XXIIᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – XXIᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Egypt, especially the Nile Valley
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The First Intermediate Period was the era of political fragmentation that followed the collapse of Old Kingdom authority. Local rulers and princelings competed across the Nile Valley, while Heracleopolis controlled parts of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt divided into local nomes. The period also saw social upheaval, new emphases on individual dignity and equality, the spread of funerary privileges beyond royalty, and the growing power of Thebes and the cult of Osiris at Abydos.
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Le récit
After the death of Pepi II, Egypt broke apart in a period described as anarchy, social chaos, and civil war. Local princelings fought along the Nile valley, while the authority that had once centered on the Pharaoh disappeared. The tradition of a Seventh Dynasty containing seventy kings reigning for seventy days may reflect an emergency regime established at Memphis after the collapse of the Sixth Dynasty.
A new royal house later emerged at Heracleopolis in Middle Egypt and attempted to preserve elements of Memphis culture. Its rulers appear to have controlled the Delta, which was threatened by desert nomads. Upper Egypt instead divided into its traditional nomes under local rulers, creating the political conditions for the expansion of Theban power during the Eleventh Dynasty.
The upheaval also generated new social and moral emphases. Writings associated with Ipu-wer describe violence, economic reversal, weakened law, and the absence of centralized authority, while the Protests of the Eloquent Peasant presents a poor man demanding justice against a wealthy landowner. The period therefore became associated not only with disorder but also with a stronger articulation of individual rights and the dignity of ordinary people.
Funerary religion became less restricted by royal status. Powerful provincial figures appropriated royal funerary texts for their coffins, and wealthy commoners received formal burials and memorial stelae. Osiris, whose cult was established at Abydos by the Eleventh Dynasty, offered a religious framework in which access to the afterlife could extend across social divisions.
XXIIᵉ siècle av. J.-C. – XXIᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
Egypt, especially the Nile Valley
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The First Intermediate Period was the era of political fragmentation that followed the collapse of Old Kingdom authority. Local rulers and princelings competed across the Nile Valley, while Heracleopolis controlled parts of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt divided into local nomes. The period also saw social upheaval, new emphases on individual dignity and equality, the spread of funerary privileges beyond royalty, and the growing power of Thebes and the cult of Osiris at Abydos.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
After the death of Pepi II, Egypt broke apart in a period described as anarchy, social chaos, and civil war. Local princelings fought along the Nile valley, while the authority that had once centered on the Pharaoh disappeared. The tradition of a Seventh Dynasty containing seventy kings reigning for seventy days may reflect an emergency regime established at Memphis after the collapse of the Sixth Dynasty.
A new royal house later emerged at Heracleopolis in Middle Egypt and attempted to preserve elements of Memphis culture. Its rulers appear to have controlled the Delta, which was threatened by desert nomads. Upper Egypt instead divided into its traditional nomes under local rulers, creating the political conditions for the expansion of Theban power during the Eleventh Dynasty.
The upheaval also generated new social and moral emphases. Writings associated with Ipu-wer describe violence, economic reversal, weakened law, and the absence of centralized authority, while the Protests of the Eloquent Peasant presents a poor man demanding justice against a wealthy landowner. The period therefore became associated not only with disorder but also with a stronger articulation of individual rights and the dignity of ordinary people.
Funerary religion became less restricted by royal status. Powerful provincial figures appropriated royal funerary texts for their coffins, and wealthy commoners received formal burials and memorial stelae. Osiris, whose cult was established at Abydos by the Eleventh Dynasty, offered a religious framework in which access to the afterlife could extend across social divisions.
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