Predynastic and Old Kingdom

5000–2150 B.C.E.

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“Dynastic” Egypt—sometimes referred to as “Pharaonic”—was the time when the country was largely unified under a single ruler, starting around 3100 B.C.E. The period before this, lasting from about 5000 B.C.E. until unification, is referred to as Predynastic by modern scholars.

Middle Kingdom

c. 2030–1650 B.C.E.

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Looking back to the traditions of the Old Kingdom, artists of the Middle and New Kingdoms produced magnificent monuments that still inspire awe today.

New Kingdom

c. 1550–1070 B.C.E.

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New Kingdom pharaohs controlled vast wealth. Thebes was the religious center of the period, and Pharaohs built mortuary temples here and were buried in huge rock-cut tombs.

Third Intermediate Period

c. 1070–664 B.C.E.

Late Period

c. 664–332 B.C.E.

Ptolemaic

c. 332–30 B.C.E.

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After the death of Alexander the Great’s heirs, his conquests were divided among his generals. One of these generals, Ptolemy I, founded a dynasty that lasted nearly three centuries.

Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush

c. 2500 B.C.E.–350 C.E.

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