Expert: Ernest Tufft - 7/10/2008

Question
hello mr Ernest
plesse can you help me to know about the old Egypt civilization
thank you

Answer
HI Hanna,

You are correct in including the ancient Egyptian civilization under the category of Africa.  Egypt is so famous because of the excellent preservation of the tombs and stone monuments within the hot dry climate of North Africa.  While Sumerian civilization of what is modern Iraq dates back further in time, their use of clay brick, which erodes with rain, rather than sandstone and granite, made preservation much more difficult.  Thus, the most comprehensive ancient civilization we know is that of ancient Egypt.  The history of Egypt is very long, some 50 centuries back in time.  20 centuries back, the Romans had great influence over the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt.  This was the time of Cleopatra.  30 to 40 centuries back, Egypt faced military competition with the Hittities and other ancient empires to the north, while also keeping out invaders from the south.  This was the time of Ramses, who enslaved the Israelites, among many other tribes in the area.  Also, this was the time of King Tut, Neferteri, and many others who were buried in the Valley of the Kings.  50 centuries back, the Egyptian pharoahs were regarded as gods with unlimited power.  This was the time of the Great Pyramids at Giza, and the beginnings of hieroglyphic writing, the basis for all that we know about the Egyptians.  Everthing before this time is "pre-historic".  The pre-historic period includes much that we do not understand today.  For example, just how did the Egyptians learn to build pyramids.  We do guess that during the building of dikes and levees to control the Nile River, the Pharoahs must have gain considerable political advantage, as this was a great engineeringn feat requiring enormous organization of men away from their daily work planting crops.

To learn more and see images of Egypt, go to my pages at Virtualtourist.com, under the key words, Luxor, Aswan, Giza, and Egypt.