‘Birth name’ (meaning ‘monil is content'), held by a series of three Theban kings of the 11th Dynasty (2055-1985 nc:) and one of their ancestors. Their reigns (particularly that of Mentuhotep n) heralded a return to political stability after the comparative confusion and decentralization of the First Intermediate Period (2181-2055 hc). Very little is known about Meniiiholep /, who was the father of LTi-:i' I (2125-2112 ut;), the first fully recognized ruler of the Theban region. Most chronologies therefore list Intef i, rather than Mentuhotep i, as the earliest llth-Dynasiy ruler of the Theban region. In the reign of Senusret i, however, both Mentuhotep i and Intef I were given their own religious cults and the fictitious Horus namcTepy-aa (‘ancestor') was invented for iVlentiihotep i, since he and Intef i were both recognized as the founders of the Middle Kingdom.
Painted sandstone head of a statue of Mentuhotep ti Nehhepelra, from his cult temple at Deirel-Bahri. 11th Dynasty. c.2053-2()04 nc, ft. 38 cm. (ea720)
Dynasty rulers of Egvpt was. Mentuhotep it Nebhepetra. lie assumed control of the country as a whole, primarily by overthrowing the Merakleopolitan 10th Dynasty, who had been the principal rivals of the earlv llth-Dvnast' rulers, lie subsequently moved the capital to Thebes, re-established the post of VIZIKR, launched military campaigns against the t. iHVANH and the Sinai jjkoolin, and regained a certain degree of control over nuhi. a. At deir EL-H.’ilRl, in western Thebes, he built an unusual terraced funerary complex, the precise reconstruction of which is a matter of debate, although it appears to have been an ingenious combination of elements of the s. Ari’
TOMH, the Old Kingdom m. v.staba and the symbolism of the i’Riu;vAi. viouME Six hundred years later its plan was copied and elaborated by iivrsiiERSLT (1473-1458 hc) in the design of her mortuarv temple, which is located immediately to the north. iVlcntuhotep n’s complex incorporated a cenotaph containing a seated statue of the king as well as the tombs of six of his queens, including a magnificent set of limestone sarcophagi, His successor, Mentuhotep tit Sankhkara (2004-1992 itc), was buried in another valley a short distance to the south of Deir el-Bahri, but his funcraiw complex, consisting of a similar combination of ramp and podium, was unfinished and uninscribed. lie rebuilt the fortresses along the border of the eastern Delta, where a cult was later dedicated to himself and the Herakleopolitan ruler Khety in at the site of cl-Khatana. The name of the final 11th-Dynasty ruler, Mentuhotep n Neblawyra (1992-1985 hc:), is recorded on a stone bowl from Ei.-Li. siiT, bur would otherwise be practically unknown if it were not for the rock-carved records of his quarrying e. xpeditions to the Wadi el-Hudi amethyst mines and the Wadi liammamat siltstone quarries, the latter venture being led by a vizier named Amenemhat, who mav have later become \ii’:t:in. vr i (1985-1955 hc), the founder of the 12th Dynasty (1985-1795 hc).
E. N u II. LE, The xilh Dynasty temple at Deir el-Bahari, 3 vols (London. 19(17-13).
H. E. Wi. Ni. ock, The slain soldiers of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep (New York, 1945).
—, 'The rise and fall of the Middle Kingdom in Thebes {New York, 1947).
D. Arxoed, Der Tempe! des Kiinigs Mentuhotep von Deir eTBahari, 1 vols (Mainz, 1974).
N. Grim. al, .1 history of ancient Egypt (Oxford, 1992), 154-8.
Merenptah (1213-1203 nc)
I'he extraordinarv length of the reign of R ME-si:s n (1279—1213 hc) meant that at least twelve of his sons died before him, including Khaemwaset, who was for several years the appointed heir. Merenptah, the fourth pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty, was therefore probably already in his fifties by the time he came to the throne. Apart from an incident in which he sent food supplies to the ailing irrr-TiTi; empire, the major event of his reign w as an attempted invasion by the i. ihyans and sea FE. DPr. ES, which he managed to fend off in the fifth year after his accession. Just as Rameses ii had recorded the Battle of ciDi;.sii in both prose and poetry, so Merenptah described his victory in prose form on a W'all beside the sixth pylon at karnak and in poetic form on a large [jranirc stele (Egyptian Museum, Catiro), which was discovered b Flinders Petrie in 189h in the first court ofMerenprah’s mortuary temple at Aestern TllF. iii'.s. This monument is usually described as the Israel Stele because it is the earliest surviving Egyptian text to mention the people of ISRVIU, (in a list of cities and states defeated by Merenptah). Little of the mortuain temple now remains in silii and it mostlv consisted of re-used stone blocks, columns and stelae from the nearby mortuary temple ol' wir. Murna’ iii.
Unusually, given the generalh poor preservation of i’i..{:i;s, the best surviving structure from Merenptah's reign is the royal residence that he built next to the temple of Ptah at mi;m-I’liis. It was excavated in 1915-19 by Clarence Fisher, and manv fragments of masonry are now in the collection of the University Museum of Philadelphia. TIis other major surviving monument is tomb kH in the VAi. i.i-’i ()F Ti IF, Kixu. s, which still contains fragments of his sttme sarcophagi, although the magnificent granite lid of the outer sarcophagus was excavated from an intact royal burial at T-\is, where it had been re-used to cover the cotfins and mummy of l>SLSi:\F, s (Pasebakhaenniut) l (1059-991 Hc:). The body of Merenptah himself was found among the cache of mummies reinterred in the tomb of Amenhotep n (kv35). Following the brief reign of a usurper called Amenmessu, he was succeeded by his son SKTV 11(1200-1194 lu;).
W. M. F. Pi'.TRti:, Six iciiip/es m Thehes (London, 1897).
G. E. S. virnt, ‘Report on the unwrapping of the mummy of Mcnephtah', AS. IS 8 (1907),
108-12.
G. A. W iWitiGi rr, ‘Meineptah’s aid to the Hittite. s',,7i:.i 40 (I960), 24-5.
M. LKarniKivi, Ancient Egyptian litenUure ii (Hcrkeley, 1976), 73-8.
D. G. Jia'i'Rins, 'I'hc survey of Memphis i (J. ondon, 198.5), 19-20.
Wlereruka (r.2.350 itc )
Vizier, chief justice and inspector ol the prophets and tenants of the pyramid of Teti (2345-2323 ik;) of the early 6th Dynasty. .Also known by the nickname ‘Mera’, he was the son of Nedjetempel, a roval acquaintance. 1 lis w ife was the Princess Waictkhethor (nicknamed Seshseshet) and, in keeping with the practice of the Old Kingdom, it was due to his connections with the royal family that he held high office.
1 lis M V. STAI5A tomb at. SAtycyvR. v is the largest known at the site, with some thirty-two rooms, and incorporated the burial of his wife and son. Meri-Teli, as well as himself The tomb is elegantly decorated with numerous daily-lite scenes, including depictions of attempts to domesticate gazelles and hyenas (see animal iiLsnwDKv), and craft activities which are a valuable source of information on the society and economy of the 6lh Dynasty. 4'he luner-ary statue of. Mereruka is situated at the northern side of his six-columned hall. The masta-ba also incorporated a number, of sf. riaabs (statue chambers).
G. E. J. D VKF. ssv, Le muslaba de Mera (Cairo, 1898).
P. Dua. i., 'J'hc masUiha oJ'Mcrcritka (Chicago, 1938).
B. PoR'i'i'.R and R. L. B. Mo. s.s, Topographical hibliogniphy iii/2 (Oxford, 1978), 525-37.
World History
