History of the Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt

A long time ago, Ancient Egypt was a civilization ruled by pharaohs. Egyptians did not call their ruler a pharaoh, though, before 1554 BC during the 18th dynasty. Before that, pharaoh meant "Great House" in Egyptian and referred to the palace of the king. It was later added to the pharaoh's name as part of his title.

The pharaoh was the high priest of all temples, the head of law and administration, and the commander of the army. The Egyptians believed pharaohs were great people that were half-man and half-god. Since only the pharaoh and priests were allowed to enter temples, Ancient Egyptians had to ask the pharaoh to speak to the gods for them. This made the pharaoh very powerful in the minds of regular Egyptians!

The Ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh's spirit could live for an eternity, which means forever. They believed that the pharaoh would become a god after he died, so pharaohs were buried in a tomb with many treasures which could be enjoyed in their Afterlife.

Many of the statues of pharaohs have cobra heads on them. Pharaohs wore a cobra figure to protect them from evil.

There were many different pharaohs, some woman and some men. They ruled Ancient Egypt for thousands of years.

Read about the final days of the last great pharaoh.  Find out who killed him and why.

How young do you think King Tut was when he became the pharaoh of Egypt? It is a very surprising age. It is also surprising that he had a lot of treasures for his age.

Do you know anyone who is a great builder? If you do, what does he or she build? Well Ramses II built lots of great things, like temples and other great monuments.

Imagine building a pyramid? Well I can't, but guess who did? Khufu, of course. He built the Great Pyramid at Giza.

Imagine having a pyramid built for you? I think that would be awesome. Would you like to be the son of a king? I would like that because my family and I would be rich.

How could an Egyptian pharaoh rule the eastern side of Roman Empire? Find out how Cleopatra did it until an army got in her way.

Hatshepsut was the first woman to rule Ancient Egypt. You could mistake her for a man, though, because she dressed like a man. She wore the things that a male pharaoh wears, like a false beard.