Scope: In the previous lecture, we saw Dynasty XI as one of unification, slowly bringing together Egypt’s fragmented areas. In Dynasty XII, we see an establishment mentality—the seven kings of this dynasty have nothing to prove. They build pyramids, foster great literature, control the complete country, and return Egypt to its greatness. We will also see how this dynasty uses literature for political purposes.
Outline
I. Art history tells us something about the difference between Dynasty XI and Dynasty XII.
A. Montuhotep’s statues show brute power—he reunited Egypt by force.
B. Although he had the resources, his statues are crude and poorly worked. Artistic skills were lost during the First Intermediate Period.
C. The statues of Dynasty XII, by contrast, are skilled and refined, the product of royal workshops.
II. Amenemhet I (1991-1962 BC) probably was the vizier of the last king of Dynasty XI; he was a commoner who did great things.
A. A papyrus now in Leningrad establishes his legitimacy by telling of a magician of Sneferu’s reign who predicted bad times but also that “the son of someone” (a commoner) would wear the red and white crowns and fix Egypt’s woes. His name would be “Ameny,” short for Amenemhet.
B. The king’s names show that the god Amun is on the rise. Amenemhet’s Horus name (weham-mswe), “repeater of births,” suggests a renaissance.
C. The new capital in the Fayoum, 30 miles southwest of Cairo, is situated to control all of Egypt. It is symbolically named Itj-towi, “Binder of Two Lands,” stressing the ideal of unification.
D. Tombs of the nomarchs (high officials) at Beni Hassan in Middle Egypt show their fantastic wealth. The tombs also record events.
1. The tomb scenes are brightly painted and represent everyday life.
2. The tomb of Khnumhotep I tells of a new survey to redistribute lands, indicating political stability.
E. The pyramid of Amenemhet I at Lisht is mud brick, 180 feet high.
1. It’s constructed of reused relief blocks from the pyramid complexes of the Old Kingdom kings.
2. The entrance is on the north, as is traditional. It points to the fixed North Star.
F. The first coregency is established, and the king rules with his son Sesostris for ten years.
G. The “Tale of Sinhue” says Amenemhet I was murdered while his son was out of the country. Sinhue fled for fear of anarchy, but there is a happy ending.
H. The “Instructions of Amenemhet to His Son” tend to confirm that murder occurred.
1. The document may have been written by Sesostris.
2. It is basically cynical in tone.
3. It even describes Amenemhet’s death in a palace coup, but never calls it murder.
III. Sesostris I (1971-1926 BC) was another great king.
A. He built forts in Nubia (the Biblical Kush) to control the gold supply.
1. These mud-brick forts were very impressive.
2. There was one on each side of the Nile to control trade on the river.
B. Sesotris I had a pyramid at Lisht as his father did, but it was a unique construction. Walls were built from the center to the corners and midpoints of four sides, then filled with sand and rubble.
C. He erected a pair of 66-foot obelisks at Heliopolis—one is still there— and a temple at Karnak.
D. He controlled all of Egypt.
E. “Admonitions of Amenemhet I” gives advice from the dead king.
F. Sesotris established a coregency for the last three years of his reign.
IV. Amenemhet II (1929-1895 BC) had another long and successful reign.
A. He sent an expedition to Punt (modern Eritrea, perhaps Somalia).
B. Foreign trade and expansionism were his hallmarks. Royal gifts are found in Byblos in Lebanon. The treasure of the Temple of Tod (south of Luxor) contained Levantine silver cups, Babylonian cylinder seals, and Mesopotamian lapis.
C. His pyramid at Dahshur is mostly ruined, partly because of a high water table.
D. He had a coregency for the last three years of his reign, continuing the precedent set by Sesostris I.
V. Sesostris II (1897-1878 BC) continued the family tradition of alternating names.
A. He expanded agriculture in the Fayoum area.
B. His pyramid at Lahun had an entrance hidden beneath the paving stones, with tombs of females around it.
1. Excavators in the early twentieth century found the hoard of Sit-Hathor-Yunet in a wall niche; this trove consisted of tine jewelry of the Middle Kingdom.
2. A water jar for the princess was also discovered.
VI. Sesostris III (1878-1841 BC) ended the alternation of names.
A. His statues depart from the tradition of god-like, serene portraits to depictions of the king as tired and brooding.
B. A military leader (6 feet, 6 inches tall), he crushed the Nubians and strengthened forts. He dug a canal around the Aswan cataract.
C. He built temples everywhere—now gone—and a pyramid at Dahshur.
VII. Amenemhet III (1842-1797 BC) had another long reign, and his portraits resemble his father’s. He is the last great king of the Middle Kingdom.
A. He sent numerous expeditions to the Sinai turquoise mines during his reign.
B. He had two pyramids, as in the Old Kingdom, showing his wealth—one at Dahshur, one at Hawara.
1. At Hawara, the entrance is on the south, with dead-end passages to fool robbers.
2. The burial chamber is carved from a single block of quartzite. Two sarcophagi, one for him and one for his daughter, Neferu-Ptah, were found.
VIII. Amenemhet IV (1798-1786 BC) had no known pyramid, and little is known of him. A temple at Medinet Maadi in the Fayoum is his only known monument.
IX. Queen Sobeknefru (1785-1782 BC) ruled briefly at the end of the dynasty, but little is known of her, and no pyramid has been found.
Essential Reading:
H. E. Winlock, The Rise and Fall of the Middle Kingdom in Thebes.
Supplementary Reading:
Aidan Dodson, Monarchs of the Nile, Chapter VII.
Questions to Consider:
I. How does this dynasty differ from the previous one?
2. What are the signs that prosperity had returned to Egypt?