President: Hosni Mubarak (1981) pyramids, most notably the Third Dynasty pyramid of

Djoser and the Fourth Dynasty Giza Pyramids.

Prime Minister: Ahmed Nazif (2004)
The First Intermediate Period ushered in a time of political
Land area: 384,344 sq mi (995,451 sq km); total area: upheaval for about 150 years.Stronger Nile floods and
386,662 sq mi (1,001,450 sq km) stabilization of government, however, brought back
renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom
c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Cairo, 11,146,000 Amenemhat III. A second period of disunity heralded the
(metro. area), 7,629,866 (city proper) arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of
the Semitic Hyksos. The Hyksos invaders took over much
Other large cities: Alexandria, 3,891,000; Giza, 2,597,600 of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital
(part of Cairo metro. area); Shubra el Khema, 1,018,000 at Avaris. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian
(part of Cairo metro. area); El Mahalla el Kubra, 462,300 force led by Ahmose I, who founded the Eighteenth
Dynasty and relocated the capital from Memphis to Thebes.
Monetary unit: Egyptian pound
The Hanging Church of Cairo, first built in the third or
Geography fourth century AD, is one of the most famous Coptic
Churches in Egypt.

Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the

Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by Libya, on The New Kingdom (c.1550−1070 BC) began with the
the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an
Israel. It is nearly one and one-half times the size of Texas. international power that expanded during its greatest
Egypt is divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions extension to an empire as far south as Tombos in Nubia,
by the landscape's dominant feature, the northward-flowing and included parts of the Levant in the east. This period is
Nile River. The Nile starts 100 mi (161 km) south of the noted for some of the most well-known Pharaohs, including
Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 mi Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Akhenaten and his wife
between the cities of Alexandria and Port Said. Nefertiti, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. The first
historically attested expression of monotheism came during
this period as Atenism. Frequent contacts with other
Pre-historic Egypt nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The
country was later invaded and conquered by Libyans,
By about 6000 BC the Neolithic culture rooted in the Nile Nubians and Assyrians, but native Egyptians eventually
Valley. During the Neolithic era, several predynastic drove them out and regained control of their country.
cultures developed independently in Upper and Lower
Egypt. The Badarian culture and the successor Naqada Persian, Greek and Roman occupation
series are generally regarded as precursors to Dynastic
Egyptian civilization. The earliest known Lower Egyptian
site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven The Thirtieth Dynasty was the last native ruling dynasty
hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian during the Pharaonic epoch. It fell to the Persians in 343
communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for BC after the last native Pharaoh, King Nectanebo II, was
more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the Greco–
culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact Macedonians and Romans, beginning over two thousand
through trade. The earliest known evidence of Egyptian years of foreign rule. The last ruler from the Ptolemaic line
hieroglyphic inscriptions appeared during the predynastic was Cleopatra VII, who committed suicide with her lover
period on Naqada III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 Marc Antony, after Caesar Augustus had captured them.
BC
Before Egypt became part of the Byzantine realm,
Ancient Egypt Christianity had been brought by Saint Mark the Evangelist
in the AD first century. Diocletian's reign marked the
transition from the Roman to the Byzantine era in Egypt,
A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 BC by King when a great number of Egyptian Christians were
Menes, leading to a series of dynasties that ruled Egypt for persecuted. The New Testament had by then been
the next three millennia. Egyptians later referred to their translated into Egyptian. After the Council of Chalcedon in
unified country as tawy meaning "two lands", and later AD 451, a distinct Egyptian Coptic Church was firmly
kemet the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil established.[15]
deposited by the Nile River. Egyptian culture flourished
during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian
in its religion, arts, language and customs. The first two
ruling dynasties of a unified Egypt set the stage for the Old
Kingdom period, c.2700−2200 BC., famous for its many
Arab and Ottoman invasion criminal cases. The procedure was to ask the god a "yes" or
"no" question concerning the right or wrong of an issue.
The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country The god, carried by a number of priests, rendered judgment
after a brief Persian invasion early in the seventh century, by choosing one or the other, moving forward or backward,
until in AD 639, Egypt was absorbed into the Islamic or pointing to one of the answers written on a piece of
Empire by the Muslim Arabs. When they defeated the papyrus or an ostracon.[79]
Byzantine Armies in Egypt, with the help of some
revolutionary Egyptians, the Arabs brought Sunni Islam to Agriculture
the country. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend The ancient Egyptians cultivated emmer and barley, and
their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that several other cereal grains, all of which were used to make
had survived through Coptic Christianity that was the two main food staples of bread and beer.[83] Flax plants,
expanded in Egypt by the Byzantines, leading to various uprooted before they started flowering, were grown for the
Sufi orders that have flourished to this day. fibers of their stems. These fibers were split along their
length and spun into thread, which was used to weave
Muslim rulers nominated by the Islamic Caliphate sheets of linen and to make clothing. Papyrus growing on
remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, with the banks of the Nile River was used to make paper.
Cairo as the seat of the Caliphate under the Fatimids. With Vegetables and fruits were grown in garden plots, close to
the end of the Kurdish Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks, a habitations and on higher ground, and had to be watered by
Turco-Circassian military caste, took control about AD hand. Vegetables included leeks, garlic, melons, squashes,
1250. By late 13th century, Egypt linked the Red Sea, pulses, lettuce, and other crops, in addition to grapes that
India, Malaya, and East Indies.[17] The strategic positioning were made into wine.
"assured importance in productive economy".[17] They
continued to govern the country until the conquest of Egypt Language
by the Ottoman Turks in 1517, after which it became a
province of the Ottoman Empire. The mid-14th-Century The Egyptian language is a northern Afro-Asiatic language
Black Death killed about 40% of the country's population. closely related to the Berber and Semitic languages.[101] It
has the longest history of any language, having been
Legal system written from c. 3200 BC to the Middle Ages and remaining
as a spoken language for longer. The phases of Ancient
Egyptian are Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian (Classical
The head of the legal system was officially the pharaoh, Egyptian), Late Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic.[102] Egyptian
who was responsible for enacting laws, delivering justice, writings do not show dialect differences before Coptic, but
and maintaining law and order, a concept the ancient it was probably spoken in regional dialects around
Egyptians referred to as Ma'at.[68] Although no legal codes Memphis and later Thebes.[103]
from ancient Egypt survive, court documents show that
Egyptian law was based on a common-sense view of right
and wrong that emphasized reaching agreements and Writing
resolving conflicts rather than strictly adhering to a
complicated set of statutes.[77] Local councils of elders, Hieroglyphic writing dates to c. 3200 BC, and is composed
known as Kenbet in the New Kingdom, were responsible of some 500 symbols. A hieroglyph can represent a word, a
for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor sound, or a silent determinative; and the same symbol can
disputes.[68] More serious cases involving murder, major serve different purposes in different contexts. Hieroglyphs
land transactions, and tomb robbery were referred to the were a formal script, used on stone monuments and in
Great Kenbet, over which the vizier or pharaoh presided. tombs, that could be as detailed as individual works of art.
Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent In day-to-day writing, scribes used a cursive form of
themselves and were required to swear an oath that they writing, called hieratic, which was quicker and easier.
had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the While formal hieroglyphs may be read in rows or columns
role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the in either direction (though typically written from right to
accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names left), hieratic was always written from right to left, usually
of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or in horizontal rows.
serious, court scribes documented the complaint, testimony,
and verdict of the case for future reference. [78] Daily life

Punishment for minor crimes involved either imposition of

fines, beatings, facial mutilation, or exile, depending on the Statues depicting lower-class Ancient Egyptian
severity of the offense. Serious crimes such as murder and occupations.
tomb robbery were punished by execution, carried out by
decapitation, drowning, or impaling the criminal on a stake. The ancient Egyptians maintained a rich cultural heritage
Punishment could also be extended to the criminal's family. complete with feasts and festivals accompanied by music
[68]
Beginning in the New Kingdom, oracles played a major and dance.
role in the legal system, dispensing justice in both civil and
Most ancient Egyptians were farmers tied to the land. Their was only accessible to temple officials. Common citizens
dwellings were restricted to immediate family members, could worship private statues in their homes, and amulets
and were constructed of mud-brick designed to remain cool offered protection against the forces of chaos.[145] After the
in the heat of the day. Each home had a kitchen with an New Kingdom, the pharaoh's role as a spiritual
open roof, which contained a grindstone for milling flour intermediary was de-emphasized as religious customs
and a small oven for baking bread.[122] Walls were painted shifted to direct worship of the gods. As a result, priests
white and could be covered with dyed linen wall hangings. developed a system of oracles to communicate the will of
Floors were covered with reed mats, while wooden stools, the gods directly to the people.[146]
beds raised from the floor and individual tables comprised
the furniture.[123] The Egyptians believed that every human being was
composed of physical and spiritual parts or aspects. In
The ancient Egyptians placed a great value on hygiene and addition to the body, each person had a šwt (shadow), a ba
appearance. Most bathed in the Nile and used a pasty soap (personality or soul), a ka (life-force), and a name.[147] The
made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their entire heart, rather than the brain, was considered the seat of
bodies for cleanliness, and aromatic perfumes and thoughts and emotions. After death, the spiritual aspects
ointments covered bad odors and soothed skin.[124] Clothing were released from the body and could move at will, but
was made from simple linen sheets that were bleached they required the physical remains (or a substitute, such as
white, and both men and women of the upper classes wore a statue) as a permanent home. The ultimate goal of the
wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics. Children went without deceased was to rejoin his ka and ba and become one of the
clothing until maturity, at about age 12, and at this age "blessed dead", living on as an akh, or "effective one". In
males were circumcised and had their heads shaved. order for this to happen, the deceased had to be judged
Mothers were responsible for taking care of the children, worthy in a trial, in which the heart was weighed against a
while the father provided the family's income. [125] "feather of truth". If deemed worthy, the deceased could
continue their existence on earth in spiritual form
Music and dance were popular entertainments for those
who could afford them. Early instruments included flutes urial customs
and harps, while instruments similar to trumpets, oboes, Main article: Ancient Egyptian burial customs
and pipes developed later and became popular. In the New
Kingdom, the Egyptians played on bells, cymbals, The ancient Egyptians maintained an elaborate set of burial
tambourines, and drums and imported lutes and lyres from customs that they believed were necessary to ensure
Asia.[126] The sistrum was a rattle-like musical instrument immortality after death. These customs involved preserving
that was especially important in religious ceremonies. the body by mummification, performing burial ceremonies,
and interring, along with the body, goods to be used by the
The ancient Egyptians enjoyed a variety of leisure deceased in the afterlife.[138] Before the Old Kingdom,
activities, including games and music. Senet, a board game bodies buried in desert pits were naturally preserved by
where pieces moved according to random chance, was desiccation. The arid, desert conditions continued to be a
particularly popular from the earliest times; another similar boon throughout the history of ancient Egypt for the burials
game was mehen, which had a circular gaming board. of the poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial
preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptians
Architecture began to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result,
they made use of artificial mummification, which involved
removing the internal organs, wrapping the body in linen,
The architecture of ancient Egypt includes some of the and burying it in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or
most famous structures in the world: the Great Pyramids of wooden coffin. Beginning in the Fourth Dynasty, some
Giza and the temples at Thebes. Building projects were parts were preserved separately in canopic jars.[149]
organized and funded by the state for religious and
commemorative purposes, but also to reinforce the power
of the pharaoh. The ancient Egyptians were skilled Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god associated with
builders; using simple but effective tools and sighting mummification and burial rituals; here, he attends to a
instruments, architects could build large stone structures mummy.
with accuracy and precision.
By the New Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians had perfected
Religious beliefs the art of mummification; the best technique took 70 days
and involved removing the internal organs, removing the
brain through the nose, and desiccating the body in a
Gods were worshiped in cult temples administered by mixture of salts called natron. The body was then wrapped
priests acting on the king's behalf. At the center of the in linen with protective amulets inserted between layers and
temple was the cult statue in a shrine. Temples were not placed in a decorated anthropoid coffin. Mummies of the
places of public worship or congregation, and only on Late Period were also placed in painted cartonnage mummy
select feast days and celebrations was a shrine carrying the cases. Actual preservation practices declined during the
statue of the god brought out for public worship. Normally, Ptolemaic and Roman eras, while greater emphasis was
the god's domain was sealed off from the outside world and
placed on the outer appearance of the mummy, which was
decorated.[150]

Wealthy Egyptians were buried with larger quantities of

luxury items, but all burials, regardless of social status,
included goods for the deceased. Beginning in the New
Kingdom, books of the dead were included in the grave,
along with shabti statues that were believed to perform
manual labor for them in the afterlife.[151] Rituals in which
the deceased was magically re-animated accompanied
burials. After burial, living relatives were expected to
occasionally bring food to the tomb and recite prayers on
behalf of the deceased