Ancient Egypt

Situated beside the River Nile, Egypt is a beautiful country in North Africa and also home to one of the most developed civilizations in the history of the world. The original name of Memphis – Hwt-Ka-Ptah which literally means ‘Mansion of the Spirit of Ptah’ was pronounced as ‘Aegyptos’ in Greek. It is from ‘Aegyptos’ that the modern pronunciation for Egypt has been taken. Memphis was an important city in ancient Egypt and also its first capital.
The Egyptians called their nation ‘Kemet’ which means ‘Black Land’. The name was given after the dark and fertile soil which was found on the banks of River Nile. The first settlements were all along the River Nile. Egypt was then called ‘Misr’ meaning of which is country. The Egyptians still refer to their country by this name. They excelled in fields of science and technology, art and architecture, astronomy, medicine and religion. The pyramids which stand strong till today are the proof of their intelligence which they had in the field of science using which they build these gigantic structures.
Egyptians are mostly known for preserving their dead and giving them luxurious burial rites. To them, life was just a part of their eternal journey which their immortal souls had to continue after their physical bodies were lifeless. This is why their bodies were preserved and they were buried with jewellery, pottery and there were some tombs of famous pharaohs that have been found to have soldiers buried with them.
Egyptian history is truly enchanting and more you come to know about them the more one wishes to witness their grandeur in real life. There is proof of overgrazing cattle where now lies the Sahara Desert which has been dated back to 8000 BCE. This along with other evidence of artefacts that have been excavated clearly point that agriculture flourished in the region and since the lands of Egypt were dry even back then the nomadic hunters began to settle down in the valley of River Nile for fresh water in about 6000 BCE.
The Badarian culture began to settle down beside the river and farming became much more organised. Workshops dating back to 5500 BCE related to glazed pottery known as faience have also been found in Abydos. The Badarian’s were followed by Amartian, Gerzean and Naqada. Every culture was unique and contributed much to the Egyptian culture. Egypt’s written history begins from about 3400 BCE when the hieroglyphic script was developed by the Naqada’s. Mummification became popular by 3500 BCE especially in the city of Hierakonpolis. The Palermo Stone carries an inscription which describes the city of Xois to be ancient by 3100 and 2181 BCE. The growing cultures expanded and became bigger urban civilizations thus expanding and enriching the history of Egypt.