"Old Kingdom" redirects here. For other uses, see Old Kingdom (disambiguation).
Old Kingdom of Egypt
𓂋𓏤𓈖𓈎𓅓𓏏𓊖 𓅨𓂋𓉼𓋴𓈖𓏥 (Ancient Egyptian)
c. 2686 BC–c. 2181 BC
During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (circa 2700 BC – circa 2200 BC), Egypt consisted of the Nile River region south to Abu (also known as Elephantine), as well as Sinai and the oases in the western desert, with Egyptian control/rule over Nubia reaching to the area south of the third cataract.[1]
Capital
Memphis
Common languages
Ancient Egyptian
Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion
Government
Divine, absolute monarchy
Pharaoh
• c. 2686 – c. 2649 BC
Djoser (first)
• c. 2184 – c. 2181 BC
Last king depends on the scholar, Neitiqerty Siptah (6th Dynasty) or Neferirkare (7th/8th Dynasty)
History
• Began
c. 2686 BC
• Ended
c. 2181 BC
Population
• 2500 BC
1.6 million[2]
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
First Intermediate Period
Part of a series on the
History of Egypt
Prehistoric Egypt
Predynastic Period
6000–3000 BC
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period
3150–2686 BC
Old Kingdom
2686–2181 BC
1st Intermediate Period
2181–2055 BC
Middle Kingdom
2055–1650 BC
2nd Intermediate Period
1650–1550 BC
New Kingdom
1550–1069 BC
3rd Intermediate Period
1069–664 BC
Late Period
664–332 BC
Greco-Roman Egypt
Argead dynasty
332–310 BC
Ptolemaic dynasties
310–30 BC
Roman and Byzantine Egypt
30 BC–641 AD
Sasanian Egypt
619–629
Medieval Egypt
Rashidun caliphate
641–661
Umayyad caliphate
661–750
Abbasid dynasty
750–935
Tulunid dynasty
868–905
Ikhshidid dynasty
935–969
Fatimid dynasty
969–1171
Ayyubid dynasty
1171–1250
Mamluk dynasty
1250–1517
Early modern Egypt
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1517–1867
French occupation
1798–1801
Muhammad Ali dynasty
1805–1953
Khedivate of Egypt
1867–1914
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British occupation
1882–1922
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1914–1922
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1922–1953
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1953–present
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In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynasty, such as King Sneferu, who perfected the art of pyramid-building, and the kings Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure, who constructed the pyramids at Giza.[3] Egypt attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods (followed by the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley.[4]
The concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages" was coined in 1845 by the German Egyptologist Baron von Bunsen, and its definition would evolve significantly throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries.[5] Not only was the last king of the Early Dynastic Period related to the first two kings of the Old Kingdom, but the "capital", the royal residence, remained at Ineb-Hedj, the Ancient Egyptian name for Memphis. The basic justification for a separation between the two periods is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied by the effects on Egyptian society and the economy of large-scale building projects.[4]
The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the Third Dynasty to the Sixth Dynasty (2686–2181 BC). Information from the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasties of Egypt is scarce, and historians regard the history of the era as literally "written in stone" and largely architectural in that it is through the monuments and their inscriptions that scholars have been able to construct a history.[3] Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration, centralized at Memphis. While the Old Kingdom was a period of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period.[6] During the Old Kingdom, the King of Egypt (not called the Pharaoh until the New Kingdom) became a living god who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.[7]
Under King Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis, where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign. King Djoser's architect, Imhotep, is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form, the step pyramid.[7] The Old Kingdom is best known for a large number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings.
^Grimal, Nicolas (1994). A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994). p. 85.
^Steven Snape (16 March 2019). "Estimating Population in Ancient Egypt". Retrieved 5 January 2021.
^ ab"Old Kingdom of Egypt". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2017-12-04.
^ abMalek, Jaromir. 2003. "The Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2160 BC)". In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192804587, p.83
^Schneider, Thomas (27 August 2008). "Periodizing Egyptian History: Manetho, Convention, and Beyond". In Klaus-Peter Adam (ed.). Historiographie in der Antike. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 181–197. ISBN 978-3-11-020672-2.
^Carl Roebuck, The World of Ancient Times, pp. 55 & 60.
^ abCarl Roebuck, The World of Ancient Times, p. 56.
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Global Information![During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (circa 2700 BC – circa 2200 BC), Egypt consisted of the Nile River region south to Abu (also known as Elephantine), as well as Sinai and the oases in the western desert, with Egyptian control/rule over Nubia reaching to the area south of the third cataract.[1]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/4th_Dynasty_of_Egypt-03.png/250px-4th_Dynasty_of_Egypt-03.png)
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