Maria Huffman, age 14, of Bessemer, Ala., for her question:
WHERE WAS THE WORLD'S FIRST CIVILIZATION?
The oldest civilization in the world is that of the Egyptians. The country's written records go back more than 6,000 years. Also going back into ancient history are such fine monuments as the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids.
As far back as 4000 B.C., the Egyptians were coming up with such inventions as glassmaking, metal smelting, hieroglyphic writing sad shipbuilding. They also developed building methods sad knew how to measure the length of a year. And they could tell when the longest and shortest days of the year would arrive because they had mastered both astronomy and mathematics.
By about 3000 B.C., the first king of the first dynasty of rulers came to power. A dynasty was a family that ruled for a number of generations. There were 30 dynasties over the next 2,500 years or so, sack with a series of kings called Pharaohs.
The reign of Egypt's last native Pharaoh came to an end in 526 B.C. when the Persians invaded the country. The King of Persia became the first of many foreign rulers over Egypt.
Alexander the Great visited Egypt in 332 B.C. and was immediately declared a son of the god Amon Ra. At the mouth of the Nile River, Alexander founded a famous port that he named Alexandria, after himself.
After Alexander's death, the Greek dynasty of the Ptolemies took over the rule of Egypt and they stayed in power until 30 B.C. When Cleopatra, the last member of this illustrious family, committed suicide, Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.
With Roman rule cams a rebirth of Egyptian prosperity and fame. The port city of Alexandria became one of the most important cities in the world. Christianity was brought into Egypt and by 300 A.D. the country had become a leading center of Christian teaching.
Egypt was again conquered by the Persians in A.D. 616, and in A. D. 640 the Arabs took over. The Arabs turned out to be grant scientists and scholars. Cairo was established in A.D. 969 during the Arab rule.
During the Roman rule of Egypt, most of the citizens became Christians. The descendants of these early Egyptian Christens are called Copts.
Under Arab rule, most of the Egyptians took on the religion of Mohammedanism.
A famous center of Moslem teaching, the Mosque of Al Azhar, was built in Cairo during the 10th Century. Al Azhar is the world's oldest university.
During the time of Arab rule, much of Egypt's trade was lost.
Arab rule came to an end when the Turks conquered Egypt 1n 1517. The glory of Egypt wasn't high during the time of the Turkish rule, but things did improve economically in 1798 when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered the country.
Hare's how the next part of history was written: in 1801 the Turks again gained control of Egypt; in 1869 the Suez Canal opened; in 1882 an Egyptian revolt proved unsuccessful; Egypt became a British protectorate in 1914; and Egypt became independent in 1922.