THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

Region: Egypt

Created: Nov 16, 2009, modified: Jan 13, 2012, overall rating: 0.000

The MiddleKingdom started about 2060 B.C. with the end of the Xlth dynasty. The PharaohMontu-Hotep I re-established control over Lower Egypt with the aid of theEgyptian "middle class". During the reigns of his successors, Montu-Hotep IIand Montu-Hotep III, commerce was intensified, a trade route to theRedSea was opened andan expansionist policy aimed at Nubia wasput into operation.

The Xllth dynasty had its beginnings about the year 2000 B.C. and itproved to be one of the most renowned and also one of the greatest in the wholeof Egyptian history. Its first pharaoh was Amon-Emhat I who established the cultof Amon who consequently became the principal deity. This pharaoh was an ableadministrator and under his rule Egypt enjoyed another period of greatprosperity. He extended Egypt's frontier into the heart of Nubia going as far asKorosko and he also fought the Libyans. He was succeeded by his son Sesostris Iwho seized the gold mines of Wadi Allaki. To ensure the continuity of thedynasty he associated his eldest son with the throne and all his successorsfollowed his example. We have very few documents relating to the reigns of hissuccessors Amon-Emhat II and Sesotris II but we do know established withPhenicia. The region around Fey rum was reclaimed and Amon-Emhat III built agrandiose residence there which was so complex that the Greeks referred to it asthe « Labyrinth ».

His successor, Sesotris III, was one of Egypt's most importantsovereigns. Following four military campaigns he colonized Nubia, he wentas far as Palestine and he built a large number of forts along the frontier withthe Sudan. During this period there was also a considerable flowering ofcultural activity demonstrated by such famous works as the « Book of TwoLives » and the « Teachings of Amon-Emhat ». With the Xllth dynasty the MiddleKingdom came to an end. It was succeeded by the so-called Second InterimPeriod which even today remains obscure and full of uncertainties. It wasdominated by the invasion of a Semitic people coming from east of the Delta.

The priest Manetonius of Sebennite who wrote a history of Egypt in Greekentitled « Memorable Facts about Egypt » called them Hyksos, a deformation ofthe Egyptian word « Hekakhasut » meaning « head of foreign countries ». Theyinvaded the fertile plains of the Delta, fortified the city of Avaris and madeit their capital. The victory of the Hiksos over the Egyptians must have beenquite easy because not only did they find a weak government but they were alsomilitarily superior to the Egyptians. They were responsible for the introductionof iron weapons, horses and war chariots all of which were previously unknown tothe Egyptians, the Hyksos princes united around them other dynasties of UpperEgypt and defeated the invading army. This reconquest was brought to asuccessful conclusion around 1622 B.C. by Ahmose, also the founder of theXVIIIth dynasty, who chased the enemy as far as southern Palestine and reunitedEgypt under his rule.