Amenemhat II

Great Sphinx of Tanis, bearing the cartouches of Amenemhat II. Louvre, A23

Amenemhat II was once believed to have shared a period of coregency with his predecessor Senusret I, an hypothesis based on the double-dated stela of an official named Wepwawetō (Leiden, V4) that bears the regnal year 44 of Senusret I and the regnal year 2 of Amenemhat II.[6] The existence of such coregency is now considered unlikely and the meaning of the double-date on the stela is interpreted as a time range when Wepwawetō was in charge, from Senusret I's year 44 to Amenemhat II's year 2.[7][8]

A Guardian figure in a temple from the Met museum gallery 136, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt and whose face appears to reflect the features of the reigning king, most probably Amenemhat II or Senusret II. It functioned as a divine guardian for the imiut, and it is wearing a divine kilt, which suggests that the statuette was not merely a representation of the living ruler.[9]

The most important record for Amenemhat's early reign is on fragments of the so-called Annals of Amenemhat II unearthed at Memphis (later reused during the 19th Dynasty). It provides records of donations to temples and, sometimes, of political events. Among the latter, there is a mention of a military expedition into Asia, the destruction of two cities – Iuai and Iasy – whose location is still unknown, and the coming of tribute-bearers from Asia and Kush.[10] Under Amenemhat II several mining expeditions are known: at least 3 in the Sinai, one in the Wadi Gasus (year 28) and one in search for amethysts in the Wadi el-Hudi. He is known to have ordered building works at Heliopolis, Herakleopolis, Memphis, in the Eastern Delta, and rebuilt a ruined temple at Hermopolis. There are some mentions of the building of a "First temple" but it is still unclear what it should have been.[11] A well-known finding associated with Amenemhat II is the Great Sphinx of Tanis (Louvre A23), later usurped by many other pharaohs. He is also named on the boxes of a treasure of silver objects found under the temple of Montu at Tod: notably, many of these objects are not of Egyptian workmanship but rather Aegean, evidencing contacts between Egypt and foreign civilizations in the Middle Kingdom. Many private stelae bears Amenemhat's cartouches – and sometimes even his regnal years – but are of little help in providing useful information about the events of his reign.[12]

Some members of Amenemhat's court are known. Senusret was the vizier at the beginning of his reign, and one of his successors was Ameny, later likely followed by Siese who had a remarkable career and also was a treasurer and a high steward before his vizierate. Beside Siese, other known treasurers were Rehuerdjersen and Merykau. The "overseer of the gateway", Khentykhetywer, was buried near the king's pyramid. Other known officials were the "overseers of the chamber", Snofru and Senitef, and the royal scribe and iry-pat Samont.[11] As great overseer of troops, a certain Ameny dates most likely under the king.

Amenemhat II and his successor Senusret II shared a brief coregency, the only unquestionable one of the whole Middle Kingdom. Unlike most of the double-dated monuments, the stela of Hapu from Konosso explicitly states that these two kings ruled together for a while[8] and that the regnal year 3 of Senusret II equates the regnal year 35 of Amenemhat II. Amenemhat's year 35 on the stela of Hapu is also the highest date known for him.[13]