Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt as a general historical term broadly refers to the civilization of the Lower Nile Valley, between the First Cataract and the mouths of the Nile Delta, from circa 3200 BC until the conquest of Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation, it is the quintessential example of a hydraulic empire.

Language

The ancient Egyptians spoke an Afro-Asiatic language related to Chadic, Berber and Semitic languages. Records of the ancient Egyptian language have been dated to about 3200 BC. Scholars group the Egyptian language into six major chronological divisions:

Related Topics:
Afro-Asiatic language - Chadic - Berber - Semitic - Egyptian language - 3200 BC

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• Archaic Egyptian (before 2600 BC)
• Old Egyptian (2600–2000 BC)
• Middle Egyptian (2000–1300 BC)
• Late Egyptian (1300–700 BC)
• Demotic Egyptian (7th century BC–4th century AD)
• Coptic (3rd–12th century AD)

Writing

Egyptologists refer to Egyptian writing as hieroglyphs, together with the cuneiform script of Mesopotamia ranking as the world's oldest writing system. The hieroglyphic script was partly syllabic, partly ideographic.

Related Topics:
Hieroglyph - Cuneiform script - Mesopotamia - Writing system - Syllabic - Ideographic

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Hieratic is a cursive form of Egyptian hieroglyphs first used during the First Dynasty (c. 2925 BC - c. 2775 BC). The term Demotic in the context of Egypt, That is, "indigenous" from a Hellenistic point of view, came to refer to both the script and the language that followed the Late Ancient Egyptian stage from the Nubian 25th dynasty until its marginalization by the Greek Koine in the early centuries AD. After the conquest of Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Coptic language survived into the Middle Ages as the liturgical language of the Christian minority.

Related Topics:
Hieratic - Demotic - Hellenistic - Nubian - 25th dynasty - Koine - Umar ibn al-Khattab - Coptic language - Christian

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The hieroplyphic script finally fell out of use around the 4th century, and began to be rediscovered from the 15th century (see Hieroglyphica).

Related Topics:
4th century - 15th century - Hieroglyphica

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The oldest known alphabet (abjad) was also created in ancient Egypt, as a derivation from syllabic hieroglyphs, see Middle Bronze Age alphabets.

Related Topics:
Alphabet - Abjad - Middle Bronze Age alphabets

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Literature

• c.2500 BC - Westcar Papyrus
• c.1800 BC Story of Sinuhe
• c. 1800 BC - Ipuwer papyrus
• c. 1800 BC - Papyrus Harris I
• c. 1000 BC Story of Wenamun