PHARAOHS

Ancient Egyptian pharaohs were considered to be both divine deities as well as mortal rulers. Throughout the 30+ dynasties in ancient Egyptian history, it is speculated that some 170 or more rulers reigned over the great land of Egypt during a three thousand year time span.

The throne of Egypt was primarily intended to be succeeded from father to son, however in many cases this line of kingship was interrupted by murder, mayhem and mysterious disappearances.

Each time a new family took control of the throne, a new kingdom began in the history of this fascinating nation. While rulers often intermarried with daughters, granddaughters, sisters and brothers to keep the throne within the family the throne still managed to shift hands multiple times; creating a dynamic, and often, complex ancient pharonic history.

TUTANKHAMUN

King Tutankhamun [toot-tan-kha-mon] became an Egyptian pharaoh in 1333 BC, when he was only nine years old. He ruled Egypt for nine years until he died at the age of 18 in 1325 BC.

Although he was not an important king, Tutankhamun is well known today because his tomb contained amazing treasures and was found almost untouched by a British archaeologist in 1922, almost 3,000 years after he had been buried. King Tutankhamun was buried in a tomb deep in the Valley of the Kings, a place where royal Egyptians were buried.

It was believed that whoever entered Tut's tomb would immediately die because of a curse placed on his tomb. Several workers did die, but they died from bacteria sealed in the tomb, not the curse. The bacteria got on the workers' food and in the air they breathed, killing them.

The archaeologists discovered many treasures in King Tut's tomb including thrones, beds, chariots, cloths, and statues of gods. Most of his treasures were made from gold, ivory, and precious stones. His coffin was the most magnificent. It was made from solid gold, and weighed 2,500 pounds. Today it is worth $13 million. The headpiece is a stunning example of ancient goldsmith's art. It was made of gold, ebony, and turquoise, and it was lined with many different stones and coloured glass.

There were 4 rooms in his burial chamber. They held more than 5,000 objects, including finely carved chests, beds, chariots, linens, clothing, jewellery, statues of Tut and Egyptian gods, figures of animals, models of ships, and toys.

A chest held his canopic jars, with his liver, intestines, lungs, and stomach inside them. The four canopic jars were essentially small copies of the king’s second coffin. Tut's outer golden shrine was protected by four goddesses, Isis, Nephthys, Neit, and Selket.

RAMSES II

Ramses II became King of Egypt when he was about 30 years old in 1279 BC. He was king for 67 years until 1212 BC. He had a lot of wives, 111 sons and 51 daughters.

Ramses II was a great warrior. During his fourth year as pharaoh, Ramses II fought to regain the territory in Africa and western Asia that had been taken by the Hittites. He fought in a series of campaigns against the Hittites, a very strong enemy. The war ended when Ramses II made an agreement with the Prince of the Hittites to divide the land between the two groups. Egypt agreed not to trespass on the Hittites territory and the Hittites agreed not to trespass on Egyptian territory.

Ramses II was also a great builder. He built many temples throughout his empire.

RAMSES III

By the time of Ramses III (1182 - 1151 BC), the world was going through great change. During the first few years of his reign, Ramses III brought his country together.  Ramses III was a great military leader who repeatedly saved the country from invasion.

Ramses III was also a builder of temples and palaces. His victories are depicted on the walls on his temple at Medinet Habu, near Luxor. 

Ramses III had two wives and several minor wives. Tiye, one of his minor wives was the cause of his destruction. She wanted to kill Ramses because she wanted her son, Prince Pentaweret, on the throne. She and her army plotted to kill Ramses III using magic wax and poison. The plot failed but not until after Ramses III was mortally wounded. They were arrested and went to trial.

Ramses III died before the trial was completed.  Ramses III was the last of the great rulers of Ancient Egypt. His death was followed by centuries of weakness and the Egyptian empire was ruled by foreigners.

KHUFU

King Sneferu, Khufu's father, built the Bent pyramid. The building gene must have run in the family because Khufu built a pyramid, the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Khufu did not use slaves to build the Great Pyramid. Instead people who could not stay at their homes because of the Nile River’s annual flooding built the pyramid. In return they got clothes, food, and other objects needed daily by their families.

Khufu must have been a great organizer and commander to get so many people together to build such an amazing pyramid. That’s probably why it was named as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

HATSHEPSUT

Hatshepsut was the first wife and queen of Thutmose II. They ruled Egypt until from 1518 BC until Thutmose II died in 1504 BC.

When Thutmose II died, Hatshepsut proclaimed herself Pharaoh, making her the first woman to rule Ancient Egypt. She remained in power until 1484 BC.

During the time of Hatshepsut's reign, the Egyptian economy flourished, and she expanded trading relations. She built many magnificent temples and other buildings.

CLEOPATRA VII 

Cleopatra VII, was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes, the King of Egypt. She had two older sisters and two younger brothers. She was one of the most fascinating women in history. She was known for her intelligence, charm, wit, and ambition.

When she was 17 years old, her father died and left her and her 10 year old brother, Ptolemy XIII, in charge of Egypt.

When the Roman military leader Julius Caesar was in Egypt, he fell in love with Cleopatra. After a few years they moved to Rome. They lived there until Caesar was killed in 44 BC. She returned to Egypt where she married her brother, Ptolemy XIII, who was also the ruler of Egypt. After a while, she had her brother poisoned and became Queen of Egypt.

Mark Anthony, another Roman general, fell in love with Cleopatra and married her. He wanted to become the ruler of Rome. Cleopatra saw it as an opportunity to expand her power. She wanted to rule the eastern side of the Roman Empire. Mark Antony and Cleopatra ruled this empire from 41 BC - 31 BC.

While Cleopatra and Mark Antony were in Rome, their army was defeated by another Roman general, Octavius. They fled back to Egypt. Hearing a false report that Cleopatra had killed herself, Mark Antony killed himself by falling on his sword. With Octavius’ army set to capture her, Cleopatra also killed herself.