The fifth king of the 11th Dynasty was the son of Montuhotep II and Queen Tem. His preference was for the arts and rebuilding. He also opened trade with the Red Sea region and was involved with the Wadi Hammamat quarrying operations. He built a shrine to the god Thoth near Deir el Bahri. His mortuary temple was never finished.
The sixth king of the 11th Dynasty was the son of Montuhotep III and Queen Imi. Following in his father�s footsteps, Montuhotep carried on with mining and quarrying. He had an immense sarcophagus lid quarried in Wadi Hammamat which was later sailed down the Nile to the tomb site. Montuhotep founded the harbor town of Kuser on the Red Sea. The Egyptians, preparing for a journey to Punt, needed a harbor town for the shipbuilding operations. Many of these projects were conducted by Montuhotep's�s successor, Amenemhet.
This 11th Dynasty vizier assumed the throne when Montuhotep IV died. It is believed that Amenemhet usurped the throne from the reigning king. He campaigned against the Libyans and the Asiatics in the Sinai. There he erected the Wall of the Prince to guard the eastern borders. He also built a trading post in Nubia at Kerma. He named his capital city, (on the border of Upper and Lower Egypt), Itj-Tawy, �Seizer of Two Lands.� Among his many wives was Nefrutotenen, mother of Senwosret I. Amenemhet made Senwosret I co-ruler in 1971 B.C. Amenemhet�s line, from non-royal birth, began a golden age for Egypt. The Testament of Amenemhet , included in the Milligan Papyrus and the Papyrus Sallier II, was 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 king that is not alert to those around him. It also states that loneliness and personal sacrifice make for a good king.
The second king of the 12th Dynasty was the son of Amenemhet I and Queen Nefrutoten. Senwosret served as co-ruler with his father for more than ten years. He received news of his father�s death while away on a campaign. During his reign he extended Egypt�s borders to the area between the Second and Third Cataract. He established the fortress of Kerma. Senwosret mined gold, copper and granite. After securing Egypt�s borders he erected buildings along the Nile and refurbished existing temples. He built a funerary complex at Lisht. His pyramid consisted of separate compartments filled with sand and then covered with limestone. A second layer of stone completed the structure. His son, Amenemhet II, served with him as co-ruler and assumed the throne when Senwosret died in the 45th year of his reign.
Amenemhet II was co-ruler with his father Senwosret I for three years. Upon his father�s death, Amenemhet II became the third king of the 12th Dynasty. His only campaign was in Nubia. Instead of military expeditions he directed his attention toward internal affairs and the nomarchs. These nomarchs were nobles of Egyptian provinces, or nomes, and served as the kings representatives. Raising their own armies, they defended their own borders. During times of weak kings the nomarchs became more independent and were easily provoked by royal orders. Amenemhet was buried in Dashur.
Senwosret II was the fourth king of the 12th Dynasty. He ruled the country from 1842 till 1836 BC. The king ruled the country before he claimed his throne during the period when his father, Amenemhet II, was ill before he died. Senwosret II conducted many agricultural projects in Faiyum that transferred thousands of marshlands into fields. His goal was to establish a strong economic base for Ancient Egypt. The king conducted many military campaigns in Nubia and extended his kingdom's border further south. Also, Senwosret II protected the minerals in Nubia and Sinai and continued extracting natural resources from them. He built a pyramid near Faiyum which was destroyed by Ramesses II.
The fifth king of the 12th Dynasty was the son of Senwosret II. Being a �man of the people� he supported the rise of the middle class. These people were farmers, artisans, merchants and traders. Also active militarily, he extended Egypt�s borders in Nubia to Wadi Halfa. He built mortuary complexes at Dashur for his wives and daughters.
The son of Senwosret III and Queen Sebekshedty-Neferu, this sixth king of the 12th Dynasty was to be the most remarkable king of that era. He completed the building of the great waterwheels of the Faiyum, thus diverting the flood waters of the Nile into Lake Moeris. The irrigation system and an overflow canal, was used to drain the marshes. An estimated 153,600 acres of fertile land was reclaimed from the water. Amenemhet raised two colossal statues of himself nearby to celebrate this feat. Among his many achievements was the famous Labyrinth, also known as the Pyramid of Hawara, one of the great wonders of the ancient world. The central burial chamber of the pyramid, carved from a single block of granite, is estimated to have weighed 110 tons. His pyramidal tomb was built at Dashur, which he abandoned in favor of the Hawara Pyramid. Amenemhet mined copper from the Sinai and local mines, and had many quarries. He provided the workers with housing and protection from the Bedouins.
This seventh king of the 12th Dynasty was probably the son of Amenemhet III. He co-ruled with Amenemhet III and a temple at Medinet Madi in the Faiyum was probably built by both kings. Due to his father�s long reign, Amenemhet IV was old when he assumed the throne. He had no male heir and was succeeded by his sister, Neferusobek.
Neferusobek was the eighth queen of the 12th Dynasty. She ruled the country from 1763 till 1759 BC. Some historians say that she was the daughter of Amenemhet III and half sister of Amenemhet IV, her predecessor. Neferusobek was mentioned in the Karnak, Saqqara and Turin List of Kings. Three statues and a sphinx for her were found near the Nile Delta.
