Middle Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom is the period from the end of the First Intermediate Period to be beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. In addition to the Twelfth Dynasty, some scholars include the Eleventh, Thirteenth and Fourteenth Dynasties in the Middle Kingdom.
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The Middle Kingdom can be noted for the expansion of trade outside
of the kingdom that occurred during this time. This opening of trade
eventually led to the downfall of the Middle Kingdom, induced by an
invasion from the Hyksos
The second part of the Eleventh Dynasty is considered to be part of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt.
| | Nebhotepre Mentuhotep II |
Nebhotepre Mentuhotep II (2046 BC – 1995 BC) was a Pharaoh of the 11th
dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah.
His own wife was the 'king's mother' Tem. Other wives were Neferu (his
sister) and five women buried in his funerary complex. His only known
son was Mentuhotep III.
The king changed his name several times during his reign, perhaps
reflecting important political events. His throne name was Nebhepetre,
and he was the first ruler of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The Turin
Canon credits him with a reign of 51 years.
In the 14th year of his reign, an uprising occurred. This was perhaps
connected with a war of Mentuhotep II against the rival 10th dynasty at
Herakleopolis Magna Little is known of the events.
Mentuhotep reunited ancient Egypt in the following years for the first
time since the 6th dynasty. The exact date of this unification is still
unknown.
He is also known for commanding military campaigns south into Nubia,
which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period.
There is also evidence for military actions against Palestine. The king
reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the head of the
administration. The viziers of his reign were Ipi and Dagi. Treasurer
was Khety who was involved in the sed festival of the king.
He was
followed by Meketre. General was a certain Intef known from his Theban
tomb.
He was buried in a large tomb he had constructed at Deir el-Bahri.
Mentuhotep II built temples and chapels at several places in Upper
Egypt.
| | Sankhkare Mentuhotep III |
Sankhkare Mentuhotep III of the Eleventh dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He continued the building program of his father Mentuhotep II, erecting temples to among others, Amun and Montu, local gods who had grown in prominence during the First Intermediate Period. He was assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon.
| | Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV |
Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV was the last king of the 11th Dynasty. He seems to fit into a 7 year period in the Turin Canon for which there is no recorded king, and is known from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments.
Despite being obscure (he is absent from the official king lists in Abydos), the inscriptions show the organization and makeup of a large expedition. The leader of an expedition to Wadi Hammamat, dated to Year 2 of this king's reign, was his vizier a certain Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future king Amenemhet I the first king of the 12th Dynasty, and Mentuhotep's immediate successor.
Amenemhet is widely assumed by some Egyptologists to have either usurped the throne or assumed power after Mentuhotep IV died childless. There is currently no archaeological or textual evidence to prove that Mentuhotep was deposed by his Vizier or that he chose Amenemhet to be his designated successor.
| Twelfth Dynasty
The Twelfth Dynasty ruled from 1991 to 1802 BC, and is considered by later Egyptians to have been their greatest dynasty.
| | Amenemhat I |
Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty debated to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC.
Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and the composition of some literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti, the Instructions of Amenemhat) and, in architecture, the revertion to the pyramid-style complexes of the 6th dynasty rulers are often considered to have been attempts at legitimizing his rule. Amenemhat I moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy and was buried in el-Lisht.
His son Senwosret I followed in his footsteps, building his pyramid–a closer reflection of the 6th dynasty pyramids than that of Amenemhat I–at Lisht as well, but his grandson, Amenemhat II, broke with this tradition.
| | Senusret I |
Senusret I was the second pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1971 BC to 1926 BC, and was one of the most powerful kings of this Dynasty. He was the son of Amenemhat I and his wife Nefertitanen. His own wife and sister was Neferu. She was also the mother of the successor Amenemhat II.
He continued his father's aggressive expansionist policies against Nubia by initiating two expeditions into this region in his 10th and 18th Years and established Egypt's formal southern border at the fortress of Buhen near the second cataract where he placed a garrison and a victory stele. He also organized an expedition to a Western Desert oasis in the Libyan desert.
Senusret I established diplomatic relations with some rulers of towns in Syria and Canaan. He also tried to centralize the country's political structure by supporting nomarchs who were loyal to him. His pyramid was constructed at el-Lisht.
Senusret I is mentioned in the Story of Sinuhe where he is reported to have rushed back to the royal palace in Memphis from a military campaign in Asia after hearing about the assassination of his father, Amenemhat I.
| | Nubkhaure Amenemhat II |
Nubkhaure Amenemhat II was the third pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, not much is known about his reign. He ruled Egypt for 35 Years from 1929 BC to 1895 BC and was the son of Senusret I through the latter's chief wife, Queen Nefru.[2] His queen is not known; although recently a certain 'king's wife' named Senet has been proposed. His prenomen or throne name, Nubkaure, means "Golden are the Souls of Re."
The most important monument of his reign are the fragments of an annal stone found at Memphis, reused in the New Kingdom. It reports events of the first years of his reign. Donations to various temples are mentioned as well as a campaign to Southern Palestine and the destruction of two cities.
The coming of Nubians to bring tribute is also reported. Amenemhat II established a coregency with his son Senusret II in his 33rd Regnal Year when he was aged in order to secure the continuity of the royal succession.
His pyramid was constructed at Dahshur and is only little researched. Next to the pyramid were found the tombs of several royal women some of them were found undisturbed and still contained golden jewellery.
The court of the king is not well known, Senusret and Ameny were the viziers at the beginning of the reign.
Three treasurers are known: Rehuerdjersen, Merykau and Zaaset. The overseer of the gateway Khentykhetywer is attested on a stelae, where he reports an expedition to Punt.
| | Khakeperre Senusret II |
Khakeperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an extensive irrigation system from the Bahr Yusuf through to Lake Moeris by means the construction of a dyke at El-Lahun and the addition of a network of drainage canals.
The purpose of his project was to increase the amount of cultivable land here. The importance of this project is emphasized by Senusret II's decision to move the royal necropolis from Dahshur to El-Lahun where he built his pyramid. This location would remain the political capital of the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt. The king also established the first known worker's quarter in the nearby town of Senusrethotep (Kahun).
Unlike his successor, Senusret II maintained good relations with the various local and influential nomarchs or provincial governors of Egypt who were almost as wealthy as Pharaoh.[4] His Year 6 is attested in a Wall painting from the tomb of a local nomarch named Khnumhotep at Beni Hasan
| | | Khakhaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III or Sesostris III) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC, and was the fifth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom.
He was a Great Pharaoh of the twelfth Dynasty and is supposed to be the most powerful Egyptian ruler of this time. For this, he is regarded as one of the sources for the legend about Sesostris.
Senusret III cleared a navigable canal through the first cataract and relentlessly pushed his kingdom's expansion deep into Nubia (from 1866 to 1863 BC) where he erected massive river forts including Buhen, Semna and Toshka at Uronarti.
He carried out at least 4 major campaigns deep into Nubia in his Year 8, 10, 16 and 19 respectively.
His Year 8 stela at Semna documents his victories against the Nubians through which he thought having made safe the southern frontier, preventing further incursions into Egypt.
Another great stela from Semna mentions his military activities against both Nubia and Palestine. In it, he admonished his future successors to maintain the new border which he had created:
"Now as for every son of mine who shall establish this boundary, which my Majesty has made, he is my son, he is born of his Majesty, the likeness of a son who is the champion of his father, who maintains the boundary of him who begat him. Now as for him who shall relax it, and shall not fight for it; he is not my son, he is not born to me."
His final campaign in Year 19 was less successful because the king's forces were trapped by a low Nile current and had to retreat and abandon their campaign to avoid being trapped in hostile Nubian territory.
Such was his forceful nature and immense influence that Senusret III was worshipped as a god in Nubia by later generations.
Jacques Morgan, in 1894, found rock inscriptions near Sehel Island documenting his digging of a canal under the king. Senusret III erected a temple and town in Abydos, and another temple in Medamud .
His pyramid was constructed at Dahshur A papyrus in the Berlin Museum shows Year 20 of his reign is equivalent to Year 1 of his son Amenemhat III. This means that he initiated a coregency with his son in this year.
According to Josef W. Wegner, a Year 39 hieratic control note was recovered on a white limestone block from a securely defined deposit of construction debris produced from the building of the Senwosret III mortuary temple.
The fragment itself is part of the remnants of the temple construction. This deposit provides evidence for the date of construction of the mortuary temple of Senwosret III at Abydos.
Wegner stresses that it is unlikely that Amenemhet III, Senusret's son and successor would still be working on his father's temple nearly 4 decades into his own reign and notes that the only possible solution for the block's existence here is that Senusret III had a 39 Year reign, with the final 20 years in coregency with his son Amenemhet III.
Since the project was associated with a project of Senusret III, his Regnal Year was presumably used to date the block, rather than Year 20 of Amenemhet III. This implies that Senusret was still alive in the first 2 decades of his son's reign prior to his death.
Visually, Senusret III is known for his strikingly somber sculptures in which he appears careworn and grave.
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Amenemhat III, alt. Amenemhet III, (c. 1860 BC-1814 BC) was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from ca.1860 BC to ca.1814 BC, the latest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. He is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom. He may have had a long coregency (of 20 years) with his father, Sesostris III.
Towards the end of his reign he instituted a coregency with his successor Amenemhet IV, as recorded in a now damaged rock inscription at Konosso in Nubia, which equates Year 1 of Amenemhet IV to either Year 46, 47 or 48 of his reign.
His daughter, Sobekneferu, later succeeded Amenemhat IV, as the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty. Amenemhat III's throne name, Nimaatre, means "Belonging to the Justice of Re."
He built a first pyramid at Dahshur (the so-called "Black Pyramid") but there were building problems and this was abandoned.
Around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara.
The pyramid at Dahshur was used as burial ground for several royal women.
His mortuary temple at Hawara (near the Fayum), is accompanied by a pyramid and was known to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus as the "Labyrinth."
Strabo praised it as a wonder of the world. The king's pyramid at Hawara contained some of the most complex security features of any found in Egypt and is perhaps the only one to come close to the sort of tricks Hollywood associates with such structures. Nevertheless, the king's burial was robbed in antiquity.
His daughter, Neferu-Ptah, was buried in a separate pyramid (discovered in 1956) 2km southwest of the king's.
The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is thought to have been originally composed during Amenemhat's time.
Egyptologist David Rohl, in his book "Pharaoh's and Kings", proposes an alternate chronology for the Old Testament which has found little acceptance among archaeologists. Dr. Rohl believes that Joseph, son of Jacob, was the vizier (Chief Adviser or Prime Minister) during the reign of Pharoah Amenemhat III.
| | Amenemhat IV | Amenemhat IV, alt. Amenemhet IV, was Pharaoh of Egypt, likely ruling between ca. 1815 BC and ca. 1806 BC. He served first as the junior coregent of Amenemhat III and completed the latter's temple at Medinet Madi, which is "the only intact temple still existing from the Middle Kingdom" according to Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The temple's foundations, administrative buildings, granaries and residences were recently uncovered by an Egyptian archaeological expedition in early 2006. Amenemhat IV likely also built a temple in the northeastern Fayum at Qasr el-Sagha.
The Turin Canon papyrus attributes a reign of 9 Years 3 Months and 27 days to Amenemhat IV. He served the first year of his reign as the junior co-regent to his powerful predecessor, Amenemhat III, according to a rock graffito in Nubia.
His short reign was relatively peaceful and uneventful; several dated expeditions were recorded at the mines Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai. It was after his death that the gradual decline of the Middle Kingdom is thought to have begun.
Amenemhat died without a male heir, and was succeeded by his half-sister (or perhaps his aunt) Sobeknefru, who became the first woman in about 1500 years to rule Egypt. He may have been Sobeknefru's spouse but no historical evidence currently substantiates this theory.
| | Sobeknefru |
Sobeknefru (sometimes written "Nefrusobek") was an Egyptian female pharaoh of the Twelfth dynasty. Her name meant "the beauties of Sobek." Some scholars believe she was the daughter of Pharaoh Amenemhat III; Manetho states she was the sister of Amenemhat IV.
She is the first known female ruler of Egypt, though Nitocris may have ruled in the Sixth Dynasty.
Amenemhat IV most likely died without a male heir. Consequently, Amenemhat III's daughter Sobekneferu assumed the throne. According to the Turin Canon, she ruled for 3 years, 10 months and 24 days. The end of her reign concluded Egypt's Twelfth dynasty and inaugurated the Thirteenth dynasty.
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