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The golden funeral mask of king Tutankhamun, a symbol for many of ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeast Africa. It was concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River, situated within the contemporary territory of modern-day Egypt. Ancient Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3100 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under pharaoh or king Menes (often identified with Narmer). The history of ancient Egypt unfolded as a series of stable kingdoms interspersed by periods of relative instability known as "Intermediate Periods". The various kingdoms fall into one of three categories: the Old Kingdom of the Early Bronze Age, the Middle Kingdom of the Middle Bronze Age, or the New Kingdom of the Late Bronze Age.

Ancient Egypt reached the pinnacle of its power during the New Kingdom, ruling much of Nubia and a sizable portion of the Levant. After this period, it entered an era of slow decline. During the course of its history, ancient Egypt was invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including the Hyksos, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Achaemenid Persians, and the Macedonians under Alexander the Great. The Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom, formed in the aftermath of Alexander's death, ruled until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. Egypt remained under Roman control until 642 AD, when it was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate.

The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. With resources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions, the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a pharaoh, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Egyptian people in the context of an elaborate system of religious beliefs.^[1]

The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying, and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples, and obelisks; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems, and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty, made with the Hittites. Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities were carried off to be studied, admired or coveted in the far corners of the world. Its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for millennia. A newfound respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period by Europeans and Egyptians has led to the scientific investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy. (Full article...)

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The mask of Tutankhamun is a gold funerary mask that belonged to Tutankhamun, who reigned over the New Kingdom of Egypt from 1332 BC to 1323 BC, during the Eighteenth Dynasty. After being buried with Tutankhamun's mummy for over 3,000 years, it was found amidst the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by the British archaeologist Howard Carter at the Valley of the Kings in 1925. Since then, it has been on display at the Egyptian Museum in the city of Cairo. In addition to being one of the best-known works of art in the world, it is a prominent symbol of ancient Egypt.

Bearing the likeness of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the mask is 54 centimetres (21.3 in) tall, weighs over 10 kilograms (22 lb) or 321.5 troy ounces, and is decorated with semi-precious stones. A spell from the Book of the Dead is inscribed in Egyptian hieroglyphs on its shoulders. In 2015, it had to be restored after its 2.5-kilogram (5.5 lb) plaited beard fell off and was hastily glued back on by museum workers. (Full article...)

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Credit: Jeff Dahl

In antiquity, Ancient Egypt was divided into two lands: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the south, it was bounded by the land of Kush, and to the East, the levant. Surrounded by harsh deserts, the river Nile was the lifeline of this ancient civilization.

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Did you know...

... that Japanese samurai visited Egypt as part of the Ikeda Mission in 1864, and took this photograph in front of the Sphinx?

... that the Alexandrian calendar, based on the ancient Egyptian calendar, was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1875, and is still used today by the Coptic Orthodox Church and the fellahin (peasantry) of Egypt?

... that the Abu Haggag Mosque, formerly a church, is integrated into the Luxor Temple, making it the oldest building in the world continuously in use?

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5th September 2018. Rock-cut Tomb discovered in a 4,000-year-old Elite Cemetery

August 2018: in the tomb of the mayor of Memphis Ptahmose who dates around 1300 BC was found well preserved cheese, more than 3000 years old. [1]

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Unas being suckled by an unknown goddess. Egyptian Museum

Unas /ˈjuːnəs/ or Wenis, also spelled Unis (Ancient Egyptian: wnjs, hellenized form Oenas /ˈiːnəs/ or Onnos), was a pharaoh, the ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC (circa 2345–2315 BC), succeeding Djedkare Isesi, who might have been his father.

Little is known of Unas' activities during his reign, which was a time of economic decline. Egypt maintained trade relations with the Levantine coast and Nubia, and military action may have taken place in southern Canaan. The growth and decentralization of the administration in conjunction with the lessening of the king's power continued under Unas, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the Old Kingdom some 200 years later. (Full article...)

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Amenhotep I Ahmose I Akhenaten Philitas of Cos Darius the Great Artaxerxes III Thutmose I Tutankhamun Djedkare Isesi Atlanersa Neferefre Menkauhor Kaiu Nyuserre Ini Userkaf Isis Sheshi Hathor Neferirkare Kakai Ramesses VI Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy VI Philometor Sneferu Seth-Peribsen

General images

The following are images from various ancient Egypt-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Statuette of Merankhre Mentuhotep, a minor pharaoh of the Sixteenth Dynasty, reigning over the Theban region c. 1585 BC. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 2Nabta Playa "calendar circle", reconstructed at Aswan Nubia museum. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 3Portrait of "Black Pharaoh" Taharqa, Louvre Museum reconstruction (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 4Colossal depictions of Ramesses II at one of the Abu Simbel temples. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 525th Dynasty (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 6Possible prisoners and wounded men of the Buto-Maadi culture devoured by animals, while one is led by a man in long dress, probably an Egyptian official (fragment, top right corner). Battlefield Palette. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 7Egypt and its world in 1300 BC. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 8Map of Egypt (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 9Stela of the Second Dynasty Pharaoh Nebra, displaying the hieroglyph for his Horus name within a serekh surmounted by Horus. On display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 10Golden mask from the mummy of Tutankhamun (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 11Greywacke statue of the pharaoh Menkaure and his queen consort, Khamerernebty II. Originally from his Giza temple, now on display at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 12Tasian beaker, found in a Badarian grave at Qau; tomb 569, around 4000 BC; Upper Egypt; British Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 13A guardian statue which reflects the facial features of the reigning king, probably Amenemhat II or Senwosret II, and which functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut. Made of cedar wood and plaster c. 1919–1885 BC (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 14Egyptian soldier of the Achaemenid army, circa 470 BCE. Xerxes I tomb relief. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 15Bull palette, Naqada III (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 16Arrowheads from Al Faiyum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 17Aterian point from Zaccar, Djelfa region, Algeria. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 18Carved catfish bones, and jar discovered in Maadi (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 19Ancient Egypt Predynastic Stone Vessels. Louvre Museum, Paris (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 20Map of Lower Egypt, and location of the Faiyum Oasis (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 21The prisoners on the Battlefield Palette may be the people of the Buto-Maadi culture subjected by the Egyptian rulers of Naqada III. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 22Clapper discovered in Maadi, Louvre Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 23Mesopotamian king as Master of Animals on the Gebel el-Arak Knife, dated to the Naqada II period circa 3300-3200 BC, Abydos, Egypt. Louvre Museum, reference E 11517. This work of art both shows the influence of Mesopotamia on Egypt at an early date, and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography during the Uruk period. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 24An Osiris statue of Mentuhotep II, the founder of the Middle Kingdom (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 25Naqada figure of a woman interpreted to represent the goddess Bat with her inward curving horns. Another hypothesis is that the raised arms symbolize wings and that the figure is an early version of the white vulture goddess Nekhbet, c. 3500–3400 B.C.E. terracotta, painted, 11+1⁄2 in × 5+1⁄2 in × 2+1⁄4 in (29.2 cm × 14.0 cm × 5.7 cm), Brooklyn Museum (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 26Ancient Badarian mortuary figurine of a woman, held at the Louvre (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 27A Gerzeh culture vase decorated with gazelles, on display at the Louvre. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 28Ovoid Naqada I (Amratian) black-topped terracotta vase, (c. 3800–3500 BC). (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 29Evolution of Egyptian prehistoric pottery styles, from Naqada I to Naqada II and Naqada III (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 30A typical Naqada II pot with ship theme (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 31Pottery model of a house used in a burial from the First Intermediate Period, on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. (from History of ancient Egypt)
Image 32Merimde culture clay head, circa 5,000 BC. This is one of the earliest known representations of a human head in Egypt. (from Prehistoric Egypt)
Image 33Ring with engraved portrait of Ptolemy VI Philometor as Pharao (3rd–2nd century BCE). Louvre Museum. (from History of ancient Egypt)