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Egypt is one of the oldest constant ruling nation in Africa, and one of the world's as well. It is also the inspiration for many Africa, and Middle-Eastern culture.


History[]

Pre-History Egypt[]

C 6000 BCE OTL - Farming begins in the Nile valley.*
C 5000 BCE OTL - First evidence of people settling along the Nile Delta☩
C 4400-4000 BCE OTL - Babarian culture- people practiced agriculture and domesticated sheep and goats, -- known for pottery.☩
Already, by 4000 B.C., these peoples of the Egypt had created a form of government. The population along the river was divided into "nomes," in each of which the inhabitants were essentially of one stock, acknowledged the same totem, obeyed the same chief, and worshiped the same gods by the same rites.▫
C 4000 BCE OTL - Copper is in use in Egypt.*
C 4000-3500 BCE OTL - Amratian Society of Upper Egypt - first signs of hierarchical civilization ☩
C 3300 BCE OTL - The Naquada II period sees the growth of towns in the Nile Valley.*


Seven or eight thousand years ago, at the farthest reaches of human memory, before there was Egypt or the pyramids, North Africa was a lush and green place. There were vast grasslands and green forests stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea. Over this enormous green area, humans wandered in small groups. Eventually, about eight thousand or so years ago, some of these small groups began to plant and cultivate their food. You might say that this change, which happened so slowly that it probably took a millennium to take place, was the single most important event in human history. For it turned humans into agriculturalists. As farmers, these wandering human groups settled down in one place, and human culture, confined now to villages, radically changed shape.
This revolution, so vital to everything that follows, took shape so slowly that at least one quarter of written human history can be contained in the period of time that it took for humans to become agriculturalists. While this revolution happened all around the world, North Africa was a special case. For about the time humans slowly transformed into farmers, North Africa started to die. It died slowly and imperceptibly, but generation after generation began to notice that it was raining less frequently and that there were fewer plants. The death of the grasslands and forests slowly gave way to sand; in a few thousand years, North Africa became "The Desert" ("Sahara" means "desert" in Arabic). Humans were pushed relentlessly by the encroaching dry and sand. They were pushed south (they are still being pushed south as the Sahara continues to grow), some were pushed north into the Middle East, and some were pushed towards the Nile River. Like a solitary giant, the Nile loomed as the only source of water in the growing desert; in a sea of sand, the Nile was a thin sliver of green, growth, and life.
Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/EGYPT/PREHIST.HTM


Ancient Egypt[]

C 3300-3000 BCE OTL - The hieroglyphic script is developed.
C 3000 BCE OTL - Upper & Lower Egypt are united. Memphis is founded by Narmer.
Irrigation increases farmland, people worship the sun.
C 3000 - 2890 BCE OTL - 1st Dynasty kings buried in first royal tombs at Abydos.
2920 BCE OTL - Traditional Egyptian date for the founding of the 1st dynasty.⋆


1st Dynasty

(C 2920 - 2770 BCE OTL) During this time the capital at Memphis was founded. Papyrus was invented. Writing was used by the government. Many impressive artifacts have been found from this period.


2nd Dynasty

(C 2770 - 2650 BCE OTL) After much rivalry for the throne Hetepsekhemsy won. At this time the kings disagreed over which god, Horus and Seth, was in power. This was finally settled when Khasekhemwy became ruler. He took both titles. Disorder erupted during the end of this dynasty. There could have been a civil war.☩


3rd Dynasty(C 2650-2575 BCE OTL)
C 2686 - 2648 BCE OTL, (C 2630 according to *) Step Pyramid at Saqqara built by King Djoser.


4th Dynasty (Founded by Snofru, who establishes the powerful Old Kingdom according to *) (2575-2467 BCE OTL) During this dynasty there was a great peace. The kings were able to put their energies in art. King Khufu's Great Pyramid of Giza was built. People prayed to the sun god Re. The first religious words were written on the walls of the royal tombs.☩

The fourth dynasty of Ancient Egypt is characterized as a golden age of the Old Kingdom. It was a time of peace and prosperity as well as one during which trade with other countries is documented.
2550 - 2490 BCE OTL - Khufu (Cheops), Khephren (Chephren), and Menkare build' great pyramids.
This is where the great Nile civilizations were fostered and grew: Egypt, Nubia, Meroe. From the desperate human communities forced by the growing desert to live on the banks of the Nile grew one of the first great urban cultures of human history. However, we know almost nothing of these early pre-Egyptian communities. What did they think? What gods did they worship? How did these communities evolve into the great urban centers of the Nilotic kingdoms? Like the grass and trees swallowed by the desert, we'll never know, for they left only graves, tools, knives, pots, and garbage. No words and no speech. We do know that around 5000 BC, people began to live in villages up and down the Nile Valley, and one thousand years later these people were burying their dead with great care and ornamentation (belief in an afterlife?). Around 3800 BC, Nile culture began to flourish. Egyptians discovered the world and began to interact and trade with other cultures as far away as Mesopotamia. Egyptians became master craftspeople; they buried their dead in coffins in lavishly equipped graves; they began to develop sophisticated technologies.
This was the template on which Egyptian civilization would emerge, for out of this crucible would rise The Two Lands, the first states in human history.
(Source: http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/EGYPT/PREHIST.HTM)



⋆ Atlas of World History, 1997

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0210200/ancient_egypt/timeline.htm

http://www.love-egypt.com/ancient-egypt-history.html


For our time line's history of Egyptian seafaring, see here: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/navy.htm - "The Ancient Egyptian Navy" by Troy Fox


Mass Colonization[]

Point of Divergence 2500 BCE - A mysterious visitor of uncanny visage and in strange attire, appears at the capital proclaiming himself a god. He speaks in much detail of great lands to the west as well as the far southeast.

Soon afterwards, Egyptian shipbuilders and engineers accelerated research into nautical technology.

Within 30 years (2460) they had explored all the coastal areas of the Mediterranean.

By 2450, most of coastal Atlantic Europe and West Africa had been explored as well. At this time the Earth was on the verge of experiencing a peak in global temperatures which could allow the exploration of colder regions.

Economy[]

Government[]

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