First Intermediate Period of Egypt

The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious by Egyptologists), Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and part of the Eleventh Dynasties. The concept of a "First Intermediate Period" was coined in 1926 by Egyptologists Georg Steindorff and Henri Frankfort.

First Intermediate Period of Egypt
c. 2181 BC–c. 2055 BC
Capital
Common languagesAncient Egyptian
Religion
Ancient Egyptian religion
GovernmentMonarchy
Pharaoh 
• c. 2181 BC
Menkare (first)
• c. 2069 BC – c. 2061 BC
Intef III (last; Theban)
Merykare (last; Herakleopolitan)
History 
• Began
c. 2181 BC
• Ended
c. 2055 BC
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Old Kingdom of Egypt
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
Today part ofEgypt
Part of a series on the
History of Egypt
Prehistoric Egypt
Predynastic Period6000–3000 BC
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period3150–2686 BC
Old Kingdom2686–2181 BC
1st Intermediate Period2181–2055 BC
Middle Kingdom2055–1650 BC
2nd Intermediate Period1650–1550 BC
New Kingdom1550–1069 BC
3rd Intermediate Period1069–664 BC
Late Period664–332 BC
Greco-Roman Egypt
Argead dynasty332–310 BC
Ptolemaic dynasties310–30 BC
Roman and Byzantine Egypt30 BC–641 AD
Sasanian Egypt619–629
Medieval Egypt
Rashidun caliphate641–661
Umayyad caliphate661–750
Abbasid dynasty750–935
Tulunid dynasty868–905
Ikhshidid dynasty935–969
Fatimid dynasty969–1171
Ayyubid dynasty1171–1250
Mamluk dynasty1250–1517
Early modern Egypt
Ottoman Egypt1517–1867
French occupation1798–1801
Muhammad Ali dynasty1805–1953
Khedivate of Egypt1867–1914
Late Modern Egypt
British occupation1882–1922
Sultanate of Egypt1914–1922
Kingdom of Egypt1922–1953
Republic1953–present
 Egypt portal
Periods and dynasties of ancient Egypt
All years are BC
Early
Pre-dynastic period
First Dynasty I c. 3150–2890
Second Dynasty II 2890–2686
Old Kingdom
Third Dynasty III 2686–2613
Fourth Dynasty IV 2613–2498
Fifth Dynasty V 2498–2345
Sixth Dynasty VI 2345–2181
First Intermediate
Seventh Dynasty VII spurious
Eighth Dynasty VIII 2181–2160
Ninth Dynasty IX 2160–2130
Tenth Dynasty X 2130–2040
Early Eleventh Dynasty XI 2134–2061
Middle Kingdom
Late Eleventh Dynasty XI 2061–1991
Twelfth Dynasty XII 1991–1803
Thirteenth Dynasty XIII 1803–1649
Second Intermediate
Fourteenth Dynasty XIV 1705–1690
Fifteenth Dynasty (Hyksos) XV 1674–1535
Sixteenth Dynasty XVI 1660–1600
Abydos Dynasty 1650–1600
Seventeenth Dynasty XVII 1580–1549
New Kingdom
Eighteenth Dynasty XVIII 1549–1292
Nineteenth Dynasty XIX 1292–1189
Twentieth Dynasty XX 1189–1077
Third Intermediate
Twenty-first Dynasty XXI 1069–945
Twenty-second Dynasty XXII 945–720
Twenty-third Dynasty XXIII 837–728
Twenty-fourth Dynasty XXIV 732–720
Twenty-fifth Dynasty (Nubian) XXV 732–653
Late Period
Twenty-sixth Dynasty XXVI 672–525
XXVII 525–404
Twenty-eighth Dynasty XXVIII 404–398
Twenty-ninth Dynasty XXIX 398–380
Thirtieth Dynasty XXX 380–343
XXXI 343–332
Hellenistic Egypt
Thirty-second Dynasty XXXII 332–305
Thirty-third Dynasty XXXIII 305–30
Roman Egypt
XXXIV 30 BC – 313 AD
See also: List of pharaohs by period and dynasty
Periodization of ancient Egypt

Very little monumental evidence survives from this period, especially from the beginning of the era. The First Intermediate Period was a dynamic time in which rule of Egypt was roughly equally divided between two competing power bases. One of the bases was at Heracleopolis in Lower Egypt, a city just south of the Faiyum region, and the other was at Thebes, in Upper Egypt. It is believed that during that time, temples were pillaged and violated, artwork was vandalized, and the statues of kings were broken or destroyed as a result of the postulated political chaos. The two kingdoms would eventually come into conflict, which would lead to the conquest of the north by the Theban kings and to the reunification of Egypt under a single ruler, Mentuhotep II, during the second part of the Eleventh Dynasty. This event marked the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.

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