What is the history of Ancient Egypt ?

Memphis and Thebes were the principal capitals of ancient Egypt. Memphis served as the first capital and the center of the Egyptian government. According to tradition, King Menes founded the city in 3100 BC

Egyptians had a very developed system of writing. In fact, the written language ancient Egyptians left behind is what gives modern people the great amount of information to learn about them. Inscriptions providing detailed information about their lives can be found on everything from obelisks to tombs. From about 3100 BC, Egyptians used pictures called hieroglyphs, and originally there were about 1,000 of those symbols

Egyptians used different kinds of materials to write on, including fragments of pottery, leather, plastered boards, and papyrus--paper made of a tall reedy plant that grows in the Nile River. The word 'paper' comes from 'papyrus' because it was the world's first convenient writing material

people of ancient Egypt developed a new style of architecture, farmers learned to irrigate their fields, and craftsmen fashioned axes, knives, and other metal tools. The Egyptians also learned to build their ships by lashing and sewing together small pieces of wood. Such ships could transport great columns of stone, weighing up to 350 tons.

A Pharaoh never let his hair be seen – he would always wear a crown or a headdress called a nemes (the striped cloth headdress made famous by Tutankhamen’s golden mask

In order to deter flies from landing on him, Pepi II of Egypt always kept several naked slaves nearby whose bodies were smeared with honey

Egyptian men and women wore makeup – eyepaint was usually green (made from copper) or black (made from lead). The Egyptians believed that the makeup had healing power. Originally the makeup was used as a protection from the sun – rather than for adornment.

While the use of antibiotics did not begin in the 20th century, early folk medicine included the use of mouldy foods or soil for infections. In ancient Egypt, for example, infections were treated with mouldy bread

Egyptian children wore no clothing at all until they were in their teens. The temperature in Egypt made it unnecessary. Adult men wore skirts while women wore dresses.

Rich Egyptians wore wigs while the other classes would wear their hair long or in pig tails. Until 12, Egyptian boys had their heads shaved except for one plaited lock – this was as a protection against lice and fleas.

It is not known who destroyed the nose of the Sphinx (pictured above). There are sketches of the Sphinx without a nose in 1737, over 60 years before Napoleon reached Egypt and hundreds of years before the British and German armies of the two World Wars. The only person known to have damaged it was an Islamic cleric, Sa’im al-dahr, who was lynched in 1378 for vandalism.

Egyptian’s believed that the earth was flat and round (like a pancake) and that the Nile flowed through the center of it.

Egyptian soldiers were used as an internal police force. Additionally, they collected taxes for the Pharaoh.

In every temple in ancient Egypt the pharaoh was supposed to carry out the duties of the high priests, but his place was usually taken by the chief priest.

The first pyramid (The Step Pyramid of Djoser built around 2600 BC – seen above) was originally surrounded by a 34 ft tall wall which had 15 doors in it. Only one of the doors opened.

The women in ancient Egypt enjoyed legal and economical equality with men. Nevertheless, they never enjoyed social equality with men

Contrary to popular belief, excavated skeletons show that the pyramid builders were actually Egyptians who were most likely in the permanent employ of the pharaoh. Graffiti indicates that at least some of these workers took pride in their work, calling their teams “Friends of Khufu,” “Drunkards of Menkaure,” and so on—names indicating allegiances to pharaohs.

When a body was mummified, its brain was removed through one of its nostrils and its intestines were also removed and placed in jars called canopic jars. Each organ was placed in its own jar. The only internal organ that was not removed was the heart, because Egyptians considered it to be the seat of the soul.

Ramses the Great had 8 official wives and nearly 100 concubines. He was over 90 years old when he died in 1212 BC.

Vanity is as old as civilization, and the ancient Egyptians were no exception. Both men and women were known to wear copious amounts of makeup, which they believed gave them the protection of the gods Horus and Ra. These cosmetics were made by grinding ores like malachite and galena into a substance called kohl.

Egyptian Arabic is the national spoken language. ... Egypt is a country in northeast Africa. Its capital city is Cairo. Egypt is famous for its ancient monuments, such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx