THE MIDDLE KINGDOM
2040 to 1640 BC

The 1st Intermediate Period ended in 2040 BC when the 11th Dynasty pharaoh Mentuhotep II (2055-2004 BC) of Thebes finally succeeded in overthrowing the Herakleopolitan kings of the 9th/10th Dynasties. He reunited Egypt after a century of chaos and civil war. Later generations would come to see Mentuhotep II as the second founder of Egypt.

Mentuhotep II ruled for 50 years. He gained feudal oversight of the nearly independant nome rulers and centralized administration. He and his successor, Mentuhotep III (2004-1992 BC) launched a monument building campaign throughout Egypt and began the draining of the Faiyum swamp. Egypt again flourished.

In 1992 BC, however, dynastic problems arose. The last king of the 11th Dynasty, Mentuhotep IV (1992-1987 BC), and the first king of the 12th Dynasty, Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BC), ruled concurrently at first.

It is not known how Amenemhet I came to power - through coup or through named succession. A stone tablet from the period shows the names of the two kings next to each other, which implies a co-regency. If so, then Amenemhet was intended as Mentuhotep's successor and the co-regency was designed to ensure an uncontested transfer of power. This practice would often be used again throughout Egyptian history.

Amenemhet I moved the administrative center of the country from Thebes to a new city, Itjtaway ("One that Takes the Two Lands"), located somewhere in or near the Faiyum oasis, while Memphis became the official capital again. But Thebes would continue to grow in importance. Not only was it the original home of the Middle Kingdom dynasties, but it was the cult center of the god Amun - a god of obscure origins to whom the kings of the 12th Dynasty felt some special allegiance.

Amenemhet I and his successors continued the building program of the late 11th Dynasty. They financed it with the treasure coming from military campaigns in Nubia, where Amenemhet I and his son Senusret I (1956-1911 BC) regained control of the Nile Valley south of the First Cataract. In Nubia and along the Eastern Desert they built fortresses to repel nomadic tribes.

In 1962 BC, Amenemhet I was assassinated. Because Senusret I had already been declared as co-regent, he was able to take control immediately without Egypt degenerating into unrest again. Senusret I continued to wage war on Nubia.

Senusret III (1836-1817 BC) brought the Middle Kingdom to its political, economical and cultural climax. He continued the campaigns against Nubia, and advanced the border to the Second Cataract, beyond which the awed natives would later venerate him as a god. He also waged the first Egyptian military campaign into Canaan, most likely to punish nomad raiders. But Egypt did not show an interest in this region for a long time after Senusret III.

In 1817, Amenemhet III (1817-1772 BC) came to power. He ruled for 45 years and was the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom. He reformed the central administration of Egypt, and eliminated any nomarchs who had retained power since the 1st Intermediate Period. He replaced them with royal governors. Amenemhet III turned the newly-drained Faiyum oasis-swamp into a new and fertile province, Hieroglyphic writing was standardized. Order and stability prevailed.

Like the Old Kingdom pharaohs before them, the 12th Dynasty kings launched numerous armed trading expeditions into Nubia, Canaan-Syria and the Eastren Desert to the Red Sea. They searched for precious gems and metals, and timber and fine wood. Sea-trade was also established with the flourishing civilization of Minoan Crete.

Middle Kingdom pharaohs abandoned the grandiose pyramid tombs of their Old Kingdom predecessors (by now all plundered). The next phase in tomb design was the rock-cut tomb. The best examples of these can be seen in the Valley of the Kings. They continued to build grand temples, especially in more visible areas like Thebes. Senusret I began the construction at Karnak, which would continue for 2000 years.

The later years of the 12th Dynasty were prosperous and peaceful, but royal power and initiative dissolved in indulgence and the dynasty flickered out. The 13th Dynasty pharaohs (sometimes included in the Middle Kingdom) were weak and meaningless puppets. True power in Egypt rested in the hands of the central administration and certain powerful families, who for some time maintained the country's stability and prosperity.

But there was almost no military activity of any significance and the fortresses on the eastern border were neglected. Asian nomads, attracted by the wealth, prosperity and soft climate of Egypt, began quietly filtering through the borders. More followed, armed with new technology - iron weapons and horse-chariots. And while the kings of the 13th Dynasty lay dormant in their palaces, Lower Egypt and the Delta was seized by an Asiatic tribe called the Hyksos.

The breakdown of central authority marks the end of the Middle Kingdom and the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period.