Welcome to the world of pyramids, mummies, and golden tombs.
Egypt arose more than 5,000 years ago in northeastern Africa along the banks of the Nile. Without this river, Egypt would be almost all desert. Every year, the Nile overflows, leaving a layer of rich, black silt along its banks. The Egyptian people use this rich soil to grow two or three crops a year. In the past, Egypt’s rulers, called pharaohs, held complete control over their people. The first pharaohs directed their people to build canals and ditches to carry the Nile’s floodwater to the fields.
While Egypt prospered, farther south along the Nile the kingdom of Kush, also known as Nubia, was developing. Sometimes Egypt traded with Kush, and other times the kingdoms fought. Egypt usually conquered weaker Kush. But beginning around 750 B.C., Kush ruled Egypt for nearly a hundred years. Over time, Kush created its own unique culture.
