kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Old Kingdom of Egypt

2686 BCE – 2181 BCE (approx.) · capital Memphis

Egypt of the Third to Sixth Dynasties, the age of the pyramids and of an all-powerful god-king ruling from Memphis.

Origins

The Old Kingdom began around 2686 BCE with the Third Dynasty, which followed Early Dynastic Egypt. Its king Djoser and his official Imhotep built the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first monumental stone building, and the kings of the Fourth Dynasty turned the experiment into true pyramids.

Rule and society

Sneferu built the pyramids at Dahshur and Meidum, and his son Khufu raised the Great Pyramid at Giza, followed by Khafre and Menkaure. A literate bureaucracy headed by the vizier taxed grain and organised labour on a vast scale. The Fifth Dynasty favoured the sun god Ra with sun temples, and Unas had the Pyramid Texts carved in his tomb. Expeditions sought turquoise in Sinai and incense in Punt.

Decline and legacy

Under the Sixth Dynasty, provincial governors (nomarchs) grew powerful and hereditary, and the very long reign of Pepi II was followed by weakness, possibly worsened by low Nile floods. Central authority faded around 2181 BCE, leaving the short-lived Eighth Dynasty of Egypt and the First Intermediate Period.

Lineage

Early Dynastic Egypt 3100 BCE – 2686 BCEOld Kingdom of EgyptEighth Dynasty of Egypt 2181 BCE – 2160 BCE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Old Kingdom of Egypt. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/old-kingdom-of-egypt
MLA
“Old Kingdom of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/old-kingdom-of-egypt. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Old Kingdom of Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/old-kingdom-of-egypt.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Old Kingdom of Egypt’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/old-kingdom-of-egypt (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻