Egyptian Timelines and Maps
Read and construct Egyptian timelines using dated events and equal time intervals. Order the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, calculate gaps within BC and across BC and AD, and compare selected Egyptian and Roman dates. Read an unscaled schematic map locating the Nile delta, Memphis, Thebes and the Valley of the Kings.
What a learner can do afterwards
- Place the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms on a timeline and calculate the number of years between them
- Use direction labels on an unscaled schematic map to locate the Nile delta, Memphis, Thebes and the Valley of the Kings
- Compare the Old Kingdom's beginning, Roman control of Egypt and the beginning of Roman Britain using their stated dates
1 · Read
You have met the Old, Middle and New Kingdoms. BC and BCE name the same years. AD and CE also name the same years. All BC dates come before AD dates. Larger BC numbers are earlier; larger AD numbers are later. We use rounded kingdom dates here. There were other periods before, between and after these kingdoms.
A map shows where places are. Check its direction labels and key before reading it. A key explains symbols. On the schematic map below, north is at the top, west is left and east is right. Dots mark empty spaces. It is not to scale. The Nile flows north to its delta, where it branches before reaching the Mediterranean Sea.
Schematic map: north at top, south at bottom.
| West | Nile corridor | East |
|---|---|---|
| . | Mediterranean Sea | . |
| . | Nile delta | . |
| Memphis | Nile | . |
| Valley of the Kings | Nile | Thebes |
Memphis was an early capital near the delta. Thebes was another capital farther south. The Valley of the Kings is west of the Nile near Thebes.
The Giza pyramids were built in the Old Kingdom. Tutankhamun and many other New Kingdom pharaohs were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The end of the New Kingdom did not end Egyptian history. Much later, in 30 BC, the Romans took control of Egypt.
For two BC dates, subtract the smaller number from the larger. Split by place value: 2300 minus 2100 means subtract 2000, then 100, leaving 200 years. Exchange 1 thousand for 10 hundreds or 1 hundred for 10 tens when needed. For 640 minus 80, write 640 as 5 hundreds and 14 tens. Remove 8 tens to leave 560. Use subtraction for gaps and period lengths; calculate each before comparing. Rounded dates give approximate lengths; close comparisons may change with different historical dates.
There is no year zero between 1 BC and AD 1. Across BC and AD, add the year numbers, then subtract 1. Add matching place values: thousands, hundreds, tens and ones. From 200 BC to AD 10: 200 plus 10 is 210. To subtract 1, exchange one ten for 10 ones: 210 minus 1 is 209 years. This finds the gap between year labels, not exact months or days within those years.
Build a scaled timeline by spacing equal year intervals equally. Here, an event at 1260 BC goes on the third tick. To read the scale, subtract neighbouring year numbers: 1340 minus 1300 equals 40 years. Keep empty ticks too. An 80-year gap needs two intervals; a 120-year gap needs three.
Dates belong to particular events, not to a whole civilisation as one moment. The Old Kingdom began around 2700 BC. Roman control of Egypt began in 30 BC. Roman Britain began with the Roman invasion in AD 43. Mark each event separately, then use the BC and AD rules to put the dates in order.
Check BC and AD labels, space equal time intervals equally, and read map directions. The three kingdoms do not cover all of Egyptian history.
All five readings were written for this dataset. Historical and map-making sources informed factual and design study; their prose was not copied.
More to read
An event between two ticks
Draw a timeline from 1800 BC to 1400 BC. Give every 100 years the same amount of space. Your ticks will read 1800, 1700, 1600, 1500 and 1400 BC from left to right.
Where would a note dated 1650 BC go? It belongs halfway between 1700 BC and 1600 BC. You do not need to move either tick to make room for it.
Keep ticks with no event attached. Their spaces still represent time. A row of kingdom names may show order, but equal-width name cards do not show how long the kingdoms lasted.
Reading our schematic map
The lesson's schematic map arranges places by direction, not exact distance. North is at its top. The Mediterranean Sea and delta appear above Memphis. Thebes is farther south. The Nile runs between Thebes and the Valley of the Kings.
This arrangement can help answer questions about relative position. It cannot tell you the number of kilometres between the cities. For distance, you would need a suitable map with a scale.
Read each map's key before using symbols. The same triangle could mean a pyramid on one map and a mountain on another. The map's own explanation decides its meaning.
Where and when are different questions
Suppose you are studying Tutankhamun's burial. A map can help locate the Valley of the Kings near Thebes. A timeline can place his rule in the New Kingdom.
Choose a source with enough detail for your question. A map that labels only Egypt cannot locate a particular tomb. A timeline listing only kingdom names cannot give an exact burial year.
Neither source answers every question about causes. To investigate why people made a choice, historians also examine writings, objects and other evidence. Check what each source actually shows before drawing a conclusion.
Following the Nile
The Nile supplied water and deposited soil used for farming. Many Egyptian settlements developed along the river and in its delta. Maps of Egyptian history often follow this narrow inhabited corridor through the desert.
Flood conditions varied. A map of farmland does not establish that every harvest succeeded or that every flood brought enough water.
People also travelled by boat. A journey could run either way along the river. From Memphis towards Thebes, a traveller went south. That journey was opposite to the Nile's northward flow. Keep the direction of a trip separate from the direction of the river.
Before tracing a trade arrow
Egypt had trade connections along the Nile, through the Red Sea and with the Near East. A trade map may help show these connections for a particular period.
Read its key before tracing an arrow. Does the arrow show goods moving, a journey, or a general connection? Check which places and goods the map names.
An arrow joining two places does not establish that one trader travelled the whole route. Goods could pass between groups. A trade arrow also need not follow a river's flow. Keep your conclusion within the map's stated information.
2 · Watch
Take it off screen
Where it sits
This opens up
Nothing builds on it yet.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.