See Amenemhat, for other indivuduals with this name.

Amenemhat I
Relief of Amenemhat I from his mortuary complex at El-Lisht
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	1991–1962 BC, Twelfth Dynasty
Predecessor	Mentuhotep IV
Successor	Senusret I
Royal titulary Prenomen: Sehetepibre Who satisfies the heart of Re Nomen: Amenemhat Amun is in front Horus name: Wehemmesut Nebty name: Wehemmesut Golden Horus: Wehemmesut[1] Repeating of births
Consort(s)	Neferitatjenen
Children	Senusret I, Neferu III, Neferusherit, Kayet
Father	Senusret
Mother	Neferet
Burial	Pyramid at el-Lisht

The ruined pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht.

Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty considered to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC.^[2] Amenemhat I was a vizier of his predecessor Mentuhotep IV, overthrowing him from power^[3], scholars vary if Mentuhotep IV was killed by Amenemhat I, but there is no independent evidence to support this and there may even have been a period of co-regency between their reigns.^[4]

Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and the composition of some literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti,^[5] the Instructions of Amenemhat^[6]) and, in architecture, the reversion 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 Senusret 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.

Assassination[link]

Two literary works dating from the end of the reign give a picture about Amenemhat I's death. The Instructions of Amenemhat were supposedly counsels that the deceased king gave to his son during a dream. In the passage where he warns Senusret I against too great intimacy with his subjects, he tells the story of his own death as a reinforcement:

This passage refers to a conspiracy in which Amenemhat was killed by his own guards, when his son and co-regent Senusret I was leading a campaign in Libya. Another account of the following events is given in the Story of Sinuhe, a famous text of Egyptian literature:

Succession[link]

Amenemhat I is considered to be the first king of Egypt to have had a coregency with his son, Senusret I. A double dated stela is dated to the thirtieth year of Amenemhat I and to the tenth year of Senusret I, which establishes that Senusret was made co-regent in Amenemhat's 20th regnal year.^[9]

Name[link]

Amenemhat I's name is associated with one of only two sebayt or ethical "teachings" attributed to Egyptian monarchs, entitled the Instructions of Amenemhat, though it is generally thought today that it was composed by a scribe at the behest of the king.^[6]

Amenemhat I's Horus name, Wehemmesu, which means renaissance or rebirth, is an allusion to the Old Kingdom period, whose cultural icons and models (such as pyramidal tombs and Old Kingdom artistic motifs) where emulated by the Twelfth Dynasty kings after the end of the First Intermediate Period. The cult of the king was also promoted during this period, which witnessed a steady return to a more centralized government.^[10]

The royal court[link]

The vizier at the beginning of the reign was Ipi, at the end of the reign Intefiqer was in charge. Two treasurers can be placed under this king: another Ipi and Rehuerdjersen. Two high stewards, Meketre and Sobeknakht, have also been identified.

Modern adaptation[link]

Naguib Mahfouz, the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian writer, includes Amenemhat I in one of his stories published in 1941 entitled "Awdat Sinuhi". The story appeared in an English translation by Raymond Stock in 2003 as "The Return of Sinuhe" in the collection of Mahfouz's short stories entitled Voices from the Other World. The story is based directly on the "Story of Sinuhe", although adding details of a lovers' triangle romance involving Amenemhat I and Sinuhe that does not appear in the original. Mahfouz also includes the pharaoh in his account of Egypt's rulers "Facing the Throne". In this work, the Nobel laureate has the Ancient Egyptian gods judge the country's rulers from Pharaoh Mena to President Anwar Sadat.

See also[link]

• List of Egyptian pyramids
• List of megalithic sites

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History,Archaeology and Society, Duckworth, London 2006 ISBN 0-7156-3435-6, 28-35
• Mahfouz, Naguib. The Return of Sinuhe in Voices from the Other World (translated by Robert Stock), Random House, 2003.

External links[link]

• Ancient-Egypt.org

See Amenemhat, for other indivuduals with this name.

Amenemhat III
Lamares and Ameres according to Manetho, also Ammenemes
Statuette head of Amenemhat III, now in the Louvre
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	1860–1814 BC, 12th Dynasty
Predecessor	Senusret III
Successor	Amenemhat IV
Royal titulary Prenomen: n mꜣꜤt rꜥ (Nimaatre)[1] Belonging to the truth of Re Nomen: Amenemhat[1] Amun is in front Horus name: Wahankh[1] Long of life Nebty name: Itjijautawy[1] Who comes to the inheritance of the two lands Golden Horus: ꜥꜣ ba(u) (Aabaw)[1] Great of power
Consort(s)	Aat, Khenemetneferhedjet III
Children	Neferuptah, Sobekneferu, Hathorhetepet, Nubhetepet, Sithathor, Amenemhat IV (?)
Father	Senusret III
Died	1814 BC
Burial	Pyramid at Hawara
Monuments	Pyramids at Dahshur and Hawara

Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.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.^{[citation needed]} He may have had a long coregency (of 20 years) with his father, Senusret III.^[2]

Statue from the Egyptian Collection of the Hermitage Museum

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.^[3] 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 his first pyramid at Dahshur (the so-called "Black Pyramid") but there were construction problems and this was abandoned.^[4] Around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara^[5] 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 may have been known to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus as the "Labyrinth".^[6] 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, Neferuptah, was buried in a separate pyramid (discovered in 1956) 2 km southwest of the king's.^[7] The pyramidion of Amenemhet III's pyramid tomb was found toppled from the peak of its structure and preserved relatively intact; it is today located in the Egyptian Cairo Museum.

The vizier Kheti held this office around year 29 of king Amenemhet III's reign. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus is thought to have been originally composed during Amenemhat's time.^[8] The monuments of Amenemhat III are fairly numerous and of excellent quality. This includes a small, but well decorated, temple of Medinet Maadi in the Faiyum which he and his father dedicated to the harvest goddess Renenutet.

Pyramidion or Capstone of Amenemhat III's pyramid.

Other names:

• Ammenemes
• Lamares, Ameres (According to Manetho)
• Moeris

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History, Archaeology and Society, Duckworth, London 2006 ISBN 0-7156-3435-6, 58-61

External links[link]

• Amenemhat (III) Nimaatre
• The Pyramid of Amenemhet III from Talking Pyramids

See Amenemhat, for other indivuduals with this name.

Amenemhat II
Great sphinx thought to have been originally carved for Amenemhat II, now on display in the Louvre, Paris
Pharaoh of Egypt
Reign	1929–1895 BC, Twelfth Dynasty
Predecessor	Senusret I
Successor	Senusret II
Royal titulary Prenomen: Nubkaure (nbw-kAw-ra) "Golden are the souls of Re" Nomen: Amenemhat (imn-m-HAt) Amun is in front Horus name: Hekenem Maat (Hknm-mAat) Horus, the one who is praised with Maat Nebty name: Hekenem Maat (Hknm-mAat) The Two Ladies, the one who is praised with Maat Golden Horus: Maat Kheru (mAat-xrw) The golden Horus, true of voice
Consort(s)	Senet (?), Kaneferu
Children	Senusret II, Khenemetneferhedjet I, Ita, Itakayet, Itaweret, Khnemet, Neferet, Sithathormerit, Amenemhatankh (?)
Father	Senusret I
Mother	Neferu III
Died	1895 BC
Burial	White Pyramid

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.^[1] 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."^[2]

The most important monument of his reign are the fragments of an annual 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 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. Two treasurers are known: Merykau and Zaaset. The overseer of the gateway Khentykhetywer is attested on a stela, where he reports an expedition to Punt.

Succession[link]

Statue of Amenemhat II, Egyptian Museum of Berlin

Amenemhat II and his son, Senusret II, shared a brief coregency, which was the last certain one of the Middle Kingdom. The stela of Hapu at Aswan dates to the third year of Senusret II and to the 35th year of Amenemhat, meaning that Senusret was crowned in his father's 33rd regnal year.^[3] The name of the younger king is placed ahead of the senior king, which may possibly indicate that Senusret was the dominant personality in the coregency even before his father died, although such speculation is based on far too little evidence for a fair evaluation one way or the other.^[4]

Sphinx Theory[link]

There has been evidence brought forward that shows that the face of the Great Sphinx of Giza is that of Amenemhat II. The evidence includes statements made by German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt suggesting that the eye-paint cosmetics seen on the Sphinx were not seen before the 6th Dynasty (making it unlikely to have represented Khafra as typically assumed) and that the pleated stripes on the nemes headress are in groups of three, a very specific style seen exclusively during the 12th Dynasty. The same stripes, eye-paint, and facial structure are present on Amenemhat's sphinx statue in the Louvre. It is concluded by this evidence that the statue itself was created during the 4th Dynasty or before, the original head was damaged beyond repair, and that Amenemhat II carved his own likeness into the existing head and neck to save the structure (explaining why the Sphinx's head is so disproportionately small).^[5]

See also[link]

• List of Egyptian pyramids
• List of megalithic sites

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History,Archaeology and Society, Duckworth, London 2006 ISBN 0-7156-3435-6, 45-48

External links[link]

• Amenemhat (II) Nubkaure (1914-1879/76 BCE)
• Ancient-Egypt.org