Ancient Egypt's Great Pharaohs of Dynasty 12

This episode will explore the reigns of the pharaohs of Dynasty 12. These were powerful rulers who built massive fortresses and dominated their region. In the last episode I released on Ancient Egypt, we covered the first pharaoh of Dynasty 12, Amenhamed I. We left off with his assassination. Now we will cover the dynasty he began. Dynasty 12 began at around 1938 to about 1755 BC, give or take. When Amenhamed I died, his successor, Senuset I, had already been pharaoh for about a decade. This was due to a policy unique to Dynasty 12, the co-regency, a policy where the pharaoh shares power with his successor towards the end of his reign in order to secure the succession. On hearing of the death of Amenhamed I, Senuset I was on military campaign in Libya. He rushed back to the capital at Itijtewe in order to consolidate his position. After all, an assassination would suggest an attempted coup. One of the main aspects that defines Dynasty 12 was their response to what was happening on their southern border, the rise of the Kerma state. The Kerma state was a large and powerful Nubian kingdom located beyond the Third Cataract. A cataract, by the way, is an area of the Nile where rock formations break up the surface, making it difficult to pass by by boat. After the civil war at the end of the First Intermediate Period, Egypt reunified into the Middle Kingdom. As it grew in strength, so did the Kerma state in what is referred to as the Middle Kerma Period, which lasted from around 2050 to 1750 BC, give or take. Military operations had already begun in Lower Nubia under the co-regency of Amenhamed and Senuset I. During his reign, Amenhamed I ordered a full-scale military campaign into the Buhen region, where he built a fortified base, annexing territory up to the Second Cataract. From there, he conducted a devastating military campaign into the Ruat region. After the death of Amenhamed, Senuset I assumed absolute control of the military. He pursued a policy to secure and completely dominate Lower Nubia in order to guarantee unhindered access to Nubian resources, including, of course, Nubian gold mines. To do this, Senuset I built further military fortifications between the First and Second Cataracts. At this point, I'm just going to mention a few things worth noting about Dynasty XII. First of all, it is considered a golden age of ancient Egyptian literature. However, as most Egyptians were illiterate, most of the works were aimed at the elite members of society. Much of the writings tended to be stories with an underlining theme, to remind Egyptians that the pharaoh was the greatest guy in the world and they were all lucky to have him. Therefore, it is likely that most of the works produced were approved or commissioned through the royal court. It is also worth noting that the pharaohs were still building pyramids during this period. However, they were much smaller than those built in the Old Kingdom, and rather than use stone, Middle Kingdom pharaohs tended to use mud brick, which was less durable. As a result, Middle Kingdom pyramids have not fared well over the ages, and today tend to look like piles of rubble. Later in his reign, Senuset I adopted the co-regency policy and ruled with Amun-Hemet II, which lasted for about three years before he passed away. Amun-Hemet II ordered works to be carried out at the Fayyum, creating more effective irrigation systems in order to make land more rich and fertile. We also know that Amun-Hemet II campaigned as far north as Lebanon. Towards the end of his reign, Amun-Hemet II also adopted the co-regency policy, which lasted for about three years before he died. Less is known about Senuset II, so we'll move on. And it may have been the case that he died unexpectedly, as Senuset III seems to have ascended to the throne before the co-regency was set up. Like his predecessors, he projected military power. However, when it came to the issue of the southern border in Lower Nubia, he went all out. He ordered the construction of a chain of military fortresses on the Nubian border. In doing so, he completely dominated the region and its economic resources. Each fortification was built to use the local topography to its defensive advantage, and most were within signalling distances from one another in order to summon reinforcements when called upon. These fortresses were nearly always built from mud brick and coated in white plaster to protect it from the elements, and the lower layers were often strengthened with granite stone. The large main gate was made of wood and was probably coated with bronze to protect it from fire attack. Many fortresses also had a water gate to give direct access to the Nile. This allowed a continuous water supply and also further resupply of goods by boat. These fortifications were designed to remain impregnable to the enemy, with the ability to resupply itself indefinitely during a siege. After a short co-regency, Amenhamed III succeeded the throne. He is considered the last of the great pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom. With Egypt dominating Lower Nubia and its resources, Amenhamed III was able to concentrate on becoming even more wealthy. He organised four expeditions to the Wadi Hammat and almost back-to-back expeditions numbering about 23 to the Sinai in order to mine turquoise there. Also, trade with the Near East prospered. This, with the constant supply of Nubian gold, meant Egypt did very well under Amenhamed III. Dynasty XII is considered to be a high point in ancient Egyptian history. During this period, Egypt grew from strength to strength in wealth and power. These pharaohs operated a centralised state, dominated the region and traded internationally. 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