Ancient Egypt Collapse And Restoration

Following the collapse of the Old Kingdom there was a period of instability called the First Intermediate Period. Then around 2000BC a ruler called Montuhotep restored unity and order. The next few centuries covering Dynasties 11-13 saw a renaissance in art and literature associated with what is known as the Middle Kingdom. Then a further collapse linked to internal disorder and external invasion inaugurated the Second Intermediate Period. But a further revival saw the rise of the brilliant period of the New Kingdom, starting in the 18th Dynasty with some of the most famous pharaohs of all time. This course examines not only the history of the period but art and literature too. 

We will also examine the daily lives of ordinary Egyptians, or at least those people who worked on building the tombs in the Valley of the Kings and lived at the exclusive village of Deir el Medina