It's no exaggeration to say that under Nitocris' rule, Memphis, though long plagued by chaos, had become by far the most powerful city in all of Egypt.
In terms of sheer military strength, even if all the forces of the other nomes in Egypt were combined, they would not be a match for her army.
Historically, the death of Nitocris marked the end of Egypt's Sixth Dynasty and the temporary collapse of centralized rule.
Overnight, more than seventy self-proclaimed pharaohs emerged, each claiming the right to inherit the country.
This so-called Seventh Dynasty lasted only seventy days before collapsing, plunging Egypt into eight years of chaos.
During this period, pharaohs existed in name only; decrees applied solely within Memphis, and royal authority was effectively null.
Following that era, the Herakleopolis Dynasty arose, with Herakleopolis as its capital, the Ninth Dynasty of Egypt.
The first king of the Ninth Dynasty was Meryibre Akhito I.
Originally the governor of Herakleopolis, he seized the throne through brutal means, claiming the royal title Meryibre and imposing his rule over fellow governors.
Apart from the Nile Delta, where Asiatic influence was strong, the central and southern regions down to Aswan recognized his authority.
Herakleopolis, capital of the 20th Upper Egyptian nome, sat at the crucial junction between Upper and Lower Egypt, giving it immense strategic significance.
Its governor, Meryibre Akhito, stood out among Egypt's many fragmented rulers.
Most local rulers were short-sighted, focused solely on consolidating their own domains and living off local wealth.
Meryibre Akhito was different. Positioned at a strategic crossroads, he served as a bridge between Upper and Lower Egypt.
Many policies affecting both regions required his approval and cooperation.
Due to natural geographic separation, Upper and Lower Egypt had long maintained distinct cultures and customs, fostering tendencies toward division.
For pharaohs, maintaining unity between the two regions was always a key responsibility.
Meryibre Akhito, stationed in this strategic location, bore this responsibility and diligently worked to preserve Egypt's unity.
Being at the crossroads, he witnessed firsthand the contrasts and conflicts between the two regions.
Governing Herakleopolis was exceedingly complex, as any policy issue could be magnified under such circumstances.
These challenges gradually honed his foresight and strategic vision.
Over years of rule, he increasingly set Egypt's unification as his personal goal.
During the later years of Pharaoh Pepi's reign, the elderly king's incompetence plunged Egypt into chaos, which Meryibre Akhito found intolerable.
In his eyes, such pharaohs were unfit to rule, and the fragmentation of Egypt under their rule was inevitable.
Meryibre's judgment proved accurate. The consecutive deaths of Pepi and Merenre II accelerated Egypt's disintegration.
When Nitocris ascended the throne, his dissatisfaction with the pharaohs reached its peak. He viewed Egypt's fragmentation as their fault.
Yet his resentment also fueled ambition.
If the pharaohs were incompetent, why could he not take their place?
While other governors saw the chaos as a temporary division and an opportunity to rule locally, Meryibre Akhito saw it as a chance to realize his grand ambitions.
While rival warlords squandered resources on indulgence and excess, he trained his troops and strengthened his power.
At the same time, he awaited further disorder in Egypt, the moment to formally march his forces and seize the title of pharaoh.
In recorded history, he succeeded. Nitocris' successors fought among themselves, exhausting Egypt's remaining strength in a struggle for the throne.
He took advantage, claiming the crown for himself, though his authority was never universally recognized across all Egypt.
But thanks to Alaric, his ambitions were doomed to fail.
This time, Meryibre did not wait for chaos to deepen, he encountered an army marching from Memphis instead.
Though the most prosperous regions of Egypt lay near the Mediterranean in the Nile Delta, with its network of waterways creating fertile oases, Nitocris did not march north to retake these critical areas. Instead, she led her forces south along the Nile.
Along the way, her army captured cities and nomes one by one, Itawy, Meidum, Crocodilopolis, bringing formerly independent regions under her banner, restoring them to the glory of the sun.
Local nobles and officials responsible for division and chaos were dismissed, exiled, or executed.
Those loyal to the pharaoh, who had not contributed to Egypt's fragmentation, were relocated to Memphis and granted positions in the central administration as a reward.
In each city, she left garrisons and administrators to govern alongside locally promoted officials.
By controlling the regions through centrally dispatched officials rather than relying on governors or feudal lords, Memphis' grip on the country strengthened considerably.
Egypt's governance began moving toward a prefecture system.
Through these sweeping campaigns, Nitocris grew even more impressed with Alaric.
A few days ago, she had been proud of her achievements, but now she realized that in political wisdom, she still lagged far behind the man who had long guided her.
Eventually, with her unstoppable advance, her army reached the vicinity of Herakleopolis.
Had Nitocris not risen, her mediocre successors would have been blind to the ambitions of this governor. But Nitocris was different.
Before the battle, she dispatched numerous trade caravans throughout Egypt, ostensibly for grain trade, while secretly gathering intelligence for her campaign.
Due to Egypt's instability, grain production had plummeted everywhere except Memphis, even the Nile Delta was affected, so grain merchants were welcomed wherever they went.
No one in this era suspected her intelligence-gathering under the guise of trade.
Using these forward-thinking methods, Nitocris successfully obtained intelligence from across Egypt. Meryibre Akhito's unusual behavior naturally drew her attention.
A figure like Meryibre, a born tiger, had to be crushed in the bud.