| Ancient Egypt is known as being the world's first | | | | Sustained contacts with southwest Asia and very |
| organized society. People in ancient Egypt settled and | | | | good craft specialization meant that development of |
| built houses along the banks of the River Nile and | | | | towns and hierarchy flourished. A headman, believed |
| evolved from hunters and gatherers to subsistence | | | | to be able to control the Nile flood, had the power and |
| agriculturists. Egyptians also developed their religion, | | | | this power rested on his reputation as "rainmaker king". |
| institutions and a written hieroglyphic language. | | | | The Egyptian towns became political centers and |
| This is clearly one of the most impressive early | | | | trading centers. |
| civilizations of antiquity. There is something truly | | | | When the Black Land of the Delta and the Red Land |
| fascinating about Egypt and the land of the Pharaohs. | | | | of Upper Egypt united, this was the most important |
| The Nile, the Egyptians and their institutions had an | | | | political event in ancient Egypt. The Black Land of the |
| amazing bond. This was one of the unique features of | | | | Delta has dark, rich soil and the Red Land of Upper |
| the ancient Egyptian civilizations. The soil around the | | | | Egypt is a sun-baked desert. |
| Nile brought a copious deposit of rich silt every year | | | | Horus was the chief Delta god and Seth was the |
| from the Ethiopian tableland, making it productive and | | | | Upper Egypt god. The two god myths had to be |
| fertile. | | | | combined when their kingdoms were combined. Horus |
| The level of the Nile rose every year in July and | | | | was the son of Osiris and Isis. He avenged the evil |
| continued to do so until the end of August, when the | | | | Seth's slaying of his father by murdering Seth. This |
| flood was at its highest. Near the end of October, this | | | | shows the triumph of good over evil. |
| flood would recede and leave behind a deposit of silt | | | | Horus took over his father's thrown and was regarded |
| and also streams and lagoons that became natural | | | | by the ancient Egyptians as the ancestor of the |
| reservoirs for fish. The Nile returned to its lowest level | | | | pharaohs. After the unification, every pharaoh took a |
| in April, which is when vegetation started to decrease, | | | | Horus name to show he was Horus reincarnated. |
| seasonal pools dried out and the game would head | | | | King Menes of Upper Egypt, according to tradition, |
| north. The cycle would begin again in July and repeat | | | | united the two kingdoms, establishing his capital at |
| itself annually. | | | | Memphis. Memphis was known then as the "White |
| Egyptians were the first people to believe in life after | | | | Walls". Some scholars regard Menes as being purely |
| death. This is to do with the rise and fall of the river. | | | | legendary and others believe he was the Horus King |
| When the flood waters rose and fell, this meant the | | | | Narmer. |
| land would "die" every year and be "reborn" when the | | | | Artisans and civil servants worked for the central |
| crops grew. Rebirth was seen as natural. The sun also | | | | government in the course of the Early Dynastic Period. |
| "died" when it set and was "reborn" every day in the | | | | They fashioned the sophisticated art traditions and |
| eastern sky. Egyptians reasoned that the human life | | | | learning that constituted the basic pattern of the |
| cycle must be similar to the other natural phenomena. | | | | ancient pharaonic Nile civilization. |
| Long distance trade was common in ancient Egypt. | | | | |