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The Middle Kingdom
Domestic Policy
The last ruler of Dynasty 11 was probably assassinated by his vizier, Amenemhe, who seized the throne and became King Amenemhet I, the founder of Dynasty 12. He and his descendants ruled Egypt for the period that Egyptologists have named the Middle Kingdom, when the country flourished again as in the Old Kingdom. Amenemhet I’s father was not royal, and he and his descendants had no legitimate claim to rule, but they took several shrewd political measures to establish and promote their dynasty. They chose a new and more central site for their capital at It-towy, some distance south of Memphis. Thebes was retained as a great religious center. Amenemhet I introduced coregencies to counteract any attempt to place a rival claimant on the throne after his death. In year 20 of his reign he made his eldest son (later Senusret I) his coregent, and they ruled together for twenty years. This custom was continued throughout the dynasty and ensured a smooth succession even when violent events such as the probable assassination of Amenemhet I occurred. These kings also dealt with the problem of the powerful provincial nobility, which had contributed to the downfall of the Old Kingdom. Under Amenemhet I the nobles retained many privileges and built magnificent rock cut tombs in their own provinces. Their political and military strength still posed a threat to the king, and a later ruler of Dynasty 12, Senusret III, took decisive action and suppressed these men, removing their rights and privileges and closing their local courts so that they never again challenged royal authority. Their great provincial tombs ceased after his reign, and a new middle class, consisting mainly of craftsmen, tradesmen, and small farmers, replaced the nobles. They were grateful to the king for their advancement and were directly responsible in their government duties to the king or his deputy, the chief minister (vizier). .
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Foreign Policy
The political reorganization of the country was accompanied by an active building program with construction of religious and secular buildings throughout the country. There was also renewed royal interest in foreign policy, which was dictated both by trading and military needs. Trading contacts were renewed with Byblos and Phoenicia, and expeditions were sent to Punt (on the Red Sea coast). During the First Intermediate Period trading and military relations with Nubia had ceased, and a new and more aggressive people had entered Nubia. In Dynasty 12 the Egyptians initiated an active military policy there to reduce the Nubians to submission. An important feature of this was the construction of a series of large brick fortresses along the river between the cataracts. These were intended to present Egypt’s might to the local population and provide a basis for the garrisons to control the waterway and ensure a safe passage for goods brought from Nubia to Egypt. Gold was the main commodity sought, but Nubia was also the source for ebony, ivory, giraffe tails, leopard skins, ostrich feathers, and monkeys. During the Middle Kingdom there was also military engagements with other neighbors. The ‘Aamu (“Asiatics” or Bedouin) had infiltrated through Egypt’s northeastern border during the First Intermediate Period. Amenemhet I now constructed the Walls of the Ruler (perhaps a line of fortresses) in this area to repel them. There were probably other military actions taken by the Egyptians against their northern neighbors, but the Egyptians also developed diplomatic and trading relations with them during Dynasty 12. They had both peaceful and warlike relations with Syria/Palestine, and their connections with the Minoan civilization and the Aegean world probably included an interchange of ideas and products. One of the most significant discoveries at sites in Egypt has been Minoan pottery. .
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Pyramid Building
The kings of Dynasty 12, emphasizing their credentials to rule Egypt, returned to the Old Kingdom tradition of building pyramid complexes, although some new architectural features were introduced. The main cemetery of the capital city It-towy has been identified at the nearby site of el-Lisht, where the pyramids of two kings Amenemhet I and Senusret I have been discovered. These kings basically followed the Old Kingdom plan. Other rulers chose to return to Dahshur for burial in the southernmost area of the Memphis necropolis, first developed in the Old Kingdom. In the royal family burials associated with two of these pyramids (those of Amenemhet II and Senusret III), archaeologists discovered treasure and jewelry belonging to the queens and princesses. One area, however, was particularly chosen by the kings of Dynasty 12 to accommodate their burials. The Fayoum, an oasis of great beauty and fertility to the west of the Nile Valley (southwest of Cairo), was extensively developed at this time. Senusret II built his pyramid here at Lahun, and in an associated family tomb archaeologists found the treasure of Princess Sit- Hathor-Iunut, which was similar to the Dahshur jewelry. In the 1890s the British archaeologist Petrie discovered and excavated the nearby town of Kahun, which once housed the pyramid workforce and its families. (Recent work has been undertaken here by a Canadian expedition.) Amenemhet III built his pyramid at nearby Hawara where a legendary building, the “Labyrinth,” described by the Classical writers Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, and Strabo, was also excavated by Petrie. The Labyrinth was built with interconnecting passages and chambers, and its unique plan incorporated the mortuary temple of Amenemhet III’s pyramid, administrative quarters, and possibly a royal residence. This king undertook other major building works in the area, and he and Senusret II are accredited with the construction of the local Lake Moeris, although it was probably a natural feature around which the kings undertook an extensive program of land reclamation. This area is also being extensively explored by present archaeological expeditions. .
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Nonroyal Tombs
The democratization and decentralization of power from the end of the Old Kingdom throughout the First Intermediate Period resulted in important changes in the construction and location of nonroyal tombs. Instead of grouping their tombs around the king’s pyramid, the provincial nobles built rock-cut tombs at their own centers along the Nile. These were usually cut into the mountainside or cliffs bordering the river in parts of middle and southern Egypt, and each contained an offering chapel and a burial chamber. Major sites include el-Hawawish, Aswan, Assiut, el-Bersha, and Beni Hasan. These large tombs continued to be built in the earliest part of Dynasty 12, until the king curtailed the powers and privileges of the provincial nobility. A particularly interesting group of tombs at Beni Hasan was built for the rulers of the sixteenth nome (district) of Upper Egypt who lived at the town of Monet-Khufu. The wall scenes in these tombs show various daily activities including food and textile production and military training. Once the provincial tombs ceased to be built, there was a return to the tradition of constructing tombs in the proximity of the king’s pyramid. .
Gods and Religion
The kings of Dynasty 12 promoted the Theban god Amun as their royal patron and protector. For the first time the Temple of Amun at Karnak, Thebes, became a national religious center, and Amenemhet I may also have constructed the nearby temple to Mut, Amun’s consort. Later in the New Kingdom the Karnak complex would become Egypt’s greatest religious center. In the First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom, however, the cult of Osiris became supreme. Osiris was one of Egypt’s greatest gods whose story symbolized the triumph of good over evil and life over death. In the Middle Kingdom his supposed ability to offer immortality to all, regardless of wealth or position, mirrored the contemporary pattern of religious democratization. He gained widespread importance, and many features of the funerary cult are associated with his myth and worship. This emphasized the new belief that everyone, not only the king, could enjoy access to eternity. This concept inspired the mass production of funerary and tomb goods coffins, canopic chests and jars, models of servants and boats, ushabtis (figurines of agricultural workers), soul houses, and other equipment which characterized the Middle Kingdom. .
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The Middle Kingdom
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