'The kings who were after the children of Sehotepibre': the early Thirteenth Dynasty and Amenemhat III

Thesis

The Thirteenth Dynasty is identified in the Turin king-list as ‘the kings [who were] after the [children] of Sehotepibre’ (Ryholt 2004, 142; Allen 2010, 1), indicating that by the Ramessid period, the dynasty was already being defined by its relationship to the Twelfth. Previous studies of the Thirteenth Dynasty have identified specific examples where their monumental display seemingly recalls that of Amenemhat III (e.g. McCormack 2010b; Fay 1988), all of which can be attributed to its first nineteen kings. This thesis aims to demonstrate that this emulation of and association with Amenemhat III is not limited to isolated examples, but is found across the attestations of this early group of Thirteenth Dynasty kings, and is integral to their royal display.

In Part One, chapter one establishes the chronological parameters of the thesis, and demonstrates that the first nineteen kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty share common onomastic, architectural, and iconographic features which allow them to be identified as a distinct group within the overall dynasty. Previous studies of Thirteenth Dynasty kingship, which have focussed on questions of chronology and succession are also discussed. In the following chapters, two case studies of rock inscriptions from the mid- and early Thirteenth Dynasty set the foundation for Part Two by demonstrating that kings across this dynasty consistently engaged with existing traditions of the preceding Twelfth Dynasty to articulate their own identity. Part Two demonstrates that while the early Thirteenth Dynasty situated themselves broadly within the traditions of the Twelfth Dynasty, they emulated specific elements from Amenemhat III, which can be seen across aspects of monumental display and self-presentation, including their titularies, mortuary architecture, and figural representations of the king in both statuary and relief. The final chapter considers the significance of this use of the past in royal self-presentation and the focus on Amenemhat III. Overall the data suggests a picture of a dynasty that cultivated an association not only with the Twelfth Dynasty, ‘the house of Sehotepibre’, but specifically and programmatically, with Amenemhat III.

Authors: Neale, H

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-e2zepk8zk
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Egyptology