Ancient Egypt timeline
About 3,000 years of pharaohs, from the first kings of a united Egypt to Cleopatra. Tap a dynasty, a pharaoh, a queen or a builder to see their names in hieroglyphs.
Early Dynastic Period c. 3000–2686 BC
Upper and Lower Egypt become one kingdom. Writing, the royal court and the first big tombs appear.
Old Kingdom c. 2686–2160 BC
The age of the pyramids, ruled from Memphis. Kings are buried under the step pyramid, then the true pyramids of Giza.
First Intermediate Period c. 2160–2055 BC
Central power breaks down; rival kings rule from Herakleopolis in the north and Thebes in the south.
Middle Kingdom c. 2055–1650 BC
Theban kings reunite Egypt. A classic age for literature and the language later scribes copied for centuries.
Second Intermediate Period c. 1650–1550 BC
The Hyksos, rulers of Asian origin, hold the north; Theban kings fight to drive them out.
New Kingdom c. 1550–1069 BC
Egypt's empire at its height: the Valley of the Kings, Karnak, Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Tutankhamun and Ramesses II.
Third Intermediate Period c. 1069–664 BC
Egypt splits between kings in the Delta and priests at Thebes, then is ruled by kings from Libya and from Kush (Nubia).
Late Period c. 664–332 BC
The last native dynasties, between two Persian conquests.
Ptolemaic Period c. 332–30 BC
Alexander the Great takes Egypt; his general Ptolemy's family rules from Alexandria until Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest.
Dates are approximate (c.) and scholars disagree; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).