<P> 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 . Regional governors could not rely on the king for help in times of crisis, and 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 pharaoh, 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 . In bursts of creativity, provincial artisans adopted and adapted cultural motifs formerly restricted to the royalty of the Old Kingdom, and scribes developed literary styles that expressed the optimism and originality of the period . </P> <P> Free from their loyalties to the pharaoh, local rulers began competing with each other for territorial control and political power . By 2160 BC, rulers in Herakleopolis controlled Lower Egypt in the north, while a rival clan based in Thebes, the 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 BC the northern Theban forces under 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 . </P> <P> The pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom restored the country's stability and prosperity, thereby stimulating a resurgence of art, literature, and monumental building projects . Mentuhotep II and his Eleventh Dynasty successors ruled from Thebes, but the vizier Amenemhat I, upon assuming the kingship at the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty around 1985 BC, shifted the nation's capital to the city of Itjtawy, located in Faiyum . From Itjtawy, the pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty undertook a far - sighted land reclamation and irrigation scheme to increase agricultural output in the region . Moreover, the military reconquered territory in Nubia that was rich in quarries and gold mines, while laborers built a defensive structure in the Eastern Delta, called the "Walls - of - the - Ruler", to defend against foreign attack . </P> <P> With the pharaohs having secured the country militarily and politically and with vast agricultural and mineral wealth at their disposal, the nation's population, arts, and religion flourished . In contrast to elitist Old Kingdom attitudes towards the gods, the Middle Kingdom displayed an increase in expressions of personal piety . Middle Kingdom literature featured sophisticated themes and characters written in a confident, eloquent style . The relief and portrait sculpture of the period captured subtle, individual details that reached new heights of technical sophistication . </P>

How did ancient egypt start as a civilization