Amenemhat I

Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty considered to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC. Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and the composition of some literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti, the Instructions of Amenemhat) and, in architecture, the reversion to the pyramid-style complexes of the 6th dynasty rulers are often considered to have been ... more

Amenemhat I, also Amenemhet I, was the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty (the dynasty considered to be the beginning of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt). He ruled from 1991 BC to 1962 BC. Amenemhet I was not of royal lineage, and the composition of some literary works (the Prophecy of Neferti, the Instructions of Amenemhat) and, in architecture, the reversion to the pyramid-style complexes of the 6th dynasty rulers are often considered to have been attempts at legitimizing his rule. Amenemhat I moved the capital from Thebes to Itjtawy and was buried in el-Lisht. His son Senusret I followed in his footsteps, building his pyramid–a closer reflection of the 6th dynasty pyramids than that of Amenemhat I–at Lisht as well, but his grandson, Amenemhat II, broke with this tradition. Two literary works dating from the end of the reign give a picture about Amenemhat I's death. The Instructions of Amenemhat were supposedly counsels that the deceased king gave to his son during a dream. In the... less