ABSTRACT
Between c. 2150 and 1540 bce Egyptian culture would be subjected to much stress and trauma as the Nile valley went through successive periods of chaos and anarchy (The First Intermediate Period), restoration of unity and royal power, and then renewed turmoil and division (The Second Intermediate Period). Mercenary Nubian bowmen became an important component of Middle Kingdom Egyptian armies. The Middle Kingdom reached its zenith during the reigns of Senwosret III and Amenemhet III. The kings of Kush recognized that their best interests lay in keeping the native Egyptian dynasty at Thebes weak. With the rise of the Minoan palaces, Cretan ships began sailing further afield, at least to Cyprus and Syria and probably occasionally to Egypt as well. The once-popular idea of a Hyksos Empire stretching over all of Palestine and Syria has now been almost universally abandoned.
