Middle Kingdom of Egypt
| Middle Kingdom of Egypt | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Thebes | |||||||||
| Languages | Ancient Egyptian | |||||||||
| Religion | Ancient Egyptian religion | |||||||||
| Government | Divine, Absolute Monarchy | |||||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||||||
| • | c. 2061 – c. 2010 BC | Mentuhotep II (first) | ||||||||
| • | c. 1650 BC | Last king depends on the scholar: Merneferre Ay or the last king of the 13th Dynasty | ||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established | c. 2055 BC | ||||||||
| • | Disestablished | c. 1650 BC | ||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Egypt
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The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt between circa 2050 BC and 1800 BC, stretching from the reunification of Egypt under the impulse of Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c. 1700 BC, last king of this dynasty to be attested in both Upper and Lower Egypt. During the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion.
The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht.
After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of this period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt. To the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B.C. During Mentuhotep II's fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, a process which he finished by his 39th regnal year. For this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom.
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