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The Middle Kingdom

2000 BC – 1500 BC

Reuniting the Kingdom

2180 BC – Civil War (a war between 2 groups in the same place.)

Bad times: drought, crops failed, famine (food shortage)

No longer 1 king, so nobles fought for power

2400 BC – Egypt reunited – this is beginning of Middle Kingdom

High point of Middle kingdom – Dynasty 12

Reuniting the Kingdom

Dynasty 12 – begins 1991 BC when vizier Amenehet from Lower Egypt become king

He conquered(and those who followed) northern Nubia

Fort set up to protect region

Built Walls of the Prince (series of forts) at Northern border to protect Nile Delta

Nubia

Amenemhet – Dynasty 12

Reuniting the Kingdom

Dynasty 12 – massive building projects

Middle Kingdom – advances in art and literature

wall-painting, jewelry, and earliest literature

Literature not only religious – also about everyday life

Scarab with turquoise and lapiz lazuli

Finger Rings began to appear.

Trade increased – caravans between Egypt and southwestern Asia, east Africa, and Eastern Mediterranean region

Egypt had grain to trade and semi-precious stones, they needed wood and copper.

Copper from Syria , turquoise from Sinai Peninsula, wood from Lebanon, gold, ebony, ivory from Nubia

Trade

Caravans/trade dangerous, but brought wealth

Cost-benefit analysis = decide whether risks are worth benefits

After Dynasty 12 – attacks from invaders

Rulers weak – 70 kings during Dynasty 13

People from SW Asia came in – Egyptians called them Hyksos (rulers of foreign lands)

Trade

A Time of Invasion

Hyksos brought end to Middle Kingdom because superior military horse-drawn chariots, body armor, stronger bow and arrow

1640 BC – Hyksos conquered Lower Egypt

Hyksos – Dynasty 15 in Lower Egypt for 100 years

A Time of Invasion

Hyksos / Egypt = cultural exchange

Hyksos brought weapons, horses, looms, lute, and lyre

Hyksos took hieroglyphics, Egyptian gods

Hyksos also expanded trade routes to Crete (Greek island)

mid - 1500s BC – Egyptians rulers in South declared war on the Hyksos. They ended up driving Hyksos back to SW Asia

A Time of Invasion

United Egypt

Civil War

Hyksos

Cultural E

xchange

The Big Idea

Invasion from outsiders leads to cultural exchange – new ideas go both ways.