The 'Age of the Pyramids' (3rd–6th Dynasties), a centralized state ruling from Memphis.
The Old Kingdom of Egypt (Dynasties 3–6, c. 2686–2181 BCE) collapsed c. 2181 BCE following the long reign of Pepi II and the weakening of central authority due to provincial nomarchs accruing power, compounded by climate-driven agricultural failures (drought documented in palaeoclimatic records); it gave way to the decentralized First Intermediate Period.
Covers the Old Kingdom 'Age of the Pyramids' in depth.
Bárta's archaeological study of the rise, workings, and collapse of Old Kingdom Egypt's pyramid-building state.
Comprehensive Egypt survey with substantial coverage of Predynastic/Naqada period; complements Shaw by same era, different author
Mahfouz's first novel, a court intrigue set under Pharaoh Khufu of the 4th Dynasty, squarely within the Old Kingdom era; far less famous than his Cairo Trilogy, so graded medium.
Mahfouz's second pharaonic novel, a court drama set under a 6th-Dynasty pharaoh during the Old Kingdom; a minor work compared to the Cairo Trilogy, graded medium.