The Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs

Hi guys, have you ever imagined what it'd be like to be an Egyptian pharaoh? You could build your own tombs. You could build a statue or lots of statues of yourself. You'd have a ton of gold. You could live forever and you could tell your story your way. Ancient Egypt enjoyed three long periods of stability and unity under the rule of the pharaohs. Historians call these periods kingdoms. You've got the old, the middle, and the new. During the Old Kingdom, the early pharaohs set up a strong central government and built pyramids for their tombs. This became the Age of Pyramids. The Middle Kingdom came after years of chaos and is known as the period of reunification. During this kingdom, the Egyptians had great advances in literature, art, and architecture. The New Kingdom was known as Egypt's Golden Age. It was a time of peace and stability. Egypt's power reached its height and the pharaohs increased trade and built gigantic monuments. Okay, let's talk about these pharaohs starting with the pharaoh Khufu. He's from the Old Kingdom and is best known for building the Great Pyramid at Giza. Now other pharaohs of the Old Kingdom built pyramids as tombs also, but nobody's matched the size of Khufu's. His was made of over 2 million stone blocks that fit perfectly together. Nobody knows how the Egyptians did it, but he created one of the ancient wonders of the world. Our next pharaoh is Sinasret I. He ruled during the Middle Kingdom when Egypt was stable and unified. Because of this, art, literature, and architecture flourished under his reign. Craftspeople created beautiful jewelry made of gold, copper, and gems. Sinasret is best known for building the White Chapel. This was made of alabaster and possibly covered in a thin layer of gold. It had beautiful artwork throughout the entire chapel. Our next pharaoh is one of my personal favorites, the pharaoh Hatshepsut. She, that's right, she was one of Egypt's first female pharaohs. As a female, Hatshepsut strengthened her power in many ways. She filled her government with loyal advisers. She demanded the same respect as male rulers. She sometimes wore men's clothing and even wore the fake beard, a sign of the pharaoh. Hatshepsut was a great ruler. Her reign was peaceful and art and architecture flourished. Her greatest architectural achievement was her temple at Deir al-Bahri, where she depicts her life in pictures. Lastly, Hatshepsut is best known for trading with other countries and spreading Egyptian influence to other lands. Our last pharaoh is Ramses II of the New Kingdom. He's known for his building projects and his military might. Ramses became captain of the Egyptian army at age 10 and defended Egypt's borders for 60 years. However, he is also known for signing the world's first peace treaty with the Hittites, a group that constantly threatened Egypt's northern borders. In addition, Ramses built more temples and monuments than any other pharaoh in history. His temple at Abu Simbel is an example of his massive architecture. Along with some of the statues of himself that he built all over Egypt. Another interesting fact about Ramses is that his mummy is one of the best preserved mummies ever found. Okay, let's recap. So Egypt's history is broken into three kingdoms, the old, the middle, and the new. And four of their famous pharaohs were Khufu, who built the Great Pyramid at Giza, Senusret I, who built the White Chapel, Hatshepsut, who traded with other countries, and Ramses II, who was a great military leader and builder. What kind of pharaoh would you be?