The First Intermediate Period is the period between the end of the Old Kingdom and the advent of the Middle Kingdom.

The Old Kingdom rapidly collapsed after the death of Pepi II. He had reigned for 94 years, longer than any monarch in history, and died aged 100. The latter years of his reign were marked by inefficiency because of his advanced age.

The Union of the Two Kingdoms fell apart and regional leaders had to cope with the resulting famine.

Around 2160 BC, a new line of pharaohs tried to reunite Lower Egypt from their capital in Herakleopolis Magna. In the meantime, however, a rival line based at Thebes was reuniting Upper Egypt and a clash between the two rival dynasties was inevitable.

Around 2055 BC, a descendant of the pharaoh Intef III defeated the Herakleopolitan pharaohs, reunited the Two Lands, founded the Eleventh Dynasty and ruled as Mentuhotep II, the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom.

Thirtieth Dynasty
Late period
First intermediate period
Seventeenth Dynasty