OUTLINE OF DYNASTIC PERIOD (ca. 3050-332 BC)

• Written sources
• Manetho (ca. 280 BC)
• Egyptian priest
• List of 31 royal dynasties
• Main written source

• Palermo Stone (Old Kingdom)
• Lists kings of first 5 Dynasties & their achievements
• Three rows for each king
• Name of king (Row a)
• Main events during reign (Row b)
• Exact measurement of height of Nile flood (Row c)

• Turin Canon (New Kingdom)
• Written on papyrus
• Name of king & information about precise length of reign
• Goes back before first king of Egypt, when gods ruled as kings

• King Lists
• Inscribed on monuments of New Kingdom
• Help us to reconstruct sequence of Egyptian kings
• Provide valuable insight into Egyptians' view of the past
• King List on temple of Seti I at Abydos
• Cartouches of 75 royal ancestors of Seti I, followed by cartouche of Seti I
• Single cartouches containing name king assumed upon coronation (prenomen), e.g. Menma'atre for Seti I
• Twin cartouches of Seti I (bottom row)
• Second cartouche contained king's family name, e.g. Seti for Seti I
• Several kings omitted from list
• Presents edited view of past

• Chronological framework & summary
• Modern archaeologists group Manetho's Dynasties into larger blocks of time

• Archaic or Early Dynastic Period
• Dynasties 1-2 in Manetho
• Ca.3050-2686 BC
• Defining characteristics
• Basic institution of kingship established
• Emergence of administrative bureaucracy
• Capital at Memphis
• Development of writing (hieroglyphs)
• Emergence of important symbol of kingship: the royal tomb

• Old Kingdom
• Dynasties 3-6 in Manetho
• Ca.2686-2181 BC
• Defining characteristics
• Period of prosperity & stability
• Power focused on king
• Foreign policy based on trade
• Important developments in royal tomb architecture
• Pyramids
• Possible factors contributing to the decline of the Old Kingdom
• Rise in power of provincial governors (nomarchs)
• Famine caused by poor flood levels
• May be suggested by block from Unas Causeway

• First IntermediatePeriod
• Dynasties 7-middle of 11 in Manetho
• Ca. 2181-2040 BC
• Main written sources
• Literary texts, e.g. Lamentations of Ipuwer
• Brief autobiographical inscriptions
• King lists
• Manetho
• Period of political unrest & state decentralization
• Rise in power of local governors (nomarchs)
• Archaeological evidence:
• Tomb relief of local administrator of all livestock at Dendera
• Boasts about his accomplishments
• Evidence of power of local authorities
• Tomb model of soldiers from tomb of Mesehti at Asyut
• Evidence of political unrest

• Middle Kingdom
• Middle of 11th-13th Dynasty (Manetho)
• Ca.2040-1782 BC
• Egypt reunified by Mentuhotep II
• Curbed power of nomarchs (provincial governors)
• Established capital at Thebes
• Amunemhet (12th Dynasty)
• Redistricted nomes (administrative districts)
• Moved capital from Thebes to Lisht
• Highly bureaucratic state with strongly centralized institutions
• Obsession with bureaucracy can be seen in architectural projects
• Construction of pyramid town of Kahun (el-Lahun)
• Excavated by Flinders Petrie in late 19th century
• Function of town
• "Pyramid town"
• Built near pyramid of Senusret II (12th Dynasty)
• Temple of royal cult (southwest corner of town)
• Ancient name of town was Hetep-Senusret ("Senusret is at peace")
• Archaeology of town
• Strict rectangular, gridiron plan
• Two main districts
• Eastern District
• Large houses or mansions, with 70-80 rooms
• Granaries
• Western District
• Small houses, with 4-12 rooms
• What does Kahun tell us about Middle Kingdom state?
• Extremely structured view of society
• Town created & maintained by administration
• Most of population dependent upon granaries in large houses
• Mathematical calculations to control every aspect of economic life (grid plan of town)
• Control human behavior & property by means of bureaucratic framework
• Some indication that state's structured view did not reflect reality

• Second Intermediate Period
• Dynasties 14-17 (Manetho)
• Ca. 1782-1570 BC
• Period of political instability
• Rule of foreign kings, probably from Syria-Palestine region
• Hyksos: "rulers of foreign lands"
• Established capital at Avaris in eastern Delta
• Historical sources:
• Manetho
• Inscriptions
• Kamose stele
• Describes battles between Egyptians and Hyksos
• King lists
• Archaeological sources
• Excavations at Avaris
• Important turning point in Egyptian history
• New ideas brought by Hyksos
• More sophisticated bronze technology
• Traded silver from mines in Asia
• New military technology
• Scimitar
• Short curved sword from Asia
• Made of copper with bone handle

• New Kingdom
• Dynasties 18-20 (Manetho)
• Ca. 1570-1069 BC
• King Ahmose expels Hyksos
• Head of ceremonial axe
• Defining characteristics of New Kingdom
• Expansion abroad & centralization of bureaucratic power
• Capital relocated from Lisht back to Memphis
• Thebes emerged as major administrative & religious center
• Focused on god, Amun ("The Hidden One")
• Became major imperial power in the Near Eastern region
• Military state

• Third Intermediate Period & Late Period
• Dynasties 21-25 & 25-31, respectively in Manetho
• Ca. 1069-656 BC & 656-332 BC, respectively
• Gradual weakening of centralized authority of king
• Rule by foreign kings