Home Region:  Northeast Africa (Africa)

Egypt - Middle Kingdom

D G SC WF HS CC PT EQ 2020  eg_middle_k / EgMidKg

Preceding:
2150 BCE 2016 BCE Egypt - Period of the Regions (eg_regions)    [None]
Add one more here.

Succeeding:
1720 BCE 1567 BCE Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period (eg_thebes_hyksos)    [None]
Add one more here.

After a phase of decentralized state power during the Period of the Regions (or First Intermediate Period), Egypt became unified once again during the Middle Kingdom (Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties, 2016‒1700 BCE), experiencing a ’golden age’. [1] Achievements in art, architecture, writing and religion ‒ coupled with a growing ’middle class’ and the increased importance of scribes ‒ reached their peak during this period, particularly under Amenemhat III (r. 1831‒1786 BCE). [2]
Population and political organization
The Middle Kingdom king ruled via royal decree, [3] but he and his officials were responsive to petitions from the people. We lack detailed information about the royal palace, although Stephen Quirke suggests that the terms k3p and hnty might refer to an inner and outer palace respectively. [4] The first Middle Kingdom capital was at Thebes in Upper Egypt, but was moved during the Twelfth Dynasty to El-Lisht at the neck of the Delta in Lower Egypt. From this new location, the monarchy exerted more centralized control over the country and expanded the bureaucratic system. [5] Administrative reforms under Senusret III (r. 1878-1839 BCE) resulted in the reorganization of the provinces around 1860 BCE: ’the old system of hereditary nomarchs was destroyed and replaced by a bureaucratic machinery, the operators of which owed their allegiance to the king’. [3] [6] For the first time since the Classic Old Kingdom, the central state had become powerful enough to directly command all the regions of Egypt.
During the Middle Kingdom, the nome (province) of the Old Kingdom was replaced by a ’city district’ centred on an urban complex and headed by a hat-ya (’mayor’). [7] The mayors received orders from the central government, specifically the vizier, and were responsible for tax collection and supervising the royal domains. [7] Thebes was the administrative centre for southern Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia. [8] The army was professional in the Middle Kingdom. [9] The king remained a divine ruler, legitimated as the guarantor and preserver of maat, the principle of harmony and cosmic order. [10] [11]
Amenemhat III laid the foundations for a much larger Egyptian population (in his time, the country still had under two million inhabitants). [12] Using giant waterwheels and a canal from the Faiyum to the Nile, the Egyptians managed to improve irrigation in this fertile region and control flooding: a measure of sophisticated technology, strong central control, and a good deal of foresight. Another indication of the sophistication of Middle Kingdom technology is that the scribe responsible for the famed Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, dating to the Second Intermediate Period, noted that the work was copied from a Middle Kingdom original. [13] Literacy and a culture of storytelling were widespread: the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, Story of Sinuhe, Account of the Sporting King, and many others represent the birth of written fiction in Egypt. [14] The Tale of King Cheops’ Court reveals a lively interest at this time in the history of Classic Old Kingdom Egypt. [15]

[1]: (Callender 2000, 171) Gae Callender. 2000. ’The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 137-71. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[2]: (Callender 2000, 156) Gae Callender. 2000. ’The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 137-71. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[3]: (Ezzamel 2004, 502) Mahmoud Ezzamel. 2004. ’Work Organization in the Middle Kingdom, Ancient Egypt’. Organization 11 (4): 497-537.

[4]: (Pagliari 2012, 267-269) Giulia Pagliari. 2012. ’Function and Significance of Ancient Egyptian Royal Palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite Period: A Lexicographical Study and Its Possible Connection with the Archaeological Evidence’. PhD thesis, University of Birmingham.

[5]: (Callender 2000, 146-47) Gae Callender. 2000. ’The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 137-71. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[6]: (Callender 2000, 163-64) Gae Callender. 2000. ’The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC)’, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, 137-71. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[7]: (Haring 2010, 225) Ben Haring. 2010. ’Administration and Law: Pharaonic’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 218-36. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

[8]: (Quirke 2001, 16) Stephen G. J. Quirke. 2001. ’Administration: State Administration’, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, edited by D. B. Redford, 12-16. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[9]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 105) Marc Van De Mieroop. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

[10]: (Pu 2005, 86) Muzhou Pu. 2005. Enemies of Civilization: Attitudes towards Foreigners in Ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

[11]: (Szpakowska 2010, 521) Kasia Szpakowska. 2010. ’Religion in Society: Pharaonic’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 1, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 507-25. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

[12]: (Willems 2013, 343) Harco Willems. 2013. ’Nomarchs and Local Potentates: The Provincial Administration in the Middle Kingdom’, in Ancient Egyptian Adminstration, edited by Juan Carlos Moreno García, 341-92. Leiden: Brill.

[13]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 134) Marc Van De Mieroop. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

[14]: (Van Blerk 2006) N. J. Van Blerk. 2006. ’The Concept of Law and Justice in Ancient Egypt, with Specific Reference to The Tale of The Eloquent Peasant’. Master’s dissertation, University of South Africa. Available online at http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/2447/dissertation.pdf.

[15]: (Enmarch 2010) Roland Enmarch. 2010. ’Middle Kingdom Literature’, in A Companion to Ancient Egypt, Volume 2, edited by Alan B. Lloyd, 663-85. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
36 R  
Original Name:
Egypt - Middle Kingdom  
Capital:
Thebes  
Itjtawyamenemhat  
Alternative Name:
11th Dynasty  
12th Dynasty  
XI Dynasty  
XII Dynasty  
Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
1,850 BCE  
Duration:
[2,016 BCE ➜ 1,700 BCE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
none  
Succeeding Entity:
Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period  
Preceding Entity:
Preceding:   Egypt - Period of the Regions (eg_regions)    [None]  
Succeeding: Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period (eg_thebes_hyksos)    [None]  
Degree of Centralization:
unitary state  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Afro-Asiatic  
Language:
Ancient Egyptian  
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
30,000 people  
Polity Territory:
238,000 km2 2000 BCE
413,000 km2 1900 BCE
450,000 km2 1800 BCE
Polity Population:
[1,500,000 to 2,500,000] people  
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[4 to 5]  
Religious Level:
4  
Military Level:
[3 to 7]  
Administrative Level:
[5 to 7]  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
present  
Professional Priesthood:
present  
Professional Military Officer:
present  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
unknown  
Merit Promotion:
unknown  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
present  
Examination System:
inferred absent  
Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent  
Judge:
inferred absent  
Formal Legal Code:
inferred present  
Court:
inferred present  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present  
Irrigation System:
present  
Food Storage Site:
present  
Drinking Water Supply System:
absent  
Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present  
Port:
present  
Canal:
present  
Bridge:
inferred present  
Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
present  
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present  
Script:
present  
Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent  
Nonwritten Record:
present  
Non Phonetic Writing:
present  
Mnemonic Device:
unknown  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present  
Sacred Text:
present  
Religious Literature:
present  
Practical Literature:
present  
Philosophy:
present  
Lists Tables and Classification:
present  
Fiction:
present  
Calendar:
present  
Information / Money
Token:
unknown  
Precious Metal:
inferred present  
Paper Currency:
absent  
Indigenous Coin:
absent  
Foreign Coin:
absent  
Article:
present  
Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
absent  
General Postal Service:
absent  
Courier:
present  
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Wooden Palisade:
present  
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present  
  Stone Walls Mortared:
unknown  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present  
  Modern Fortification:
absent  
  Moat:
unknown  
  Fortified Camp:
present  
  Earth Rampart:
present  
  Ditch:
present  
  Complex Fortification:
present  
  Long Wall:
absent  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
absent  
  Iron:
absent  
  Copper:
present  
  Bronze:
present  
Projectiles
  Tension Siege Engine:
absent  
  Sling Siege Engine:
absent  
  Sling:
present  
  Self Bow:
present  
  Javelin:
present  
absent  
  Handheld Firearm:
absent  
  Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent  
  Crossbow:
absent  
  Composite Bow:
absent  
  Atlatl:
absent  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
inferred present  
  Sword:
inferred absent  
  Spear:
present  
  Polearm:
present  
  Dagger:
present  
  Battle Axe:
present  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
inferred absent  
  Donkey:
present  
  Dog:
unknown  
  Camel:
inferred absent  
Armor
  Wood Bark Etc:
absent  
  Shield:
present  
  Scaled Armor:
absent  
  Plate Armor:
absent  
  Limb Protection:
absent  
  Leather Cloth:
present  
  Laminar Armor:
absent  
  Helmet:
absent  
  Chainmail:
absent  
  Breastplate:
absent  
Naval technology
  Specialized Military Vessel:
present  
  Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
present  
  Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown  
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Egypt - Middle Kingdom (eg_middle_k) was in:
 (2016 BCE 1721 BCE)   Upper Egypt
Home NGA: Upper Egypt

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
36 R

Original Name:
Egypt - Middle Kingdom

Capital:
Thebes

11th Dynasty ruled from Thebes; 12th Dynasty ruled from el-Lisht. [1]
Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BCE) built a new capital at Itjtawy ("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") at a still-unidentified location. [1] near modern Lisht. [2] Full name: Itjtawyamenemhat. No royal residence apparent prior to Itjtawy. [3]

[1]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)

[2]: (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/a/ancient_egypt_the_middle_king.aspx)

[3]: (Quirke 2001

Capital:
Itjtawyamenemhat

11th Dynasty ruled from Thebes; 12th Dynasty ruled from el-Lisht. [1]
Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BCE) built a new capital at Itjtawy ("Seizer-of-the-Two-Lands") at a still-unidentified location. [1] near modern Lisht. [2] Full name: Itjtawyamenemhat. No royal residence apparent prior to Itjtawy. [3]

[1]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)

[2]: (http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/a/ancient_egypt_the_middle_king.aspx)

[3]: (Quirke 2001


Alternative Name:
11th Dynasty

JGM: Note Dyn. 13 now usually included in the Middle Kingdom historic cycle

Alternative Name:
12th Dynasty

JGM: Note Dyn. 13 now usually included in the Middle Kingdom historic cycle

Alternative Name:
XI Dynasty

JGM: Note Dyn. 13 now usually included in the Middle Kingdom historic cycle

Alternative Name:
XII Dynasty

JGM: Note Dyn. 13 now usually included in the Middle Kingdom historic cycle


Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
1,850 BCE

Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom began with Amenemhet I (c1991-1962 BCE) and ended around 1800 BCE. [1] [2] Middle Kingdom was “classical age of Egyptian civilization with a flowering of art and literature in a time of peace and prosperity.” [3]
Amenemhat III (c.1831-1786 BCE) was "the cultural climax of the Middle Kingdom." [4]

[1]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)

[2]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[3]: (Wawro 2008, 42)

[4]: (Callender 1983, 156) Callender, Gae. "The Middle Kingdom Renaissance" in Shaw, Ian. ed. 2003. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


Duration:
[2,016 BCE ➜ 1,700 BCE]

"Because of the diversity that characterized the Middle Kingdom, Egyptologists have divided this period into the ‘early phase’ (2050-1878 BC) and the ‘late phase’ (1878-1780 BC). A most decisive discontinuity occurred when, in the 1870s BC, Sesostris (Senustret) III embarked on his Nubian campaign." [1]
"In 1860 BC, ‘a complete reorganization of provincial administration was undertaken by King Sesostris [Senusret] III. As a result, the old system of hereditary nomarchs was destroyed and replaced by a bureaucratic machinery, the operators of which owed their allegiance to the king in his residence’ (James, 1985: 51)." [1]

[1]: (Ezzamel 2004, 502) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. July 2004. Organization. Vol. 11. No. 4. pp 497-537. Sage publications.


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
none

Succeeding Entity:
Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period

Preceding Entity:
Egypt - Period of the Regions [eg_regions] ---> Egypt - Middle Kingdom [eg_middle_k]
Preceding Entity:
Egypt - Middle Kingdom [eg_middle_k] ---> Egypt - Thebes-Hyksos Period [eg_thebes_hyksos]

Degree of Centralization:
unitary state

Language
Linguistic Family:
Afro-Asiatic

Language:
Ancient Egyptian

Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
30,000 people

Inhabitants.
Thebes, over 10,000: 1800-1700 BCE. [1] Memphis, 30,000, 1800 BCE. [2]
Population of Lahun: 3000 people. 12-14 ha, possibly 250 per hectare. [3]
Elephantine: 3.5 ha. [3]

[1]: (Modelski 2003, 34)

[2]: (Modelski 2003, 33)

[3]: (Mumford 2010, 331)


Polity Territory:
238,000 km2
2000 BCE

[1] Senusret III, 1878-1843 BCE, fixed Egypt’s southern border above the second cataract of the Nile. [2]
257,000: 1700 BCE
Annexed part of Nubia directly south of Egypt. [3]

[1]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)

[2]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[3]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 435)

Polity Territory:
413,000 km2
1900 BCE

[1] Senusret III, 1878-1843 BCE, fixed Egypt’s southern border above the second cataract of the Nile. [2]
257,000: 1700 BCE
Annexed part of Nubia directly south of Egypt. [3]

[1]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)

[2]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[3]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 435)

Polity Territory:
450,000 km2
1800 BCE

[1] Senusret III, 1878-1843 BCE, fixed Egypt’s southern border above the second cataract of the Nile. [2]
257,000: 1700 BCE
Annexed part of Nubia directly south of Egypt. [3]

[1]: (Chase-Dunn spreadsheet)

[2]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[3]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 435)


Polity Population:
[1,500,000 to 2,500,000] people

"the population must still have been very small - an oft-cided estimate for the Middle Kingdom amounts to less than two million - ... " [1]
Increased from 2 million to 2.5 million during Middle Kingdom. [2]
“As Egypt’s population began to exceed food production levels, Amenemhat III ordered the exploitation of the green fertile region 100 km south of modern-day Cairo known as the Fayyum” [3]

[1]: (Willems 2013, 343 cite: Butzer)

[2]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 226)

[3]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
[4 to 5]

EWA: 4 Memphis, 3 regional centres like Hierakonpolies and Abidos, 2 minor centre like Aswan/Naga-el-Deir, 1 villages. ref. Bard 2014, 2nd edition.
1. Memphis
2. Regional centres like Hierakonpolis and Abydos3. Minor centres like Aswan and Naga-el-Deir4. Villages(5. Hamlets)
EWA final: this variable for early dynastic to Hyksos should be 4 to 5. The reason is that we can infer the existince of hamlets at the bottom end of the scale. This should be implemented for all the intermediate polities.


Religious Level:
4

1. Pharaoh
"Janssen (1979: 509) has remarked that the depiction of the Pharaoh in every temple in the land as the real high priest ’was no only an expression of a dogmatic theory, but also of the actual economic reality. The temples together with all their property were at the disposal of the Pharaoh." [1]
"the temples served as state institutions; they were organized via the administrative machinery and were subject to frequent state intervention." [2]
2. Overseer of the Temples and Prophets of All the Gods New Kingdom3. High priest New Kingdom4. God’s servant New Kingdom5. Wab priest New Kingdom
5. Scroll carrier New Kingdom
"The temples also had their own labour force, many of them renting land at a rate of 30 per cent of the crop." [1]
the Edwin Smith papyrus (1700 BCE) "describes three categories for a physician based on rank." [3]
1. Great of the Palace Doctors
"For a ’saw’ the highest position attainable would have been ’Great of the Palace Doctors.’" [3] "Not only was the physician responsible for treating the pharaoh but he was also responsible for the medical care of the country." [3]
2. saw"’The Guardian.’ A ’saw’ was generally educated and trained within the temple palace schools." [3]
3. wabw"’The Pure’ or ’Those who are ceremonially pure’" [3]
4. wr-swnw"Senior doctors". [3]
5. imy-r-swnw"Doctors". [3] 6. swnw"Junior doctors". [3] "Doctor of the People". [3]
4?. smsw-swnw"Registrar". [3]
4?. shd-swnw"Consultant". [3]
4?. (example they give appears to be the name of an individual from 5th Dynasty, Sekhetnankh)"specialist in a given field". [3]

[1]: (Ezzamel 2004, 503) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. July 2004. Organization. Vol. 11. No. 4. pp 497-537. Sage publications.

[2]: (Ezzamel 2004, 504) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. July 2004. Organization. Vol. 11. No. 4. pp 497-537. Sage publications.

[3]: (Marios, Hanna, Alsiegh, Mohammadali and Tubbs 2011) Loukas, Marios. Hanna, Michael. Alsaiegh, Nada. Mohammadali, M Shoja. Tubbs, R Shane. 20 April 2011. Clinical anatomy as practiced by ancient Egyptians. May 2011. Clinical Anatomy. Volume 24. Issue 4. pp 409-415. Wiley.


Military Level:
[3 to 7]

EWA changed to 4 [1] [2] [3] [4]
The army became professionalized in the Middle Kingdom. [5]
EWA: 4 King, 3 chief of the army/general (leads the expedition or the building project) ,2 officers ,1 soldiers
Spalinger [6] 1. King
2. Crown Prince3. Chief of Army4. Provincial Governors (brought own troops with them)5. Town regiments6. Division Commander7. individual soldiers
1. King
2. Chief of the leaders of the town militia
3. Soldier of the town militia
2.Crew of the ruler
2. Chief of the leaders of the dog patrols
There were also "scribe of the army." [7]
Alternative:
1. King
2. Chief of the army.
3. Provincial governors.
4. Generals (Overseers of the host).
5. Commanders of town militia. [1]
6. individual soldiers.

[1]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 422-425)

[2]: (Manning 2012, 76)

[3]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[4]: (Fields 2007, 9)

[5]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 105) Van De Mieroop, Marc. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Backwell. Chichester.

[6]: (Spalinger 2013, 422-4)

[7]: (Fields 2007, 5)


Administrative Level:
[5 to 7]

[5-7] central government line + crew organization
1. King
The term "Pharaoh" as political title emerged in the New Kingdom. In earlier times "Pharaoh" means literally what the Egyptian phrase does i.e. "great house."
JGM: Note the interesting royal portrait sculpture of Dyn, 12, "veristic" portraits of the King as a tired, worried ruler. Quite interesting, must be tied to Dyn. 12 royal ideology, king as human, and a "manager"
_ Central government line _ [1]
2. Central elite (150 people + families). Vizier was the head of the bureaucracy.3. Controller of the ’h.Many Middle Kingdoms inscriptions for a head/controller of the ’h. [2] Nb: "The ’h-palace must be intended as a holy locality as well as the temples because the Horus-king is the holder of religious and magical power. The ’h would have been the place where all the ceremonies connected to the transition of the magical power of the sun-god to the king were performed: here the king took over the role of Horus and was legitimated as his successor." [3]
4. Overseer of the chamber of the ’hMiddle Kingdom inscription for Overseer of the chamber of the ’h (Stele of Rn-sbf from Sinai). [4]
4. Overseer of the place/position/seat of the ’h (Stele of S3[..]-ibt (?)) [5] 5. Attendent of the ’h (Stele of Sn-pw) [6]
3. pr-’34?. Overseer of the chamber of the pr-’3 (Stele of ’ihms-n-3ht-w3s-htp) [7]
4?. Overseer of writing in the pr-’3 (Stele of Tit-nb-im3h) [8] 5?. majordomo/domestic servant of the pr-’3 (Stele of R’-nfr) [9]
5?. retainer of the pr-’3 (Stele of Nb-’nh) [10]
5?. Inspector of the Garden of the pr-’3. [11]
3. Overseer of the pr-nswt (Stele of Wsir-sn-pw) [11]
_Crew system used to organize labour_
1. Leader of the crew
"In the Old Kingdom, a crew was made up of two gangs" [12]
2. Leader of a gang"In the Old Kingdom... a gang was divided into four or five phyles" [12]
3. Leader of a phyle"In the Old Kingdom... each phyle had four divisions of about 10 men each, although this number could vary (Roth, 1991). Hence, the total labour force in a crew could well reach 400 men, possibly even more." [12]
4. Foreman of a division"In the Middle Kingdom, the most frequent sizes of a division (including one foreman) were 10, 14 and 20 (Gardiner et al., 1952, 1955; Mueller, 1975; Simpson, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1986). However, there were smaller division sizes of 9 and 4, with two supervisors combined into one larger division (Griffith, 1898)." [12]
ET: More research needed on the central government line. If it’s similar to the Old Kingdom there will be more levels than the provincial line.
_ Provincial line _ [1]
2. Central elite North
2. Central elite South2. "throughout the late Middle Kingdom, Thebes had been the second capital of Egypt, the Southern City (nwt rst) as counterpart to the Residence (hnw) of Lisht. Thebes had its own royal palace, vizieral bureau and an administrative apparatus that directly governed the "Head of the South" (w’rt tp rsj), a region extending from the First Cataract to Akhmim, located some 25 miles north of Abydos." [13] 3.4.
3. Provincial governors - Before 1850 BCEProvincial administration: Nomarchs, above the "big men" [14]
3. District overseers - After 1850 BCEReference to a "district-councillor" in a Middle Kingdom letter to the king from Lahun ("Letter of Sn-bwbw"). [15] 4. Mayors"mayors held a relatively minor position as compared to nomarchs" [16]
the mayors of Menat Khufu were "in charge of only a relatively minor part of the nome." [16]
"Each town was governed by a provincial official (mayor)." [17]
4. Village governorsVillage chiefs and mayors (heqa nwt, haty-a) enjoyed real local authority
"a passage of papyrus Harris I evokes referring to the anarchy prevailing at the end of the 19th dynasty: “the land of Egypt was in the hands of chiefs (wrw) and of rulers of towns (heqa nwt)” (Grandet 1994: 335). The precedents might be traced back to late Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period inscriptions, when governors of villages (heqa nwt) and “chiefs” (hery-tep) are mentioned in enthusiastic terms, their role as mediators in the administration of temple land recorded in royal decrees, and priests and scribes proudly proclaimed that they worked for simple village governors (heqa), chiefs (hery-tep) and administrators. Middle and New Kingdom inscriptions confirm that they collected taxes for their superiors, provided royal agents with supplies and manpower and cultivated the fields of the pharaoh (Moreno García 2013b and 2013c: 88-91)." [18]
5. Scribes
5. Big men"Some of them may have been merely the heads of an isolated farmstead, others of a hamlet, a small village, or a smaller or larger town" [14]

[1]: (EWA, Sept 2014)

[2]: (Pagliari 2012, 241-247) Giulia Pagliari. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[3]: (Pagliari 2012, 235) Giulia Pagliari. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[4]: (Pagliari 2012, 552) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[5]: (Pagliari 2012, 575) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[6]: (Pagliari 2012, 574) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[7]: (Pagliari 2012, 570) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[8]: (Pagliari 2012, 572) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[9]: (Pagliari 2012, 565) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[10]: (Pagliari 2012, 567) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[11]: (Pagliari 2012, 569) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[12]: (Ezzamel 2004, 507) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. July 2004. Organization. Vol. 11. No. 4. pp 497-537. Sage publications.

[13]: (Maree 2010, 266)

[14]: (Willems 2013, 354)

[15]: (Pagliari 2012, 435) Pagliari, Giulia. 2012. Function and significance of ancient Egyptian royal palaces from the Middle Kingdom to the Saite period: a lexicographical study and its possible connection with the archaeological evidence. Ph.D. thesis. University of Birmingham.

[16]: (Willems 2013, 378)

[17]: (Ezzamel 2004, 502) Ezzamel, Mahmoud. July 2004. Organization. Vol. 11. No. 4. pp 497-537. Sage publications.

[18]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García, Recent Developments in the Social and Economic History of Ancient Egypt, 24)


Professions
Professional Soldier:
present

[1]
EWA: changed code
"The army was well organized and in the 12th dynasty it had a core of professional soldiers. They served for prolonged periods of time and were regularly stationed abroad." [2]
Instruction for Merikare: "Enrich the young men who follow you, provide with goods, endow with fields, reward them with herds." [3]

[1]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007, 5)

[2]: (Van De Mieroop, M. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley)

[3]: Instruction for Merikare. www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/wsrp/information/REL499_2011/Instruction for Merikare.pdf


Professional Priesthood:
present

Priests worked rotating shifts. Not full-time professional until the New Kingdom. [1]

[1]: (Doxey 2001)


Professional Military Officer:
present

[1] Permanent, specialized only by time of the New Kingdom. In earlier periods "it can hardly be distinguished from a workforce for mining, quarrying, and trade expeditions." Highest official called "Overseer of the Army" (or "General"). [2]
EWA: ref. Berlev. Examples of titles ’Atju’ and ’Ankhu’.
"The army was well organized and in the 12th dynasty it had a core of professional soldiers. They served for prolonged periods of time and were regularly stationed abroad." [3]

[1]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007, 5)

[2]: (Haring 2010)

[3]: (Van De Mieroop, M. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley)


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
unknown

Merit Promotion:
unknown

Full Time Bureaucrat:
present

Examination System:
absent

Law
Professional Lawyer:
absent

No professional judges or lawyers. [1]

[1]: (McDowell 2001)


Judge:
absent

In the Story of Khuninpu ("Tale of the Eloquent Peasant") a victim of crime could petition a high official at his town house. [1] -- may not be a specialist if the petitioner had to visit the official’s house, rather than e.g. justice building
Also there is no evidence for the same system of law that existed in the Old Kingdom. [2] All officials were responsible for reporting crime to the vizier’s office, which either ratified decisions made by the lower officials or set up an investigation itself (and if necessary enacted a punishment). [2]

[1]: (Quirke 2001)

[2]: (McDowell 2001)


Formal Legal Code:
present

Instructions for Merikare "set down basic guidelines for administering justice." [1]
Middle Kingdom prison register "cites variations of the general offence, and in so doing implies the existence of a very detailed code of law". [2]

[1]: (Hinds 2006, 6)

[2]: (Kemp 1983, 84) Kemp, Barry. "Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period c. 2686-1552 BC" in Trigger, B G. Kemp, B J. O’Connor, D. LLoyd, A B. 1983. Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Court:
present

Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 probably from Thebes 12th-13th Dynasty "confirms information from other sources that a woman in the Middle Kingdom had the right to her own property and that she could start a court action." [1]
No evidence for the same system of law that existed in the Old Kingdom. [2]
All officials were responsible for reporting crime to the vizier’s office, which either ratified decisions made by the lower officials or set up an investigation itself (and if necessary enacted a punishment). [2]

[1]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 119) Van De Mieroop, Marc. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Backwell. Chichester.

[2]: (McDowell 2001)


Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

Before the New Kingdom inter-regional trade was conducted between institutions. "Merchants who worked for their own gain existed in ancient Egypt only during the New Kingdom." Ancient Egypt was a "supply state" with the necessities distributed down from institutions to the people. Goods exchanged at markets were primarily consumables like beer and bread, also some dried meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. Non-consumables included household artifacts. [1] Warburton disagrees with the supply state view "lack of evidence of state ’control’ of crafts or of the economy; ... absence of evidence of ’redistribution’ ... increasingly widespread evidence of commercial activity ... exaggerated attention to titles has paid neither sufficient attention to their absence, nor to the lack of evidence for an administrative role of titles when they are documented. Together these points suggest that the Ancient Egyptian economy was a pre-capitalist market economy in which administration played a relatively unimportant role in itself." [2]

[1]: (Altenmuller 2001)

[2]: (Warburton 2007) Warburton, David A. 2007. Work and Compensation in Ancient Egypt. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology. Vol. 93. pp 175-194. Egypt Exploration Society.


Irrigation System:
present

Sesostris II (1897-1878 BCE) irrigation and land reclamation in Fayyum. Project completed under Amenemhet III (1842-1797 BCE). [1] Evidence of major public projects in Kush so Egyptians could colonise region. [2] Middle Kingdom irrigation systems were pre-shaduf. Shaduf introduced middle second millennium BCE [3] , which would be around start of the New Kingdom. "the irrigation regime, which lay at the root of the economy, was based on a system with basins or basin chains, i.e. smaller or larger areas within which collaboration is a precondition for successful agriculture." [4]

[1]: (Stearns 2001, 30)

[2]: (Angelakis et al. 2012, 132)

[3]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García, Recent Developments in the Social and Economic History of Ancient Egypt, 14)

[4]: (Willems 2013, 352)


Food Storage Site:
present

Askut fortress, granaries could supply 3,668 men on an annual basis [1] Large granaries. [2]

[1]: (Spalinger 2013, 426 cite: Barry Kemp)

[2]: (Willems 2013, 357)


Drinking Water Supply System:
absent

Earliest wells date to the el Napta/Al Jerar Early Neolithic (c6000-5250 BC) at Napta Playa in the Western Desert. There is written evidence for wells from 4th dynasty Old Kingdom. "Most of the inscriptions seem to be connected to mining or quarrying activities in the Eastern Desert or travel routes from the Nile Valley towards the Red Sea." [1] A pipe network that connects the drinking water to individual settlements is not known to exist / not thought to be present.

[1]: (Franzmeier 2007)


Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present

Improvements made by the Egyptians to the north—south route 2000—1780 BCE. Nubian Corridor "the principal artery between Africa, the lower Nile valley and the Mediterranean world: the navigable channels through the First Cataract were kept clear, a doilkos - a track for hauling boats over land - was constructed parallel to the impassable rapids of the Second Cataract, and a dam was built at Semna to facilitate navigation of the minor rapids of Batn el-Hagar." [1] Road network emerged with development of irrigation systems. Excavated soil was piled by the side of ditches, these formed embankments which were used as paths and roads. Generally not paved. (An exception was the 11.5 km paved straight road - using flagstones and petrified wood - discovered in the Fayyum, which artefacts date to Old Kingdom). [2]

[1]: (Mokhtar ed. 1981, 239)

[2]: (Partridge 2010)


Port:
present

Red Sea port of Mersa/Wadi Gawassis, east from Coptos. [1] Port. "Shipping goods from the coast of the Levant was a regular commercial activity at this time." [2]

[1]: (Juan Carlos Moreno García, Recent Developments in the Social and Economic History of Ancient Egypt, 11)

[2]: (Spalinger 2013, 431)


Canal:
present

[1] c2000 BCE Bahr Yousuf canal dug to irrigate the Fayyum basin. [2]

[1]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[2]: (Angelakis et al. 2012, 132)


Bridge:
present

Earliest reference to small bridge is for the new kingdom. Bridges over wide expanse of water unknown. [1] However, it is highly probable that small bridges were necessary before this time and Egyptians would have been more than capable of building and maintaining them.

[1]: (Arnold 2003, 37)


Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
present

Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

Script:
present

Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
absent

The Coptic alphabet is the script used for writing the Coptic language. The repertoire of glyphs is based on the Greek alphabet augmented by letters borrowed from the Egyptian Demotic and is the first alphabetic script used for the Egyptian language. [1]

[1]: Ritner, Robert Kriech. 1996. "The Coptic Alphabet". In The World’s Writing Systems, edited by Peter T. Daniels and William Bright. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 1994:287-290.


Nonwritten Record:
present

Non Phonetic Writing:
present

hieroglyphs


Mnemonic Device:
unknown

Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

Mathematical, medical, philosophical inquiry preserved on Egyptian papyri. Examples: The Akhmim Wooden Tablet (2000-1950 BC); The Heqanakht Papyri (2000-1950 BC); The Moscow Mathematical Papyrus (1850-1800 BC); The Berlin Papyrus (1800 BC); The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus(1650 BC). [1] Kahun Gynecological papyrus (1825 BCE), the Edwin Smith papyrus (1700 BCE), and the Ebers papyrus (1500 BCE) covered "surgery, healing, skin diseases, stomach ailments, medicines, the head, dentistry, gynecology, and diseases of the extremities". [2]

[1]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)

[2]: (Marios, Hanna, Alsiegh, Mohammadali and Tubbs 2011) Loukas, Marios. Hanna, Michael. Alsaiegh, Nada. Mohammadali, M Shoja. Tubbs, R Shane. 20 April 2011. Clinical anatomy as practiced by ancient Egyptians. May 2011. Clinical Anatomy. Volume 24. Issue 4. pp 409-415. Wiley.


Sacred Text:
present

Religious Literature:
present

Coffin Texts. [1]

[1]: (Stearns 2001, 30)


Practical Literature:
present

The ’Testament of Amenemhet’, included in the Milligan Papyrus and the Papyrus Sallier II, defined royal obligations and the needs of the people. [1] 11th Dynasty, literature flourished. Admonitions of Ipuwer. Instructions for King Merikare. [2]

[1]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[2]: (Stearns 2001, 30)


Philosophy:
present

"The philosophical literture is something perculiar to the Middle Kingdom and First Intermediate Period." [1] "Another religious development of the Middle Kingdom was the idea that all people (not just the king) had a ba, or spiritual force. The most evocative evidence for this is the literary text, the Dialogue between a Man Tired of Life and his ’Ba’, which must be the world’s earliest debate on the issue of suicide - a powerful philosophical treatise." [2] Instructions for Merikare "set down basic guidelines for administering justice." [3] - advice for kings genre

[1]: (Kemp 1983, 75) Kemp, Barry. "Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period c. 2686-1552 BC" in Trigger, B G. Kemp, B J. O’Connor, D. LLoyd, A B. 1983. Ancient Egypt: A Social History. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Callender 1983, 169) Callender, Gae. "The Middle Kingdom Renaissance" in Shaw, Ian. ed. 2003. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[3]: (Hinds 2006, 6)


Lists Tables and Classification:
present

Fiction:
present

Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor. [1] Story of Sinuhe. [1] Prophecies, moral tales and hymns. [2] Biographies, wisdom literature, stories such as "The Eloquent Peasant." [3] "Loyalist instruction of Kaires", "Teaching of a Man for his Son", "The Teaching of Ptahhotep", "Teaching of King Khety" (also known as "Satire of the Trades"), "Words of Nerferti", "Teaching of King Amenemhet", "Words of Khakheperreseneb", "Hymn to the Innundation", "Tale of the Eloquent Peasant", "The Tale of King Cheops’ Court", Cairo Mythological Tale, "Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor", "Dialogue of a Man with his Soul", "Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All" (philosophical, on the nature of good and evil), "Tale of Neferkaremd Sasenet", "Tale of the Herdsman", "Teaching for Kagemni", "Teaching of Hardedef", "Pleasures of Fishing and Fowling", "Account of the Sporting King." [4] Concept of Ma’at central to Egyptian society important throughout "Tale of the Eloquent Peasant." [5]

[1]: (Stearns 2001, 30)

[2]: (Wawro 2008, 42 )

[3]: ([1])

[4]: (Enmarch 2010, 663-676)

[5]: (Van Blerk 2006)


Calendar:
present

Information / Money
Token:
unknown

Precious Metal:
present

Paper Currency:
absent

Indigenous Coin:
absent

Foreign Coin:
absent

Article:
present

The Hekanakhte correspondence has evidence for "the purchase of land and commodities by barter with copper, oil, and linen." [1]

[1]: (Manning 2003, 173) Manning, J.G. in Mokyr, John ed. 2003. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. Volume 1. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
absent

General Postal Service:
absent

Courier:
present

Official dispatches from border fortresses survive on papyrus, discovered at Thebes. [1]

[1]: (Quirke 2001)


Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
present

[1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present

[1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Stone Walls Mortared:
unknown

[1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

Middle Kingdom fortresses "were remarkable examples of military architecture with huge walls, ramparts and ditches, bastions, and fortified gates with drawbridges. Inside them were barracks, magazines, workships and offices, as well as small temples for Egyptian gods... Large granaries contained the rations to feed the troops and personnel stationed there." [1] e.g. southern border. [1]

[1]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 113) Van De Mieroop, Marc. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Backwell. Chichester.


Modern Fortification:
absent

General fortifications reference: [1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Moat:
unknown

[1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Fortified Camp:
present

Senusret I (1971-1928 BCE) controlled Nubia with fortresses, among them Buhen. [1] Set up a series of massive fortresses. [2] Fortified towns designed to control river traffic and trade. [3] Fortifications at the Isthmus of Suez and the southern frontier at the First Cataract of the Nile. [4]

[1]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/history12-17.htm#amenemheti)

[2]: (Quirke 2001)

[3]: (Manning 2012, 75-76)

[4]: (Dupuy and Dupuy 2007, 5)


Earth Rampart:
present

Middle Kingdom fortresses "were remarkable examples of military architecture with huge walls, ramparts and ditches, bastions, and fortified gates with drawbridges. Inside them were barracks, magazines, workships and offices, as well as small temples for Egyptian gods... Large granaries contained the rations to feed the troops and personnel stationed there." [1]

[1]: (Van De Mieroop 2011, 113) Van De Mieroop, Marc. 2011. A History of Ancient Egypt. Wiley-Backwell. Chichester.


Ditch:
present

[1]

[1]: (Adam 1981, 232) Adam, S. 1981. “The Importance of Nubia: A Link between Central Africa and the Mediterranean.” In General History of Africa II: Ancient Civilizations of Africa, edited by G. Mokhtar, II:226-44. General History of Africa. Paris: UNESCO. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/8APQDQV3.


Complex Fortification:
present

"The strength of these forts and the effort made to render them impregnable can be seen from the fortress at Buhen, which was one of the best-preserved forts in Nubia before it was flooded by the waters of the new Aswan High Dam . This formidable Middle Kingdom fortress consisted of an elaborate series of fortifications within fortifications built on a rectangular plan measuring 172 by 160 metres. The defence system consisted of a brick wall 4.8 metres thick and at least 10 metres high with towers at regular intervals. At the bottom of this main wall was a brickpaved rampart, protected by a series of round bastions with double rows of loopholes. The whole fort was surrounded by a dry ditch cut into the bed rock 6.5 metres deep. The ditch was 8.4 metres wide and the other scarp was heightened by brickwork. There were two gates on the east side facing the Nile, and a third, heavily fortified, on the west side facing the desert." [1]

[1]: (Mokhtar ed. 1981, 258)


Long Wall:
absent

Military use of Metals
Steel:
absent

Iron:
absent

Copper:
present

copper used in bronze. Evidence for bronze arrowheads and spearheads. Bronze arrowheads used may have been imported from Middle East. Production not common in Middle Kingdom. [1] Spearheads were made of copper. [2] Spearheads and arrowheads initially flintstone and bone, then replaced by bronze. [3]

[1]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/weapons/index.html)

[2]: (Fields 2007, 4)

[3]: (Gnirs 2001)


Bronze:
present

Evidence for bronze arrowheads and spearheads. Bronze arrowheads used may have been imported from Middle East. Production not common in Middle Kingdom. [1] Spearheads were made of copper. [2] Spearheads and arrowheads initially flintstone and bone, then replaced by bronze. [3]

[1]: (http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/weapons/index.html)

[2]: (Fields 2007, 4)

[3]: (Gnirs 2001)


Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
absent

not present during this time period


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

not present during this time period


Sling:
present

[1]

[1]: (Hoffmeier 2001)


Self Bow:
present

Middle Kingdom infantry based on powerful archer divisions. [1] [2] Self-bow was used. [3] "One of the most important sources for the study of Egyptian weapons in the early Middle Kingdom is a pair of painted wooden models (Cairo, Egyptian Museum) from the tomb of Mesehti, a provincial governor at Asyut in the Eleventh Dynasty (figure 22). Forty Egyptian spearmen and forty Nubian archers are reproduced in faithful detail, showing the typical costume and arms of the common soldier." [4] "By the Dynastic Period, archers were most commonly depicted using a ’self’ (or simple) bow" [5]

[1]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 433)

[2]: (Gnirs 2001)

[3]: (Fields 2007, 16)

[4]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.

[5]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Javelin:
present

"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1] Regular troops carried javelins and axes. [2]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.

[2]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 433)

Javelin:
absent

"The principal weapons in the late Predynastic and Protodynastic Periods were undoubtedly the bow and arrow, spear, axe and mace. These are frequently shown in relief depictions of hunting and battle scenes (figure 18)." [1] Regular troops carried javelins and axes. [2]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 31) Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.

[2]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 433)


Handheld Firearm:
absent

not present during this time period


Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

not present during this time period


Crossbow:
absent

not present during this time period


Composite Bow:
absent

"Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE." [1] "The composite bows spread into Palestine around 1800 BCE and were introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos in 1700 BCE." [2] Hyksos introduced composite bow into region. [3]

[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.

[2]: (Roy 2015, 20) Kaushik Roy. 2015. Warfare in Pre-British India - 1500 BCE to 1740 CE. Routledge. London.

[3]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)


Atlatl:
absent

New World weapon


Handheld weapons
War Club:
present

Inferred from use in previous periods, though no longer one of the main weapons: "the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Sword:
absent

"the weaponry being used by the Egyptians and their opponents--a combination of bows and arrows, shields, spears and axes--remained virtually unchanged from the Sixth to Thirteenth Dynasties." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 37) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Spear:
present

"One of the most important sources for the study of Egyptian weapons in the early Middle Kingdom is a pair of painted wooden models (Cairo, Egyptian Museum) from the tomb of Mesehti, a provincial governor at Asyut in the Eleventh Dynasty (figure 22). Forty Egyptian spearmen and forty Nubian archers are reproduced in faithful detail, showing the typical costume and arms of the common soldier." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Polearm:
present

"Whereas the conventional spear was intended to be thrown at the enemy, there was also a form of halberd (figure 25c), which was effectively a spear shaft fitted with an axe blade and used for cutting and slashing." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 36) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Dagger:
present

"From the Middle Kingdom onwards the dagger grew in popularity as a weapon for stabbing and crusing at close quarters." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 36) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Battle Axe:
present

"Throughout the Dynastic Period of the most commonly used weapon was the axe. In the Old and Middle Kingdoms the conventional axe usually consisted of a semicircular copper head (see figures 23a and 24) tied to a wooden handle by cords, threaded through perforations in the copper and wrapped around lugs. At this stage there was little difference between the battleaxe and the woodworker’s axe. In the Middle Kingdom, however, some battleaxes had longer blades with concave sides narrowing down to a curved edge (figure 23b)" [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 36) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Animals used in warfare
Horse:
absent

Hyksos introduced horse-drawn chariot into region at the end of this period. [1] Horses non-native to Egypt. Introduced c1700 BCE. [2] Horses and wagons known from trade and war booty. [3] "some scholars have long recognized indications that horse riding was being adapted, possibly as early as the late Middle Kingdom, as part of military scouting and rapid movements (Schulman 1957). Horse riding may have been used in military tactics, and by elite levels of the military prior to the advent of chariot technology in Egypt. Horses may well have a history in gift exchanges among elites during the Middle Bronze Age indepedent of chariot technology (Bibby 2003).£ [4]

[1]: (http://www.cemml.colostate.edu/cultural/09476/egypt02-04enl.html)

[2]: (Partridge 2010, 384)

[3]: (Gnirs 2001)

[4]: (Wegner 2015, 76) Wegner, Josef. 2015. A royal necropolis at South Abydos: New light on Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period. Near Eastern archaeology. Volume 78. Issue 2. 68-78.


Donkey:
present

"During the Old Kingdom and the Middle Kingdom the Egyptians depended upon the donkey’s back for land transport. ... Well before 3000 BC donkeys in Upper Egypt were trained to carry loads." [1] The donkey was probably domesticated from the African wild ass ’in more than one place’ but for the Nubian subspecies 5500-4500 BCE in the Sudan. [2]

[1]: (Drews 2017, 34) Robert Drews. 2017. Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe. Routledge. Abingdon.

[2]: (Mitchell 2018, 39) Peter Mitchell 2018. The Donkey in Human History: An Archaeological Perspective. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


Dog:
unknown

Camel:
absent

camels not considered native to Egypt, likely introduced by Persians in 525 BCE


Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Shield:
present

Cowhides probably most common material. [1] "From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [2]

[1]: (Hoffmeier 2001)

[2]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Scaled Armor:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Plate Armor:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Limb Protection:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Leather Cloth:
present

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Laminar Armor:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Helmet:
absent

Not until the 18th Dynasty c1500 BCE. [1] "The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [2]

[1]: (Hoffmeier 2001) J K Hoffmeier in D B Redford. ed. 2001. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[2]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Chainmail:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Breastplate:
absent

"The soldiers of the Old and Middle Kingdom wore no armour. In the Old Kingdom they are usually depicted wearing only a belt and a small triangular loincloth, and by the Middle Kingdom their costume was invariably the same short linen kilt as that worn by civilian workmen. [...] From the late Predynastic Period to the Middle Kingdom, Egyptian soldiers’ only bodily protection (apart from the occasional use of a band of webbing across the shoulders and chest) was supplied by long, roughly rectangular shields made of cowhide stretched over a wooden frame." [1]

[1]: (Shaw 1991: 32) Shaw, Ian. 1991. Egyptian Warfare and Weapons. Princes Risborough: Shire. Seshat URL: https://www.zotero.org/groups/1051264/seshat_databank/items/itemKey/7J8H86XF.


Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
present

"The key differentiation between the fully developed army of the New Kingdom and that in the previous era of the Middle Kingdom is reflected best in the amphibious nature of the earlier institution. Thus as in Dynasty XIII and onwards, when the chariotry division was the attractive sector of the army for the sons of nobles, in the Middle Kingdom it was the fleet that provided the positions of importance." [1]

[1]: (Garcia ed. 2013, 433)


Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
present

River vessels used for conflict. [1]

[1]: (Healy 1992, 25)


Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
unknown


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions