| Amenemhat VI | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ameny Antef Amenemhat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![Drawing of the offering table CG 23040, bearing Amenemhat VI's cartouches[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTable_CG23040_Kamal.jpg) Drawing of the offering table CG 23040, bearing Amenemhat VI's cartouches[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | 1788–1785 BC,[2] c. 1740 BC[3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Iufni | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Semenkare Nebnuni (Ryholt, Franke) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Children | uncertain, conjectural:Renseneb | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father | uncertain, possiblySekhemkare Amenemhat V | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seankhibre Ameny Antef Amenemhat VI was anEgyptianpharaoh of the earlyThirteenth Dynasty.[2]
Amenemhat VI certainly enjoyed a short reign, estimated at 3 years or shorter. He is attested by a few contemporary artefacts and is listed on two different king lists. He may belong to a larger family of pharaohs includingAmenemhat V,Ameny Qemau,Hotepibre Qemau Siharnedjheritef andIufni.
Amenemhat VI is listed on theTurin canon, a king list redacted in the earlyRamesside period and which serves as the primary historical source regarding theSecond Intermediate Period. In the latest reading of the canon by the Danish EgyptologistKim Ryholt, Amenemhat VI appears in the 7th column, 10th row under hisprenomenSeankhibre.[2][4] This corresponds to the 6th column, 10th row inAlan Gardiner's andJürgen von Beckerath's reading of the Turin king list.[5][6]
Amenemhat VI is also mentioned on theKarnak king list, entry 37.[7]
Amenemhat VI is attested by a few contemporary artefacts. These include 2 cylinder seals from el-Mahamid el-Qibli inUpper Egypt,[8] one of which is dedicated to "Sobek Lord ofSumenu".[2][9][10] An offering table bearing Amenemhat VI's cartouche has been discovered inKarnak and is now in theEgyptian Museum, CG 23040.[1][11] A stele fromAbydos mentions an official, Seankhibre-Seneb-Senebefeni, whose name is likely abasilophorous one, dedicated to Seankhibre Amenemhat.[12]
An architrave from a private tomb of the necropolis ofHeliopolis bears the name Seankhibre within acartouche[4][13] However, recent research indicates that the latter monument may belong to a different king with a similar name,Seankhibtawy Seankhibra.
The relative chronological position of Amenemhat VI is secured thanks to the Turin canon. His predecessor was a poorly known pharaoh namedIufni and his successor was an equally obscure king,Semenkare Nebnuni.[2][14]
The absolute chronological position of Amenemhat VI is less certain owing to uncertainties affecting the earlier kings of the dynasty. According to Kim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, he was the 8th king of the dynasty, whereas Thomas Schneider,Detlef Franke and von Beckerath see him as the 7th ruler.[6][14]
The duration of Amenemhat's reign is lost due to the poor state of preservation of the Turin papyrus and only the number of days is readable as[...] and 23 days. Ryholt nonetheless assigns him a short reign of 3 years spanning 1788–1785 BC.[2]
It is unclear whether or not Amenemhat VI reigned over the whole of Egypt. He likely had control over LowerNubia, which had been conquered by the12th Dynasty and would not be abandoned before at least another 60 years. His control overLower Egypt is debated. Ryholt believes that theCanaanite14th Dynasty was already in existence at the time, forming an independent realm controlling at least the EasternNile Delta.[2] While this analysis is accepted by some scholars—among them, Gae Callender, Janine Bourriau and Darrell Baker,[4][15][16] it is rejected by others includingManfred Bietak, Daphna Ben-Tor andJames and Susan Allen who contend that the 14th Dynasty could not have existed before the later king of the 13th DynastySobekhotep IV.[17][18][19]
The Egyptologist Kim Ryholt proposes that Amenemhat VI was a member of a larger royal family including pharaohsSekhemkare Amenemhat V,Ameny Qemau,Hotepibre Qemau Siharnedjheritef andIufni. He bases this conclusion on the double names borne by these pharaohs, which he believes arefiliative nomina, i.e. names referring to one's parents. Hence theAmeny in Ameny Qemau would indicate that he was the son of Amenemhat V, then succeeded by his own son Hotepibre Qemau Siharnedjheritef as shown by theQemau in his name. Similarly "Ameny Antef Amenemhat (VI)" would be a triple name meaning "Amenemhat, son of Antef, son of Ameny" possibly because his father was a certain "King's son Antef" attested onscarab seals dated on stylistic ground to the 13th Dynasty and who would himself be a son of Amenemhat V. Amenemhat VI's predecessor Iufni would also be part of this family although his precise relation to the other members cannot be settled due to the lack of material dating to his very short reign.[2]
Less than 10 years after Amenemhat VI's reign, a king namedRenseneb Amenemhat took the throne. Following the same logic, he would be a son of a king Amenemhat who could possibly be Amenemhat VI or one of the intervening kings.[2] Ryholt's analysis is contested by some Egyptologists as it relies on the unproven assumption that double names are necessarily filiative nomina.[20]
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt Thirteenth Dynasty | Succeeded by |
