Pharaoh.se

The Eleventh Dynasty of Ancient Egypt

The Eleventh Dynasty ruled Upper Egypt from Thebes, while the Tenth Dynasty ruled Lower Egypt from Heracleopolis. This led to a long conflict which ended when Mentuhotep II defeated the Heliopolitans and reunified Egypt.

In the aftermath of unification, the kings proceeded to consolidate their power and expand their territory, while also presiding over a period of significant cultural and artistic developments. These included a revival of Egyptian traditions and the construction of impressive monuments and temples.

Dynasty 11

The chronological order

It is important to note that the chronological order of the pharaohs is an evolving subject and should therefore be treated with a certain degree of caution. As new research is conducted, the order may be subject to change, which is a fundamental principle that applies to all Egyptian dynasties.

Table 1: The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty
№ Pharaoh Also known as
1Mentuhotep IMentuhotep-aa
2Intef IAntef I, Anjotef I, Inyotef I
3Intef IIAntef II, Anjotef II, Inyotef II
4Intef IIIAntef III, Anjotef III, Inyotef III
5Mentuhotep IIMontuhotep II
6Mentuhotep IIIMontuhotep III
7Mentuhotep IVMontuhotep IV

The Eleventh Dynasty according to Manetho

The contents of their epitomes of Aegyptiaka must have been quite different, as can be seen from the differences between the more complete text of Africanus and the missing information of Eusebius.

ACCORDING TO AFRICANUS

Eleventh dynasty of 16 kings of Diospolis

  1. These reigned for43 years
  2. Next after these, Ammenemes16 years

At this point, Manetho concluded his first book.

Total 192 kings2300 years70 days

ACCORDING TO EUSEBIOS

Eleventh dynasty of 16 kings of Diospolis

  1. These reigned for43 years
  2. Next after these, Ammenemes16 years

At this point, Manetho has concluded his first book.

Total 192 kings2300 years79 days

ARMENIAN TRANSLATION

Eleventh dynasty of 16 kings from Diospolis

  1. who ruled for 43 years
  2. After them, Ammenemēs 16 years

Manetho's first book concludes here.

Total: 192 kings 2300 years

Sixteen kings ruling for only 43 years is clearly a corruption of the original text. The summation for the Eleventh Dynasty in the Turin King list is damaged but from context it can be restored to: "Six kings amounting to 136 years and a lacuna of 7 years. Total: 143 years." The lacuna notation likely account for the missing Mentuhotep IV, which would make it 7 kings.

The figures provided for the totals are not entirely accurate. The total number of kings provided by both Africanus and Eusebius is 192; however, the accurate figure is 199 for Africanus and 122 for Eusebius (see Table 2). Similarly, the total number of years from both sources is listed as 2300, yet the figures for the individual kings amount to 2296 and 1942.

According to modern Egyptology, some 90 kings reigned from the First through Eleventh dynasties (approximately 1100 years). The figures by Africanus and Eusebius for dynasties 7-10 are in all likelihood based on a misunderstanding of the text by an epitomist. The line of kings of Memphis continued rule past the Sixth Dynasty - this could be the 27 kings of Africanus’ Eighth Dynasty. The ninth and tenth dynasties of Africanus and Eusebius agree that both were Herakleopolitan, each with 19 kings. It seems likely that the epitomist erroneously doubled the dynasty from the original text, as the corresponding place in the Turin King List only contains 18 kings (5.18-6.9). This suggests that perhaps the Ninth and Tenth dynasties should be combined into one dynasty instead of two.

Table 2: Number of kings per dynasty and total reigns
Dynasty Africanus Eusebius Armenian
Kings Years Total Kings Years Total Kings Years
I 8 253 253 8 252 252 8 258
II 9 302 555 9 297 549 9 297
III 9 214 769 8 198 747 8 197
IV 8 277 1046 17 448 1195 17 448
V 8 248 1294 31 100 1295 31 —
VI 6 203 1497 — 203 1498 — 203
VII 70 — — 5 — — 5 75
VIII 27 146 1639 5 100 1598 5 100
IX 19 409 2048 4 100 1698 4 100
X 19 185 2233 19 185 1883 19 185
XI 16 43 2276 16 43 1926 16 43
16 2292 16 1942 16
Total 192 — 2300 192 — 2300 192 2300
Actual 199 2296 122 1942 122 1922

New Kingdom king lists

The Eleventh Dynasty in the Turin King List contains 6 kings (plus one implied by a lacuna), while the Abydos Canon and Saqqara Canon only contain two each.

Table 3: The Eleventh Dynasty in the New Kingdom king lists
№ Abydos Canon Saqqara Canon Turin King List
1 – – lacuna
2 – – lacuna
3 – – lacuna  49 years
4 – – lacuna  x+8 years
5 nb-ḥꜢpt-rꜤ nb-ḥꜢpt-rꜤ nb-ḥꜢpt-rꜤ  51 years
6 s-Ꜥnḫ-kꜢ-rꜤ s-Ꜥnḫ-kꜢ-rꜤ s-Ꜥnḫ...  12 years

1

That is, Thebes, near modern Luxor.