The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) was a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period. In contrast, the later members are considered part of the Middle Kingdom. They all ruled from Thebes in Upper Egypt.
Characteristics of the Eleventh Dynasty
Contemporary attestations well establish the relative chronology of the 11th Dynasty and, except for counting Intef and Mentuhotep IV, by the Turin canon.
Manetho’s statement that Dynasty XI consisted of 16 kings who reigned for 43 years is contradicted by contemporary inscriptions and the evidence of the Turin King List. Their combined testimony establishes that this kingdom consisted of seven kings who ruled for 143 years. However, his testimony that this Dynasty was based in Thebes is verified by contemporary evidence. All of ancient Egypt was united under the Middle Kingdom during this Dynasty.
This Dynasty traces its origins to a nomarch of Thebes, “Intef the Great, son of Iku”, mentioned in several contemporary inscriptions. However, his immediate successor, Mentuhotep I, is considered the first king of this Dynasty.
An inscription carved during the reign of Wahankh Intef II shows that he was the first of this Dynasty to claim to rule over the whole of Egypt. This claim brought the Thebans into conflict with the rulers of Herakleopolis Magna, Dynasty the Tenth. Pharaoh Intef undertook several campaigns northwards and captured the important nome of Abydos.
Warfare continued intermittently between the Thebean and Heracleapolitan dynasties until the 14th regnal year of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II, when the Herakleopolitans were defeated. This Dynasty could begin to consolidate its rule. The rulers of Dynasty XI reasserted Egypt’s influence over her neighbours in Africa and the Near East. Mentuhotep II sent renewed expeditions to Phoenicia to obtain cedar. Sankhkara Mentuhotep III sent an expedition from Coptos south to the land of Punt.
The reign of its last king, and thus the end of this Dynasty, is a mystery. Contemporary records refer to “seven empty years” following the death of Mentuhotep III, which corresponded to the reign of Nebtawyra Mentuhotep IV. Modern scholars identify his vizier Amenemhat with Amenemhat I, the first king of Dynasty XII, as part of a theory that Amenemhat became king as part of a palace coup. The only specific detail of Mentuhotep’s reign was that the vizier Amenemhat witnessed two great omens at the quarry of Wadi Hammamat.
Pharaohs of the Eleventh Dynasty
Intef, the Elder
Intef, whose name is commonly accompanied by epithets such as the Elder, the Great (= Intef-aa) or born of Iku, was a Theban nomarch during the First Intermediate Period c. 2150 BC and later considered a founding figure of the 11th Dynasty, which eventually reunified Egypt.
Mentuhotep I
Mentuhotep I (also Mentuhotep-aa, i.e. “the Great”) may have been a Theban nomarch and independent ruler of Upper Egypt during the early First Intermediate Period. Alternatively, he may be a fictional figure created during the later Eleventh Dynasty, which became prominent under Intef II and Mentuhotep II as a founding father.
Intef II
Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years, from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. In his time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. His capital was located in Thebes. He was buried in a saff tomb at El-Tarif.
Intef III
Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC when Egypt was divided into two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor, Intef II, and father of his successor, Mentuhotep II, Intef III reigned for eight years over Upper Egypt. He extended his domain North against the 10th Dynasty state, perhaps as far north as the 17th nome. He undertook some building activity on Elephantine. Intef III is buried in a sizeable saff tomb at El-Tarif known as Saff el-Barqa.
Mentuhotep II
Mentuhotep II (Ancient Egyptian: Mn-ṯw-ḥtp, meaning “Mentu is satisfied”), also known under his prenomen Nebhepetre (Ancient Egyptian: Nb-ḥpt-Rˁ, meaning “The Lord of the rudder is Ra”), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty. He is credited with reuniting Egypt, thus ending the turbulent First Intermediate Period and becoming the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. He reigned for 51 years, according to the Turin King List. Mentuhotep II succeeded his father, Intef III, on the throne and was succeeded by his son, Mentuhotep III.
Mentuhotep II ascended Egypt’s throne in the Upper Egyptian city of Thebes during the First Intermediate Period. Egypt was not unified during this time, and the Tenth Dynasty, rival to Mentuhotep’s Eleventh, ruled Lower Egypt from Herakleopolis. After the Herakleopoitan kings desecrated the sacred ancient royal cemetery of Abydos in Upper Egypt in the fourteenth year of Mentuhotep’s reign, the pharaoh dispatched his armies north to conquer Lower Egypt. Continuing his father Intef III’s conquests, Mentuhotep succeeded in unifying his country, probably shortly before his 39th year on the throne. Following and in recognition of the unification, in regnal year 39, he changed his titulary to Shematawy (Ancient Egyptian: Šmˁ-tȝ.w(j), meaning “He who unifies the two lands”).
Following the unification, Mentuhotep II reformed Egypt’s government. To reverse the decentralisation of power, which contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom and marked the First Intermediate Period, he centralised the state in Thebes to strip nomarchs of some of their power over the regions. Mentuhotep II also created new governmental posts whose occupants were Theban men loyal to him, giving the pharaoh more control over his country. Officials from the capital travelled the country regularly to control regional leaders.
Mentuhotep II was buried at the Theban necropolis of Deir el-Bahari. His mortuary temple was one of Mentuhotep II’s most ambitious building projects and included several architectural and religious innovations. For example, it included terraces and covered walkways around the central structure, and it was the first mortuary temple that identified the pharaoh with the god Osiris. His temple inspired several later temples, such as those of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Some depictions of Mentuhotep II indicate that he suffered from elephantiasis, resulting in swollen legs.
Mentuhotep III
Mentuhotep III succeeded his father, Mentuhotep II, on the throne during the Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Following his father’s long 51 years of reign, it is believed that Mentuhotep III was relatively old when he acceded to the throne and reigned for 12 years. Despite its short duration, Mentuhotep’s reign is known for his expedition to Punt and architectural innovations.
Mentuhotep IV
Nebtawyre Mentuhotep IV was the last king of the Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt. He seems to fit into a 7-year period in the Turin Canon without a recorded king.
This is a shadowy king and records regarding his reign are rare. From the power of Amenemhet I, we find a fragment of a slate bowl discovered at Lisht in the first nome with Nebtawyre Mentuhotep and Amenemhet I. However, we know that a vizier under Mentuhotep IV was one Amenemhet, who is well attested from a long inscription left in the Wadi Hammamat. He acted as Governor of the South under Mentuhotep IV, and most Egyptologists seem to believe he is the same as King Amenemhet.
As vizier to Mentuhotep IV, he records that he went with an army of 10,000 (some sources say 1,000) men into the Wadi to seek and retrieve a fine flock of stone suitable for the lid of the king’s sarcophagus. The text says that they were led to the block by a pregnant gazelle, which, having dropped its young onto the stone to mark it, was immediately sacrificed on the block. A second miraculous event was also recorded when, after a ferocious rainstorm at Wadi Hammamat, a sound ten cubits square was revealed full of water to the brim. In such barren terrain, this would undoubtedly have been a spectacular discovery.
The block was successfully detached from the surrounding rock and safely taken to Thebes. However, during their expedition, they were also charged with finding a more favourable port on the Red Sea. The port they found was Mersa Gawasis (Quseir), which was not established until the reign of Amenemhet II as the embarkation point for expeditions to Punt.
Regrettably, one of the reasons this king remains so obscure is that his tomb, the coffin made from the block, and his mummy have never been found. Perhaps Mentuhotep IV could never use the stone since it appears that Amenemhet, with the backing of his 10,000 (or 1,000) men, overthrew his master and proclaimed himself king, founding the 12th Dynasty. Richard Tidyman has suggested that the name of the new capital, Lisht, was a direct reference to this event. He added that the literary texts known as the Prophecy of Neferti and the Instruction of Amenemhat I should be considered in the light of the evidence of a civil war accompanying the takeover. However, there is no direct evidence of such revolt, and it is also possible that Mentuhotep IV died without an heir.
