Over time, Egypt’s villages formed larger kingdoms, and by around 3100 B.C., Egypt was united into a single, powerful kingdom.
The reign of King Menes began the first Egyptian dynasty (a series of rulers all from the same family). Throughout its history, Egypt had more than 30 dynasties. Sometime between 1554 and 1304 B.C., Egyptians began to call their king “pharaoh,” a term that comes from words meaning “great house.” In the beginning, Egyptians thought of their rulers as living gods. Later, they saw them as the link between the gods and the people of Egypt.

◀ Almost every year for two decades during the 1400s B.C., King Thutmose III led his army into Asia. He was the stepson of Queen Hatshepsut. A brilliant general and gifted leader, he brought Palestine and Syria, as well as the African kingdoms of Kush and Nubia, under Egyptian control. These conquests provided Egypt with sources of slaves, copper, gold, ivory, and ebony.
Among ancient Egyptian queens, Hatshepsut, wife of King Thutmose II, stands out. She actually served as pharaoh, too, becoming a powerful ruler in her own right and building one of Egypt’s most spectacular temples, at Thebes. ▶

▲ Another important ruler was Akhenaten, who required Egyptians to worship only the Sun god Aten. His wife, Queen Nefertiti, seen here adoring the rays of Aten, helped him achieve this goal.



◀ Toward the end of the New Kingdom, Egypt began to decline. Weak rulers couldn’t control the country, which broke into small states and lost its territories abroad. Weakness attracted invaders, and by 1070 B.C., foreigners ruled Egypt. Alexander the Great added Egypt to the Greek empire in 332 B.C.
Check It Out!
One of Egypt’s most famous rulers is Cleopatra. When did she rule?
Cleopatra ruled Egypt from 51 B.C. to 30 B.C. In about 37 B.C., she married Mark Antony, a co-ruler of Rome. They combined their military forces and attacked Octavian, who was another co-ruler of Rome. After he defeated them, Octavian made Egypt a province of the Roman Empire.
Way Back When
First Intermediate Period
ca. 2130–1980 b.c.
Central government in Egypt collapses
Middle Kingdom
ca. 1980–1630 b.c.
High point of Egyptian literature
ca. 1800–1750 b.c. ▶
Law code of king Hammurabi of Babylon

Second Intermediate Period
ca. 1630–1523 b.c.
Asian nomads called Hyksos rule northern Egypt
New Kingdom ca. 1539–1075 B.C.
ca. 1478–1458 b.c.
Reign of Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut
ca. 1458 b.c. ▶
Thutmose III extends Egypt’s empire to
its greatest size

ca. 1279–1213 b.c. ▶
Reign of Egypt’s Ramses II, builder of more temples than any other pharaoh


◀ ca. 1332–1322 b.c.
Reign of Tutankhamen, Egypt

◀ ca. 1150–550 b.c.
Olmec civilization on Gulf Coast of Mexico
The Great Sphinx
The Great Sphinx is a human-headed lion that was carved out of natural bedrock. It is about as high as a six-story building and as long as a city block. Located in Giza, the Sphinx guards the front of the pharaoh Khafra’s pyramid.