The Old Kingdom was the first of the 3 Kingdoms of Egypt where the ancient Egyptian civilization was said to be at its zenith. It lasted from 2686 BC to 2181 BC.
Under the Old Kingdom;
Great Pyramids were constructed - The Old Kingdom is popularly known as the Age of Pyramids because this was when Egypt mastered the art of building them. The Great Pyramids of Giza were built in the beginning of the Old Kingdom with the most popular being built for Pharaoh Khufu.
Prosperity and trade increased - In the Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians saw their influence and reach increase. This brought prosperity to them and made them more powerful. Trading missions from the kingdom even reached as far as Lebanon and possibly modern day Somalia.
The Middle Kingdom
This followed the Old Kingdom and was established after the Old Kingdom had fallen into decline. It lasted from 2050 to 1710 BC and had Pharaohs such as Mentuhotep II and Senusret III.
The Middle Kingdom saw;
The Canal constructed to the Red Sea - It is said that under Senusret III, the Egyptians tried to build a canal to the red sea and this was continued by Persian King Darius the Great when he conquered Egypt.
The Kingdom fall to Hyksos invaders - The end of the Middle Kingdom came when it fell to the Hyksos invaders who were from West Asia.
