The Fall of the Egyptian Old Kingdom

Page 2 of 7

• 1. End of a dynasty
• 2. Fragmented rule
• 3. Despair and collapse
• 4. Climactic change
• 5. Grip of famine
• 6. Return to power
• 7. Find out more
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Fragmented rule

'...even imbeciles and children could rule with no threat to the royal institution'

Some Egyptologists attribute the sudden collapse of the Old Kingdom to the long reign of Pepy II. However, a reign which lasted for more than 90 years suggests, if anything, stability and strength. Even if the collapse was due to Pepy II's long reign, the struggle for power among the sons of Pepy II at the end of his rule is not a reason for the dissolution of the monarchy. Moreover, it is misleading to speak of his successors as being 'weak' kings without giving any reasons as to how such divine rulers of absolute power could have become so. Under such conditions, even imbeciles and children could rule with no threat to the royal institution.

Historically, this has always been the case because kingship is less about the king in person than the institution whose beneficiaries - the royal court, nobles, regional governors and priests - gain from its presence. They suffer to lose everything if the intuition is compromised or handed over to another royal personage. For this reason, the principle of divine kingship was maintained even when the king was replaced by rulers drawn from outside the family of the enthroned king.

We have no indication at the end of the 6th Dynasty that there was a bid for power by the local governors. It is only after the initial breakdown that power was wielded by the kings of a province in Middle Egypt, later called Herakleopolis. The capital was approximately 15 km west of Beni Suef on the right bank of Bahr Yusuf. According to Manetho, Herakleopolis became the capital of Egypt during the 9th and 10th Dynasties and the town played a major role after the end of the Old Kingdom. Evidence for this account comes from inscriptions in the tombs of a vassal prince at Asyut. These reveal that war broke out between the kings of Herakleopolis and Theban kings. The war lasted for several years and ended when the Theban king Mentuhotep II Nebhepetre (2061 - 2010 BC) defeated Herakleopolis before re-unifying the country.

Contrary to what some Egyptologists claim, the stability of the long reign of Pepy II was most likely due to the decentralization of the government. This is one of the most successful strategies in managing complex organizations. The ambitions of local governors in such a system are primarily curtailed by the economic and defence rewards of being a vassal. In addition, there is the strong likelihood of failure in staging an uprising because the king can count on many more loyalists. Only when the monarchy is undermined by some unforeseen cause, would charismatic and ambitious provincial governors seek to become kings. In this situation, they stand to gain from restoring the monarchy in their name, thus counting on the support of others who, in the absence of a powerful king, would rally behind them.

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Published: 2001-06-01