Old Kingdom

(noun)

Encompassing the Third to Eighth Dynasties, the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd millennium BCE, when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of complexity and achievement.

Related Terms

Examples of Old Kingdom in the following topics:

  • The Old Kingdom

    • The Old Kingdom is the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods that mark the high points of civilization in the Nile Valley.
    • Thus, the period of the Old Kingdom is often called "The Age of the Pyramids."
    • Egypt's Old Kingdom was also a dynamic period in the development of Egyptian art.
    • Famine, conflict, and collapse beset the Old Kingdom for decades.
    • Explain the reasons for the rise and fall of the Old Kingdom

  • The First Intermediate Period

    • The First Intermediate Period (c. 2181-2055 BCE), often described as a "dark period" in ancient Egyptian history after the end of the Old Kingdom, spanned approximately 100 years.
    • These two kingdoms eventually came into military conflict.
    • The Old Kingdom, which preceded this period, fell for numerous reasons.
    • Toward the end of the Old Kingdom, the positions of the nomarchs had become hereditary, creating family legacies independent from the king.
    • His successor, Kheti III, brought some degree of order to the Delta, although the power and influence of these Ninth Dynasty kings were still insignificant compared to that of the Old Kingdom kings.

  • Ancient Egyptian Culture

    • The Middle Kingdom was a golden age for ancient Egypt, where arts, religion and literature flourished.
    • The Middle Kingdom (2134 - 1690 BCE) was a time of prosperity and stability, and resurgence of art, literature and architecture.
    • In the Middle Kingdom period, due to growth of middle class and scribes, literature began to be written to entertain and provide intellectual stimulation.
    • However, some Middle Kingdom literature may have been transcriptions of the oral literature and poetry of the Old Kingdom.
    • Future generations of Egyptians often considered Middle Kingdom literature to be "classic," with the ultimate example being the Story of Sinuhe.

  • The Middle Kingdom

    • The Middle Kingdom was a period of Egyptian history spanning the Eleventh through Twelfth Dynasty (2000-1700 BCE), when centralized power consolidated a unified Egypt.
    • Amenemhet I never held the absolute power commanded, in theory, by the Old Kingdom pharaohs.
    • This instituted a practice that would be used throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms.
    • The reign of Amenemhat III was the height of Middle Kingdom economic prosperity, and is remarkable for the degree to which Egypt exploited its resources.
    • Describe the various characteristics of Sensuret III's rule during the height of the Middle Kingdom

  • Nubia

    • The Nubian region had gone by other names in the Old Kingdom.
    • With the disintegration of the New Kingdom around 1070 BCE, Kush became an independent kingdom centered at Napata in modern central Sudan.
    • Religion, the arts, and architecture were restored to their glorious Old, Middle, and New Kingdom forms.
    • Christianity began to gain over the old pharaonic religion and by the mid-sixth century AD the Kingdom of Kush was dissolved.
    • A vast majority of the Nubian population is currently Muslim and the Arabic language is their main medium of communication in addition to their indigenous old Nubian language.

  • The New Kingdom

    • The New Kingdom of Egypt spanned the Eighteenth to Twentieth Dynasties (c. 1550-1077 BCE), and was Egypt's most prosperous time.
    • The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period, and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period.
    • The New Kingdom saw Egypt attempt to create a buffer against the Levant and attain its greatest territorial extent.
    • The last "great" pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely regarded to be Ramesses III.
    • He rejected the old Egyptian religion and promoted the Aten as a supreme deity.

  • Rise of the Maurya Empire

    • Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire in 322 BCE when he conquered the kingdom of Magadha and the northwestern Macedonian satrapies.
    • Meanwhile, Maurya's general and spies bribed the Nanda's corrupt general and created an atmosphere of civil war in the kingdom, which culminated in the death of the heir to the throne.
    • Upon the civil unrest in the kingdom, Nanda resigned and disappeared into exile.
    • The Maurya Empire when it was first founded by Chandragupta Maurya c. 320 BCE, after conquering the Nanda Empire when he was only about 20 years old.
    • Chandragupta Maurya conquered the kingdom of Magadha to found the Maurya Empire in 231 BCE, at the age of twenty-one.

  • The Legacy of Alexander the Great

    • Four stable power blocks emerged following the death of Alexander the Great: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Seleucid Empire, the Attalid dynasty of the Kingdom of Pergamon, and Macedon.
    • The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty, starting with Ptolemy I Soter’s accession to the throne following the death of Alexander the Great.
    • Early in the Ptolemaic dyansty, Egyptian religion and customs were observed and magnificent new temples were built in the style of the old pharohs.
    • The Attalid kingdom began as a rump state, but was expanded by subsequent rulers.
    • The Kingdom of Macedon at the death of Philip II (336 BCE)

  • The Fall of the Han and the Three Kingdoms Period

    • In 189 CE, Emperor Ling died and was succeeded by his 13 year old son, Liu Bian, known as Emperor Shao.
    • China splintered into three kingdoms ruled by warlords; this marks the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
    • These three kingdoms, Wei, Shu, and Wu, battled for control in a long series of wars.
    • The Three Kingdoms in 262 CE after the fall of the Han dynasty.
    • Demonstrate the significance of the Battle of the Red Cliffs and the Three Kingdoms Period

  • The Anglo-Saxons

    • By 660 the political map of Lowland Britain had developed with smaller territories coalescing into kingdoms, from this time larger kingdoms started dominating the smaller kingdoms.
    • This explains why dynasties waxed and waned so quickly, a kingdom was only as strong as its leader-king.
    • The major kingdoms had grown through absorbing smaller principalities and the means through which they did it and the character their kingdoms acquired as a result are one of the major themes of the Middle Saxon period.
    • Thus the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons was not just their switching from one practice to another, but making something new out of their old inheritance and their new belief and learning.
    • A political map of Britain c650 (the names are in modern English), the black text denotes kingdoms ruled by Anglo-Saxons.