the great pyramids rise
Djoser's Step Pyramid — the first monumental stone building on earth
~2686–2650 BCE
three experimental pyramids and the engineering breakthroughs they required
~2613–2589 BCE
Khufu's Great Pyramid — how 2.3 million blocks became perfection
~2589–2560 BCE
Khafre, the Sphinx, and the end of the pyramid-building frenzy
~2558–2500 BCE
smaller pyramids, sun temples, and the rise of the priesthood
~2494–2345 BCE
Pepi II rules for decades as central authority slowly erodes
~2345–2181 BCE
famine, civil war, and the collapse of the Old Kingdom
~2181–2100 BCE
Mentuhotep II reunites Egypt and launches the Middle Kingdom
~2100–2055 BCE