20th century BCE

The 20th century BCE was a hundred-year period that began in the year 2000 BCE and ended in 1901 BCE. It forms part of the early Middle Bronze Age in the Near East, when the city-states and kingdoms of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Levant possessed organized administrations based on writing.

Sources from this period consist mainly of clay tablets written in cuneiform script, Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, and archaeological evidence. The dating of events in this century is approximate; different chronological frameworks (long, middle, and short) disagree with one another.

Egypt

Egypt existed within the Middle Kingdom, following Mentuhotep's unification of the country after the First Intermediate Period. The 11th Dynasty was succeeded by the 12th Dynasty, whose capital was Itjtawy, located near the Fayyum. The kings Amenemhat and Senusret erected irrigation infrastructure, fortresses along Nubia's southern border, and pyramids of stone and brick.

Mesopotamia

The beginning of this century saw the collapse of the Third Dynasty of Ur (Ur III), following Elamite raids and the influx of Amorite tribes. In its place emerged competing city-states such as Isin and Larsa, each claiming the legacy of Sumer and Akkad. Pastoral herding and long-distance trade extending from Anatolia to the Gulf continued.

Anatolia and the Levant

Anatolia housed a trade network managed by Assyrian merchants operating from centers called karums, such as that at Kanesh (Kültepe). Their business records document the trade in tin, copper, and textiles. The Levant and the Syrian coast held major cities like Byblos, which maintained close ties with Egypt.