Ancient Egypt timeline

  • Naqada Culture Expands Along the Nile

    In southern Egypt, the Naqada culture, similar to the Badari, began to expand along the Nile by about 4000 BC. As early as the Naqada I Period,... Read more

  • Naqada II: Naqada Culture Appears Throughout Egypt

    The Naqada culture appears throughout Egypt. Some individuals are buried in larger, more elaborate tombs (see the elite cemetery in Naqada). Read more

  • Naqada III Period

    In Upper Egypt cemeteries include extremely wealthy burials, revealing stark social differences. Cylinder jars are characteristic grave goods. Read more

  • Upper and Lower Egypt Unify under First Pharaoh

    The historical records of ancient Egypt begin with Egypt as a unified state, which occurred sometime around 3150 BC. According to Egyptian... Read more

  • Menes Founds First Egyptian Dynasty

    Menes is the name of the Egyptian king credited with founding the First dynasty, sometime around 3100 BC. Menes was seen as a founding figure for... Read more

  • Early Dynastic Period of Egypt

    The Archaic or Early Dynastic Period of Egypt immediately follows the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt c. 3100 BC. It is generally taken to... Read more

  • Protodynastic Period

    The Protodynastic Period of Egypt (generally dated 3100 BC - 3000 BC) refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. It is... Read more

  • Narmer Rules Egypt

    Narmer was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled in the 32nd century BC. Thought to be the successor to the predynastic Kings Scorpion or "Selk" and/or Ka,... Read more

  • Hor-Aha Rules Egypt

    Hor-Aha is considered the second pharaoh of the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the thirty-first century BC.... Read more

  • Djer Rules Egypt

    Djer is the second or third pharaoh of the first dynasty of Egypt, which dates from approximately 3100 B.C. Djer's Horus name means "Horus who... Read more

  • Djet Rules Egypt

    Djet, also known as Wadj, Zet, and Uadji (in Greek possibly the pharaoh known as Uenephes), was the third Egyptian pharaoh of the first dynasty.... Read more

  • Den Rules Egypt

    Den (or Dewen) was the fourth Egyptian king of the First dynasty. He was the son of Queen Merneith and presumably Djet. Early Egyptian records... Read more

  • Anedjib Rules Egypt

    As the fifth ruler of the First dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Anedjib (also Enezib, Adjib, or Andjyeb meaning "The Man with the Bold Heart" or "Safe is... Read more

  • Semerkhet Rules Egypt

    Semerkhet was the sixth king of Ancient Egypt's First Dynasty who ruled around 2950 BC. Although little is known of his reign, Semerkhet seems to... Read more

  • Qa'a Rules Egypt

    Qa'a (also Qáa) was the last king of the First dynasty of Egypt. He had a fairly large tomb in Abydos which measures 98.5 X 75.5 feet or 30 X 23... Read more

  • Merneith Rules Egypt

    Merneith (Meritnit, Meryet-Nit or Meryt-Neith) was a consort, a regent, and the fourth pharaoh of Ancient Egypt during the first dynasty. The later... Read more

  • The Old Kingdom of Egypt

    The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in... Read more

  • Djoser Rules Egypt

    The first notable pharaoh of the Old Kingdom was Djoser (2630–2611 BC) of the Third Dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid (the Step... Read more

  • Sekhemkhet Rules Egypt

    Sekhemkhet was a Pharaoh in Egypt during the Third dynasty. According to the Manethonian tradition, a king known as Tyris (which may be compared to... Read more

  • Khaba Rules Egypt

    Khaba was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom and is generally considered to have reigned near the end of the Third Dynasty. He is thought to... Read more

  • Huni Rules Egypt

    Huni was the last Pharaoh of Egypt of the Third dynasty. He established a fortress on the island of Elephantine, securing the southern border of... Read more

  • Snofru Rules Egypt

    The Old Kingdom and its royal power reached their zenith under the Fourth Dynasty, which began with Snofru (2613–2589 BC). Using a greater mass of... Read more

  • Khufu Rules Egypt

    Khufu (in Greek known as Χέοψ, Cheops, pronounced /ˈhɛɒps/; according to Manetho, Σοῦφις, Suphis) was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He... Read more

  • Great Pyramid of Giza Built

    Standing at the base of the Great Pyramid, it is hard to imagine that this monument—which remained the tallest building in the world until early in... Read more

  • Menkaura Rules Egypt

    Menkaura (or Men-Kau-Re; Mycerinus in Latin; Mykerinos in Greek) was a pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt (c. 2620 BC–2480 BC) who ordered the... Read more