What is the significance of the middle kingdom

Used from the Middle Kingdom until the end of the Ptolemaic Period nearly years later, most shabtis were of a small size, often covering the floor around a sarcophagus. Exceptional shabtis were of larger size, or produced as a one-of-a-kind master work.

They were generally distinguished from other statuettes by being inscribed with the name of the deceased, his titles, and often with spells from the Coffin Texts. Shabti figures : Shabti were funerary figurines that were placed in tombs along with the deceased to assist them in the afterlife.

Scarabs were popular amulets believed to be protectors of written products. The scarab was also used as a holder or medium for personal name seals. A figurine of a scarab would be carved out of stone, and then on the smooth stomach of the scarab, the engraving of a seal was made.

A modern imitation of an ancient Egyptian scarab amulet : Scarabs were often included in tombs along with other burial goods as protectors of written products.

Another change in funerary practice during this time had to do with non-royal Egyptians. In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom experienced an increase in expressions of personal piety and what could be called a democratization of the afterlife.

In this worldview , all people possessed a soul and could be welcomed into the company of the gods after death. In the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts, which contained spells to help the dead reach the afterlife successfully, were only accessible to the elite.

During the Middle Kingdom, Egyptians outside of the elite levels of society gained access to this funerary literature and began incorporating it into their own burials. Coffin Texts, as they are called by the scholars, expanded upon the Pyramid Texts, introducing new spells and incorporating slight changes to make them more relatable to the nobility. As seen in the image below, Coffin Texts could appear as paintings or inscriptions on the inside of the coffin.

Due to the limited writing surfaces of some of these objects, the spells were often abbreviated, giving rise to long and short versions. In contrast to the Pyramid Texts, which focus on the celestial realm, the Coffin Texts emphasize the subterranean elements of the afterlife ruled by Osiris in a place called the Duat.

People of all classes had access to this afterlife, in which they would be judged by Osiris and his council according to their deeds in life. This realm is described as containing threatening beings, traps, and snares for which the deceased must be prepared. Spells in the Coffin Texts were intended to help the deceased contend with these impediments.

The stelae of Ancient Egypt served many purposes, from funerary, to marking territory, to publishing decrees. Egyptians were well known for their stelae, the earliest of which date back to the mid- to late third millennium BCE. Stelae are stone slabs that served many purposes, from funerary, to marking territory, to publishing decrees.

Images and text were intimately interwoven and inscribed, carved in relief , or painted on the stelae. While most stelae were taller than they were wide, the slab stelae took a horizontal dimension and was used by a small list of ancient Egyptian dignitaries or their wives. The huge number of stelae surviving from ancient Egypt constitute one of the largest and most significant sources of information on those civilizations.

Funerary stelae were generally built in honor of the deceased and decorated with their names and titles. While some funerary stelae were in the form of slab stelae, this funerary stelae of a bowman named Semin c. Funerary stelae of the bowman Semin : Funerary stelae were usually inscribed with the name and title of the deceased, along with images or hieroglyphs. Slab stelae, when used for funerary purposes, were commonly commissioned by dignitaries and their wives.

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. Annals of Amenemhat II : This drawing represents one of the larger fragments of this stelae.

Many stelae were used as territorial markers to delineate land ownership. 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. The earliest temple obelisk still in its original position is the red granite Obelisk of Senusret I Twelfth Dynasty at Al-Matariyyah in modern Heliopolis. The obelisk was the symbol and perceived place of existence of the sun god Ra. Obelisk of Senusret I : This obelisk is one half of a pair that originally marked the entrance to the temple of the sun god Ra.

When Egypt had military and political security and vast agricultural and mineral wealth, its architecture flourished. When Egypt had secured military and political security and vast agricultural and mineral wealth, its architecture flourished. Grand tombs in the form of pyramids continued to be built throughout the Middle Kingdom, along with villages, cities, and forts.

The reign of Amenemhat III is especially known for its exploitation of resources, in which mining camps—previously only used by intermittent expeditions—were operated on a semi-permanent basis. A vast labor force of Canaanite settlers from the Near East aided in mining and building campaigns. Ancient Egyptian architects used sun-dried bricks, fine sandstone, limestone, and granite for their building purposes.

As in the Old Kingdom, stone was most often reserved for tombs and temples, while bricks were used for palaces, fortresses, everyday houses, and town walls. The collapse was perhaps the result of poor harvests caused by low Nile floods, although the reasons have been debated. Political power coalesced around two centers, Herakleopolis in the north and Thebes in the south, with the southern rulers eventually defeating the Herakleopolitans In some sense, ancient Egyptian culture never seemed to completely recover from this cataclysm; in fact, according to the surviving Middle Kingdom texts, there was a more pronounced fear of chaotic forces and an emphasis on unity within the country.

At the same time, the memory of upheaval may have proved inspiring to the ancient Egyptians, as it showed them that they could recover from periods of disorder. Perhaps this is at least part of the reason the Middle Kingdom was viewed in subsequent eras as an ideal epoch. While Middle Kingdom culture represents a significant transformation of Old Kingdom society, the period itself underwent three distinct transitions, the first occurring between the end of Dynasty 11 and the beginning of Dynasty Although within the norms of Egyptian representation, southern Theban art at the very beginning of the Middle Kingdom displays distinct local traits, including figures with attenuated limbs and emphasized eyes, and forms with a high degree of interior patterning Some two-dimensional representations that seem to have little precedent are particular to the Theban area, including depictions of intriguing rites connected with the goddess Hathor and the beautification of queens.

Tombs and temple have dramatic pillared facades, and these are set against the sheer limestone cliffs that are an impressive feature of the southern landscape.

As the reunification of the country proceeded under Mentuhotep II The early Middle Kingdom revival of Old Kingdom forms continued at the start of Dynasty 12 under kings Amenemhat I and Senwosret I, when a new capital was established in the north at Itjtawi, near the center of Old Kingdom political power.

Sculpture, relief, painting, and architecture show clear affinities with Old Kingdom traditions, though some influence of Dynasty 11 remains During these reigns the building of pyramid complexes resumed, accompanied by mastabas constructed as memorials and burial places for the elite.

While there is evidence that Old Kingdom pharaohs contributed artworks to temples dedicated to deities, royal patronage of such monuments expanded considerably in the Middle Kingdom. Thebes witnessed the inception of one of the greatest temples of ancient Egypt, the Karnak complex, dedicated to the increasingly powerful god Amun. Unfortunately, no text explains these transformations, which are manifested in the remains of architecture, tombs and their grave goods, relief decoration, literature, and, most vividly, the sculpted faces of the kings and their courtiers Most intriguing is that these developments seem to have been pervasive and perhaps interconnected.

For example, the more mature faces on statues of Senwosret III At the same time there were significant alterations in the form of the royal cult complex, which saw the emergence of different temple types, the shrinking of older ones, and changed location of the complexes.

New types of symbolic jewelry worn as sets were deposited in the burials of royal and elite women, indicating further alterations in religious practice There was a vast increase in the number of private monuments constructed at sacred sites such as Abydos and Elephantine, and these memorials feature depictions of large and extended family groups, including associates who were not kin.

The larger family groups depicted on stelae find a contemporary parallel in tombs that accommodated multiple individuals. Beyond the religious sphere, around the reign of Senwosret III the political office of nomarch, or regional governor, was suppressed or phased out, a development that corresponded to the disappearance of elaborately decorated regional tombs.

Concurrently, the production of certain types of objects ceased, including models of workshops, food-production facilities, and domestic structures The final era of Middle Kingdom transformation occurred in Dynasty 13, when about fifty kings ruled over approximately years.

While a few occupied the throne for longer periods, some reigned for a year or less. Kingship in Dynasty 13 certainly did not pass serially from father to son or even within a single family, but rather seems to have circulated among the leading families. Eventually, in the 19th century, the British produced large volumes of opium in India and traded it, illegally, to China at a hefty profit. Common Era indicates the period of time between year one and the present in the Western Calendar.

The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. Image credit: gadigal yilimung shield made by Uncle Charles Chicka Madden. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more. Skip to main content Skip to acknowledgement of country Skip to footer This Yueqin yue qin - or a moon guitar - is probably the late 19th century traditional Chinese string instrument.

It has a round hollow wooden body, a short fretted neck and four strings.