The ancient Egyptian civilisation is one of the most fascinating in history. How much do you know about the ancient Egyptians? Check out these ancient Egypt facts to learn more!
People began to settle in Egypt as early as 6000 BCE. Over time, these small villages joined to become states and then two separate kingdoms: Lower Egypt, in the north, and Upper Egypt, in the south.
Ancient Egypt began around 3100 BCE, when Egypt's first king, Narmer, united the two states. Ancient Egypt ended in 30 BCE with the death of Cleopatra VII when the Romans conquered Egypt. Ancient Egyptian Civilisation lasted roughly 3,080 years.
Most people in ancient Egypt were farmers. They lived with their families in houses made of mud bricks near the Nile River.
Women in ancient Egypt usually had the same rights as men. They could be scribes, priests, and doctors and own their own homes and businesses.
Pharaohs were the most important people in ancient Egyptian society. Pharaohs were so important that they were considered to be half god and half man. Most pharaohs were men but there were some female pharaohs too, like the famous Cleopatra. They were the kings and queens of Egypt.
About 170 pharaohs ruled Ancient Egypt, this is thought to include 7 female pharaohs and 163 male pharaohs.
When people think of ancient Egypt, they often think of mummies. Mummification was a process of embalming that preserved bodies after death. This process took 70 days to complete. It involved removing all the moisture from a body so it wouldn’t decay easily.
The pyramids are one of the most iconic symbols of the ancient Egyptian civilisation. They were built as elaborate tombs for the pharaohs. The pharaoh would be placed in an inner chamber of the pyramid, along with all the jewels, furniture, food and other items he or she would need in the afterlife. The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Giza. It was built around 4,500 years ago and is the tomb of Pharaoh Khufu. It is around 147 metres tall and it is estimated that it is built of 2,500,000 stone blocks, each weighing between 2 and 30 tonnes.
The River Nile was crucial to life in ancient Egypt. Much of Egypt is desert land with little or no rain, so people lived near the River Nile in order to have access to water for drinking, washing, cooking and transportation. The Nile also flooded every year this left a thick, black mud called silt when the water receded, which made the land very fertile for farming.
Boats were important methods of transportation for the ancient Egyptians. Egyptians used ships and boats for fishing, trade, transportation, funerals and travel. They also believed boats carried the dead to their afterlife and were how gods travelled.
Another way in which the River Nile was helpful was for the papyrus reeds that grew along the river banks. The ancient Egyptians learnt how to use these reeds to create a type of paper. They also used papyrus to make boats.
The ancient Egyptians had a written language using characters called hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs are not letters like we have, but a series of symbols and pictures. The ancient Egyptians had over 700 hieroglyphs! Not everyone in ancient Egypt could read and write. Scribes had to work hard to read and write hieroglyphics, and they would usually be the ones to keep written records and write letters. Some richer and more educated people could also read and write, but most poorer people couldn’t.
Ancient Egyptians would have included vegetables, fruit, milk, dairy products, and fish or poultry.
Their food included wheat, barley, lettuce, flax, grapes, apricots, olives, beans, honey, pomegranates, almonds, figs and dates.
The ancient Egyptians believed in over 2000 gods and goddesses! They believed that the gods controlled every part of their lives. They had many temples for worshipping these gods and would give them prayers and offerings. Each god or goddess had control over a particular aspect of their lives. Most deities had the body of a human and the head of an animal.
In 30 BCE the Romans invaded Ancient Egypt and Emperor Augustus defeated Pharaoh Cleopatra VII. Egypt then became part of the Roman Empire.
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