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Abstract The period of the Twelfth Dynasty has been described as the ”Golden Age” of Egyptian history. Important political changes and a series of forceful rulers helped ensure the central government’s authority. The Twelfth Dynasty had obviously learned from the repeated crises of the First Intermediate Period, and most notably from the political division that was contemporary with the rule of the Herakleopolitan dynasty. The Twelfth Dynasty was founded by Amenemhet I, Mentuhotep IV’s vizier who worked hard to restore royal prestige. The subsequent rulers of Amenemhat І were able to build on new foundations and bring Egypt to its second era of greatness. Its kings moved their capital to ITt-tAwy, or Lisht in Fayum area. In that fertile region they established extensive irrigation projects to promote the prosperity of Egypt as a whole. They reduced the power of the provincial rulers which was curtailed or guided. Social change was considerable. People had become more conscious of their rights, and royal policies had to both satisfy and temper this tendency. Religion was affected: funerary beliefs and rituals once largely restricted to kings, their immediate family and close followers, spread throughout all classes. Under the Twelfth Dynasty royal policies encouraged the growth of a middle class, whose members were buried in well-furnished tombs and active at cult centers such as Abydos. Osiris, formerly a royal funerary god, became accessible to all. Architectural remains were found, such as Kahun or el-Lahun, the village of laborers and artisans who worked on the construction of the pyramid of Senwosret ІІ, the only known example of a Middle Kingdom residential area, a large town which was divided up into zones of better and poorer housing, reflecting significant socio-economic stratification; superbly designed fortresses were built in Nubia. This period is distinguished by extensive military campaigns during the reign of Senwosret ІІІ that resulted in an unprecedented expansion of the country’s borders, he also appears to have reformed Egypt’s administration. But the excellent political organization at home rather than great military feats abroad was the main achievement. This family achieved a new peak of prosperity, stability and development which produced the finest jewellery and the first recorded IV literary flowering of Egypt. The Egyptian language reached its peak, it was an important period for ancient Egyptian civilization, although the Middle Kingdom lasted far less than either the Old or the New Kingdom. It can be considered as a period of calm activity during which social and cultural conditions found the most favorable atmosphere. The kings of this dynasty seem to have devoted their energies and the resources of the country to works of public utility, to the digging of canals and reservoirs, sending many mining and quarrying expeditions to Sinai and to the Eastern Desert and building fortresses on the southern, north-western, and north-eastern frontiers of their country to protect it from the sudden inroads of the nomads. The history of the Twelfth Dynasty seems to be better known than that any of other family of Egyptian kings. All the evidence found gives us information and a mass of historical material such as we do not find a gain except for the Eighteenth Dynasty. Eight rulers who governed Egypt from a new residence, ITt-tAwy. It opened with a monarch who was assassinated (Amenemhat І) and ended with the reign of a woman (Sobekneferu ). The study consists of a prelude, an introduction, five chapters and a conclusion arranged as the following: Chapter One: this chapter discusses the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty including the origin and family of Amenemhat I, his accession to the throne, his early reign at Thebes, the Egyptian frontiers in the beginning of the dynasty, the provincial rulers, the residence of ITt-tAwy, his assassination. Chapter Two: this chapter focuses on a discussion of the royal administration in the Twelfth Dynasty including the administrative system, administrative changes, the nomarchs, national income, Wages and salaries. Chapter Three: this chapter focuses on the internal security in the Twelfth Dynasty including the Egyptian frontiers, law, justice and police. Chapter Four: this chapter focuses on the public life in the Twelfth Dynasty including Agriculture and Irrigation, Expeditions to the Mines and Quarries, and the study of the town of Lahun as a Twelfth Dynasty Settlement, |