Early Egypt was divided into two halves. From the Nile delta to the Mediterranean in the north was Lower Egypt, the land of the red crown. Upper Egypt (so called because the land was higher) stretched south from the Libyan desert.

The southern king wore a white crown. In the dynastic period of the 4th century BC, the southern king Menes founded a united Egypt.

Throughout Egypt’s history, people settled alongside the Nile, where the land was fertile for some of the year. The desert was only used for burials.

The annual floods began in late spring when the Nile waters began to rise and cover the fields. When the waters receded, they left fertile black silt, which the people immediately set about cultivating.