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Intef III

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Intef III
Inyotef III, Antef III
Intef III on the Silsileh petroglyph.
Intef III on theSilsilehpetroglyph.
Pharaoh
Reign8 years, 2069–2061 BC,[1]2068—2061BC,[2]2063–2055 BC,[3][4]2016–2009 BC[5]
PredecessorIntef II
SuccessorMentuhotep II
Royal titulary
Horus name
Nakhtnebtepnefer
Ḥr Nḫt-nb-tp-nfr
Horus beautiful and strong champion[6]
G5
N35
M3
X1		V30
D1		F35
Nomen
Intef
S3-Rˁ In-it.f
Son of Re Intef(litt. his father brought him)[6]
G39N5
W25n&t&f
ConsortIah,Henite[1]
ChildrenMentuhotep II,[7]Neferu II
FatherIntef II[7]
MotherNeferu-Khayet[1]
BurialSaff tomb inEl-Tarifknown as Saff el-Baqar.
Dynasty11th dynasty

Intef IIIwas the thirdpharaohof theEleventh Dynasty of Egyptduring the lateFirst Intermediate Periodin the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessorIntef IIand father of his successorMentuhotep II,[7]Intef III reigned for 8 years overUpper Egyptand extended his domain North against the10th Dynastystate, perhaps as far north as the 17thnome.He undertook some building activity onElephantine.[8]Intef III is buried in a large saff tomb atEl-Tarifknown as Saff el-Barqa.[9]

Family[edit]

See also:Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt family tree

Intef III was the son of his predecessor Intef II. This is indicated by the stela of Tjeti, chief treasurer during the reigns of Intef II and Intef III. Tjeti's stele mentions the death of Intef II and goes on describing how Tjeti served Intef II's son who acceded to the throne upon the death of his father:

Then, when hissonassumed his place, Horus, Nakht-neb-Tepnefer, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, Intef, fashioner of beauty, living like Re, forever, I followed him to all his good seats of pleasure.

Intef III possibly married his sisterIah,described as aking's mother(mwt-nswt),king's daughter(sȝt-nswt) andpriestess of Hathor(ḥmt-nṯr-ḥwt-ḥr).[10]This indicates that Intef III's successor, Mentuhotep II, was his son. This is further confirmed by the stele of Henenu (Cairo 36346), an official who served under Intef II, Intef III and his "son", which the stele identifies as Horus Sankhibtawy (s-ˁnḫ-[jb-tȝwy]),[11][12]Mentuhotep II's firstHorus name. Another piece of evidence for this parentage is a relief on theGebel el-Silsilehin the Wadi Shatt er-Rigal, known as the Silsileh petroglyph, depicting Mentuhotep II surrounded by Iah and Intef III.[8]

Additionally, Mentuhotep II's royal wifeNeferu IIbore the title ofking's daughter,and an inscription in her tomb names her mother as Iah.[13]This establishes that she was Intef III's daughter and the sister of Mentuhotep II.[14]

Reign[edit]

Intef III's father and predecessor reigned for 49 years and Intef III might thus have acceded to the throne a middle-aged[8]or even elderly man.[1]Although Intef III's name is lost in a lacuna of theTurin canon,a king list compiled in the earlyRamesside period,its reign length is still readable on column 5, row 15,[15]and given as 8 years.[8][16][17]

The relative chronological position of Intef III as the successor of Intef II and predecessor of Mentuhotep II is secured by his established parentage to these two kings as well as the Turin canon and two blocks from thetemple of MontuatTod.[8]These blocks show the succession of kings from Intef I to Mentuhotep II and while Intef III's horus name is damaged, its position is certain.[8]The absolute dating of Intef III's reign is less certain and several dates have been proposed: 2069–2061 BC,[1]2063–2055 BC[4]and 2016–2009 BC.[5]

Military activities[edit]

Intef III inherited a large and relatively peaceful domain in Upper Egypt.[8]Over his 8 years of reign, Intef was militarily active.[1]He successfully defended the territory that his father Intef II had won, as is attested by the tomb of an official of the time, Nakhty, located atAbydosand in which a doorjamb bearing Intef III's names was discovered.[8]He also conquered territories north of Abydos, in particularAsyut[1]and extended his domain perhaps as far as the seventeenth nome of Upper Egypt thereby "imposing his family’s control over most of Upper Egypt".[4]Alternatively, this might have been achieved by his son Mentuhotep II, early in his reign.

Building activities[edit]

A doorjamb bearing Intef III's name was uncovered onElephantinein the sanctuary ofHekayeb,a deified nomarch of the6th Dynasty,which shows that he must have ordered work there.[18]Another doorjamb was discovered in thetemple of Satet,also on Elephantine, which attests to building activity on the site.[8]

Tomb[edit]

Coordinates:25°44′12″N32°38′11″E/ 25.73667°N 32.63639°E/25.73667; 32.63639

Herbert Winlock's 1915 photography of the tomb of Intef III. The tomb was tentatively attributed to Intef II by Winlock and reattributed to Intef III by Arnold.[19]

The necropolis of the kings of the 11th Dynasty is located inEl-Tarif,on the opposite bank of the Nile fromThebes.Several saff-tombs of imposing dimensions are found there but, until the excavations of theGerman Archaeological Instituteunder the direction ofDieter Arnoldfrom 1970 until 1974, it was unclear to whom some of these tombs belonged.[9]

Although no inscriptions could be found in the tombs (except that ofIntef II) to confirm their ownership, their positions, together with the much later-attested chronological succession of the rulers of the 11th Dynasty, led to the attribution of the tomb known today as Saff el-Baqar[9]to Intef III. The tomb resembles that of his predecessorIntef II[8]and consists of a 75 m (246 ft) wide and 85–90 m (279–295 ft) long courtyard on a northwest - southeast axis facing a canal. The courtyard is surrounded, on all sides but the east, by many chambers dug into the rock.[8][9][20]The courtyard leads to a large double-pillared facade totalling 48 columns behind which many more chambers are located.

In spite of the ruined state of the tomb, the 1970s excavations have shown that its walls must once have been lined with sandstone and adorned with decorations.[21] Nowadays, the tomb lies beneath the constructions of a village.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toIntef III.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefgMargaret Bunson:Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt,Infobase Publishing, 2009,ISBN978-1438109978,available online, see p. 181
  2. ^Redford, Donald B.,ed. (2001). "Egyptian King List".The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, Volume 2.Oxford University Press. pp. 626–628.ISBN978-0-19-510234-5.
  3. ^Gae Callender:The Middle Kingdom Renaissance (c. 2055-1650 BC)in Ian Shaw (editor):The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt,Oxford University Press (2000),ISBN9780191604621.
  4. ^abcMichael Rice:Who's Who in Ancient Egypt,Routledge 2001, p. 80,ISBN978-0415154499
  5. ^abErik Hornung, Rolf Krauss, David A. Warburton editors:Ancient Egyptian Chronology,Brill, 2006, p. 491,available online
  6. ^abPeter A. Clayton:Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt,Thames & Hudson 2006, p. 72,ISBN0-500-28628-0
  7. ^abcPercy Newberry:On the Parentage of the Intef Kings of the Eleventh Dynasty,ZÄS 72 (1936), pp. 118-120
  8. ^abcdefghijkDarrell D. Baker:The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC,Stacey International,ISBN978-1-905299-37-9,2008, p. 147-148
  9. ^abcdDieter Arnold:Gräber des Alten und Mittleren Reiches in El-Tarif (Archäologische Veröffentlichungen),Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1976,ISBN978-3805300469
  10. ^Joyce Tyldesley,Chronicle of the Queens of Egypt,Thames & Hudson. 2006, pp. 66-68.ISBN0-500-05145-3
  11. ^J.J. Clere, J. Vandier,Textes de la premiere periode intermediaire et de la XIeme dynasty,1st vol., Bibliotheca Aegyptiaca X.Complete Stele on p.21
  12. ^Henri Gauthier,Quelques remarques sur la XIe dynastie.,BIFAO 5, 1906, p.39
  13. ^William C. Hayes:The Scepter of Egypt I,New York 1953,ISBN0870991906,p. 160, 327
  14. ^W. Grajetzki:Ancient Egyptian Queens, a hieroglyphic dictionary,p. 28, Golden House Publications, 2005,ISBN978-0954721893
  15. ^Alan Gardiner,editor:Royal Canon of Turin.Griffith Institute, 1959. (Reprint 1988.ISBN0-900416-48-3)
  16. ^W. Grajetzki:The Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt: History, Archaeology and Society,Duckworth, London 2006ISBN0-7156-3435-6,p. 15-17
  17. ^Column 5, row 15.
  18. ^Sir Alan Gardiner,Egypt of the Pharaohs,Oxford University Press 1961, p. 120
  19. ^Herbert Winlock:"The Theban Necropolis in the Middle Kingdom", The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Volume 32,available online copyright-free.
  20. ^See a map of the tombherefollowing Dieter Arnold.
  21. ^Nigel Strudwick, Helen Strudwick:Thebes in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor,Cornell University Press, 1999, p. 93,ISBN0801486165,excerpts available online.
Preceded by Pharaoh of Egypt
Eleventh Dynasty 		Succeeded by
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