The ancient civilisation of Egypt began to materialize in around 3,000
BC, following the unification of the country under the leadership of a
single king, the Pharaoh. Previously Egypt had been a land of
disparate warring kingdoms and states. These native Egyptian pharaohs
were to rule over a vast and sophisticated empire for some 2,700
years, before the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
This pharaonic period covered some 31 dynasties and included brief
interludes in which Egypt was governed by foreign kings. It is
undoubtedly one of the oldest and most sophisticated civilisations of
the ancient world.