Egypt has always been one of the more interesting countries in human history. To fully understand Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, one must know the culture, the people, and the location that made this magnificent empire unforgettable. These three factors allowed Egyptian's middle kingdom to be one of history’s most amazing empires. unfortunately, these same factors also contributed to the demise of this empire. In this report the important of Egypt's geopolitical location, people, and its foreign influence during the Middle Kingdom will be explored in detail to understand the rise and the fall of this great Kingdom.
Geographically, Egypt lies along the Nile River, with the Mediterranean Sea to the North and the Red Sea to the East. The waterways that surround Egypt have over the years given Egypt protection from the rest of the world. The water also has been a blessing to the Egyptian’s ways of life. Agriculture prospered along the Nile River and at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea. When the Nile would flood, after the water receded, a rich soil deposits is left which eventually sustains abundant agriculture products (Egypt, 1).
In the Ancient World, Egypt was considered a peaceful nation. The natural boundaries, Nile at Aswan, desert to both the East and West of the Nile River and Mediterranean Sea to the North provided adequate security from Egyptian’s potential enemies (Stratos, 1). Egyptians at first did not consider themselves as invaders or conquerors. By the first Intermediate Period, things began to change (Stratos, 1). it is believed that several factors culminated into the fall of the 10th Dynasty. First, there was internal strife among the rulers in this dynasty (Chronicle p, 70). During this period, tension began to rise after the death of Pepi II. The result was a struggle for power, the central government disintegrated, the bureaucracy ceased to exist. As a consequence, the rulers in various segments of the Egyptian's territories became rivals to one another. This finally resulted into the fall of the Old Kingdom in about 2040 B.C (Chronicle p, 70).
Then came the Middle Kingdom which started with the reunification of Egypt under the 11th Dynasty which was during King Mentuhotep I's reign (Chronicle p, 70). Under King Mentuhotep, Egypt entered into another union with King Mentuhotep as it ruler. He suppressed rebellion, and established stability in the country by uniting both the Upper and Lower delta regions into one massive kingdom, which became known as the Middle Egyptian Kingdom. Mentuhotep I’s reign was considered a peaceful. He demanded people’s loyalty to the Kingdom and rebuilt bureaucratic institutions that had been destroyed by the turmoil in the previous Kingdom (Kingdom, 1). He also educated staff, administrators, and Scribes with the Spirit of national unity. Mentuhotep managed to create the image of himself as that of a “good shepherd,” rather than a god like king. He consolidated his power and reigned for about 50 years until his death around 1962 B.C. (Kingdom, 1). Though Mentuhotep was a great king, he did not expand the military. He still believed that Egypt should remain as a peaceful nation.
The Middle Kingdom was a great period in Egyptian history. Mentuhotep was succeeded by other kings. Mentuhotep II succeeded the first king of the 11th Dynasty in 2010 B.C (Chronicle p, 75). Mentuhotep II reigned for twelve years. During his reign he developed defensive attitudes towards the neighbors to the north as well looking keenly on the southern frontier of the Nubian Kingdom. He did a lot of construction works, including building temples and some shrines. He also initiated a series of expeditions to gather raw materials for the Kingdom (Chronicle p, 76). However, He pursued the predecessor’s policy of a peaceful empire and he did not expand the military. His military strategy included depending on a voluntary army to provide security and defense against his potential enemies. Mentuhotep II was the last king of the 11th Dynasty. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Amenemhet I.
The reign of Amenemhet I was the beginning of the 12th Dynasty. Historians recorded that he had a sizable army of around ten thousand men who he used for his defense (Chronicle p, 78). By this time, Egypt had begun experiencing contacts with a lot of foreign people. According to the historian Manetho, the 12th Dynasty consisted of seven kings from Thebe, namely Amenemhet I, Senusret I, Amenemhet II, Senusret II (Chronicle p, 78) and Queen Sobeknefru though her reign was not significant in the 12th Dynasty (Chronicle p, 78). Amenemhet’s thirty years reign brought stability to Egypt that it had not seen in 200 years. His rule laid the foundation for the strength of the rest of the 12th Dynasty which lasted for two centuries until it broke down under Queen Sobeknefru at the beginning of the Second Intermediate Era (Chronicle p, 78). Amenemhet was later murdered, and succeeded by his Son Senusret I who was the leader of the military. Senusret I took a different approach. He expanded his military to the east and west as well as pushing to the south through the Nubian Kingdom in Northern Sudan (Chronicle p, 79). The reign of Senusret I lasted for thirty four years. Before his death, Senusret I established a strong hold in the south for gold and agricultural goods. He built thirteen forts that he used to control the trade route (Chronicle p, 79). After his death in 1926 B.C; he was succeeded by his son Amenemhet II who reigned for thirty four years.
Under Amenemhet II, Egypt experienced increased contacts with the people from Lebanon, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Crete (Chronicle p, 82). During this time, Egypt was actively engaged in the Levant region of modern Syria during the earlier dynasties (Fox, 1). Historians like Manetho have recorded that King Senusret III of the 12th Dynasty had a military campaign in Southern Syria which resulted in the capture of the city of Shechem in Syria (Fox ,2). Still, Egypt was considered a peaceful land in which agriculture continued to prosper tremendously. This prompted King Senusret III initiated a series of construction projects. He decided to build himself a pyramid at a place called Dahshur which was east of the earlier 4th Dynasty pyramids of Snefru just before the end of his reign in 1900 BC according to historian Manetho.
Many historians believed that his reign started around 1880 B.C. Because of the peaceful culture King Senusret III nurtured, he was considered to be among the best of all Middle Kingdom pharaohs. He was know as a king with great height, 6’ 6’’ or about two meters. Historical records described him as a great warrior and is credited with solidification of the kingdom. Senusret III managed to create a new system of a government which conquered the autonomy of the regions. Under his reign he divided the country into three administrative units, the north, south, and lower Nubian each being administered by a council of senior staff who report to him on constant basis (Chronicle p, 85). He was considered a leader with military resume. He initiated a series of devastating campaigns against Nubians in northern Sudan. By doing so, he safeguarded the security of Egypt during his reign.
It was also during this time that he mobilized his military to secure the southern border against any incursion from his southern enemies, the Nubians. Senusret III broadened and deepened the southern route to access the Nubian’s resources (Chronicle p, 85). Furthermore, he managed to bring the Nubians into line on different occasions during his reign and he was proud of his military success in subduing his enemies. He pushed Egypt’s boundary further south than those of his predecessors and prepared a way for the future expansion. Though most of his military campaigns were directed against the Nubians, there were records of his campaign in Syria. But those were more of a preemptive strategy than a quest of expansion of his kingdom in that direction (Chronicle p, 86). Like another ruler of Egypt before him, he oversaw the building of pyramids before his death. contemporary archaeological findings of remains of his tomb revealed the tomb of his wife, his sister and his fine gold jewelries (Chronicle 87).
The Middle Kingdom was marked by Amenemhet III. During this era, Egypt's economic growth reached its highest point during Amenemhet III reign. The period that came after Amenemhet III is sometimes considered the dark era which was characterized by Amenemhet IV and the Queen Sobeknefru who little is known about their reigns. Since there are no other rulers known after Amenemhet IV, the theory may be correct that he was the last pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. After more than 250 years of strong centralized government, it is believed that Egypt disintegrated and once again, Egypt entered another dark period of chaos and decline of which government and economy collapsed (Chronicle p, 89).
So, how did these kingdoms survived militarily? What kind of military capabilities did these kings developed during their reigns. And to what extend did their militaristic campaigns and expansions undergo? As mentioned earlier, Egyptians were a peace loving people and were protected by natural defenses of both water and the deserts. Perhaps this was why Egyptians were less concerned with building strong military defenses to some extent. But that being said, Egypt nonetheless had a loosely organized army. The army was primarily made up of part time soldiers with inferior weaponries (Stratos, 1). Any king during any reign would call upon his people to join military service in the time of civil unrest and during wars with the neighbor. However, there was a small core of regular soldiers who guarded the Palace and a few that were stationed on the borders as patrons (Stratos, 1). In term of armaments, troops were armed with simple weapons. In addition to guards, there were ship escorts whose their primary duty was to protect ships on the Nile and in the Mediterranean Sea. Egyptians by far were very hesitant to be involved in wars outside their territories because of cultural and religious reasons, namely, the fear of dying and being buried on foreign soils without receiving a proper and appropriate Egyptian’s funeral rites (Stratos, 1). Because of this, Egypt most of the time made their armies with foreign mercenaries, some coming as far as Libya and Nubia.
Although, there was no strong sitting military accept army of volunteers at this time. However, as said earlier, there were very hierarchical military leaderships. The king was seen as commander- in- chief of the army. He led the military in battle during major battles. During minor military operations, king would delegate to his prince or senior general to lead the expedition. Due to a strong religious prevalence among Egyptians, the king was treated as god like (Stratos, 2). Below him were the generals who oversaw the military and reported directly to the king. The next in line were lieutenant commanders who served as senior officers in the military. They were followed by overseers of the Nubian Frontiers and the Mediterranean coast fortresses (Stratos, 2). The troop garrison overseers appointed troop commanders who were charged to lead several regiments, brigades and/or a fortress. The other chain of command included captain of troops, a commander of 250 soldiers, standard- bearer who controlled 200 men. Below the chain was the “Greatest of Fifty”, the lowest commander in the military hierarchy (Stratos, 2). This was how the king organized his military during this time and later, pharaohs used this kind of troop organization as well.
Like the commanders, the troops were organized in a similar fashion. During the Old and Middle Kingdom, the army was divided into Upper Egyptian corps and the Lower Egyptian corps. Each being led by a lieutenant commander. The strategy was for each division to cover a distinctive area in which they are trained to operate in. Each division was stationed at frontiers forts of which some escort the pharaoh royal processions (Stratos, 2). Apart from this organizational hierarchy, the corps were responsible for quelling riots and sometimes worked as unskilled building laborers special in pyramids building, tombs, and other monuments (Stratos, 2).
The army itself was made up of the infantry and chariotry. Divisions were either commanded by a king himself or one of his princes. The infantry was further divided into regiments similar to the Greek army. They were formed and very distinguished, the regiment consisted of bows-men, spears-men, swords-men, clubs-men, and slingers. Each regiment was disciplined and uniquely trained according to the fighting maneuverings (Military, 1). Each division consisted of about 5,000 soldiers and was named after an Egyptian’s god. The soldiers were given some basic training in how to use weapons. Sometimes, there were specialized soldiers who guarded the king known as the “the Bravest of the King” (Stratos, 1). The Bravest of the King were the most fighting forces which led the attacks accompanying the King in major battles. The rest were the recruits and untrained soldiers who make up the largest part of the military. In addition to these mentioned above, there were a group of mercenaries who served in the Egyptian’s military (Stratos, 3). These mercenaries came from places like Nubia, Libya and as far as Syria and even Greece (Military, 1).
In term of military and weaponry technological advancement in ancient Egypt. History shown that during the pre dynasty, the army used simple weapons like spears, cudgels, clubs, throwing sticks, daggers, bows, maces, and leather shields (Military, 1). It was later during the Middle Kingdom that there were some inventions of weapons like scalloped axes, head battle axes were invented and later, Hyskos introduced chariots into Egypt (Military, 1). The Hyskos are believed to have come to Egypt between 11th and the 13th century BC. At first, Hyskos came as traders and mercenaries who later invaded and instituted their rule in Egypt for sometime (Redford p, 111). When they first ventured into Egypt, they settled in Thebe and moved to Memphis where they established themselves to become a rivalry to the Egyptian rulers for about 200 years (Chronicle p, 94). The Hyskos gradually acquired increasing power but, not until later that they began extending their rules beyond their base at Memphis to Delta region and far beyond Thebe (Chronicle p, 94).
As this report shows, Egyptians had a very distinctive system of weaponries compared to the primitive civilizations that bordered Egypt. The fighting weapons were divided into at lest six categories. The first group of weapons was the impact weapons, which included clubs and maces. The second group was edged closed combat weapons comprised of axes, knives and swords. The third group was the projectorial weaponries comprised of bows and arrows, slingshots, javelins, spears and throwing sticks. Defensive weapons or equipment was the fourth group made up of shields and some limited number of body armors (Fox, 1). The Egyptians too have well elaborated system of transportation including naval boats battleships. Throughout the Egyptian’s history, their battleships never changed. They were constructed of bundles of reeds put together into a specialized manner to form a ship to be used in wars. Later, there were horses and chariots. In addition, there were siege towers, scaling ladders, and battering rams for attacking fortresses (Fox, 1). The chariots at this time played important roles in the army. The Egyptian’s chariots were use to charge the enemy position, after initial barrages of arrows and spears. When the position of the enemy was disbanded; chariot units would charge into the battlefield to crush the enemy (Military, 1).
By the late Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians had developed a lot of military tactics. Historical artifacts and manuscripts clearly shown that Egyptians did pose the means of conducting a siege. Unlike other powers in the region such as the Assyrians. For the most part, the Egyptians tried to avoid this warfare tactic. Instead, they preferred to face the enemy on the battlefield. My guess is perhaps Egyptians believed they were more civilized to fight that way (Fox, 1). However due to large number of fortified cities through the regions, Egyptians were sometimes forced to employ siege warfare. Although, Egyptian army was professional and well organized, it still used harsh warfare tactics on their enemies. For example, if the enemies sought protection behind their fortifications, the Egyptians would siege the forts and starve their enemies into death or into submission. In case of light fortifications, Egyptians would break into enemy’s forts through gates, and sometimes they used battering rams to force their ways through the gates (Stratos, 5). As Egyptian history taught us, Egyptians were very civilized. Sometimes, prior to the beginning of the battle, they let their enemies know when they planned to attack and/or wage a battle. This was not always the case since not all enemies were civilized like them. As a result, Egyptians sometimes become the victim as what Egyptians would considered primitive enemies would attack them without warning (Stratos, 5).
In comparison to other Kingdoms, I would argue that Egypt has been known as a peaceful people who coexist with their neighbors. However, internally, it has challenges of her own that it deal with of which result sometimes turn out disastrous. Internally, there conflicts among different ethnic groups that have through out various kingdoms undermined the prosperity of this great civilization. some of these conflict as said earlier contributed to the demise of Old Kingdom (Chronicle p, 70). That being said, the collapse of the Old Kingdom may not have been a bad thing when looked in retrospect. First, had the previous kingdom not fallen; perhaps there would have been no unified Egypt. We learned from this historical era that Egyptians were much divided under the reigns of Pepi I and Pepi II as a result of the reunification.
Second, if the previous divided Kingdom had survived, Egypt would have been a victim of a military invasion from other empires particularly the Mesopotamia and Assyria empires. Perhaps, the Egyptian’s societies would have been absorbed and assimilated by invading empires. The ups and downs that plagued sequential Egyptian's dynasties and kingdoms was necessary for the continuation of this civilization. This in itself was evident in the Middle Kingdom when reunification resulted into economic prosperity and internal stability of the empire. I hope this short report provide people with some understanding the ancient Egypt. By an measure, i considered Egyptian civilization as one of the greatest world’s civilization that ever formulated by mankind. The culture, architecture, literature, and history of this such greatness have brought mankind a tremendous knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship, arts and amusement all which are things to remember for centuries to come. As of today, scientists are still studying the Egyptian’s science of pyramids, wandering how they built these magnificent structures bare handed. In the times to come, I am confident that Egypt will once again surprise the world with something we never thought would come out from that part of the world. Finally, I hope people become more interested than never before to explore the mysticism of this great civilization.
References
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