Thutmose III is one of the most famous rulers of Egypt during the New Kingdom. He ruled with his mother, Hatshepsut, for two decades before ruling by himself for another thirty years. He was one of the most successful military commanders in Egyptian history and established an extensive empire, stretching from Nubia in the south, all the way to Syria and Canaan in the east. He was not, however, buried at the Great Pyramids of Giza. Instead, like the other Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, he was buried in the Valley of the Kings.

Amenemhat I became ruler of Egypt, along with his wife Neferitatjenen, in 1991 BCE and ruled until he was assassinated in 1962 BCE.

At the pinnacle of Ancient Egypt’s power structure were the ruling dynastic families, each of whom were led by a sequence of pharaohs. (These dynasties are comparable to Medieval Western European royal houses.) Each dynasty ruled in turn before being somehow either replaced or overthrown by another dynasty. Most often, each dynasty was internally bound together by familial ties, both blood- and marriage-related, although in several cases (usually in the absence or unsuitability of direct heirs) dynasties were formed on the basis of shared residency within the fortified royal compound. Despite these close ties, however, internal dynastic conflicts erupted rather often; disputes frequently arose over the line of succession and physical violence (including assassination) was not uncommon.

Senusret III was one of the most powerful and significant ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty in ancient Egypt. He ruled from approximately 1878 to 1840 BCE, during the height of the power of the Middle Kingdom. Senusret III carried out many successful military campaigns and expanded Egyptian influence deep into Nubia.

Unlike the pharaohs of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, the New Kingdom pharaohs preferred temples and rock tombs to pyramids. These pharaohs selected several special sites on which to construct their masterpieces. The most famous of all these locales is, undoubtedly, the Valley of the Kings; also chosen were Karnak-in-Luxor, Abydos, Abu Simbel, and Tel El-Amarna. Each of these places were/are home to truly remarkable structures, including the temple Umm el-Qa’ab at Abydos, the Karnak Temple Complex, and the two massive temples of Abu Simbel.

Amenemhat I was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty. He ruled in the 20th century BCE and his reign marks the beginning of a period of relative prosperity in Egyptian history - called the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom.

Menes was one of the earliest, possibly the earliest Pharaohs in unified Egyptian history. Most historians credit Menes with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt and founding the First Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other historians disagree with this hypothesis though and instead credit Narmer with founding the Old Kingdom of Egypt.

The first female Pharaoh in Egyptian history was Hatshepsut. Hatshepsut ruled during the New Kingdom period of Egyptian history and is one of the most esteemed rulers in Egyptian history. Hatshepsut has a generally positive reputation because peace, trade, and prosperity flourished during her rule.

The Theban Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the Eleventh Dynasty initiated the Middle Kingdom and reunified Egypt after the turmoil of the First Intermediate Period by finally ending the civil war between Thebes and Heracleopolis with a military expedition that was met with little resistance. Thereafter, he centralized powers towards himself and away from the nomarchs by establishing a force of bureaucrats who supervised the nomarchs and ensured that acted not as sovereign rulers but rather as governors who implemented the will of the Pharaoh. Amenemhat II, Senusret III, Queen Sobokneferu and Amenemhat IV were all Pharaohs of the Twelfth Dynasty, also of the Middle Kingdom.

The founder of the Middle Kingdom was Mentuhotep II. This pharaoh conquered the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom. He is also credited with reunifying upper and lower Egypt.