The transition from Early to Middle Bronze Age, around 2100 bc, is characterised by an apparent decline on the mainland and in the Cyclades. By contrast, Crete undergoes a rapid evolution at the beginning of the Middle Minoan (MM) period which results most spectacularly in the appearance of monumental buildings that are seats of political power. At Knossos, Phaistos, and Malia, where urban agglomerations replace the villages of the Early Bronze Age (EBA), buildings of original and complex design – the palaces – are built, probably during MM IA (2100–2000 bc), and in MM IB at the latest. The so-called First Palace period (Protopalatial) thus corresponds to the first phases of the Middle Bronze Age (from MM IB to IIB), from c.2000 to around 1700 bc. Absolute chronology is based on synchronisms with the Egyptian and Anatolian civilisations, dated through texts containing kinglists.