the ancient egyptian civilization lasted
for over 3 000 years and became one of
the most powerful and iconic
civilizations in history
at its height ancient egypt’s empire
stretched as far north as modern-day
syria and as far south as today’s sudan
but long before it was an empire ancient
egypt was a series of small independent
city-states that bloomed along north
africa’s nile river
the city-states were divided into two
regions and named according to the flow
of the nile
upper egypt in the south which was
upstream and lower egypt in the north
which was downstream
by about 3100 bc the two halves united
thereby creating one egyptian state that
lasted for millennia
the reign of the civilization can be
divided into three major periods of
prosperity called the old middle and new
kingdoms and two periods of instability
in between called the first and second
intermediate periods
guiding the egyptian people was a
succession of about 300 rulers often
referred to as pharaohs
pharaoh which means great house in
egyptian was never the ruler’s formal
title it only became synonymous with the
ruling individual in modern times thanks
to its use in the hebrew bible
these rulers who were not always men nor
egyptian were considered protectors of
the people and served as divine liaisons
between humanity and the hundreds of
gods they worshipped
after the rulers passed away
ancient egyptians believed they then
became gods
to prepare their journey into the
afterlife the rulers constructed
elaborate tombs including the great
pyramids at giza and underground
mausoleums in the valley of the kings
rulers filled their tombs with all the
items they could need in the afterlife
including gold jewelry
food
drink
and even pets
preparing for this journey to the gods
also involved mummifying one’s body
the deceased’s corpse was embalmed
wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen
and placed inside the tomb so the body
could be reanimated in the afterlife
to this day structures like the great
pyramids are a testament to the role of
religion in ancient egyptians lives
but they also represent the innovative
and cultural might of the egyptian
people
innovations in mathematics and written
language in particular propelled their
civilization to success
math specifically measurement
mathematics helped egyptians understand
and harness their world with numbers
like no other civilization had before
they developed a new form of measurement
called the qubit it was used to design
massive structures such as the great
pyramid with remarkable geometrical
precision
the egyptians also measured time by
combining mathematics with astronomy
they established a 24-hour division to
the day
and created a solar calendar which was
the first dating system in history to
feature 365 days in one year
lastly egyptians developed methods to
measure and survey land around the nile
river
these civil engineering feats made way
for the construction of dams canals and
irrigation systems that helped farming
and agriculture to flourish in the nile
valley
in addition to mathematical concepts the
ancient egyptians also created written
languages to describe the world around
them the oldest and probably most
well-known of these is hieroglyphic
writing
this system was developed around 3150 bc
during the old kingdom and has over 700
pictorial characters
it was used to inscribe monuments and
pottery and predominantly served a
decorative or ceremonial purpose
soon after another ancient form of
writing called hieratic developed out of
the hieroglyphic system
it was a form of cursive that was
written in ink and served a more
functional purpose
unlike its more formal predecessor
hieratic was written on another ancient
egyptian innovation papyrus
papyrus was a type of paper derived from
the papyrus plant which grew plentifully
along the nile river
this medium gave the ancient egyptians a
new avenue of communication and record
keeping that allowed their
civilization’s administrative skill to
grow and their culture to spread for
thousands of years
as with all great empires ancient egypt
came to an end it was eventually
conquered after a series of invasions
including those by the persian empire in
the 4th century bc and the roman empire
around 30 bc
not many civilizations can claim a
lifespan of over 3000 years let alone
one that made vast cultural
contributions that still resonate in
modern times
ancient egypt with its linguistic and
mathematical innovations
spirituality and religion
and extensive political and military
might
set a high standard for all
civilizations that followed
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