Ancient Egypt: The Middle Kingdom

elprofessor (28)in #history • 6 years ago (edited)

By the start of the first intermediary period, Ancient Egypt was engulfed in a devastating civil war, that dissolved the union of Egypt. The government collapsed and the economy was in shambles. Finally, under the rule of Mentuhotep II, Egypt reunited and was ready for more progress in agriculture, arts and construction. The Middle Kingdom was certainly a very interesting period, where people displayed a greater level of piety and devotion towards sophisticated themes in arts and culture.

Civil War and Union

As Egypt split back into Upper & Lower Egypt after the collapse of the government and central administration, local clans began competing for power with the strongest and most popular families in each part of Egypt gaining control in their respective areas. At around 2055BC Mentuhotep II finally crushed Lower Egypt and the rival dynasty in Herakleopolis reuniting Egypt and reinstating Thebes as its capital city.

Figure 1: Map of Egypt depicting the different surrounding regions.

With Egypt whole again, the rulers could now focus on important state matters and country development projects. From Fayyium Amenemhat I and has dynasty began a huge land reclamation campaign where they restored lands previously taken by the Nubians to the south. Many of these lands contained important strategic resources like gold, marble and limestone. The pharaohs also built a defensive wall to the East of the Delta in Lower Egypt to repel foreign attackers.

After having secured the country defensively, economically and politically along with additional strategic and luxury resources, Egypt was in a much better state with literature, arts, agriculture and construction all resurging and flourishing in the Middle Kingdom.

New Neighbours or Foreign Invaders?

Towards the end of the Middle Kingdom, Amenemhat III allowed a large group of settlers from Canaan (modern day Palestine and Jordan) to settle in the Nile Delta region of Lower Egypt. The new population provided a larger workforce and increased manpower for construction and mining projects. With time, more and more Canaanites moved to the Delta in Egypt gaining them more power and control there. All the expensive construction projects to build monuments, temples and intricate statues strained the economy of Egypt. This coupled with strong floods in the end of Amenemhat III's reign paved the way for a period of great national instability called the Second Intermediary Period.

The Second Intermediary Period

The Canaanites in the Nile Delta with their ever-growing influence seized the opportunity of a weakened Egypt and established their control in Lower Egypt forcing the Pharaohs to retreat to Thebes in around 1785BC. These people were then known as the Hyksos (foreign invaders in Ancient Egyptian). The Pharaohs was a vassal to the Hyksos and paid regular tributes to them. The Hyksos mainly won because of the surprise attack factor and their superior military technology. They had composite bows which were more powerful and lightweight than standard Egyptian bows, the Hyksos also mastered the war chariots and used them extensively in combat.

Figure 2: Horse-Drawn War Chariot.

Figure 3: Asian Composite Bow.

The Nubians to the south of Egypt (modern day Sudan), a long-term rival of Egypt, also seized this opportunity and entered and alliance with the Hyksos to attack Egypt and reclaim their lands, effectively rendering the pharaohs trapped in Thebes between two enemies. The Hyksos did not attempt to change the Egyptian culture or traditions, instead the embraced it willingly and identified as pharaohs.

In these troubling and dangerous times, how will Egypt rise from occupation and the pharaohs reclaim their rightful throne?

Stay Tuned!

Next stop: The New Kingdom

Previous posts in this series:

Ancient Egypt: Introduction Ancient Egypt: Early Dynasty Ancient Egypt: The Old Kingdom

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I am huge history & geography geek and I want to bring you some entertainment and hopefully education, through creating content about topics I am very passionate about.