History

There were once two Egypts. There was Upper Egypt which was to the South and there was Lower Egypt, which was to the North; then it became one. It was also called Upper and Lower Egypt because of the high mountains in Upper Egypt and the flat land in Lower Egypt. By about 3300 BC both Upper and Lower Egypt had kings. The king of Upper Egypt wore a tall, white, pear-shaped crown. The king of Lower Egypt wore short, boxy red cloak, and also a red crown with a tall spike at the back and a circular shape. Then a man called Menus came to power and took over the two split countries ( Upper + Lower) He then put together both countries to form one big Egypt, which is Egypt today.

The first Kingdom of Egypt was 2750-2260 BC called the Old Kingdom. At the end of the Old Kingdom the country fell into a period of famine. The "growing" power of the monarch came to an end and the Pharaohs lost a lot of political power. Egypt entered a period of feudalism known as the first Intermediate Period, lasting from 2258 to 2000 BC.

The Kingdom for the Middle Kingdom dated about 2061-1784 BC. The Middle Kingdom was when the superb works of decorative art were produced --in particular jewelry, made of metal and coloured stones. Brilliant hand-made pots were also made.

The Kingdom of the New Kingdom dated about 1570-1070 BC. Later it also fell. The Egyptians entered into the second Intermediate Period which was again a time of divided rule for the people. Finally, the Hyksos, who were the foreign invaders from western Asia, bought new technology into Egypt. The New Kingdom became a period of great power and riches for the Egyptians.