The Society for the Study of Ancient Egypt

The concept of an exact chronology for any civilization is fraught with danger and that of Egypt is certainly no exception. We are after all, dealing with a society with very little in the way of written history or literature to assist us. The Romans recorded events in relation to the traditional founding of Rome in 753 BC and the accessions of the various consuls and emperors; the Greeks from the date of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. Egyptian chronology however, is a mixture of legend, fiction, astronomical data, documentary 'evidence' and an awful lot of guesswork!

In theory, history is arranged into 31 'Dynasties', each one being a collection of rulers from the same power base. This system was first employed by Manetho, High Priest and scribe at Heliopolis; who was ordered by Ptolemy II Philadelphus to write a history of the previous rulers. Manetho's list stretches from Menes (traditionally the first king of a unified Egypt) down to his own time. As well as the names of each king, he gives the length and some of the events of each reign. He was able to use the records held at the temple of Heliopolis, such as 'King Lists'. These original source documents have unfortunately, not survived, in many cases having been written on papyrus.

The Ancient Egyptians had no single, continuous era for counting years, such as our modern use of BC and AD. Instead, they dated documents and events by the year of the current pharaoh's reign. It is difficult to establish the exact order and length of each reign, as some kings ruled simultaneously in different parts of the country. There are ancient 'King-Lists', but these are not complete (sometimes for political or ideological reasons) and there are many gaps to fill.

Egyptian records of astronomical observations were sometimes dated by the king's regnal year. Using these rare occurrences we can attempt to calculate when this took place, giving a possible date BC in our own calendar. These are the cause of many arguments in egyptological circles however, so must be treated with the utmost caution.

Whilst modern research has thrown up many inaccuracies (in particular the individual reign lengths) the order of the various rulers together with the breaks in Dynasty are still very largely as Manetho wrote it in the 4th Century BC. Egyptologists today divide Manetho's Dynastic system into historical eras; reflecting stages of political stability, divided by times of relative internal strife or transition called 'Intermediate Periods'.

The main historical divisions now in general use are:

Dynasty	Approx. Dates	Historical Period	Capital

	5000-3150 BC	PREDYNASTIC PERIOD
	5000-4000 BC	Badarian
	4000-3500 BC	Amratian (Naqada I)
	3500-3150 BC	Gerzean (Naqada II)
0	3150-3050 BC	ARCHAIC PERIOD
1	3050-2890 BC		Memphis
2	2890-2686 BC
3	2686-2613 BC	THE OLD KINGDOM	Memphis
4	2613-2498 BC
5	2498-2345 BC
6	2345-2181 BC
7 & 8	2181-2161 BC	1ST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD	Memphis
9 & 10	2160-2040 BC		Herakleopolis
11	2134-1991 BC	THE MIDDLE KINGDOM	Thebes
12	1991-1782 BC
13 & 14	1782-1650 BC	2ND INTERMEDIATE PERIOD	Delta
15 & 16	1663-1555 BC		Avaris
17	1663-1570 BC		Thebes
18	1570-1293 BC	THE NEW KINGDOM	Thebes
19	1293-1185 BC
20	1185-1070 BC
21	1069-945 BC	3RD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD	Tanis
22	945-715 BC		Bubastis
23	818-715 BC
24	727-715 BC		Sais
25	747-656 BC		Kush
26	664-525 BC	THE LATE PERIOD	Sais
27	525-404 BC		Persian I
28	404-399 BC		Sais
29	399-380 BC		Mendes
30	380-343 BC
31	343-332 BC		Persian II
	332BC-323AD	GRAECO-ROMAN ERAS
	332-305 BC	Macedonian Empire
	305-30 BC	Ptolemaic Empire
	30 BC-323 AD	Roman Empire

The Predynastic Period (before c 3150 BC)

The earliest traces of human occupation in the Nile valley are from the Paleolithic era (circa 250,000 BC) with Stone-Age 'hunter-gatherers'. The earliest known settled cultures (Badarian, Amratian and Gerzean) eventually group together as tribes, forming the two distinct kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The Archaic (or Early Dynastic) Period (c 3150 - 2686 BC)

This begins with the legendary King Menes (or Narmer), credited with the conquest of Lower Egypt. We see the spread of writing and the founding of Memphis as the capital of a united nation .

The Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BC)

The 'Pyramid Age', best known for its architecture, sculpture and tomb reliefs. The Step Pyramid of King Djoser (Dynasty 3) is the first large stone building in the world. Worship of the Sun-God Ra is eminent; culminating in Dynasty 4 with the famous Pyramids at Giza, built for Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure. As the power of provincial officials increases, that of the pharaoh wanes. Central authority collapses with the 94-year reign of Pepi II .

The First Intermediate Period (2181 - 2040 BC)

A succession of ephemeral pharaohs with the country divided between Upper and Lower Egypt once more.

The Middle Kingdom (2134 - 1782 BC)

The Theban king Mentuhotep II reunites Upper and Lower Egypt in around 2040 BC. The capital is moved from Thebes to Itj-Tawy, near to Memphis. Kings of this period are again buried in pyramids (such as those at Lahun and Dahshur) and the central administration is reformed to remove power from local nobles. There is extensive trade with Syria and Palestine. The Middle Kingdom is regarded as being the 'Golden Age' of the Ancient Egyptian language, literature, arts and crafts.

The Second Intermediate Period (1782 - 1570 BC)

A line of weak kings (Dynasty 13) allows the establishment of Asiatic rulers (the 'Hyksos') at Avaris in the Nile Delta. These foreign rulers introduced bronzework, horse chariots and advanced bows. Theban rulers challenged the authority of the Hyksos, with Ahmose expelling them from Egypt.

The New Kingdom (1570 - 1070 BC)

Formally known as the 'Empire Period', this was a time of great prosperity with Egypt conquering and ruling much of the Near East. Dynasty 18 kings, (especially Tuthmosis III) conquer a huge territory stretching from the 4th Nile Cataract deep in the Sudan to the Euphrates valley in Syria. There is much commercial and diplomatic contact with other powers (the Hittites, Babylonians, Assyrians), with Nubia administered as a colony by Egyptian Viceroys.

The traditional worship of Amun-Re is thrown aside by Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) in favour of the Sun-God Aten. This heracy is charcterized by a natural style of art and the building of a new capital city on a virgin site at Amarna in Middle Egypt. After 15 years, the old order is restored under Tutankhamun, with rule from both Memphis and Thebes.

The giant figure of Ramesses II dominates Dynasty 19, constructing more buildings and statues than any other pharaoh during his 66-year reign. His successors were faced by foreign invasions from Libya and the 'Sea Peoples'. With the death of Ramesses III, Egypt is weakened by court intrigues, conspiracies and strikes. The High Priests of Amun at Thebes increase their own power; eventually ruling Upper Egypt themselves, with weak rulers in the Delta.

The Third Intermediate Period (1069 - 664 BC)

Kings rule from the Delta (Tanis and Bubastis) whilst the High Priests of Amun rule in Thebes. Later on, Nubian kings of Dynasty 25 reunify Egypt once more, only to face an Assyrian occupation of Memphis and the sacking of Thebes itself.

The Late Period (664 - 332 BC)

The Saite kings expel the Assyrians and usher in Dynasty 26, a century of renewed splendour. Art, religion and government were inspired by the styles of the Old and Middle Kingdoms. 525 BC sees the Persian invasion with reforms of administration, the introduction of legal codes and new public works, such as temples and canal joining the Nile to the Red Sea. Native Egyptian rule was restored briefly with the death of Darius, only to be replaced by a despotic Persian regime .

The Graeco-Roman Eras (332 BC - 395 AD)

Alexander the Great ends the Persian rule in 332 BC, establishing his new capital at the Mediterranean port of Alexandria. With the division of his empire at Alexander's death, Egypt is acquired by his general Ptolemy. The Ptolemies adopt Egyptian titles, worship native gods and buils many temples; including those at Philae, Dendera and Edfu. Greek is the official court language however, and the use of hieroglyphs declines, being reserved for the most formal temple inscriptions.

The Romans begin to intervene in Egyptian affairs. The Battle of Actium sees Mark Antony (on behalf of Cleopatra VII) facing Octavian. Egypt becomes a Roman province, the personal fiefdom of the emperor himself. Successive Caesars are shown on Egyptian temple wall reliefs performing traditional rituals.