Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
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The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years),Template:Cn at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its territory from the Nile Delta and valley South beyond the second cataract and East into Canaan.
The Twelfth Dynasty was marked by relative stability and development. It has a notably well recorded history for the period. Its first pharaoh was Amenemhat I and its final was Sobekneferu.
History
The chronology of the Twelfth Dynasty is the most stable of any period before the New Kingdom. The Turin Royal Canon gives 213 years (1991–1778 BC). Manetho stated that it was based in Thebes, but from contemporary records it is clear that the first king of this dynasty, Amenemhat I, moved its capital to a new city named "Amenemhat-itj-tawy" ("Amenemhat the Seizer of the Two Lands"), more simply called, Itjtawy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The location of Itjtawy has not been discovered yet, but it is thought to be near the Fayyum, probably near the royal graveyards at el-Lisht.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
The order of its rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty is well known from several sources: two lists recorded at temples in Abydos and one at Saqqara, as well as lists derived from Manetho's work. A recorded date during the reign of Senusret III can be correlated to the Sothic cycle,<ref>Template:Cite contribution</ref> consequently, many events during this dynasty frequently can be assigned to a specific year. However, scholars now have expressed skepticism in the usefulness of the referred date, due to the fact that location affects observation of the Sothic cycle.<ref name="Van de Mieroop-2011">Template:Cite book</ref>
Egypt underwent various developments under the Twelfth Dynasty, including the reorganization of the kingdom's administration and agricultural developments in the Fayyum. The Twelfth Dynasty was also responsible for significant expansion of Egyptian borders, with campaigns pushing into Nubia and the Levant.Template:Cn
The Twelfth Dynasty is often considered the apex of Egypt's Middle Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom spans the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties, but some scholars only consider the 11th and 12th dynasties to be part of the Middle Kingdom.Template:Cn
Rulers
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Known rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty are as follows:<ref>Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004</ref>
Amenemhat I
This dynasty was founded by Amenemhat I, who may have been vizier to the last king of Dynasty XI, Mentuhotep IV.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> His armies campaigned south as far as the Second Cataract of the Nile and into southern Canaan. As a part of his militaristic expansion of Egypt, Amenemhat I ordered the construction of multiple military forts in Nubia.<ref name="Hornung-1999">Template:Cite book</ref> He also reestablished diplomatic relations with the Canaanite state of Byblos and Hellenic rulers in the Aegean Sea. He was the father of Senusret I.Template:Sf
Senusret I
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For the first ten years of his reign, Senusret I possibly ruled as a coregent alongside his father, Amenemhat I.Template:Sf He continued his fathers campaigns into Nubia, expanding Egyptian control to the Third Cataract of the Nile.<ref name="Hornung-1999"/> In addition to pursuing militaristic expansion, Senusret I was also responsible for internal growth within Egypt. As king, he initiated a considerable amount of building projects across Egypt, including pyramids in Lisht, a temple at Karnak and oversaw the renovation of the kingdom's major temples.<ref name="Van de Mieroop-2011"/>
Amenemhat II
Unlike his predecessors, Amenemhat II was king during a time of peace. Under his reign, trade boomed with other states in Asia, the Mediterranean, and Africa. He built his mortuary complex near Memphis at Dahshur.<ref name="Hornung-1999"/>
Senusret II
Senusret II also reigned during a time of peace. He was the first king to develop the Fayyum Basin for agricultural production. This development was complex, requiring the digging of several canals and the draining of a lake in order to maximize the Fayyum’s agricultural output. The Middle Kingdom development of the Fayyum later became the basis for the Ptolemaic and Roman efforts that turned the region into the bread basket of the Mediterranean.<ref name="Hornung-1999"/>
Senusret III
Finding Nubia had grown restive under the previous rulers, Senusret sent punitive expeditions into that land. As a part of his effort to subdue Nubia, he ordered the construction of several new fortresses as well as the expansion of existing ones along the border with Nubia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He also sent an expedition into the Levant. Senusret III's military career contributed to his prestige during the New Kingdom, as he was regarded as a warrior king and even revered as a god in Nubia.<ref name="Van de Mieroop-2011"/> One of Senusret III’s significant internal developments was the centralization of administrative power in the kingdom, which replaced the nome system with three large administrative districts that encompassed all of Egypt.<ref name="Hornung-1999"/>
Amenemhat III
Senusret's successor Amenemhat III reaffirmed his predecessor's foreign policy. However, after Amenemhat, the energies of this dynasty were largely spent, and the growing troubles of government were left to the dynasty's last ruler, Sobekneferu, to resolve. Amenemhat was remembered for the mortuary temple at Hawara that he built.
Amenemhat IV
Amenemhat IV succeeded his father, Amenemhat III, and ruled for approximately nine years. At the time of his death, Amenemhat IV had no apparent heir, leading to Sobekneferu’s ascension to the throne.
Sobekneferu
Sobekneferu, a daughter of Amenemhat III, was the first known woman to become king of Egypt.<ref name="Van de Mieroop-2011"/> She was left with the unresolved governmental issues that are noted as arising during her father's reign when she succeeded Amenemhat IV, thought to be her brother, half brother, or step brother.<ref>Dodson, Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Egypt, 2004, p. 98.</ref> Upon his death, she became the heir to the throne because her older sister, Neferuptah, who would have been the next in line to rule, died at an early age. Sobekneferu was the last king of the twelfth dynasty. There is no record of her having an heir. She also had a relatively short nearly four year reign and the next dynasty began with a shift in succession, possibly to unrelated heirs of Amenemhat IV.<ref>Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (1997), p. 15.</ref>
Ancient Egyptian literature refined
Several famous works of Egyptian literature originated from the 12th Dynasty. Perhaps the best known work from this period is The Story of Sinuhe, of which papyrus copies dating as late as the New Kingdom have been recovered.<ref name="Litchteim-2024">Template:Cite book</ref>
Some of the existing literature pertaining to the 12th Dynasty are propagandistic in nature. The Prophecy of Neferti establishes a revisionist account of history that legitimizes Amenemhat I’s rule. Written during the reign of Amenemhat I, described a sage’s prophecy given to the 4th Dynasty King Snefru that predicted a destructive civil war. It writes that the sage, Neferti, prophesied that a great king named Ameny (Amenemhat I) would lead a united Egypt out of this tumultuous period.<ref name="Litchteim-2024" /> The work also mentions Amenemhat I's mother being from<ref>"Then a king will come from the South, Ameny, the justified, by name, son of a woman of Ta-seti, child of Upper Egypt"Template:Cite book</ref> the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta-Seti.<ref>"Ammenemes himself was not a Theban but the son of a woman from Elephantine called Nofret and a priest called Sesostris (‘The man of the Great Goddess’).",Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"Senusret, a commoner as the father of Amenemhet, his mother, Nefert, came from the area Elephantine."Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"Amenemhet I was a commoner, the son of one Sen- wosret and a woman named NEFRET, listed as prominent members of a family from ELEPHANTINE Island."Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"In a literary source, The Prophecy of Neferty, the origin of the king from the common people of Upper Egypt with a mother from the very south of Egypt"Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>"This opens up several questions about the role of the elite families of Elephantine at the end of the First Intermediate Period and the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty, especially taking into account that Amenemhat I’s mother came from that region, according to the Prophecy of Neferti"Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>"but also openly admitted the king’s humble origin. Without mentioning her name, Neferti simply stated that the king’s mother was a woman from the first Upper Egyptian nome (tA-sty)."Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"the fact that the mother of Ammenemes I, whose name appears to have been Nefert, was a native of the nome of Elephantine"Template:Cite book</ref><ref>"The mother of Amenemhet was apparently named Nefert and was a native of the nome, or province, of Elephantine"Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Many scholars in recent years have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Morris2">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Other known works attributed to the 12th Dynasty include:
- Dispute Between a Man and his Ba<ref name="Litchteim-2024" />
- Complaints of Khakheperre-sonb<ref name="Litchteim-2024" />
- Instructions of Amenemhat<ref name="Litchteim-2024" />
- The Eloquent Peasant<ref name="Litchteim-2024" />
Comparison of regnal lists
The Twelfth Dynasty is well-recorded across Egyptian king lists, which are in broad agreement on the order of the kings in this dynasty. The surviving Karnak, Abydos and Saqqara king lists, all from the New Kingdom of Egypt, provide a list of kings of this dynasty, though the Abydos list omits Sobekneferu. The Turin King List originally provided individual reign lengths, but is now in a fragmentary state and some information is lost, though the summation of years for this dynasty still survives. Manetho's now-lost work Aegyptiaca also provided individual reign lengths, however later Epitomes of the work were misunderstood by various writers who conflated multiple kings into a single figure, failed to understand the number of kings in this dynasty and also placed Amenemhat I separately from the rest of the dynasty.<ref name="Manetho2">Template:Cite web</ref>
| Historical Pharaoh | Karnak King List | Abydos King List | Saqqara Tablet | Turin King List<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Manetho<ref name="Manetho2" /> | Reign Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turin List<ref name=":0" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Manetho<ref name="Manetho2" /> | ||||||
| Amenemhat I | Sehotepibre | Sehetepibre | Sehetepibre | [Sehote]pib[re] | Ammenemes | 29 years | 16 years |
| Senusret I | Kheperkare | Kheperkare | Kheperkare | [Kheper]ka[re] | Sesonkhosis | 45 years | 46 years |
| Amenemhat II | Nebukare | Nubkaure | Nubkaure | Name lost | Ammanemes | 30+ years | 38 years |
| Senusret II | Name lost | Khakheperre | Khakheperre | Name lost | Sesostris | 19 years | 48 years |
| Senusret III | Khakare | Khakaure | Khakhaure | Name lost | Lakhares | 30+ years | 8 years |
| Amenemhat III | Name lost | Nimaatre | Nimaatre | Name lost | Ammeres | 40+ years | 8 years |
| Amenemhat IV | Maakherure | Maakherure | Maakherure | Maakherure | Ammenemes | 9 years, 3 months and 27 days | 8 years |
| Sobekneferu | Sobekneferu | Omitted | Kasobekre | Neferusobekre | Skemiophris | 3 years, 10 months, 24 days | 4 years |
| 213 years, 1 month and 17 days | 176 years | ||||||
See also
References
Template:S-start Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end Template:Authority control
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- Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
- States and territories established in the 20th century BC
- States and territories disestablished in the 19th century BC
- Dynasties of ancient Egypt
- 20th century BC in Egypt
- 19th century BC in Egypt
- 2nd-millennium BC establishments in Egypt
- 2nd-millennium BC disestablishments in Egypt
- 2nd millennium BC in Egypt