The Ancient Egyptian empire thrived for 3,000 years. It arose, much like numerous other sovereign realms, from the ashes of fragmented and battling territories and transformed into a nation that resounded throughout North Africa and beyond.
It became a hub of art and spirituality, where science and mysticism coalesced. However, those illustrious periods and the pinnacles of human accomplishment that rivaled even the greatest achievements of Greece and Rome were not realized in mere moments.
Long before the Assyrians invaded, prior to the Persian onslaught, ahead of the Greek conquests and the Roman annexations, the Egyptians experienced their own cycles of rise and decline. Darker eras also emerged between these periods (three of them, termed the Intermediate Periods), but the saga of Ancient Egypt has been characterized by three notable phases: the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the New Kingdom. During the Old Kingdom, a time marked by cultural renaissance and grand constructions, the iconic edifices that have withstood the test of time were erected.
The Middle Kingdom marked an era of reformation and national unity. Subsequently, the New Kingdom saw the aggressive expansion of territory and an unprecedented flourishing of culture. Ancient Egypt was not solely a time of military expansion; it was also a period brimming with innovation.
The Egyptians pioneered early forms of cosmetics, particularly for the eyes; they were among the earliest civilizations (along with Mesopotamia) to develop a sophisticated written script; they produced papyrus millennia before the Chinese invented paper; they devised the foundational calendar that we still adhere to today; and they might even be credited with inventing bowling as well as early versions of breath mints.
In essence, they were a civilization unlike any other we have encountered before or since. Deities, pharaohs, pyramids, the art of mummification, agriculture, and much more contributed to establishing the Ancient Egyptians as one of the most captivating and intelligent societies in the course of human history.
@ Bhautik Thummar