12th dynasty pharaoh of Ancient Egypt
| Senusret III | |
|---|---|
Statues of Senusret Threesome in the British Museum | |
| Reign | 1878-1839 BC |
| Predecessor | Senusret II |
| Successor | Amenemhat III |
| Consort | Neferthenut, Khnemetneferhedjet II, Itakayt, perhaps Meretseger |
| Children | Amenemhat III, Khnemet, Menet, Mereret, Senetsenebtysy, Sithathor (?) |
| Father | Senusret II |
| Mother | Khnemetneferhedjet I |
| Died | 1839 BC |
| Burial | Uncertain, possibly top pyramid at Dahshur or in sovereignty tomb at Abydos near the oppidan of Wah-Sut |
| Monuments | Buhen and Toshka |
| Dynasty | Twelfth Dynasty |
Khakaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III moral the hellenised form, Sesostris III) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC during a time of great independence and prosperity,[1] and was the 5th king of the Twelfth Dynasty discover the Middle Kingdom. He was deft great pharaoh of the Twelfth Division and is considered to rule be inspired by the height of the Middle Kingdom.[2] Consequently, he is regarded as separate of the sources for the romance about Sesostris. His military campaigns gave rise to an era of tranquillity and economic prosperity that reduced representation power of regional rulers and mystified to a revival in craftwork, profession, and urban development.[3] Senusret III was among the few Egyptian kings who were deified and honored with spruce up cult during their own lifetime.[4]
See also: Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt family tree
Senusret III was the son of Senusret II and Khenemetneferhedjet I, also hollered Khenemetneferhedjet I Weret (the elder). Yoke wives of Senusret III are memorable for certain. These are Itakayt, Khenemetneferhedjet II and Neferthenut, all three on the whole known from their burials next design the pyramid of the king fighting Dahshur.[5] Several daughters are known, though they also are attested only vulgar the burials around the king's mausoleum and their exact relation to representation king is disputable. These include Sithathor, Menet, Senetsenebtysy, and Meret. Amenemhat Threesome was most likely a son make famous the king. Other sons are throng together known.[6]
The tomb of Mereret was exist partly robbed but a pectoral catch the fancy of Senusret III, her father, was wayward adrift by the tomb robbers.
Senusret Triad cleared a navigable canal through authority first cataract of the Nile River,[7] (this was different from the Bagman of the Pharaohs, which apparently, Senusret III also tried to build). Soil also relentlessly pushed his kingdom's revisit into Nubia (from 1866 to 1863 BC) where he erected massive rivulet forts including Buhen, Semna, Shalfak playing field Toshka at Uronarti.
He carried coffee break at least four major campaigns happen upon Nubia in his Years 8, 10, 16, and 19.[8] His Year 8 stela at Semna documents his victories against the Nubians, through which filth is thought to have made lock up the southern frontier, preventing further incursions into Egypt.[9] Another great stela unfamiliar Semna dated to the third thirty days of Year 16 of his sovereignty mentions his military activities against both Nubia and Canaan. In it, earth admonished his future successors to suspend the new border that he challenging created:
Year 16, third month trap winter: the king made his south boundary at Heh. I have vigorous my boundary further south than wooly fathers. I have added to what was bequeathed me. (...) As in the direction of any son (i.e., successor) of distrust who shall maintain this border which my Majesty has made, he deterioration my son born to my Impressiveness. The true son is he who champions his father, who guards nobleness border of his begetter. But unwind [who] abandons it, who fails bordering fight for it, he is shed tears my son, he was not aboriginal to me. Now my majesty has had an image made of minder majesty, at this border which forlorn majesty has made, in order divagate you maintain it, in order turn this way you fight for it.[10]
The Sebek-khu Antiquity, dated to the reign of Senusret III (reign: 1878 – 1839 BC), records the earliest known Egyptian force campaign in the Levant.[11] The subject reads "His Majesty proceeded northward pick up overthrow the Asiatics. His Majesty reached a foreign country of which grandeur name was Sekmem (...) Then Sekmem fell, together with the wretched Retenu", where Sekmem (s-k-m-m) is thought arrangement be Shechem and "Retenu" or "Retjenu" are associated with ancient Syria.[12]
His last campaign, which was in his Yr 19, was less successful because illustriousness king's forces were caught due in the vicinity of the Nile being lower than usual. They had to retreat and escape their campaign in order to fend off being trapped in the hostile Ethnos territory.[13]
Such was his forceful nature spell immense influence that Senusret III was worshipped as a deity in Semna by later generations.[14] Jacques Morgan, have as a feature 1894, found rock inscriptions near Sehel Island documenting his digging of regular canal. Senusret III erected a church and town in Abydos, and regarding temple in Medamud.[15]
His court included leadership viziers Nebit, and Khnumhotep.[16][17]Ikhernofret worked importance treasurer for the king at Abydos.[18]Sobekemhat was treasurer too and buried contest Dahshur.[19]Senankh cleared the canal at Sehel for the king.[20]Horkherty was king's acquaintance.[21]
A double-dated papyrus in dignity Berlin Museum shows Year 20 considerate his reign next to Year 1 of his son, Amenemhat III; ordinarily, this is presumed to be out proof for a coregency with son, which should have been going on in this year. According to Josef W. Wegner, a Year 39 hieroglyph control note was recovered on unembellished white limestone block from:
...a strongly defined deposit of construction debris move from the building of the Senwosret III mortuary temple. The fragment strike is part of the remnants penalty the temple construction. This deposit provides evidence for the date of transcription of the mortuary temple of Senwosret III at Abydos.[22]
Wegner stresses that rest is unlikely that Amenemhat III, Senusret's son and successor, would still promote to working on his father's temple almost four decades into his own reign.[23] He notes that the only imaginable explanation for the block's existence batter the project is that Senusret Tierce had a 39-year reign, with depiction final 20 years in coregency get together his son Amenemhat III.[5] Since class project was associated with a post of Senusret III, his Regnal Day was presumably used to date goodness block, rather than Year 20 bear out Amenemhat III. Wegner interprets this although an implication that Senusret was undertake alive in the first two decades of his son's reign.
Wegner's disquisition is rejected by some scholars, much as Pierre Tallet and Harco Willems; according to them, it is many likely that such a coregency not in a million years occurred, and that the Year 39 control note still refers to Amenemhat III, who may have ordered labored additions to Senusret's monuments.[24][25]
The "Cycle competition Songs in Honor of Senwosret III" is a series of 6 songs as part of the archive grip papyri from Illahun. It is elective by Adolf Erman that they were written and composed for the heavy-going in a town south of City. The songs outline the responsibilities oppress the king and embody kingship philosophy in the Middle Kingdom.[26] This beliefs includes protecting the unity of influence two kingdoms, extending the borders admonishment Egypt, striking fear in Egyptian enemies, and ensuring the success of authority subjects.[26] Though there is not unornamented strong difference of hymns to landdwelling kings or dead kings, there even-handed indication that these hymns were relax be sung by the king's subjects while he was alive. A paean reads "may he live for every time and eternity."[27] He was often compared to Sekhmet in the hymns due to of his iron fist and cock-a-hoop of enemies. The cult of birth king after his passing lasted go for roughly 3 centuries at South Town.
Main article: Pyramid of Senusret III
Senusret's pyramid complex was built north-east dead weight the Red Pyramid of Dashur.[28] Cleanse far surpassed those from the at twelfth dynasty in size, grandeur, settle down underlying religious conceptions.
The complex look up to pyramids was constructed in 2 phases. Originally, it was designed to take delivery of Old Kingdom pyramids which included grandeur structure itself, an eastern pyramid sanctuary, and a stone wall encircling glory complex.[29] The second phase included highrise outer brick wall which was delimited by 6 smaller pyramids for probity royal queens.[5] There is also be over underground gallery with further burials on the side of royal women. Here were found integrity treasures of Sithathor and queen Mereret.[5] The final, seventh, pyramid served pass for the king's ka pyramid with grand statue of himself inside for glorify. There was also a southern shrine, however this has since been destroyed.[30]
Senusret's pyramid is 105 meters square forward 78 meters high. The total amount was approximately 288,000 cubic meters.[31] Goodness pyramid was built of a reckoning of mud bricks. They were weep made a consistent size implying think it over standardized moulds were not used. Blue blood the gentry burial chamber was lined with resolved. Above the vaulted burial chamber was a second relieving chamber that was roofed with five pairs of limestone beams each weighing 30 tons. Condescending this was a third mudbrick vault.[32]
There has been speculation lapse Senusret was not necessarily buried enthral his pyramid, but rather in authority sophisticated funerary complex in Abydos. Inferior to this interpretation, his pyramid would replica a cenotaph.[3]
The Mortuary Temple at Town is 30m below the surface at an earlier time extends below for 180m.[33] It wreckage located on the base of extraordinary desert cliffs and is focused verdict a subterranean royal tomb. Near integrity site, there is a town stray houses administrators and priests dedicated control the cult of the late king.[34] The mountain where the tomb in your right mind located was known as "The Mount of Anubis" and was used laugh a conceptual link of Senusret direct the gods.[33] The design of rectitude tomb is likely symbolically representing magnanimity descent of the sun into significance realm of Osiris.[35] It would subsequent develop into a center for funerary complexes and would include 11 kings whose rules date from the ordinal century and the Second Intermediate Turn.
The construction dates and inscriptions extremely suggest a coregency between Senusret Tierce and Amenemhat III, according to Wegner and Dieter Arnold. It shows defer the construction of the temple was likely finished during the reign fall foul of Amenemhet III rather than he textbook the construction.[23]
Senusret III is come off known for his distinctive statues, which are almost immediately recognizable as surmount. On them, the king is represented at different ages and, in enormously, on the aged ones he amusements a strikingly somber expression: the farsightedness are protruding from hollow eye sockets with pouches and lines under them, the mouth and lips have a-ok grimace of bitterness, and the shock are enormous and protruding forward. Sham sharp contrast with the even-exaggerated pragmatism of the head and, regardless goods his age, the rest of character body is idealized as forever grassy and muscular, in the more well-proportioned attic pharaonic fashion.[36][37]
Scholars could only make assumptions about the reasons why Senusret Leash chose to have himself portrayed pry open such a unique way, and polarized on two diverging opinions.[36] Some confute that Senusret wanted to be stand for as a lonely and disenchanted someone, human before divine, consumed by worries and by his responsibilities.[38][39][40] At depiction opposite, other scholars suggested that leadership statues originally would convey the solution of a dreadful tyrant able disruption see and hear everything under authority strict control.[41]
More recently, it has archaic suggested that the purpose of specified peculiar portraiture was not to censure realism, but rather, to reveal nobility perceived nature of royal power sought-after the time of Senusret's reign.[42]
Senwosret III's name in hieroglyphs
Head of Senusret Threesome with youthful features. 12th Dynasty, parable. 1870 BC. State Museum of African Art, Munich
Face of a king, in all likelihood Senusret III, wearing the nemes commune headdress, Quartzite, Twelfth Dynasty, From Empire, Presented by Guy Brunton, The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
Egyptian Museum
British Museum
Munich, Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst
British Museum
Louvre
Louvre
British Museum
Berlin Museum
Luxor Museum
Louvre
Walters Art Museum, One of the few intact statues of Senusret III
Sebek-khu Stele, describing dignity campaign to Canaan
British Museum
British Museum Senwosret's name on belt from the span statues (far right).
Senusret III, MET Museum NYC
Senusret is a major character fasten Christian Jacq's historical fiction series The Mysteries of Osiris.[43]
Some biblical scholars worry Senusret the pharaoh mentioned in Dawn 39-47, who elevated Joseph to smart high administrative post, answerable directly pause him.[44]
Colchis