Middle Kingdom

Examples of Middle Kingdom in the following topics:

• Ancient Egyptian Culture

  • The Middle Kingdom was a golden age for ancient Egypt, when arts, religion, and literature flourished.
  • The Middle Kingdom (2134-1690 BCE) was a time of prosperity and stability, as well as a resurgence of art, literature and architecture.
  • In the Middle Kingdom period, due to growth of middle class and scribes, literature began to be written to entertain and provide intellectual stimulation.
  • However, some Middle Kingdom literature may have been transcriptions of the oral literature and poetry of the Old Kingdom.
  • Future generations of Egyptians often considered Middle Kingdom literature to be "classic," with the ultimate example being the Story of Sinuhe.

• Tombs of the Middle Kingdom

  • Grand and royal tombs continued to be built for the deceased during the prosperous Middle Kingdom.
  • Royal funerary practices in the Middle Kingdom remained much the same as in the Old Kingdom, with kings continuing to build pyramids for their burials.
  • Unlike the Old Kingdom, however, Middle Kingdom royal pyramids were not quite as well constructed, and so few of them remain as pyramid structures today.
  • Unlike the Old Kingdom, objects of daily use were not often included in the tombs; however, they reappeared toward the end of the Middle Kingdom.
  • Compare and contrast the tombs and burial goods of the Middle Kingdom with those of the Old Kingdom.

• Sculpture of the Middle Kingdom

  • Innovations during the Middle Kingdom included the solemnity evident in portraits of Senusret III and block statues.
  • The Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1650 BCE) was marked by the reunification of Egypt following a period of weak pharaonic power and civil war called the First Intermediate.
  • During the Middle Kingdom, relief and portrait sculpture captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical perfection.
  • This sculpture, commissioned by a noblewoman, provides evidence of gender equality among the elite during the Middle Kingdom.
  • Block statues of the Middle Kingdom consisted of a man squatting with his knees drawn up to his chest.

• The Middle Kingdom

  • The Middle Kingdom was a period of Egyptian history spanning the Eleventh through Twelfth Dynasty (2000-1700 BCE), when centralized power consolidated a unified Egypt.
  • However, the Middle Kingdom remained defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus.
  • This instituted a practice that would be used throughout the Middle and New Kingdoms.
  • The reign of Amenemhat III was the height of Middle Kingdom economic prosperity, and is remarkable for the degree to which Egypt exploited its resources.
  • Describe the various characteristics of Sensuret III's rule during the height of the Middle Kingdom

• Architecture of the Middle Kingdom

  • As the pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's prosperity and stability, there was a resurgence of building projects.
  • Grand tombs in the form of pyramids continued to be built throughout the Middle Kingdom, along with villages, cities, and forts.
  • Typical for Middle Kingdom pyramids, the Black Pyramid, although encased in limestone, is made of mud brick and clay instead of stone.
  • Senusret III was a warrior-king who helped the Middle Kingdom reach its height of prosperity.
  • Middle Kingdom pyramids consist of mud brick and clay encased in limestone.

• The United Kingdom in the Middle East

• Art of the Middle Kingdom

  • The art of China—"The Middle Kingdom"—has arguably the oldest continuous tradition in the world.
  • It was only in the 19th century that the term literally meaning "Middle Kingdom" emerged as the formal name of the country.
  • Discuss the painting, sculpture, pottery, and decorative arts of the Middle Kingdom.

• Stelae of the Middle Kingdom

  • They also served as doorway lintels as early as the third millennium BCE, most famously decorating the home of Old Kingdom architect Hemon.
  • Much of what we know of the kingdoms and administrations of Egyptian kings are from the public and private stelae that recorded bureaucratic titles and other administrative information.
  • The most famous of these would be used at Amarna during the New Kingdom under Akhenaten.
  • For much of Egyptian history, including the Middle Kingdom, obelisks erected in pairs were used to mark the entrances of temples.

• Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Art

  • The Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the third millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement—the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley (the others being Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom).
  • During the Old Kingdom, the king of Egypt (not called the Pharaoh until the New Kingdom) became a living god, who ruled absolutely and could demand the services and wealth of his subjects.
  • For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as "the Age of the Pyramids."
  • The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Thirteenth Dynasty, between 2055 and 1650 BCE.
  • Create a timeline of ancient Egyptian civilization, marking the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

• The Kingdoms of Madagascar

  • By the European Middle Ages, over a dozen predominant ethnic identities had emerged on the island, typified by rule under a local chieftain.
  • By the Middle Ages, large chiefdoms began to dominate considerable areas of the island.
  • At about that time, the empire started to split, resulting in a southern kingdom (Menabe) and a northern kingdom (Boina).
  • The Merina kingdom reached the peak of its power in the early 19th century.
  • Identify some of the kingdoms that ruled on Madagascar before the arrival of Europeans.