Around 3100 BC the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united under a single king, traditionally Menes, who is generally identified with Narmer. The Narmer Palette, found at Hierakonpolis in 1898, shows him wearing the white crown of the south and the red crown of the north, and smiting an enemy. The capital was Memphis, near the point where the Nile valley meets the delta. The first dynasties established a strong, centralised state that would last, with interruptions, for nearly three thousand years, until the Roman conquest.
Before and after
- from c. 3,200 BCE to 1,050 BCECycladic civilization
- from c. 3,200 BCE to 3,060 BCENaqada III
- from c. 3,180 BCE to 2,500 BCEOrigins of Skara Brae
- from c. 3,150 BCE to 2,890 BCEFirst Dynasty of Egypt
- c. 3,101 BCENarmer unifies Egypt
- from c. 3,100 BCE to 2,686 BCEEarly Dynastic Period of Egypt
- from 31st century BCE to 14th century BCEConstruction of Stonehenge
- from 31st century BCE to 20th century BCECorded Ware culture
- c. 3,000s BCEThe Austronesian expansion begins from Taiwan
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 264 BCE to 241 BCEFirst Punic War
- from 149 BCE to 146 BCEThird Punic War
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- 49 BCECaesar defeats Pompey at Pharsalus
- from 66 CE to 74 CEFirst Jewish-Roman War
- from June 68 CE to December 69 CEYear of the Four Emperors
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires.