. This period that began in the 1640 BC was characterized by the Asian Hyksos who rose to power gradually and ended up controlling Lower Egypt during the 15th Dynasty. The third intermediate dynasty that came after the New Kingdom which ended in 1070 BC was also a dull as most parts of Egypt were disintegrated. The end of Ancient Egypt was marked with a period that historian call the Late Period which covered the 26th dynasty through the 31st dynasty.