Amenemhet Iii Information
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 MuseumTowards 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
- ^ a b c d e Amenemhat (III) Nimaatre (1807/06-1798/97 BC) accessed July 31, 2006
- ^ Kim S. B. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C., Museum Tusculanum Press 1997, pp.211f.
- ^ Kim S. B. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C., Museum Tusculanum Press 1997, p.212
- ^ Miroslav Verner, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments, Grove Press 2002, p.427
- ^ Lehner, Mark (2001). The Complete Pyramids: Solving the Ancient Mysteries. London: Thames & Hudson. pp. 182. ISBN 0-500-05084-8.
- ^ Miroslav Verner, The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments, Grove Press 2002, p.428
- ^ Nagib Farag, Zaky Iskander, The Discovery of Neferwptaḥ, 1971, p.103
- ^ Marshall Clagett, Ancient Egyptian Science: A Source Book, 1989, p.113
Further reading
- W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History, Archaeology and Society, Duckworth, London 2006 ISBN 0-7156-3435-6, 58-61
External links
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Categories: 1814 BC deaths | Pharaohs of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt | History of Israel
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