Rock-Cut Tombs of the Middle KingdomLocation, Plans, and Political Power.One indication of the central government's control over its officials in ancient Egypt was the location and plan of official's tombs. Although the king was again the ruler of all Egypt, subordinate officials often lived and acted like small kings and there was an ease in upward mobility in the society which had not existed before. Huni Fourth DynastyRulers included: 1. Although the ancient Egyptians are often depicted as death-obsessed... Reign of Amenemhat I who moves capital of, Reign of the female monarch Sobekneferu in, Reign of Sobekhotep I, first king of the 13th Dynasty, in, Ancient Egypt: Everyday Life in the Land of the Nile, Asiatics in Middle Kingdom Egypt: Perceptions and Reality, Soldier of the Pharaoh: Middle Kingdom Egypt 2055–1650 BC, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. The royal tombs are moved to the north near the city of Memphis. Dynasty/Rulers During this time, the dominant religion of Egypt was the cult of Osiris. Art achieved an elegant realism: for the first time, pharaoh's faces were shown with lines of care and age, rather than idealized. The Predynastic period in Egypt is the name archaeologists have given to the three millennia before the emergence of the first unified Egyptian state. 24 Dec 2020. Tale of Sinuhe (Berlin 10499)by L. Baylis (Copyright). What does middle-kingdom mean? Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. All of these improvements made Egypt one of the wealthiest and most stable countries in the world at the time. Senusret I was succeeded by Amenemhat II (c. 1929-1895 BCE) who may have ruled jointly with him. He was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV (c. 1997-1991 BCE) about whom little is known other than that he sent his vizier, a man named Amenemhat, on an expedition to quarry stones. During the First Intermediate Period, these nomarchs who now had the power to control their own districts without regard for Memphis essentially became kings of their regions. Amenemhat III boasted of no great military victories but built almost as many monuments as his father and was responsible for the great mortuary temple at Hawara known as 'The Labyrinth,' which Herodotus claimed was more impressive than any of the ancient wonders of the world. So much for Egyptology being consistent, but never fear, they are all talking about the same king, and they all place his rule as the first of the Middle Kingdom and within the 11th Dynasty. (25). Teamwork . 1630 bce) and the Second Intermediate period (c. 1630–1540 bce) Mentuhotep II campaigned in Lower Nubia, where he may have been preceded by the Inyotefs. Under the prince Mentuhotep II (c. 2061-2010 BCE) the rulers of Herakleopolis were defeated and Thebes became the capital of Egypt. The Execration Texts, objects upon which spells were written to destroy one's enemies, are more numerous during the Middle Kingdom than any other period in Egypt's history. There is also evidence that artistic achievements were of a lower quality during the Second Intermediate Period. Click on the thumbnails below to learn more about the dynasties of the Middle Kingdom: 11th Dynasty (2134-1991) 12th Dynasty (1991-1783) These local officials were extremely devoted to their kings as evidenced by their biographies carved into tombs such as those at Beni Hassan (even though these are probably idealized). The 13th Dynasty was never as powerful or stable as the 12th and allowed an immigrant people known as the Hyksos to gain power in Lower Egypt, which eventually grew strong enough to challenge the authority of the 13th Dynasty and usher in the era known as the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (c. 1782-c.1570 BCE). Senusret III paid special attention to the city of Abydos, where Osiris' head was thought to be buried, and sent representatives there with gifts for Osiris' statue. They passed and enforced laws and gathered taxes without consulting with the kings who still tried to rule from the old capital. From the middle of the 6th cent. (3). The maintenance was left to the priests of the complexes and the local official, the nomarch, of the region, who received money from the royal treasury. One of the very important pharaohs was Montuhotep II who ruled from 2049-1999 B.C.E. Archaeologists divide ancient Egypt's history into three big blocks of time. stemming. Mentuhotep II Headby Mark Cartwright (CC BY-NC-SA). According to every estimation of the Middle Kingdom, Egypt reached its highest point of culture during the 12th Dynasty, and the innovations of this period influenced the rest of Egypt's history. One of the ways in which he curbed the nomarch's power was the creation of the first standing army. The Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1650 BCE) was marked by the reunification of Egypt following a period of weak pharaonic power and civil war called the First Intermediate. Djoser 3. The debate over the historicity of Nitocris has been going on for decades and is no closer to a resolution but many scholars (Toby Wilkinson and Barbara Watterson among them) now accept her as an actual person rather than a myth Herodotus created. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Middle_Kingdom_of_Egypt/. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. To prevent flooding of the north China plain by the Yellow River, Yu the Great organized large-scale projects in irrigation and dike-building. Amun assured believers of his constant watchful care during their lives and the continuation of harmony. Principaux titres. Osiris, originally a fertility god, would become known as Lord and Judge of the Dead, the deity who determined where one's soul would spend eternity, and his cult would become the most popular, merging finally with that of his wife Isis. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Mentuhotep I (c. 2115 BCE) followed Intef I's lead and conquered the surrounding nomes for Thebes, greatly enhancing its stature and increasing the city's power. This not only made the fertile land of the lake bottom available for agriculture but freed up the water for easier access by more people. Each of these eras has their own defining quality, including the Middle Kingdom, but scholars have claimed this period is more difficult to connect to any central image or accomplishment. Middle kingdom definition, the period in the history of ancient Egypt, c2000–1785 b.c., comprising the 11th to 14th dynasties. It lasted from 1975 BC to 1640 BC. As the piece was destroyed, so would one's enemies be. Cite This Work The 13th Dynasty faltered and a stronger power rose to take its place. Snefru 2. translation and definition "Middle Kingdom of Egypt", English-French Dictionary online. Mark van de Mieroop comments on this: While both the modern term 'Middle Kingdom' and the ancient presentation of [it] may suggest that this period parallels the Old and New Kingdoms, in many respects it is more difficult to define the Middle Kingdom than those other periods. The Mentuhotep royal line encouraged all forms of art and relied upon military prowess to establish new boundaries and new mining operations. As van de Mieroop notes, "All but the last two rulers of the 12th Dynasty built pyramids and mortuary complexes in the surroundings and filled them with royal statuary, relief sculptures, and the like" (102). Middle Kingdom of Egypt . His mortuary complex in Thebes contained some of the earliest known depictions of Amon-Re,… Amenemhat may have moved the capital to the Lisht region to distance himself from the previous dynasty - those who had united Egypt by force - and present himself as the unbiased king of the whole nation. The individual families who had held the position do not seem to have lost their status, however, as the tombs at Beni Hassan mentioned earlier attest. Scholars who claim that the Middle Kingdom only truly begins with the 12th Dynasty do so because of the reign of Amenemhat I (c. 1991-1962 BCE) and the culture his dynasty forged. His campaigns into Nubia expanded Egypt's boundaries and the fortifications he built along the border fostered trade. Merneith may have only been a regent for her son Den and Neithhotep, whose reputation as a reigning monarch relies largely on the grandeur of her tomb and inscriptions, could have simply been honored as a great king's wife and mother. Lisht was close by the old capital of Herakleopolis and near to the fertile area of the Fayyum, and so placing the court of the king there would signal that this dynasty was not just Theban but open to all Egyptians. The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt between about 2000 BC and 1700 BC, stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate Period. Can you identify the antonym of “protagonist,” or the opposite of a hero or heroine? Even though the Middle Kingdom may not have the grand pyramids of Egypt's past or the power which lay in the future, the contributions made by this era contributed enormously to the definition of Egyptian culture as it is recognized in the present day. The Middle Kingdom is a period in the history of Ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC. The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximately 2050 to 1710 BC, stretching from the reunification of Egypt under the reign of Mentuhotep II in the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. The Old Kingdom ends and the first Intermediate period begins. Margaret Bunson notes: The 12th Dynasty kings raided Syria and Palestine and marched to the Third Cataract of the Nile to establish fortified posts. Death was only another change in the course of one's life, not the end of it. The Middle Kingdom was the second peak period of the Ancient Egyptian civilization (the other two being the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom). His policies the building 's facade, which opened to the start of the.! 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