social evolution in Egypt 383property, and bequeathed their estates. Another queen-
pharaoh, Sobekneferu, ended this historical period.
THE SECOND INTERMEDIATE PERIODThe Middle Kingdom came to an end because of the
growing presence of eastern Asiatics in the land. A sage of
the period lamented the signs of the “desert,” the
BEDOUINSfrom the east, in the Nile Valley. Actually, the
Second Intermediate Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.) was a
time of political rather than social upheavals. The people
watched the HYKSOS, the dominant Asiatics, assume
power and erect a capital, but the viziers and other offi-
cials maintained order in the north while the Thebans
controlled Upper Egypt.
Rival dynasties emerged in the Delta, but the Hyksos
maintained a firm grip on their holdings and were careful
to uphold ancient traditions alongside their alien archi-
tecture and art. They also opened eastern borders, and
many groups in the Levant deemed themselves Egyptians
as a result. In the south, Nubians entered Egypt to serve
under the Theban rulers of the Seventeenth Dynasty
(1640–1550 B.C.E.), who would rise up to restore a
united land.
TA’OII(r. c. 1560 B.C.E.) and his son, KAMOSE(r.
1555–1550 B.C.E.), led the campaign to oust the Hyksos.
They faced complacent Egyptians who prospered under
the Asiatic rulers and had no compelling reason to see
Egypt united under Thebans as a consequence. ’AHMOSE
(r. 1550–1525 B.C.E.) came to the throne after his brother,
Kamose, and within a decade he was on the march north.
TETISHERI, AH’HOTEP (1), and ’AHMOSE-NEFERTARI were
queens of Thebes during the period. They were able to
attract the allegiance of the people and to lead the nation
into the famed era of the New Kingdom (1550–1070
B.C.E.). The Tuthmosid and Ramessid dynasties provided
the leadership for Egypt’s empire in this period, and the
average citizen of the Nile assumed new imperatives as a
result.
THE NEW KINGDOM PERIODThe role of the divine pharaoh, a truly Egyptian god-king,
signaled the restoration of MA’ATthroughout the land. The
people knew that military campaigns conducted by such
rulers not only expanded the nation’s holdings as an
empire but kept Egypt secure. The rise of the cult of Amun
at Thebes revived the nation spiritually, and the nomes
remained cooperative, sending their ablest young men into
the service of the gods or the pharaoh. Educational institu-
tions thrived, medicine and the ARTS AND ARCHITECTURE
prospered, and the standing armies patrolled entire
regions. Such armies no longer depended upon the cooper-
ation of nomarchs but remained on duty and prepared for
far-flung campaigns in the empire. Conscription became
part of the commoners’ lives at the same time.
Commoners who were not educated tilled the soil
and celebrated an extraordinary number of religious festi-
vals throughout the year. Women had increased legal
rights and served in the temples of Egypt as chantresses,
with some becoming part of the “harem” of Amun.
At the same time, Egyptians became rather sophisti-
cated and cosmopolitan. Foreigners, who had come to
Egypt as a result of trade or conquest, were not viewed
with disdain by the average person but accepted on their
own terms. The traditional caste system imposed by the
nomes disintegrated as well, and a definite middle class
of traders, craftsmen, and artisans arose in this era.
The period of ’AMARNAand the reign of AKHENATEN
(1353–1335 B.C.E.) proved disastrous for the average
Egyptian and the empire. The people remembered TUTH-
MOSIS I (r. 1504–1492 B.C.E.) and TUTHMOSIS III (r.
1479–1425 B.C.E.) and had thrilled at the sight of AMEN-
HOTEPII (r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.). The new ruler, however,
Akhenaten, was a solitary man, who closed the tradi-
tional temples of the old gods and made ATENthe deity of
the land. The Egyptians did not accept him.
The coronation of HOREMHAB(r. 1319–1307 B.C.E.)
came as a relief, and the rise of the Ramessids rejuvenated
the land. SETI I(r. 1306–1290 B.C.E.), RAMESSES II(r.
1290–1224 B.C.E.), and RAMESSES III(r. 1194–1163 B.C.E.)
stood as true pharaohs for the people, and the decline of
their era filled most with a sense of dread. Famines,
droughts, lawlessness, and suffering followed, and one
year was called “the Year of the Hyena” because of the
miseries inflicted upon the land.
THE THIRD INTERMEDIATE PERIOD
The collapse of the Ramessids in 1070 B.C.E. opened the
Third Intermediate Period that lasted until 712 B.C.E. The
rulers of the Twenty-first Dynasty and the Amunite
priests of Thebes maintained familial ties but separate
spheres of authority. This was not a time of calm or dedi-
cation. These priests and rulers were reduced to usurping
the monuments and mortuary regalias of previousGolden tableware that dates to the Nineteenth Dynasty.
(Hulton Archive.)