The Third Dynasty of Egypt was the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom, and it marks the beginning of the age of the great stone monuments. Its best-known ruler was Djoser, whose vizier Imhotep designed the Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first large building in Egypt built entirely of stone. This was a major step beyond the mud-brick mastabas of earlier kings and prepared the way for the true pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty. The records of the kings of this dynasty are incomplete, and scholars disagree about their order and the exact length of their reigns. Under the Third Dynasty the Egyptian state became strongly centralised, with a more developed bureaucracy.
Before and after
- 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
- c. 2,601 BCECaral flourishes in the Norte Chico
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- from 31st century BCE to 14th century BCEConstruction of Stonehenge
- c. 2,560 BCEConstruction of Great Pyramid of Giza
- 600 BCEFounding of Milan
- 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.