Continuity and Change in Ancient Egypt, c. 2700-1500 - Ancient Mediterranean History

Old Kingdom

lasts for about 500 years, relatively stable, period the pyramids were built in, monarchy + aristocracy

Pharaoh

embodiment of sacred power, believed to be direct heir of sun god Ra, Figure that guaranteed ma’at,

Egyptians have very strong sense of binaries (us vs them, good vs wrong etc)

ma’at is when these binaries are in balance, pharaoh brings this about

Monumentalization of 

kingship (way larger here than anywhere else)

Egyptian officials, eventually becomes elaborate bureaucracy with lots of control over people

At the top was vizier, king’s “right hand man,” Territory subdivided into administrative territories known as nomes managed by nomarch

mass of peasantry, NOT widely propagated picture of impoverished serfs

had legal status/protections, not all slaves, upward social mobility was a thing

1st Intermediate

centralization crumbles, Royal tombs seem less grand than before while tombs of nomarchs seem more luxurious, may indicate shift in balance of power away from king and toward nomarchs, nomarchs eventually dethroning the king

Middle Kingdom

rises during Manetho’s 11th dynasty, sees reassertion of centralized control for over 300 years, Most political and social structures similar to Old Kingdom, think of as “restoration” of this type of Egyptian rule

2nd Intermediate

some degree of stability, witnesses control over Egypt over group known as the Hyksos (“chiefs of foreign lands”)