Egypt in 1900 BC

Necklace of Princess Khenmet, whose unrobbed tomb was discovered near the pyramid of Amenemhat II, likely her father. 

Note: This is so far back in time that dates can be off by up to 60 years or so. I follow the dates in “The Princeton Dictionary of Ancient Egypt” (2008) by Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson. 

• Location: north-eastern Africa, the last 1,000 km of the Nile where ships can freely sail north of the rocky Cataracts. Also: nearby oases. And: Nubia up to the Second Cataract, now a province after a brutal scorched-earth military campaign.
• Population: 1 million.
• Major cities: north to south: Heliopolis, Memphis, Itjtawy, Abydos, Coptos, Thebes, Elephantine.
  • capital: Itjtawy.
• Language: Middle Egyptian – the classic form of the language, thanks to the literature of this period.
• Religion: idol worship in the temples of Ra, Horus, Hathor, Osiris, Amun, Sobek, Satet, etc; magic spells; Coffin Texts, democratization of the afterlife. Amun of Thebes, the old capital, now a top god.
• Government: Amenemhat II, a god-king of the 12th Dynasty, named after the god Amun. (The necklace pictured above was probably his daughter’s.)
• Economy: Command economy. Wheat, barley, flax, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, honey, figs, beer, monumental architecture, pyramids (once again).
  • imports: gold (Nubia), copper (Sinai), silver, cedar (Byblos), slaves and immigrants (Palestine), pottery (Crete).
• Currency: none. Barley is a common medium of exchange. Silver more valuable than gold.
• Transport: Nile River, sail boats, barges, donkeys. Rare: roads, horses, and wheeled transport. Camels unknown.
• Technology: irrigation, mud bricks, stone blocks, paper, glass, bee-keeping, linen (not cotton or silk), bronze (finally,  but not iron yet), mechanical lock, saw, alphabet.
  • Newish: bathroom mirrors.

The last 100 years: the -1900s:

• Kings:
  • 11th Dynasty: Mentuhotep III, Mentuhotep IV.
  • 12th Dynasty: overlapping reigns of: Amenemhat I, Senusret I (Sesostris I), Amenemhat II.
• This period is very well known. It is the time of Sinuhe, hero of a masterpiece of Egyptian literature. And of Hekanakhte and his letters home. And Joseph, if you go by traditional Biblical chronology. We have enough of a ship to build one that sails. From tombs we have scale models of daily life, including brewers and bakers. We even have the grave of a cleaning lady. And a baby bottle decorated with protective gods. But its kings are now all under the water table.
• Egyptian literature and craftsmanship reaches its height this century and next.
• Pyramids: Amenemhat I builds the first pyramid in nearly 200 years. He stole stones from older pyramids, even from the Great Pyramid at Giza. If it was ever taken apart it could be an archaeological treasure trove. His pyramid’s pretty white limestone casing was stripped off in +1837 to build a bridge. Like in the -2100s, pyramids were built with a rubble core and stood about 100 cubits (52 m), one third the height of the Great Pyramid. Impressive in their day, they now just look like mounds of dirt.
• The lost city of Itjtawy was the new capital. It was presumably somewhere near Lisht where the kings of the time were buried. Lisht is about 35 km south of Memphis, 60 km south of Cairo. That puts it south of the Delta and east of the Fayum, near the demographic centre of the country. The old capital was at Thebes, way to the south.
• The solar temple of Heliopolis was rebuilt. All that now survives is one of its two 22-metre-tall red obelisks. The rest is now a parking lot at the Cairo airport.
• Walls of the Ruler – is a string of forts between the Delta and Palestine.

Meanwhile in Britain, Stonehenge is 300 years from completion.

– Abagond, +2023. 

See also:

• Hekanakhte
• Egyptian century readings
• Egyptian century of the week
  • Egypt in 2200 BC
  • Egypt in 2100 BC
  • Egypt in 2000 BC
  • Egypt
  • Egypt: a brief history
  • Ancient Egypt
• Egyptian
  • Egyptian hieroglyphics
• alphabet
• Egyptian gods
  • Ra
  • Osiris
  • Amun
• Coffin Text
• Nubia
• The British
  • The British through time: the last 10,000 years
  • Stonehenge
• Bible chronology

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