Ancient Egypt was for almost 30 centuries the preeminent civilization in the Mediterranean world situated in North Africa, in what we call the country Egypt now (2021). Ancient Egyptian civilization followed the prehistoric Egypt and begun with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Menes (= Narmer). Ancient Egypt occurred as a series of stable kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as the Intermediate Periods. Ancient Egypt is divided in three kingdoms: the Old, Middle and New Kingdom, all during the Bronze Age.

Ancient Egypt reached its peak of power in the New Kingdom, ruling Nubia and a sizable portion of the Near East. Egypt has been invaded or conquered by a number of foreign powers, including Hyksos, the Libyans, the Nubians, the Assyrians, the Persians and the Macedonians.

From the great pyramids of the Old Kingdom through the military conquests of the New Kingdom, Egypt’s majesty has long entranced archaeologists and historians. Egyptology became a vibrant field of study. The subject is a civilization that started around 3300 BC, originated along the Nile. Ancient Egypt collapsed with the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The essential factor in survival of the civilization was the irrigation of an agricultural area around the Nile. The success came partly from its ability to adapt the conditions of the River Nile valley. The predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population. With sources to spare, the administration sponsored mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding desert regions. The early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with other regions and a military intended to assert Egyptian dominance created this ancient culture.

How structured this civilization was is evident from the temples, mastabas and pyramids left by them. The main sources of information about Ancient Egypt are the many monuments, objects and artifacts that have been recovered from archaeological sites, with hieroglyphs that have been deciphered. The picture that emerges is of a culture with few equals in the beauty of its art, the accomplishment of its architecture or the richness of its religious traditions.

The many achievements of the Ancient Egyptians include the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental pyramids, temples and obelisks. The had a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques. The invented the first known planked boats, Egyptian faience and glass technology, new forms of literature, and the earliest known peace treaty with the Hittites. Its art and architecture was copied and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world. The monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers. Yes, the Ancient Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Investigation led to a greater appreciation of its culture.

Ancient Egypt was officially a civilization that emerged around 3300 BC along the Nile as a unified state. Archaeological evidence nevertheless indicates that advanced cultures in the Nile Valley existed much earlier.

The Old Kingdom is the period spanning between 2700 BC and 2200 BC. It is also known as the “Age of the Pyramids”. As it includes the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the 4th Dynasty, e.g., Sneferu, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Egypt attained its first peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom. Two other periods, the Middle, and the New Kingdom, brought new peaks for the Egyptian civilization.

The desert Sahara formed about 2500 BC. The tribes of North Africa migrated to where rivers were still present. The Nile was populated, and agricultural economy developed along the river; As a result, civilization became centralized. Around the 7th millennium BC, agricultural culture existed in the eastern Sahara. There is evidence of human civilization in Egypt, close to the border with Sudan, dating to before 8000 BC.

The descendants of these cultures may underlie Egyptian civilization in the Nile Valley. After the Lower Egyptian princess Neithhotep married the Upper Egyptian general-king Narmer, he became the first ruler of a unified Egypt. This marks the beginning of the 31 Pharaonic dynasties in which Egypt’s ancient history is divided in different periods. The building of the Pyramids of Giza (close to Cairo, built in the Fourth Dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic state and ideology. Note that is wan not until the New Kingdom that the King of Egypt was called Pharaoh.

The Old Kingdom is most regarded as the period of the Third Dynasty to the Sixth Dynasty (2686 BC – 2181 BC). Information about from the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasties are scarce. Historians regard the history of the era literally “written in stone”. Through the monuments and their inscriptions in the largely architectural findings have helped constructing the history of that period. Egyptologists include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasty in the Old Kingdom. Memphis was the administrative centralization of the Old Kingdom. The King of Egypt became a living god and ruled absolutely. He could demand services and wealth of his subjects.

It was King Djoser, first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, who moved the royal capital to Memphis, where Djoser established his court. Under his reign, e new era of building was initiated at Saqqara. Architect Imhotep is credited with the development of building with stone and the conception of the new architectural form, the step-pyramid. The pyramids are primarily what the Old Kingdom is famous for.

The pyramids required a bureaucratic efficiency to organize the labor force. This could only function under a strong central government. The 4th Dynasty was a time of progress and demanded kind of respect for such projects. During the 5th and 6th Dynasty, the priesthood began to grow in power. This can be explained in their hold over the mortuary practices which gave rise to the great pyramids. More and more local governors assumed more power over their regions. Memphis became irrelevant. This marked the end of the Old Kingdom.

While the Old Kingdom was a time of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline. This is referred to as the First Intermediate Period (2180 BC – 2040 BC), until the Middle Kingdom started, and Egyptian civilization lived a new peak.

The Old Kingdom ends around 2150 BC at Pepi II, who left no heir to the throne. The central authority is undermined by local rulers. There was also a famine brought to a severe drought at the end of the 6th Dynasty. The sudden disappearance of records and images of the women in charge coincided with a marked decline in the number of positions of authority open to women. Therefor, it is thought that they were deliberately trying to limit their input into public life. There was no such thing as a collapse of the Old Kingdom, rather a transition to a new era.

In the First Intermediate Period, Egypt was divided into a northern area and one southern area. About 2040 BC the Theban ruler (of the southern area) Mentuhotep II conquered the northern provinces, reuniting Egypt and thus the Middle Kingdom began. The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty ruled from El-Lisht. We include the Thirteenth Dynasty with Memeferre Ay to the Middle Kingdom as some scholars. The Middle Kingdom was followed by the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt, involving foreign invasions by the Hyksos of West Asia.

During the Middle Kingdom, buildings were erected all over the country and domestic politics appeared to be stable. However, Amenemhat I, King Mentuhotep II’s vizier, took over in 1991 BC. He founded the twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He introduced major administrative and political changes and founded a new capital, Ititawy. Senusret I, the son of Amenemhat I was appointed co-regent and could take over the kingship after the death of his father without causing unrest in the country again.

Most kings during the Middle Kingdom were still buried in pyramids. Senusret III built a pyramid in Dashur, as did Amenemhat II and III. Amenemhat I and Senusret I built a pyramid in El-Lisht. Osiris became the most important deity in their religion.

The cultural principles of the Old Kingdom were reimagined, including the ideology of kingship, the organization of society, religious practices, afterlife beliefs, and relations with neighboring peoples. These transformations can be found in architectures, sculptures, paintings, relief decorations, jewelry, literature, and personal possessions.

Many Middle Kingdom monuments are poorly preserved. The lack of attention to these monuments is unfortunate, as this was a period with beautiful artworks. Succeeding kings often replaced Egyptian temples. Also, many Middle Kingdom pyramids were constructed with mud brick cores that eroded after their limestone casing was removed by grave robbers.

Middle Kingdom culture underwent three distinct transitions. The first occurring at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty with the Theban art melding with the styles and iconography of the northern and southern regions. A second transition occurred with kings Amenemhet I and Senusret I, with their new capital. Sculpture, relief, painting, and architecture show clear affinities with Old Kingdom traditions, thought some influence of Dynasty 11. Building pyramid complexes continued, accompanied by mastabas constructed as memorials and burial places for the elite. Most developments are not explained. Different types of smaller temples emerged, changing locations, new types of symbolic jewelry were worn, and private monuments increased at sacred places such as Abydos.

The final era transformation occurred in the thirteenth Dynasty, when about 50 kings ruled in the 150 years of existence. Except for a few, some ruled for a year or less. Kingship was no longer a heritage but circulated among the leading families. The reason to this stay (2021) a speculation.

There is no general agreement in Egyptology about the length or about the how to define the Second Intermediate Period. Normally the period includes the 13th to 17th dynasty. Other historians mark 1700 as the historical moment when the country became politically divided.

The Kings of the Second Intermediate form three blocks. The late 13th dynasty that broke away from central control, with the 14th dynasty. The 15th dynasty or Hyksos had their capital at Avaris in the Eastern Delta, with a material culture as a variant of the Palestinian Middle Bronze Age. As a last block, contemporary with the Hyksos are Egyptian kings at Thebes, ruling the south part of Upper Egypt. Ahmose I was the king who ended the rule of Hyksos and reunited Egypt as the founder of the New Kingdom about 1550.

The transition of the 12th to the 13th dynasty was gradual. The rulers of the 13th dynasty were weaker and less influential than the previous ones. Many kings rules ancient kings in the 13th dynasty. A striking element was the influx of immigrants from Palestine. These immigrants were forunners of the large Palestine immigrant group that later settled in the eastern Nile Delta. Around 1640 BC, the 13th dynasty was overthrown by foreigners later called Hyksos, a Greek form of Egyptian word ‘hekaw chasut’ meaning ‘rulers of foreign lands’. When Ancient Egypt fell into disarray for a second time, this Second Intermediate Period started. It is best known as the period of the Hyksos people of West Asia, who made their appearance in Egypt and whose reign compromised the 15 dynasty founded by Salitis.

The 17th dynasty, based in the southern city of Thebes, managed to hold its own during the reign of the Hyksos. Initially the Theban Kings pursued a policy of peace towards their powerful neighbors. Under Intef VII, the Theban Empire was strongly growing. His successors broke with the Hyksos and began a struggle that would last for a long time. The struggle was eventually settled with the complete expulsion of the Hyksos by Ahmose, the founder of the 18th dynasty.

In the First Intermediate Period, Egypt was divided into a northern area and one southern area. About 2040 BC the Theban ruler (of the southern area) Mentuhotep II conquered the northern provinces, reuniting Egypt and thus the Middle Kingdom began. The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty ruled from El-Lisht. We include the Thirteenth Dynasty with Memeferre Ay to the Middle Kingdom as some scholars. The Middle Kingdom was followed by the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt, involving foreign invasions by the Hyksos of West Asia.

During the Middle Kingdom, buildings were erected all over the country and domestic politics appeared to be stable. However, Amenemhat I, King Mentuhotep II’s vizier, took over in 1991 BC. He founded the twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He introduced major administrative and political changes and founded a new capital, Ititawy. Senusret I, the son of Amenemhat I was appointed co-regent and could take over the kingship after the death of his father without causing unrest in the country again.

Most kings during the Middle Kingdom were still buried in pyramids. Senusret III built a pyramid in Dashur, as did Amenemhat II and III. Amenemhat I and Senusret I built a pyramid in El-Lisht. Osiris became the most important deity in their religion.

The cultural principles of the Old Kingdom were reimagined, including the ideology of kingship, the organization of society, religious practices, afterlife beliefs, and relations with neighboring peoples. These transformations can be found in architectures, sculptures, paintings, relief decorations, jewelry, literature, and personal possessions.

Many Middle Kingdom monuments are poorly preserved. The lack of attention to these monuments is unfortunate, as this was a period with beautiful artworks. Succeeding kings often replaced Egyptian temples. Also, many Middle Kingdom pyramids were constructed with mud brick cores that eroded after their limestone casing was removed by grave robbers.

Middle Kingdom culture underwent three distinct transitions. The first occurring at the end of the Eleventh Dynasty with the Theban art melding with the styles and iconography of the northern and southern regions. A second transition occurred with kings Amenemhet I and Senusret I, with their new capital. Sculpture, relief, painting, and architecture show clear affinities with Old Kingdom traditions, thought some influence of Dynasty 11. Building pyramid complexes continued, accompanied by mastabas constructed as memorials and burial places for the elite. Most developments are not explained. Different types of smaller temples emerged, changing locations, new types of symbolic jewelry were worn, and private monuments increased at sacred places such as Abydos.

The final era transformation occurred in the thirteenth Dynasty, when about 50 kings ruled in the 150 years of existence. Except for a few, some ruled for a year or less. Kingship was no longer a heritage but circulated among the leading families. The reason to this stay (2021) a speculation.

In Ancient Egypt, the scarab was considered a sacred animal. It is a type of dung beetle that collects dung from herbivores that still contains undigested fibres. They lay their eggs in the twisted dung balls. They did not know that beetles hatched from eggs and thought that the beetles arose spontaneously from dung balls. The animal was associated with the god Chepri, whose name consists of the same consonants (xpr) as the depiction of a scarab in hieroglyphics. In art, a scarab was worn around the neck as an ornament. The most well-known application is as an amulet on the chest or on the heart of a deceased. The scarab is an ancient Egyptian ornament. Usually, it takes the form of the sacred pill beetle (Scarabaeus sacer) as an amulet or seal

Gustav Mustaki was an avid collector in the early 20th century. His collection came to the United Kingdom in 1947 under Egyptian license. Many of his pieces are in museums worldwide. This is one of the 1700 scarabs from this collection.The young Gustave Mustaki moved from Greece to Egypt and became an avid collector from an early age. He requested the Egyptian government in the 1940s to export his vast collection. The crates of figurines and amulets were shipped to London, apart from a few important items. The contents were registered in 1953. His daughter sold many objects over the years. After her death, her son inherited the remaining pieces.