Intef II Wahankh
Ca. 2140 - 2091 BC Winlock
Ca 2123 - 2074 BC Dodson
Horus
name:
Wahankh
Nomen: Intef
Burial place:
Thebes (Saff el-Kisasija)
Stela from the metmuseum. Their site
provides the
following description:
"Horus Wah-ankh Intef
II was the third king of Dynasty 11, a period when Egypt was not
unified
under one ruler. The son of a nomarch (governor) of Thebes, Intef II
engaged
in numerous battles with the rival rulers of Heracleopolis and
eventually
secured control over southern Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. This laid
the
foundation for the reunification of the country under King Mentuhotep
II.
This stele was probably one of a number of small stela set up in the
courtyard of his tomb at Thebes. The king presents a bowl of beer and a
jug of milk to the god Re and goddess Hathor and is shown in the
posture of an offering bearer. He is wearing a minutely pleated kilt,
heavy broad collar and elaborately curled wig. The figure is well
carved in very high raised relief and almost gives the impression of a
statue. The text of the stele includes a request to Re for protection
during the night and a hymn of praise to Hathor as
well as a prayer for mortuary offerings."
Family:
Son of
Mentuhotep I and Neferu I.
Wife:
Neferukhayet:
? Possibly the wife of Intef II. Known from a stela from her
estate manager Redi-Khnum. (It is also possible that Neferukayet is
identical to Queen Neferu I. If so, no wife for Intef II is known.)
Titles: King’s Wife, his beloved (hmt-nisw meryt.f), King’s Daughter
(s3t-niswt), Royal Ornament (khkrt-niswt)
Son:
Intef III
Daughter:
Iah:
Wife of Inyotef III, and mother of Mentuhotep II and Neferu II. She was
depicted with her royal son on a stela.
Titles: King’s Mother (mwt-niswt), King’s Daughter (s3t-niswt),
Priestess of Hathor (hmt-ntr-hwt-hr)
General
King of the
Eleventh Dynasty (before unification). At his tomb-chapel was a stela
bearing a
depiction of the king and his dogs: this is described in a report by
necropolis
inspectors of the late Twentieth Dynasty, a thousand years later, and
part
of the stela, with the dogs and their names, survives today (Egyptian
Museum,
Cairo).
He seems to have
taken over the throne of Thebes and four other nomes in Upper Egypt
after Intef Shertawy. Dodson has him as a son of Mentuhotep I and
Neferu I.
Winlock sees him
as a younger son of Intef Sehertawy, and assumes that Mentuhotep was an
older son of Intef Sehertawy who predeceased his father.
Wahankh goes to
war with the rulers of Asyut Khety and his son Tef-ibi. Khety does not
mention the wars in his monuments, but Tef-ibi mentions defeating the
enemy twice. He mentions that the leader of southerners went into
battle "in beautiful clothes, but he fell into the water, his ship went
aground, and his army, like ducks, fled before the hunter."
Eventually,
Wahankh defeats the Thinis nome and comes in possession of Abydos.
His treasurer
Tjeti
leaves a stela recording some facts from this reign. Tjeti mentions
that
Intef Wahankh ruled the area Thinis all the way south to Thes.
"I passed a long period of years under the
majesty of
my lord, Horus, Wahenekh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re,
Intef, this land being under his authority up-river as far as [Thes]
and down-river as far as Thinis;"
From his reign:
Stela from Thebes, mentioning the king. The
stela
seems to date to year 50.
The first two lines give an account of the king's good works for the
gods (Amen). After that he gives an account of his conquest of
territory on his northern frontier.
"[...] her northern boundary as far as the nome of
Aphroditopolis.
I drove in the mooring stake in the sacred valley, I captured the
entire
Thinite nome, I opened all her fortresses, I made her the Door of the
North
[...] like a flood, great in possessions, like a sea, splendid for
the glory of Thebes (nw't), great for the [...] of this land, which I
myself have bequeathed to my son,d [...] . There is no lie that
has come forth from my mouth, there is no word like that which I have
spoken. There was no rviolencel for one (dwelling) upon his sandy land,
nor [...] for one
in possession of his paternal property, nor [...] them forever and
ever.
Year 50, when this stela was set up [...] by [...] Horus,
Wahenekh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, In[tef], the great"
(Breasted)
(see also:
http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/thebes/tombs/antefstelae.html#stela)
The temple of Satet on Elephantine was
rebuilt.
Officials from this time period
Djari Prince, Sole
Confidential friend, Governor of the residence, Superintendant of the
Granaries. Djari was the son of Hesi. DjariÕs wife, Senet-montu,
was the royal Favorite and a priestess of Hathor.
Henwen: Official from
the
time of Wahankh. He mentions serving Wahankh for a long time.
Kawer Intef: Official from
the time of Wahankh. He mentions being made a "chosen one" by the Lord
horus Wahankh.
Tjeti: Chief
Treasurer.
Tjeti served many years under Wahankh and survived into the next reign.
Contemporaries
(adversaries?):
From Asyut
(Half-way between Heracleopolis and Thebes):
Khety, Prince and Count, Treasurer of the King, Only
semer, High
priest of Wepwapet Lord of Asyut.
Tef-ibi, Son of Khety, Prince and Count, Treasurer of the King,
Only semer, High priest of Wepwapet Lord of Asyut.. Tef-ibi mentions
going to war against the Thebans
Bibliography
- 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.
- Winlock,
H.E., The
Eleventh Egyptian Dynasty, JNES, 1943
- http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/chronology/antefii.html
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