The ancient Egyptian civilization is a great one, and you will be hard pressed to find someone to disagree with you. Ancient Egypt in modern terminology is located in Africa, at the northwest area. The Nile River, usually just called the 'Nile', passed through the center of the culture. The northern part was known as Lower Egypt, and the southern part as Upper Egypt - a fact which has lead to some misunderstanding among tourists. The Nile is recognized as the longest river in the world, but recent scientists find that there is a chance that the Amazon River located in South America may be a short distance longer.
In fact there are three separate sections, or periods of time that Egyptian past can be divded up into. These are known as the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, and the Modern Kingdom. Each period has specific facts which are unique to it, and are best learned and studied independently. The kingdoms of ancient Egypt were under the rule of the Pharaoh at the time, and in fact the ancient Egyptian people themselves held the strong belief that somehow their gods were responsible for choosing each Pharaoh, thus the people could rest soundly at night, feeling that all was under control. In fact, the government of ancient Egypt can be mentioned as the first national government in the world, and people referred to as viziers, who were officials assigned to the Pharaoh, also helped to rule. The Egyptian people, like the Sumerian people, had a language and writing style of their own.
A Papyrus plant was used to make paper - thus defining the origin of the word, paper! Many people find the ancient civilizations, Egyptian significantly, to be profoundly mysterious as a result of the spectacular massive monuments, most notably the Great Pyramid at Giza, very near to Cairo, that are still in view to this day.
Books on Egypt are accessible for quick browsing at Allosia Online Books.
