What is the history of Ancient Egypt ?

One of the most important was Osiris, god of the underworld.

Abydos was an important cult center for him and numerous temples and shrines were constructed at the site in his honor.

Navigating the underworld was vital to the ancient Egyptians, who believed that the dead could reach a paradise of sorts, where they could live forever.

Egyptian dead were sometimes mummified, preserving the body, and were sometimes buried with spells that aided them in navigating the underworld. 

In ancient Egyptian mythology, one of the first steps in navigating the underworld was to weigh a person's deeds against the feather of Maat. If the person had committed a great deal of wrongdoing, the person's heart would be heavier than the feather and the person's soul would be obliterated.

On the other hand, if their deeds were generally good, they passed forward and had the opportunity to successfully navigate the underworld.

Figurines called shabti were often buried with the deceased — their purpose being to do the work of the deceased in the afterlife for them. 

Most Ancient Egyptian pyramids were built as tombs for pharaohs (rulers of Ancient Egypt) and their families. To date, over 130 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt.

The afterlife was incredibly important to the Egyptians. They believed that by preserving a dead person’s body – which they did through the process of mummification – their soul would live on in the after-life forever.

The Pyramid of Khufu at Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. This incredible structure weighs as much as 16 Empire State buildings!

Both Egyptian men and women wore make-up. The eye-paint was usually green (made from copper) or black (made from lead). As well as offering protection from the sun, the Egyptians believed make-up had magical healing powers, too!

Unwrapped, the bandages of an Ancient Egyptian mummy could stretch for 1.6km. Yikes!

The Egyptian alphabet contained more than 700 hieroglyphs! Uncover the meaning behind these ancient symbols by checking out our awesome hieroglyphics feature

Ancient Egyptians believed in more than 2,000 deities! They had gods for everything, from dangers to chores! Each had different responsibilities and needed to be worshipped so that life could be kept in balance.

Cats were considered to be a sacred animal by the Ancient Egyptians. It’s thought that most families kept a cat as a pet, which they believed would bring the household good luck!

Love playing boardgames with your pals? Well, gang, so did the Ancient Egyptians! One popular game was Senet, which was played for over 2,000 years! The game involved throwing sticks (in the same way we throw dice) to see how many squares to move your piece forward on the board.

The Ancient Egyptians invented lots of things we still use today, such as paper, pens, locks and keys and – believe it or not – toothpaste!

The civilization of Ancient Egypt was located along the Nile River in northeast Africa. The Nile was the source of much of the Ancient Egypt's wealth

Great Egyptian cities grew up along the Nile as the Egyptian people became experts in irrigation and were able to use the water from the Nile to grow rich and profitable crops.

Historians usually group the history of Ancient Egypt into three major kingdoms called the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. It was during these times that Ancient Egypt was at its strongest. The times between the Kingdoms are called intermediate periods.

Ancient Egypt was rich in culture including government, religion, arts, and writing. The government and religion were tied together as the leader of the government, the Pharaoh, was also leader of the religion. Writing was also important in keeping the government running. Only scribes could read and write and they were considered powerful people.

The Pharaohs of Egypt were often buried in giant pyramids or in secret tombs. They believed that they needed treasure to be buried with them to help them in the afterlife. As a result, archeologists have a lot of well preserved artifacts and tombs to examine in order to find out how the Ancient Egyptians lived.

The Ancient Egyptian Empire began to weaken in about 700 BC. It was conquered by a number of other civilizations. The first to conquer Egypt was the Assyrian Empire, followed a hundred or so years later by the Persian Empire. In 332 BC, Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Egypt and set up his own ruling family called the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Finally, the Romans came in 30 BC and Egypt became a province of Rome.

Ancient Egypt - History. The story of ancient Egypt began about 8,000 years ago, when farmers started to plant crops and raise animals in the Nile Valley. By about 3400 BC the Egyptians were building walled towns, and the country was divided into numerous small states.

The story of ancient Egypt began about 8,000 years ago, when farmers started to plant crops and raise animals in the Nile Valley. By about 3400 BC the Egyptians were building walled towns, and the country was divided into numerous small states