by Marie Antonia Parsons

Created on: November 23, 2009

Egypt has an ancient and varied history, from the time before it was ruled by Kings through its centuries as a Roman province and then as a Moslem nation. The gold mask of Tutankhamun, the grandeur of the Pyramids and Abu Simbel, and the mystery of the Sphinx, are all well-known. Much is also known of those ancient days as archaeologists and linguists study hieroglyphics and artifacts, and with improved technologies more discoveries are being uncovered.

But there are interesting facts about Ancient Egypt, some perhaps not so well-known. Here are four of those.

1Two-hundred ancient rulers

Egypt has been ruled by nearly two-hundred kings and Emperors in thirty dynasties and beyond to the Roman Emperors. The first ruler was recorded with the name Menes, by the Ptolemaic age historian Manetho. Some scholars think that Menes may have also been called Aha, as some of the earliest king lists indicate, or that he was Narmer, as shown on the Palette now in the Cairo Museum. More is historically known about the first twenty Egyptian kings than about the first five kings of Sumer in Mesopotamia, who ruled at the same time. The Pyramids in Egypt were built during the Fourth Dynasty. While the line of Kings was interrupted and unclear after the Sixth Dynasty, some of those royal names are known. The Hyksos were defeated after the Seventeenth Dynasty, and the New Kingdom, Egypt's age of greatest expansion and glory, ended with the 20th Dynasty. The Assyrians conquered and ruled Egypt twice in the 27th and after the 30th dynasties, and then the Ptolemies ruled Egypt until the coming of Rome. Although the Emperors treated Egypt as their private domain unlike all other provinces, most of them copied the ancient royal iconography of the Pharaohs on temple walls.

2Monasticism Began

Monks are a familiar element of early medieval Europe. But monasticism began in Egypt, during the third century ACE. It was founded by an Egyptian man named Antony, who was born in the Fayium area. Wanting to live the life as did the Apostles, he disposed of his earthly possessions and devoted himself solely to a spiritual life. Up until this time, some Christians had become ascetics, practicing celibacy, fasting, and doing pious works. They lived with their families at home, but eventually more ascetics began living in small huts on the outskirts of the towns. When Antony withdrew from the world in 270, he decided to live in one of the tombs near his village. Eventually, he moved into an old fort, away

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>