 The Old Kingdom, or Age of the Pyramid, dates from 2600 to 2300 B.C.  The idea of the pyramid grew from the earlier brick tombs designed to protect and preserve the body.  In the Old kingdom, pharaohs were gods, rulers and priests.  They believed in many gods.  They believed that when you died, your soul was weighed on a scale.  The Egyptians studied a book called the Book of the Dead.

 Government officials are jealous of the pharaohs power and have 200 years of confusion.  To bring peace the pharaohs give up some of their power to government officials.  Pharaohs are buried in tombs cut into cliffs instead of pyramids.  Hyksos from Western Asia take over Egypt with horse drawn chariots and better weapons made from bronze and iron.  Hyksos rule Egypt for 150 years.  Egyptians take back control with same weapons made from bronze and iron.

 1550 B.C.-671 B.C.  New line of pharaohs were interested in trade and conquest, or war. Then later extended their control into Syria.  Over time, the priests of Amon-Re gained much power and wealth. As time passed, the pharaohs power declined.  About 1370 B.C., a new pharaoh named Amenhotep IV came to the throne.  He changed the religion so that there was only one god, this god was called Aton.  Little by little, Egypt lost its power. One reason was the struggle between the priests and pharaohs.  After his death, his son tutankhamen, becomes the pharaoh at age 9. He returned the old religion and died at age 18.  By 1150, egypt’s empire was taken over by the Assyrians.

 The first king of upper Egypt was Narmer.  The pharaohs were rulers, priests, and gods.  The Job of the pharaohs were to make irrigation routes to famers crops.  The pharaohs had the help of the government officials to complete their task.  They believed that the strength of their country came from a strong ruler.

 Hieroglyphics is picture writing.  The Rosetta Stone was discovered in mid-July,  Jean François Champollion translated hieroglyphics into English.

 King Tut was only 9 years old when he was a pharaoh.  King Tut’s tomb was made of pure gold.  In November 1922, Howard Carter Discovered King Tut’s tomb.  He was a pharaoh for 9 years, then died at the age of 18.  King tut married his sister.

 The Period that most pyramids were built was mostly in the Old Kingdom.  The Old Kingdom was the period of the pyramid.  These were built by farmers during the flooding season.  They were made out of limestone and dragged on sleds.  The largest pyramid is the Great Pyramid, located in Giza, Egypt.

 First, they had to wash the body, then they had to cut open the body and take all of the organs out, except the heart and put into jars. Next the dried the body with a drying salt called natron. After the body was dry, they removed the brain and wrapped the body in linen.  Egyptians mummified people, because they believed that they had to be able to recognize the body, to be able to go to the after life.

 Egypt is located at 30 degrees east, and 25 degrees north.  Egypt is in the continent Africa.  The official language is Arabic.  There is almost no rainfall on a regular basis. The people depend on the annual summer floods of the Nile River for water. The floods begin in June and end in October. Without the Nile, there would likely be no Egypt.