Ancient Egypt was one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It was also one of the longest-lasting. It grew up along the Nile River. Each summer the Nile flooded. It left a layer of rich dark soil.

Around 3100 B.C., a king named Narmer joined Upper and Lower Egypt into one country. Later, Egypt's kings had pyramids built as tombs. King Djoser had a step pyramid built at Saqqara. It was made of stacked levels. Each level was a little smaller than the one beneath it.

Three giant pyramids stand at Giza, near Cairo. Three kings built them, one after another. They were Khufu, his son Khafre, and a later king, Menkaure. The biggest is the Great Pyramid. It was about 481 feet tall when it was new.

Who built them? The pyramids were built by Egyptian workers, not by slaves. Many were young men from farming villages. They worked in crews that took turns. The workers were hired and paid. Egypt had no money then, so they were paid in food, such as grain.

The Egyptians made mummies for about 3,000 years. Embalmers dried a body with natron. Natron is a salt from the edges of desert lakes. The Egyptians believed the afterlife would be almost exactly like life on Earth. So they filled tombs with things a person would need there, such as food and games.

Later, the pharaohs were buried in tombs cut into rock. These tombs are in the Valley of the Kings, near Luxor. The craftsmen who built them lived in a village called Deir el-Medina. Once, their pay was 18 days late, and they went on strike. It is called the first recorded strike in history.

Hatshepsut ruled Egypt as a pharaoh for more than twenty years. She sent a trading trip to Punt. It came back with gold, ivory, myrrh trees and exotic animals. Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of Egypt before Rome took it over.

For many years, nobody could read hieroglyphs. In 1799, French soldiers found the Rosetta Stone near the town of Rosetta. It carries one message in three kinds of writing. They are hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek. It reached London in 1802. As of November 2026, it is on display in the British Museum.

Words to know

• natron: drying salt
• pharaoh: Egyptian king
• mummies: kept bodies
• hieroglyphs: Egyptian writing
• strike: work stoppage

The short version

Ancient Egypt grew up along the Nile River, where the first settlements began. Around 3100 B.C., a king named Narmer united Upper and Lower Egypt. Egypt's kings had pyramids built as tombs, and Egyptian workers, not slaves, built them. People later read their writing again.

Quick facts

• Around 3100 B.C., a king named Narmer united the lands of Upper and Lower Egypt into one country.
• Three giant pyramids stand at Giza; the Great Pyramid was about 481 feet tall when it was new.
• The pyramids were built by Egyptian workers, not by slaves, who were hired and paid in food such as grain.
• The Rosetta Stone, found in 1799, carries one decree in hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek writing.