With the Sixteenth Upper Egyptian province being located in the most fertile region of the country, its governors were certainly among the richest and most powerful officials. It is indeed fortunate that their tombs at Beni Hassan contain the best preserved materials for the study of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom. With their magnificent architecture and richly painted scenes and inscriptions, these tombs provide ample evidence for the examination of the re-establishment of the provincial administration in the latter part of the Eleventh Dynasty, the transition to the Twelfth Dynasty and the end of the administrators’ power, probably under Senwosret III. The preserved data have also allowed a study of the various aspects of daily life in the province during this important period in Egypt’s history. The tombs at Beni Hassan have recently been re-excavated and re-recorded by the Australian Centre for Egyptology, and the present work represents an in-depth analysis of the history and life of one of the most powerful nomarchic families of the Middle Kingdom, based on the most up-to-date information obtained from these excavations, as well as on personal and detailed examination of the site. The book is richly illustrated with drawing and photographs, many of which are published here for the first time.