Editing Ancient Egypt (section)

===First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC)===
{{Main|First Intermediate Period of Egypt}}

After Egypt's [[central government]] collapsed at the end of the Old Kingdom, the administration could no longer support or stabilize the country's economy. The ensuing food shortages and political disputes escalated into famines and small-scale civil wars. Yet despite difficult problems, local leaders, owing no tribute to the king, used their new-found independence to establish a thriving culture in the provinces. Once in control of their own resources, the provinces became economically richer—which was demonstrated by larger and better burials among all social classes.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|pp=111–112}}

Free from their loyalties to the king, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control and [[political power]]. By 2160{{nbsp}}BC, rulers in [[Heracleopolis Magna|Herakleopolis]] controlled Lower Egypt in the north, while a rival clan based in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], the [[Intef I|Intef family]], took control of Upper Egypt in the south. As the Intefs grew in power and expanded their control northward, a clash between the two rival dynasties became inevitable. Around 2055{{nbsp}}BC the northern Theban forces under [[Mentuhotep II|Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II]] finally defeated the Herakleopolitan rulers, reuniting the Two Lands. They inaugurated a period of economic and cultural renaissance known as the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]].{{sfnp|Clayton|1994|p=29}}