Abstract:
After the First Intermediate Period crisis, the Middle Kingdom Egyptian state incorporates the Eastern Delta and also initiates a strong advance over Lower Nubia. From those regions and the deserts, Egyptians obtained the luxury goods that the elite requested. The Eastern Delta and Lower Nubia acted as linking areas connecting Egypt with its peripheries, Syria-Palestine and Upper Nubia. In those linking areas, the Egyptian state's presence was established through dominions and fortresses, while in the peripheral ones there were no active traces of such an activity. In this paper the evidence regarding these topics and the interpretation they have received during the last years are reviewed.