The History of Egypt Podcast

By 2100 BCE, Egypt’s royal house was in trouble. A line of kings, known as the pr-Hty (“House of Khety”) claimed authority over the whole Nile Valley. But archaeological and histor…

Before the fall (c.2600 - 2200 BCE). Early Egyptians were fierce and active warriors. Our evidence for the Old Kingdom “army,” however, is scattered and fragmentary. Sifting throug…

Don’t swim for at least 30 minutes after a banquet… Around 2150 BCE, so the story goes, the Queen-King Nitocris sought vengeance on those who had wronged her. This tale comes from…

Updated with new research. Between 2500—2200 BCE, Egypt witnessed a period of surprisingly high rainfall. While the Old Kingdom was much wetter than today, archaeologists have foun…

Why did it all go so wrong? We’ve explored the historical overview of Old Kingdom decline; but what was driving it? There are three major factors that caused this fall. Two origina…

Recorded 2024. How does copper cut stone? Martin Odler specialises in ancient Egyptian technology. Specifically, the manufacture and use of metal in tools and industry. In this int…

Recorded 2021. Dr. Martin Odler is a researcher at the Czech Institute of Egyptology, at Charles University in Prague. He studies the tools and objects that Egyptians used to build…

Why did the Old Kingdom disappear? Was it an overnight "collapse," or something more long term? In this episode, and the next, we explore the question in overview. This chapter foc…

A Long, Long Reign. King Pepy ruled more than sixty years, by some estimates. In his later years, this long reign was becoming an issue. The aging monarch was losing influence, and…

Ruling the World. King Pepy ruled long and his authority reached far and wide. To understand Egyptian society in this period, we must meet the important families (nobility) who ser…

Around 2285 BCE, a new ruler came to power. King Pepy II was a little boy, just six years old. His reign would be one of the longest, and most impactful, in the Old Kingdom... Date…

The Great Explorer. Around 2300 BCE, King Pepy I died. His successor was a man named Mer-en-Re ("Beloved of Re"). In this period, the explorer Weni the Elder continued his travels,…

Pepy and Weni the Elder (Part 1). Around 2355 BCE, King Pepy I came to power. The new king had trouble establishing his authority, and he had to deal with the effects of his predec…

Assassins! Around 2355 BCE, King Teti died. Legend tells us that the king was murdered by members of his own family. If this is true, it is the first time in Egyptian history that…

The Sixth Dynasty, and its wisdom. Around 2380 BCE, King Teti inaugurated the Sixth Dynasty of Egyptian rulers. Teti married into the royal family and began a new (male) bloodline.…

Beer, Bread and Pharaoh's Power. Recorded 2019. My guest today is Prof. Leslie Anne Warden, Associate Professor of art history and archaeology at Roanoke College in Virginia, USA.…

Unas in the sky with deities. Around 2320 BCE, King Unas did something interesting. His pyramid, at Saqqraa, is the first (surviving) monument to feature the Pyramid Texts. These e…

Djedkare and Unas (c.2400-2350 BCE). The Fifth Dynasty ends. The Cannibal Hymn: Spoken reconstruction by Orlando Mezzabotta on YouTube. The Pyramid Texts of Unas in English transla…

Dynasty 6 and new ideas. Around 2440 BCE, a new king came to power. King Djed-ka-Re ("The Spirit of Re Endures") was an effective ruler, who reformed the government and left a rich…

The reign of King Niuserre was not a bed of lotuses. After a rocky start, the young ruler worked to make his household and kingdom prosperous. We see this trend in a flowering of a…