Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II

Flourished Circa 2008-1957 b.c.e.

King, dynasty 11

Sources

National Hero. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II reunited Egypt after the First Intermediate Period (circa 2130-1980 b.c.e.) and is considered to be the founder of the Middle Kingdom (circa 1980-1630 b.c.e.). Egyptians remembered him with Menes, founder of Dynasty 1 (circa 3000-2800 b.c.e.), and Ahmose, founder of the New Kingdom (circa 1539-1075 b.c.e.), as great national heroes. Yet, his policy of frequent name changes, reflecting different phases of his career, has confused modern scholars so that they cannot agree on whether he should be numbered Mentuhotep I, II, or III. This volume follows the most recent scholarship, which argues that he was Mentuhotep II.

Family. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II claimed descent from Inyotef III and Queen Iah. He depicted himself in a graffito at Wadi Shatt el-Rigal and at the temple of Montu in Tod with the Inyotef family, the princes of Thebes. Recently, Cae Callender has suggested that Nebhepetre Mentuhotep IFs insistence on this connection casts doubt on its validity. Both Neferu and Tern bore the title King’s Wife during this reign. Tern was also the mother of the following king, Sankhkare Mentuhotep. Six other female burials were included in Nebhepetre Mentuhotep IFs funeral temple. All six were priestesses of Hathor, a cult that was important to Nebhepetre Mentuhotep. Four of them were named as King’s Wife. All were young, ranging in age from five to twenty-two years old. Sankhkare Mentuhotep was Nebhepetre Mentuhotep IFs son with Queen Tern. He ruled Egypt after his father’s death.

Warrior. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II came to the throne of Thebes in a period when Egypt was divided. The princes of Thebes ruled Upper Egypt from Aswan to the Tenth Nome on the border with Asyut. The princes of Asyut remained loyal to the kings in Herakleopolis in Lower Egypt. Asyut thus protected a militarized border between Upper and Lower Egypt. The two halves of Egypt seem to have existed in a state of armed peace.

Two Lands United. In Year 14 of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II this situation changed. A text called The Teachingsof Merykare from Herakleopolis referred to the capture of Abydos. A stela from Thebes dated to Year 14 of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II described a rebellion in the Abydos Nome against Thebes. If these two events were in reality two descriptions of the same situation from different viewpoints, then it is likely that a war began at this point in the reign. The ruling family of Asyut disappeared at this time, suggesting that Theban forces had defeated them. Though no details of this war survive, at some point Herakleopolis was destroyed. A mass grave of sixty Theban soldiers from this period graphically demonstrates the human cost of this war. When the war ended, however, Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II added to his name Sematawy, “One Who United the Two Lands.”

Nubia. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep IFs success in defeating Herakleopolis allowed him to turn his attention to Nubia (southern Egypt and the Sudan). Northern Nubia had returned to local rule after the collapse of the Old Kingdom (circa 2675-2130 b.c.e.). Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II reestablished Egyptian claims in the area by building forts for Egyptian garrisons.

Continued Insecurity. Sporadic fighting might have continued within Egypt for many years after the defeat of Herakleopolis. In their autobiographies, some Egyptian nobles mentioned fighting, but it is difficult to identify the exact time when this fighting occurred. Many nobles included weapons in their burials during this period. Since Egyptians expected the next world to resemble this world, the need for weapons suggests that there was continued insecurity during the early years of the reunification.

Administrator. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II rewarded his supporters with continued administrative positions. Those who had supported Herakleopolis, especially the princes of Asyut, disappeared from history. The local ruling families of Beni Hasan, Hermopolis, Nag ed-Deir, Akhmim, and Deir el Gebrawi-all in Middle Egypt-continued to rule. Some of these families established continuous lines until the time of Senwosret III, approximately 150 years later.

Benefits. Theban officials also gained from Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II’s success. The officials Khety, Henenu, Dagi, Bebi, and Ipy all received tombs that recount their accomplishments in this period. The office of vizier (prime minister) was reestablished and a Theban now had primary responsibility for Lower Egypt. Theban officials traveled to Lebanon for cedar, to Sinai to subdue the Bedouin, and to Nubia.

Builder. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II also initiated an extensive building program. Combined with a renewed effort to deify the reigning king, new temples in Dendera, Gebelein, Abydos, Tod, Armant, Elkab, Karnak, and Aswan in Upper Egypt and in Qantir in Lower Egypt would have clarified his intention to reestablish a united kingdom on the model of the Old Kingdom.

Deir el Bahri. The king’s mortuary temple at Deir el Bahri was surely the most important building of the reign. Though today the king’s temple is overshadowed by Hatshepsut’s nearby mortuary temple, Mentuhotep’s temple must have been an inspiring symbol for those promoting the new state. The approach to the temple was lined with trees planted in specially prepared pits that had been lined with topsoil. The building itself consisted of a series of ramps and terraces surmounted by a structure that has been reconstructed as a cube or a pyramid. The decorative program of the building stressed the cult of Osiris rather than the cult of Re found in the Old Kingdom mortuary complexes. The Osiris cult that had now spread to a wider group throughout Egypt would have linked the king with his people. This building was surely the inspiration for Hatshepsut’s more famous mortuary temple built five hundred years later.

Delicate Balance. Recent scholarship has stressed the vitality of the First Intermediate Period immediately preceding the reign of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II. Archaeologists have also recognized that wealth was more widely spread before reunification. Yet, Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II must have provided greater security for Egyptians in a strong, centralized state. This balance between independence and stability was a constant theme in ancient Egyptian history.

Sources

Cae Callender, “The Middle Kingdom Renaissance,” in Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 148–183.

Peter A. Clayton, Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt (New York: Thames & Hudson, 1994).

Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, translated by Shaw (Oxford & Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1993).