The essential facts to know about ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt for Kids

Ancient Egypt lasted a very long time! This video breaks down the timeline and geography of their civilization, daily life, and education in Egypt (including bringing the "Book of the Dead" to life).

A timeline of key events during each period of Egyptian history

This timeline shows the dates, periods, dynasties, and significant events in the history and art of ancient Egypt from the Predynastic Period (before 3100 BCE) to the end of the Roman Period (395 CE).

Explore the major archaeological sites of Egypt's 3,000-year history.

Ancient Egypt began as a collection of independent city-states along the Nile

Those cities were gradually organized into Upper and Lower Egypt, names derived from the northern flow of the river. The region was unified for the first time in 3,100 BCE under King Menes (also known as Narmer).

Reconstructing an average day in ancient Egypt

Egyptologists can reconstruct the intimate details of everyday life in the ancient civilization by studying the archaeological material preserved in tombs, monuments, and partially intact neighborhood layouts. Watch a comprehensive tour of the daily habits and lifestyles of ancient Egyptians with expert Dr. Joann Fletcher.

Explore the roughly 190 Egyptian pharaohs across 31 dynasties.

Explore the Valley of the Kings

The ruins of ancient Egypt are so widely dispersed throughout the Nile River Valley it can be hard to keep track of everything. The Theban mapping project from the American Research Center in Egypt provides beautiful interactive explorations of dozens of sites along the Valley of the Kings, which served as the necropolis for New Kingdom royalty.

See the major Egyptian monuments in high definition.

Inside Saqqara, ancient Egypt's sprawling necropolis outside Memphis

Located 20 miles south of modern-day Cairo, the 4-square-mile site contains the oldest known stone complex in the world, the venue for royal tombs and monuments for one of the earliest Egyptian capitals, Memphis.

An Egyptologist answers questions from the internet

Professor of Egyptology and Archaeology Laurel Bestock answers your questions about ancient Egypt from X. What did ancient Egyptians sound like? Why is King Tut so enduringly popular? What ancient Egyptian medicine and tools do we still use in modern times?

Watch a quick overview the rich heritage of the ancient Greeks.

To reach the afterlife, Egyptians lived in accordance with ma'at, or harmony

The ancient Egyptians held many beliefs about eternal life, fueling entire industries tasked with building tombs for the dead. Their leader, the pharaoh, was believed to be divine, and the lives of ordinary people were punctuated with ritual and myth. Learn more about their religion here.

Wealthy Egyptians slept on woven beds to allow air circulation in hot climates

The history of beds is a fascinating look at economics, social science, and cultural beliefs around what takes place during sleep. This brief survey of the history of bed-making begins roughly 5,000 years ago and runs through ancient Egypt and Rome to modern Europe. Take a look here.

The ancient Egyptians built prototypes of the modern Suez Canal

The idea to facilitate trade between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and connect the Eurasian continent was apparent even to pharaohs in the second millennium BCE. Though no physical traces remain, contemporary accounts attest to early, shorter versions of the canal, including from Herodotus.

Archaeologists race to record ancient Nubia

Long ignored by white archaeologists as a mere footnote, modern scientists are now racing to document what’s left of the African civilization. Evidence of ancient Nubia is at risk of vanishing under environmental, societal, and political pressures. This Undark Magazine article walks you through archaeologists' fight to record ancient Nubia.

Without mummies, ancient Egyptians feared their souls would perish

The ancient Egyptians placed major importance on mummification because of their beliefs about the afterlife. They believed a preserved body was essential for the soul’s survival, as it needed a physical form to return to. Without it, they feared the soul would perish.

A timeline of the ancient Greeks

When exactly were the Ancient Greeks around on Earth? Their roots go back nearly 9,000 years to the Bronze Age with the so-called Minoan civilization. These sea-faring tribes would come together to hold off the invading Persian Empire and culminate in the glories of Athenian democracy, Spartan military discipline, and more. Check out this thorough timeline of the Ancient Greeks.

Bad Ancient: a site to fact-check claims about the ancient world

Peruse popular questions about ancient Rome, Egypt, Greece, and more, from whether Greek boxers were ripped or to what extent Alexander the Great conquered the world.

What can we learn from archaeology?

By revealing buried civilizations and dating objects of antiquity, archaeology turns hard data into human stories. But what's the use of knowing these stories? Find out for yourself in this interactive resource that can take you to and through historic sites around the globe.

Watch the many different civilizations around the Mediterranean shift power from the year 2500 BCE to 0 BCE in this animated map.

Egypt's pantheon is the result of a thousand years of myths

Their pantheon consisted of nearly 2,000 divine beings which evolved over time, led by the broadly worshipped sun god Ra. Many of the myths surrounding each god changed dramatically or even intertwined with others as cult followings grew popular or shifted from city to city.

The true story of Cleopatra and Mark Antony

One of history's most romanticized couples, Greek-descended Queen of Egypt Cleopatra and Roman warrior Mark Antony carried out their tryst in the waning days of ancient Egypt. Hollywood has long been fascinated with the pair and has offered up depictions historians claim obscure the real story. Here, an Egyptologist helps separate myths from history.

The history of the Met

From a single sarcophagus to a collection of more than a million artifacts that span nearly the entirety of human civilization, the Met and its importance have grown significantly over the last 150 years. This history of the museum hits all the highlights, including important acquisitions, new wings and galleries, and the importance of the buildings that hold and display all of the incredible artwork.

Ancient Rome explained

Ancient Rome left a high water mark on ancient civilization with its pragmatism and administrative prowess, dominating through its efficient military, engineering, and administration. At least 50 million people—a quarter of the world population—inhabited the empire, covering 5 million square miles at its height.

Watch the history of human migration that led to civilizations

Starting in Africa where they hunted with spears and fires, humans would gradually move out of the continent over thousands of years as they navigated crossing deserts, rivers, uneven terrain, and shifting climates. Development of technology, language, farming, and other societal structures helped build up the first civilizations.

What it's like to go inside the Great Pyramid of Giza

Tourists can actually enter the ancient wonder, taking a 15-minute jaunt through tight spaces some describe as uncomfortable. The focal point of the journey is the chamber of the dead pharaoh, historically significant but not always visually compelling. The author describes it as a cool bucket list item but wouldn't repeat it.

The history of China: a timeline

How long has China existed, and how and when did it evolve into its form? Explore the journey of China from empire to republic (to a republic, again) in this timeline. Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest Chinese dynasty formed at about...

Caesar and Cleopatra's complicated affair

The Egyptian queen Cleopatra, a known charmer in history, had a public affair with Roman leader Julius Caesar. Read this article for details and a timeline of their doomed romance—from their first meeting to her later affair with Marc Antony.

Go inside Queen Meresankh III's tomb

Examine art, explore the structure, and let yourself be transported back 3,000 years to when the granddaughter of the Pharaoh Khufu was buried. The site, first discovered in 1927, is known as a unique underground chapel with preserved depictions of the daily life of ancient Egyptian royals, and features one of the earliest known canopic jars, vessels used to store the organs of mummified individuals.

The rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire

A short but informative TED-Ed video summarizing the most important aspects of Byzantine civilization: how it all started, why Constantinople was so special, a few remarkable Byzantine authors (including Princess Anna Comnena, historian of her father’s reign), the Ottoman conquest, and why don’t just call the Byzantines “Romans.”

Egypt's 'Books of the Dead' helped the dead pass through the underworld

During the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt, elaborate burial rites included the incantation of magic spells to help those who had died navigate the underworld. Texts of these spell-binding funerary guidelines, widely known as the "Books of the Dead," have survived intact.

Prehistoric to present day Ukraine

Recognizing the abundance of information available on the current war between Ukraine and Russia, this video focuses on the history of the region. Encapsulating Ukraine's background, the viewer will gain a better grasp of how the modern state arose from a quilt of different ethnicities, noteworthy conflicts between various groups, and more.

See original photos of King Tut's tomb in updated color

The 1922 discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt revealed new secrets about the civilization to a fascinated world, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Harry Burton captured the discovery in 2,800 black-and-white glass negatives. Nearly a century later, a selection of the images were colorized by experts .

Six myths about the Middle Ages

The Middle Ages, or medieval era, refers to roughly 500 CE to 1,500 CE. Contemporary opinion perceives this era as "dark" or backward because it was the time between the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance. But much of the era was vibrant, and many myths are just that, including the idea that most people believed the Earth was flat. Watch this video to debunk more myths.

The hour originated from an ancient Egyptian astronomical system

The movements of astronomical objects, measured in a day and a year, form the foundation of our sense of time. The Egyptians divided each day and night into 12 time eras, using arbitrarily selected stars as references rather than movements of specific celestial objects.

Mapping the shifts in ancient Greek territories

The jagged coastlines and many islands of the eastern Mediterranean peninsulas cultivated a seafaring civilization, which helped the Greeks colonize and trade in the Middle East, North Africa, and the rest of Europe. See the evolution of their territory with this quick animated map video.

Examine a 3D model of the Rosetta Stone

One of the most famous archaeological finds of all time, the 1799 discovery of the Rosetta Stone helped unlock the secrets of ancient Egypt. Inscribed on the granite slab was the same passage in three languages: hieroglyphics, Old Egyptian, and Greek, which enabled scholars to decode the ancient language. Take an up-close look with this 3D model made up of more than 200 composite photos.

An interactive timeline of history, from beginning to middle

The history of humanity is a long, winding road, and the history of everything else is even more complex and interwoven. This interactive timeline takes users through the history of the world and includes links to related videos, blurbs, and events. Each event in history is represented by a dot, providing users with a glittering horizon filled with moments of intrigue and impact.

The ancient crops we've forgotten how to grow

Roughly half of all world calories today stem from maize, wheat, and rice. But for most of history, plants were domesticated in highly local places. This video dives into the scientists learning about crops no longer highly in use that once fueled entire civilizations in North America. Some forgotten crops include pitseed goosefoot, maygrass, and sumpweed.

Ancient Greece originated roughly 4,000 years ago around the Aegean Sea, and over centuries expanded as far as Spain and India.

Egyptians called the Nile River the 'Ar,' meaning 'black'

The over 4,000-mile river would turn dark during its warm-season flooding as sediments flowed downriver. This nutrient soil, which would settle on the riverbank, was essential for farming in Egypt.

The three theories explaining how the pyramids were built

There's no consensus over how the ancient monuments were built, and no blueprints left behind. But centuries of study have produced three competing theories: a simple, massive external ramp, a more complex internal ramp, or a highly sophisticated water elevator.

In 1822, French scholar Jean-François Champollion deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs using the Rosetta Stone.

The lifestyles of early humans

For 2.5 million years, humans lived on Earth without leaving a written record of their lives—but they left behind other kinds of remains and artifacts.

Mummification in Ancient Egypt transformed a body into a divine statue

Rather than for preservation, the ritual was a means of turning the biological body into an eternal vessel for the top percent of society. With no way to preserve eyes that would shrivel during dehydration, eye sockets were filled with onions or black and white stones.

Reflections on the Erie Canal’s 200-year history

Reflections on the Erie Canal traces the waterway from its 1825 opening to its evolving role today. Each short video in this 10-part series explores a different aspect of the canal and its legacy today.

Ancient Egyptians played Senet, a board game where players threw sticks or bones as dice.

Twelve centuries of Roman history in 20 minutes

The Roman Empire may have been the world's first example of globalization, covering thousands of miles and crossing language barriers armed with Latin and short swords. Its legacy is nearly unparalleled in contemporary Europe, with nearly 50 Romance languages deriving from Latin.

Scholars argue Egypt's Great Sphinx depicts the pharaoh Khufu

Egypt's ancient marvel, the 66-foot, 4,500-year-old Great Sphinx, is believed to stand as a guard to the great Giza pyramids—or tombs—of pharaohs Khafre and Khufu. Archaeologists have long debated which of the two leaders' faces is on the great monument, the father (Khufu) or the son (Khafre).

Experience 14 billion years of important moments in world history with this scrollable interactive timeline.