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The more than 3000 year long history of Ancient Egypt has been divided into 8 or 9 periods, sometimes called Kingdoms. This modern-day division is somewhat arbitrarily based on the country's unity and wealth and the power of the central government. The Ancient Egyptians themselves did not group their rulers according to such criteria. They rather seem to have developed the notion of dynasties throughout their history. The Palermo Stone simply lists the kings one after the other, without any apparent need of grouping them. The Turin Kinglist, which is more recent, has grouped the kings according to their descendance or origin. Thus, Amenemhat I and his descendants, are described as the kings of Itj-Tawi, the capital whence they ruled. We owe the division into 30 dynasties as we use it now to Manetho, an Egyptian priest who lived at the beginning of the Ptolemaic Era. In many cases, however, it is not clear why Manetho has grouped some kings into one dynasty and other kings into another. The 18th Dynasty, for instance, starts with Ahmose, a brother of the last king in Manetho's 17th Dynasty. Theoritically, Ahmose and Kamose should thus have been grouped in the same dynasty. Thutmosis I, on the other hand, does not appear to have been related to his predecessor, Amenhotep I, but still both kings are grouped in the 18th Dynasty.
Some Egyptologists have attempted to abandon the notions of Kingdoms and dynasties, but for the sake of conformity with most publications dealing with Ancient Egypt, this site will continue using both notions. Visitors may, however, notice that the timeline below and the timescale used throughout The Ancient Egypt Site may be somewhat different from some of the other books or web-sites they have consulted.
Visitors should also be aware that, as is the case with any publication dealing with Ancient Egypt, dates are approximations and should not be taken literally. In many cases it is not known just how long a king may have ruled. Comparing different publications on the hisory and chronology of Ancient Egypt, visitors may notice that one king may be credited with a fairly short reign in one publication and a fairly long in another. This impacts the absolute chronology, that is to say, Egyptian history using our year numbering.
In The Ancient Egypt Site, some dates will be proposed but again, they should only be seen as approximations and not as absolutes. A discussion on the length of the reign of a king may follow and this discussion may show the likelihood that this king reigned longer or shorter than the dates linked to his reign.
It can thus not be stressed enough that the provided dates are just a frame of reference helping readers to gain insight in the sequence of events and occurences and to have an approximate idea of the age of certain monuments and artefacts.
The Old Kingdom is not as much a breach with the Early Dynastic Period as a continuation of it. The kings of the 4th Dynasty are believed to be descendants of Huni, the last king of the 3rd Dynasty. The Turin King-list, in fact, lists all kings from the first five dynasties without any further internal distinction. This means that the composers of the list considered these kings as belonging to a single group.
From a cultural, political and religious point of view, however, the 4th Dynasty has brought about several changes that set it apart from the first three dynasties.
The most remarkable change is the transition of Step Pyramids to 'true' pyramids with smooth surfaces. This transition was not only the result of increasing technical skills, but even more of religious views that shifted from stellar to solar. The Step Pyramid symbolised a staircase to the stars. The 'true' pyramid, on the other hand was considered as a solar symbol and as a representation of the primaeval mound from which all life had sprung.
The image below illustrates the evolution of the Early Dynastic Step Pyramid (to the left) to the 'real' pyramid shape of the pyramids at Giza (to the right). The pyramid of Meidum (second from left) was converted from a Step Pyramid into a 'real' pyramid by Snofru, the first king of the 4th Dynasty. The Bent Pyramid at Dashur was also built by Snofru. The angle of the pyramid may have been changed to alleviate the pressure of the weight of the pyramid.
The building of pyramids would not have been possible without a The The building of pyramids would not have been possible without a flourishing economy and a strong central government. Royal estates throughout the country centralised and provided the necessary resources that were needed in the construction of pyramid complexes. This required a powerful administration, both on a local and on a central level, to successfully manage the resources and ensure the flow of supplies, materials and riches to the central government.
Artists and craftsmen became increasingly skilled as state-sponsored ateliers produced the most exquisite objects of art for the royal family and the members of the ruling elite. The high-quality decoration of the private tombs that were grouped next to the royal pyramids, not only hint at the wealth and status of the tomb-owner, but are also a rich source of information about daily life in the age of the pyramids.
During the 4th Dynasty, there was also some military activity in the South, in Nubia, where a fortress was built at Buhen, near the 2nd cataract. This fortress not only confirmed the Egyptian military presence in Nubia, it was also a commercial settlement where traders from all of Nubia would come to trade with the Egyptians. Since the 4th Dynasty, Nubia, rich in many raw materials and especially in gold, has always been of interest to the Ancient Egyptians.
The addition of the title "Son of Re" to the royal titulary from the reign of Djedefre on, shows the increasing importance in the solar cult. Even more, it stresses the role of the king as the representative of the sun on earth.
During the 5th Dynasty, the solar religion was even more firmly established, when the kings built solar temples as well as pyramids. This may well explain why the 5th Dynasty Pyramids are far less dominating than their predecessors: the building effort was no longer concentrated on the building of a single pyramid and their temples.
Economic and political factors may have had some importance as well: the 5th Dynasty government seems to have been less centralised and less strong. Private tombs were no longer restricted to the vicinity of the king’s pyramid and their decoration became richer and more elaborate. Some private people had their tombs built in their own province and not in or near the necropolis of Memphis.
The last king of the 5th Dynasty, Unas, introduced yet another innovation: his pyramid was the first to have been "decorated" with texts, the so-called Pyramid Texts. These texts relate to the fate of the king in the afterlife, when he takes his place among the gods and among the stars.
With the 6th Dynasty, the Old Kingdom would start its slow decline. Although some military activity is reported to the East of the Delta or in Palestine and in Nubia, the central power of the king kept on decaying. This may have been caused, in part, by the long reign of Pepi II, during which more power may have been relegated to the central and local administrations.
Another key factor in the decline of the Old Kingdom was a decreasing inundation of the Nile. By the end of the Old Kingdom, the inundation apparently became less abundant. Local measures needed to be taken to ensure that the inundation would flood enough land and keep it fertile. Local administrators and governors who succeeded in controlling the flow of the floods for their region strengthened their position against the central government.
The kings of the 7th/8th Dynasty lacked the power and prestige to prevent their country from becoming divided. With them, the Old Kingdom has come to an end and the 1st Intermediate Period has started. Some history books have the 7th/8th Dynasty at the end of the Old Kingdom, but since it was during that Dynasty that the central government lost its grip on the country, it seems preferable to already place this dynasty in the 1st Intermediate Period.
The table below lists the dynasties that were part of the Old Kingdom:
Dynasty Dates (*)
4th Dynasty 2575 - 2465 BC
5th Dynasty 2465 - 2323 BC
6th Dynasty 2323 - 2150 BC
Note that the provided dates are approximations only.
The scribe became the backbone of the royal administration that helped the government tighten its grasp on the society, enabling impressive building projects at Dashur and Giza.
The title 'Son of Re' was added to the royal titulary during the 4th Dynasty (more...)
The Ancient Egypt Bibliography is a growing list of over 550 books on Ancient Egypt, written in different languages.
This list may appear to some as somewhat eclectic: some books will be highly scientific, some are meant for a more general audience and others yet are intended for children. This eclectic feel is intentional: everybody who is interested in Ancient Egypt should be able to find some interesting books here.
Several books in this list hold a link to the world's largest on-line bookshops: Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, enabling you to expand your personal library with your favourite books on Ancient Egypt.
To proceed to the list of books, simply click one of the categories in the sidebar to the left or in the overview below. General Books
Encyclopedia
General
Art
General overview
Amulets
Exhibition Catalogs
Museum Catalogs
Pyramids
Temples
Daily Life Fiction
General overview
Animals
Sports
Women and Family
Fiction Books
History
General overview
Chronology
Early Dynastic Period
Old Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
New Kingdom
Late Dynastic Period
Greek-Roman Period
Language Religion
Introductions to Hieroglyphs
Dictionaries
Grammars
Text Publications
Translations
General overview
Life After Death
Magic
Mythology
Rituals
Mummies Science
General overview
General overview
Medicine
Sites
General overview
Alexandria
Giza
Karnak and Luxor
Saqqara
Thebes West (Valley of the Kings etc.)
Travel Guides
The Marine Museum is one of the smallest museums in Egypt. I actually entered it by mistake because I thought it was one of the gates that lead to Qaytbey Fort in Alexandria. In fact, it once was one of the gates to the fort. Today, it is transformed into a marine museum that displays different kinds of sea creatures and scenes from the Red and Mediterranean Seas. OK, this is not the usual type of venue for those visiting Egypt, but in our ever consuming quest to document every museum in Egypt, a country chocked full of museums, I couldn't just pass it by, even though a few of the exhibits might be a bit cheesy. After all, if one is visiting Fort Qaytbey, it is very easy to poke one's head in to this museum as well.
Even though this museum is located on the Mediterranean coast, the first displays that catch a visitor's eyes are scenes from the Red Sea. It contains natural coral reefs, many kinds of fish like the Picasso fish, and some seashells. Afterwards, the next display consists of a collection of skates and rays. Some of these creatures are more than three meters long. Some of them look scary, while some have natural colors and wonderful designs on their backs.
Next, there is a huge collection of sea sponges from the Mediterranean Sea. These creatures come in a variety of different colors and shapes. Mainly they are either a shade of white or pink and in semi-circular shapes. There are three primary kinds of sponges in Egypt. They consist of glass, turkey cup and honeycombs. The turkey cup sponge gets it's name from it's smooth skin. The honeycomb sponge is brown and has a wide openings in it's body. They all live in deep sea water.
Another section which is fairly interesting is the jaws section, showing the jaws of different kinds of fish. There was also the coral reefs section, with a variety of collections gathered mainly from the Red Sea.
A number of the displays depict artificial scenes within main bodies of water bordering Egypt. The next display, on the left hand side, is a beautiful scene from the Red Sea. It demonstrates the things a diver would see under water in the Red Sea. Unfortunately, the diver is a bit cartoon-like, or at least far out of date from the standpoint of modern diving gear, but there are colorful fish and many different kinds of coral reefs.
Next, an amazing display I found was, well, documented as a mermaid. Did I get this wrong? There is a skeleton on display here that might make one believe that they truly exist. This creature with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish is portrayed in movies as very pretty, but the skeleton was rather ugly. I learned that some believe there is also a male mermaid. Though I am no expert on marine life, I suspect that this was actually a Dugong, or sea-cow, a rare vegetarian sea mammal.
The next section is the fossil section. Fossils are the natural remains of sea creatures preserved inside sea bead rocks. Sometimes these fossils contain different kinds of substances. The study of these fossils was of great assistance in the quest to examine the origins of Earth, its history and the geological changes the Earth has been through. The study of these fossils is also essential for the search for petrol.
After this, there is a display of a natural jaw of a shark. It is poised as if the shark is attacking it's prey. The upper jaw has six rows of very sharp teeth, each six centimeters long. The length of the open jaw is more than 70 centimeters. Being from Cairo, I have not spent much time near the sea, and my main exposure to sharks has been through movies, but this display certainly reinforced my imagination of sharks being scary creatures.
The next display was a diorama of the Red Sea. It is a scene from the Red Sea showing the environment and explaining why it is so suitable for a large and varied number of fish. One, among the many kinds of fish shown, is the Bassar fish, which is considered one of the hardest fish to catch because of its strong persistence, but there are many others as well.
Next, there are some drawings of fish. They are an original copy from the book of the description of Egypt done by the French scientists in the Napoleon occupation of Egypt. They represent another collection of fish that live in the Mediterranean Sea. This rare document would be, for some the most interesting in the museum.
The next section contains a large collection of different seashells found in the Red and Mediterranean Seas. These seashells vary greatly in their shape and size. Some of them are tiny while others are huge, but there are many sea shell enthusiasts, and this might be of interest to them.
At the end of every museum in Egypt, there always seems to be a special display. In the Marine Museum, the special display is the hugest skeleton of a whale that I believe I shall ever see. It is more than forty meters long and it extends the length of the entire museum. It was captured in Alexandria in the 1950's by a group of fishermen. This skeleton amazes all the visitors of the museum because of its huge size.
The Marine Museum is an entertaining experience for the whole family, but especially the kids who love the sea. Children do tire sometimes of seeing monuments, even though they are engaged by pharaonic history, and this museum, along with the fortress, seem to delight children. The museum has a huge variety of displays and information about the two seas that Egypt borders, the Red and Mediterranean Seas. If you ever have the chance to visit the great Fortress of Qaytbey, don’t miss a look at the displays in the Marine Museum, located at the old gate of the fort.
The Islamic era in Egypt was generally the golden age for arts and architecture. Examples of such revival can be seen in the building of several mosques, fortresses and city walls, in addition to the flourishing of decorative arts. These were most evident in the construction of al-Fustat, the first capital of Egypt, where Amr Ibn el-Aas built the first mosque in the country. The Nile meter on the island of Rodha in modern Cairo, built by Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakel Billah in 245 AH, is known to be the oldest Islamic monument in Egypt.
Islamic architecture also flourished mainly in al-Qatay' city and Ahmed Ibn Touloon mosque which was built in the same style of Amr Ibn el-Aas mosque, with the addition of a fountain, minaret, props and the foundation sign board. The minaret of Ahmed Ibn Touloon mosque is known for its unique shape in Egypt derived from the Persian temples known as “Zigurat”.
The Fatimid period also witnessed the development of local Islamic architecture. Al-Azhar, al-Anwar and Al-Aqmar mosques are famous examples of Fatimid architecture in Egypt.
Al-Geoshi Mausoleum is a model for dome structures and mosques built around the tombs of eminent men of religion.
During the Ayyubid period, further advances were made in the field of architecture. Salah ed-Din's (Saladin's) Citadel still stands out as a lofty, striking example of Islamic architecture. The Mamelukes were no less advanced in this field. They also left behind a great wealth of finely designed and decorated mosques, domes, mystics' houses, palaces, schools, khans (inns), fortresses and public drinking fountains. Egyptians under Islamic rule adopted the same techniques and styles of art and ornamentation prevailing in the preceding periods. Most notable arts of this period were wood engraving and ornamentation, assembled dove tailed and lathed wood work. Islamic style textiles, porcelain and stained glass were also widely known during this period
