Home to the largest collection of Egyptian artifacts on exhibit in western North America.

Interactive Map

CLICK on the time period to see when important monuments were built

  • Neolithic Period: 4500 - 3000 BCE
  • Early Dynastic Period: 3000 - 2650 BCE
  • Old Kingdom: 2650 - 2150 BCE
  • 1st Intermediate Period: 2150 - 2040 BCE
  • Middle Kingdom: 2040 - 1640 BCE
  • 2nd Intermediate Period: 1640 - 1550 BCE
  • New Kingdom: 1550 - 1070 BCE
  • 3rd Intermediate Period: 1070 - 712 BCE
  • Saite and Late Period: 712 - 332 BCE
  • Greco-Roman Period: 332 BCE - 642 CE
  • Coptic Period: 395 - 642 CE
  • Islamic Period and
    Modern Times: 642 CE - Today

Explore Egyptian History

Click through slides to view images of monuments and artifacts through out the periods.

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Neolithic Period

4500 - 3000 BCE - For more information about the Neolithic Period

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Early Dynastic Period

3000 - 2650 BCE - For more information about the Early Dynastic Period

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Old Kingdom

2650 - 2150 BCE - Click to the next slide for monument images

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Abu Ghurab

Six miles southwest of Cairo, just north of Abusir, is one of only two Old Kingdom sun temples known to have survived.

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The Pyramids of Giza

Pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. The Great Pyramid, built for Pharaoh Khufu, is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one to remain largely intact.

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Sphinx

Built ca. 2550 BCE as a part of the Giza complex, the Sphinx is a massive statue of a seated lion with a man's head.

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Step Pyramid

This pyramid was built ca. 2630 BCE during the Third Dynasty as a tomb for Pharaoh Djoser. The image is a model in the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

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1st Intermediate Period

2150 - 2040 BCE - For more information about the 1st Intermediate Period

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Middle Kingdom

2040 - 1640 BCE - Click to the next slide for monument images

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Deir-el-Bahri - Mentuhotep’s Temple

Mentuhotep II’s tomb is the earliest mortuary temple showing the pharaoh enacting ceremonies for the deities instead of just receiving offerings from them.

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Dendera Temple Complex

Building began around 1995 BCE. The temple complex at Dendera is quite large, boasting a basilica, two birth houses, a sacred lake, and other temples and shrines.

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Karnak: The City of Temples

Building began around 1971 BCE. Karnak is an ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the eastern bank of the Nile River, home of current day city of Luxor.

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2nd Intermediate Period

1640 - 1550 BCE - For more information about the 2nd Intermediate Period

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New Kingdom

1550 - 1070 BCE - Click to the next slide for monument images

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Abu-Simbel

Built between 1264 - 1244 BCE. Built on the west bank of the Nile River, the site of Abu Simbel is one of the most recognizable ancient sites in Egypt.

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Abydos – The Temple of Seti

Built ca. 1279 BCE. The Temple of Seti in Abydos (300 miles south of Cairo) was constructed by Seti I and his son, Rameses II.

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Akhetaton - Tell el-Amarna

Built 1348 – 1344 BCE. The ancient Egyptian city of Akhetaton, also called Tell el-Amarna or Amarna, was the capital city built by Pharaoh Akhnaton.

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Amenhotep III’s Mortuary Complex

Built ca. 1352 BCE. Amenhotep III reigned for nearly four decades. His reign was marked by prosperity, political stability, and the creation magnificent complexes.

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Deir-el-Bahri

Thutmoses III’s Mortuary Temple and Hatshepsut’s magnificent temple (built between 1479 and 1465 BCE), which was modeled on nearby Mentuhotep’s older temple.

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Luxor Temple

Dating back to 1392 BCE. Schwaller de Lubicz offers that this magnificent temple is an encyclopedia in stone of what the ancient Egyptians knew of humanity and the universe.

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3rd Intermediate Period

1070 - 712 BCE - For more information about the 3rd Intermediate Period

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Saite and Late Period

712 BCE – 322 BCE - For more information about the Saite and Late Period

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Greco-Roman Period

332 BCE - 642 CE - For more information about the Greco-Roman Periods

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Dendera Zodiac

This bas-relief ceiling star map was added to the older Hathor Temple at Dendera during the Greco-Roman Period, some time after 51 BCE.

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Edfu Temple

Built from 237 – 57 BCE. The Temple of Edfu was buried under centuries of sand and silt until the nineteenth century, when it was rediscovered.

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Philae - Temple of Isis

Built beginning ca. 280 BCE during the reign of Ptolemy II, the Temple of Isis at Philae is dedicated to Isis, Osiris, and Horus.

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Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, built between 280 and 240 BCE. As tall as the Statue of Liberty. Partial ruins exist underwater today.

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Coptic Period

395 CE - 642 CE. Christianity came to Egypt during this period. The Egyptian Christians, called Copts, maintained many pagan traditions of ancient Egypt.

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Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church

Church built in the fourth century on the place where the Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, rested at the end of their journey to Egypt.

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The Hanging Church

The history of a church on this site dates to the third century CE. The current building was constructed on the ruins of a Roman fortress.

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Saint Catherine’s Monastery

Built between 548 and 565 CE, this is one of the oldest working Christian monasteries in the world at the foot of Mount Sinai.

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White Monastery

Founded in 442 CE, this Coptic Monastery’s Library was once one of the greatest libraries of Christian Egypt.

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Islamic Period and Modern Times

642 CE - Today

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Mosque of Amr Ibn al-As

Original structure was the earliest mosque in all of Africa, erected in 641 CE by the Arab conquerer who brought Islam to Egypt.

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Saladin Citadel on Pharaoh’s Island

Reconstructed in 1171 CE by Muslim ruler Saladin after capturing this island from the Crusaders.

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The Citadel

Fortified between 1176 and 1183 CE by Muslim ruler Saladin to protect Egyptian Muslims from the Crusaders, The Citadel sits atop a hill overlooking Cairo.

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The Khanqah & Mausoleum of Sultan Faraj Ibn Barquq

Built between 1400 and 1411 CE in the Northern Cemetery (Cairo). A Khanqah is a type of monastery or lodge in the mystical Islamic Sufi tradition.

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Muhammad Ali Mosque

Commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt, between 1830 and 1848. Located within the walls of The Citadel.

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The New Library of Alexandria

Built in 2002, it commemorates the Library of Alexandria that flourished and was destroyed in antiquity. Also attempts to rekindle its brilliance.

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