First Intermediate period, from c.2180 to c. 2055 (7th to 11th dynasties). This was a time when several different kings ruled different parts of Egypt. At the end of this period Mentuhotep II, a king of the 11th dynasty, regained control over the whole of Egypt.

Middle Kingdom. 2055 – 1650 B.C. (12th – 14 dynasties). This was a golden age. The country was ruled by a number of strong kings who controlled not only all of Egypt but much of Nubia (the modern Sudan). The Faiyum, a large fertile area around a lake which is fed from the Nile, was developed as a centre of agriculture. The building of the great Temple at Karnak was begun.

Second Intermediate Period c. 1650 – 1550 15th & 16th dynasties. This was a period when the Hyksos, a tribe from outside Egypt (we do not know their origin) conquered much of Lower Egypt.

New Kingdom c. 1550 – 1069 B.C. (17th to 20th dynasties) The Hyksos were driven out and the pharaoh regained power over Lower and Upper Egypt. During this period Egypt developed a very powerful civil service of royal officials.

Late Period c. 1000 – 32 AD (21st to 30th dynasties). Egypt again was divided into two kingdoms. From around 700 B.C. Egypt was frequently invaded, by the Nubians, who formed a new dynasty, by the Assyrians, by the Persians, by the Greeks under Alexander the Great’s general Ptolemy (the Ptolemaic dynasty) and finally by the Romans.