All language subtitles for Ancient Egypt 101 | National Geographic - English (auto

the ancient egyptian civilization lasted

for over 3 000 years and became one of

the most powerful and iconic

civilizations in history

at its height ancient egypt's empire

stretched as far north as modern-day

syria and as far south as today's sudan

but long before it was an empire ancient

egypt was a series of small independent

city-states that bloomed along north

africa's nile river

the city-states were divided into two

regions and named according to the flow

of the nile

upper egypt in the south which was

upstream and lower egypt in the north

which was downstream

by about 3100 bc the two halves united

thereby creating one egyptian state that

lasted for millennia

the reign of the civilization can be

divided into three major periods of

prosperity called the old middle and new

kingdoms and two periods of instability

in between called the first and second

intermediate periods

guiding the egyptian people was a

succession of about 300 rulers often

referred to as pharaohs

pharaoh which means great house in

egyptian was never the ruler's formal

title it only became synonymous with the

ruling individual in modern times thanks

to its use in the hebrew bible

these rulers who were not always men nor

egyptian were considered protectors of

the people and served as divine liaisons

between humanity and the hundreds of

gods they worshipped

after the rulers passed away

ancient egyptians believed they then

became gods

to prepare their journey into the

afterlife the rulers constructed

elaborate tombs including the great

pyramids at giza and underground

mausoleums in the valley of the kings

rulers filled their tombs with all the

items they could need in the afterlife

including gold jewelry

food

drink

and even pets

preparing for this journey to the gods

also involved mummifying one's body

the deceased's corpse was embalmed

wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen

and placed inside the tomb so the body

could be reanimated in the afterlife

to this day structures like the great

pyramids are a testament to the role of

religion in ancient egyptians lives

but they also represent the innovative

and cultural might of the egyptian

people

innovations in mathematics and written

language in particular propelled their

civilization to success

math specifically measurement

mathematics helped egyptians understand

and harness their world with numbers

like no other civilization had before

they developed a new form of measurement

called the qubit it was used to design

massive structures such as the great

pyramid with remarkable geometrical

precision

the egyptians also measured time by

combining mathematics with astronomy

they established a 24-hour division to

the day

and created a solar calendar which was

the first dating system in history to

feature 365 days in one year

lastly egyptians developed methods to

measure and survey land around the nile

river

these civil engineering feats made way

for the construction of dams canals and

irrigation systems that helped farming

and agriculture to flourish in the nile

valley

in addition to mathematical concepts the

ancient egyptians also created written

languages to describe the world around

them the oldest and probably most

well-known of these is hieroglyphic

writing

this system was developed around 3150 bc

during the old kingdom and has over 700

pictorial characters

it was used to inscribe monuments and

pottery and predominantly served a

decorative or ceremonial purpose

soon after another ancient form of

writing called hieratic developed out of

the hieroglyphic system

it was a form of cursive that was

written in ink and served a more

functional purpose

unlike its more formal predecessor

hieratic was written on another ancient

egyptian innovation papyrus

papyrus was a type of paper derived from

the papyrus plant which grew plentifully

along the nile river

this medium gave the ancient egyptians a

new avenue of communication and record

keeping that allowed their

civilization's administrative skill to

grow and their culture to spread for

thousands of years

as with all great empires ancient egypt

came to an end it was eventually

conquered after a series of invasions

including those by the persian empire in

the 4th century bc and the roman empire

around 30 bc

not many civilizations can claim a

lifespan of over 3000 years let alone

one that made vast cultural

contributions that still resonate in

modern times

ancient egypt with its linguistic and

mathematical innovations

spirituality and religion

and extensive political and military

might

set a high standard for all

civilizations that followed

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