Famous Pharaohs

Famous Pharaohs
Long ago, the rulers of ancient Egypt had a special title.
They were known as pharaohs. A pharaoh was all powerful.
He (or she) watched over the law of the land
and was chief of the temples. Over a span
of more than three thousand years there
were many pharaohs.

Ramesses II

Ramesses II ruled over

Egypt as its pharaoh for
67 years. He became
famous for building
Tutankhamun many monuments
Tutankhamun (more commonly known and statues.
today as King Tut) became a pharaoh at
only 9 years old!
 The Amazing Sphinx

The Amazing Sphinx

The pharaohs built amazing monuments
and statues. One of the most well known
is the sphinx. This monument was carved
out of a single block of natural limestone
at a place called Giza.
Sphinx at Giza
The sphinx combines the face of a human
with the body of a lion to symbolize great
wisdom and power. And it’s really huge!
The sculpture is 240 feet long and 66
feet high, and its face is 20 feet wide!
 Mummy Case

Mummy Case
Ancient Egyptians believed that when a person died, part of the person’s spirit remained with
the body. So dead bodies were mummified, or preserved, to protect them from total decay.

A pharaoh’s mummy was always given extra special treatment. For example, King Tut had
three coffins—each nested inside the other. This picture shows one of them.

King Tut coffin

 Model Servants

Model Servants
Many things were buried with
pharaohs to help them in the
afterlife—including food,
jewelry, and sometimes small
pets or a favorite servant!

Tiny figures like these were also

often included. It was thought
that work may need to be done in
the afterlife. If so, these small
carvings would spring to life to
help!

Shabti figures
 Inside the Great Pyramid

Inside the Great Pyramid

Model of the
Pyramids were sometimes built as part of a pharaoh’s
Great Pyramid
burial process. The Great Pyramid, built for the Chamber to relieve
Pharaoh Khufu more than 4,000 years ago, was weight from above
the largest pyramid. It probably took about
twenty years to complete. The pyramid is
more than 450 feet high (which is way
taller than the Statue of Liberty!) King’s burial
and it’s made of more than chamber
2 million blocks of stone. Unused burial
chamber

Temple where offerings

could be made

Unused burial
chamber
Pit for boat to
Burial places of King’s carry King’s body
three chief wives up the Nile River
 Tomb Builders

Tomb Builders
Eventually, pharaohs stopped
building pyramids. Instead, they
chose to be buried in tombs in a
place known as the Valley of the
Kings.

It took many workers to build a

tomb. This drawing shows a man,
named Anherkau, with his son.
He was one of the people who
directed the workers who built
tombs. Where did this drawing
come from? Anherkau’s own
tomb! Foreman and his son

By studying the information that ancient Egyptians passed on in their death, scientists
have been able to learn much more about their lives.