# Egypt of the Pharaohs > Three thousand years of the pharaohs: the unification of the Two Lands, the pyramids, the New Kingdom empire from Nubia to the Euphrates, Ramesses II, the Kushite pharaohs, the Ptolemies and Cleopatra. Episode 02 of the World Empires series. Interactive film: https://www.planetpast.com/stories/empires-egypt-pharaohs/ Publisher: PlanetPast (https://www.planetpast.com/) · Published 2026-10-13 · History ## Prologue ### Egypt of the pharaohs *World Empires · Episode 02* A green ribbon through the desert. Seen from above, Egypt is a thin green ribbon along the Nile, with desert on both sides. Every summer the river flooded, leaving fresh black silt on the fields. The Greek writer Herodotus called Egypt “the gift of the Nile”. The desert protected the valley, and the river was a highway. It was the perfect place for a state to last. Prologue · Episode 02 of the World Empires series #### A green ribbon through the desert Almost all of Egypt’s people lived within a few kilometres of the Nile. The yearly flood made farming easy and predictable, deserts kept most invaders away, and boats could sail north with the current and south with the wind. Egyptian history is divided into “kingdoms” (times of unity) and “intermediate periods” (times of division). Exact dates differ between scholars by decades. Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ### Two lands become one *Prologue · c. 3100 BC* The white crown of the south and the red crown of the north. Before 3100 BC, Egypt had two halves: Upper Egypt, the narrow valley in the south, and Lower Egypt, the wide Nile delta in the north. Around 3100 BC, a southern king, traditionally named Narmer or Menes, united them. From then on, a pharaoh wore a double crown, ruling “the Two Lands” from Memphis, near modern Cairo. Prologue · Step 2 #### Two lands become one - **Unification**: c. 3100 BC traditionally Narmer / Menes - **Capital**: Memphis Upper Egypt is in the south, because the Nile flows north. A carved slate, the Narmer Palette, shows a king wearing each crown. Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ## Chapter I · The pyramid age ### The age of the pyramids *Chapter I · c. 2650–2500 BC* Kings who were gods, and tombs built to last forever. In the Old Kingdom, the pharaoh was seen as a living god. His tomb was a gateway to eternal life. Around 2650 BC, the architect Imhotep built a step pyramid for King Djoser at Saqqara, the first great building in stone. Around 2560 BC, the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza rose about 146 metres, built from an estimated 2.3 million stone blocks. It remained the tallest structure on Earth for more than 3,800 years. Building it took a state that could feed and organise tens of thousands of workers. Chapter I · Step 3 #### The age of the pyramids - **Step pyramid of Djoser**: c. 2650 BC architect Imhotep - **Great Pyramid**: ~146.6 m Khufu, finished c. 2560 BC - **Blocks**: ~2.3 million estimate - **Tallest structure on Earth**: 3,800+ years The pyramids were built by paid and conscripted Egyptian labour, not by slaves as once believed. Sources: [Madain Project: Great Pyramid of Giza](https://madainproject.com/great_pyramid_of_giza); [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ### Collapse and recovery *Chapter I · 2181–1782 BC* After a time of division, kings from Thebes reunite Egypt. Around 2181 BC, central power broke down. Low floods and famine are often blamed. Local governors ruled their own provinces. Around 2040 BC, Mentuhotep II of Thebes reunited the country, beginning the Middle Kingdom. Its kings pushed south into Nubia, and built a chain of mud-brick fortresses at the Nile’s second cataract to control gold and trade. Chapter I · Step 4 #### Collapse and recovery - c. 2181 BC First Intermediate Period begins - c. 2040 BC Mentuhotep II reunites Egypt - c. 1900 BC Fortresses such as Buhen guard Lower Nubia Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ## Chapter II · The age of empire ### Foreign kings and a war of liberation *Chapter II · c. 1650–1550 BC* Rulers from the Levant take the north. Around 1650 BC, rulers of Levantine origin, known as the Hyksos, took control of the delta from their capital at Avaris. Egyptian kings held on at Thebes in the south. They learned new technology from their rivals: horse-drawn chariots and composite bows. Around 1550 BC, Ahmose of Thebes drove the Hyksos out. Egypt would never again feel safe behind its deserts. Chapter II · Step 5 #### Foreign kings and a war of liberation The Hyksos (“rulers of foreign lands”) were not invaders on horseback, as once imagined, but mostly descendants of migrants from the Levant who had settled in the delta. Their rule was later remembered by Egyptians as a humiliation. Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt); [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt) ### The empire of Thutmose III *Chapter II · 1479–1425 BC* Egypt marches to the Euphrates. The New Kingdom became an empire. Queen Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh and sent an expedition to the land of Punt. Her successor, Thutmose III, led some seventeen campaigns. At Megiddo, around 1457 BC, he defeated a coalition of Canaanite kings. His rule stretched from the Euphrates in Syria to Kurgus, far up the Nile in Nubia. At its peak the empire covered about a million square kilometres, ruled through vassal kings and Egyptian garrisons. Chapter II · Step 6 #### The empire of Thutmose III - **Thutmose III**: 1479–1425 BC including the co-regency with Hatshepsut - **Peak area**: ~1.0M km² c. 1450 BC (Taagepera) - **Battle of Megiddo**: Conventionally 1457 BC other proposed dates: 1482 or 1479 BC Sources: [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt); [Wikipedia: Battle of Megiddo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Megiddo_(15th_century_BC)); [Wikipedia: List of largest empires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires) ### The heretic king *Chapter II · 1352–1336 BC* Akhenaten tries to change Egypt’s gods. Akhenaten turned Egypt’s religion upside down. He promoted one god, the sun disc Aten, and built a new capital at Amarna. Clay letters found there, written in Akkadian, show pharaohs writing to the kings of Babylon, the Hittites and others, calling them “brothers”. After his death, the young Tutankhamun restored the old gods. His small, nearly intact tomb, found in 1922, made him the most famous pharaoh of all. Chapter II · Step 7 #### The heretic king - 1352 BC Akhenaten becomes king - Amarna Letters Diplomatic letters in Akkadian, the international language of the time - c. 1336 BC Tutankhamun; tomb discovered in 1922 Sources: [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt) ### Ramesses the Great *Chapter II · 1279–1213 BC* Sixty-six years on the throne, and the first known peace treaty. Ramesses II reigned for 66 years. In 1274 BC he fought the Hittite king Muwatalli II at Kadesh, in Syria. Ramesses claimed a great victory on his temple walls. Historians today see the battle as a draw: the Hittites kept Kadesh. Around 1259 BC, the two empires signed a peace treaty, one of the earliest known. Ramesses also carved giant statues of himself into the cliffs at Abu Simbel, on Egypt’s Nubian frontier. Chapter II · Step 8 #### Ramesses the Great - **Reign**: 1279–1213 BC - **Kadesh**: 1274 BC about 20,000 Egyptian soldiers - **Egyptian–Hittite treaty**: c. 1259 BC, with Hattusili III versions survive in Egyptian and Akkadian Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kadesh and the first peace treaty](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/78/the-battle-of-kadesh--the-first-peace-treaty/); [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt) ## Chapter III · Foreign pharaohs ### The end of the New Kingdom *Chapter III · c. 1177–1069 BC* The Bronze Age world falls apart. Around 1177 BC, Ramesses III fought off the “Sea Peoples”, raiders who were part of a wider collapse that destroyed the Hittite Empire and many cities. Egypt survived, but grew weaker: low floods, rising grain prices, and the first recorded labour strike, by tomb builders. By 1069 BC the land was split again, with priests ruling the south from Thebes, and kings ruling the north. Chapter III · Step 9 #### The end of the New Kingdom - c. 1177 BC Ramesses III defeats the Sea Peoples - Year 29 Workers at Deir el-Medina strike over late rations - 1069 BC End of the New Kingdom; Egypt divided Sources: [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt) ### Pharaohs from abroad *Chapter III · 728–332 BC* Nubians, Assyrians, Persians and Greeks take their turn. Around 728 BC, King Piye of Kush, in today’s Sudan, conquered Egypt. His dynasty of Kushite pharaohs ruled from the Mediterranean to beyond Napata. In 671 BC the Assyrians invaded and drove the Kushites south. In 525 BC Egypt became a province of Persia, and in 332 BC it welcomed Alexander the Great as a liberator. For centuries, foreign kings ruled Egypt, yet most presented themselves as pharaohs, honouring Egyptian gods. Chapter III · Step 10 #### Pharaohs from abroad - c. 728 BC Piye of Kush conquers Egypt (25th Dynasty) - 671 BC Assyrian invasion - 525 BC Persian conquest by Cambyses - 332 BC Alexander the Great The green outline shows the Kushite kingdom at its height, c. 700 BC (approximate). Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ### The Ptolemies and Cleopatra *Chapter III · 305–30 BC* A Greek dynasty, a great library, and the last pharaoh. After Alexander, his general Ptolemy made himself king of Egypt. His family ruled for nearly three centuries from Alexandria. The city had a great lighthouse and a famous library, and it became a centre of science and learning. In 196 BC, a decree was carved in three scripts. The Rosetta Stone later helped scholars decipher hieroglyphs. The last ruler, Cleopatra VII, allied with Rome’s Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. After her death in 30 BC, Egypt became a province of Rome. Chapter III · Step 11 #### The Ptolemies and Cleopatra - **Ptolemaic dynasty**: 305–30 BC Macedonian Greek kings - **Rosetta Stone**: 196 BC hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek Cleopatra VII was the first of her dynasty known to speak Egyptian. The outline shows Ptolemaic lands around 270 BC (approximate). Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt) ## Epilogue ### Three thousand years *Epilogue* The longest-lasting civilisation of the ancient world. From the first pharaoh to Cleopatra, about three thousand years passed. Cleopatra lived closer in time to us than to the building of the Great Pyramid. Egypt lasted so long because the Nile fed it, the desert shielded it, and its kingship and religion gave every new ruler a ready-made role. When Jean-François Champollion deciphered hieroglyphs in 1822, Egypt’s own voice could be read again after nearly 1,500 years. Next: Persia, the empire that conquered Egypt, Babylon and everything between. Epilogue #### Three thousand years - c. 3100 BC Unification - c. 2560 BC Great Pyramid - c. 1550 BC New Kingdom empire begins - c. 728 BC Kushite pharaohs - 30 BC Death of Cleopatra VII; Egypt becomes Roman - 1822 Champollion deciphers hieroglyphs #### The series - **00**The Rise and Fall of Empires (overview) - **01**The First Empires: Mesopotamia - **02** Egypt of the Pharaohs (this film) - **03**Persia and Alexander - **04**The Maurya Empire of India - **05**China Unified: Qin and Han - **06** Rome (coming soon) - **07** The Islamic Caliphates (coming soon) - **08** The Khmer Empire of Angkor (coming soon) - **09** The Mongol Empire (coming soon) - **10** The Ottoman Empire (coming soon) - **11** The Aztec and Inca Empires (coming soon) - **12** The Age of Sea Empires (coming soon) - **13** The End of Empires (coming soon) The still images on the chapter cards are AI-generated illustrations. Outlines are approximate. Sources: [World History Encyclopedia: Kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/235/kingdoms-and-periods-of-ancient-egypt); [Wikipedia: New Kingdom of Egypt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Kingdom_of_Egypt); [Madain Project: Great Pyramid of Giza](https://madainproject.com/great_pyramid_of_giza)