Editing Old Kingdom of Egypt (section)

{{Short description|Period in ancient Egyptian history (c. 2686–2181 BC)}}
{{redirect|Old Kingdom}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| native_name            = 
| conventional_long_name = Old Kingdom of Egypt
| common_name            = Old Kingdom
| era                    = 
| government_type        = [[Imperial cult|Divine]], [[absolute monarchy]]
| year_start             = {{Circa|2686 BC}}
| year_end               = {{Circa|2181 BC}}
| event_pre              = 
| date_pre               = 
| event_start            = Began
| date_start             = 
| event_end              = Ended
| date_end               = 
| image_flag             = 
| image_coat             = 
| image_map              = 4th Dynasty of Egypt-03.png
| image_map_caption      = During the Old Kingdom of Egypt (''circa'' 2700 BC – ''circa'' 2200 BC), Egypt consisted of the [[Nile River]] region south to [[Elephantine|Abu]] (also known as Elephantine), as well as [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]] and the [[oases]] in the western desert, with Egyptian control/rule over Nubia reaching to the area south of the third cataract.<ref>{{Cite book |title= A History of Ancient Egypt |last= Grimal|first= Nicolas|publisher= Wiley-Blackwell (July 19, 1994) |year= 1994 |pages=85}}</ref>
| p1                     = Early Dynastic Period of Egypt
| flag_p1                = Ancient Egypt map-en.svg
| s1                     = First Intermediate period

| capital                = [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]
| national_motto         = 
| national_anthem        = 
| common_languages       = [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]]
| religion               = [[Ancient Egyptian religion]]
| currency               = 
| leader1                = [[Djoser]] (first)
| year_leader1           = {{Circa|2686|2649 BC}}
| leader2                = Last king depends on the scholar, [[Neitiqerty Siptah]] (6th Dynasty) or [[Neferirkare]] (7th/8th Dynasty)
| year_leader2           = {{Circa|2184|2181 BC}}
| title_leader           = [[List of pharaohs|Pharaoh]]
| stat_year1             = 2500 BC
| stat_pop1              = 1.6 million<ref>{{cite web|url=https://brewminate.com/estimating-population-in-ancient-egypt/|author=Steven Snape|date=16 March 2019|title=Estimating Population in Ancient Egypt|access-date=5 January 2021}}</ref>
| demonym                = 
| area_km2               = 
| area_rank              = 
| GDP_PPP                = 
| GDP_PPP_year           = 
| HDI                    = 
| HDI_year               = 
| today                  = 
}}

{{History of Egypt}}
In [[ancient Egypt]]ian history, the '''Old Kingdom''' is the period spanning {{Circa|2700}}–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], such as King [[Sneferu]], under whom the art of [[pyramid]]-building was perfected, and the kings [[Khufu]], [[Khafre]] and [[Menkaure]], who commissioned the construction of the [[Giza pyramid complex|pyramids at Giza]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Old_Kingdom_of_Egypt/|title=Old Kingdom of Egypt|work=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2017-12-04}}</ref> [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]] attained its first sustained peak of civilization during the Old Kingdom, the first of three so-called "Kingdom" [[Egyptian chronology|periods]] (followed by the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] and [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]]), which mark the high points of civilization in the lower [[Nile Valley]].<ref name=":7" />

The [[Periodization of Ancient Egypt|concept of an "Old Kingdom" as one of three "golden ages"]] was coined in 1845 by the German [[Egyptology|Egyptologist]] [[Christian Charles Josias von Bunsen|Baron von Bunsen]], and its definition evolved significantly throughout the 19th and the 20th centuries.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schneider|first=Thomas|author-link=Thomas Schneider (Egyptologist)|editor=Klaus-Peter Adam|title=Historiographie in der Antike|pages=181–197|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BTMAu2LRbVUC&pg=PA182|date=27 August 2008|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-020672-2|chapter=Periodizing Egyptian History: Manetho, Convention, and Beyond}}</ref> Not only was the last king of the [[Early Dynastic Period (Egypt)|Early Dynastic Period]] related to the first two kings of the Old Kingdom, but the "capital", the royal residence, remained at [[Ineb-Hedj]], the [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] name for [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. The basic justification for separating the two periods is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied by the effects on Egyptian society and the economy of large-scale building projects.<ref name=":7">Malek, Jaromir. 2003. "The Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2160 BC)". In ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'', edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0192804587}}, p.83</ref>

The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]] to the [[Sixth Dynasty of Egypt|Sixth Dynasty]] (2686–2181 BC). Information from the Fourth to the Sixth Dynasties of Egypt is scarce, and historians regard the history of the era as literally "written in stone" and largely architectural in that it is through the monuments and their inscriptions that scholars have been able to construct a history.<ref name=":0" /> Egyptologists also include the Memphite [[Seventh Dynasty of Egypt|Seventh]] and [[Eighth Dynasty of Egypt|Eighth]] Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration, centralized at Memphis. While the Old Kingdom was a period of internal security and prosperity, it was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline referred to by Egyptologists as the [[First Intermediate Period]].<ref>Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', pp. 55 & 60.</ref> During the Old Kingdom, the [[Lists of rulers of Egypt|King of Egypt]] (not called the [[Pharaoh]] until the New Kingdom) became a [[divine right of kings|living god]] who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.<ref name="Roebuck-56">Carl Roebuck, ''The World of Ancient Times'', p. 56.</ref>

Under King [[Djoser]], the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the royal capital of Egypt was moved to [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], where Djoser established his court. A new era of building was initiated at [[Saqqara]] under his reign. King Djoser's architect, [[Imhotep]], is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new [[architectural form]], the [[step pyramid]].<ref name="Roebuck-56" /> The Old Kingdom is best known for a large number of [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]] constructed at this time as burial places for Egypt's kings.