Sesostris II (flourished 19th centurybce) was theking ofancient Egypt (reigned 1845–37bce) of the12th dynasty (1939–c. 1760) who devoted himself to the peaceful exploitation ofNubia,Egypt’s territory to the south, and initiated the development ofAl-Fayyūm, a great oasis-like depression west of theNile River and southwest ofCairo.

Following the established practice of hisdynasty, Sesostris spent three years as his father’s coregent. In year 1 of this period, a trading expedition toPunt—on the east African coast—recorded its trip on the rocks at Egypt’sRed Sea port.

Early in Sesostris’s sole reign, the fortresses of Lower Nubia, built by the king’s grandfather, were inspected, and in year 6 the fort at Aniba, near the gold-mining region of Nubia, was rebuilt. As attested by commemorative stelae and inscriptions,diorite, copper, and possibly amethysts were extracted at a number of sites in Nubia. Inscriptions atSinai indicate that the king’s miners were also active there.

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Contacts withPalestine andSyria were also maintained, as is shown by the scene of Asiatic traders in aprovincial tomb atBeni Hasan, in Middle Egypt. During this reign the noble family at this site increased its influence through intermarriage with neighboring potentates.

Sesostris’s greatest achievement was his beginning of the development ofAl-Fayyūm, the rich area near the royal residence. There, where the lake in Al-Fayyūm received its inflow from a branch stream off the Nile, the king constructed waterworks that were designed to regulate the lake’s level and partly reclaim the marshy ground around its shores. The project was later widely extended byAmenemhet III.

Nearby atAl-Lāhūn, Sesostris built hispyramid, which exhibits great craftsmanship; part of the workmen’s village has survived,yielding town-planning evidence and documents that reveal something of Egypt’s social conditions.