The Third Intermediate Period

The power of the last Ramessides fades, grain grows dear, the tombs of the Valley of the Kings are plundered — sometimes with officials' connivance. The north remains with the kings at Tanis; the south passes to the high priests of Amun, who rule Thebes like sovereigns. Later the descendants of Libyan settlers come to power, and the country splinters into several kingdoms at once. Egypt loses its hold on Canaan and withdraws from great-power politics for three centuries, remaining for its neighbours a source of mercenaries, horses and promises of help rather than a real force.