kingdom · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan
Herakleopolitan Kingdom
Origins
Around 2160 BCE a family from Herakleopolis Magna, near the entrance to the Faiyum, took over the kingship from the Eighth Dynasty of Egypt. Its founder, remembered as Meryibre Khety (Akhtoy), gave his name to the 'House of Khety', which held Middle Egypt and the Delta.
Rule and society
The Herakleopolitan kings depended on powerful provincial governors, notably the nomarchs of Asyut, whose tomb inscriptions record the war against the south. The literary text known as the Teaching for Merikare, set in this period, gives advice on kingship, justice and defending the Delta frontier against Asiatics. Middle Egyptian literature, later regarded as classical, began to take shape in this age.
Decline and legacy
From about 2130 BCE the kings fought the Theban Eleventh Dynasty for control of Thinis and Abydos. Around 2025 BCE Mentuhotep II of Thebes took Herakleopolis and reunited Egypt, opening the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Herakleopolitan Kingdom was conquered by Theban Eleventh Dynasty2025 BCE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Herakleopolitan Kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/herakleopolitan-kingdom
- MLA
- “Herakleopolitan Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/herakleopolitan-kingdom. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Herakleopolitan Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/herakleopolitan-kingdom.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Herakleopolitan Kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/herakleopolitan-kingdom (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻