Amenemhat (III)
Nimaatre
ca. 1807/06-1798/97 BC
Horus name: Aabaw
Nebty name: Itjijautawy
Golden Falcon name: Wahankh
Prenomen: Nimaatre
Nomen: Amenemhat
Burial place: Pyramid in Hawara;
a first pyramid at Dahshur was never used for the king
Son
of Senusret III.
Wives:
- Aat, She is reported to have died
at
the age of 35, and was buried in Amenemhat III's
pyramid
complex in Dashur. Titles: King’s Wife (hmt-nisw), King’s
Wife,
his beloved (hmt-nisw meryt.f), United with the White Crown
(khnmt-nfr-hdjt)
- Hetepi?, Mother of Amenemhat IV. Titles:
King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), United with the White Crown
(khnmt-nfr-hdjt),
Mistress of the Two Lands (hnwt-t3wy)
Sons:
Amenemhat IV (?)
Daughters:
- Neferuptah
B,
Obtained a cartouche towards
the end of her life. May have been groomed for the throne. Buried in
her
own pyramid in Hawara. Titles: Great one of the
hetes-sceptre
(wrt-hetes), King’s Daughter of his body (s3t-niswt-nt-kht.f)
- Sobekneferu, King's Daughter, Later Ruled
as King for 3 to 4 years.
- Hathorhetepet, King's Daughter, probably of
Amenemhet III.
- Nubhotepet, King's Daughter, probably of
Amenemhet III.
- Sithathor B, King's Daughter, probably of
Amenemhet III.
King of the Twelfth Dynasty, who reigned about 45 years and is
famous as
builder of the the mortuary complex of the king at Hawara, at the
entrance to the Fayum, probably the 'Labyrinth' that so impressed
ancient Greek authors. There are several other buildings of the king in
the Fayum (temple at Medinet Maadi, colossi at Biahmu) demonstrating
the general interest of the king in that region of Egypt. His first
pyramid was in Dahshur, but because of problems with the ground,
another site (Hawara) was chosen for a second pyramid, towards the end
of his reign. Especially in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods the king
was worshipped in the Fayum as a
god. The sculpture of the king is remarkable for several unique statue
types. (Digitalegypt)
Statue
of Amenemhat III from the State Hermitage Museum.
This is a low quality image,
the original(s) can be found at the Global
Egyptian Museum (GEM)
Inscription
on the statue:
The Younger God, Lord of Action
Nimaatre, Son of Re Amenemhat, - - - of (?) Mut (?) - - -
The Younger God, Lord of Action
Nimaatre, Son of Re Amenemhat, - - - of (?) Mut (?) - - -
(translation from Global Egyptian Museum Site)
Other
Statues:
The
upper part of a greater than life size statue of unknown provenance is
now in in the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The King is depicted with the
royal Nemes Headdress and a uraeus. ( GEM)
( Image)
The torso of a life-size statue is now in the Hermitage Museum. It
carries an inscription: 
King of Upper and Lower Egypt,
Nimaatre, Who lives eternally. ( GEM)
( Image)
Building Program:
Dashur:
The pyramid complex of Amenemhet II stands at
Dashur.
Now known as the "Black Pyramid", this complex is located in the South
of Dashur. The temple against the eastern face was destroyed. Houses,
probably
belonging to priests were found along the northern side of the causeway
leading to the Valley temple.
Underneath the pyramid are the King's chamber, Queen Aat's chamber, and
an anonymous Queen's chamber. The King was not buried in this pyramid.
Queen Aat was buried in this tomb. Her mummy shows a woman of ca 35
years old.
To the North are a row of shaft tombs. One of these belongs to the 13th
dynasty King Auibre Hor. Another person buried in these shaft toms is
the King's Daughter Nubhetepet-ikhered.
Pyramidion from
pyramidHawara:
The
pyramid Temple of Amenemhet near the entrance of the Fayum. The great
enclosure to the
south was known in ancient times as "The Labyrinth". This temple was
one
of the greatest tourists attractions during the Greaco-Roman period.
The
labyrinth is known from descriptions by Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny
the
Elder.
Statue of Sobek
from the temple at HawaraAmenemhat
also had a pyramid built here for his daughter Neferuptah (B)
Collar from the
pyramid of Neferuptah at Hawara.Kom
el-Hisn: This
site is all that is left of the ancient city if Imu. A temple dedicated
to Sekhmet-Hathor stood at this site, and contained inscribed statues
of
Amenemhat III.
Medinet
Madi: A small temple dedicated to Sobek Horus en
Renenutet was erected by Amenemhet III and his son Amenemhet IV.
Serabit
el-Khadim (in the Sinai): A
Hathor temple dates abck to the beginning of the 12th
dynasty. On the North side is a shrine of the kings vereated there, and
this shrine was
started by Amenemhat III.
Tell-Basta
(Bubastis)
Remains of a jubilee chapel was found at this site.
Bibliography / Suggested
Reading
- Breasted,
J.H., Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol I, The First through the
Seventeenth Dynasties, 2001 (originally appeared in 1906)
- Dodson, A.,
Hilton, D., The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames &
Hudson, 2004.
- Wilkinson
R.H., The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson, 2000.
- http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/amenemhatIII.html
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