Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Old Kingdom
References
Images
ancient Egyptian dress
Britannica AI Icon

Old Kingdom

Egyptian history
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

ancient Egyptian dress
ancient Egyptian dress Woman wearing sheathlike gown held up by shoulder straps, typical of Egyptian dress of the Old and Middle Kingdoms. Painted wood statue from the tomb of Meketre, Dayr al-Baḥrī, Egypt, 11th dynasty (2081–1938 bc). In the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

The Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, spanning roughly from 2543 to 2120 BCE, was a period characterized by strong centralized rule and monumental construction, most notably the pyramids. Pharaohs, considered divine rulers and intermediaries between gods and humans, commissioned these massive structures as their tombs.123

Key dynasties within the Old Kingdom include:
* 4th Dynasty (c. 2543–c. 2436 BCE): This era saw the construction of the first true pyramids, including those at Giza by pharaohs like Snefru, Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. This period also saw a disproportionate use of state resources for royal provisions.1
* 6th Dynasty (c. 2305–c. 2118 BCE): During this time, inscriptions suggest a growing independence among officials, with evidence of military campaigns and trading expeditions. The long reign of Pepi II marked the last major monument of the Old Kingdom, but provincializing tendencies increased.4

The Old Kingdom eventually collapsed due to political instability, environmental factors like famine, and a decline in central authority, leading into the First Intermediate Period.56

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
6 Britannica Sources
  1. Were All Egyptian Pharaohs Buried in Pyramids?
  2. ancient Egypt - The 6th dynasty (c. 2305–c. 2118 bce )
  3. ancient Egypt - The 4th dynasty (c. 2543–c. 2436 bce )
  4. ancient Egypt - The 7th and 8th dynasties (c. 2150–c. 2118 bce )
  5. ancient Egypt - The 9th dynasty (c. 2118–c. 2080 bce )
  6. pharaoh

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.