The History of Egypt

Second Intermediate Period (Part 2): Invaders!Around 1650 BCE, the 13th Dynasty crumbled away. Foreigners moving into Egypt over previous centuries now consolidated their power. Or was it an invasion? Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Daphna Ben-Tor, “Can Scarabs Argue for the Origin of the Hyksos?” Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections, 1 (2009). FREE on Academia.edu. Nadine Moeller, et al., “Discussion of Late Middle Kingdom and Early Second Intermediate Period History and Chronology in Relation to the Khayan Sealings From Edfu.” Egypt and the Levant, XXI (2011). FREE on Academia.edu. Wolfram Grajetzki, “Notes on Administration in the Second Intermediate Period,” The Second Intermediate Period, 2010. Charlotte Booth, The Hyksos Period in Egypt, 2008. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Second Intermediate Period (Part 1). Around 1700 BCE, different regions of Egypt began to separate. Following a slow decay, a catastrophic famine and plague, and erosion of royal authority, people living in the north decided to find their own way in life. Date: c. 1700 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Episode written in 2014. Edited but not rewritten in 2024. Select bibliography: Manfred Bietak, “Egypt and Canaan During the Middle Bronze Age,” Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research, 1991. Janine Bourriau, “The Second Intermediate Period” in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, 2004. Auaris.at – Official Website of the Austrian Expedition to Avaris (Tell el-Dabaa): General History of the Region; the Avaris Temple. Irene Forstner-Muller, “Tombs and Burial Customs…” in The Second Intermediate Period: Current Research, Future Prospects, 2010. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994. Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Gregory D. Mumford, “Dynasties 13-17: The Second Intermediate Period,” Lecture Series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dynasty 13: Invisible Kings. From 1770 to 1700, the 13th Dynasty produced a vast number of kings, but we know almost nothing about them, for reasons that remain challenging to understand. We also explore the Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, a wonderful story of wrongdoing and the search for justice. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994. W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006. PDF Copy at Archive.org. Toby Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2003. W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006. PDF Copy at Archive.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Woman King. Around 1776 BCE, the 12th Dynasty was dwindled away. Before it vanished, it produced one last remarkable figure. Neferu-Sobek (or Sobek-Neferu) was Egypt's first recorded female king.Additionally, we explore the Tale of the Man and his Ba, also known as The Man Who Was Tired of Life. Date: c. 1776 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Wolfram Gratjetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Raymond O. Faulkner, “The Man Who Was Tired of Life,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (1956). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foreign Settlements. King Amenemhat IV came to power around 1798 BCE. His reign was unremarkable, but big things were happening around Egypt. In this episode, we explore the growing evidence for Canaanite peoples coming to Egypt and settling in large numbers. Date c.1798 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994. Florian Lippke, “The Southern Levant in context. A brief sketch of important figures considering the religious symbol system in the Bronze Ages,” in Egypt and the Near East – the Crossroads. Jana Mynárova, 2011. Ian Shaw, “Amethyst Mining in the Eastern Desert: A Preliminary Survey at Wadi el-Hudi,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 79 (1993): 81-97. Jacke Phillips, “Egyptian Amethyst in the Bronze Age Aegean,” Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections 1.2 (2009): 9-25. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

King Amen-em-hat III (aka Ny-ma'at-Re) was the last "great" ruler of Dynasty 12. Over forty-six years in power, he would achieve significant things for his royal household. Unfortunately, cracks were beginning to appear in Egypt's kingdom... Date: c. 1840 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, 1994. Gregory D. Mumford and Sarah Parcak, “Pharaonic Ventures into the South Sinai,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 89 (2003). JSTOR. Alan B. Lloyd (editor), A Companion to Ancient Egypt, 2010. Google Books preview. Kerry Muhlstein, “Levantine Thinking in Egypt,” Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature, 2009. Google Books preview. James P. Allen, “The Historical Inscription of Khnumhotep at Dahshur,” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 352 (2008). JSTOR. R. Neil Hewison, The Fayoum: History and Guide, 2008. Google Books preview. University College London wesbite: Satire of the Trades; The Labyrinth of Hawara. Chris Kirby‘s Reconstruction of Biahmu. Youtube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senuseret III (Part 5). Family matters. Around 1845 BCE, the Heka-nakht Papyri tell us of daily life and business in Middle Kingdom Egypt. Also, King Senuseret III reaches the end of his reign. His successor, Amenemhat, strikes up an uncommon balance of power, with his daughter Neferu-Ptah... Date: c. 1845 BCE. Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music: Keith Zizza. Select Bibliography: Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006. Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010. Josef Wegner, “A Group of Miniature Royal Sarcophagi from South Abydos,” in Millions of Jubilees: Studies in Honor of David P. Silverman, 2010 (Read online free at Academia.edu). UCL Website – Amenemhat III. SLU Website – Amenemhat III. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kha-kau-re Senuseret III (Part 4): Decimations. Around 1864 BCE, King Senuseret III launched a new campaign into Nubia. Along the way, he built new fortresses and took many captives. Meanwhile, Egyptians begin practising a rather novel way of destroying their enemies... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: Lazlo Török, Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region between Ancient Nubia and Egypt 3700 BC – AD 500, 2009. Lyla Pinch Brock, Zahi Hawass, Egyptology at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century: Archaeology, 2003 (Google Books). Derek Welsby, “Hidden Treasures of Lake Nubia,” Sudan & Nubia volume 8 (2004). Carola Vogel, The Fortifications of Ancient Egypt 3000-1780 BCE, 2010 (Google Books). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kha-kau-re Senuseret III (Part 3): The Coffin Texts. Around 1867 BCE, the nobles were taking a greater share in the economy than ever before. This "flowering" of elite culture produced some wonderful works: ornately decorated coffins, painted with spells, hymns, and even stories connected with the underworld of Osiris... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Select Bibliography: W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006. PDF Copy at Archive.org. Leonard H. Lesko, “Some Observations on the Composition of the Book of Two Ways,” Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 91 (1971). JSTOR link. Harold M. Hays, “The Mutability of Tradition: The Old Kingdom Heritage and Middle Kingdom Significance of Coffin Texts Spell 343,” Jaarbericht van het Vooraziatisch-Egyptisch Genootschap “Ex Oriente Lux” Vol. 40 (2007). Read Online Free at Academia.edu. The Fitzwilliam Museum, Egyptian Funerary Literature, website. Osiris.net, The Tomb of Djehuty-hotep, website. Margaret R. Buson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt – Revised Edition 2001. GoogleBooks Edition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Interlude: A Tale of the Sea. Sometime during the Twelfth Dynasty, a folk-tale was composed (or became popular) that would echo through the ages as one of Egypt’s most enduring tales... Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com. Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast. Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.  Music by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com. Select Bibliography: W.K. Simpson (editor), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 2006 (Archive.org Pdf Copy).Primary translation for this episode. Peter der Manuelian, “Interpreting the Shipwrecked Sailor,” in Festschrift für Emmer Brunner-Traut (1992). Free Online Copy. John Baines, “Interpreting the Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor,” Journal of Egyptian Archaeology76 (1990). Online pdf. Fordham University – The Shipwrecked Sailor, online article. St. Andrews University – Hieroglyphic text, transliteration and translation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices