The building of pyramids began in ancient Egypt during a time of peace known as

the Old Kingdom. The Egyptians believed so much in the afterlife that great
preparations was made for death and burial. Pyramid building was just one part of
this preparation. It started under the reign of King Zoser, when he thought about
his burial plans and called for Imhotep to design his tomb. Before the time of Zoser,
Pharaohs were buried in flat-topped brick royal tombs called mastabas. Imhoteps
design was to put one flat-topped structure on top of another, each level a few feet
smaller than the previous so that it looked like a six stone mastabas piled on top of
each other. Hence, it is known as the Step Pyramid. This design is rather a more
permanent tomb for the king because it was now made of stone instead of mud
brick. Once the body was placed in the burial room, the entrance was sealed and to
fool robbers some Egyptian royal tombs had traps and false stairs that lead
nowhere.
Another part of the Egyptian preparation for afterlife is the mummification process.
They believed that without a body a persons spirit cannot enjoy the pleasures in
afterlife. So an Egyptians body needs to be prepared before placing in a pyramid. In
light of this, the Egyptians developed a process known as embalming, a way of
protecting a body from decay. First, all the internal organs except the heart were
removed and were put inside the jars. Then the embalmers covered the body with
natron salt for about 40 days. Magic amulets like scarab were tucked next to the
body. This insures that the heart will not go against its owner during the trial in
afterlife. After the body is sealed in a coat of tree sap, it is washed and oiled then
wrapped in up to 400 yards of linen strip. Chants and magic spells were recited by
the priests after a mummy is placed in its tomb to guide the person in his journey to
the next world. These are all found in the Book of the Dead in which some parts of
the book describes a dead persons trial before a jury of the gods.
The Egyptians believed in a number of gods and some were linked with death and
afterlife. For instance, Osiris was the god of the underworld and Anubis, who
prepares the bodies of the dead for the afterlife. Anubis had the body of a human
and a head of a jackal. In a trial Anubis weighs the heart of a person against the
feather of Truth for the heart was believed to be the center of intelligence and
memory. If the soul is sinful it died a second dead but the souls of those who passed
the test would go on to a happy life.

OLD KINGDOM
The Old kingdom denoted a time of peace and security for Egypt had no powerful
foreign rival. This is the age when great pyramids were built, a time where Pharaohs
reigned the highest. It started when Menes, a warrior from Upper Egypt conquered
the Lower Egypt and ruled over the two lands. He established his capital city at
Memphis and was known to be the first of the Pharaohs. All the great pyramids were
built 400 years after his death. One of the very first pyramid is the Step pyramid, a
tomb for Pharaoh Djoser. The two biggest of all were the ones at Giza built for
Cheops and his successor Chephren. The country was again split into two when the
nobles grew in power and no longer respected the Pharaoh. This lasted for more
than 150 years and came to an end when a new family from Thebes managed to
reunite the land. Peace was again restored and this is the dawn of the Middle
Kingdom.
MIDDLE KINGDOM
The Middle Kingdom was the second great age of Egypt. It was characterized by
great engineering works like the marshy Faiyum. Trading ships and hieroglyphics
also flourished during this time. Fortresses were built around the borders to protect
the troops. But this time of peace ended when the northern and southern halves
split again and Lower Egypt were conquered by foreigners who used new weapons
including horses and chariots. They were called Hyksos but they never conquered
Thebes. After a century they were driven out by the rulers of the Upper Egypt and
Thebes became the capital of the reunited Egypt. Order was once again restored
due to the Theban Pharaohs.
NEW KINGDOM
The New Kingdom had something it had never had before, Hatshepsut, an effective
woman ruler. As a substitute for her stepson Tuthmose III, she took all the power of
the Pharaoh for herself and ruled well for 20 years. But Tuthmose III finally took
power and set out campaigns and was able to build an empire that stretched from
Syria to Sudan. Egypt became a great warrior nation. This empire lasted until the
end of the reign of his grandson, Amenophis III and started to crumble under the
reign of Akhenaten. He was known to be the most revolutionary Pharaoh Egypt has
ever had. All his efforts were in vain and his successors like Tutankhamen did their
best to wipe Akhenatens name from peoples memories. Egypts enemies took this
time to rise in power and some challenged the Pharaohs armies like the Hittites and
the Sea People of the Mediterranean, who were defeated in a naval battle with

Rameses III. The country grew weaker as invaders attacked it from time to time. The
first to attack were the Nubians, followed by the Assyrians then was conquered by
the Persians. Alexander the Great invaded Egypt and was able to defeat the
Persians. After Alexanders death, Ptolemy, one of Alexanders generals, and his
heirs ruled Egypt for the next 300 years. This is also the time of the famous
Cleopatra, the last of the Ptolemys. She killed herself rather than submit to the
Roman Empire. The way of life of the ancient Egypt gradually disappeared but its
heritage did not die. People were still able to build on the foundations it left.