Middle Kingdom of Egypt: Ancient Egypt's Classical Age
The Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) is considered ancient Egypt's Classical Age, during which it produced some of its greatest works of art and literature. Scholars remain divided on which dynasties constitute the Middle Kingdom, as some argue for the later half of the 11th through the 12th, some the 12th to 14th, and some the 12th and 13th.
The 12th Dynasty is often cited as the beginning because of the vast improvement in the quality of Egyptian art and architecture, but these developments were only possible because of the stability the 11th Dynasty secured for the country. The most commonly accepted dates for the Middle Kingdom, then, are 2040-1782 BCE, which include the latter part of the 11th Dynasty through the middle of the 13th Dynasty.
The 13th Dynasty was never as powerful or stable as the 12th, and it allowed an immigrant people known as the Hyksos to gain power in Lower Egypt, which eventually grew strong enough to challenge the authority of the 13th Dynasty and usher in the era known as the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt (circa 1782 to circa 1570 BCE). According to every estimation of the Middle Kingdom, Egypt reached its highest point of culture during the 12th Dynasty, and the innovations of this period influenced the rest of Egypt's history.
Kingdoms & Intermediate Periods
Designations such as "Middle Kingdom" and "Second Intermediate Period" are constructs of 20th-century Egyptologists in their attempt to make the long history of the country more manageable. The ancient Egyptians themselves used no such names for their eras in history. Those eras which are marked by the country's unification under a strong central government are called kingdoms, while times of disunity or long-term political or social unrest are known as intermediate periods. Each of these eras has its own defining quality, including the Middle Kingdom, but scholars have claimed this period is more difficult to connect to any central image or accomplishment. Scholar Marc van de Mieroop comments on this:
While both the modern term 'Middle Kingdom' and the ancient presentation of may suggest that this period parallels the Old and New Kingdoms, in many respects it is more difficult to define the Middle Kingdom than those other periods.
In simplistic terms we can point to the pyramids as the Old Kingdom's defining characteristic and at the empire for the New Kingdom; no comparable single feature describes the Middle Kingdom. It was a period of transformation.
It could be argued, however, that the physical evidence of that transformation is the defining characteristic. The literature and art of the Middle Kingdom are unlike any that came before it and influenced everything that followed after. Even though the Middle Kingdom may not have the grand pyramids of Egypt's past or the power that lay in the future, the contributions made by this era contributed enormously to the definition of Egyptian culture as it is recognized in the present day.
⇒ Middle Kingdom of Egypt: Ancient Egypt's Classical Age
