The course of Egyptian history

A. Historians divide Egypt’s historical period into thirty-some dynasties, or families, of rulers. The dynasties are grouped into the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, with intermediate periods in between.

B. The Old Kingdom (2695–2160 B.C.) was an era of great vitality, security, and prosperity.
1. Egypt was isolated and untroubled by invaders.
2. A distinctive Egyptian kingship evolved (Pharaohnic Royal Absolutism). The word pharaoh comes from per aa, meaning the “Great House.” Pharaoh was one of the gods and guaranteed Egypt’s prosperity and security. In turn, Egypt’s prosperity and security legitimized the pharaoh.
3. The Great Pyramids at Gizeh symbolize the Old Kingdom. Much can be said about this period, but the building of the pyramids along with periodic crop failures seems to have led to the demise of the Old Kingdom.

C. The Middle Kingdom (2025–1786 B.C.) was a period of more widely dispersed rule.
1. Pharaohs shared power with local notables.
2. This period was important in the elaboration of Egyptian religion because the emphasis moved beyond the royal dynasty to nobles and even ordinary people.

D. Around 1700 B.C., the Hyksos, Semitic-speaking peoples from Palestine, conquered Egypt.

E. Hatred for foreign rule eventually led a dynasty from Upper Egypt to drive out the Hyksos and inaugurate the New Kingdom (1550–1075 B.C.).
1. Fired by ambition and a desire to ward off future conquest, the Egyptians now built an empire that extended into Mesopotamia and along the shore of the eastern Mediterranean.
2. This was a brilliant and cosmopolitan period.
3. After about 1400 B.C., the Egyptians confronted the Hittites, a powerful and expanding people from Anatolia and the first Indo-European speakers in recorded history. In 1274, at Qadesh in northern Syria, the Egyptians and Hittites fought a battle that left them both crippled and declining.