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All subsequent rulers of the Old Kingdom built great pyramids such as that of Cheops and these edifices had great religious significance. There is no doubt that great numbers of slaves were used in their construction, and they were obtained chiefly from Nubia and some of these were even exported on to Iraq. Toynbee (Ref. 220 ) feels that the 4th dynasty (2,600 to 2,500 B.C.) represents the height of Egyptian Society culture and growth. The population at that time was probably about three million, or more (Ref. 83). Disintegration of the society or "time of troubles", according to Toynbee, began in the 6th dynasty (2,300 to 2,200 B.C.) and for four centuries there was no central control but only small feudal states ruled by provincial governors, the "nomarcha", who levied taxes and kept small armies. Kings did exist, but in name only. About 2,000 B.C. Amenemhet I, a Thebian nomarch, marched down the Nile and established the 12th dynasty as a central ruling government, beginning the "Middle Kingdom" of Egyptian history. Toynbee considers this the "Universal State" of the degenerating Egyptian Society, in which the sins of the pyramid builders were visited on their successors, but Professor Cheilik (Ref. 28 ) describes this as a period of increasing trade and contacts with other countries, in spite of some political deterioration. When a mummy of Wah, an official of this Thebes Dynasty, was unwrapped at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York they estimated that about 365 square meters of linen had been used. This craft of mummification had been developed over a long period and all the technique is still not known. Certainly the first step was removal of the internal organs of the deceased, sometimes by an abdominal incision, sometimes by a corrosive agent introduced in an enema. The second step was dessication with the use of natron, either dry or in solution. Finally the body was anointed with balms and ointments and the extensive bandaging began. All of this was simply to preserve the body as an eternal repository for the soul. (Ref. 246 )

The port of Byblos on the Phoenician coast was a large emporium for Egyptian products and Egyptian wares were wanted in Crete and Mesopotamia. With the conquest of Nubia a large supply of gold was obtained and a high point of prosperity was reached under Senusert (also Sesostris) III (1,878-1,840 B.C.). Egypt had a population at that time of seven to eight million (Ref. 176 , 95 , 57 , 68 , 8 , 220 , 28 , 213 ).

The Middle Kingdom ended with about two hundred years of turmoil and disputes for the throne, until 1,680 B.C. when the nomad Semitics called "Hyksos" (probably Canaanites) invaded from the Arabian area. These invaders brought the domesticated horse with chariot warfare and men using composite bows and were thus invincible at that time. They made their capital in the Nile delta at Avaris and their overlords called themselves "pharaohs". Previous to the advent of the Hyksos' horses the Egyptians had used only the donkey as a beast of burden but the invaders did not penetrate the country far from the Nile delta, and the Egyptians considered themselves a distinct and separate people and did not easily accept strangers or new ideas so they refused to adopt either the horse-drawn chariot or the composite bow. The population as a whole was thus not greatly influenced (Ref. 246 )

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Source:  OpenStax, A comprehensive outline of world history. OpenStax CNX. Nov 30, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10595/1.3
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