Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Egyptians shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Egyptians offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Egyptians at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Egyptians? Wrong! If the Egyptians is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Egyptians then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Egyptians? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Egyptians and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Egyptians wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Egyptians then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Egyptians site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Egyptians, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Egyptians, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Ethnic group|group = Egyptians
(مَصريين Mareyyīn)
( ni.Ramenkīmi)|image = Saad Zaghlul • Prince Rahotep of the Old Kingdom • Sherine • Muhammad Abduh • Boutros Boutros-Ghali • Nefertiti • Abraam Bishop of Fayoum • Abdel Halim Hafez • commons:Fayum mummy portraits • Naguib Mahfouz (2004)Moll, Yasmin. Brain Drain: Egypt's diaspora. Egypt Today. August 2004.|region1 = |pop1= 76.4 million|region2=|pop2=900,000 (2004)|ref2=|region3=|pop3= 333,000 (1999)|ref3=|region4=|pop4=318,000 (2000)|ref4=|region5=|pop5=227,000 (1999)|ref5=|region6=|pop6=191,000 (1999)|ref6=|region7=|pop7=140,000 (2002)|ref7=|region8=|pop8=110,000 (2000)|ref8=|region9=|pop9=90,000 (2000)|ref9=|region10=|pop10=70,000 (2000)|ref10=|region11=|pop11=66,000 (1999)|ref11=|region12=|pop12=60,000 (2000)|ref12=|region13=|pop13=40,000 (2000)|ref13=|region14=|pop14=40,000 (2000)|ref14=|region15=|pop15=36,000 (2000)|ref15=|region16=|pop16=35,000 (2000)|ref16=|region17=|pop17=14,000 (2000)|ref17=|region18=|pop18=14,000 (2000)|ref18=|region19=|pop19=12,000 (2000)|ref19=|region20=|pop20=11,000 (2005)|ref20=|langs = [Egyptian Arabic, Egyptian language/Coptic language|rels = Predominantly Sunni Islam and Coptic Orthodox Church, with minorities of Sufism, Shiism, Coptic Catholic Church, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and Atheism, [Nubians-->The Egyptians (Egyptian language: ; Coptic language: ni.ramenkīmi; Arabic language: مِصريّون ; Egyptian Arabic: مَصريين ) are a North African ethnic group native to Egypt. Egyptian identity is rooted in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivatable land stretching from the Cataracts of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by vast deserts. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society in Ancient Egypt.

The Egyptian people have spoken only languages from the northern branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages throughout their history, from old Egyptian language to today's vernacular Egyptian Arabic. Their religion is predominantly Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi tariqah.Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. Sufism: A persecuted majority in Egypt. May 2005. A large minority of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic language, is the latest stage of the indigenous Egyptian language.

Names of the Egyptians





Demographics and society river are part of today's landscape in Egypt's capital city.There are an estimated 79 million Egyptians in the world, but the vast majority live in Egypt where they constitute 97-98% (76.4 million) of the total population. Approximately 90% of Egyptians are Muslim and 10% are Christian (9% Coptic Christianity, 1% other Christian). Almost all live near the banks of the Nile River where the only arable land is found. Close to a half of the Egyptian people today are urban, living in the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities. Most of the rest are fellahin or farmers leading humble lives in rural towns and villages. A large influx of fellahin into urban towns and cities, and rapid urbanization of many rural areas since the turn of the last century, have shifted the balance between the number of urban and rural Egyptians.

Egyptians also form smaller minorities in the countries that neighbour them, in particular Saudi Arabia and Libya where they are mostly temporary professionals and workers, as well as in other countries as immigrants, notably in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Greece and France. It is also a matter of dispute whether the Egyptians (Balkans) of the Balkans are ethnic Egyptians.

The Egyptians are an autochthonous people deeply attached to their land. Historically, it was rare for Egyptians to leave their country permanently or for an extended period of time—it was not until the 1970s that Egyptians began to emigrate in large numbers. Until only recently, a study on the pattern of Egyptian emigration was quoted as saying "Egyptians have a reputation of preferring their own soil. Few leave except to study or travel; and they always return... Egyptians do not emigrate."qtd. in Talani, p. 20 Egyptians also tend to be provincial, meaning their attachment extends not only to Egypt but to the specific Governorates of Egypt, towns and villages from which they hail. Therefore, return migrants, such as temporary workers abroad, come back to their region of origin in Egypt.

A sizable Egyptian diaspora did not begin to form until well into the 1980s, today numbering nearly 3 million (2004 est). Generally, those who emigrate to the United States and western European countries tend to do so with the intention of settling permanently, while Egyptians migrating to neighboring countries in the Middle East only go there to work with the intention of returning to Egypt:

in or farmers. The percentage was much higher at the turn of the last century, before rapid urbanization and large-scale in-migration shifted Egypt's demographics.Egyptian emigration is primarily motivated by economic and political considerations. High rates of unemployment and population growth are two of the socioeconomic conditions that steadily deteriorated following the 1952 coup d'état, leading scores of Egyptians to seek better opportunities in foreign countries. Political repression and human rights violations by Egypt's ruling régime are other contributing factors (see Egypt#Human rights). Egyptians have also been impacted by the wars between Egypt and Israel, particularly after the Six-Day War in 1967, when migration rates began to rise. In August 2006, Egyptians made headlines when 11 students from Mansoura University failed to show up at their United States host institutions for a cultural exchange program in the hope of finding employment.Mitchell, Josh. Egyptians came for jobs, then built lives. Baltimore Sun. August 13, 2006. Many Copt also leave the country due to discrimination and harassment by the Egyptian government and Islamist groups.

Egyptians in neighboring countries face additional challenges. Over the years, abuse, exploitation and/or ill-treatment of Egyptian workers and professionals in the Arab Gulf States, Iraq and Libya have been reported by the Egyptian Human Rights OrganizationEHRO. Migrant workers in SAUDI ARABIA. March 2003. and different media outlets.IRIN. EGYPT: Migrant workers face abuse. March 7, 2006.Evans, Brian. Plight of Foreign Workers in Saudi Arabia. Arab nationals have in the past expressed fear over an "'Egyptianization' of the local dialects and culture that were believed to have resulted from the predominance of Egyptians in the field of education" (see also Egyptian Arabic#Geographic distribution). Twice Libya was on the brink of war with Egypt due to mistreatment of Egyptian workers and after the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty with Israel.AfricaNet. Libya. When the Gulf War ended, Egyptian workers in Iraq were subjected to harsh measures and expulsion by the Iraqi government and to violent attacks by Iraqis returning from the war to fill the workforce.Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 432

Origins King Ramesses II.Over the years, the findings of archaeology, biological anthropology and population genetics have shed light on the origins of the Egyptians. The indigenous Nile Valley population became firmly established during the Pleistocene when nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along the Nile river. Traces of these proto-Egyptians appear in the form of artifacts and rock carvings in the terraces of the Nile and the desert oases. Beginning in the Predynastic Egypt, some differences between the populations of Upper and Lower Egypt were ascertained through their skeletal remains, suggesting a gradual Cline (population genetics) pattern north to south.Batrawi A (1945). The racial history of Egypt and Nubia, Part I. J Roy Anthropol Inst 75:81-102.Batrawi A. 1946. The racial history of Egypt and Nubia, Part II. J Roy Anthropol Inst 76:131-156.Keita SOY (1990). Studies of ancient crania from northern Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 83:35–48.Keita SOY (1992). Further studies of crania from ancient northern Africa: an analysis of crania from First Dynasty Egyptian tombs. Am J Phys Anthropol 87:245–254.

When Lower and Upper Egypt were unified c. 3150 BC, the distinction began to blur, resulting in a more "homogeneous" population in Egypt, though the distinction remains true to some degree to this day.Berry AC, Berry RJ, Ucko PJ (1967). Genetical change in ancient Egypt. Man 2:551–568.Brace CL, Tracer DP, Yaroch LA, Robb J, Brandt K, Nelson AR (1993). Clines and clusters versus "race:" a test in ancient Egypt and the case of a death on the Nile. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 36:1–31. Some biological anthropologists such as Shomarka Keita believe the range of variability to be primarily indigenous and not necessarily the result of significant intermingling of widely divergent peoples.Keita SOY and Rick A. Kittles. The Persistence of Racial Thinking and the Myth of Racial Divergence. American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Sep., 1997), pp. 534-544 Keita describes the northern and southern patterns of the early Predynastic Egypt period as "northern-Egyptian-Maghreb" and "tropical African variant" (overlapping with Nubia/Kush) respectively. He shows that a progressive change in Upper Egypt toward the northern Egyptian pattern takes place through the predynastic period. The southern pattern continues to predominate in Abydos, Egypt, Upper Egypt by the First dynasty of Egypt, but "lower Egyptian, Maghrebian, and European patterns are observed also, thus making for great diversity."Keita 1992, p. 251

A 2006 bioarchaeology study on the dental morphology of ancient Egyptians by Prof. Joel Irish shows dental traits characteristic of indigenous North Africans and to a lesser extent Southwest Asian populations. Among the samples included in the study is skeletal material from the commons:Fayum mummy portraits, which clustered very closely with the Badarian series of the Predynastic Egypt period. All the samples, particularly those of the Dynastic period, were significantly divergent from a neolithic West Saharan sample from Lower Nubia. Biological continuity was also found intact from the dynastic to the post-pharaonic periods. According to Irish:

Egyptian samples mummies exhibit morphologically simple, mass-reduced dentitions that are similar to those in populations from greater North Africa (Irish, 1993, 1998a–c, 2000) and, to a lesser extent, western Asia and Europe (Turner, 1985a; Turner and Markowitz, 1990; Roler, 1992; Lipschultz, 1996; Irish, 1998a). Similar craniofacial measurements among samples from these regions were reported as well (Brace et al., 1993)... an inspection of MMD values reveals no evidence of increasing phenetic distance between samples from the first and second halves of this almost 3,000-year-long period. For example, phenetic distances between First-Second Dynasty Abydos and samples from Fourth Dynasty Saqqara (MMD ¼ 0.050), 11-12th Dynasty Thebes (0.000), 12th Dynasty Lisht (0.072), 19th Dynasty Qurneh (0.053), and 26th–30th Dynasty Giza (0.027) do not exhibit a directional increase through time... Thus, despite increasing foreign influence after the Second Intermediate Period, not only did Egyptian culture remain intact (Lloyd, 2000a), but the people themselves, as represented by the dental samples, appear biologically constant as well... Gebel Ramlah Nubian/Western Desert sample is, in fact, significantly different from Badari based on the 22-trait MMD (Table 4). For that matter, the Neolithic Western Desert sample is significantly different from all others is closest to predynastic and early dynastic samples.Irish pp. 10-11

A group of noted physical anthropologists conducted craniofacial studies of Egyptian skeletal remains and concluded similarly that "the Egyptians have been in place since back in the Pleistocene and have been largely unaffected by either invasions or migrations. As others have noted, Egyptians are Egyptians, and they were so in the past as well."Brace et al. 1993

genetic genealogy analysis of modern Egyptians reveals that they have Haplogroup#Y chromosome DNA haplogroups lineages common to indigenous North Africans/Berber people populations primarily, and to Near Eastern peoples to a lesser extent. These lineages would have spread during the Neolithic and maintained by the Predynastic Egypt. Studies based on Haplogroup#Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups lineages also link Egyptians with people from modern Eritrea/Ethiopia such as the Tigre people.

University of Chicago Egyptologist Frank Yurco confirmed this finding of historical and regional continuity, saying:

Certainly there was some foreign admixture Egypt, but basically a homogeneous African population had lived in the Nile Valley from ancient to modern times... Badarian people, who developed the earliest Predynastic Egyptian culture, already exhibited the mix of North African and Sub-Saharan physical traits that have typified Egyptians ever since (Hassan 1985; Yurco 1989; Trigger 1978; Keita 1990; Brace et al., this volume)... The peoples of Egypt, the Sudan, and much of East Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia are now generally regarded as a Nilotic (i.e. Nile River) continuity, with widely ranging physical features (complexions light to dark, various hair and craniofacial types) but with powerful common cultural traits, including cattle pastoralist traditions (Trigger 1978; Bard, Snowden, this volume). Language research suggests that this Saharan-Nilotic population became speakers of the Afro-Asiatic languages... Semitic was evidently spoken by Saharans who crossed the Red Sea into Arabia and became ancestors of the Semitic speakers there, possibly around 7000 BC... In summary we may say that Egypt was distinct North African culture rooted in the Nile Valley and on the Sahara.Frank Yurco, "An Egyptological Review" in Mary R. Lefkowitz and Guy MacLean Rogers, eds. Black Athena Revisited. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. p. 62-100

History Egyptians may have the longest continuous history of any people, spanning a period of some 7,000 years. The Egyptians' recorded history starts with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3150 BC, an event that sparked the beginning of Egypt's Ancient Egypt. A succession of thirty mostly native dynasties ruled for the next three Millennium, during which Egyptian culture flourished and remained distinctively Egyptian in its Egyptian mythology, Art of ancient Egypt, Egyptian language and Ancient Egypt. Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC, giving rise to the Ptolemaic Egypt which introduced Hellenistic civilization culture to the Egyptians, but continued to rule according to ancient Egyptian traditions. This stability shifted when the Egyptians fell under Aegyptus (Roman province) rule, most notably with the introduction of Coptic Christianity in Egypt by Mark the Evangelist in the 1st century AD. The Egyptians were soon incorporated within the Byzantine Empire fold and remained so until the 7th century AD, when Egypt became part of the Islamic conquest of Egypt following Amr ibn al-A'as's conquest that brought Islam to Egypt. Egyptians were ruled by a succession of Arabs, Mamluk Circassians, Ottoman Turks and English people until independence was reasserted in 1922 and a republic was declared in 1953.

Prehistory Archaeology findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the Ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs began. By about 5500 BC, Egypt was inhabited by settled communities of people who cultivated emmer wheat and barley, made pottery, weaved linen and raised sheep, goats and cattle. Before the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, northern Egyptians seem to have been somewhat culturally distinct from their neighbors to the south. Surviving evidence for early settlement in Lower Egypt such as pottery, houses and burial sites appear different from those of the Upper Egyptians. The earliest known predynastic northern Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the earliest in Upper Egypt, the Badarian, by about 700 years.Watterson, Barbara. The Egyptians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 1997. p. 30. However, later predynastic Lower Egyptians were in contact with not only contemporaneous southern Egyptians, but also with people from the Levant and with the Sumerians of Uruk, as some of the plants cultivated and the pottery types found in Lower Egypt resemble those of neighboring cultures.Midant-Reynes, Béatrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 2000. p. 219.

Prehistoric Lower Egyptians already believed in an existence after death, as attested by their grave goods.Watterson, p. 30. Each province before the unification of Egypt acquired its own animal deity. Wadjet and Bast (goddess) were worshipped in the Nile delta towns of Buto and Bubastis respectively, while Thoth and Wepwawet were the Upper Egyptian deities of Hermopolis and Asyut. The predynastic settlements of Upper Egypt displayed more elaborate funerary practices and artifacts that were more clearly the direct predecessors of those of the dynastic Egyptians. Significantly, the earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appears on Naqada III pottery vessels dated to about 3200 BC.Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. During the predynastic and Protodynastic Period of Egypt periods, the southern Egyptian cities of Nekheb, Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) and Abydos, Egypt were major centers of power. The first attempt to conquer Lower Egypt seems to have been made by a king from Nekhen known as Scorpion, but it would be another 100 years or so before another upper Egyptian king successfully unified the two lands.Watterson, p. 42

Dynastic period believed to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.The beginning of the Egyptians' recorded history starts with the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt by the Upper Egyptian king Narmer (identified with the pharaoh Menes). He founded Ancient Egypt's First dynasty of Egypt around 3150 BC. To strengthen his political role, King Menes/Narmer married the northern Egyptian princess Neithotep and took on the title of Ancient Egyptian royal titulary#The Nebty (Two Ladies) Name, i.e., Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt and Wadjet the cobra goddess worshipped by the Lower Egyptians, as a symbol of the unification. Herodotus, like the Egyptian historian Manetho, associated the unification with King Menes. He also indicated that Menes founded the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt in Lower Egypt, which became the new capital of the unified country. The Egyptians from this point onwards referred to the country as tAwy, Two Lands, a name that came to predominate until the New Kingdom period when the name km.t (Coptic language: kīmi), Black Land, was more commonly used. The first two dynasties of Egypt were each ruled by eight kings and lasted for a combined period of nearly 400 years.

Old Kingdom , Fourth dynasty of Egypt.

By the end of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, a strong centralized government was firmly established with Memphis as its capital city, and the foundations of the first peak period of Egyptian civilization were laid. The following era in Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom (c. 2700−2200 BC), is particularly famous for its magnificent superstructures, many of which served as royal tombs for the pharaohs. They were state-sponsored projects built in the Third dynasty of Egypt and Fourth dynasty of Egypt dynasties and in which the whole of the Egyptian population often participated. Building typically commenced during the Nile's Inundation when agricultural lands were submerged in water and people could not farm. King Djoser's Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, engineered by the famous architect and physician Imhotep, and the Giza pyramid complex are among this period's most famous examples. They are a testament to the Egyptians' extraordinary competence in astronomy and mathematics very early in their history. It is believed that many parts of famous medical papyri that appear in later periods, particularly the Edwin Smith papyrus, were written during this period by Imhotep and other Egyptian doctors.Nunn, John F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. p. 11

.Egyptian Egyptian mythology and Egyptian hieroglyphs took definitive shape in the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods. The local pantheon, which had been in the predynastic period confined to sacred animal deities, expanded to include cosmic gods representing the sun, moon, sky and wind. This constituted an effort toward greater philosophical and intellectual development.Watterson, p. 65 Solar worship embodied in the cults of Ra and Atum—subsequently Atum-Ra—came to particular prominence in the Old Kingdom. Other important deities during this period were Hathor, Ptah and Horus. The art of Mummy was also honed before the end of this period. The oldest known mummy dates to the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and was found in Saqqara.Watterson p. 69 Lasting for an estimated 500 years, the Old Kingdom was the quintessential Egyptian civilization. Insular and unchallenged from abroad, the Egyptians enjoyed a time of continuous prosperity and stability unmatched by any other period, leading one historian to describe it as the "Peaceable Kingdom of historical memory."Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 5

Middle Kingdom {| style="border: 0px" align="left"|--| depicted in statue: Lion-headed with flared mane, Twelfth dynasty of Egypt.|--|, c. 1525 BC.|}

A period of political fragmentation led to the First Intermediate Period of Egypt. It lasted for about 150 years during which central authority and social order were maintained by local governors. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Amenemhat III. Thebes, Egypt (modern Luxor) became the new capital during the Eleventh dynasty of Egypt, though government administration remained in Memphis. Egyptians regularly traded with their neighbors to the south and east, and their political influence extended into those areas. However, land cultivation and stock raising remained the foundation of Egypt's economy, as they would during the course of Egyptian history. The state did not institute a system of coinage until the Late Period of Ancient Egypt—most business hitherto was conducted by barter.Watterson, p. 62 The Middle Kingdom became a golden age of Egyptian literature thanks to a large body of textual evidence that made this stage of Egyptian language (i.e., Middle Egyptian) the classical phase of the language.

The end of the Middle Kingdom was brought about by a decline in central authority which led to Egypt being occupied for the first time during its dynastic history. The Hyksos invaders were a Semitic people who took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC, and founded a new capital at Avaris. They ruled as Egyptian pharaohs and their names were often inscribed on scarabs bearing both the their Semitic and Egyptian titles. Hyksos rule lasted just over 100 years when they were eventually driven out by the native Egyptian nobleman Ahmose I. Despite the Hyksos' attempt to rule according to native Egyptian traditions, the Egyptians' perception of them was consistently negative. They were depicted as "uncouth barbarians who 'ruled without Re.'"Jankowski, p. 6 Ahmose took to the throne in a re-unified Egypt, and with his rule began a period of Egyptian independence as well as expansion into surrounding regions.

New Kingdom , Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, c. 1333 – 1324 BC.

The New Kingdom is perhaps the most celebrated period of Egyptian history. Lasting from roughly 1550 to 1070 BC, the period marked the rise of Egypt as an international power. Ahmose founded the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt and relocated the capital to Thebes, Egypt, though once again Memphis remained the administrative capital. The Egyptians emerged from the shock of the Hyksos invasion determined to protect Egypt's national and territorial integrity. The Egyptian army developed into a well-organized service made up of professionally trained soldiers. International relations became a primary concern for the New Kingdom pharaohs. Egyptians were introduced to many foreign ideas, some of which they adopted and incorporated into their lifestyle. As in most periods, agriculture and stock farming continued to be the mainstays of Egyptian economy. The introduction of the shaduf from western Asia helped develop more efficient methods of irrigation. Amun rose to become a state god and was syncretism with Ra as Amun-Ra. The main Precinct of Amon-Re built in Thebes is the largest structure in the Karnak complex.

Perhaps this period is best known for some of its rulers. Queen Hatshepsut was one of only a few Egyptian female rulers and their most influential. She sent trade missions as far south as the coast of modern Eritrea, and her numerous building projects, most notably her mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri, were rivaled only by those of her Old Kingdom predecessors. Thutmose III, dubbed the Napoleon of Egypt, pushed Egypt's southern frontier to the Fourth Cataract in Nubia, then conquered and subsequently founded protectorates in the Levant. He undertook a building program at Karnak, including the festival temple "Effective of Monuments" in the precinct of Amun.Besty M. Bryan. 18th Dynasty before the Amarna Period (c. 1550-1352 BC) in Shaw, p. 259 Akhenaten with his wife Nefertiti revolutionized Egyptian religion, albeit briefly, with the solar monotheism of Aten. Young King Tutankhamun is world famous for his magnificent tomb found intact. Ramesses II conducted many successful military campaigns and signed what may be the world's first peace treaty.Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 1997. p. 257 He constructed many impressive monuments, including the renowned archaeological complex of Abu Simbel and the memorial temple of Ramesseum. Ramesses III was the last of the great pharaohs of the New Kingdom, under whose rule Egypt reached a peak of prosperity.Watterson, p. 123

Late period was Egypt's last native Pharaoh, 360 − 343 BC.

When the New Kingdom came to an end, the priests of Amun and the military had become powerful and independent at the expense of the throne. By 1200 BC, Egypt was under repeated attacks by Berber people from the west and invaders from the Aegean Sea region referred to as the Sea Peoples. The country fell into the chaos of the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt during which authority was divided among several competing nomarchs. The 22nd through the 25th dynasties were made up entirely of Libyan and Nubian/Kushite rulers. The Assyrians invaded and took of control of Egypt in the 7th century BC, but soon a native Egyptian dynasty drove out the Assyrians and reclaimed the throne. The Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt began the Saïte period which witnessed another period of Egyptian independence as well as a cultural revival. The first Saïte king, Psammetichus I, founded a new capital at Sais, Egypt and reunified upper and lower Egypt. Egyptians looked at the Old Kingdom, by then a 2000-year-old civilization, for inspiration in their artistic and religious expression to cope with the repeated foreign assaults on their country at the close of the Pharaonic era.

Society , c. 1279–1213 BC.

Throughout the Pharaonic epoch, divine kingship was the glue which held Egyptian society together. It was especially pronounced in the Old and Middle Kingdoms and continued until the Roman conquest. The societal structure created by this system of government remained virtually unchanged up to modern times.Grimal, p. 93 The role of the king, however, was considerably weakened after the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. The king in his role as Son of Ra was entrusted to maintain Ma'at#Ma'at as a principle, the principle of truth, justice and order. His job also entailed maintaining and enhancing the country's agricultural economy by ensuring regular annual Nile floods on which the people depended for sustenance and their very livelihood. Ascendancy to the Egyptian throne reflected the myth of Horus who assumed kingship after he buried his murdered father Osiris. The king of Egypt, as a living personification of Horus, could claim the throne after burying his predecessor, who was typically his father. When the role of the king waned, the country became more susceptible to foreign influence and invasion.

, Thebes.

The attention paid to the dead, and the veneration with which they were held, were one of the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian society. Egyptians built tombs for their dead that were meant to last for eternity. This was most prominently expressed by the Great Pyramids. The ancient Egyptian language word for tomb pr n means 'House of Eternity.' The Egyptians also celebrated life and this is attested by tomb reliefs and inscriptions, papyri and other sources depicting Egyptians farming, conducting trade expeditions, hunting, holding festivals, attending parties and receptions with their pet dogs, cats and monkeys, dancing and singing, enjoying food and drink, and playing games. The ancient Egyptians were also known for their engaging sense of humor, much like their modern descendants.Watterson, p. 15

Another important continuity during this period is the Egyptian attitude toward foreigners—those they considered not fortunate enough to be part of the community of rmṯ or "the people" (i.e., Egyptians.) This attitude was facilitated by the Egyptians' more frequent contact with other peoples during the New Kingdom, when Egypt expanded to an empire that also encompassed Nubia through Jebel Barkal and parts of the Levant. The Egyptian sense of superiority was given religious validation, as foreigners in the land of Ta-Meri (Egypt) were anathema to the maintenance of Maat—a view most clearly expressed by the Ipuwer papyrus in reaction to the chaotic events of the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. Foreigners in Egyptian texts were described in derogatory terms; e.g., 'wretched Asiatics' (Semites), 'vile Kushites' (Nubians), and 'Ionian dogs' (Greeks). Egyptian beliefs remained unchallenged when Egypt fell to the Hyksos, Assyrians, Berber people, Persian people and Greeks—their rulers assumed the role of the Egyptian Pharaoh and were often depicted praying to Egyptian gods.

, c. 1950 BC.

The ancient Egyptians used a solar calendar that divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each, with five extra days added. As with nearly every other aspect of Egyptian society, the calendar revolved around the annual Nile Inundation (akh.t), the first of three seasons into which the year was divided. The other two were Winter and Summer, each lasting for four months. The modern Egyptian fellahin calculate the agricultrual seasons, with the months still bearing their ancient names, in much the same manner. The importance of the Nile in Egyptian life, ancient and modern, cannot be overemphasized. The rich alluvium carried by the Nile inundation were the basis of Egypt's formation as a society and a state. Regular inundations were a cause for celebration; low waters often meant famine and starvation. The ancient Egyptians personified the river flood as the god Hapy and dedicated a Hymn to the Nile to celebrate it. km.t, the Black Land, was as Herodotus observed, "the gift of the river."

Persian Achaemenid period Soon Egypt fell to the Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire led by Cambyses in 525 BC, marking more than a century of Persian rule. Constant revolting by Egyptians through the 5th century BC culminated in the Egyptians reasserting their independence briefly under Amyrtaeus, who led a revolt from the Nile Delta and took control of Memphis and Upper Egypt.Watterson, p. 181 Egyptians remained independent until the reign of King Nectanebo II, who was to be the last native ruler of pharaonic Egypt. The country prospered during his reign (360−343 BC) and he undertook large building and sculpture construction comparable to those of the Saïte period.Watterson, p. 182 The Persians under Artaxerxes III of Persia dealt a final blow to the Egyptians' independence when they reconquered Egypt in 343 BC. Alexander the Great, on his way to conquer and dismantle the Persian Empire, arrived in Egypt in 332 BC. After Alexander's death, the Greek Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty was established by one of his generals, which continued to rule the country along pharaonic traditions. Alexander founded the city of Alexandria which became the new capital of Egypt until the Byzantine Empire period. When the last and most famous of the Ptolemies, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, was defeated along with Mark Antony by the Roman Emperor Augustus in the Battle of Actium, it marked the end of 3000 years of Dynastic Egyptian history.

Graeco-Roman period , c. 51 − 30 B.C.When Alexander died, a story began to circulate that Nectanebo II, the last indigenous monarch, was Alexander's father. This made Alexander in the eyes of the Egyptians a legitimate heir to the native pharaohs.Watterson, p. 192 Alexander may have been hailed as a liberator for freeing Egypt from Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire, but his Macedonian successors, however, did not live up to his legacy as they proved to be no better than the previous History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination. The Ptolemies exploited Egypt for their own benefit and a great social divide was created whereby Egyptians were reduced to second-class citizens.Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 11 Frequent revolting by the Egyptians against the Greeks took place under Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205 − 180 BC), whose coronation had earlier been commemorated by erecting a stele inscribed in Ancient Greek as well as Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic (Egyptian) Egyptian language. When the stele was discovered by the French people in the 19th century, it came to be known as the Rosetta Stone and was key to deciphering hieroglyphs.

But while Egyptians lost their national independence to the Macedonian Greeks, the priesthood continued to wield power as they had during the dynastic age. Under the Ptolemies, Egyptians practiced their religion undisturbed and largely maintained their own separate communities from their foreign conquerors.Watterson, p. 215 The Ptolemaic rulers all retained their Greek names and titles, but projected a public image of being Egyptian pharaohs. Much of this period's vernacular literature was composed in the Demotic (Egyptian) phase and script of the Egyptian language. It was focused on earlier stages of Egyptian history when Egyptians were independent and ruled by those they viewed as great native pharaohs such as Ramesses II. Many prophetic writings circulated among Egyptians promising expulsion of the Greeks.Kamil, p. 12 The language of administration became Greek language, but the mass of the Egyptian population was Egyptian language-speaking and concentrated in the countryside, while most Greeks lived in Alexandria and only few had any knowledge of Egyptian.Jankowski, p. 28 A revival in animal cults, the hallmark of the Predyanstic and Early Dyanstic periods, is said to have come about as Egyptians became increasingly disillusioned and sickened by successive waves of foreign invasions. Feeling a spiritual void, the Egyptians turned to the most characteristic feature of their ancient religion, the worship of sacred animals which were mummified after death.Watterson, p. 214

, c. 125 − 150 CEWhen the Roman Empires annexed Egypt in 30 BC, the social structure created by the Greeks was largely retained, though the power of the Egyptian priesthood diminished. The Roman emperors lived abroad and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship as the Ptolemies had. Egypt became further stratified with Romans at the apex of the social pyramid, Greek people and Jews in the middle, and Egyptians, who constituted the vast majority, at the bottom. At one point, the Roman emperor Caracalla advocated the expulsion of all ethnic Egyptians from the city of Alexandria, saying "genuine Egyptians can easily be recognized among the linen-weavers by their speech."qtd. in Alan K. Bowman Egypt after the Pharaohs, 332 BC − AD 642. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. p. 126. This attitude lasted until 212 AD when Roman citizenship was granted to all the inhabitants of Egypt, though ethnic divisions remained largely entrenched.Jankowski, p. 29 The Romans, like the Ptolemies had before them, treated Egypt like their own private property, a land exploited for the benefit of a small foreign elite. The Egyptian peasants, pressed for maximum production to meet Roman quotas, suffered greatly and many fled as a result to the desert.Kamil, p. 16 Under Roman rule, Egyptians paid a poll tax at full rate, Greeks paid at half-rate and Roman citizens were exempt.Watterson, p. 237 While Egypt largely retained its integrity and had a stable economy during Ptolemaic rule, it was reduced to an impoverished country cut off from its identity under Roman occupation.

Byzantine and Coptic Christian period was "Christianized" into the Coptic cross. The cult of Isis, like those of Osiris and Serapis, had been popular in Egypt and throughout the Roman Empire at the coming of Christianity, and continued to be the main competitor with Christianity in its early years. The main temple of Isis remained a major center of worship in Egypt until the reign of the Byzantine Empire emperor Justinian I in the AD 6th century, when it was finally closed down. Egyptians, disaffected and weary after a series of foreign occupations, identified the story of the mother-goddess Isis protecting her child Horus with that of the Mary (mother of Jesus) and her son Jesus escaping the emperor Herod the Great.Kamil, p. 21 Consequently, many sites believed to have been the resting places of the holy family during their sojourn in Egypt became sacred to the Egyptians. The visit of the holy family later circulated among Egyptian Christians as fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1). The feast of the coming of the Lord of Egypt on June 1 became an important part of Christian Egyptian tradition. According to tradition, Christianity was brought to Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the early 40s of the AD 1st century, under the reign of the Roman emperor Nero. The earliest converts were Jews residing in Alexandria, a city which had by then become a center of culture and learning in the entire Mediterranean oikoumene.

depicted in a 6th-century icon bearing Coptic language writing from the Monastery of Saint Mina in Egypt. The icon is one of the oldest in the world. St. Mark is said to have founded the Holy Apostolic See of Alexandria and to have become its first List of Coptic Popes. Within 50 years of St. Mark's arrival in Alexandria, a fragment of New Testament writings appeared in Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa), which suggests that Christianity already began to spread south of Alexandria at an early date. By the AD mid-third century, a sizable number of Egyptians were persecuted by the Romans on account of having adopted the new Christian faith, beginning with the Edict of Decius. Christianity was tolerated in the Roman Empire until AD 284, when the Emperor Diocletian persecuted and put to death a great number of Christian Egyptians. This event became a watershed in the history of Egyptian Christianity, marking the beginning of a distinct Egyptian or Coptic Christianity. It became known as the 'Era of the Martyrs' and is commemorated in the Coptic calendar in which dating of the years began with the start of Diocletian's reign. When Egyptians were persecuted by Diocletian, many retreated to the desert to seek relief. The practice precipitated the rise of monasticism, for which the Egyptians, namely Anthony the Great, Pachomius, Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite and Saint Amun, are credited as pioneers. By the end of the AD 4th century, it is estimated that the mass of the Egyptians had either embraced Christianity or were nominally Christian.Jankowski, p. 32

The Catechetical School of Alexandria was founded in the AD 3rd century by Pantaenus, becoming a major school of Christian learning as well as science, mathematics and the humanities. The Psalms and part of the New Testament were translated at the school from Greek to Egyptian, which had already begun to be written in Greek letters with the addition of a number of demotic characters. This stage of the Egyptian language would later come to be known as Coptic language along with its Coptic alphabet. The third theologian to head the Catachetical School was a native Egyptian by the name of Origen. Origen was an outstanding theologian and one of the most influential Church Fathers. He traveled extensively to lecture in various churches around the world and has many important texts to his credit including the Hexapla, an exegesis of various translations of the Old Testament.

period, AD 1249-50. Images depict Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene, the kiss of Judas Iscariot, the arrest of Christ, his appearance before Caiaphas, Peter's denial at cockcrow, Christ before Pilate, and the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.At the threshold of the Byzantine Empire period, the New Testament had been entirely translated into Coptic. But while Christianity continued to thrive in Egypt, the old pagan beliefs which had survived the test of time were facing mounting pressure. The Byzantine period was particularly brutal in its zeal to erase any traces of ancient Egyptian religion. Under emperor Theodosius I, Christianity had already been proclaimed the religion of the Empire and all pagan cults were forbidden. When Egypt fell under the jurisdiction of Constantinople after the split of the Roman Empire, many ancient Egyptians temples were either destroyed or converted into monasteries.Kamil, p. 35

One of the defining moments in the history of the Church in Egypt is a controversy that ensued over the nature of Jesus Christ which culminated in the final split of the Coptic Church from both the Byzantine and Roman Catholic Churches. The Council of Chalcedon convened in AD 451, signaling the Byzantine Empire's determination to assert its hegemony over Egypt. When it declared that Jesus Ch {{Ethnic group|group = Egyptians
(مَصريين Mareyyīn)
( ni.Ramenkīmi)|image = Saad Zaghlul • Prince Rahotep of the Old Kingdom • Sherine • Muhammad Abduh • Boutros Boutros-Ghali • Nefertiti • Abraam Bishop of Fayoum • Abdel Halim Hafez • commons:Fayum mummy portraits • Naguib Mahfouz (2004)Moll, Yasmin. Brain Drain: Egypt's diaspora. Egypt Today. August 2004.|region1 = |pop1= 76.4 million|region2=|pop2=900,000 (2004)|ref2=|region3=|pop3= 333,000 (1999)|ref3=|region4=|pop4=318,000 (2000)|ref4=|region5=|pop5=227,000 (1999)|ref5=|region6=|pop6=191,000 (1999)|ref6=|region7=|pop7=140,000 (2002)|ref7=|region8=|pop8=110,000 (2000)|ref8=|region9=|pop9=90,000 (2000)|ref9=|region10=|pop10=70,000 (2000)|ref10=|region11=|pop11=66,000 (1999)|ref11=|region12=|pop12=60,000 (2000)|ref12=|region13=|pop13=40,000 (2000)|ref13=|region14=|pop14=40,000 (2000)|ref14=|region15=|pop15=36,000 (2000)|ref15=|region16=|pop16=35,000 (2000)|ref16=|region17=|pop17=14,000 (2000)|ref17=|region18=|pop18=14,000 (2000)|ref18=|region19=|pop19=12,000 (2000)|ref19=|region20=|pop20=11,000 (2005)|ref20=|langs = [Egyptian Arabic, Egyptian language/Coptic language|rels = Predominantly Sunni Islam and Coptic Orthodox Church, with minorities of Sufism, Shiism, Coptic Catholic Church, Judaism, Baha'i Faith, and Atheism, [Nubians-->The Egyptians (Egyptian language: ; Coptic language: ni.ramenkīmi; Arabic language: مِصريّون ; Egyptian Arabic: مَصريين ) are a North African ethnic group native to Egypt. Egyptian identity is rooted in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivatable land stretching from the Cataracts of the Nile to the Mediterranean Sea and enclosed by vast deserts. This unique geography has been the basis of the development of Egyptian society in Ancient Egypt.

The Egyptian people have spoken only languages from the northern branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages throughout their history, from old Egyptian language to today's vernacular Egyptian Arabic. Their religion is predominantly Sunni Islam with a Shia minority and a significant proportion who follow native Sufi tariqah.Hoffman, Valerie J. Sufism, Mystics, and Saints in Modern Egypt. University of South Carolina Press, 1995. Sufism: A persecuted majority in Egypt. May 2005. A large minority of Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, whose liturgical language, Coptic language, is the latest stage of the indigenous Egyptian language.

Names of the Egyptians





Demographics and society river are part of today's landscape in Egypt's capital city.There are an estimated 79 million Egyptians in the world, but the vast majority live in Egypt where they constitute 97-98% (76.4 million) of the total population. Approximately 90% of Egyptians are Muslim and 10% are Christian (9% Coptic Christianity, 1% other Christian). Almost all live near the banks of the Nile River where the only arable land is found. Close to a half of the Egyptian people today are urban, living in the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria and other major cities. Most of the rest are fellahin or farmers leading humble lives in rural towns and villages. A large influx of fellahin into urban towns and cities, and rapid urbanization of many rural areas since the turn of the last century, have shifted the balance between the number of urban and rural Egyptians.

Egyptians also form smaller minorities in the countries that neighbour them, in particular Saudi Arabia and Libya where they are mostly temporary professionals and workers, as well as in other countries as immigrants, notably in the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Greece and France. It is also a matter of dispute whether the Egyptians (Balkans) of the Balkans are ethnic Egyptians.

The Egyptians are an autochthonous people deeply attached to their land. Historically, it was rare for Egyptians to leave their country permanently or for an extended period of time—it was not until the 1970s that Egyptians began to emigrate in large numbers. Until only recently, a study on the pattern of Egyptian emigration was quoted as saying "Egyptians have a reputation of preferring their own soil. Few leave except to study or travel; and they always return... Egyptians do not emigrate."qtd. in Talani, p. 20 Egyptians also tend to be provincial, meaning their attachment extends not only to Egypt but to the specific Governorates of Egypt, towns and villages from which they hail. Therefore, return migrants, such as temporary workers abroad, come back to their region of origin in Egypt.

A sizable Egyptian diaspora did not begin to form until well into the 1980s, today numbering nearly 3 million (2004 est). Generally, those who emigrate to the United States and western European countries tend to do so with the intention of settling permanently, while Egyptians migrating to neighboring countries in the Middle East only go there to work with the intention of returning to Egypt:

in or farmers. The percentage was much higher at the turn of the last century, before rapid urbanization and large-scale in-migration shifted Egypt's demographics.Egyptian emigration is primarily motivated by economic and political considerations. High rates of unemployment and population growth are two of the socioeconomic conditions that steadily deteriorated following the 1952 coup d'état, leading scores of Egyptians to seek better opportunities in foreign countries. Political repression and human rights violations by Egypt's ruling régime are other contributing factors (see Egypt#Human rights). Egyptians have also been impacted by the wars between Egypt and Israel, particularly after the Six-Day War in 1967, when migration rates began to rise. In August 2006, Egyptians made headlines when 11 students from Mansoura University failed to show up at their United States host institutions for a cultural exchange program in the hope of finding employment.Mitchell, Josh. Egyptians came for jobs, then built lives. Baltimore Sun. August 13, 2006. Many Copt also leave the country due to discrimination and harassment by the Egyptian government and Islamist groups.

Egyptians in neighboring countries face additional challenges. Over the years, abuse, exploitation and/or ill-treatment of Egyptian workers and professionals in the Arab Gulf States, Iraq and Libya have been reported by the Egyptian Human Rights OrganizationEHRO. Migrant workers in SAUDI ARABIA. March 2003. and different media outlets.IRIN. EGYPT: Migrant workers face abuse. March 7, 2006.Evans, Brian. Plight of Foreign Workers in Saudi Arabia. Arab nationals have in the past expressed fear over an "'Egyptianization' of the local dialects and culture that were believed to have resulted from the predominance of Egyptians in the field of education" (see also Egyptian Arabic#Geographic distribution). Twice Libya was on the brink of war with Egypt due to mistreatment of Egyptian workers and after the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty with Israel.AfricaNet. Libya. When the Gulf War ended, Egyptian workers in Iraq were subjected to harsh measures and expulsion by the Iraqi government and to violent attacks by Iraqis returning from the war to fill the workforce.Vatikiotis, P.J. The History of Modern Egypt. 4th edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 1992, p. 432

Origins King Ramesses II.Over the years, the findings of archaeology, biological anthropology and population genetics have shed light on the origins of the Egyptians. The indigenous Nile Valley population became firmly established during the Pleistocene when nomadic hunter-gatherers began living along the Nile river. Traces of these proto-Egyptians appear in the form of artifacts and rock carvings in the terraces of the Nile and the desert oases. Beginning in the Predynastic Egypt, some differences between the populations of Upper and Lower Egypt were ascertained through their skeletal remains, suggesting a gradual Cline (population genetics) pattern north to south.Batrawi A (1945). The racial history of Egypt and Nubia, Part I. J Roy Anthropol Inst 75:81-102.Batrawi A. 1946. The racial history of Egypt and Nubia, Part II. J Roy Anthropol Inst 76:131-156.Keita SOY (1990). Studies of ancient crania from northern Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 83:35–48.Keita SOY (1992). Further studies of crania from ancient northern Africa: an analysis of crania from First Dynasty Egyptian tombs. Am J Phys Anthropol 87:245–254.

When Lower and Upper Egypt were unified c. 3150 BC, the distinction began to blur, resulting in a more "homogeneous" population in Egypt, though the distinction remains true to some degree to this day.Berry AC, Berry RJ, Ucko PJ (1967). Genetical change in ancient Egypt. Man 2:551–568.Brace CL, Tracer DP, Yaroch LA, Robb J, Brandt K, Nelson AR (1993). Clines and clusters versus "race:" a test in ancient Egypt and the case of a death on the Nile. Yrbk Phys Anthropol 36:1–31. Some biological anthropologists such as Shomarka Keita believe the range of variability to be primarily indigenous and not necessarily the result of significant intermingling of widely divergent peoples.Keita SOY and Rick A. Kittles. The Persistence of Racial Thinking and the Myth of Racial Divergence. American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 99, No. 3 (Sep., 1997), pp. 534-544 Keita describes the northern and southern patterns of the early Predynastic Egypt period as "northern-Egyptian-Maghreb" and "tropical African variant" (overlapping with Nubia/Kush) respectively. He shows that a progressive change in Upper Egypt toward the northern Egyptian pattern takes place through the predynastic period. The southern pattern continues to predominate in Abydos, Egypt, Upper Egypt by the First dynasty of Egypt, but "lower Egyptian, Maghrebian, and European patterns are observed also, thus making for great diversity."Keita 1992, p. 251

A 2006 bioarchaeology study on the dental morphology of ancient Egyptians by Prof. Joel Irish shows dental traits characteristic of indigenous North Africans and to a lesser extent Southwest Asian populations. Among the samples included in the study is skeletal material from the commons:Fayum mummy portraits, which clustered very closely with the Badarian series of the Predynastic Egypt period. All the samples, particularly those of the Dynastic period, were significantly divergent from a neolithic West Saharan sample from Lower Nubia. Biological continuity was also found intact from the dynastic to the post-pharaonic periods. According to Irish:

Egyptian samples mummies exhibit morphologically simple, mass-reduced dentitions that are similar to those in populations from greater North Africa (Irish, 1993, 1998a–c, 2000) and, to a lesser extent, western Asia and Europe (Turner, 1985a; Turner and Markowitz, 1990; Roler, 1992; Lipschultz, 1996; Irish, 1998a). Similar craniofacial measurements among samples from these regions were reported as well (Brace et al., 1993)... an inspection of MMD values reveals no evidence of increasing phenetic distance between samples from the first and second halves of this almost 3,000-year-long period. For example, phenetic distances between First-Second Dynasty Abydos and samples from Fourth Dynasty Saqqara (MMD ¼ 0.050), 11-12th Dynasty Thebes (0.000), 12th Dynasty Lisht (0.072), 19th Dynasty Qurneh (0.053), and 26th–30th Dynasty Giza (0.027) do not exhibit a directional increase through time... Thus, despite increasing foreign influence after the Second Intermediate Period, not only did Egyptian culture remain intact (Lloyd, 2000a), but the people themselves, as represented by the dental samples, appear biologically constant as well... Gebel Ramlah Nubian/Western Desert sample is, in fact, significantly different from Badari based on the 22-trait MMD (Table 4). For that matter, the Neolithic Western Desert sample is significantly different from all others is closest to predynastic and early dynastic samples.Irish pp. 10-11

A group of noted physical anthropologists conducted craniofacial studies of Egyptian skeletal remains and concluded similarly that "the Egyptians have been in place since back in the Pleistocene and have been largely unaffected by either invasions or migrations. As others have noted, Egyptians are Egyptians, and they were so in the past as well."Brace et al. 1993

genetic genealogy analysis of modern Egyptians reveals that they have Haplogroup#Y chromosome DNA haplogroups lineages common to indigenous North Africans/Berber people populations primarily, and to Near Eastern peoples to a lesser extent. These lineages would have spread during the Neolithic and maintained by the Predynastic Egypt. Studies based on Haplogroup#Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups lineages also link Egyptians with people from modern Eritrea/Ethiopia such as the Tigre people.

University of Chicago Egyptologist Frank Yurco confirmed this finding of historical and regional continuity, saying:

Certainly there was some foreign admixture Egypt, but basically a homogeneous African population had lived in the Nile Valley from ancient to modern times... Badarian people, who developed the earliest Predynastic Egyptian culture, already exhibited the mix of North African and Sub-Saharan physical traits that have typified Egyptians ever since (Hassan 1985; Yurco 1989; Trigger 1978; Keita 1990; Brace et al., this volume)... The peoples of Egypt, the Sudan, and much of East Africa, Ethiopia and Somalia are now generally regarded as a Nilotic (i.e. Nile River) continuity, with widely ranging physical features (complexions light to dark, various hair and craniofacial types) but with powerful common cultural traits, including cattle pastoralist traditions (Trigger 1978; Bard, Snowden, this volume). Language research suggests that this Saharan-Nilotic population became speakers of the Afro-Asiatic languages... Semitic was evidently spoken by Saharans who crossed the Red Sea into Arabia and became ancestors of the Semitic speakers there, possibly around 7000 BC... In summary we may say that Egypt was distinct North African culture rooted in the Nile Valley and on the Sahara.Frank Yurco, "An Egyptological Review" in Mary R. Lefkowitz and Guy MacLean Rogers, eds. Black Athena Revisited. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996. p. 62-100

History Egyptians may have the longest continuous history of any people, spanning a period of some 7,000 years. The Egyptians' recorded history starts with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt c. 3150 BC, an event that sparked the beginning of Egypt's Ancient Egypt. A succession of thirty mostly native dynasties ruled for the next three Millennium, during which Egyptian culture flourished and remained distinctively Egyptian in its Egyptian mythology, Art of ancient Egypt, Egyptian language and Ancient Egypt. Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC, giving rise to the Ptolemaic Egypt which introduced Hellenistic civilization culture to the Egyptians, but continued to rule according to ancient Egyptian traditions. This stability shifted when the Egyptians fell under Aegyptus (Roman province) rule, most notably with the introduction of Coptic Christianity in Egypt by Mark the Evangelist in the 1st century AD. The Egyptians were soon incorporated within the Byzantine Empire fold and remained so until the 7th century AD, when Egypt became part of the Islamic conquest of Egypt following Amr ibn al-A'as's conquest that brought Islam to Egypt. Egyptians were ruled by a succession of Arabs, Mamluk Circassians, Ottoman Turks and English people until independence was reasserted in 1922 and a republic was declared in 1953.

Prehistory Archaeology findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the Ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs began. By about 5500 BC, Egypt was inhabited by settled communities of people who cultivated emmer wheat and barley, made pottery, weaved linen and raised sheep, goats and cattle. Before the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, northern Egyptians seem to have been somewhat culturally distinct from their neighbors to the south. Surviving evidence for early settlement in Lower Egypt such as pottery, houses and burial sites appear different from those of the Upper Egyptians. The earliest known predynastic northern Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the earliest in Upper Egypt, the Badarian, by about 700 years.Watterson, Barbara. The Egyptians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 1997. p. 30. However, later predynastic Lower Egyptians were in contact with not only contemporaneous southern Egyptians, but also with people from the Levant and with the Sumerians of Uruk, as some of the plants cultivated and the pottery types found in Lower Egypt resemble those of neighboring cultures.Midant-Reynes, Béatrix. The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Pharaohs. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 2000. p. 219.

Prehistoric Lower Egyptians already believed in an existence after death, as attested by their grave goods.Watterson, p. 30. Each province before the unification of Egypt acquired its own animal deity. Wadjet and Bast (goddess) were worshipped in the Nile delta towns of Buto and Bubastis respectively, while Thoth and Wepwawet were the Upper Egyptian deities of Hermopolis and Asyut. The predynastic settlements of Upper Egypt displayed more elaborate funerary practices and artifacts that were more clearly the direct predecessors of those of the dynastic Egyptians. Significantly, the earliest known evidence of Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions appears on Naqada III pottery vessels dated to about 3200 BC.Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69. During the predynastic and Protodynastic Period of Egypt periods, the southern Egyptian cities of Nekheb, Nekhen (Hierakonpolis) and Abydos, Egypt were major centers of power. The first attempt to conquer Lower Egypt seems to have been made by a king from Nekhen known as Scorpion, but it would be another 100 years or so before another upper Egyptian king successfully unified the two lands.Watterson, p. 42

Dynastic period believed to depict the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.The beginning of the Egyptians' recorded history starts with the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt by the Upper Egyptian king Narmer (identified with the pharaoh Menes). He founded Ancient Egypt's First dynasty of Egypt around 3150 BC. To strengthen his political role, King Menes/Narmer married the northern Egyptian princess Neithotep and took on the title of Ancient Egyptian royal titulary#The Nebty (Two Ladies) Name, i.e., Nekhbet, the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt and Wadjet the cobra goddess worshipped by the Lower Egyptians, as a symbol of the unification. Herodotus, like the Egyptian historian Manetho, associated the unification with King Menes. He also indicated that Menes founded the ancient city of Memphis, Egypt in Lower Egypt, which became the new capital of the unified country. The Egyptians from this point onwards referred to the country as tAwy, Two Lands, a name that came to predominate until the New Kingdom period when the name km.t (Coptic language: kīmi), Black Land, was more commonly used. The first two dynasties of Egypt were each ruled by eight kings and lasted for a combined period of nearly 400 years.

Old Kingdom , Fourth dynasty of Egypt.

By the end of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, a strong centralized government was firmly established with Memphis as its capital city, and the foundations of the first peak period of Egyptian civilization were laid. The following era in Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom (c. 2700−2200 BC), is particularly famous for its magnificent superstructures, many of which served as royal tombs for the pharaohs. They were state-sponsored projects built in the Third dynasty of Egypt and Fourth dynasty of Egypt dynasties and in which the whole of the Egyptian population often participated. Building typically commenced during the Nile's Inundation when agricultural lands were submerged in water and people could not farm. King Djoser's Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, engineered by the famous architect and physician Imhotep, and the Giza pyramid complex are among this period's most famous examples. They are a testament to the Egyptians' extraordinary competence in astronomy and mathematics very early in their history. It is believed that many parts of famous medical papyri that appear in later periods, particularly the Edwin Smith papyrus, were written during this period by Imhotep and other Egyptian doctors.Nunn, John F. Ancient Egyptian Medicine. University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. p. 11

.Egyptian Egyptian mythology and Egyptian hieroglyphs took definitive shape in the Early Dynastic and Old Kingdom periods. The local pantheon, which had been in the predynastic period confined to sacred animal deities, expanded to include cosmic gods representing the sun, moon, sky and wind. This constituted an effort toward greater philosophical and intellectual development.Watterson, p. 65 Solar worship embodied in the cults of Ra and Atum—subsequently Atum-Ra—came to particular prominence in the Old Kingdom. Other important deities during this period were Hathor, Ptah and Horus. The art of Mummy was also honed before the end of this period. The oldest known mummy dates to the Fifth dynasty of Egypt and was found in Saqqara.Watterson p. 69 Lasting for an estimated 500 years, the Old Kingdom was the quintessential Egyptian civilization. Insular and unchallenged from abroad, the Egyptians enjoyed a time of continuous prosperity and stability unmatched by any other period, leading one historian to describe it as the "Peaceable Kingdom of historical memory."Jankowski, James. Egypt: A Short History. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 5

Middle Kingdom {| style="border: 0px" align="left"|--| depicted in statue: Lion-headed with flared mane, Twelfth dynasty of Egypt.|--|, c. 1525 BC.|}

A period of political fragmentation led to the First Intermediate Period of Egypt. It lasted for about 150 years during which central authority and social order were maintained by local governors. Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt c. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Amenemhat III. Thebes, Egypt (modern Luxor) became the new capital during the Eleventh dynasty of Egypt, though government administration remained in Memphis. Egyptians regularly traded with their neighbors to the south and east, and their political influence extended into those areas. However, land cultivation and stock raising remained the foundation of Egypt's economy, as they would during the course of Egyptian history. The state did not institute a system of coinage until the Late Period of Ancient Egypt—most business hitherto was conducted by barter.Watterson, p. 62 The Middle Kingdom became a golden age of Egyptian literature thanks to a large body of textual evidence that made this stage of Egyptian language (i.e., Middle Egyptian) the classical phase of the language.

The end of the Middle Kingdom was brought about by a decline in central authority which led to Egypt being occupied for the first time during its dynastic history. The Hyksos invaders were a Semitic people who took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC, and founded a new capital at Avaris. They ruled as Egyptian pharaohs and their names were often inscribed on scarabs bearing both the their Semitic and Egyptian titles. Hyksos rule lasted just over 100 years when they were eventually driven out by the native Egyptian nobleman Ahmose I. Despite the Hyksos' attempt to rule according to native Egyptian traditions, the Egyptians' perception of them was consistently negative. They were depicted as "uncouth barbarians who 'ruled without Re.'"Jankowski, p. 6 Ahmose took to the throne in a re-unified Egypt, and with his rule began a period of Egyptian independence as well as expansion into surrounding regions.

New Kingdom , Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, c. 1333 – 1324 BC.

The New Kingdom is perhaps the most celebrated period of Egyptian history. Lasting from roughly 1550 to 1070 BC, the period marked the rise of Egypt as an international power. Ahmose founded the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt and relocated the capital to Thebes, Egypt, though once again Memphis remained the administrative capital. The Egyptians emerged from the shock of the Hyksos invasion determined to protect Egypt's national and territorial integrity. The Egyptian army developed into a well-organized service made up of professionally trained soldiers. International relations became a primary concern for the New Kingdom pharaohs. Egyptians were introduced to many foreign ideas, some of which they adopted and incorporated into their lifestyle. As in most periods, agriculture and stock farming continued to be the mainstays of Egyptian economy. The introduction of the shaduf from western Asia helped develop more efficient methods of irrigation. Amun rose to become a state god and was syncretism with Ra as Amun-Ra. The main Precinct of Amon-Re built in Thebes is the largest structure in the Karnak complex.

Perhaps this period is best known for some of its rulers. Queen Hatshepsut was one of only a few Egyptian female rulers and their most influential. She sent trade missions as far south as the coast of modern Eritrea, and her numerous building projects, most notably her mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri, were rivaled only by those of her Old Kingdom predecessors. Thutmose III, dubbed the Napoleon of Egypt, pushed Egypt's southern frontier to the Fourth Cataract in Nubia, then conquered and subsequently founded protectorates in the Levant. He undertook a building program at Karnak, including the festival temple "Effective of Monuments" in the precinct of Amun.Besty M. Bryan. 18th Dynasty before the Amarna Period (c. 1550-1352 BC) in Shaw, p. 259 Akhenaten with his wife Nefertiti revolutionized Egyptian religion, albeit briefly, with the solar monotheism of Aten. Young King Tutankhamun is world famous for his magnificent tomb found intact. Ramesses II conducted many successful military campaigns and signed what may be the world's first peace treaty.Grimal, Nicolas. A History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 1997. p. 257 He constructed many impressive monuments, including the renowned archaeological complex of Abu Simbel and the memorial temple of Ramesseum. Ramesses III was the last of the great pharaohs of the New Kingdom, under whose rule Egypt reached a peak of prosperity.Watterson, p. 123

Late period was Egypt's last native Pharaoh, 360 − 343 BC.

When the New Kingdom came to an end, the priests of Amun and the military had become powerful and independent at the expense of the throne. By 1200 BC, Egypt was under repeated attacks by Berber people from the west and invaders from the Aegean Sea region referred to as the Sea Peoples. The country fell into the chaos of the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt during which authority was divided among several competing nomarchs. The 22nd through the 25th dynasties were made up entirely of Libyan and Nubian/Kushite rulers. The Assyrians invaded and took of control of Egypt in the 7th century BC, but soon a native Egyptian dynasty drove out the Assyrians and reclaimed the throne. The Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt began the Saïte period which witnessed another period of Egyptian independence as well as a cultural revival. The first Saïte king, Psammetichus I, founded a new capital at Sais, Egypt and reunified upper and lower Egypt. Egyptians looked at the Old Kingdom, by then a 2000-year-old civilization, for inspiration in their artistic and religious expression to cope with the repeated foreign assaults on their country at the close of the Pharaonic era.

Society , c. 1279–1213 BC.

Throughout the Pharaonic epoch, divine kingship was the glue which held Egyptian society together. It was especially pronounced in the Old and Middle Kingdoms and continued until the Roman conquest. The societal structure created by this system of government remained virtually unchanged up to modern times.Grimal, p. 93 The role of the king, however, was considerably weakened after the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. The king in his role as Son of Ra was entrusted to maintain Ma'at#Ma'at as a principle, the principle of truth, justice and order. His job also entailed maintaining and enhancing the country's agricultural economy by ensuring regular annual Nile floods on which the people depended for sustenance and their very livelihood. Ascendancy to the Egyptian throne reflected the myth of Horus who assumed kingship after he buried his murdered father Osiris. The king of Egypt, as a living personification of Horus, could claim the throne after burying his predecessor, who was typically his father. When the role of the king waned, the country became more susceptible to foreign influence and invasion.

, Thebes.

The attention paid to the dead, and the veneration with which they were held, were one of the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian society. Egyptians built tombs for their dead that were meant to last for eternity. This was most prominently expressed by the Great Pyramids. The ancient Egyptian language word for tomb pr n means 'House of Eternity.' The Egyptians also celebrated life and this is attested by tomb reliefs and inscriptions, papyri and other sources depicting Egyptians farming, conducting trade expeditions, hunting, holding festivals, attending parties and receptions with their pet dogs, cats and monkeys, dancing and singing, enjoying food and drink, and playing games. The ancient Egyptians were also known for their engaging sense of humor, much like their modern descendants.Watterson, p. 15

Another important continuity during this period is the Egyptian attitude toward foreigners—those they considered not fortunate enough to be part of the community of rmṯ or "the people" (i.e., Egyptians.) This attitude was facilitated by the Egyptians' more frequent contact with other peoples during the New Kingdom, when Egypt expanded to an empire that also encompassed Nubia through Jebel Barkal and parts of the Levant. The Egyptian sense of superiority was given religious validation, as foreigners in the land of Ta-Meri (Egypt) were anathema to the maintenance of Maat—a view most clearly expressed by the Ipuwer papyrus in reaction to the chaotic events of the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt. Foreigners in Egyptian texts were described in derogatory terms; e.g., 'wretched Asiatics' (Semites), 'vile Kushites' (Nubians), and 'Ionian dogs' (Greeks). Egyptian beliefs remained unchallenged when Egypt fell to the Hyksos, Assyrians, Berber people, Persian people and Greeks—their rulers assumed the role of the Egyptian Pharaoh and were often depicted praying to Egyptian gods.

, c. 1950 BC.

The ancient Egyptians used a solar calendar that divided the year into 12 months of 30 days each, with five extra days added. As with nearly every other aspect of Egyptian society, the calendar revolved around the annual Nile Inundation (akh.t), the first of three seasons into which the year was divided. The other two were Winter and Summer, each lasting for four months. The modern Egyptian fellahin calculate the agricultrual seasons, with the months still bearing their ancient names, in much the same manner. The importance of the Nile in Egyptian life, ancient and modern, cannot be overemphasized. The rich alluvium carried by the Nile inundation were the basis of Egypt's formation as a society and a state. Regular inundations were a cause for celebration; low waters often meant famine and starvation. The ancient Egyptians personified the river flood as the god Hapy and dedicated a Hymn to the Nile to celebrate it. km.t, the Black Land, was as Herodotus observed, "the gift of the river."

Persian Achaemenid period Soon Egypt fell to the Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire led by Cambyses in 525 BC, marking more than a century of Persian rule. Constant revolting by Egyptians through the 5th century BC culminated in the Egyptians reasserting their independence briefly under Amyrtaeus, who led a revolt from the Nile Delta and took control of Memphis and Upper Egypt.Watterson, p. 181 Egyptians remained independent until the reign of King Nectanebo II, who was to be the last native ruler of pharaonic Egypt. The country prospered during his reign (360−343 BC) and he undertook large building and sculpture construction comparable to those of the Saïte period.Watterson, p. 182 The Persians under Artaxerxes III of Persia dealt a final blow to the Egyptians' independence when they reconquered Egypt in 343 BC. Alexander the Great, on his way to conquer and dismantle the Persian Empire, arrived in Egypt in 332 BC. After Alexander's death, the Greek Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty was established by one of his generals, which continued to rule the country along pharaonic traditions. Alexander founded the city of Alexandria which became the new capital of Egypt until the Byzantine Empire period. When the last and most famous of the Ptolemies, Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt, was defeated along with Mark Antony by the Roman Emperor Augustus in the Battle of Actium, it marked the end of 3000 years of Dynastic Egyptian history.

Graeco-Roman period , c. 51 − 30 B.C.When Alexander died, a story began to circulate that Nectanebo II, the last indigenous monarch, was Alexander's father. This made Alexander in the eyes of the Egyptians a legitimate heir to the native pharaohs.Watterson, p. 192 Alexander may have been hailed as a liberator for freeing Egypt from Persian Empire Achaemenid Empire, but his Macedonian successors, however, did not live up to his legacy as they proved to be no better than the previous History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination. The Ptolemies exploited Egypt for their own benefit and a great social divide was created whereby Egyptians were reduced to second-class citizens.Kamil, Jill. Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 11 Frequent revolting by the Egyptians against the Greeks took place under Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205 − 180 BC), whose coronation had earlier been commemorated by erecting a stele inscribed in Ancient Greek as well as Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic (Egyptian) Egyptian language. When the stele was discovered by the French people in the 19th century, it came to be known as the Rosetta Stone and was key to deciphering hieroglyphs.

But while Egyptians lost their national independence to the Macedonian Greeks, the priesthood continued to wield power as they had during the dynastic age. Under the Ptolemies, Egyptians practiced their religion undisturbed and largely maintained their own separate communities from their foreign conquerors.Watterson, p. 215 The Ptolemaic rulers all retained their Greek names and titles, but projected a public image of being Egyptian pharaohs. Much of this period's vernacular literature was composed in the Demotic (Egyptian) phase and script of the Egyptian language. It was focused on earlier stages of Egyptian history when Egyptians were independent and ruled by those they viewed as great native pharaohs such as Ramesses II. Many prophetic writings circulated among Egyptians promising expulsion of the Greeks.Kamil, p. 12 The language of administration became Greek language, but the mass of the Egyptian population was Egyptian language-speaking and concentrated in the countryside, while most Greeks lived in Alexandria and only few had any knowledge of Egyptian.Jankowski, p. 28 A revival in animal cults, the hallmark of the Predyanstic and Early Dyanstic periods, is said to have come about as Egyptians became increasingly disillusioned and sickened by successive waves of foreign invasions. Feeling a spiritual void, the Egyptians turned to the most characteristic feature of their ancient religion, the worship of sacred animals which were mummified after death.Watterson, p. 214

, c. 125 − 150 CEWhen the Roman Empires annexed Egypt in 30 BC, the social structure created by the Greeks was largely retained, though the power of the Egyptian priesthood diminished. The Roman emperors lived abroad and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship as the Ptolemies had. Egypt became further stratified with Romans at the apex of the social pyramid, Greek people and Jews in the middle, and Egyptians, who constituted the vast majority, at the bottom. At one point, the Roman emperor Caracalla advocated the expulsion of all ethnic Egyptians from the city of Alexandria, saying "genuine Egyptians can easily be recognized among the linen-weavers by their speech."qtd. in Alan K. Bowman Egypt after the Pharaohs, 332 BC − AD 642. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. p. 126. This attitude lasted until 212 AD when Roman citizenship was granted to all the inhabitants of Egypt, though ethnic divisions remained largely entrenched.Jankowski, p. 29 The Romans, like the Ptolemies had before them, treated Egypt like their own private property, a land exploited for the benefit of a small foreign elite. The Egyptian peasants, pressed for maximum production to meet Roman quotas, suffered greatly and many fled as a result to the desert.Kamil, p. 16 Under Roman rule, Egyptians paid a poll tax at full rate, Greeks paid at half-rate and Roman citizens were exempt.Watterson, p. 237 While Egypt largely retained its integrity and had a stable economy during Ptolemaic rule, it was reduced to an impoverished country cut off from its identity under Roman occupation.

Byzantine and Coptic Christian period was "Christianized" into the Coptic cross. The cult of Isis, like those of Osiris and Serapis, had been popular in Egypt and throughout the Roman Empire at the coming of Christianity, and continued to be the main competitor with Christianity in its early years. The main temple of Isis remained a major center of worship in Egypt until the reign of the Byzantine Empire emperor Justinian I in the AD 6th century, when it was finally closed down. Egyptians, disaffected and weary after a series of foreign occupations, identified the story of the mother-goddess Isis protecting her child Horus with that of the Mary (mother of Jesus) and her son Jesus escaping the emperor Herod the Great.Kamil, p. 21 Consequently, many sites believed to have been the resting places of the holy family during their sojourn in Egypt became sacred to the Egyptians. The visit of the holy family later circulated among Egyptian Christians as fulfillment of the Biblical prophecy "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt" (Hosea 11:1). The feast of the coming of the Lord of Egypt on June 1 became an important part of Christian Egyptian tradition. According to tradition, Christianity was brought to Egypt by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the early 40s of the AD 1st century, under the reign of the Roman emperor Nero. The earliest converts were Jews residing in Alexandria, a city which had by then become a center of culture and learning in the entire Mediterranean oikoumene.

depicted in a 6th-century icon bearing Coptic language writing from the Monastery of Saint Mina in Egypt. The icon is one of the oldest in the world. St. Mark is said to have founded the Holy Apostolic See of Alexandria and to have become its first List of Coptic Popes. Within 50 years of St. Mark's arrival in Alexandria, a fragment of New Testament writings appeared in Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa), which suggests that Christianity already began to spread south of Alexandria at an early date. By the AD mid-third century, a sizable number of Egyptians were persecuted by the Romans on account of having adopted the new Christian faith, beginning with the Edict of Decius. Christianity was tolerated in the Roman Empire until AD 284, when the Emperor Diocletian persecuted and put to death a great number of Christian Egyptians. This event became a watershed in the history of Egyptian Christianity, marking the beginning of a distinct Egyptian or Coptic Christianity. It became known as the 'Era of the Martyrs' and is commemorated in the Coptic calendar in which dating of the years began with the start of Diocletian's reign. When Egyptians were persecuted by Diocletian, many retreated to the desert to seek relief. The practice precipitated the rise of monasticism, for which the Egyptians, namely Anthony the Great, Pachomius, Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite and Saint Amun, are credited as pioneers. By the end of the AD 4th century, it is estimated that the mass of the Egyptians had either embraced Christianity or were nominally Christian.Jankowski, p. 32

The Catechetical School of Alexandria was founded in the AD 3rd century by Pantaenus, becoming a major school of Christian learning as well as science, mathematics and the humanities. The Psalms and part of the New Testament were translated at the school from Greek to Egyptian, which had already begun to be written in Greek letters with the addition of a number of demotic characters. This stage of the Egyptian language would later come to be known as Coptic language along with its Coptic alphabet. The third theologian to head the Catachetical School was a native Egyptian by the name of Origen. Origen was an outstanding theologian and one of the most influential Church Fathers. He traveled extensively to lecture in various churches around the world and has many important texts to his credit including the Hexapla, an exegesis of various translations of the Old Testament.

period, AD 1249-50. Images depict Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene, the kiss of Judas Iscariot, the arrest of Christ, his appearance before Caiaphas, Peter's denial at cockcrow, Christ before Pilate, and the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River.At the threshold of the Byzantine Empire period, the New Testament had been entirely translated into Coptic. But while Christianity continued to thrive in Egypt, the old pagan beliefs which had survived the test of time were facing mounting pressure. The Byzantine period was particularly brutal in its zeal to erase any traces of ancient Egyptian religion. Under emperor Theodosius I, Christianity had already been proclaimed the religion of the Empire and all pagan cults were forbidden. When Egypt fell under the jurisdiction of Constantinople after the split of the Roman Empire, many ancient Egyptians temples were either destroyed or converted into monasteries.Kamil, p. 35

One of the defining moments in the history of the Church in Egypt is a controversy that ensued over the nature of Jesus Christ which culminated in the final split of the Coptic Church from both the Byzantine and Roman Catholic Churches. The Council of Chalcedon convened in AD 451, signaling the Byzantine Empire's determination to assert its hegemony over Egypt. When it declared that Jesus Ch

BBC - History - Egyptians
Includes articles, timeline and multimedia zone.

The Egyptians
Travel back in time to Ancient Egypt and the land of the Pharaohs! Here you can explore the tombs of the Pharaohs and learn about the Egyptian gods, visit the home of the sculptor ...

Egyptians - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Egyptians (Egyptian: rmṯnkm.t; Coptic: ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙ'ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ni.remenkīmi; Arabic: مِصريّون miṣriyūn; Masri: مَصريين maṣreyyīn) are a nation ...

Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service: Egyptians online exhibition
Egyptians online exhibition. To accompany the re-opening of the Egyptians Gallery in the Norwich Castle, this online exhibition features items in our collections with illustrations ...

Ancient Egypt - Menu page
Includes information on Egyptian life, gods and goddesses, mummification, rulers, pyramids, temples, time, trade, and writing, as well as games to play online. From the British ...

The Ancient Egyptians - a site about Ancient Egypt
The Ancient Egyptians by Adam Ashcroft. Comparing the Religion of Meroe and Ancient Egypt - Akhenaten - Kerma - Lateran Obelisk - Nubian Fortresses - River Nile - Basic ...

BBC - History - Mummy Maker
Egyptians; Greeks; British Prehistory; Romans; Vikings; Anglo-Saxons; Ancient India; Other Cultures ... Enter the embalmer's workshop, where you are to prepare the body of Ramose, officer ...

The Egyptians
Introduction. Daily Life. Communication. Transport. Religion. Mummies. Timeline. Collectors. Education. Glossary. Artefacts. The Egyptians - History. When people think of Egyptian ...

Sacred Insects
Sacred Insects of Ancient Egypt: Class: Insecta Order: (various) Throughout their long history the ancient egyptians held certain insects in special reverence

ANCIENT EGYPT AND EGYPTIANS. pyramids, Pharaohs, early classical ...
Read articles about the Egyptian civilization, gods, poetry, and hieroglyphics. Includes related multimedia and clip art.

 

Egyptians



 
Copyright © 2008 Hintcenter.com - All rights reserved.
Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
All Trademarks belong to their repective owners. Many aspects of this page are used under
commercial commons license from Yahoo!