The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period. The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximately 2040 to 1782 or 1700 BC, stretching from the reunification of Egypt under the reign of Mentuhotep II in the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty or the mid Thirteenth Dynasty. The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Dynasties ruled from el-Lisht.