Senuseret III (Part V): Bean Counters, Surveyors and Gossips

From 1865-45 BCE Egypt is quiet. Senuseret III comes to the end of his reign in either regnal year 19, or regnal year 35(ish). The throne soon passes to his son, but things get a bit…complicated first.
We meet Heqa-nakht, a rural landlord who left us with a magnificent insight into his personal and business life.
We also meet Neferu-Ptah, easily the most enigmatic woman of the Twelfth Dynasty, and the Middle Kingdom as a whole.

Bibliography

  • Wolfram Grajetzki, The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, 2006.
  • Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, 2010.
  • Josef Wegner, “A Group of Miniature Royal Sarcophagi from South Abydos,” in Millions of Jubilees: Studies in Honor of David P. Silverman, 2010 (Read online free at Academia.edu).
  • UCL Website – Amenemhat III.
  • SLU Website – Amenemhat III.
Show 5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Martin/USA
    July 30, 2015,

    The file for Episode 47 doesn’t seem to exist. I was unable to download it, although I was able to get 46 and 48-50. I have much appreciated 1-45. (P.S. Please try to avoid non-metric units such as feet and miles. Even here in the U.S., we are trying to wean ourselves off such incoherent units. But Egyptian cubits are acceptable for historical purposes!)

    • DominicPerry
      July 30, 2015,

      Hi Martin; I have re-linked the original Libsyn upload. It should work now?

  2. Christine Pizan
    March 15, 2022,

    Concerning the status of Neferu-Ptah; how are the sons of previous 12th dynasty rulers portrayed during the period of their co-regencies with their fathers? Do they get cartouches before they ascend to sole rulership?

  3. Ulrich J. Becker
    February 10, 2023,

    Dear Dominic,

    thanks again for your great Podcast.
    Listening and relistening to this episode and the ones following, for me there come up many seemingly parallels with the Biblical story of the settlement in Egypt. Seemingly, you don’t saw this relevant to mention, but I would be interested in your educated thoughts on these few points:

    1) a period of significant influx of Canaanite people
    2) widespread distribution of a significant number of Canaaite people
    3) even similar semitic names as mentioned in the biblical text for Israelite in Egypt (‘Menahem’)
    4) the sudden and first appearance of a Canaanite Semitic Alphabet based on Hieroglyphs in exactly the locations prominent in Amenemhat III period: Serabit El-Khadim, Lahun/Kahun, Wadi El Hod
    5) an innovative organization regarding flood and grain production (you mention the new ‘early warning system’ created in the south, a new centralized measuring system (nilometer), a seemingly much more centralized administrations, while at the same time having a seemingly passive or less involved Pharaoh (Amenemhat III) – possible a thought about strong Viziership (Yosef)
    6) Emphasis on sun/Re and Ptah worship/connection (Yosef marrying the daughter of the High Priest of On/Heliopolis (Ptah worhsip) (?)
    7) growing international influence of Egypt (nations coming to ask for food in time of famine abroad)

    Thanks for your thoughts!

    • DominicPerry
      February 14, 2023,

      Hi Ulrich, thanks for your questions. I cover that information (broadly) when I reach the Second Intermediate Period, at the end of Dynasty 13 🙂

      Dominic

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