2055 BC

Events in 2055 BC 3

• 2181 BC – 2055 BC First Intermediate Period -- collapse and fragmentation The First Intermediate Period (c.2181-2055 BC) is the first great collapse in Egyptian history -- a period of political fragmentation, famine, civil war and cultural disruption following the end of the Old Kingdom. The causes are debated: a prolonged drought (evidenced by low Nile floods in tree-ring and cave records), the overextension of royal resources on pyramid building, and the growing power of provincial governors (nomarchs) who resist central control. Egypt splits into competing kingdoms based in Herakleopolis (north) and Thebes (south). The collapse is traumatic enough to produce a literature of lamentation -- the Admonitions of Ipuwer, the Dialogue of a Man with his Soul -- reflecting on social chaos.
• 2055 BC – 1650 BC Egypt: The Middle Kingdom (2055–1650 BC) The Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) is the classical age of ancient Egypt -- the period that Egyptians of later centuries regard as a golden age of literature, art, administration and royal power. Following the fragmentation and civil strife of the First Intermediate Period, Mentuhotep II of Thebes reunifies Egypt c.2055 BC and founds the Eleventh Dynasty. The Twelfth Dynasty (1985-1795 BC) under the Amenemhat and Senusret pharaohs represents the high point: Egypt conquers Nubia to the Second Cataract, trades extensively with the Levant and Punt, drains the Fayum depression for agriculture, and produces the literary masterpieces of ancient Egypt -- the Story of Sinuhe, the Eloquent Peasant, the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, the Dialogue of a Man with his Soul. The Middle Kingdom ends with the Hyksos invasion (c.1650 BC) that introduces the horse, chariot and composite bow to Egypt.
• 2055 BC – 1650 BC The Middle Kingdom -- classical Egypt The Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) is the classical age of Egyptian literature, art and administration -- the period when Egyptian culture reaches its most refined expression. Mentuhotep II reunifies Egypt after the First Intermediate Period (c.2055 BC). The Twelfth Dynasty (1985-1795 BC) under the Amenemhat and Senusret pharaohs builds a powerful centralised state, conquers Nubia, trades with the Levant and Punt, and produces the masterpieces of Egyptian literature. The Middle Kingdom ends with the Hyksos invasion (c.1650 BC), which introduces the horse and chariot to Egypt.