The Nile River, in most cases just called the 'Nile', passed through the center of the culture. The northern part was known as Lower Egypt, and the southern part as Upper Egypt - a fact which has lead to some confusion among visitors. The Nile is understood as the longest river in the world, but some scientists find that there is a chance that the Amazon River located in South America may be a short distance longer.



Specifically there are three separate sections, or periods of time that Egyptian history can be divded up into. These are known as the Old Kingdom, the Central Kingdom, and the Modern Kingdom. Each period has specific facts which are unique to it, and are best learned and studied on their own.

The kingdoms of ancient Egypt were under the rule of the Pharaoh at the time, and in fact the ancient Egyptian people themselves held the strong expectation that somehow their gods were responsible for choosing each Pharaoh, thus the inhabitants could rest soundly at sun down, feeling that all was well. In fact, the government of ancient Egypt can be described as the first national government in the whole world, and people referred to as viziers, who were officials assigned to the Pharaoh, also helped to rule.

The Egyptian culture, like the Sumerian culture, had a language and writing style of their own. A Papyrus plant was used to make paper - thus defining the source of the word, paper!

A lot of people find the ancient cultures, Egyptian in particular, to be profoundly mysterious as a result of the incredible large monuments, most significantly the Great Pyramid at Giza, very near to Cairo, that remain to this day.