One Kingdom or Another Trivia Quiz

Answer: Early Dynastic Period / Old Kingdom

Menes (also called Narmer) was the first pharaoh of Egypt during either the 32nd or 33rd century BC. Menes was known for unifying Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt and thus becoming pharaoh. Although his name does not appear in the annals of Egypt, later sources do credit him as the first pharaoh. Narmer is the more common name rather than Menes; in fact, little is attributed to Menes and nearly everything is attributed to Narmer.

The exact number of years of his reign is unknown ranging from 30 to 62 years.

It came to end when he was killed, possibly devoured, by a hippopotamus. His successor is not known. It could be Hor-Aha, although it is possible that this is the same person as Menes. If it is, then Djer would Menes's successor. This uncertainty is also why the length of Menes's reign is unknown.

Answer: Early Dynastic Period / Old Kingdom

Djoser was the pharaoh sometime during the 27th century B.C. He was the first pharaoh of the Third Dynasty, which began a period of peace in the country lasting all the way to the end of the Fourth Dynasty, a period of about 200 years. It was the longest period of peace during the dynastic Egyptian period.
Djoser himself was the pharaoh when the first Egyptian pyramid was built: the Step Pyramid, which was built as a burial for when Djoser died. It was not slaves, which didn't exist in Egypt yet, but rather peasants who built the pyramids.

Answer: Early Dynastic Period / Old Kingdom

Sneferu (also called Nebmaat) had three pyramids built during his reign as pharaoh: Meidum, Bent, and North (also called Red) pyramids. The exact length is unknown with experts suggesting anywhere between 24 and 48 years. The Meidum Pyramid was originally built as a step pyramid but was later changed to the design modern people think of when they think of pyramids.

The Bent Pyramid was thought to be built as his tomb, although his body was never in this tomb. The North Pyramid was renamed Red Pyramid after its red limestone stones.

Answer: Early Dynastic Period / Old Kingdom

Khufu (also called Cheops) was pharaoh during the 26th century B.C., during the fourth dynasty. The thing that he is mot remembered for is for ordering the construction of The Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the seven wonders of the world and the first to be constructed.

It was the largest pyramid and until 1889 when the Eiffel Tower was built. His father was Sneferu, who was also known for the construction of pyramids. Apart from this, we actually know very little about Khufu.

Answer: Early Dynastic Period / Old Kingdom

Khafre (also called Chephren) was a pharaoh of the 4th dynasty (approximately 26th century B.C.) and is credited with being the pharaoh who ordered the Sphinx to be constructed. The head of the Sphinx is believed to resemble Khafre. Another distinction of the Sphinx is its missing nose for unknown reasons, although there are descriptions of a nose-less Sphinx over a century prior to Napoleon, so the idea that Napoleon had something to do with it is false.

There is very little information about the reign of Khafre. Most of his reign is described by two Greek historians, Herodotus and Diodorus, both of whom lived over 2000 years after Khafre's reign. However, there is debate over how accurate their description is due to this time difference. In truth, they were just as accurate as any other ancient historian, so any difference would not be through malicious intent but more likely due to the time difference and the fact the historian and Khafre grew up in different countries.

Answer: New Kingdom

When Thutmose II died, his son and heir, Thutmose III, was only a couple of years old, so Hatshepsut reigned in his place. She was able to convince the Egyptians that she was the daughter of the son god Amun via a bed trick. This was important, because Egyptians viewed their ruler as a descendant of a god, as well as a god in his/her own right. It was believed to be during Hatshepsut's reign that pharaoh was used as a title for the ruler. Prior to that, pharaoh was used to mean "great house", referring to either the king's literal house and/or his political house (i.e. his advisors and military officers). Hatshepsut's use of the word pharaoh would now refer to just the ruler, so that it could be applied to a king or a queen.

Hatshepsut's reign was also known for its trade, particular with a land called Punt, which is in modern day Somalia and which no Egyptian had visited in at least five centuries. Items that were traded include necklaces, gold, ivory, ebony, myrrh trees, frankincense used as an eyeliner, ostrich feathers used to keep people cool, and exotic animals.

Answer: New Kingdom

Akhenaten (also called Amenhotep IV) was pharaoh during the 14th century B.C. His most notable change was changing the polytheistic religion of Egypt to a monotheistic one. The one god that Egyptians would worship was Aten, the sun god. The reason for this change is because of poor military leaders, Akhenaten wanting to break the power of the priests, and he wanted to consolidate the power for himself.

In fact, Amenhotep IV named his to Akhenaten to reflect this change in religion. The name Amenhotep means "Amun is satisfied" referring to a god that Akhenaten did not want to be worshipped whereas Akhenaten means "effective for Aten" referring to what Akhenaten believed to be the one and only god.

Answer: New Kingdom

Tutankhamun (originally called Tutankhaten) was the pharaoh from the 14th century B.C. He became pharaoh and reigned for about ten years until his death. The way he died is not exactly unknown, although some speculations include a disease, a horse accident, and even murder. However, the idea of Tutankhamun being murdered has died down over the years.

Tutankhamun's main achievement during his reign was restoring Egypt to its polytheistic religion undoing what his predecessor Akhenaten did. Power was returned to the priests, and both priests and the people saw this as a good thing. Likewise, Tutankhaten (which means "living image of Aten") changed his name to Tutankhamun (living image of Amun) to reflect this change. Additionally, Tutankhamun had all references and monuments to Akhenaten removed, including in a list of pharaohs of Egypt. Interestingly, he is more well known to modern people than the ancient Egyptians. This is due to his relatively intact tomb that Howard Carter discovered in 1922.

Answer: New Kingdom

Ay was another pharaoh of the 18th dynasty. He succeeded Tutankhamun as pharaoh who had no kids of his own. Ay claimed that as Grand Vizier and without an heir, he could become pharaoh. His reign only lasted about four years, and most of his reign consisted of continuing the projects of his predecessor. Like Tutankhamun before him, Ay died without leaving an heir and was succeeded by Horemheb, a military general. Ay did have a son but, as he did not have a direct blood to the throne, he did not succeed Ay as pharaoh.

Answer: New Kingdom

Rameses II was pharaoh in the 19th dynasty, reigning for approximately 67 years in the 13th century B.C. Due to his long reign, he had multiple children with multiple wives. Most people estimate the number of children to be around 100.
Many well-known monuments were constructed during his reign, such as the temple at Abu Simbel and Hypostyle Hall in Luxor.

It was during Rameses's reign in which the Battle of Kadesh occurred. This battle is believed to have taken place during the fifth year of his reign. The battle occurred, because Egypt wanted to control Syria, which was in the hands of the Hittites of Kadesh. The battle ended in a stalemate (although Rameses tried to view it as a victory for him), believed to be the first stalemate in history, and led to a peace treaty, believed to be the first treaty in history.