One expedition made its way into the land of Punt, to the north of Abyssinia, and brought back a Danga dwarf, whose tribal name still survives under the form of Dongo.

Later expeditions explored the banks of the Nile as far south as the country of the Dwarfs, as well as the oases of Libya.
The Old Empire was followed by a period of decline.

Egypt was overrun by barbarians, its kings lost their power, and the whole land suffered decay.

The pyramid tombs of the Old Empire were entered and despoiled; the bodies of the monarchs within them were torn to pieces, and the precious objects that had been buried with them were carried away.

As the power of the kings diminished, that of the great landowners and nobles increased; a feudal aristocracy grew up, which divided Egypt between its members, and treated the royal authority with only nominal respect.