Old Kingdom
The Old Kingdom is the period in the third millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilisational complexity and achievement (the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods which mark the high points of civilization in the Nile Valley), spanning the period when Egypt was ruled by the Third Dynasty through the Sixth Dynasty (2686–2181 BC). Many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralised at Memphis. The Old Kingdom was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period—or, as the Egyptians called it, the "first illness."
The royal capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom was located at Memphis, where Djoser established his court. The Old Kingdom is perhaps best known, however, for the large number of pyramids which were constructed at this time as pharaonic burial places. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids".
Read more about this topic: List Of Pharaohs
Famous quotes containing the word kingdom:
“He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.””
—Bible: New Testament, Matthew 13:31,32.
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in John, 3:3.
Spoken to the Pharisee Nicodemus.