Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt

In the view of Egyptologist Frank Yurco:^[1]

The XIIth Dynasty (1991–1786 BCE) originated from the Aswan region. As expected, strong Nubian features and dark coloring are seen in their sculpture and relief work. This dynasty ranks as among the greatest, whose fame far outlived its actual tenure on the throne.

The chronology of the Twelfth Dynasty is the most stable of any period before the New Kingdom. The Turin Royal Canon gives 213 years (1991–1778 BC). Manetho stated that it was based in Thebes, but from contemporary records it is clear that the first king of this dynasty, Amenemhat I, moved its capital to a new city named "Amenemhat-itj-tawy" ("Amenemhat the Seizer of the Two Lands"), more simply called, Itjtawy.^[2] The location of Itjtawy has not been discovered yet, but it is thought to be near the Fayyum, probably near the royal graveyards at el-Lisht.^[3]

The order of its rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty is well known from several sources: two lists recorded at temples in Abydos and one at Saqqara, as well as lists derived from Manetho's work. A recorded date during the reign of Senusret III can be correlated to the Sothic cycle,^[4] consequently, many events during this dynasty frequently can be assigned to a specific year. However, scholars now have expressed skepticism in the usefulness of the referred date, due to the fact that location affects observation of the Sothic cycle.^[5]

Egypt underwent various developments under the Twelfth Dynasty, including the reorganization of the kingdom's administration and agricultural developments in the Fayyum. The Twelfth Dynasty was also responsible for significant expansion of Egyptian borders, with campaigns pushing into Nubia and the Levant.^{[citation needed]}

The Twelfth Dynasty is often considered the apex of Egypt's Middle Kingdom. The Middle Kingdom spans the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties, but some scholars only consider the 11th and 12th dynasties to be part of the Middle Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}

More information Nomen (personal name), Image ...

Dynasty XII Monarchs of Egypt

Nomen (personal name)	Image	Prenomen (throne name)	Horus-name	Reign	Pyramid	Consort(s)	Lifespan
Amenemhat I		Sehetepibre	Wehemmesu	c. 1991 – c. 1962 BC	Pyramid of Amenemhet I	Neferitatjenen	Died c. 1962 BC
Senusret I (Sesostris I)		Kheperkare	Ankhmesut	c. 1962 – c. 1926 BC	Pyramid of Senusret I	Neferu III	Died c. 1926 BC
Amenemhat II		Nubkhaure	Hekenemmaat	c. 1926 – c. 1895 BC	White Pyramid		Died c. 1895 BC
Senusret II (Sesostris II)		Khakheperre	Seshemutawy	c. 1895 – c. 1878 BC	Pyramid of Senusret II	Khenemetneferhedjet I Nofret II	Died c. 1878 BC
Senusret III (Sesostris III)		Khakaure	Netjerkheperu	c. 1878 – c. 1839 BC	Pyramid of Senusret III	Neferthenut Khenemetneferhedjet II Itakayt	Died c. 1839 BC
Amenemhat III		Nimaatre	Aabau	c. 1839 – c. 1814 BC	Black Pyramid; Pyramid at Hawara	Aat Khenemetneferhedjet III	Died c. 1814 BC
Amenemhat IV		Maakherure	Kheperkheperu	c. 1814 – c. 1806 BC			Died c. 1806 BC
Sobekneferu		Sobekkare	Merytre	c. 1806 – c. 1802 BC			Died c. 1802 BC

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Known rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty are as follows:^[6]

Senusret I

For the first ten years of his reign, Senusret I possibly ruled as a coregent alongside his father, Amenemhat I.^[11] He continued his fathers campaigns into Nubia, expanding Egyptian control to the Third Cataract of the Nile.^[8] In addition to pursuing militaristic expansion, Senusret I was also responsible for internal growth within Egypt. As king, he initiated a considerable amount of building projects across Egypt, including pyramids in Lisht, a temple at Karnak and oversaw the renovation of the kingdom's major temples.^[5]

Senusret II

Senusret II also reigned during a time of peace. He was the first king to develop the Fayyum Basin for agricultural production. This development was complex, requiring the digging of several canals and the draining of a lake in order to maximize the Fayyum's agricultural output. The Middle Kingdom development of the Fayyum later became the basis for the Ptolemaic and Roman efforts that turned the region into the bread basket of the Mediterranean.^[8]

Several famous works of Egyptian literature originated from the 12th Dynasty. Perhaps the best known work from this period is The Story of Sinuhe, of which papyrus copies dating as late as the New Kingdom have been recovered.^[15]

Some of the existing literature pertaining to the 12th Dynasty are propagandistic in nature. The Prophecy of Neferti establishes a revisionist account of history that legitimizes Amenemhat I's rule. Written during the reign of Amenemhat I, described a sage's prophecy given to the 4th Dynasty King Snefru that predicted a destructive civil war. It writes that the sage, Neferti, prophesied that a great king named Ameny (Amenemhat I) would lead a united Egypt out of this tumultuous period.^[15] The work also mentions Amenemhat I's mother being from^[16] the Elephantine Egyptian nome Ta-Seti.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]} Many scholars in recent years have argued that Amenemhat I's mother was of Nubian origin.^{[25][26][27][28][29][30][31]}

Other known works attributed to the 12th Dynasty include:

• Dispute Between a Man and his Ba^[15]
• Complaints of Khakheperre-sonb^[15]
• Instructions of Amenemhat^[15]
• The Eloquent Peasant^[15]

During the Middle Kingdom, under Amenemhat III, textual records show that coerced laborers included conscripts (hsbw), fugitives (tsjw), and royal laborers (hmw-nsw). The Reisner Papyrus and El Lahun papyri depict prisoners being employed in state enterprises. Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 also shows forced labor being performed on arable state land.^[32] Slaves, from neighbouring locations including Nubia, Syria-Palestine but especially of Levantine origin were grouped in ghetto camps to perform labor for the state where they lived in harsh conditions, often including beating by their masters. The term for "male Asiatic" in ancient Egyptian language became synonymous with "slave".^[33]

The Twelfth Dynasty is well-recorded across Egyptian king lists, which are in broad agreement on the order of the kings in this dynasty. The surviving Karnak, Abydos and Saqqara king lists, all from the New Kingdom of Egypt, provide a list of kings of this dynasty, though the Abydos list omits Sobekneferu. The Turin King List originally provided individual reign lengths, but is now in a fragmentary state and some information is lost, though the summation of years for this dynasty still survives. Manetho's now-lost work Aegyptiaca also provided individual reign lengths, however later Epitomes of the work were misunderstood by various writers who conflated multiple kings into a single figure, failed to understand the number of kings in this dynasty and also placed Amenemhat I separately from the rest of the dynasty.^[34]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 12th dynasty of Egypt.

• Execration texts
• History of Ancient Egypt
• Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt family tree