Amenemhet I

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Amenemhet I
Rule1991 - 1962 BC.
PredecessorMentuhotep IV
Fatherpriest Senusret
MotherNofret
Nomen (meaning of name)Amun is the foremost
Dynasty12th - founder
ConsortsNefrytatenan
Neferu
Capital cityCrocodilopolis
AchievementsMilitary campaigns in Libya and Wall of the Prince - Sinai
Burialel-Lisht in Fayum
SuccesorSon Senusret I out of Nefrytatenan

  • He usurped the throne from the reigning Egyptian Pharaoh Mentuhotep IV
  • He campaigned against the Libyans and the Asiatic in the Sinai.
  • There he erected the Wall of the Prince in Sinai to guard the eastern borders. He also built a trading post in Nubia at Karma.
  • He moved the capital city from Thebes to Crocodilopolis on the border of Upper and Lower Egypt
  • He made his son Senusret I co-ruler in 1971 B.C.
  • Amenemhet’s line, from non-royal birth, began a golden age for Egypt.
  • He constructed a Middle kingdom Pyramid at el-Lisht.
  • He was assassinated in a plot that originated in his harem of wives and consorts. He was attacked while sleeping and while later stories tell how he bravely defended himself, he was eventually slain by his own bodyguards.
  • The Testament of Amenemhet , included in the Milligan Papyrus and the Papyrus Sallier II, they were written as a commemorative following Amenemhet’s death. The Testament defines royal obligations and the needs of the people. It states that there are perils awaiting a Pharaoh that is not alert to those around him. It also states that loneliness and personal sacrifice made by a good Pharaoh.

    Page last updated: 15 Feb 2008
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