Diary for my daughter 31.05.2022 - Intef I,II,III/Mentuhotep I,II,III,IV/Sankhibtawy Seankhibra

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Intef I 

Sehertawy Intef I was a local nomarch at Thebes during the early First Intermediate Period and the first member of the 11th Dynasty to lay claim to a Horus name. Intef reigned from 4 to 16 years c. 2120 BC or c. 2070 BC during which time he probably waged war with his northern neighbor, the Coptite nomarch Tjauti. Intef was buried in a saff tomb at El-Tarif, known today as Saff el-Dawaba.

Sources 

Intef is known for certain from only one near-contemporary monument: two inscribed blocks from the temple of Montu at Tod which were erected during Mentuhotep II's reign. The blocks represent Mentuhotep II facing the names of three of his ancestors which are identified by their proper name (nomen) and Horus name. These are Intef (I) Sehertawy, Intef (II) Wahankh and Intef (III) Nakht-neb-tep-nefer (although in this case only the Horus names Sehertawy and Wahankh are preserved). This relief establishes the succession of kings of the 11th Dynasty.

There are no contemporary monuments which can be positively attributed to Intef I. A possible exception is a short inscription discovered in the western desert: "the assault troops of the son of Re, Intef". In the original publication of the inscription this king Intef is identified with Intef I, although Intef II has also been proposed as a possibility. The inscription is located in the vicinity of an inscription commissioned by the contemporary Coptite nomarch named Tjauti (see below).

Intef I is most likely attested on later king lists, but this remains uncertain as his name is either lost or damaged. In the Karnak king list a king Intef appears next to "Men...", most likely Mentuhotep I, as part of the latter's Horus name, "the ancestor", is still visible. The few remains of Intef I's Horus name fit to Sehertawy. The name and duration of the reign of Intef I are not preserved in the Turin Canon, although from an analysis of the available space, it is possible that Intef I was mentioned in what is now a lacuna affecting entry 5.13. The durations of the reigns of the other 11th Dynasty kings are preserved in the Turin Canon and add up to 127 years. Furthermore, the summary of reigns of this Dynasty is also preserved in the Turin Canon and is given as 143 years. On the strength of these much later fragments, the two lost reigns of Mentuhotep I and Intef I have been calculated to add up to 16 years, further implying that Intef's reign lasted for less than 16 years. Thus the duration of Intef's reign is often reported to be between 4 and 16 years. Intef I was succeeded by his brother Intef II who pursued the war with the northern neighbors of the Theban kingdom.

Reign

Sehertawy Intef I was the first member of his Dynasty to assume a pharaonic title with the Horus name of Sehertawy variously rendered as "Maker of peace in the two lands", "He who has brought calm to the two Lands" and "Pacifier of the two lands". Intef's parents may possibly have been Mentuhotep I and Neferu I.

By taking a Horus name with both crowns, Intef declared himself ruler of all Egypt. However, his authority was contested by the other nomarchs of Egypt, chief among them being the 10th Dynasty rulers at Herakleopolis Magna who also laid claim to the title of pharaoh and their powerful ally Ankhtifi, nomarch of Hierakonpolis, and a faithful follower of the Herakleopolitan Dynasty. On his accession to the Theban throne, Intef probably ruled only the Theban (fourth) nome, but it is conjectured that after defeating Ankhtifi or one of his successors, Intef acquired the three nomes to the south of Thebes, down to Elephantine, and to the north all territories south of the border with the Coptite nome. Alternatively, this may have been achieved by Intef's predecessor Mentuhotep I. Both hypotheses remain conjectural given the paucity of historical records on this period.

Intef I got rapidly embroiled in a war with his northern neighbors. A graffito discovered by the Theban Desert Road Survey in the Gebel Tjauti northwest of Thebes reports the presence there of "the assault troops of the son of Ra, Intef". It has been posited that this inscription refers to Intef I whose soldiers were fighting the Coptite nomarch Tjauti. In support of this hypothesis is a nearby worn out stele erected by Tjauti reporting the construction of a road to allow his people to cross the desert "which the ruler of another nome had sealed off [when he came in order to] fight with my nome...". Although not named explicitly, Darell Baker and other Egyptologists contend that this ruler must either be Intef I or his successor Intef II. In any case, the subsequent defeat of Tjauti ultimately put Koptos, Dendera and the three nomes of Hierakonpolis under Theban control, expanding the Theban kingdom 250 km northward with a border near Abydos.

Tomb

Intef's funerary complex was dug in a hill side at El-Tarif on the opposite bank of the Nile at Thebes and is known today as Saff el-Dawaba. The site of El-Tarif comprises three monumental royal tombs, known as saff tombs. Inscriptions found in one tomb indicate that it belonged to Wahankh Intef II, Intef I's successor. At the opposite, the Saff el-Dawaba is devoid of inscriptions but yielded the earliest type of pottery found at El-Tarif and, for this reason, is most often assigned to Intef I. The Saff el-Dawaba comprises a large 300 by 75 metres (984 ft × 246 ft) sunken courtyard backed by a colonnade leading to a mortuary chapel carved into the hill and flanked by two chambers. The burial chamber of Intef I was dug beneath the mortuary chapel.

Intef II 

Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes. In his time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. He was buried in a saff tomb at El-Tarif.

Family 

Intef's parents were Mentuhotep I and Neferu I. His predecessor Intef I may have been his brother. Intef was succeeded by his son Intef III.

Reign

After the death of the nomarch Ankhtifi, Intef was able to unite all the southern nomes down to the First Cataract. After this he clashed with his main rivals, the kings of Herakleopolis Magna for the possession of Abydos. The city changed hands several times, but Intef II was eventually victorious, extending his rule north to the thirteenth nome.

After these wars, more friendly relations were established and the rest of Intef's reign was peaceful. The discovery of a statue of Intef II, wrapped in a sed festival robe, in the sanctuary of Heqaib at Elephantine suggests that this king's authority extended to the region of the First Cataract and, perhaps, over part of Lower Nubia by his 30th year. This impression would appear to be confirmed by an expedition led by Djemi from Gebelein to the land of Wawat (i.e.: Nubia) during his reign. Consequently, when Intef II died, he left behind a strong government in Thebes which controlled the whole of Upper Egypt and maintained a border just south of Asyut.

The earliest attested dating of the god Amun at Karnak occurs during his reign. The surviving sections of the Turin Canon for the Middle Kingdom assign this king a reign of 49 years.

Titulary

Intef II apparently never held the full royal fivefold titulary of the Old Kingdom pharaohs. He did, however, claim the dual kingship nswt bity and the title s3-Re son of Ra, which emphasizes the divine nature of kingship. Finally, upon accession to the Theban throne, Intef II added the Horus name Wahankh, enduring of life, to his birth name.

Officials

We know the name and activities of some of the officials who served under Intef II :

Tjetjy was the chief treasurer and king’s chamberlain of Intef II and Intef III. His finely carved tomb stele, now at the British Museum, shows that Intef II claimed the dual throne of Egypt but also recognizes the limited extent of his rule: "The horus Wahankh, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, son of Re, Intef, born of Nefru, he who lives eternally like Re, [...] this land was under his rule southwards as far as Yebu and reaching as far north as Abydos". Tjetjy then describes his career in the typical self-laudatory manner of the Egyptian elite. Most importantly, the text demonstrates the undisputed power of the king in the Theban kingdom of the 11th Dynasty "I was a trustworthy favorite of my lord, an official great of heart and quiet of temper in the palace of his lord [...]. I am one who loved good and hated evil, one who was loved in the palace of his lord, one who performed every duty in obedience to the will of his lord. Indeed, as for every task which he commanded me to undertake [...], I performed it rightly and justly. Never did I disobey the orders he gave me; never did I substitute one thing for another [...]. Moreover, as for every responsibility of the royal palace which the majesty of my lord committed to me, and for which he caused me to perform some task, I did it for him in accordance with everything which his Ka desired."

Djary was a military officer who fought the Herakleopolitan forces in the Abydene nome during Intef II's armies' northward push. His stele recounts the struggle for the control over Middle Egypt: "Intef fought the house of Khety to the north of Thinis".

Hetepy was an official from Elkab who administered the three southernmost nomes of Intef II's realm. This means that there were no monarchs in Theban-controlled territories. Just as in the case of Tjetjy, the constant reference to the king in Hetepy's stele demonstrates the centralized organization of the government of the Theban kingdom and the power of the king, to whom everything was due: "I was one beloved of my Lord and praised by the lord of this land and his majesty truly made this servant happy. His majesty said: 'There is no one who [. . .] of (my) good command, but Hetepy!', and this servant did it exceedingly well, and his majesty praised this servant on account of it". Finally, Hetepy's stele mentions a famine that occurred during Intef II's reign.

Idudju-iker was foremost one of the chiefs of Lower Nubia. He was in charge of Lower Nubia and helped the king conquering Abydos.

Monuments

On his funerary stele Intef emphasizes his monument building activities. It is significant that the earliest surviving fragment of royal construction at Karnak is an octagonal column bearing Intef II's name. Intef II is also the first ruler to build chapels for Satet and Khnum on the island of Elephantine. In fact, Intef II started a tradition of royal building activities in the provincial temples of Upper Egypt which was to last throughout the Middle Kingdom.

Tomb

Intef's tomb in El-Tarif at Thebes is a saff tomb. Saff stands for "row" in Arabic and refers to the double row of columns and entry ways fronting a large 250 by 70 metres (820 ft × 230 ft) trapezoidal courtyard at the eastern end of which was a mortuary chapel. This chapel may have been intended to serve the same purpose as a valley temple.

Intef II's tomb was investigated by a royal commission during the reign of Ramses IX, toward the end of the 20th Dynasty, as many royal tombs were being plundered at the time. As reported on the Abbott Papyrus, The commission noted that: "The pyramid-tomb of king Si-Rêˁ In-ˁo (i.e. Intef II) which is north of the House of Amenḥotpe of the Forecourt and whose pyramid is crushed down upon it [. . .]. Examined this day; it was found intact." No remains of this pyramid have been found yet.

Following the tradition of his nomarch ancestors, Intef II erected a biographical stele in the entrance of his tomb which relates the events of his reign and credits him with 50 years of reign. A stela mentioning the king's dogs was also said to be set up before the tomb. Another stela mentioning a dog named Beha was discovered, but it was found near the offering chapel.

Intef III 

Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor Intef II and father of his successor Mentuhotep II, Intef III reigned for 8 years over Upper Egypt and extended his domain North against the 10th Dynasty state, perhaps as far north as the 17th nome. He undertook some building activity on Elephantine. Intef III is buried in a large saff tomb at El-Tarif known as Saff el-Barqa.

Family 

Intef III was the son of his predecessor Intef II. This is indicated by the stela of Tjeti, chief treasurer during the reigns of Intef II and Intef III. Tjeti's stele mentions the death of Intef II and goes on describing how Tjeti served Intef II's son who acceded to the throne upon the death of his father:

Then, when his son assumed his place, Horus, Nakht-neb-Tepnefer, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, Intef, fashioner of beauty, living like Re, forever, I followed him to all his good seats of pleasure.

Intef III possibly married his sister Iah, described as a king's mother (mwt-nswt), king's daughter (sȝt-nswt) and priestess of Hathor (ḥmt-nṯr-ḥwt-ḥr). This indicates that Intef III's successor, Mentuhotep II, was his son. This is further confirmed by the stele of Henenu (Cairo 36346), an official who served under Intef II, Intef III and his "son", which the stele identifies as Horus Sankhibtawy (s-ˁnḫ-[jb-tȝwy]), Mentuhotep II's first Horus name. Another piece of evidence for this parentage is a relief on the Gebel el-Silsileh in the Wadi Shatt er-Rigal, known as the Silsileh petroglyph, depicting Mentuhotep II surrounded by Iah and Intef III.

Additionally, Mentuhotep II's royal wife Neferu II bore the title of king's daughter, and an inscription in her tomb names her mother as Iah. This establishes that she was Intef III's daughter and the sister of Mentuhotep II.

Reign

Intef III's father and predecessor reigned for 49 years and Intef III might thus have acceded to the throne a middle-aged or even elderly man. Although Intef III's name is lost in a lacuna of the Turin canon, a king list compiled in the early Ramesside period, its reign length is still readable on column 5, row 15, and given as 8 years.

The relative chronological position of Intef III as the successor of Intef II and predecessor of Mentuhotep II is secured by his established parentage to these two kings as well as the Turin canon and two blocks from the temple of Montu at Tod. These blocks show the succession of kings from Intef I to Mentuhotep II and while Intef III's horus name is damaged, its position is certain. The absolute dating of Intef III's reign is less certain and several dates have been proposed: 2069–2061 BC, 2063–2055 BC and 2016–2009 BC.

Military activities

Intef III inherited a large and relatively peaceful domain in Upper Egypt. Over his 8 years of reign, Intef was militarily active. He successfully defended the territory that his father Intef II had won, as is attested by the tomb of an official of the time, Nakhty, located at Abydos and in which a doorjamb bearing Intef III's names was discovered. He also conquered territories north of Abydos, in particular Asyut and extended his domain perhaps as far as the seventeenth nome of Upper Egypt thereby "imposing his family’s control over most of Upper Egypt". Alternatively, this might have been achieved by his son Mentuhotep II, early in his reign.

Building activities

A doorjamb bearing Intef III's name was uncovered on Elephantine in the sanctuary of Hekayeb, a deified nomarch of the 6th Dynasty, which shows that he must have ordered work there. Another doorjamb was discovered in the temple of Satet, also on Elephantine, which attests to building activity on the site.

Tomb

The necropolis of the kings of the 11th Dynasty is located in El-Tarif, on the opposite bank of the Nile from Thebes. Several saff-tombs of imposing dimensions are found there but, until the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Dieter Arnold from 1970 until 1974, it was unclear to whom some of these tombs belonged.

Although no inscriptions could be found in the tombs (except that of Intef II) to confirm their ownership, their positions, together with the much later-attested chronological succession of the rulers of the 11th Dynasty, led to the attribution of the tomb known today as Saff el-Baqar to Intef III. The tomb resembles that of his predecessor Intef II and consists of a 75 m (246 ft) wide and 85–90 m (279–295 ft) long courtyard on a northwest - southeast axis facing a canal. The courtyard is surrounded, on all sides but the east, by many chambers dug into the rock. The courtyard leads to a large double-pillared facade totalling 48 columns behind which many more chambers are located.

In spite of the ruined state of the tomb, the 1970s excavations have shown that its walls must once have been lined with sandstone and adorned with decorations. Nowadays, the tomb lies beneath the constructions of a village.

Mentuhotep I 

Mentuhotep I (also Mentuhotep-aa, i.e. "the Great") may have been a Theban nomarch and independent ruler of Upper Egypt during the early First Intermediate Period. Alternatively, Mentuhotep I may be a fictional figure created during the later Eleventh Dynasty, which rose to prominence under Intef II and Mentuhotep II, playing the role of a founding father.

Identity 

Mentuhotep was possibly a local Egyptian nomarch at Thebes during the early first intermediate period, ca. 2135 BC. The Karnak king list found in the Festival Hall of Thutmose III preserves, in position No. 12, the partial name "Men-" in a royal cartouche, distinct from those of Mentuhotep II (No. 29) or Mentuhotep III (No. 30). The available fragments of the Karnak list do not seem to represent past pharaohs in any chronological order, and thus one cannot ascertain if or when this "Men-" pharaoh lived. Many scholars have argued from the list that a Mentuhotep I, who might have been merely a Theban nomarch, was posthumously given a royal titulary by his successors; thus this conjectured personage is referred to conventionally as "Mentuhotep I".

The fact that no contemporary monument can safely be attributed to a king "Mentuhotep I" has led some Egyptologists to propose that he is a fictional ancestor and founder of the Eleventh dynasty, invented for that purpose during the later part of the dynasty.

On the base of a statue from the sanctuary of Heqaib on Elephantine, a Mentuhotep is referred to as "Father of the gods". This title probably refers to Mentuhotep's immediate successors, Intef I and Intef II who reigned as kings over Upper Egypt. From this title, many Egyptologists argued that this Mentuhotep was probably the father of Intef I and II, and also that he was never a pharaoh, as this title was usually reserved for the non-royal ancestors of pharaohs.

The throne name of Mentuhotep is unknown; since he might not have been a king, or no subsequent 11th Dynasty king bore any throne name until Mentuhotep II, it is probable that he never had one. His Horus name Tepi-a, "The ancestor" was certainly given to him posthumously.

Family

Mentuhotep's wife might have been Neferu I and the statue from Heqaib may be interpreted to show that he was the father of Intef I and II. The Karnak king list has apparently one non-royal personage (without cartouche), named Intef, in position no. 13. This could possibly refer to Intef the elder, son of Iku, a Theban nomarch loyal to the Herakleopolitan kings in the early first intermediate period. However, the kings on the remaining fragments are not listed in chronological order, so this is not at all certain.

Reign

As Theban nomarch, Mentuhotep's dominion perhaps extended south to the first cataract. Mentuhotep might hypothetically have formed an alliance with the nomarch of Coptos, which then brought his successor Intef I to war with the Herakleopolitan kings of the 10th Dynasty ruling over Lower Egypt and their powerful nomarch allies in Middle Egypt, in particular Ankhtifi.

Mentuhotep II 

Mentuhotep II (Ancient Egyptian: Mn-ṯw-ḥtp, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his prenomen Nebhepetre (Ancient Egyptian: Nb-ḥpt-Rˁ, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty. He is credited with reuniting Egypt, thus ending the turbulent First Intermediate Period and becoming the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. He reigned for 51 years, according to the Turin King List. Mentuhotep II succeeded his father Intef III on the throne and was in turn succeeded by his son Mentuhotep III.

Mentuhotep II ascended Egypt’s throne in the Upper Egyptian city of Thebes during the First Intermediate Period. Egypt was not unified during this time, and the Tenth Dynasty, rival to Mentuhotep’s Eleventh, ruled Lower Egypt from Herakleopolis. After the Herakleopoitan kings desecrated the sacred ancient royal necropolis of Abydos in Upper Egypt in the fourteenth year of Mentuhotep’s reign, the pharaoh dispatched his armies north to conquer Lower Egypt. Continuing his father Intef III’s conquests, Mentuhotep succeeded in unifying his country, probably shortly before his 39th year on the throne. Following and in recognition of the unification, in regnal year 39, he changed his titulary to Shematawy (Ancient Egyptian: Šmˁ-tȝ.w(j), meaning "He who unifies the two lands").

Following the unification, Mentuhotep II reformed Egypt's government. To reverse the decentralization of power, which contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom and marked the First Intermediate Period, he centralized the state in Thebes to strip nomarchs of some of their power over the regions. Mentuhotep II also created new governmental posts whose occupants were Theban men loyal to him, giving the pharaoh more control over his country. Officials from the capital travelled the country regularly to control regional leaders.

Mentuhotep II was buried at the Theban necropolis of Deir el-Bahari. His mortuary temple was one of Mentuhotep II’s most ambitious building-projects, and included several architectural and religious innovations. For example, it included terraces and covered walkways around the central structure, and it was the first mortuary temple that identified the pharaoh with the god Osiris. His temple inspired several later temples, such as those of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Family

Mentuhotep II was the son of Intef III and Intef III's wife Iah who may also have been his sister. This lineage is demonstrated by the stele of Henenu (Cairo 36346), an official who served under Intef II, Intef III and his son, which the stele identifies as Horus s-ankh-[ib-t3wy], Mentuhotep II's first Horus name. As for Iah, she bore the title of mwt-nswt, "King's mother". The parentage of Mentuhotep II is also indirectly confirmed by a relief at Shatt er-Rigal. Some scholars have suggested that Mentuhotep II was of Nubian origin. Wildung and Lobban have argued that Egyptian iconography have represented Mentuhotep II with pronounced, Nubian facial features. Crawford noted that the rulers of the 11th dynasty were based in the Theban or southern region of Upper Egypt and had close relations with Nubia. Mentuhotep II had many wives who were buried with him in or close to his mortuary temple:

Tem (tm) who might have been Mentuhotep II's chief wife as she bore the titles of ḥmt-nswt "King's wife", ḥmt-nswt mryt.f "King's wife, his beloved" and wrt-ḥts-nbwj "Great one of the hetes-sceptre of the two Lords". She gave Mentuhotep II two children, one of whom was certainly Mentuhotep III since Tem was also called mwt-nswt, ""King's mother" and mwt-nswt-bjtj, "Dual king's mother". Apparently she died after her husband and was buried by her son in Mentuhotep's temple. Her tomb was discovered in 1859 by Lord Dufferin and fully excavated in 1968 by D. Arnold.

Neferu II ("The beautiful") was called "King's wife" and ḥmt-nswt-mryt.f, "King's wife, his beloved". She might have been Mentuhotep II's sister since she also bore the titles of sȝt-nswt-šmswt-nt-ẖt.f, "Eldest king daughter of his body", jrjt-pˁt, "hereditary princess" and ḥmwt-nbwt, "mistress of all women". She was buried in the tomb TT319 of Deir el-Bahri.

Kawit (kȝwj.t) was one of Mentuhotep II's secondary wives. She bore the titles of ḥmt-nswt mryt.f "King's wife, his beloved" and ẖkrt-nswt, "King's embellishment". She was a "Priestess of the goddess Hathor". It has been suggested that she was Nubian. She was buried under the terrace of Mentuhotep II's mortuary temple where E. Naville uncovered her sarcophagus in 1907.

Sadeh, Ashayet, Henhenet and Kemsit were all Mentuhotep II's secondary wives. They bore the title of ḥmt-nswt mryt.f "King's wife, his beloved" and ẖkrt-nswt-wˁtit "Unique embellishment of the King". They were priestesses of Hathor and each of them was buried in a single pit dug under the terrace of Mentuhotep II's temple. Note that an alternative theory holds that Henhenet was one of Intef III's secondary wives, possibly the mother of Neferu II. Henhenet might have died in childbirth.

Mwyt, a five year-old girl buried with Mentuhotep II's secondary wives. It is most likely one of his daughters.

Reign

Mentuhotep II is considered to be the first ruler of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The Turin Canon credits him with a reign of 51 years. Many Egyptologists have long considered two rock reliefs, showing Mentuhotep II towering over smaller figures labeled king "Intef", to be conclusive evidence that his predecessor Intef III was his own father; this is, however, not entirely certain, as these reliefs may have had other propagandistic purposes, and there are other difficulties surrounding Mentuhotep's true origin, his three name-changes, and his frequent attempts to claim descent from various gods.

Early reign

When he ascended the Theban throne, Mentuhotep II inherited the vast land conquered by his predecessors from the first cataract in the south to Abydos and Tjebu in the north. Mentuhotep II's first fourteen years of reign seem to have been peaceful in the Theban region as there are no surviving traces of conflict firmly datable to that period. In fact, the general scarcity of testimonies from the early part of Mentuhotep's reign might indicate that he was young when he ascended the throne, a hypothesis consistent with his 51 years long reign.

Reunification of Egypt

In the 14th year of his reign, an uprising occurred in the north. This uprising is most probably connected with the ongoing conflict between Mentuhotep II based in Thebes and the rival 10th Dynasty based at Herakleopolis who threatened to invade Upper Egypt. The 14th year of Mentuhotep's reign is indeed named Year of the crime of Thinis. This certainly refers to the conquest of the Thinite region by the Herakleopolitan kings who apparently desecrated the sacred ancient royal necropolis of Abydos in the process. Mentuhotep II subsequently dispatched his armies to the north. The famous tomb of the warriors at Deir el-Bahari discovered in the 1920s, contained the linen-wrapped, unmummified bodies of 60 soldiers all killed in battle, their shroud bearing Mentuhotep II's cartouche. Due to its proximity to the Theban royal tombs, the tomb of the warriors is believed to be that of heroes who died during the conflict between Mentuhotep II and his foes to the north. Merikare, the ruler of Lower-Egypt at the time may have died during the conflict, which further weakened his kingdom and gave Mentuhotep the opportunity to reunite Egypt. The exact date when reunification was achieved is not known, but it is assumed to have happened shortly before year 39 of his reign. Indeed, evidence shows that the process took time, maybe due to the general insecurity of the country at the time: commoners were buried with weapons, the funerary stelae of officials show them holding weapons instead of the usual regalia and when Mentuhotep II's successor sent an expedition to Punt some 20 years after the reunification, they still had to clear the Wadi Hammamat of rebels.

Following the reunification, Mentuhotep II was considered by his subjects to be divine, or half divine. This was still the case during the late 12th Dynasty some 200 years later: Senusret III and Amenemhat III erected stelae commemorating opening of the mouth ceremonies practiced on Mentuhotep II's statues.

Military activities outside Egypt

Mentuhotep II launched military campaigns under the command of his vizier Khety south into Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period, in his 29th and 31st years of reign. This is the first attested appearance of the term Kush for Nubia in Egyptian records. In particular, Mentuhotep posted a garrison on the island fortress of Elephantine so troops could rapidly be deployed southwards. There is also evidence of military actions against Canaan. At Gabal El Uweinat close to the borders of modern Libya, Sudan and Tschad was found an inscription naming the king and attesting at least trade contacts to this region.

Officials

The king reorganized the country and placed a vizier at the head of the administration. The viziers of his reign were Bebi and Dagi. His treasurer was Kheti who was involved in organising the sed festival for the king. Other important officials were the treasurer Meketre and the overseer of sealers Meru. His general was Intef.

Reorganization of the government

Throughout the First Intermediate Period and until Mentuhotep II's reign, the nomarchs held important powers over Egypt. Their office had become hereditary during the 6th Dynasty and the collapse of central power assured them complete freedom over their lands. After the unification of Egypt however, Mentuhotep II initiated a strong policy of centralization, reinforcing his royal authority by creating the posts of Governor of Upper Egypt and Governor of Lower Egypt who had power over the local nomarchs.

Mentuhotep also relied on a mobile force of royal court officials who further controlled the deeds of the nomarchs. Finally, the nomarchs who supported the 10th Dynasty, such as the governor of Asyut, certainly lost their power to the profit of the king. In the meantime, Mentuhotep II started an extensive program of self-deification emphasizing the divine nature of the ruler.

Titulary

Mentuhotep II's self-deification program is evident from temples he built where he is represented wearing the headgear of Min and Amun. But perhaps the best evidence for this policy is his three titularies: his second Horus and Nebty names were The divine one of the white crown while he is also referred to as the son of Hathor at the end of his reign.

Mentuhotep II changed his titulary twice during his reign: the first time in his 14th regnal year, marking the initial successes of his campaign against Herakleopolis Magna to the north. The second time on or shortly before his 39th year of reign, marking the final success of that campaign, and his reunification of all of Egypt. More precisely, this second change may have taken place on the occasion of the sed festival celebrated during his 39th year on the throne.

In general, the titularies of Mentuhotep II show a desire to return to the traditions of the Old Kingdom. In particular he adopted the complete five-fold titulary after his reunification of Egypt, seemingly for the first time since the 6th Dynasty, though known records are sparse for much of the First Intermediate Period that preceded him. Another proof that Mentuhotep II paid great attention to the traditions of the Old Kingdom is his second Nomen, sometimes found as sȝ Ḥw.t-Ḥr nb(.t) jwn.t Mnṯw-ḥtp

"The son of Hathor, the lady of Dendera, Mentuhotep"

This reference to Hathor rather than Re is similar to the titulary of Pepi I. Finally, in later king lists, Mentuhotep was referred to with a variant of his third titulary.

Monuments

Mentuhotep II commanded the construction of many temples though few survive to this day. Well preserved is a funerary chapel found in 2014 at Abydos. Most of the other temple remains are also located in Upper Egypt, more precisely in Abydos, Aswan, Tod, Armant, Gebelein, Elkab, Karnak and Denderah. In doing so, Mentuhotep followed a tradition started by his grandfather Intef II: royal building activities in the provincial temples of Upper Egypt began under Intef II and lasted throughout the Middle Kingdom.

Mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II

Mentuhotep II's most ambitious and innovative building project remains his large mortuary temple. The many architectural innovations of the temple mark a break with the Old Kingdom tradition of pyramid complexes and foreshadow the Temples of Millions of Years of the New Kingdom. As such, Mentuhotep II's temple was certainly a major source of inspiration for the nearby, but 550-year later temples of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III.

However, the most profound innovations of Mentuhotep II's temple are not architectural but religious. First, it is the earliest mortuary temple where the king is not just the recipient of offerings but rather enacts ceremonies for the deities (in this case Amun-Ra). Second, the temple identifies the king with Osiris. Indeed, the decoration and royal statuary of the temple emphasizes the Osirian aspects of the dead ruler, an ideology apparent in the funerary statuary of many later pharaohs.

Finally, most of the temple decoration is the work of local Theban artists. This is evidenced by the dominant artistic style of the temple which represents people with large lips and eyes and thin bodies. At the opposite, the refined chapels of Mentuhotep II's wives are certainly due to Memphite craftsmen who were heavily influenced by the standards and conventions of the Old Kingdom. This phenomenon of fragmentation of the artistic styles is observed throughout the First Intermediate Period and is a direct consequence of the political fragmentation of the country.

Situation

The temple is located in the cliff at Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of Thebes. The choice of this location is certainly related to the Theban origin of the 11th Dynasty: Mentuhotep's predecessors on the Theban throne are all buried in close-by saff tombs. Furthermore, Mentuhotep may have chosen Deir el-Bahri because it is aligned with the temple of Karnak, on the other side of Nile. In particular, the statue of Amun was brought annually to Deir el-Bahri during the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, something which the king may have perceived as beneficial to this funerary cult. Consequently, and until the construction of the Djeser-Djeseru some five centuries later, Mentuhotep II's temple was the final destination of the barque of Amun during the festival.

Discovery and excavations

In the early 19th century, the ruins of the temple of Mentuhotep II were completely covered with debris. They consequently went unnoticed until the second half of the century, in spite of extensive excavations performed on the nearby Djeser-Djeseru of Hatshepsut. Thus it was only in 1859, that Lord Dufferin and his assistants, Dr. Lorange and Cyril C. Graham, started to excavate the southwest corner of the hypostyle hall of Mentuhotep's temple. Clearing the immense mass of debris, they soon discovered the plundered grave of Queen Tem, one of Mentuhotep's wives. Realising the potential of the site, they then gradually worked their way to the sanctuary, where they found the granite altar of Mentuhotep with a representation of Amun-Re and various other finds such as the grave of Neferu TT319. Finally, in 1898, Howard Carter discovered the Bab el-Hosan cache in the front court, where he uncovered the famous black seated statue of the king.

The next important excavation works took place from 1903 to 1907 under the direction of Henri Édouard Naville, who worked there on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund. He was the first to undertake a systematic exploration of the temple. About ten years later, between 1920 and 1931, Herbert E. Winlock further excavated the temple for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. However, his results were published only in the form of preliminary reports in summary form. Finally, from 1967 to 1971, Dieter Arnold conducted research on the site on behalf of the German Archaeological Institute. He published his results in three volumes.

Foundational offerings

Under the four corners of the temple terrace, H. Winlock discovered four pits during his 1921–1922 excavations. These pits were dug into the ground before the construction of the temple for the purpose of foundation rituals. Indeed, when H. Winlock discovered them, they still contained many offerings: a cattle skull, pitchers and bowls filled with fruits, barley and bread and a mud brick bearing Mentuhotep II's name.

Further excavations of the pits undertaken in 1970 by Dieter Arnold revealed more food offerings such as bread and beef ribs, but also some bronze objects, a faience scepter and sheets of fabric. The sheets were marked in red ink at the corner, seven with the name of Mentuhotep II and three with that of Intef II.

Architecture

Causeway and courtyard

Similarly to the mortuary complexes of the Old Kingdom, Mentuhotep II's mortuary complex comprised two temples: the high temple of Deir el-Bahri and a valley temple located closer to the Nile on cultivated lands. The valley temple was linked to the high temple by a 1.2 km long and 46 m wide uncovered causeway. The causeway led to a large courtyard in front of the Deir el-Bahri temple.

The courtyard was adorned by a long rectangular flower bed, with fifty-five sycamore trees planted in small pits and six tamarisk plus two sycamore trees planted in deep pits filled with soil. This is one of the very few archaeologically documented temple-gardens of ancient Egypt that are known enough about to reconstruct its appearance. The maintenance of such a garden more than 1 km from the Nile into the arid desert must have required the constant work of many gardeners and an elaborate irrigation system.

Left and right of the processional walkway were at least 22 seated statues of Mentuhotep II wearing, on the south side, the White Crown of Upper Egypt and on the north side the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. These were probably added to the temple for the celebration of Mentuhotep II's Sed festival during his 39th year on the throne. Some headless sandstone statues are still on site today. Another was discovered in 1921 during Herbert Winlock's excavations and is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Front part of the temple

West of the causeway is the main temple, which consisted of two parts. The front part of the temple is dedicated to Monthu-Ra, a merger of the sun god Ra with the Theban god of war Monthu, particularly worshipped during the 11th Dynasty. A ramp aligned with the central axis of the temple led to the upper terrace. The ramp that is visible today was constructed in 1905 by Édouard Naville over the remains of the original ramp, which only is visible in two places as the lowest two layers of the lateral limestone cladding. The eastern front part of the temple, on both sides of the rising ramp, consists of two porticos with a double row of rectangular pillars, which make the temple look like a saff tomb, the traditional burial of Mentuhotep II's 11th-Dynasty predecessors.

On the temple terrace, a 60-metre-wide, 43-metre-deep and 5-metre-high podium supports the upper hall surrounding an ambulatory and the core building. The ambulatory, separated from the upper hall by a 5-cubit-thick wall, comprised a total of 140 octagonal columns disposed in three rows. For most of these columns, only the base is still visible today.

The courtyard of the ambulatory was completely filled by the core building, a massive 22 m large and 11 m high construction. This edifice, located at the center of the temple complex, was excavated in 1904 and 1905 by Edouard Naville. He reconstructed it as a square structure topped by a small pyramid, a representation of the primeval mount which possibly resembled the superstructures of the royal tombs at Abydos. This reconstruction, supported by H. E. Winlock, was contested by D. Arnold, who argued that, for structural reasons, the temple could not have supported the weight of a small pyramid. Instead, he proposed that the edifice was flat-roofed.

Rear part of the temple

Behind the core edifice was the center of the cult for the deified king. The rear part of the temple was cut directly into the cliff and consisted of an open courtyard, a pillared hall with 82 octagonal columns and a chapel for a statue of the king. This part of the temple was dedicated to Amun-Ra.

The open courtyard is flanked on the north and south sides by a row of five columns and on the east side by a double row totalling sixteen columns. At the center of the open courtyard lies a deep dromos leading to the royal tomb. Archaeological finds in this part of the temple include a limestone altar, a granite stele and six granite statues of Senusret III. To the west, the courtyard leads to the hypostyle hall with its ten rows of eight columns each, plus two additional columns on both sides of the entrance. The hypostyle hall is separated from the courtyard by a wall and, being also higher, is accessed via a small ramp.

On the west end of the hypostyle hall lies the holiest place of the temple, a sanctuary dedicated to Mentuhotep and Amun-Ra leading to a small speos which housed a larger-than-life statue of the king. The sanctuary itself housed a statue of Amun-Re and was surrounded on three sides by walls and on one side by the cliff. The inner and outer faces of these walls were all decorated with painted inscriptions and representations of the kings and gods in high relief. Surviving relief fragments show the deified king surrounded by the chief deities of Upper and Lower Egypt, Nekhbet, Seth, Horus and Wadjet, and on a par with them. The gods present the king with bundles of palm branches, the symbol of Millions of Years. This relief is a manifestation of the profound religious changes in the ideology of kingship since the Old Kingdom:

In the Old Kingdom, the king had been the lord of the pyramid complex, [...] now he is reduced to a human ruler dependent on the gods' goodwill. His immortality is no longer innate; it has to be bestowed on him by the gods..

Royal tomb

As mentioned above, the open courtyard of the rear part of the temple presents a dromos in its center. This dromos, a 150 m long straight corridor, leads down to a large underground chamber 45 m below the court which is undoubtedly the tomb of the king. This chamber is entirely lined with red granite and has a pointed roof. It contained an alabaster chapel in the form of an Upper-Egyptian Per-wer sanctuary. This chapel was once closed by a double door now missing. It contained a wooden coffin and ointment vessels which left traces in the ground. Most of the grave goods that must have been deposited there are long gone as a result of the tomb plundering. The few remaining items were a scepter, several arrows, and a collection of models including ships, granaries and bakeries.

Mentuhotep III 

Sankhkare Mentuhotep III (also Montuhotep III) of the Eleventh Dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. He was assigned a reign of 12 years in the Turin Canon.

Reign

Mentuhotep III succeeded his father Mentuhotep II to the throne. It is believed that, following his father's long 51 years of reign, Mentuhotep III was relatively old when he acceded to the throne and reigned for 12 years. Despite its short duration, Mentuhotep's reign is known for his expedition to Punt and architectural innovations.

Name

Mentuhotep III's titulary is very similar to the third and final one of his father. Mentuhotep III is known to have had at least two praenomen: the well known Sankhkare and also snfr-k3-ra

"He who embellishes the Soul of Re"

Expedition to Punt

Mentuhotep III sent an expedition to the Land of Punt during the 8th year of his reign, something that had not been done since the Old Kingdom. An inscription in the Wadi Hammamat describes the expedition as being 3000 men strong and under the command of the steward Henenu. As they left Coptos in direction of the Red Sea, they dug 12 wells for future expeditions and cleared the region of rebels. They returned from Punt with incense, gum and perfumes, and quarried the Wadi Hammamat for stones.

Monuments

Sankhkare Mentuhotep was responsible for several building projects in the 12 years of his reign. He extended the temple of Monthu in Medamud, a monumental decorated doorway bearing his likeness and royal titles now resides in the Louvre.

Sankhkare Mentuhotep also had a mudbrick temple erected at Thoth Hill in Western Thebes. The temple was built on the site of an older archaic temple. It was dedicated to the god Montu-Ra. This temple may have been destroyed by an earthquake towards the end of the 11th Dynasty.

It was long presumed that his own tomb and mortuary temple was begun in Deir el-Bahari, but never completed. This temple was located in a separate valley a short distance from his father's mortuary temple. A causeway would have led up to a temple platform. A burial chamber lined with limestone slabs was completed and sealed, but apparently it never contained a burial. The association of the monument with Sankhkare Mentuhotep was circumstantial, based on co-location with the tomb (TT280) of the High Steward Meketre, one of the chief officials of the reign. However Dorothea Arnold recently provided compelling evidence that the monument is the likely unfinished Theban tomb of Amenemhat I, the funerary monument of Sankhkare Mentuhotep remains unknown.

Family

Mentuhotep III was the son and successor of Mentuhotep II. One of the wives of Mentuhotep II, Tem, was given the title Mother of the Dual King and based on that title she is almost certainly the mother of Mentuhotep III. Mentuhotep III's family is mostly a mystery. It is currently believed that he fathered his successor Mentuhotep IV with one of his harem wives, Imi. This is however still debated Mentuhotep IV's mother is known to have been Queen Imi. If he was the son of Mentuhotep III, Imi must have been the wife of Mentuhotep III.

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.

Rock inscriptions

He 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. One of these inscriptions confirms the name of his mother to be Imi. It seems that he was a son of his predecessor.

Also, he is attested by the inscriptions at Wadi el-Hudi. Another relevant inscription is found in Ain Sukhna. These locations were the usual staging harbours for the expeditions to the Sinai.

Despite Mentuhotep's obscurity (he is absent from the official Abydos king list), the inscriptions show the organization and makeup of a large expedition during his reign. The leader of an expedition to Wadi Hammamat, during the second year of Mentuhotep IV’s reign, was his vizier, Amenemhat, who is assumed to be the future king Amenemhat I, the first king of the 12th Dynasty, and Mentuhotep's immediate successor.

A fragment of a slate bowl found at Lisht North was regarded for a long time to be inscribed on the outside with the official titulary of Mentuhotep IV, and on the inside with that of King Amenemhat I, his successor. Since the two inscriptions are incised in a different style of writing, according to Dorothea Arnold, this indicates that Amenemhat had his name added to an older vessel that already bore the name of Mentuhotep IV. However, Peter Janosi showed that Mentuhotep IV is not mentioned on the bowl, the titulary preserved there fits better to Mentuhotep II.

End of reign

It is assumed by some Egyptologists that Amenemhat 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 Amenemhat to be his designated successor. Neither his mummy nor his burial place have been found.

Sankhibtawy Seankhibra 

Seankhibtawy Seankhibra is the name of an Ancient Egyptian king of the 11th or more likely the 12th or 13th Dynasty of Egypt, during the Middle Kingdom period. As of 2018, Seankhibtawy Seankhibra is only known from a single architrave found at Ayn Shams, the ancient city of Heliopolis, where it once adorned a private tomb. It is unclear whether Seankhibtawy Seankhibra is an otherwise unknown king or is rather a name variant for another, better known king of the 12th or 13th Dynasty.

Identification 

His identification causes problems in Egyptology, as there is no other king known with the same names, dating to the Middle Kingdom. The monument with the king's name has been dated beyond doubt to the Middle Kingdom on stylistically grounds. The name of the private person who owned the monument is damaged, but scant remains indicate that it might have been a person called Heny.

The titulary of ancient Egyptian kings consisted of five names, the prenomen and the nomen being the ones most commonly used on monuments. Yet another important name was the Horus name. Seankhibtawy Seankhibra appears on the monument with the Horus name Seankhibtawy and his prenomen Seankhibra. No other known king bears this combination of names. As of 2018, there is only one known king from the same historical period with the prenomen Seankhibra: pharaoh Amenemhat VI of the early 13th Dynasty. A second king with the same prenomen is attested in the Turin Canon as king of the slightly later 14th Dynasty, but he is not known from any contemporary attestations.

The architrave is of unknown provenance, it probably come from an undocumented rescue excavation. The first person who commented on the king was Detlef Franke who assigned the monument to Amenemhat VI. Kim Ryholt in his study of the Second Intermediate Period followed Franke's dating. The architrave was only fully published in 2005 by Mey Zaki who, again, follows this dating and identification. In contrast, the Egyptologist William Kelly Simpson has dated the monument to the late 11th Dynasty, a time which saw the reign of Mentuhotep IV, a poorly known pharaoh with few attestations. Nevertheless, other Egyptologists such as Alexander Ilin-Tomich, deem it more likely the monument dates to the 12th Dynasty on stylistic grounds, possibly to the early part of the Dynasty during the reigns Amenemhat I, Senusret I or Amenemhat II.

Therefore, Seankhibtawy Seankhibra is either an otherwise not yet attested short reigning king; or it is an early name of one of the mentioned kings before they changed name to the form better known from other monuments.

And that's your stories for today. Tomorrow we will learn about Amenemhat I, II, III , IV , Senusret I , II , III and Sobekneferu .

Until tomorrow...

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