The Kingdom of Qatna was established around 2000 BC. At the beginning of the Middle Bronze Age I, the city expanded and covered an area of . This growth reduced the number of the small settlements as people were drawn into the expanded metropolis. It is probable that the earliest mention of "Qatna" by this name dates to the same period. According to Thomas Schneider, a city named "Qedem", mentioned in a controversial passage in the "Story of Sinuhe" dating to the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt (early 20th century BC), is most probably to be identified with Qatna. Qedem in the Egyptian text is written "Qdm", and, in Egyptian, Qatna is written as "Qdn". If Schneider's interpretation is correct, then this is the first known written mention of the city. The text also mentions that the title of the ruler was "Mekim" (or Mekum), a royal title known from Ebla. The theory of Schneider is debated: in Sinuhe's story, the protagonist turned back to Qedem after reaching Byblos; Joachim Friedrich Quack pointed out that the Egyptian verb ""ḥs ̯i"" used in the text was known to indicate that a certain expedition had reached its final destination and was now returning to Egypt, indicating that Qedem was south of Byblos, while Qatna is to the north of Byblos.