Surprising Facts About Ancient Egypt

Explore 11 intriguing facts about ancient Egypt, from Cleopatra's Greek heritage to the first recorded peace treaty with the Hittites. Discover the popularity of board games like Senet, the rights of Egyptian women, and the surprising truth about pyramid builders. Learn about King Tut's mysterious death, early medical specialization, and the Egyptians' love for pets and cosmetics, revealing a complex civilization rich in culture and innovation.
From the earliest recorded peace treaty to ancient board games, discover 11 surprising facts about the Gift of the Nile. Cleopatra was not Egyptian. Along with King Tut, perhaps no figure is more famously associated with ancient Egypt than Cleopatra VII.
But while she was born in Alexandria, Cleopatra was actually part of a long line of Greek Macedonians originally descended from Ptolemy I, one of Alexander the Great’s most trusted lieutenants.
The Ptolemaic Dynasty ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C., and most of its leaders remained largely Greek in their culture and sensibilities.
In fact, Cleopatra was famous for being one of the first members of the Ptolemaic dynasty to actually speak the Egyptian language. The ancient Egyptians forged one of the earliest peace treaties on record.
For over two centuries, the Egyptians fought against the Hittite Empire for control of lands in modern-day Syria.
The conflict gave rise to bloody engagements like 1274 B.C.’s Battle of Kadesh, but by the time of the pharaoh Ramses II, neither side had emerged as a clear victor.
With both the Egyptians and Hittites facing threats from other peoples, in 1259 B.C. Ramses II and the Hittite King Hattusili III negotiated a famous peace treaty.
This agreement ended the conflict and decreed that the two kingdoms would aid each other in the event of an invasion by a third party.
The Egyptian-Hittite treaty is now recognized as one of the earliest surviving peace accords, and a copy can even be seen above the entrance to the United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York.
Ancient Egyptians loved board games. After a long day’s work along the Nile River, Egyptians often relaxed by playing board games. Several different games were played, including “Mehen” and “Dogs and Jackals,” but perhaps the most popular was a game of chance known as “Senet.”
This pastime dates back as far as 3500 B.C. and was played on a longboard painted with 30 squares. Each player had a set of pieces that were moved along the board according to rolls of dice or the throwing sticks.
Historians still debate Senet’s exact rules, but there is little doubt of the game’s popularity.
Paintings depict Queen Nefertari playing Senet, and pharaohs like Tutankhamen even had game boards buried with them in their tombs.
Egyptian women had a wide range of rights and freedoms. While they may have been publicly and socially viewed as inferior to men, Egyptian women enjoyed a great deal of legal and financial independence.
They could buy and sell property, serve on juries, mak