Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along
the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. The
civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower
Egypt under the first pharaoh, and it developed over the next two millennia. Ancient
Egypt reached its pinnacle during the New Kingdom, after which it entered a period of
slow decline. Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers in this late period,
and the rule of the pharaohs officially ended in 31 BC when the early Roman Empire
conquered Egypt and made it a province.
Egypt has left a lasting legacy. Its art and architecture has been widely copied, and its
antiquities have been carried off to the far corners of the world. Egypt's monumental
ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. A newfound
respect for antiquities and excavations in the early modern period led to the scientific
investigation of Egyptian civilization and a greater appreciation of its cultural legacy for
the world.