Ancient Egypt - Middle Kingdom
Empires of the Bronze Age
I am writing a new series of articles about Ancient Empires in the Bronze Age, which lasted from about 3500 BCE to 1000 BCE. The Bronze Age was a time period in history when people used bronze as the primary metal for weapons, armor, and tools. Bronze is a combination of copper, tin, and other materials. It is produced by mining copper and tin, melting them with high heat, then hammering the metal compound into shape or pouring the liquid metal into a mold.
Empires in the Bronze Age include Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, the Hittites, and more. These empires are interesting because of their large size and their big accomplishments. They established a government state with laws, administrative departments, tax accounting, large militaries, judicial systems, international relations, and economies with different sectors. Many of these empires also supported large cities and multi-ethnic communities.
These empires also competed with each other, and they grew stronger through economic competition and large wars. We all probably know the names of some of these empires, but we probably don’t know the specific details of when they were first founded, who were some of their great leaders, what were their unique culture and accomplishments, and why they fell apart. In the next several weeks, I will be learning about these empires, and I invite you to follow this newsletter for information about each empire.
I’m starting with three articles about Ancient Egypt. Previously, I wrote about Egypt’s founding and the Old Kingdom, which is when the pyramids and early hieroglyphic writings were created. In this post, I am writing about the Middle Kingdom which was another historical time period when all of Egypt was unified by a single pharaoh.
The First Intermediate Period
The Old Kingdom, which lasted for about 500 years in 2700-2200 BCE, was one of the "golden ages" of Ancient Egypt. In this time period, Upper and Lower Egypt became unified into a single kingdom with a capital city in Memphis, and many components of the Ancient Egyptian civilization came into existence, including hieroglyphic writing, the central importance of the pharaoh, religious practices and mythology, and the building of pyramids, including the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx in Giza.
At around 2200 BCE, the Old Kingdom fell apart, and Egypt fell into a 100-year period of chaos and division, known as the First Intermediate Period. This started because one of the last pharaohs lived to the age of 90, and he had no heirs who could take over (he had outlived them). Several regional governors had also become powerful; they had raised their own armies, and they started to expand their territory. At the same time, Egypt experienced an extreme drought, and the Nile River couldn't sustain normal crop harvests. All of these problems undermined the stability of the central government, and the country dissolved into chaos and conflict among powerful regional governors.
The Middle Kingdom
At around 2050 BCE, a regional leader from Thebes (in central Egypt) named Mentuhotep the Second unified the kingdom again and established a period of stability that lasted about 300-400 years. This period is known as the Middle Kingdom or the Period of Reunification. Mentuhotep established a centralized government, restored the peace, conquered lost territory, strengthened military defenses, and re-established the image of the pharaoh as a god on earth. Here is a wall painting of him.
Pharaohs who followed his reign were also strong military leaders who held power for long periods of time. They helped Egypt expand its borders, and they secured the peace internally.
Government Administration
The large empires of the Bronze Age made many advances in government administration, and this happened during the Middle Kingdom as well. Pharaohs established "viziers" (senior advisors and political leaders) who helped manage the government for them. They also created standing armies with professional soldiers and regional and provincial government employees. This is probably not a big deal for people who don't like big government, but the Bronze Age is known for new innovations in government and administration, and these jobs helped the whole kingdom function effectively. These models of government administration also helped future empires (such as Alexander the Great, the Roman Empire, and Ottoman Empire) grow and function.
I am becoming personally interested in some of this history of governance because one of my degrees is in Business Administration and Leadership, so I am always trying to learn about effective leadership styles.
Burial Practices
Burial practices dramatically changed during the Middle Kingdom. Pharaohs were no longer buried in pyramids or large, rich burial chambers. Instead, dead kings were buried in private tombs or caves, and the actual burial chamber was small and without decorations or artwork.
Statues and Art
There is little artwork from this time period. What remains has a lot of intricate detail. Here is an example of a drawing on a burial tomb that shows a group of migrants - possibly Canaanites - moving into Egypt.
Statues were also important during this time. Here is an example of a pharaoh. The statue is made of wood, and it uses several colors and layers. You can read more information about this statue here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/543864
Second Intermediate Period
The unity government of the Middle Kingdom fell apart around 1700 BCE, and the Second Intermediate Period lasted for about 150-200 years. The Middle Kingdom fell apart because rulers were not strong enough to maintain control of the whole territory. They also moved the central government further south towards Thebes. This left a power vacuum in the north, and migrating tribes from the Palestine region moved in and took over control of northern Egypt. Egyptian territory shrunk, and Egyptian leaders maintained control only in the south. Eventually, Egyptian pharaohs grew more powerful, and they reclaimed their lost territory in the north. This is the story of the New Kingdom, which will come next.
Next…
I will continue with a final post about Egypt with the New Kingdom and the Roman Period. This is the time of Ramses the Great and also Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and the final years of the Egypt as a great ancient civilization. Afterwards, I’ll move on to other Bronze Age empires in the Middle East.
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My name is Lirim Neziri, and I am an educator and a writer. I love to read and learn, and this newsletter (which I call Lirim’s Learning Club) lets me share interesting things I am learning. I write about History, Literature, Writing, Education, Technology, Leadership, and Personal Productivity. Please join my learning adventure.