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The Middle and New Kingdoms (The Middle Kingdom (The wealth and power of…
The Middle and New Kingdoms
The Middle Kingdom
The wealth and power of the pharaohs died down nearing the end of the Old Kingdom.
Taking care and building the pyramids was costly and pharaohs couldn't collect enough taxes.
Nobles attempted to use their government positions to take power from the pharaohs and gained enough power to challenge the pharaohs.
The Old Kingdom had fallen by 2200 BC and the pharaohs fought each other for another 160 years. There was no central ruler.
Chaos in Egypt interfered with trade and caused the farming to die.
In 2050 BC, there was someone named Mentuhotup who defeated the other pharaohs. His rule began the Middle Kingdom lasting until about 1750 BC.
Nearing the end of the Middle Kingdom, the pharaohs couldn't hold the community together.
Mid 1700 BC, the Hyksos, a group from Southwest Asia invaded using horses, chariots and weapons to conquer Lower Egypt. They succeeded and ruled for 200 years.
The Egyptians didn't like the Hyksos and certainly didn't like paying taxes to them. In the mid 1500's, Ahmose of Thebes got the Hyksos out of Egypt and declared himself king.
The New Kingdom and Building and Empire
Ahmose's rule started Egypt's 18 dynasty and it was the beginning of the New Kingdom which was an amazing time for the Egyptians lasting from 1550 BC to 1050 BC.
Conquest trade brought wealth to pharaohs.
After the Hyksos incident, Egyptian leaders feared future invasions so they took control of all the invasion routes of the kingdom. These leaders turned Egypt into an empire.
Egypt's first target was the Hyksos and after taking over that area they conquered Syria. Egypt took over the entire eastern shore of the Mediterranean. It defeated Kush.
By the 1400's BC, Egypt was the leading military power in their region. The empire extended from the Euphrates River to southern Nubia.
Rich Egypt became from military conquests. The kingdoms it usually conquered gave them gifts in hope for a good relationship.
Growth and it's Effects on Trade.
Conquest brought Egypt in contact with distant lands.
Egypt's trade expanded along it's empire.
The land Egypt conquered had great resources for trade, for example, the Sinai Peninsula had large supplies of turquoise and copper.
Trade routes developed.
A ruler who was working to increase Egyptian trade was Queen Hatshepsut. She sent Egyptian traders south to trade with Punt and north to trade with Asia Minor and Greece.
Hatshepsut and the pharaohs used the wealth to support the arts and architecture.
Hatshepsut is remembered by the temples and monuments built during her reign. The best known structure of these was a temple built for her by the city of Thebes.
Invasions of Egypt
Egypt's military was strong, but it still faced challenges. Pharaoh Ramses came to power in the 1200's BC. He fought a group from Asia Minor called the Hittites. They fought for years but couldn't defeat each other.
The Hittite leader and Ramses eventually signed a peace treaty and later the Hittites and Egyptians became allies.
The Tehenu invaded the Nile Delta but Ramses fought them off and built forts so nobody could invade them. This was smart because the Tehenu invaded a century later but were not successful.
There was a group of invaders called the Sea Peoples that sailed into Southwest Asia. Historians don't know much about these people. They were strong warriors who crushed the Hittites and destroyed cities in Southwest Asia. After 50 years of fighting, the Egyptians turned them back.
Egypt survived these invasions, but the empire in Asia was gone. Egypt lost it's strength and power and wouldn't be able to regain it.