From the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the rivalry of Herakleopolis and Thebes, through Mentuhotep II's reunification of the Two Lands, the Twelfth Dynasty of Amenemhat and Senusret with its golden age of literature and conquest of Nubia, and the prosperous reign of Amenemhat III, to the decline of the Thirteenth Dynasty and the rise of the Hyksos around 1650 BCE. Slide across an age of collapse, renewal, and classical flowering.
With central authority gone, rival dynasties rule from Herakleopolis in the north while provincial nomarchs govern as petty kings, fragmenting the once-unified land.
From the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the rivalry of Herakleopolis and Thebes, through Mentuhotep II's reunification of the Two Lands, the Twelfth Dynasty of Amenemhat and Senusret with its golden age of literature and conquest of Nubia, and the prosperous reign of Amenemhat III, to the decline of the Thirteenth Dynasty and the rise of the Hyksos around 1650 BCE. Slide across an age of collapse, renewal, and classical flowering.
With central authority gone, rival dynasties rule from Herakleopolis in the north while provincial nomarchs govern as petty kings, fragmenting the once-unified land.
Provincial governors such as Ankhtifi boast of feeding their people through famine, while funerary spells once reserved for kings spread to commoners' coffins.
The Theban nomarchs of the Eleventh Dynasty, led by the Intef kings, proclaim themselves rulers and wage a long war for control of the Nile with the Herakleopolitan north.
The Theban king Mentuhotep II defeats Herakleopolis and reunites the Two Lands, founding the Middle Kingdom and building a revolutionary terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari.
The vizier Amenemhat I seizes the throne, founds the Twelfth Dynasty, and moves the capital to Itj-tawy near the Faiyum, inaugurating Egypt's classical golden age.
Under Senusret I, scribes compose the masterpieces of classical Egyptian literature — the Tale of Sinuhe, the Eloquent Peasant, and instructive wisdom texts.
Senusret III campaigns deep into Nubia, building a chain of mighty fortresses at the Second Cataract and curbing the power of the provincial nomarchs.
At the dynasty's prosperous height, Amenemhat III develops the Faiyum basin for agriculture and builds the vast pyramid complex at Hawara that Greeks called the Labyrinth.
A rapid succession of weak Thirteenth Dynasty kings loses control of the Delta, where the Asiatic Hyksos seize power, plunging Egypt into the Second Intermediate Period.