Ancient Egypt for Kids

The Egyptian civilization is considered as one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Historians say that human civilizations flourished along the banks of the river Nile sometime in 5000 BC. One of the most interesting ancient Egypt facts is the concept of the formation of a calendar in 7000 BC, at Nabta Playa. The ancient period of Egyptian civilization was called a golden period when the pharaohs ruled the land of the Nile. The reign of the pharaohs ended in 31 BC and Egypt was under the command of the Roman empire. The river Nile as we all know is the longest river in the world, and it played an important part in shaping up Egyptian history.

Egypt Facts for Kids

Egypt is located in the northern part of Africa and is the land which gave birth to one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Farmers first settled in Egypt along the banks of the river Nile around 5000 BC. Two kingdoms developed along the banks of the river Nile. The kingdom on one side was called Red Crown and the kingdom on the other side was called White Crown. According to facts, the pharaoh of the north conquered the south part and the land of Egypt became united. The pharaoh was a kind man and he ruled the two parts with love and justice. He founded the first capital of Egypt and named it "Memphis". It meant where two lands meet. No wars were fought for 100 of years on Egyptian land.

Ancient Egypt

Ever since I can remember, I have been fascinated with ancient Egyptian myths and facts. I have tried searching a lot about this topic and finally found few interesting points.

• A pharaoh never lets his hair down in a court room. He would always cover his hair with a crown or a headdress called a nemes. (the striped cloth headdress made famous by Tutankhamen's golden mask.)
• Pepi II of Egypt kept several naked slaves around him and smeared their bodies with honey to prevent flies from landing on his head.
• Both Egyptian men and women wear make up. Eye paint was commonly applied, green (made from copper) was used by females and black (made from lead) was worn by males. In ancient Egyptian culture, it was believed that eye paint protected them from harmful sunrays.
• We all know that the practice of antibiotics didn't begin till the start of the 20th century. Ancient Egyptians used folk medicine such as moldy foods or soil for treating various health ailments.
• Life in ancient Egypt for kids was very different. Because of the hot weather, they were not allowed to wear clothes until they reach their teens. Men wore skirts while women wear dresses.
• It's still not known who destroyed the nose of the famous "Sphinx". Historians have founded sketches of the Sphinx without the nose which were dated in 1737. This means that the nose was broken 60 years before Napoleon invaded Egypt and 100 years before the start of the World War I.
• In ancient Egyptian temples, the pharaoh was crowned as the chief priest and was supposed to carry duties of a high priest. However, this was not possible and chief priests used to step up and perform his duties.
• The first Egyptian pyramid was built around 2600 BC. It was surrounded by a 34 feet tall wall and had 15 doors in it, of which only one opened.
• When a body was mummified, the brain was removed. Soldiers also removed one nostril and the intestines, and placed them in jars.

One of the reasons that the Egyptians were able to develop an advanced civilization was because they were surrounded by deserts. This kept invaders out of their land. One of the most ancient Egypt facts was that they had established a stable government thousands of years ago. They were happy in their own space which gave them enough time to come up with some ancient Egyptian inventions such as writing, building effective dams, and of course the magnificent pyramids.