Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 2150 BC–c. 1991 BC | |||||||||||
 Funerary stele of Intef II, on display at theMetropolitan Museum of Art. | |||||||||||
| Capital | Thebes | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Egyptian language | ||||||||||
| Religion | ancient Egyptian religion | ||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Bronze Age | ||||||||||
• Established | c. 2150 BC | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 1991 BC | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
TheEleventh Dynasty ofancient Egypt (notatedDynasty XI;c. 2150 BC – c. 1991 BC) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before PharaohMentuhotep II are grouped with the four precedingdynasties to form theFirst Intermediate Period, whereas the later members are considered part of theMiddle Kingdom. They all ruled fromThebes in Upper Egypt.
The relative chronology of the 11th Dynasty is well established by contemporary attestations and, except for count Intef and Mentuhotep IV, by theTurin canon.[1]
Manetho's statement that the 11th Dynasty consisted of 16 kings, who reigned for 43 years is contradicted by contemporary inscriptions and the evidence of theTurin King List, whose combined testimony establishes that this kingdom consisted of seven kings who ruled for a total of 143 years.[2] However, his testimony that this dynasty was based atThebes is verified by the contemporary evidence. It was during this dynasty that all ofancient Egypt was united under theMiddle Kingdom.
This dynasty traces its origins to anomarch of Thebes, "Intef the Great, son of Iku",[1] who is mentioned in a number of contemporary inscriptions. However, his immediate successorMentuhotep I is considered the first king of this dynasty.
An inscription carved during the reign of WahankhIntef II shows that he was the first of this dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt, a claim which brought the Thebans into conflict with the10th-Dynasty rulers ofHerakleopolis Magna. Intef undertook several campaigns northwards, and captured the important nome ofAbydos.
Warfare continued intermittently between the Theban and Heracleapolitan dynasts until shortly before the 39thregnal year of NebhepetreMentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were defeated, and this dynasty could begin to consolidate their rule. The rulers of the 11th Dynasty reasserted Egypt's influence over her neighbors inAfrica and the Near East. Mentuhotep II sent renewed expeditions toPhoenicia to obtaincedar. SankhkareMentuhotep III sent an expedition fromCoptos south to theland of Punt.
The reign of its last king, and thus the end of this dynasty, is something of a mystery. Contemporary records refer to "seven empty years" following the death of Mentuhotep III, which correspond to the reign of NebtawyreMentuhotep IV. Modern scholars identify hisvizier Amenemhat withAmenemhat I, the first king of12th Dynasty, as part of a theory that Amenemhat became king as part of a palace coup. The only certain details of Mentuhotep's reign was that two remarkable omens were witnessed at the quarry ofWadi Hammamat by the vizier Amenemhat. Nobody knows for certain howAmenemhat I rose to power and became the next pharaoh.
Initially the rulers of the Eleventh Dynasty were only Nomarchs but starting during the reign of Intef I they declared themselves pharaohs
| Nomarchs | Image | Reign | Burial | Consort(s) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intef the Elder |  | c. 2150 BC | Dra' Abu el-Naga, Thebes | First ruler of Dynasty XI | |
| Mentuhotep I |  | 2134 BC – ? | Dra' Abu el-Naga? | Neferu I | Considered Pharaoh by later members of the Eleventh Dynasty and posthumously given the Horus nameTepy-a, meaning "the ancestor" |
| Intef I | .jpg) | ?–2118 BC | El-Tarif, Thebes | Possible Son of Mentuhotep I, later became pharaoh |
| Pharaoh | Horus name | Image | Reign | Burial | Consort(s) | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intef I | Sehertawy | | ?–2118 BC | El-Tarif, Thebes | Possible Son of Mentuhotep I | |
| Intef II | Wahankh | | 2118–2069 BC | El-Tarif, Thebes | Neferukayet? | Brother of Intef I |
| Intef III | Nakhtnebtepnefer |  | 2069–2060 BC | El-Tarif, Thebes | Iah | Son of Intef II |
| NebhepetreMentuhotep II | Seankhibtawy (originally) Netjerihedjet (later, pre-reunification); Sematawy (later, post-reunification) | .jpg) | 2060–2009 BC | Deir el-Bahari | Tem Neferu II Ashayet Henhenet Kawit Kemsit Sadeh | Son of Intef III and Iah. Reunifies Egypt starting the Middle Kingdom. |
| SankhkareMentuhotep III | Sankhtawyef |  | 2009–1997 BC | Deir el-Bahari[3] | Son of Mentuhotep II and Tem | |
| NebtawyreMentuhotep IV | Nebtawy |  | 1997–1991 BC | Son of Queen Imi (and possibly Mentuhotep III?) |
PharaohsMentuhotep II andMentuhotep III are the most commonly included kings of this dynasty to appear on Egyptian king lists, while their successorMentuhotep IV was often ignored. TheKarnak King List provides the most complete surviving list of names for the eleventh dynasty, beginning with the nomarchIntef the Elder, whose name is the only one on this list that does not have acartouche because he never reigned as Pharaoh, and ending with Mentuhotep IV, one of the few lists to include him. Several names are lost and damaged, but can still be reconstructed.
TheTurin King List begins this dynasty withMentuhotep I and provides reign lengths for individual kings, however it is in a fragmentary state and some information is now lost. Mentuhotep IV is not mentioned at all, but the list does note "alacuna of 7 years" following Mentuhotep III.[4]
| Historical Nomarch or Pharaoh | Karnak King List | Abydos King List | Saqqara Tablet | Turin King List[4] | Turin Reign Lengths[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intef the Elder | Intef | – | – | – | – |
| Mentuhotep I | Men[tuhotep] | – | – | Name lost | Lost |
| Intef I | In[tef] | – | – | Name lost | Lost |
| Intef II | Intef | – | – | [I]n[tef] | 49 years |
| Intef III | Name lost | – | – | Name lost | 8 years |
| Mentuhotep II | Nebhepetre | Nebhepetre | Nebhepetre | Nebhapetre | 51 years |
| Mentuhotep III | Seneferkare | Sankhkare | Seankhkare | Sankhka(re) | 12 years |
| Mentuhotep IV | [Nebtawy]re | – | – | Omitted | 7 years |
Media related to11th dynasty of Egypt at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by | Dynasty of Egypt 2134 − 1991 BC | Succeeded by |
