Today, I've got something a little different for you - our first foray into the Middle Kingdom! Encompassing Dynasties 11 -13 (2055 - 1756 B.C.E.), the Middle Kingdom was Egypt's "Classical Age," producing vast amounts of evocative artwork and literature. Like the New Kingdom, this era of Egyptian history also had its fair share of powerful military pharaohs, among them today's subject: Senwosret III. The fifth king of Dynasty 12, Senwosret III is a significant figure in anci

When Thutmose I came to power at the beginning of the 18th Dynasty, Egypt was still in a bit of a funk from the political instability of the Second Intermediate Period. The founder of the dynasty, Pharaoh Ahmose I, had inherited the throne as a child, as did his son and successor Amenhotep I decades later. While Ahmose and Amenhotep successfully drove the Hyksos invaders out of their country and restored Egypt's sovereignty, this succession of child kings (in addition to Amen