First Intermediate Period of Egypt

Era of Ancient Egyptian history (c. 2181–c. 2055 BC) First Intermediate Period of Egyptc. 2181 BC–c. 2055 BCCapital Memphis (c. 2181 BC – c. 2160 BC), Seventh Dynasty–Eighth Dynasty Heracleopolis Magna (c. 2160 BC – c. 2050 BC), Ninth Dynasty–Tenth Dynasty Thebes (c. 2134 BC – c. 2061 BC), Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt Common languagesAncient EgyptianReligion Ancient Egyptian religionGovernmentMonarchyPharaoh • c. 2181 BC Menkare (first)• c. 2069 BC – c. 2061 BC Intef III (last; Theban)Merykare (last; Herakleopolitan) History • Began c. 2181 BC• Ended c. 2055 BC Preceded by Succeeded by Old Kingdom of Egypt Middle Kingdom of Egypt Today part ofEgypt The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181 – c. 2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious by Egyptologists), Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and part of the Eleventh Dynasties. The concept of a "First Intermediate Period" was coined in 1926 by Egyptologists Georg Steindorff and Henri Frankfort. Arguing that it was not a dark age, Ludwig David Morenz has put forward the