social evolution in Egypt 381dedicated from achieving rank and power. What was nec-
essary for the individual Egyptian in any historical period
to rise in rank and honors as public servants or as faithful
members of villages was dedication, loyalty, conformity to
accepted traditions, and a commitment to ma’at,the guid-
ing principle of life in the Nile Valley.
THE OLD KINGDOM PERIODThe NOMARCHS, the aristocratic clan families that con-
trolled hereditary ranks and estates, were powerful in the
Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.), and commoners
looked to them to control regional matters and to main-
tain stability and peace. The commoners were assured of
equal justice in the nation’s courts and of their right to
appeal to higher authorities in cases of juridical incompe-
tence or malice.
Men and women married, raised families,
bequeathed their holdings to their heirs, and went to
their tombs assured of paradise in a spiritual form. When
the ruler called for laborers for the great monuments, the
people responded with enthusiasm because this was part
of their pact with the gods and with Egypt. When the
ruler declared that an enemy was threatening Egypt, the
people knew that such a foe had to be evil and deserving
of punishment. They marched to war behind their
nomarchs and clan totems to free Egypt from menace.
The Old Kingdom nurtured the traditions of previous
generations and brought them to full flower. Egypt was
prosperous, protected by the gods, and in the service of
the anointed ruler on the throne. The individual Egyp-
tians could attend schools, follow in the trade of their
fathers, or invent new ways of making a living. All Egyp-
tians, however, stood at the tombs of their ancestors to
keep their memories alive. They also worshiped the gods
and practiced henotheism, the art of believing in one god
while not denying the presence of an entire pantheon of
deities.
Men and women set dowry arrangements and took
up cohabitation as marriage. The wife was the sole mis-
tress of the house, the one who set the discipline, and
might become one of the matriarchs of the village or city
neighborhood. The men performed their labors and met
with others to settle disputes in council. Many marriages
were love-matches, especially among the common
classes, and most were monogamous. The mandate of the
historical period was the obligation of the people to raise
up “stout sons” for Egypt.
During the Fourth (2575–2465 B.C.E.), Fifth
(2465–2323 B.C.E.), and Sixth (2323–2150 B.C.E.) Dynas-
ties, the nation prospered, and irrigation, AGRICULTURE,
and religious factors of life were aided by vast building
projects and improvements. During this period the
supremacy of the pharaoh was stressed, and in many
reigns only members of the royal families held positions
of power. The commoners were estranged to some extent,
and the various nomarchs began to assume powers. There
were still commoners of wisdom and valor, such as
KAGEMNI and MERERUKA, serving TETI (r. 2323–2291
B.C.E.), but the government was becoming decentralized.
The nomarchs, however, served as loyal, capable repre-
sentatives of the pharaoh, and remarkable individuals
appear in this era. The governing officials of some areas,
such as NUBIA(modern Sudan), had to raise armies, garri-
son outposts, levy taxes, conduct trade, and perform
quarrying or mining operations. A vast army of dedicated
assistants made such labors possible.THE FIRST INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
All of this prosperity and determined service came to an
end in the 94-year reign of PEPI II(2246–2152 B.C.E.). His
successors, including a queen-pharaoh, NITOCRIS (1),
could not stem the tide of decline, and thus chaos, an ele-
ment of existence most feared by the Egyptians,
descended on the Nile. The First Intermediate Period
(2134–2040 B.C.E.) witnessed the collapse of the monar-
chy and the steady rise of the nomarchs and industrious
commoners. The literature of the era demonstrates confu-
sion, a profound sense of loss, and despair.
The rulers of the Ninth (2134–? B.C.E.) and Tenth
(?–2040 B.C.E.) Dynasties tried to regroup, but the Egyp-
tian people did not respond until an act of sacrilege so
alarmed everyone that the Thebans of Upper Egypt raised
an army and retook all of the nation. In the battles for
land and power, a group from the north assaulted THINIS,
the original area of NARMER. Ancient grave sites were
destroyed, an act that was shockingly depraved in the
minds of the Egyptians. During this era, however, the
ELOQUENT PEASANT, abused by a local nomarch,took his
case to the pharaoh and became a popular sage when he
triumphed legally.
MONTUHOTEP II(r. 2061–2010 B.C.E.) assumed the
mantle of moral outrage that resulted from the desecra-
tion of Thinis tombs and marched on the remaining
rulers of the Tenth Dynasty, ending the disunity and the
chaos. Egyptians applauded this campaign because Egypt
could not survive as two entities in one valley. The Nile
and the gods, in their view, demanded a united people.THE MIDDLE KINGDOM PERIOD
The Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) was a time of
rejuvenation, military expansion, monuments, religious
fervor, and artistic vitality, because the nation was one,
and ma’at,the order of the cosmos, had been restored. The
Montuhoteps, the Amenemhets, and the Senwosrets came
to the throne with the ability to inspire their people.
Focusing on the FAIYUMand other internal needs of the
nation, these pharaohs also reined in the nomarchs and
consolidated the powers of government in their own
divine persons. A true golden age arose in Egypt, and
individual citizens could look back at the “Eloquent Peas-
ant” who had spoken for all commoners in the previous
era. Women served as regents for infant nomarchs, held