innovation and competence. The first evidence of the use
ofstone in large monuments dates to this period, and the
conventions of Egyptian art developed at the same time.
Cities flourished, and temples were raised for the local
cults and for the emerging national deities. The achieve-
ments of the Early Dynastic Period culminated in the
splendid mortuary complex erected for DJOSER (r.
2630–2611 B.C.E.) by IMHOTEP, the chancellor, or VIZIER,
of the pharaoh.
The Egyptians believed in material comforts and
enjoyed amusements and pleasures, tempered by the ide-
als of moderation, quietude, and a respect for the wisdom
of elders. While they were obedient to superiors, the
Egyptians firmly acknowledged an unprecedented aware-
ness of human free will. This aspect of free will they
translated into personal responsibility for one’s actions,
summarized in time by the concept of MA’AT.Sages such
as PTAH-HOTEP(2), who is reported as having lived in this
era, wrote didactic LITERATUREextolling the virtues to the
nation.
THE OLD KINGDOM (2575–2134 B.C.E.)The great pyramid builders of the Fourth Dynasty
(2575–2465 B.C.E.) erected monuments, which rise from
the sands of Giza as eternal testaments to the vigor and
dynamism of this age, and sent exploratory and punitive
expeditions into Libya, Syria, and Nubia. A navy came
into use in this era and land-based forces were frequently
engaged. QUARRIES and mines were opened, and new
expeditions ventured as far south as northern modern
Sudan. Mining operations and other activities for extract-
ing foreign natural resources demanded a military pres-
ence and a commitment of men and materials. By the
close of the Old Kingdom the defensive posture of the
Egyptian military was altered by General WENI(c. 2402
B.C.E.), who began aggressive campaigns using veteran
troops and mercenaries.
The last two dynasties of this historical period were
unable to resist the growing independence of the
provinces. The Seventh Dynasty was short-lived (having
no real power), and the Eighth Dynasty could not main-
tain its grip on the various nomes and territories that
were rebelling against this last line of kings in an effort to
establish political alliances.
THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
(2134–2040 B.C.E.)This was an age of turmoil and chaos that began with the
collapse of the Old Kingdom and ended with the military
campaigns of MONTUHOTEP II(2061–2010 B.C.E.) of the
Eleventh Dynasty. Following the Seventh and Eighth
Dynasties, the capital shifted to the south to HERAKLEOPO-
LIS, in the FAIYUM. This was the home of the rulers of the
Ninth and Tenth Dynasties, (called KHETYby some and
Aktoy by others), and 18 rulers of this line are listed in
part or in whole in the TURIN CANON. The first of the
royal line was so ferocious in attempting to gain control
ofthe nomes surrounding his capital that he earned a
reputation for cruelty. This was also the period in which
the INSTRUCTIONS FOR MERIKARÉ and the advice of the
“ELOQUENT PEASANT” were written.
The INYOTEF line, contemporaries who ruled the
southern nomes in THEBES, began an assault on Herak-
leopolis. The last ruler of the Tenth Dynasty lost his capi-
tal to Montuhotep II in 2040 B.C.E.
THE MIDDLE KINGDOM PERIOD
(2040–1640 B.C.E.)
This new and vital historical period began with the fall of
Herakleopolis to Montuhotep II, an era of great artistic
gains and stability in Egypt. A strong government fos-
tered a climate in which a great deal of creative activity
took place. The greatest monument of this period was at
Thebes, on the western bank of the Nile, at a site called
DEIR EL-BAHRI. There Montuhotep II erected his vast mor-
tuary complex, a structure that would later influence the
architects of the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.).
The Montuhotep royal line encouraged all forms of
art and relied upon military prowess to establish new
boundaries and new mining operations. The Mon-
tuhoteps, as the Inyotefs before them, were fierce com-
petitors on the battlefield. They campaigned in Nubia,
Libya, the Sinai, Palestine, and perhaps even visited Syria
on a punitive campaign. The Montuhoteps were followed
by a royal line that was started by a usurper,AMENEMHET
I. Having served as a VIZIERand military commander for
Egypt, Amenemhet took the throne and then sailed a fleet
of 40 galleys up and down the Nile to put down rebel-
lious nomes. He built his new capital at ITJ-TAW Y, south of
GIZAand SAQQARA. He also established a “WALL OF THE
PRINCE,” a series of fortresses on Egypt’s eastern and west-
ernborders. Both Amenemhet I and the “Wall of the
Prince” were supposedly foretold by a sage named NEFE
ROHU(Neferti), who was reported to have lived in the
Fourth Dynasty and promised that a savior would appear
to help Egypt in a time of need.
The Twelfth Dynasty pharaohs raided Syria and
Palestine and marched to the third cataract of the Nile to
establish fortified posts. They sent expeditions to the Red
Sea, using the overland route to the coast and the way
through the WADI TIMULATand the BITTER LAKES. To stim-
ulate the national economy, these rulers also began vast
irrigation and hydraulic projects in the Faiyum to reclaim
the lush fields there. The agricultural lands made avail-
able by these systems revitalized Egyptian life.
The rulers built vast pyramids at Itj-tawy and at
DASHUR, including the multichambered LABYRINTH, which
was an administrative center. It was an age of cultural
and literary achievement on the Nile, prompted by the
leadership of the royal family and revered by later Egyp-
tians as the nation’s Golden Age. By 1799 B.C.E., however,
the line had waned. AMENEMHET IVruled for a decade,120 Egypt