The Founding of Ancient Egypt

In our introduction to the course we were reminded that Africa is a huge continent. In fact, it is so huge that many people lose track of which countries are in Africa. One of these countries is Egypt; which coincidentally, has a history that fascinates me. Starting around 3,500 BCE, the Nile River was surrounded by several farming settlements. These farming settlements were not yet unified under a single king, but instead operated similarly to city states. Each had their own leader and ruling elite, who would organize the communities farming efforts. This multi political system seems to have lasted for about 500 years. Somewhere around 3,000 BCE, the kingdoms of the south conquered the northern part of the Nile, and founded what we know today as ancient Egypt. Within this new kingdom, the first kings (also known as the first dynasty) established Egypt’s ancient capital: Memphis (which is in the northern part of the Nile, and can be found today a few miles south of Cairo).






http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/