Skip to content
Χρονικόν
EL · Ελληνικά

Chronicle IV of XIV

First Intermediate Period & Middle Kingdom

Collapse & Renewal

Collapse, reunification under Mentuhotep, a golden age, and the coming of the Hyksos.

Span
c. 2181 – 1650 BCE
Entries
9
  1. 2160 BC

    First Intermediate PeriodPolitical

    Collapse and the Herakleopolitan kings

    With central authority gone, rival dynasties rule from Herakleopolis in the north while provincial nomarchs govern as petty kings, fragmenting the once-unified land.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  2. 2120 BC

    First Intermediate PeriodReligious

    Famine, the nomarchs, and the Coffin Texts

    Provincial governors such as Ankhtifi boast of feeding their people through famine, while funerary spells once reserved for kings spread to commoners' coffins.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 2
  3. 2080 BC

    First Intermediate PeriodMilitary

    Thebes rises against Herakleopolis

    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.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 2
  4. 2055 BC

    Middle KingdomPolitical

    Mentuhotep II reunites Egypt

    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.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  5. 1985 BC

    Twelfth DynastyPolitical

    Amenemhat I founds the Twelfth Dynasty

    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.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  6. 1950 BC

    Twelfth DynastyCultural

    The golden age of Middle Egyptian literature

    Under Senusret I, scribes compose the masterpieces of classical Egyptian literature — the Tale of Sinuhe, the Eloquent Peasant, and instructive wisdom texts.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  7. 1870 BC

    Twelfth DynastyMilitary

    Senusret III, conqueror of Nubia

    Senusret III campaigns deep into Nubia, building a chain of mighty fortresses at the Second Cataract and curbing the power of the provincial nomarchs.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
  8. 1831 BC

    Twelfth DynastyCultural

    Amenemhat III and the Faiyum

    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.

    Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3

  9. 1 more entry, to 1650 BC