Meanwhile the star of the princes of Thebes was rising. For much of the time that the two families ruled their respective domains they maintained relations which, in diplomatic parlance, were ‘proper’. Gradually however the Theban house, whose rise to fortune has been promoted by a noble ancestor, Inyotef who had proclaimed himself King of Upper and Lower Egypt23 increased their influence at the expense of their contemporaries in Heracleopolis, further to the north. His pretensions to the sovereignty were not generally accepted however, though later he was awarded the posthumous status of the founder of the Eleventh Dynasty. Eventually his great-grandson, Nebhetepre Montuhotep II was to reunite the Valley under his rule and he became undisputed king; this did not happen until many years into his long reign however. The opposition of the Heracleopolitans and their allies required Nebhetepre Montuhotep to fight many demanding campaigns before he could savour the fruits of being the Dual King in truth. Thus began the Middle Kingdom.
The First Intermediate Period was notable for the importation into Egypt of many new influences from abroad. Trade, after a decline in the early years, flourished and Egypt shared in the general prosperity which the Near and Middle East as a whole enjoyed in the decades on either side of the start of the second millennium BC.
One small but significant aspect of Egyptian life received a substantial advance during this time. Dogs had always been valued and respected members of the great households, as hunters, guards and companions. This last aspect of the long-standing relationship between dogs and humans, which the Egyptians were the first to institutionalize and to integrate the dog firmly into their society, now took on a new, extended dimension and the dog became a beloved companion, honoured in life and mourned in death. Although, as we have seen dogs were the favoured companions of the Great Ones from the earliest days of the kingship, their acceptance generally in the society seems to take on a new character in the First Intermediate Period and extends into the coming Middle Kingdom when the dog becomes a familiar component of every Egyptian family of substance. The dog which principally was to enjoy this privileged position was the tjesm, the ancient, ubiquitous, prick-eared Egyptian hunting hound.24
World History
