Middle Kingdom Overview
- Neolithic Period: 4500-3000 BCE
- Early Dynastic: 3000-2650 BCE
- Old Kingdom: 2650-2150 BCE
- 1st Intermediate Period: 2150-2040 BCE
- Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE
- 2nd Intermediate Period: 1640-1550 BCE
- New Kingdom: 1550-1070 BCE
- 3rd Intermediate Period: 1070-712 BCE
- Saite and Late Periods: 712-332 BCE
- Greco-Roman Period: 332 BCE-642 CE
- Coptic Period: 395-642 CE
- Islamic Period and Modern Times: 642 CE-Today
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Support Your Museum- Neolithic Period: 4500-3000 BCE
- Early Dynastic: 3000-2650 BCE
- Old Kingdom: 2650-2150 BCE
- 1st Intermediate Period: 2150-2040 BCE
- Middle Kingdom: 2040-1640 BCE
- 2nd Intermediate Period: 1640-1550 BCE
- New Kingdom: 1550-1070 BCE
- 3rd Intermediate Period: 1070-712 BCE
- Saite and Late Periods: 712-332 BCE
- Greco-Roman Period: 332 BCE-642 CE
- Coptic Period: 395-642 CE
- Islamic Period and Modern Times: 642 CE-Today
The Middle Kingdom
2040 BCE – 1640 BCE
Egypt was reunited, but things had changed. Pyramids were smaller and there was less wealth in the hands of the rulers. However, the middle class gained access to consumer items such as jewelry and books (in scroll form).
The Middle Kingdom was a time of great literature. Scribes would copy the stories and instructional writings of this time for thousands of years hence.
Middle Kingdom pharaohs strengthened their borders by building fortresses in the western and eastern delta to keep out invading Libyans and peoples of the Levant, respectively. In Nubia, to the south, the Egyptians maintained or expanded extensive outposts dating back to the Old Kingdom.
Monuments: Deir-el-Bahri (Mentuhotep’s Temple), Dendera Temple, and Karnak.
Artifacts from the Middle Kingdom Period
The Middle Kingdom Overview Video
