THE DYNASTIES

The three great pyramids at Giza were all built during the Old Kingdom. Their construction required huge resources.

Historians divide ancient Egyptian history into dynasties. A dynasty generally means a line of hereditary rulers, and a change of dynasty would suggest that another ruling family had taken power. In the third century BCE, a writer called Manetho divided Egyptian history into 30 dynasties, many of which were based on the capital city of the ruling party.

The dates of the various dynasties have been gathered by archaeologists from tombs and ancient texts and are very approximate. The very earliest history of Egypt is called the Predynastic period and dates from around 5000 BCE to around 2925

BCE. It was followed by the Early Dynastic period (also called the Archaic period).

The approximate dates of the dynasties of the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom are as follows:

THE EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD (C. 2925-2650 BCE)

First dynasty c. 2925-2775 BCE Second dynasty c. 2775-2650 BCE

THE OLD KINGDOM (c. 2650-2150 BCE)

Third dynasty c. 2650-2575 BCE Fourth dynasty c. 2575-2465 BCE Fifth dynasty c. 2465-2325 BCE Sixth dynasty c. 2325-2150 BCE

The interior of the tomb of the pharaoh Unas is covered with thousands of written spells, now known as the Pyramid Texts.