The 12 Dynasty began with the pharaoh Amenemhet I, he ruled between 1991 B.C – 1962 B.C, almost 4000 years ago.
The 200 years or more before the rule of Amenemhet I had been filled with wars, so Amenemhet I task was not a small one, especially considering he was not of royal blood.
But he was indeed in a very good position to take advantages of the turmoil in the kingdom. He is said to have been the vizier of Pharaoh Mentuhotep III. Amenemhet I was also known as Ameny and Ammenemes, he would come to reign for 30 years, and brought a large amount of stability to the country.
To be very honest about this, Amenemhet I gathered together a large army and over threw the pharaoh. But it is also said that he did not stop there, Amenemhet I would not rest until all his rivals were dead. Beginning ones ruler ship through the means of a cup will defiantly give birth to new enemies.
And one night Amenemhet I felt the hunter’s breath near his bed.
The 200 years or more before the rule of Amenemhet I had been filled with wars, so Amenemhet I task was not a small one, especially considering he was not of royal blood.
But he was indeed in a very good position to take advantages of the turmoil in the kingdom. He is said to have been the vizier of Pharaoh Mentuhotep III. Amenemhet I was also known as Ameny and Ammenemes, he would come to reign for 30 years, and brought a large amount of stability to the country.
To be very honest about this, Amenemhet I gathered together a large army and over threw the pharaoh. But it is also said that he did not stop there, Amenemhet I would not rest until all his rivals were dead. Beginning ones ruler ship through the means of a cup will defiantly give birth to new enemies.
And one night Amenemhet I felt the hunter’s breath near his bed.
The Murder of Amenemhet I and The Lost Millingen Papyrus
The Milligen papyrus is lost today, but before it mysteriously disappeared it was copied. It is a very unusual text, because it is a text that was seen as written by Amenemhet I (after his death), to his son Senwosret, about his own murder. It should be seen as a political propaganda poem.
The beginning of the Instruction given by his Majesty the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Seheteo-ib-Re, son of Re, Amenemhet, justified, when he spoke revealing truth to his son, the Lord of all, He said:
| “You who have risen as a god, Give heed to what I (Amenemhet I) shall say to you, So that you may reign over the land, rile the shores (of the Nile), And bring about an abundance of what is good and beneficial. Maintain your vigilance against those who should be subordinate to you, But who turn out not to be so, Men in whose loyalty one can place no trust; Do not let yourself be alone with them. Put no trust in a brother, Acknowledge no one as a friend, Do not raise up yourself / intimate companions, For nothing is to be gained from them. When you lie down at night, let your own heart be watchful over you, For no man has any to defend him on the day of anguish. I was generous to the pauper, I sustained the orphan, I caused him who had nothing to become at length like a man of means. But it was one who ate my bread who conspired (against me), One to whom I had given my support devised dread deeds thereby, Those clad in my fine linen behaved toward me like worthless lotus, And those anointed with my myrrh made my way slippery before me (poured water under me). Oh you my living images, you who share mortality with me, Make mourning for me, mourning such as has never been heard, For the burden of (that) struggle was such as had never been seen. When one fights on the field of struggle with the past forgotten, Excellence is of no avail to him who knows not what he should know. It was after supper, when darkness had fallen, And I had decided to take an hour of relaxation; I was lying on my bed, for I was tired, And I started / to drift off to sleep. Weapons (intended for) my protection were raised against me, While I acted like a snake of the desert. I woke up to the fighting, pulled myself together, And found that it was a skirmish of the palace guard. If I could have quickly taken weapons in my hand, I would have made the cowards retreat in turmoil. But no one is strong at night, and none can fight by himself; No successful result can come about without an ally. / And so ruin occurred while I was without you, When the courtiers had not yet heard that I would hand over (the throne) to you, When I had not yet sat down with you so as to confirm your succession; For I was not ready for it, I did not expect it; My heart had not conceived of indolence of the part of the servants. Had women ever organized the troops? Are revolutionaries ever educated right within the palace? Is the flood let loose so that it may destroy the land? Are people ruined through their own actions? Misfortune had never come near to me since my birth, And there has never arisen one equal to me in doing deeds of valour. / I subdued (the land) as far as Yebu, And turned my course back to the Delta. I stood on the borders of the land and perused its interior; I fulfilled the supremacy of power by the manifestation of my might. I was one who increased therein, (For I was) favoured by Nepri; Hapy gave me honor on every field, So that none hungered during my years, / none thirsted therein. Men took their ease through what I had done And recounted legends about me, For I ordered everything in its proper place. Amenemhet I poem goes on in the same style, around 7 more paragraphs. From The Literature of Ancient Egypt ISBN: 977 424 817 1 |
Since nothing seems to have been investigated, other than the accepted poem, one must wonder if his own son had anything to do with Amenemhet I murder.
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