Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: A Captivating Guide to the Age of the Pyramids and the Egyptian Pharaohs Who Ruled

by Captivating History

Discover how the first Egyptians built the colossal pyramids and the rise of the kings who ruled as gods.The Egyptian pyramids are some of the greatest building feats ever achieved. At a time when the rest of the world was in the Bronze Age, living in small villages sustained by subsistence farming, the Egyptians built the pyramids.It is mind-boggling to think they did this when mankind had not yet invented iron or the wheel. They did this when the only tools workmen had were made from either bronze, which had to be constantly re-sharpened, or stone or wood. It’s truly remarkable.It raises a did the people of Egypt really cut great blocks of stone and arrange millions of tons of them into the perfect pyramid shape we all know so well? When you examine the evidence, the answer to that question is obvious.But many more questions arise from that answer. How did the ancient engineers and designers train? Who first thought up this perfect shape? Did the workers come from slave colonies? How many people are needed to build such a huge structure?Here’s a small sample of what you will discover in this effect did climate change have on the place that we today call Egypt?Who was the mysterious king who created the world’s first “nation?”Why did ancient Egypt’s kings have dozens of their people killed and buried with them when they were placed in royal tombs?Who was the architect of the world’s first pyramid?How accurate are the measurements of the pyramids?Why are they aligned with the stars?How many years did it take to build a pyramid?Why did the kings suddenly stop building pyramids for their tombs?Did Napoleon Bonaparte shoot the nose off the Sphinx for target practice?How did gigantic airbags help rescue a collapsing pyramid?And so much more!Scroll up and click the “add to cart” button to discover more about the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt!

Genres: History, Nonfiction

58 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2021

Reviews

[Berengaria]

5 stars

short review for busy readers:
An excellent, excellent short overview of the 100-year period of grand pyramid building. 1st - 6th dynasties.

in detail:
This Captivating History covers all of the most famous and important structures, as well as how the compounds and chapels surrounding the actual pyramids were used in antiquity.

The chapters on nearby workmen's villages and what we can piece together about life on a pyramid construction site adds an enthralling bit of real life: from a forgotten overseer's work diary found in a quarry to the discovery of the grave of a female "little person" (dwarf) who was most likely part of the bar and entertainment scene in the village.

For a basic understanding of what, where, who and why, this slim volume is a brilliant jumping off point. The accompanying photos are recent and of high quality.

Very recommended!

[Alan (The Lone Librarian) Teder]

June 24, 2026 Update I just discovered this YouTube channel Chloe VS History which acts like a time travel VLOG visiting AI re-constructed historical sites and times in the past. Watch "I time travelled to Ancient Egypt in 2400 BC!"here.

The Age of the Pyramids
A review of the Captivating History eBook (September 3, 2021).

I know very little about Ancient Egypt and this short overview of the Old Kingdom (c. 2700 BC to 2200 BC) and its several Dynasties was an excellent introduction. Even if little is known about the various Pharoahs of the time, the pyramids that were built still mostly remain and intrigue us to this day.

This overview provides a basic history of the main Pharoahs and the pyramids that they had built as their tombs. They remain as engineering marvels which are still being puzzled over with constant new theories and discoveries. Photographs of the main pyramids are included in the book and I linked to their WikiCommons images in my status updates.

If you've ever wondered about the Egyptian Pyramids, this is an ideal introduction which may lead you on to further reading and investigation. I immediately started looking into the theories of how various ramp, roller, pulley and elevator designs could have been used in the building.

I read Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt thanks to the enthusiasm of GR friend Berengaria's review, with which the stars ✨ have aligned 😊.

Trivia and Links
For further reading, the references cited at the end of the book are:
The Story of Egypt: The Civilization that Shaped the World. Joann Fletcher. Hodder and Stoughton. 2015.
Lives of the Ancient Egyptians. Toby Wilkinson. Thames and Hudson. 2007.
Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs Edited by Regine Schulz and Matthias Seidel. HF Ullmann. 1997 (Original German language as Ägypten: Die Welt Der Pharaonen)

Captivating History is an ongoing series of short eBooks which provide introductory highlights of various people and events throughout history. There does not appear to be a comprehensive list, but Amazon currently says that it has 1,152 titles (as of mid-February 2026). Most of the books do not list individual authors, but Matt Clayton appears to be the main writer.

[Jerry Jares]

This is a fascinating explanation of the Age of Pyramids in Egypt. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it; it could only have been improved with photos of the various pyramids. Until recently, I didn't realize there were more than the two pyramids. This explains how rulers improved on each other's designs. A particularly interesting chapter explained the workers and how they lived. Archaeologists have unearthed villages and houses where the workers were housed and fed. It also explains that these were not slaves but skilled, semi-skilled and casual laborers who worked on the pyramids. This book explained that there were more questions than answers about the Sphinx at this time.

[Taylor]

Using for homeschool

I was very overwhelmed on how to teach my kids of multiple ages about ancient history in an interesting and digestible way. This book was exactly what I was looking for. Not only that, but the entire series will be invaluable for what I have in mind to teach them.

[Stephen Kirtland]

A fair but limited synopsis.

The bare bones with lately discovered material concerning the lives of the ordinary Egyptian. Personal details of the various reigns are lacking. Over all informative in a general way.

[Firoze Cassim]

A good brief introduction to the Old kingdom and the age when pharaohs started building pyramids.