During the Old Kingdom, the local administrators were obliged to organize the military service of the people under their jurisdiction and to lead such troops on aggressive and peaceful missions into the regions adjoining the Nile Valley. As early as the 6th Dynasty, foreign mercenaries—particularly Nubians—were already being recruited into the Egyptian army. During the First Intermediate Period, the use of local troops and the military experience of the local governors therefore emerged as decisive forces in their struggle for ascendancy. Thus Ankhtfi declares:
I was one who found the solution when it was lacking, thanks to my vigorous plans; one with commanding words and untroubled mind on the day when the nomes allied together (to wage war). I am the hero without equal; one who spoke freely while people were silent on the day when fear was spread and Upper Egypt did not dare to speak... As long as this army of Hefat is calm, the whole land is calm; but if one steps on (its) tail like (that of) a crocodile, then the north and south of this whole land are trembling (with fear). ... I sailed downstream with my strong and trustworthy troops and moored on the west bank of the Theban nome... and my trustworthy troops searched for battle throughout the west of the Theban nome, but nobody dared to come out through fear of them. Then I sailed downstream again And moored on the east bank of the Theban nome. . . and his [probably Ankhtifi’s opponent’s] walls were besieged since he had locked the gates through fear of these strong and trustworthy troops. They became a search party looking for battle throughout the west and the east of the Theban nome, but nobody dared to come out through fear of them.
It was not really new for an official to claim authority over more than one nome. At the end of the 5th Dynasty, for example, the kings had established the office of ‘overseer of Upper Egypt’ to supervise the administrators of the individual Upper Egyptian nomes. During the First Intermediate Period, there are also documented instances of officials who were responsible for a larger territory, such as Abihu, who governed the nomes of Abydos, Diospolis Parva, and Dendera in the early Herakleopolitan period. Thus there was nothing unusual about Ankhtifi’s double nomarchy or even his claim to military supremacy as far south as Elephantine.
The narrative of Ankhtifi’s wars, however, makes it plain that, by this time, the king was not being mentioned even nominally as an authority who could control the distribution of power between local rulers. It is important to realize that this situation implies a radical change in mentality. In the closed political system of the Old Kingdom, the king had been the sole source of legitimate authority. All actions of the officials relied on his command, and he judged and rewarded their merits. When the power of kingship faded, however, a more open situation emerged. Now, local rulers could act in accordance with their own aims. They had to rely on their own power bases; they had to defend their positions in competition with others; and they also gained a new awareness of their own achievements, which is such a prominent feature of Ankhtifi’s inscriptions.
World History
