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Ancient Egypt: c. 3100 – 30 B.C.E.

Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3000 years and showed an incredible amount of continuity. This consistency was closely related to a fundamental belief that depictions had an impact beyond the image itself. For example, tomb scenes of the deceased receiving food, or temple scenes of the king performing perfect rituals for the gods, were functionally causing those things to occur in the divine realm. Egypt’s impact on later cultures was immense. You could say that Egypt provided the building blocks for Greek and Roman culture, and, through them, influenced all of the Western tradition. Today, Egyptian imagery, concepts, and perspectives are found everywhere; you will find them in architectural forms, on money, and in our day to day lives.

ptah grid — In the Third Intermediate Period, lapis represented two of Ptah's roles: that of creator of the world from a watery darkness, and Lord of the Sky.

Cult Image of the God Ptah

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

jebal barkal — Since Antiquity, the hill of Gebel Barkal has been strongly associated with religious traditions and folklore.

Pyramids of Sudan

by UNESCO

predyn grid — This pot comes from the tomb of a young woman, at el-Amra in Middle Egypt, but pots showing boats have been found throughout Egypt and into Nubia

Decorated jar, predynastic

by The British Museum

senusret grid — This life-size statue of Senwosret III is one of three very similar statues excavated from the site of the funerary temple of King Nebhhepetre Mentuhotep II

Statues of Senusret III

by The British Museum

Scarab pendant, 1897–1878 B.C.E., 12th Dynasty, made under Senusret II, ancient Egypt, electrum, lapis lazuli, cornelian, and feldspar, 3.5 cm across for the wing span (© Trustees of the British Museum) — This piece of jewelry from Middle Kingdom Egypt is a pendant in the form of a winged scarab.

Scarab pendant

by The British Museum

thutmose IV grid — A surviving metal statue of an ancient Egyptian ruler

Bronze statuette of Thutmose IV

by The British Museum

grid Piye 416314001 — In 716 B.C.E. Kushite king Piye died and was buried in an Egyptian style pyramid tomb at El-Kurru

King Piye and the Kushite control of ...

by The British Museum

Meroitic stela From Hamadab, Sudan Kushite period, about 24BC, Height: 236.5 cm — Sudan is home to the oldest sub-Saharan African kingdom, the kingdom of Kush.

Ancient Nubia and the Kingdom of Kush, ...

by The British Museum

meriotic grid — Throughout the Meroitic period Egyptian elements introduced into Kushite royal burial practices under the early Napatan kings were retained and reinterpreted

Meroitic period of the Kingdom of Kush

by The British Museum

Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret II, c. 1887–1878 B.C.E., Egypt, Fayum Entrance Area, el-Lahun (Illahun, Kahun; Ptolemais Hormos), Tomb of Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8), EES 1914, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, garnet, turquoise, lapis lazuli — "You have to imagine that nobody really saw this except the princess."

Pectoral and necklace of Sithathoryunet

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Statue of an Offering Bearer, ca. 1981–1975 B.C., early reign of Amenemhat I, Dynasty 12, Middle Kingdom Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Southern Asasif, Tomb of Meketre (TT 280, MMA 1101), serdab, MMA 1920, wood, gesso, paint. Video from The Metropolitan Museum of Art — "They've captured her in a moment in time."

Statue of an Offering Bearer, Tomb of ...

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"It seems to me that aesthetically this goes well beyond meeting the need of surviving into the afterlife."

Canopic Jar with a Lid in the ...

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

"It's balanced between this incredible idealization and humanity."

Barry X Ball on an Egyptian fragment ...

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

What was happening in the world during the height and fall of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?

Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in ...

by Smarthistory

What was going on around the world during the rise and height of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia?

Tiny timeline: ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia in ...

by Smarthistory

Part of the inscription on this ushabti says: “If there is any work to be done there in the Divine Hereafter, or if there is an obstacle there, you say as a man in his duty, ‘Look, I am here!”

Meet an Ushabti, an Ancient Egyptian Statuette ...

by Judith Barr and Dr. Roselyn Campbell

The Rosetta Stone, 196 B.C.E., Ptolemaic Period, 112.3 x 75.7 x 28.4 cm, Egypt © Trustees of the British Museum. Part of grey and pink granodiorite stela bearing priestly decree concerning Ptolemy V in three blocks of text: Hieroglyphic (14 lines), Demotic (32 lines) and Greek (53 lines). — What does the Rosetta Stone say? Why is it written in three scripts and two languages?

Decoding the Rosetta Stone

by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris

When we think of the language of ancient Egypt, the first thing that springs to mind is hieroglyphs carved on temple and tomb walls, yet this could not be further from the truth.

Multilingualism along the Nile

This head of Augustus was found at Meroe, buried in front of the steps of a Kushite temple, possibly dedicated to Victory.

Head of Augustus at Meroë (Kush)

by The British Museum

Mummy portrait of a woman, c. 55-70 C.E., 41.6 x 21.5 cm, Hawara, Egypt © Trustees of the British Museum — Ancient Egyptians made little use of naturalistic portraits, but this changed following capture by Rome.

Egyptian mummy portraits

by The British Museum

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