Amenemhat I
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| Amenemhat I | |||
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| Relief of Amenemhat I from his mortuary complex at El-Lisht | |||
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |||
| Reign | 1991–1962 BC, Twelfth Dynasty | ||
| Predecessor | Mentuhotep IV | ||
| Successor | Senusret I | ||
| Consort(s) | Neferitatjenen | ||
| Children | Senusret I, Neferu III, Neferusherit, Kayet | ||
| Father | Senusret | ||
| Mother | Neferet | ||
| Burial | Pyramid at el-Lisht | ||
Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty debated to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC.[2] Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and the composition of some literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti,[3] the Instructions of Amenemhat[4]) and, in architecture, the revertion to the pyramid-style complexes of the 6th dynasty rulers are often considered to have been attempts at legitimizing his rule. Amenemhat I moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy and was buried in el-Lisht.
His son Senwosret I followed in his footsteps, building his pyramid–a closer reflection of the 6th dynasty pyramids than that of Amenemhat I–at Lisht as well, but his grandson, Amenemhat II, broke with this tradition.
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[edit] Assassination
Amenemhat I is thought to have been assassinated in his sleep by his royal guards, the culmination of a double harem conspiracy. At the time, his son and co-regent Senwosret was leading a campaign in Libya. A literary work from the time of his son gives an account of the king's murder:
| “ | It was after supper, when night had fallen, and I had spent an hour of happiness. I was asleep upon my bed, having become weary, and my heart had begun to follow sleep. When weapons of my counsel were wielded, I had become like a snake of the necropolis. As I came to, I awoke to fighting, and found that it was an attack of the bodyguard. If I had quickly taken weapons in my hand, I would have made the wretches retreat with a charge! But there is none mighty in the night, none who can fight alone; no success will come without a helper. Look, my injury happened while I was without you, when the entourage had not yet heard that I would hand over to you when I had not yet sat with you, that I might make counsels for you; for I did not plan it, I did not foresee it, and my heart had not taken thought of the negligence of servants."[5] | ” |
[edit] Succession
Amenemhat I was the first king of Egypt who is known to have had a coregency with his son, Senwosret I. A double dated stele dates to the thirtieth year of Amenemhat I and to the tenth year of Senwosret I, which establishes that Senwosret was made co-regent in Amenemhat's 20th regnal year.[6]
[edit] Name
Amenemhat I's name is associated with one of only two sebayt or ethical "teachings" attributed to Egyptian monarchs, entitled the Instructions of Amenemhat, though it is generally thought today that it was composed by a scribe at the behest of the king.[7]
Amenemhat I's Horus name, Wehemmesu, which means renaissance or rebirth, is an allusion to the Old Kingdom period, whose cultural icons and models (such as pyramidal tombs and Old Kingdom artistic motifs) where emulated by the Twelfth Dynasty kings after the end of the First Intermediate Period. The cult of the king was also promoted during this period, which witnessed a steady return to a more centralized government.[8]
Naguib Mahfouz, the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian writer, includes Amenemhat I in one of his stories published in 1941 entitled "Awdat Sinuhi". The story appeared in an English translation by Raymond Stock in 2003 as "The Return of Sinuhe" in the collection of Mahfouz's short stories entitled Voices from the Other World. The story is based directly on the "Story of Sinuhe", although adding details of a lovers' triangle romance involving Amenemhat I and Sinuhe that does not appear in the original.
[edit] Further reading
- W. Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History,Archaeology and Society, Duckworth, London 2006 ISBN 0-7156-3435-6, 28-35
- Mahfouz, Naguib. The Return of Sinuhe in Voices from the Other World (translated by Robert Stock), Random House, 2003.
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Amenemhat I
- ^ D Wildung, L'Âge d'Or de L'Égypte - le Moyen Empire, Office de Livre, 1984
- ^ M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 1973 p.139
- ^ M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 1973 p.135
- ^ Amenemhet I
- ^ Murnane, William J. Ancient Egyptian Coregencies, Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization. No. 40. p.2. The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1977.
- ^ M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 1973 p.135
- ^ Shaw, Ian, ed. (2000), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 159
