Over time, Egypt’s villages formed into larger kingdoms. By around 3100 B.C., Egypt was united into a single, powerful kingdom.
King Menes began the first Egyptian dynasty. A dynasty is a series of rulers who are all from the same family. All told, Egypt had more than 30 dynasties. Some time between 1554 and 1304 B.C., Egyptians began to call their king “pharaoh.” That term comes from words that mean “great house.” At first, Egyptians thought of their rulers as living gods. Later, they saw them as the link between the gods and the people.
