Special Sub-Topic: Egypt 3 - Dynasties 7-12 Click Here To Play: Egypt 3 - Dynasties 7-12

According to Manetho, how many kings were in Dynasty Seven and how long did they reign between them?

70 kings in 70 days.. The eighth dynasty was not much better (about 17 kings in 20 years). The intermediate period (from the seventh to the middle of the eleventh dynasty) was once thought to have lasted several hundred years, but now most archaeologists give different lengths but mostly just over a century. One Egyptologist claimed it was over in the working life of a single craftsman. The seasons were akhet (Inundation), peret (growing season) and shemu (harvest).

How many pyramids are generally believed to date from the first intermediate period?

Three. One belonged to an eighth dynasty king called Ibi who is said to have reigned for only two years. Its sides were only 31.5 metres long and it was probably only 21 metres high. Some people believe the other two do not date from the intermediate period The second was mostly mud brick and quite large (130 metres square) and may not be a pyramid. There was a block with a name in a cartouche of the otherwise unknown Khui found nearby so it probably was his. The third is anonymous (known as the Lepsius pyramid after the Egyptologist who first surveyed it). About all that remains are the foundations which are 100 cubits (52 metres) square.

The first intermediate period ended in the middle of the eleventh dynasty. All the intermediate period kings had the same name (the other kings of the dynasty also used the same name as each other). What was it?

Intef. Nebkaure is the name that the tenth dynasty ruler who was born Akhtoy took when he came to the throne. The 'throne name' came in about the third dynasty and was the name Egyptians seem to have used most, but modern Egyptologists use the birth name. From an early period the kings had five names but they mostly used the birth and throne names. Mentuhotep was the name of the last three kings of the dynasty.

In front of the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep I is a deep tunnel called the Bab el-Hosan – Gate of the Horseman – Why is it so called?

It was found when Howard Carter’s horse stumbled in it. At the end of the tunnel is a chamber with an impressive statue of the king with a black face to identify him with Osiris, the lord of the underworld. It is a puzzle why the temple was not built a few feet away in the better position where the later pharaoh Hatshepsut built her temple.

Mentuhotep II sent an expedition to the Wadi Hammamet to cut stone for statues. What is recorded as accompanying the expedition?

Asses loaded with sandals. The leader was Henenu, he had 3,000 soldiers with him and sank twelve wells. His inscription commemorating the expedition says every man had a leather bottle, a carrying pole, two jars of water and 20(!) loaves of bread a day.

What relationship was Amenemhet I to his predecessor Mentuhotep III?

No relation (he was a usurper). For most of Dynasty Twelve there seem to have been alternating names, and the kings ruled for a long time with their son as co-regents for the last few years. Amenemhet seems to have been assassinated in a harem conspiracy. His reign left us two well known texts – the ‘Story of Sinuhe’ who fled Egypt after the assassination and the ‘Instruction of Amenemhet for his son Senusret’ a piece of wisdom literature which was probably actually written in the reign of Senusret.

What is said about the state of the arts in Egypt in the reign of Senusret I?

It was the zenith (peak). Senusret means Man of Wosret. 'Wosret' means 'the powerfu'l. She was a local guardian goddess from Thebes. She was rarely depicted and no temples for her have been identified despite having three major kings named after her. When she was depicted she wore a tall crown with the Was scepter upon her head (which was related to her name) and carried weapons. Senusret erected a pair of obelisks, one of which is the oldest obelisk still standing in Egypt. It was 20m high, weighed 121 tonnes and made of red granite.

In about the time of Amenemhet II there was an increase in the Egyptian exploitation of which area?

The Fayum. The Bahr Yusuf canal was originally a natural offshoot of the Nile which flowed into Lake Moeris in the Fayum. Amenemhet seems to have turned it into a canal with two dams to control the flow. Bahr Yusuf means Joseph's River and it was believed to be part of the biblical Joseph's anti-famine scheme.

What does Manetho say about the physique of Senusret III?

He was very tall. He was four cubits, three palms and two fingers tall. This makes him about two metres tall. His mud brick forts in Nubia had features that are more associated with medieval fortresses, such as bastions giving enfilading fire. Unfortunately, they were destroyed by Lake Nasser.

Who seems to have been the last ruler of dynasty twelve?

Sobeknefru. Khnumet was a princess, the daughter of Amenemhat II who owned some of the most beautiful jewellery found in Egypt. The jewellery was of gold, carnelian, lapis lazuli and turquoise. Her intact burial chamber was found at Dahshur within the enclosure wall of her father's pyramid. If there was a Senusret IV he is so obscure he is not now known. Amenemhet IV is also quite obscure and may have only ruled as a co-regent with his father. Sobeknefru was a queen and only ruled briefly. She was the wife and possibly the half sister of Amenemhet IV, and she seems to have ruled on her own after his death.