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People have played sports seemingly since the dawn of time when the first cities and organized civilisations emerged. Unsurprisingly, ancient Egyptians enjoyed both individual and team sports. Just as ancient Greece had its Olympic Games ancient Egyptians enjoyed playing many of the same activities. Egyptian tombs contain numerous paintings showing Egyptians playing sports. This documentary …

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One of the signature actions expected of every Egyptian pharaoh was the commissioning of monumental construction projects. These projects would celebrate the achievements of the pharaoh’s reign for all eternity, demonstrate their devotion of the gods and generate employment for Egyptian farmers during the annual Nile floods. Colossal construction projects nurtured unity through a collective …

Read More about Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

The Ramesseum is a monumental funerary temple honouring Ramses II or Ramses the Great. It was commissioned to serve the king’s mortuary cult after Ramses’ death and was also consecrated to Amun the king of Egypt’s gods. Known to ancient Egyptians as the “House of millions of years of Usermaatre setepenra that unites with Thebes …

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Hatshepsut (1479-1458 BCE) is considered to be one of ancient Egypt’s most revered if controversial rulers. Celebrated by Egyptologists as a commanding female sovereign whose rule ushered in a long period of military success, economic growth and prosperity. Hatshepsut was ancient Egypt’s first female ruler to reign with the full political authority of a pharaoh. …

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Modern-day Karnak is the contemporary name for the ancient Egyptian Temple of Amun. Set at Thebes, the ancient Egyptian referred to the site as Ipetsut, “The Most Select of Places,” Nesut-Towi, or “Throne of the Two Lands”, Ipt-Swt, “Selected Spot” and Ipet-Iset, “The Finest of Seats.” Karnak’s ancient name reflects the belief of ancient Egyptians …

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When we think of the ancient Egyptians, we summon images of Giza’s pyramids, the vast Abu Simbel temple complex, the Valley of the Dead or King Tutankhamun’s death mask. Rarely do we get a glimpse of ordinary ancient Egyptians doing ordinary everyday things. Yet there is ample evidence to suggest ancient Egyptians both children and …

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At the heart of ancient Egypt’s culture is the belief in a host of deities and the central role they played in everyday life and the immortal journey every human soul underwent in the underworld. Ancient Egyptians believed in a diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses, around 8,700 divine beings in total. Some of these …

Read More about 20 Most Famous Ancient Egyptian Gods

Symbolising ancient Egypt’s cultural richness the Abu Simbel temple complex is a breathtaking statement of political and religious power. Originally carved into living rock, Abu Simbel is typical of Ramses II prodigiously ambitious passion for erecting colossal monuments to himself and to his reign. Set on a cliff face at the Nile River’s second cataract …

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Nefertari means ‘beautiful companion’ and was the first of Rameses the Great’s Great Royal Wives. Known also as Nefertari Meritmutor or ‘Beloved of the goddess Mut’ Nefertari is one of Egypt’s most iconic queens, alongside Nefertiti, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra. However, comparatively little is known about her family or her past prior to Rameses ascending to …

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Giza may have its pyramids and its sphinx; however, its obelisks are one of the most enduring and most widely travelled icons of ancient Egyptian civilisation. The ancient Egyptians developed the monumental design during the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150-c. 2613 BCE) following their architectural evolution, which produced their mud-brick mastaba tomb designs and prior …

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Each pharaoh had a kingdom to rule and government ministers and officials together with an army and police force to help him rule. Overseeing the vast apparatus of the administration was his Vizier, the Pharaoh’s right-hand man. In ancient Egypt, the role of vizier was perhaps the most powerful position in the kingdom after that …

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Seth was ancient Egypt’s god of chaos, storms and war. Also known to the ancient Egyptians as Seth and Suetekh, Seth was the brother of Horus the Elder, Osiris and Isis, Nephthys brother-husband and uncle to Horus the Younger. Tawaret, Egypt’s hippo-headed goddess of fertility and childbirth was Seth’s other wife. One of the initial …

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Religion for the ancient Egyptians mined a rich seam of belief. They worshipped over 8,700 gods and goddesses with each playing an integral role in maintaining balance and harmony across the dual kingdoms. Despite the extensiveness of the Egyptian panoply of gods and goddesses, few are as important as Nut, for she was the eternal …

Read More about Nut – Egyptian Sky Goddess

Perhaps only Cleopatra VII has such a tragic story as the turbulent personal history of the vanishing Princess Ankhesenamun. Born around c. 1350 B.C. Ankhesenamun or “Her Life Is of Amun” was the third of King Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti’s six daughters. As a young girl, Ankhesenamun grew up in her father’s purpose-built capital city …

Read More about Queen Ankhesenamun: Her Mysterious Death & Tomb KV63

Today, ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics are amongst the world’s most recognizable images. Developed just before the dawn of Egypt’s Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 -2613 BCE), these “sacred carvings” were initially thought by some archaeolinguistics to have originated in Mesopotamia and arrived via ancient trade routes in Egypt. However, despite the abundant flow of ideas and …

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Set inland 10 kilometres (six miles) from the Nile River in Upper Egypt, Abydos emerged as a centre of gravity in ancient Egypt’s rich religious life. Abydos became the burial site of choice for Egypt’s early First Dynasty (3000-2890 B.C.) kings. Their mortuary complexes and tombs may represent the first step in a religious evolution …

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Cleopatra VII Philopator was the last Queen of Egypt and its last pharaoh. Her death in 30 BCE brought to an end over 3,000 years of an often glorious and creative Egyptian culture. Following Cleopatra VII’s suicide, the Ptolemaic dynasty that had ruled Egypt since 323BCE was extinguished, Egypt became a Roman province and Rome’s …

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