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Ancient Egypt

✨ c. 3100 – 30 BCE, North Africa

Ancient Egypt was one of the longest-lasting civilizations in history. It developed along the Nile River around 3100 BC, when Upper and Lower Egypt were united under a single ruler. The annual flooding of the Nile enriched the soil, allowing agriculture to flourish and support a large population. Egyptian society was organized around the pharaoh, who was regarded as both king and a sacred figure.

Skilled artisans, scribes, farmers and builders all contributed to the kingdom's prosperity. The Egyptians built temples, palaces and pyramids, many of which still stand today. Their writing system, known as hieroglyphs, was carved on monuments and written on papyrus, helping preserve religious beliefs, historical events and administrative records.

Religion played a central role in daily life. The Egyptians worshipped many gods associated with nature, the sky and the afterlife, and believed that the soul could continue to exist after death. This belief led to the development of mummification, a process used to preserve the body before burial. Ancient Egypt also made important advances in mathematics, astronomy, medicine and engineering.

For more than three thousand years, it remained a major cultural and political power, although its rulers and borders changed over time. In 30 BC, Egypt became part of the Roman Empire after the reign of Cleopatra VII, marking the end of the pharaonic period while leaving a lasting influence on later civilizations.

💡 Did you know?

Why did the Egyptians make mummies? They believed that to live eternally in the afterlife, the soul needed to find its body. So, they used a special technique with salt (natron) and scented oils to preserve the body, before wrapping it in hundreds of meters of linen bandages. They even sometimes mummified animals, like cats or crocodiles!

For a very long time, no one knew how to read hieroglyphics anymore. It had become a dead and mysterious language. But in 1799, a French soldier found a black stone called the 'Rosetta Stone'. On it, the same text was written in hieroglyphics and in ancient Greek (which we knew how to read). Thanks to this, the scholar Jean-François Champollion finally managed to decipher the secret code of the Egyptians!

The Great Pyramid of Giza is made of more than 2 million blocks of stone! Some blocks weigh as much as two elephants. The Egyptians did not have giant cranes or trucks: they used wooden sleds and poured water on the sand to make the stone slide more easily. It is one of the greatest construction feats of all time.