* Ancient Egypt o Early Dynastic Period of Egypt: 31st to 27th centuries BC o Old Kingdom of Egypt: 27th to 22nd centuries

BC o First Intermediate Period: 22nd to 21st centuries BC o Middle Kingdom of Egypt: 21st to 17th centuries BC o Second Intermediate Period: ca. 1640 to 1570 BC o New Kingdom of Egypt: 1570 to 1070 BC o Third Intermediate Period and 1070 to 664 BC o Late Period of ancient Egypt + Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt: 664 to 525 BC + Achaemenid Egypt: 525 to 332 BC

The Early Dynastic Period Important Events: 1. unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. Upper Egypt was symbolized by the lotus flower. The symbol of Lower Egypt was the papyrus reed. Warfare between Upper and Lower Egypt occurred often.[ During his reign in Upper Egypt, King Narmer defeated his enemies on the Delta and merged both the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Egypt under his single rule. Narmar is shown on palettes a wearing the double crown, composed of the lotus flower and the papyrus reed - a sign of the unified rule of both parts of Egypt which was followed by all succeeding rulers. 2. the capital moved from Abydos to Memphis ruled by an Egyptian god-king. The rulers established a national administration and appointed royal governors. The earliest hieroglyphs appear just before this period. 3. agriculture flourished in Egypt, contributing to its success over the next 800 years. The Old Kingdom of Egypt Important Events: 1. formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, under the rule of the pharaoh. The former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection. 2. Pharoah Djoser (26302611 BCE) of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of the Step Pyramid in Memphis' necropolis, Saqqara. 3. Under the rule of Pharoah Sneferu (26132589 BCE) the Egyptians built three pyramids: a now collapsed pyramid in Meidum, the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, and the Red Pyramid, at North Dahshur. 4. Khufu (2589 - 2566 BCE) ordered and saw to the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

5. Egypt saw an increase in trade with other countries for goods like cedar (from Lebanon) and ivory (from the Kingdom of Punt, now modern-day Somalia and Ethiopia), leading to economic development. 6. a severe drought in the region resulted in a drastic drop in precipitation between 2200 and 2150 BCE, preventing the normal flooding of the Nile. The result was the collapse of the Old Kingdom followed by decades of famine and strife. First Intermediate Period Important Events: 1. This dark period spanned approximately one hundred years after the end of the Old Kingdom from ca. 2181-2055 BC. It included the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and part of the eleventh dynasties 2. the temples were pillaged and violated, their existing artwork was vandalized, and the statues of kings were broken or destroyed as a result of this alleged political chaos 3. This period was also marked by battles for dominance between the Theban kings and the Herakleopolis kings, but eventually the Theban kings conquered the others, leading to a reunification of Egypt. Middle Kingdom Important Events: 1. Egyptian rule was reinstated in the Sinai region. 2. the cult of Osiris gained religious dominance. 3. forts were built to solidify Egyptian power in its border regions. 4. administrative reform was carried out throughout the eleventh to part of the thirteenth dynasties of Egypt (which belong to this period), with requirements of registration of land and modified borders for the nomarchs (regional rulers of administrative divisions of land in Egypt). Eventually the power of the nomarchs wane altogether, leaving the government stronger and more centralized. Second Intermediate Period Important Events: 1. The splintering of the land accelerated after the reign of the thirteenth dynasty king Sobekhotep IV, allowing for the Hyksos (a group of Asiatic people) to overrun Egypt and rule it. Later rulers were under the control of their viziers and the Hyksos.

2. Hyksos control of the country ended when the ancient ruling house of Egypt (located in Thebes) broke away from the vassal dynasty and arranged their takeover as the seventeenth dynasty, defeating the Hyksos in battle and cementing Egyptian rule. New Kingdom Important Events: 1. this period was the most economically and politically stable time in Egypt. It saw the reigns of its most famous pharoahs, such as Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great. 2. Egypt solidified its military might by defeating the Hittites, the Libyans and the Sea People, a group of raiders in the Mediterranean. 3. this period also saw the first recorded instance of monotheism, when Amenhotep changed his name to Akhenaten in honor of the Aten and promoted the Atens exclusive worship. 4. eventually the pharoahs lost power because of famines, exhaustion of the treasury for military campaigns and the first known labor strike (when the tomb-builders were not given sufficient provisions and rations during the famines) Third Intermediate Period Important Events: 1. the power of the pharoahs was eclipsed by the social stature of the priests 2. political fragmentation within the kingdom led to the decline of Egypt in the region and the rise of Assyria as a political power. Late Period 1. this is often considered the last great period of natively-Egyptian kings of Egypt. 2. the kingdom was conquered by Cambyses, a Persian emperor during the time of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. The country was briefly retaken by Amyrtaeus, prince of Sais as an Egyptian ruler, but this proved short-lived as there was eventually another period of Achaemenid rule shortly after. 3. this period ends, politically-fractured, with the death of Alexander the Great.