Amenemhat II

For other individuals with that name, see Amenemhat (disambiguation).

Amenemhat II
Ammenemes
Sitting statue attributed to Amenemhat II later usurped by 19th Dynasty pharaohs Berlin, Pergamon Museum
Pharaoh
Reign	35 regnal yearshigh. att. c. 1926 – c. 1895 BC
Predecessor	Senusret I
Successor	Senusret II
Royal titulary Horus name Hekenemmaat ḥkn-m-m3ˁ.t He who delights in Maat Nebty name Hekenemmaat ḥkn-m-m3ˁ.t He who delights in Maat Golden Horus Maatkheru (Bjk-nbw)-m3ˁ.t-ḫrw The golden Horus, true of voice Variant form: Maatkheruemnebtawy (Bjk-nbw)-m3ˁ.t-ḫrw-m-nb-t3.w(j) The golden Horus, true of voice as the lord of the two lands Prenomen Nubkaure Nbw-k3w-Rˁ Golden are the souls of Ra Nomen Amenemhat Jmn m ḥ3.t Amun is in front Variant form: Ameni Jmn-j (Ruler of ?) Amun
Consort	Senet (uncertain)
Children	Nofret and Khenemetneferhedjet
Father	Senusret I
Mother	Neferu III
Died	c. 1895 BC
Burial	White Pyramid, Dahshur, Egypt
Dynasty	12th Dynasty

Amenemhat II, also known as Amenemhet II (died c. 1895 BC), was the third king of the 12th Dynasty during the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Amenemhat II ruled for about 35 years, but his reign and family relationships remain relatively obscure.

Family

See also: Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt family tree

Parentage

Amenemhat II was the son of Senusret I and born to Neferu III, daughter of Amenemhat I. Consequently, Neferu III was the sister-wife of Senusret I, son of Amenemhat I. She is mentioned in the Story of Sinuhe as the wife of Senusret I, monuments of her father and monuments of her son.

• Two sisters: Sebat and Itakayet who were buried at Lisht near the Pyramid of Senusret I.

Spouses

The identity of Amenemhat's spouses are unknown.

• Senet held the titles "King's Wife" and "King's Mother". Her husband and son are not known, and she has been suggested as a candidate wife of Amenemhat II. The titles "King's Daughter" and "King's Sister" are not attested, indicating she was not of the immediate royal family (royal blood) and sister-wife. She is only known from statues, not a tomb within the burial complex of Amenemhat II.
• Keminub was a "King's Wife" buried within the pyramid complex of Amenemhat II. Due to the proximity of the tomb she was initially thought to be a wife of Amenemhat II, but is now thought to have been buried in the 13th Dynasty.

Children with unknown spouse(s)

• Senusret II: The son and successor (legal heir) of Amenemhat II. In patrilineal succession he would ideally be the first born son of a first rank wife. However, the father-son relationship is never explicitly stated anywhere.
• Nofret
• Khenemetneferhedjet: likely the same person as Khenemetneferhedjet I

Possible children

Dagger of Princess Ita, who may have been Amenemhat II's daughter

Several royal women were buried within his pyramid complex, but their relationships with the king are unclear. Three "king's daughters" named Ita, Itaweret, and Khenmet may have been Amenemhat's daughters, although conclusive proof is still lacking.

• Amenemhatankh: Was either his son or brother
• Ita
• Itaweret
• Khenmet

Early Life

An early attestation of Amenemhat may have come from the tomb of the namesake nomarch Amenemhat, buried at Beni Hasan. This nomarch, who lived under Senusret I, escorted the "King's son Ameny" in an expedition to Nubia, and it is believed that this prince Ameny was none other than Amenemhat II in his youth.

Reign

When Amenemhat II became king he took the prenomen Nubkaure, which is the name mostly found on private monuments.

Accession

Wepwawet-aa

The double-dated stela of an official named Wepwawet-aa (Leiden, V4), dated to regnal Year 44 of Senusret I and regnal Year 2 of Amenemhat II, has been interpreted as evidence of a coregency. If so he would have been appointed junior coregent on I Akhet Day 1 (New Year) in Year 43 of Senusret I, starting immediately on his Year 1. Others regard a coregency as unlikely and interpret the double date on the stela as a time range during which Wepwawet-aa held office, from Senusret I's Year 44 to Amenemhat II's Year 2.

Great Sphinx of Tanis, bearing the cartouches of Amenemhat II, and usurped by Merneptah (19th Dynasty) and Shoshenq I (22nd Dynasty) Louvre, A23

Sole reign

A Guardian figure in a temple from the Met museum gallery 136, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and whose face appears to reflect the features of the reigning king, most probably Amenemhat II or Senusret II. It functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut, and it is wearing a divine shendyt, which suggests that the statuette was not merely a representation of the living ruler.

Annals of Amenemhat II

At Memphis, fragments of the so-called Annals of Amenemhat II is the most important record of his early reign (later reused during the 19th Dynasty). It provides records of donations to temples and, sometimes, of political events. There is mention of a military expedition into Asia, the destruction of two cities – Iuai and Iasy – whose location is still unknown, and the coming of tribute-bearers from Asia and Kush.

Mining expeditions

Under Amenemhat II several mining expeditions are known: at least three in the Sinai, one in the Wadi Gasus (year 28) and one in search for amethysts in the Wadi el-Hudi.

Monuments

He is known to have ordered building works at Heliopolis, Herakleopolis, Memphis, in the Eastern Delta, and rebuilt a ruined temple at Hermopolis. There are some mentions of the building of a "First temple" but it is still unclear what it could have been. A well-known finding associated with Amenemhat II is the Great Sphinx of Tanis (Louvre A23), later usurped by many other kings. He is also named on the boxes of a treasure of silver objects found under the temple of Montu at Tod: notably, many of these objects are not of Egyptian workmanship but rather Aegean, evidencing contacts between Egypt and foreign civilizations in the Middle Kingdom. Many private stelae bears Amenemhat's cartouches – and sometimes even his regnal years – but are of little help in providing useful information about the events of his reign.

Succession

Amenemhat II and his successor Senusret II shared a brief coregency. At Konosso, the stela of Hapu explicitly states that the two kings ruled together for a period and equates regnal Year 3 of Senusret II with regnal Year 35 of Amenemhat II. Unlike most of the double-dated monuments, this is the only unquestionable example from the Middle Kingdom.

His highest attestation is Year 35 of Amenemhat II found on the stela of Hapu.

Royal Court

Court officials

Viziers. Senusret served as vizier during the late reign of Senusret I and early reign of Amenemhat II, attested in Year 8 of Amenemhat II on a stela from Abydos. Another vizier was Ameny who is known from the Annals of Amenemhat II at Memphis.

Treasurers. Known treasurers were Rehuerdjersen and Merykau.

Other Officials. The "overseer of the gateway", Khentykhetywer, was buried near the king's pyramid. Other known officials were the "overseers of the chamber", Snofru and Senitef, and the royal scribe and iry-pat Samont. As great overseer of troops, a certain Ameny dates most likely under the king.

Siese had a remarkable career and also was a treasurer and a high steward before his vizierate. He has been assumed to be associated with Amenemhat II due to the proximity of his tomb, but may also date to a later date.

Provincial Governors

• Khnumhotep II (ẖnmw-ḥtp, "Khnum is pleased") was an ancient Egyptian Great Chief of the Oryx nome (the 16th nome of Upper Egypt) during the reign of pharaohs Amenemhat II (Year 19) and Senusret II (Year 6). He is well known for his tomb at Beni Hasan and its decorations.

Death and Burial

The Mummy of Amenemhat II has not been recovered. With the long reign of his father and a long reign of 35 years himself, he would have been a man of advanced age at death.

Pyramid

Main article: White Pyramid

Plan of Amenemhat II's pyramid complex at Dahshur

At Dahshur, the Pyramid of Amenemhat II was originally named Amenu-sekhem (Egyptian: jmnw-sḫm), meaning "Amenu is Powerful/Mighty", with Amenu being an abbreviated form of Amenemhat, but now commonly known as the White Pyramid. Unlike his two predecessors, who built their pyramids at Lisht, Amenemhat II chose this location not used as a royal cemetery since the reign of Sneferu, builder of the Red Pyramid in the 4th Dynasty. Today, the pyramid is poorly preserved and only partially excavated.

The mortuary temple adjacent the pyramid was called Djefa-Amenemhat (Egyptian: ḏfꜣ-ỉmn-m-ḥꜣt), meaning "Amenemhat is enduring/lasting".

Princess Khenmet or Khnumit's necklace, a possible daughter of Amenemhat II

Many people were buried within the pyramid complex, whose tombs were rediscovered by Jacques Morgan in 1894 or 1895: the three aforementioned princesses Ita, Itaweret, and Khenmet were found untouched, still containing their beautiful jewels, and also the tombs of the lady Sathathormeryt, the treasurer Amenhotep, and the queen Keminub; unlike the others, the latter two were looted in antiquity and are dated to the subsequent 13th Dynasty.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Amenemhat II
Senusret Amenemhat I Nefret Senusret I Neferitatjenen Amenemhat II Senusret Amenemhat I Nefret Neferu

Theories

Grajetzki (2025) notes a door lintel found at Heliopolis mentioning king Seankhibre. This king has previously been dated to the Thirteenth Dynasty. However, scholars have analyzed the style of the relief which seems closer in time to Amenemhat II. Grajetzki then asks whether this was a rebel king or if Amenemhat II changed his prenomen from Seankhibre to Nubkaure.

Bibliography

• Delia, Robert D. (1979). "A new look at some old dates: a reexamination of Twelfth Dynasty double dated inscriptions". Bulletin of the Egyptological Seminar of New York. 1: 15–28.
• Dodson, Aidan; Hilton, Dyan (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05128-3.
• Grajetzki, Wolfram (2006). The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History, Archaeology and Society. London: Duckworth. ISBN 0-7156-3435-6.
• Hornung, Erik; Krauss, Rolf; Warburton, David, eds. (2006). Ancient Egyptian Chronology. Handbook of Oriental Studies. Leiden, Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5. ISSN 0169-9423.
• Murnane, William J. (1977). Ancient Egyptian coregencies (=Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, no. 40) (PDF). Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. ISBN 0-918986-03-6.
• Willems, Harco (2010). "The First Intermediate Period and the Middle Kingdom". In Lloyd, Alan B. (ed.). A companion to Ancient Egypt, volume 1. Wiley-Blackwell.

• Wolfram Grajezki (2025) Amenemhat II: Golden are the souls of Ra. Ancient Egypt AE 149. https://the-past.com/feature/amenemhat-ii-golden-are-the-souls-of-ra/