NPS

1.3 EGYPT MIDDLE AND NEW KINGDOM

Middle Kingdom: 2060-1785

• pharaohs divided the country into 42 prefectural provinces=nomes
Nomarchs were the administration officials responsible for the provinces
their power constantly grew, and at last they became the owners of the
land;
• economic development started: pharaohs secured the country militarily
and politically → the nation's population, economy, arts, and religion
flourished→ Egypt entered the Bronze age
artisans’ and merchants’ role grew→ Egypt opened new trading routes.
toward east and Nubia

Second Intermediate period: 1785-1550

• Hyksos invaders introduced new iron tools of warfare into Egypt, most
notably the horse-drawn chariot→ defeated the Egyptian army

New Kingdom: 1550-1000

• Thebes managed to defeat the Hyksos and an economic boom
started→breeding of camel, horse and sheep spread.
• usage of iron became more common
• social changes: due to wars the role of military aristocracy grew
• the most important pharaoh of the era was Ramses II (1279-1213)
he led several military expeditions into Canaan and Nubia→slavery
prevailed
during this period pharaohs and nobles were buried in the Walley of the
Kings, their tomb was excavated into the rock

• around 1350 BC, the stability of the New Kingdom was threatened when
Amenhotep IV introduced a series of radical reforms,
Changed his name to Akhenanten ( Ehnaton)and introduced a religious reform: the worship of Aten
was obligatory and supreme over the other deities; founded a new capital and new artistic style
After his death, the cult of Aten was quickly abandoned and the traditional religious order
restored. → his name was scratched out of the monuments and his son got a new name
Tutankhamun ( Tutanhamon)

• By the 10th century Egypt’s power weakened and later the territory was
invaded and occupied by the new rising empires:
Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans
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