Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III, alternatively Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom. He was elevated to co-regent by his father Senusret III, with whom he shared the throne as the active king for the next twenty years. During his reign, Egypt attained its cultural and economic zenith of the Middle Kingdom.
The aggressive military and domestic policies of Senusret III, which re-subjugated Nubia and wrested power from the nomarchs, allowed Amenemhat III to inherit a stable and peaceful Egypt. He directed his efforts towards an extensive building program with particular focus on Faiyum. Here he dedicated a temple to Sobek, a chapel to Renenutet, erected two colossal statues of himself in Biahmu, and contributed to excavation of Lake Moeris. He built for himself two pyramids at Dahshur and Hawara, becoming the first pharaoh since Sneferu in the Fourth Dynasty to build more than one. Near to his Hawara pyramid is a pyramid for his daughter Neferuptah. To acquire resources for his building program, Amenemhat III exploited the quarries of Egypt and the Sinai for turquoise and copper. Other exploited sites includes the schist quarries at Wadi Hammamat, amethyst from Wadi el-Hudi, fine limestone from Tura, alabaster from Hatnub, red granite from Aswan, and diorite from Nubia. A large corpus of inscriptions attest to the activities at these sites, particularly at Serabit el-Khadim. There is scant evidence of military expeditions during his reign, though a small one is attested at Kumma in his ninth regnal year. He also sent a handful of expeditions to Punt.
Amenemhat III reigned for at least 45 years, though a papyrus fragment from El-Lahun mentioning a 46th year probably dates to his reign as well. Toward the end of his reign he instituted a co-regency with Amenemhat IV, as recorded in a rock inscription from Semna in Nubia, which equates regnal year 1 of Amenemhat IV to regnal year 44, 46, or 48 of Amenemhat III. Sobekneferu later succeeded Amenemhat IV as the last ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty.
Contemporaneous sources
There are a variety of contemporary sources attesting to the reign of Amenemhat III. Chief among these are the collection of inscriptions left at mining sites throughout Egypt, Nubia, and the Sinai Peninsula. His activities in the Sinai Penninsula are particularly well attested to, spanning regnal years 2 to 45. It is notable though, that the overwhelming majority of these inscriptions originate outside Egypt. He is also well attested to through his statuary with around 80 works attributed to him, his building program, particularly concentrated around Faiyum, and the two pyramids that he had built. The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus – one of a limited set of evidence attesting to Egyptian knowledge of mathematics – is also thought to have been originally composed during Amenemhat III's time.Historical sources
The Karnak King List from the Festival Hall of Thutmose III has a lacuna of two entries between Amenemhat II and Amenemhat IV, though three kings are known to have reigned during this period – Senusret II, Senusret III, and Amenemhat III. In the Abydos King List from the temple of Seti I in Abydos, Amenemhat III is attested by his praenomen Ni-maat-re in the sixty-fourth entry. His praenomen also occupies the 64th entry in the king list at the temple of Ramesses II in Abydos. In the Saqqara Tablet from the tomb of the chief lector priest and chief of works Tjuneroy, Amenemhat III's praenomen occupies the 20th entry. The Turin Canon has a lacuna in the mid-Twelfth Dynasty preserving no names and only partial reign lengths. The 25th entry of the fifth column corresponding to Amenemhat III preserves only a regnal length of 40 + x years. The entries of his presumed children and immediate successors – Amenemhat IV and Sobekneferu – are near-wholly intact preserving their praenomen and reign lengths.Amenemhat III is also mentioned in Manetho's Aegyptiaca, originally composed circa the 3rd century BC, tentatively dated to the reign of Ptolemy II. The original work is no longer extant, but has persisted through the writings of Josephus, Africanus, Eusebius, and Syncellus. He is accorded a reign of 8 years under the name Λαχάρης by both Africanus and Eusebius. Syncellus accords him a reign of 43 years under the name Μάρης as the 35th king of Thebes.
Family
Amenemhat III was the son of Senusret III, his predecessor on the throne. There is no explicit testimony to this filial relationship, however, the inference can be made from their co-regency. The identity of his mother is unknown. He had several potential sisters or half sisters: Menet, Mereret, Senetsenbetes, Sithathor, and a partially known Khnemet-.Two of Amenemhat III's wives are known, Aat and Khenemetneferhedjet III, who were both buried in his Pyramid at Dahshur. Hetepti – the mother of Amenemhat IV – might be another wife.
He had one confirmed daughter, Neferuptah, who appears to have been groomed as his successor, owing to her name being enclosed in cartouche. The Egyptologists Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton indicate that Neferuptah was originally buried at Amenemhat III's second pyramid at Hawara but was eventually moved to her own pyramid after an early death. The Egyptologist Wolfram Grajetzki contradicts this stating that she was never buried in Hawara, but had possibly outlived her father and was buried elsewhere as a result. Two other children, both of whom reigned as king, are also attributed to Amenemhat III: a son, Amenemhat IV and a daughter, Sobekneferu. It has also been suggested that Amenemhat IV may instead have been a grandson. Evidence of burials of three other princesses – Hathorhotep, Nubhotep, and Sithathor – were found at the Dahshur complex, but it is not clear whether these princesses were Amenemhat III's daughters as the complex was used for royal burials throughout the Thirteenth Dynasty.
Reign
Chronology
The relative chronology of rulers in the Twelfth Dynasty is considered settled. The Ramesside king lists and the Turin Canon are a significant source in determining the relative chronology of the rulers. The Turin Canon has a lacuna of four lines between Amenemhat I and Amenemhat IV, recording only partial regnal lengths for the four kings – 10 + x, 19, 30 + x, and 40 + x years respectively. The king lists of Seti I and Ramesses II at Abydos and the Saqqara tablet each list Amenemhat III with Senusret III – whose praenomen is Kha-kau-re – as his predecessor and Amenemhat IV – whose praenomen is Maa-kheru-re – as his successor. Instead Egyptological debate has centred on the existence of co-regencies.Length of reign and co-regency
In his twentieth regnal year, Senusret III elevated his son Amenemhat III to the status of co-regent. The co-regency seems to be established from several indicators, though not all scholars agree and some instead argue for sole reigns for both kings. For the following twenty years, Senusret III and Amenemhat III shared the throne, with Amenemhat III taking the active role as king. It is assumed that Amenemhat III took the primary role as the regnal dates roll over from year 19 of Senusret III to year 1 of Amenemhat III. His reign is attested for at least 45 years, though a papyrus fragment from El-Lahun mentioning 'regnal year 46, month 1 of akhet, day 22' probably dates to his rule as well, since the village was founded by Amenemhat III's grandfather, Senusret II, and no other Twelfth Dynasty ruler after Senusret II reigned for more than 40 years. The highest date might be found on a bowl from Elephantine bearing regnal year 46, month 3 of peret. This attribution is favoured by the Egyptologist Cornelius von Pilgrim, but rejected by the Egyptologist Wolfram Grajetzki who places it in the early Middle Kingdom. In his 30th regnal year, Amenemhat III celebrated his Sed festival which is mentioned in several inscriptions. His reign ends with a brief co-regency with his successor Amenemhat IV. This is evidenced from a rock inscription at Semna which equates regnal year 1 of Amenemhat IV with regnal year 44 or perhaps 46–48 of Amenemhat III.These two kings – Senusret III and Amenemhat III – presided over the golden age of the Middle Kingdom. Senusret III had pursued aggressive military action to curb incursions from tribes people from Nubia. These campaigns were conducted across several years and were brutal against the native populations, including slaughter of men, enslavement of women and children, and the burning of fields. He also sent a military expedition into Syria-Palestine, enemies of Egypt since the reign of Senusret I. His internal policies targeted the increasing power of provincial governors, transferring power back to the reigning monarch. It is disputed whether he dismantled the nomarchical system. Senusret III also formed the basis for the legendary character Sesostris described by Manetho and Herodotus. As a consequence of Senusret III's administrative and military policies, Amenemhat III inherited a peaceful and stable Egypt, which reached its cultural and economic zenith under his direction.