Who Was King Tut

Ancient Egypt was bordered by the Red Sea to the east, the Sahara desert to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and Namibia to the south. Ancient Egypt at its height encompassed all of modern Egypt, as well as modern day Palestine, Israel, parts of Nubia (in modern-day Sudan), and several Greek islands.

The civilization of ancient Egypt spanned thousands of years. Before the Egyptian civilization existed as a unified empire, the Predynastic period featured a variety of groups who lived in the Nile delta and eventually evolved from a nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture. This change took place around 6000-5000 B.C.E. Archaeological discoveries from this era include the remains of agricultural grains that attest to this shift in diet and habitation. Evidence of permanent or semi-permanent structures has also been found. This shift to agriculture was enabled by environmental changes, for as the region became drier, the Nile’s banks became comparatively lush. This environmental shift encouraged groups to settle around the Nile itself, rather than dispersing throughout the increasingly arid region. There is also evidence of fishing during this period; agricultural diets continued to be supplemented with hunting and gathering around the Nile River itself. Fruit trees were also vitally important in supplementing the Egyptian diet, and they were grown and nurtured throughout Egyptian history alongside crops such as barley, lentils, and chickpeas. Cotton was also grown.

Throughout its long history, ancient Egypt remained reliant on the annual flooding of the Nile, which maintained the agricultural richness of the fertile floodplain on, thereby feeding millions. Papyrus reeds also grew abundantly in the marshes around the Nile, and this resource was harnessed as a food source and a means of creating rope, sandals, and a form of paper.

During the Old Kingdom Period, which spanned from circa 2543 to circa 2120 B.C.E., political power became centralized. The first king of the fourth dynasty, Snefru, ordered the construction of three pyramids with mortuary elements. His successor, Khufu, had the Great Pyramid at Giza constructed. Historians speculate that these massive projects came at the cost of the subjects under royal rule, who would have been compelled to provide the resources, physical labor, taxes, and tributes that would enable the construction of such monstrous structures. Periods of collapse throughout ancient Egyptian history were instigated by periodic rebellions of pockets of the Egyptian empire, as well as from skirmishes and attacks from foreign forces.

Like Snefru and Khufu, many subsequent kings adopted the practice of building elaborate tombs and pyramids. This practice reflected the lasting belief in an afterlife, and it was thought that the deceased would enter the afterlife along with the items with which they were buried, provided that they were interred correctly.

Centralization collapsed for a time and was then reestablished in a period known as the Middle Kingdom, which lasted from about 1980 B.C.E. to 1760 B.C.E. Thebes was the seat of power, and many monastic structures continued to be built.

The New Kingdom period spanned from 1539 B.C.E. to 1077 B.C.E. Tutankhamun ruled briefly during this period; he was born in 1343 B.C.E. and was the 12th king of the 18th dynasty within the New Kingdom period. (It is important to note that dynasties refer to families, within which succession passed according to inheritance.) The New Kingdom Period ended when Egypt became divided; separate rulers now controlled the north and the south of the country, marking the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization, although habitation in this region persisted under various political systems and continues into the present day. Modern-day Egypt, or the Arabic Republic of Egypt, is a democratic republic with a population of approximately 99 million people. Tourism to ancient Egyptian sites is a leading source of income for the modern Egyptian economy.