Old Kingdom of Egypt

E8844

The Old Kingdom of Egypt was an early period of ancient Egyptian civilization, often called the "Age of the Pyramids," marked by centralized pharaonic power and the construction of monumental stone pyramids and tomb complexes.

All labels observed (12)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (55)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Egyptian period
civilization phase
historical period
alsoKnownAs Old Kingdom of Egypt
surface form: Age of the Pyramids
capital Memphis
country Pharaonic Egypt
surface form: Ancient Egypt
declineCause political decentralization
possible climate change and low Nile floods
weakening of royal authority
economicBase agriculture along the Nile
state-controlled labor and corvée
endTime c. 2181 BCE
followedBy First Intermediate Period of Egypt
follows Early Dynastic Egypt
surface form: Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
governmentForm absolute monarchy
theocratic monarchy
hasMonument Bent Pyramid
Great Pyramid of Giza
Great Sphinx of Giza
Pyramid of Khafre
Pyramid of Menkaure
Red Pyramid
Step Pyramid of Djoser
hasSite Abu Rawash necropolis
surface form: Abu Rawash

Abu Sir necropolis
surface form: Abusir

Dahshur necropolis
surface form: Dahshur

Giza
Saqqara necropolis
surface form: Saqqara
knownFor artistic canon of Egyptian sculpture and relief
centralized royal administration
construction of pyramids
development of monumental stone architecture
elaborate royal mortuary complexes
growth of state bureaucracy
language Ancient Egyptian
notableRuler Djedefre
Djoser
Khafre
Khufu
Menkaure
Pepi I Meryre
Pepi II Neferkare
Sahure
Pharaoh Sneferu
surface form: Sneferu

Userkaf
partOf history of Ancient Egypt
religion ancient Egyptian religion
rulingDynasty Fifth Dynasty of Egypt
Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
Old Kingdom of Egypt self-linksurface differs
surface form: Third Dynasty of Egypt
socialStructure highly stratified society
startTime c. 2686 BCE
writingSystem Egyptian hieroglyphs
hieratic script

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (260)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Fifth Dynasty of Egypt partOf Old Kingdom of Egypt
Fifth Dynasty of Egypt era Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt partOf Old Kingdom of Egypt
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt era Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Djedefre historicalEra Old Kingdom of Egypt
Sphinx Temple period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Pepi II Neferkare period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Pyramid of Sneferu at Dahshur period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Egyptology studiesPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Sahure reignInPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Menkaure mortuary temple period Old Kingdom of Egypt
ankh periodOfUse Old Kingdom of Egypt
Set timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Nut timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Ennead of Heliopolis worshipPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Pepi I Meryre period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Pyramid Texts timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Geb worshipPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Hathor worshipPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Bent Pyramid period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Ihnasya al-Madinah (Herakleopolis Magna) timeOfOrigin Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Ihnasya al-Madinah
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom period (approximate)
Meidum Pyramid period Old Kingdom of Egypt
west bank of the Nile timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Pharaoh periodOfUse Old Kingdom of Egypt
Tombs of the Nobles (Aswan) period Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Tombs of the Nobles (Aswan) earliestBurialsDateTo Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
White Crown of Upper Egypt appearsInPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
vulture goddess Nekhbet timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Nekhbet
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Ra worshipPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Egyptian cubit timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Ta Shemau usedInPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Ancient Egyptian religion timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Elephantine Island periodOfUse Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
3rd Dynasty of Egypt partOf Old Kingdom of Egypt
Sokar (Seker), Memphite funerary god timePeriodOfWorship Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Sokar
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Imhotep Museum focusesOn Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom period
Imhotep civilization Old Kingdom of Egypt
Memphis necropolis associatedWith Old Kingdom of Egypt
sun temple of Userkaf (probable location nearby) period Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Sun Temple of Userkaf (probable location nearby)
Abusir Papyri period Old Kingdom of Egypt
Czech Institute of Egyptology focusesOn Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom Egypt
Memphis, Egypt capitalOf Old Kingdom of Egypt
Memphis, Egypt significantPeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
sun temple of Niuserre (probable location nearby) civilization Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Sun Temple of Niuserre
sun temple of Niuserre (probable location nearby) period Old Kingdom of Egypt
subject surface form: Sun Temple of Niuserre
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom
Ta-Shema timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
Giza core limestone eraOfUse Old Kingdom of Egypt
White Crown periodOfUse Old Kingdom of Egypt
uraeus timePeriod Old Kingdom of Egypt
this entity surface form: Old Kingdom