Ritual Marriage Alliances and Consolidation of Power in Middle Egypt during the Middle Kingdom

Abstract

Middle Egypt is the most fertile region in the country and its provincial governors were the richest and most powerful. Intermarriages between members of neighbouring nomarchic families created a strong power base, resulting in most governors gradually representing themselves in such forms and using formulae which are strictly royal. While there is no evidence that any of the governors actually challenged the authority of the king, it seems doubtful if the latter would have been pleased with the grand claims made by some of his top administrators and the royal prerogatives they attributed to themselves. The almost simultaneous end of Middle Kingdom nobility in different provinces, under Senwosret III, even though presumably not everywhere at exactly the same time, appears to have been the result of a planned central policy, although each province was dealt with differently and as the opportunity presented itself.