The Bent Pyramid stands at Dahshur, south of Cairo, and was built for the Old Kingdom pharaoh Sneferu, the founder of the Fourth Dynasty. It is notable for its unusual shape, as the angle of its sides changes from about 54 degrees at the bottom to about 43 degrees about halfway up. Egyptologists generally think the builders reduced the angle to prevent the structure from collapsing, because the foundations or the steep slope were proving unstable. It is the first pyramid designed to have smooth sides rather than steps, and a large part of its outer limestone casing still survives. Sneferu then built the Red Pyramid nearby, with a safer slope, a step on the road to the great pyramids at Giza.
Before and after
- from 30th century BCE to 18th century BCEMari
- from c. 2,890 BCE to 2,686 BCESecond Dynasty of Egypt
- from c. 2,707 BCE to 2,216 BCEOld Kingdom of Egypt
- from c. 2,700 BCE to 539 BCEElam
- c. 2,700 BCEConstruction of Bent Pyramid
- from c. 2,686 BCE to 2,613 BCEThird Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 2,640 BCEConstruction of Pyramid of Djoser
- from c. 2,613 BCE to 2,498 BCEFourth Dynasty of Egypt
- from c. 2,600s BCE to 2,200s BCEBell beaker culture
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- 13th century BCEAncient Celts
- 7th century BCEConstruction of Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- 80 CEThe Colosseum is inaugurated
- from 285 CE to 1453Byzantine Empire
- 25 March 421 CEFounding of Venice
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 27th century BCE.