Sesostris II.

Name of Sesostris II.
Head of a statue of Sesostris II. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek , Copenhagen
Horus name	Seschemu-taui Sšm.w-t3.wj Who directs the two countries
Sideline	Sechai-Maat Sḫˁ.j-M3ˁ.t Who makes the Maat appear Sechai-Nebti Sḫˁ.j-Nb.tj Who makes the two mistresses appear
Gold name	Hetep-netjeru (Hetep-netjeru) Ḥtp-nṯr.w Contentment (appeasement) of the gods
Throne name	Chai-cheper-Re Ḫˁj-ḫpr-Rˁ With appearing figure, a Re
Proper name	(Sesostris) Senwosret or Senuseret S (j) n Wsrt man of Wosret
Greek Manetho variants:	Africanus : Sesostris Eusebius : Sesostris Eusebius, AV : Sesostris

Pectoral from the tomb of Sithathoriunet with the throne name of Sesostris II.

Sesostris II. Was the fourth ancient Egyptian king ( Pharaoh ) of the 12th Dynasty ( Middle Kingdom ), he ruled from around 1845/44 to 1837 BC. (After Beckerath: 1882 to 1872 BC). The royal papyrus of Turin recorded 19 years for his reign. Monuments from his reign only indicate a reign of 8 to 9 years.

family

Sesostris II is considered to be the son of his predecessor Amenemhet II , but there is no solid evidence for this relationship. The wife was Chenmetneferhedjet I the elder , who lacks the title of king's daughter and is therefore of bourgeois origin. Nofret II , whose seated statues were found in Tanis and who had a close relationship with the king, is regarded as his daughter, as she does not have the title of " consort of the king ". A king's daughter Neferet is named together with other members of the royal family on a papyrus from Lahun , which is now in Berlin . Other daughters were Itakayt (II.) And maybe Sithathoriunet . The heir to the throne Sesostris III. and Sesostris-Senebwer known.

Domination

Sesostris II ascended the throne as co-regent in the 32nd or 33rd year of Amenemhet II's reign . Co-regency lasted three years until Amenemhet's death in his 35th year in office.

The reign of Sesostris was predominantly peaceful, as no military undertakings have survived. Several quarry expeditions, which served the extraction of building materials, are attested to.

One of the ruler's greatest achievements was the development and cultivation of the Fajum area . In order to divert water from Lake Moeris and gain agricultural land, the king had several dams and canals built. With the intensification of agriculture, the Fajum experienced an upswing and new settlements emerged. In addition, Sesostris ordered the construction of monuments, such as the sanctuary at Qasr es-Sagha . Many of these structures were never completed as the king died before they were completed. Later rulers continued to develop the Fajum during the 12th Dynasty.

Little is known about the ruler's court. Inpy held the office of head of the gate guard and was buried near the ruler's pyramid. Significant nomarchs this time were Khnumhotep II. Of Beni Hassan , Sarenput II. Of Aswan , Uchhotep III. by Mair and Thothotep of El-Bershe .

Due to the long reign of his predecessor Amenemhet II, Sesostris II was probably already very old when he became co-regent and died on the 14th of Peret IV .

supporting documents

A particularly large number of testimonies from Sesostris II have not survived. A black granite statue of the king comes from Hierakonpolis . Two more granite statues of Nefertiti were found in Tanis, which Ramses II possibly had transported there. Ramses also built some stones from Sesostris' pyramid chapel in Illahun in Ehnasja el-Medina near Herakleopolis . A stele dating from the first year of the reign comes from Wadi Gasus on the Red Sea . An inscription in Wadi Hammamat recalls a second year expedition. An inscription near Aswan attests to the years 35/3 of the co-regency. Furthermore, the king is mentioned in the private graves of the princes Chnumhotep II and Thothotep in Beni Hassan and El-Bershe.

From the temple of Hathor near the turquoise mines in Serabit el-Chadim comes a headless, kneeling statuette bearing the proper name and Horus name of Sesostris II.

A small sandstone stele from the diorite mines near Toschka on the second cataract of the Nile dates back to the eighth year of the reign and possibly indicates a peaceful Nubia policy .

Tomb

→ Main article : Sesostris II pyramid

Mud brick core of the Sesostris II pyramid.

Plan and section through the interior of the pyramid.

Sesostris II chose the city of Illahun at the entrance of the Fajum Basin as the location for his pyramid complex . The decision was certainly related to the king's interests in the area. The pyramid, of which only an adobe core still stands today, was originally 49 meters high with a side length of 106 meters and was similar to the building of his grandfather Sesostris I.

The pyramid consists of a limestone skeleton, filled with clay bricks and clad with limestone slabs. A major innovation is a trench carved into the rock around the grave, which was filled with stones and was intended to protect the underground burial chamber from penetrating water. For the first time, the entrance was not in the middle of the north side of the pyramid, as usual, but was hidden to the southwest under the tomb of a princess.

A 16-meter-deep shaft leads down to a corridor that is interrupted at one point by a well of unknown depth. Behind it, the corridor climbs slightly and leads past a large chamber and a side tunnel. The walk ends in the grave chamber , where the red granite sarcophagus and Osiris and Anubis consecrated offering table stands. An opening in the northwest corner of the burial chamber leads back to the side tunnel via a surrounding corridor.

Looting

The pyramid district in Illahun has been repeatedly visited by grave robbers. Already under Ramses II the limestone cladding of the pyramid was removed, whereby the decay of the building was programmed. Flinders Petrie found the golden uraeus of Sesostris II in the rubble of the pyramids , which is now in the Cairo Museum.

Environment of the tomb

Within the pyramid area, which is enclosed by a brick wall, there is a small queen pyramid and various mastabas of the high court officials, in addition to the pyramid of the king , which were, however, very destroyed. A prominent figure was probably the head of the gate guard, Inpy, who was also the head of all royal construction work in the whole country and perhaps directed the construction of the pyramids.

In the grave of Sithathoriunet , which is located on the southeast side with other princess graves , gold rings, necklaces, pectorals , a diadem and much more were found in addition to the sarcophagus and canopic jugs . A small temple decorated with beautiful painted reliefs was demolished at the time of Ramses II.

Three were on the southwest corner of the Pyramid district barks of cedar discovered.

Valley temple and pyramid city

Plan of the pyramid city of Kahun.

The valley temple stood 1.5 kilometers to the east , although it does not seem to have been connected to the pyramid. Several important papyri ( Lahunpapyri ) were found in the temple area, which provide information about the economy and administration, but also about medicine, religion, astronomy and literature at the time of the 12th dynasty. Most of them date from the reign of Sesostris III.

In 1889, near the temple, Flinders Petrie excavated a right-angled pyramid city near today's town of Kahun , which was built according to a uniform plan and temporarily housed more than 5,000 people. Royal officials and priests lived in the city, but also craftsmen and workers who helped build the pyramid district.

Further construction activities are attested in Nubia on the second Nile cataract. There Sesostris II had the work begun by Amenemhet II on the Mirgissa fortress continue.

Term of office

At Manetho Sesostris II. And Sesostris III. collectively counted as one king with a reign of 48 years. The Papyrus Turin gives Sesostris II 19 years, which with the assumed time of the sole rule of Sesostris III. would match. Jürgen von Beckerath therefore considers it possible to swap the information in the Turin Papyrus and assign Sesostris II to the 10 + x years in Amenemhet II.

New allocation of government data in the Turin Royal Papyrus according to Beckerath
Ruler	General government	Years of government after Pap. Turin	New assignment (according to Beckerath)
Amenemhet II	34 + x	10 (+ x?)	30 (+ x)
Sesostris II.	8 + x	19th	10
Sesostris III.	19 + x	30 (+ x)	19th

The highest contemporary documented year of reign for Sesostris II is year 8 or 9 and can be found on a stele from the quarries near Toschka in Lower Nubia . Most Egyptologists, such as Thomas Schneider , Ian Shaw or Darrell D. Baker, advocate a short reign of eight years.

literature

• Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs, Volume I: Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty (3300-1069 BC) . Bannerstone Press, London 2008, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9 , pp. 395-397 .
• Martin von Falck, Susanne Martinssen-von Falck: The great pharaohs. From the early days to the Middle Kingdom. Marix, Wiesbaden 2015, ISBN 978-3737409766 , pp. 213-217.
• Hermann A. Schlögl : Ancient Egypt: History and culture from the early days to Cleopatra . Beck, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-54988-8 , pp. 159-163 .
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs . Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , p. 266-267 .
• Thomas Schneider: The Relative Chronology of the Middle Kingdom and the Hyksos Period (Dyns. 12-17). In: Erik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental studies. Section One. The Near and Middle East. Volume 83). Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , pp. 168-196 ( online ).
• William K. Simpson: Sesostris II . In: Wolfgang Helck (Ed.): Lexicon of Egyptology . tape V . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02489-5 , pp. 899-903 .

Web links

Commons : Sesostris II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ^ Names and years of reign of Sesostris II. And Sesostris III. were only counted as a king with a 48-year reign.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Baker: Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, p. 395.
3. ↑ tungsten Grajetzki: The 12th Dynasty by Amen-em-hat I. In: Kemet Issue 3/2000. Kemet-Verlag, Berlin 2000, ISSN  0943-5972 , p. 11.
4. ↑ Silke Roth: The royal mothers of ancient Egypt from the early days to the end of the 12th dynasty. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2001, ISBN 3-447-04368-7 , p. 437.
5. ^ Aidan Dodson , Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, London 2004, ISBN 0-500-05128-3 , pp. 90-99 ( PDF file; 67.9 MB ); Retrieved from Internet Archive on January 20, 2018.
6. ^ Hermann A. Schlögl: The old Egypt. Munich 2006, pp. 159-160.
7. ^ Thomas Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Düsseldorf 2002, pp. 166-167.
8. ↑ Winfried Barta In: Studies on ancient Egyptian culture (SAK) 8 . Buske, Hamburg 1980, p. 36.
9. ^ Baker: Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, pp. 395-396.
10. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Baker: Encyclopedia of the Egyptian Pharaohs. London 2008, p. 396.
11. ^ Dieter Arnold : Lexicon of Egyptian architecture. Albatros, Düsseldorf 1992, ISBN 3-491-96001-0 , pp. 236-237.
12. ^ Hermann A. Schlögl: The old Egypt. Munich 2006, p. 160.
13. ^ Dieter Arnold: Lexicon of Egyptian architecture. Düsseldorf 1992, pp. 164-165.
14. ↑ Jürgen von Beckerath : Chronology of the Pharaonic Egypt. von Zabern, Mainz 1997, ISBN 3-8053-2310-7 , pp. 133-135
15. ^ Thomas Schneider: Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period. In: Erik Hornung , Rolf Krauss , David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology. (= Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 83) Brill, Leiden / Boston 2006, ISBN 978-90-04-11385-5 , p. 172.
16. ^ Ian Shaw (Ed.): The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, Oxford / New York 2000, ISBN 978-0-19-815034-3 , p. 483.

predecessor	Office	successor
Amenemhet II	King of Egypt 12th Dynasty	Sesostris III.