World History

 

Pharaohs

pharaoh

the title of the ancient Egyptian kings.

dynasty

a sequence of rulers from the same family.

Tutankhamen

a pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, commonly called “King Tut”. He is probably the most well-known Egyptian pharaoh. One of the reasons is that his burial tomb is one of the few that was discovered with everything still in it.

Pharaohs were the kings of ancient Egypt who were worshiped as gods. Their wealth came from the bountiful agriculture made possible by the Nile. Egypt’s Pharaohs controlled strong central governments that built massive public works such as the irrigation systems that tamed the Nile’s floods allowing agriculture to flourish in the desert. The pharaohs also built impressive temples and monuments that still stand today. Notable among Egypt’s pharaohs were Ramses II (Ramses the Great) who was a warrior as well as a builder of great temples and statues, and Queen Hatshepsut, the first important woman ruler in history. Cleopatra was the last queen of the thirty-one dynasties, or ruling families, of Egypt.

King Tut with his wife, Tutankhamen

The best-known pharaoh is Tutankhamen, or King Tut, who died at the age of eighteen. Although his reign was not very important, he became famous in our time for the discovery of his plundered tomb in the 1920s, the only tomb of a pharaoh found intact. Grave robbers looted the other tombs centuries ago. Although Tutankhamen was a minor king, his tomb contained fantastic riches: over 5,000 objects in four rooms including a spectacular life-like mask of solid gold that covered the head and shoulders of his mummy (his preserved body). King Tut’s tomb is one of the most impressive archaeological discoveries of all time.

Instructions for the Quiz

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