The Fall of the Old Kingdom

in Ancient Egypt

One of the basic beliefs in ancient Egyptian society was the concept of ma’at. Personified by a winged goddess of the same name, ma’at is sometimes interpreted as “truth” but, more accurately as “universal order”. Every aspect of Egyptian life was lived according to this principle; it permeated everything they did: their art, their culture, even the rule of their kings. But around 2180 BCE, ma’at broke down. Power had been shifting away from the old capital at Memphis for at least two generations until finally, when Pepi II died, the power of the central government disappeared completely.

From the time Narmer first unified Upper and Lower Egypt, the Pharaoh’s power over his subjects grew steadily. The immense pyramids at Dahshur, and Giza (along with the Great Sphinx) are a testament to their ability to govern individuals and resources. It would’ve taken thousands of workers to complete Kufu’s Great Pyramid within the 25 years or so of his reign. Especially since most workers were farmers and could only work during the third of the year when the swollen Nile covered their fields.

It seems that even with the immense building projects on the west bank of the river, though after the 4^th dynasty these projects began to diminish in size, farmers were still able to pull an excess of food from their fields. This bounty, along with prosperity in other areas (such as trade), began to make local nobles very wealthy and less dependent on the god-king at Memphis. Taxes and tributes began to wan, and with them the authoritarian central government.

The fall of the Old Kingdom was not to be the only instance of this phenomenon. It happened again almost 2000 years later, with the fall of the 21^st dynasty. The only difference was that power began to flow to the priests of Amun, instead of to local nobles. What these instances do have in common, however, says a lot about the Egyptian way of life. They were a very pragmatic people, as a whole. Even their concept of the afterlife was, in fact, exactly the same as their life on Earth. Religion, including the god-king and temple priests, were distant, mystic forces. Egypt was also a long, narrow country. Many people never even saw the seat of imperial power in their lifetimes. Their local nobles, however, were tangible. It was much easier to put one’s trust in a local leader rather than a distant, imperial one.