Egyptian History 19 October 2015

The Late Old Kingdom and First Intermediate Period Things Fall Apart? Kingship and society in a me of change Chronology

Late Old Kingdom (Memphis) c. 2181-2160 BC Dynasty 7 Dynasty 8

First Intermediate Period (Herakleopolis) c. 2160-2025 BC First Intermediate Period (Thebes) Dynasty 9 c. 2125-2004 Dynasty 10 Dynasty 11 (first half)

Relang evidence and quesons in the First Intermediate Period • Royal Decrees • When is the FIP? • Private Tombs • Who holds authority, – Autobiographies how and where? – Art • Social structure and – Coffin Texts religious changes? • Later literature • Condion of the • Rock Inscripons country? • Archaeological data • WHY DID IT HAPPEN? • Climate data

Coptos, Neferkauhor, late 8th Dynasty

Horus Netjerybau A royal decree to the beloved one of the god, the iry pat, overseer of the pyramid town, , overseer of , overseer of priests, stolist of , Shemai. (With regard to) your son, the haty-a and overseer of priests Idi, he is (now) haty-a, seal-bearer of the king of , overseer of Upper Egypt, and overseer of priests south as far as the first of Upper Egypt, and north to the seventh, and under his command do the haty-a, the seal-bearers of the king of Lower Egypt, the sole companions, the overseers of priests, the cheifs and the rulers of towns, and their associates operate. My majesty has commanded that he serve as an official and that he should carry out his dues in these nomes in accordance with your commands, and that he serve as your spokesman. No man has any legal claim against this. …. Sealed in the presence of the king himself, second month of peret season, day 20. From the tomb of Idi at Coptos, late 8th Dynasty:

“Neferkauhor (the king), year of the first occasion, fourth month of the Shemu season, day 2: seng off for Ra-henu for the second me in order to bring noble stone from…

Beginning of the speech of the officials throughout the nomes of Upper Egypt. The god’s father, beloved one of the god, iry pat, foster-child of the king, haty-a, overseer of Upper Egypt, Idi.

I established monuments… And I made pleasant with incense this soul chapel of my father and my ancestors so that these soul chapels of these noble ones were like…. And I refreshed and set up the statues of these noble ones, these iry pat, which I found in a state of disrepair…

I never gave him (his father) a reason to be disappointed. I never did anything which was distasteful to him. For my part, I looked for every man who had a problem with him, for he has let me know everyone among them who was in his house. I have got rid of them totally, I have dispossessed them. The Khetys of Heracleopolis Ankhfi of Moalla: a of the Herakleopolitan Period From Ankhfi’s autobiography:

Member of the elite, high official, army-overseer Ankhfi the forceful, who says: Now, the army leader of Armant came to say: “Come, you man! The western fortresses are open.” I went downstream via the western ones of Armant and found that the Theban and Copte nomes both had opened the fortresses of Armant at Semekhsen’s cliff, about which I had been peoned to.

Then I was brave with my arms against them there, like a harpoon on the nose of a hippopotamus who has fled, having gone upstream to topple their fortresses with the forceful troop of Moalla. Such am I, an unequaled man.

The Theban kings of the First Intermediate Period

Dynasty 11 (first part)

(Mentuhotep aa (the great)) ( Seherutawy) Intef II (Horus Wahankh) Intef III (Horus Nakhtnebtepnefer) Nebheptre Montuhotep

Relief from Tod, reign of Nebhepetre El-Tarif Deir el-Bahri

Map of Thebes Regional tomb styles: saff tombs at Thebes Stelae of Intef II from Thebes:

"[...] her northern boundary as far as the nome of Aphroditopolis. I drove in the mooring stake in the sacred valley, I captured the enre Thinite nome, I opened all her fortresses, I made her the Door of the North [...] like a flood, great in possessions, like a sea, splendid for the glory of Thebes, great for the [...] of this land, which I myself have bequeathed to my son, [...] . There is no lie that has come forth from my mouth, there is no word like that which I have spoken. There was no violence for one (dwelling) upon his sandy land, nor [...] for one in possession of his paternal property, nor [...] them forever and ever. Year 50, when this stela was set up [...] by [...] Horus, Wahankh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, In[tef], the great" From the stela of Tje, treasurer of Intef II:

"I passed a long period of years under the majesty of my lord, Horus, Wahankh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, Intef, this land being under his authority up-river as far as [Thes] and down-river as far as …

He made me great, he advanced my rank…the treasure was in my hand under my seal, being the best of every good thing brought to the majesty of my lord from Upper Egypt, from Lower Egypt (sic) of everything that gladdens the heart, as tribute from this enre land, owing to fear of him throughout this land " Intef II column from Karnak