• Ancient Egyptians History - Facts about the Pyramids at Giza

  • The Great Pyramid is one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

  • An estimated 20,000 to 30,000 workers built the Pyramids at Giza over a period of 80 years.
• Ancient Egyptians History - Facts about the Sphinx - A figure in Egyptian myth having the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk.
• Ancient Egyptians History - The most famous Sphinx is the Great Sphinx at Giza. The entire length of the Great Sphinx at Giza is 150 feet long, the head is 30 feet long and 14 feet wide and the paws themselves are 50 feet long.
• Ancient Egyptians History - The Great Sphinx dated to within a few years of 2500 BC.
• Ancient Egyptians History - Facts about the riddle of the Sphinx. ( This is attributed to Greek mythology, the Sphinx of Thebes from Greek mythology who asked this riddle of all travellers who passed by. If the traveller failed to solve the riddle, then the Sphinx would kill them )
• Ancient Egyptians History - What is the riddle of the Sphinx?

  • "What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?"

• Ancient Egyptians History - What is the answer to the riddle of the Sphinx

  • "A man. He crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age."

  • The Sphinx riddle refers to morning, noon, and night which are metaphors for the times in a man's life
• Ancient Egyptians History - What was a Pharoah? A Pharaoh was a king of ancient Egypt - the most famous of the Pharaohs are detailed on the Timeline below.
• Ancient Egyptians History - Facts about Egyptian Mummys:

  • Ancient Egyptians believed that when the pharaoh died that his spirit stayed within his body and that he became Osiris, king of the dead.

  • The Ancient Egyptians believed that if they did not take proper care of the corpse then the dead Pharoah would not be able to perform his duties in the Afterworld and that disaster would befall Egypt.
  • The dead pharaoh was therefore mummified, which preserved his body.
  • The process of mummification involved removing all moisture and internal organs, drying the body and anointing it with preserving chemicals
• Ancient Egyptians History - Facts about the tombs of the Pharaohs of Egypt:

  • The Pharaoh was buried with fabulous treasures to ensure he would have a good life in the afterworld

  • The Pyramids were built as monuments to the Pharaohs
  • The tombs of Pharaohs were believed to hold a curse

    • "Death comes on wings to he who enters the tomb of a pharaoh." - this curse of the Pharaohs, often referred to as the Curse of Osiris (or even Isis!) has not been substantiated

    • Howard Carter entered King Tutankhamen's burial chamber on February 17, 1923
    • On March 6, Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to open the tomb, was bitten on the cheek by a mosquito
    • The mosquito bite became infected, he contracted pneumonia, and he died on April 5
    • This fuelled the belief that the tombs of Pharaohs were cursed and that the most dire punishment would befall anyone who raided the tomb
    • It is believed that the Ancient Egyptians spread secret poisons before sealing a tomb

History, Timeline & Facts about the Ancient Egyptians

The Ancient Egyptians History Timeline
History, Timeline & Facts about the Ancient Egyptians
3100 BC The Egyptian civilization began when King Menes founded the first Egyptian dynasty
3100 -2950 BC The First and second dynasties ruled Egypt and the Egyptians began using hieroglyphics
2950 -2575 BC The first Egyptian pyramid is built - the Step Pyramid at Saqqara for King Zoser
2575 -2150 BC The Old Kingdom of the Egyptians (the 4th-8th Dynasties) - The Great Pyramids were built at Dahshur and Giza
2125 -1975 BC The 9th-11th Egyptian Dynasties the 1st Intermediate Period
1975 -1640 The 11th-14th Egyptian Dynasties the Middle Kingdom - Amenemhet is the most notable pharoah of the Egyptians
1630 -1520 The 15th-17th Egyptian Dynasties the 2nd Intermediate Period
1400s BC King Thutmose III and Ancient Egypt reached the height of its power when military expeditions brought the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea under Egyptian rule
1539 -1075 The 18th-20th Egyptian Dynasties New Kingdom and he building of the tombs of the Valley of Kings. The Pharoahs included Hatshepsut (the female Pharoah), Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The Egyptians developed a permanent army
1075-715 The 21st-25th Egyptian Dynasties the 3rd Intermediate Period - the Nubians conquer Egypt (late 8th century)
715-332 The 20th-30th Egyptian Dynasties the Late Period and the Persians conquer Egypt in 525BC
332 BC Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and the Egyptians
Alexander the Great occupies Egypt and his general, Ptolemy, becomes king and founds a dynasty. Greek culture was spread throughout Egypt during this dynasty.
196BC - The Rosetta Stone is carved
51-30 BC - Cleopatra VII reigns over the Egyptians
37 BC Queen Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemies marries Mark Antony
31 BC Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium
30 BC Egypt becomes a province of the Roman Empire (30 BC)
642 AD The Arabs captured Alexandria and Egypt becomes an important part of the Islamic Empire
868 - 969 The Tulunid and the Ikhshidid dynasty rule Egypt
969 Fatimid rulers seize Egypt and found the Egyptian city Al-Qahirah (modern day Cairo)
The above information provides a concise background to the Ancient Egyptian civilisations

Concise Modern History of Egypt - please click the following link for History, Timeline & Facts about Modern Egypt

For detailed information about Life in Ancient Egypt we highly recommend the following website:
King Tut and Ancient Egypt