The Reunification of Ancient Egypt under Mentuhotep II
The second half of Pepy II's ninety-four year reign was rather ineffective, as the forces that had been eroding the theoretical foundations of the Egyptian state became apparent. Since Egyptian kingship was based on the principal of divine kingship, a king whose economic power had been greatly weakened could no longer perform the role Egyptian doctrine had assigned him. "The consequences of this for the whole of Egyptian society were serious; the ex officio system of remuneration no longer functioned satisfactorily and the fiscal system was probably on the verge of collapse." (Shaw pg.116) There is no one reason behind the decline and ultimate collapse of the Old Kingdom and unified Egypt. From tracking the direction and magnitude of the Nile, experts have determined that this period in Egyptian history suffered an extremely low amount of flooding. Agriculture along the Nile was dependant upon annual overflowing so rich topsoil from upstream could be deposited onto the parched farmland. When this failed, Egypt's entire economic system failed with it. As there could be no real warning before this catastrophe, any preparations would have been useless, and as a result, Egypt suffered a terrible famine. As easy as it may have seemed f
The motivation to save themselves from 'the terror which was spread by the [Theban] king's house,' may have been enough to induce the rulers of Egyptian nomes to accept Mentuhotep II's rule without a fight. "Mentuhotep's tremendous achievement in reuniting Egypt was recognized by the ancient Egyptians themselves, and as late as the 20th Dynasty there were numerous private tombs containing inscriptions celebrating his role as founder of the Middle Kingdom. Apart from the obvious motives of easy wealth and slave-labor, intimidation may have played a role in the sacking of Herakleopolis. Once this first great kingdom fell, most of Egypt followed. These two lands would be in constant conflict until Mentuhotep I's great-great-grandson Mentuhotep II finally reunified all of Egypt. or nature to shatter Egypt into many independent city-states called nomes, it would never have happened had not Egyptian kingship been so heavily linked to religion. The 11th Dynasty was marked by the resurgence and development of all forms of art, the increase in historical records and buildings, and a great general prosperity of the land and it's inhabitance. In fact, it is far more probable that local rulers simply sided with the winning party. After Asyut had been defeated, the network of Herakleopolitan rule over Middle Egypt collapsed. Ironically, after he was finished conquering Mentuhotep II managed to restore peace in Egypt. From the time of Ity-yeb's son Hety II, to the rule of Merikare, no conflict with southern or Theban opposition was recorded.
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Acceptance Essays
