The First Intermediate Period of Egypt History

The First Intermediate Period of Egypt's History

Ancient Egypt’s first intermediate period was the period that had begun by the end of the reign of King Pepi the second, Pepi was considered the longest-reigning pharaoh in the history of the country. Then comes the first intermediate period where the country fell under severe chaos and misery, not only that but also we could see the deteriorating arts the thing that made it seem more or less like a ‘’ dark age ’’.

It is assumed that the first intermediate period happened when the prolonged failure of the Nile floods continued to happen which led the monarchy to a severe famine and collapse.

We can also notice that it wasn’t completely ‘’ A dark age’’, as we see the development of some non-royal towns and a thriving culture as well as the different pottery shape for more efficient use of the pottery wheel, also noting that the first intermediate period was the base of the upcoming philosophical texts.

The innovative burial style, Cartonnage evolved, As the mummies were completely wrapped, with gypsum and a linen-colored mask covering the face of the mummy. Also noticed that earlier the sophisticated mummification and the specialized funerary articles were only used for the Elite or those with money who could afford it whereas we see during this period that many of the provincial inhabitants were being mummified in a similar good way.

We don’t know much about the early years of this intermediate period but, By reaching the second half of it, there had been two nomes that were competing with their own monarchs. The king of Thebes (Luxor nowadays), King Mentuhotep the Second, defeated his adversary in 2040, putting an end to the 1st Intermediate Period.