10.5 EGYPT Middle Kingdom 18th Dynasty begins at Thebes

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18th Dynasty begins at Thebes

EGYPT
 Middle Kingdom 
 is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2050 BC and 1652 BC.

 The period comprises two phases, the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and the Twelfth Dynasty onwards, which was centered around el-Lisht.

The Eleventh Dynasty of Ancient Egypt was a group of pharaohs whose earlier members are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, while the later members from Mentuhotep II onwards are considered part of the Middle Kingdom. They all ruled from Thebes.

An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II, the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty, says that he was the first of this dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt, a claim which brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of Herakleopolis Magna during the Tenth Dynasty. Intef undertook several campaigns northwards, and captured the important nome (regional governorship) of Abydos.

Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebans and the Herakleopolitans until the fourteenth year of Nebhetepra Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were defeated, and the Theban dynasty began to consolidate their rule. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. Some type of military action took place against Palestine, after which the pharaoh reorganized the country and placed a vizier (high government official) at the head of civil administration for the country.

Mentuhotep IV (reign 1998–1991 BC) was the final pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty. His reign is recalled in inscriptions at Wadi Hammamat (near Thebes) that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast in search of stone for the royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was Mentuhotep IV's vizier, Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I (reign 1991 BC – 1962 BC), the first king of the Twelfth Dynasty. Amenemhet is believed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died without an heir. Thus the Eleventh Dynasty gave way to the more illustrious Twelfth Dynasty.

Amenemhet I built a new capital for Egypt known as Itjtawy ("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") at a still-unidentified location. Having established his son Senusret I as his junior co-regent in 1971 BC, Amenemhat was murdered in 1962 BC by a royal bodyguard while Senuseret I was far away campaigning against Libyan invaders. Senuseret rushed to Itjtawy to prevent a takeover and assumed the throne (reign 1971–1926 BC), proving the value of the coregency system, in which the ruler and his intended heir govern simultaneously. This practice lasted throughout the Twelfth Dynasty and provided great stability during an eventful, and often turbulent, period in Egyptian history.