Amenemhet III
| Amenemhat III | |
|---|---|
| Lamares, Lampares, Ameres, Ammenemes according to Manetho | |
Statuette head of Amenemhat III, now in the Louvre
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| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 1860–1814 BC (12th Dynasty) |
| Predecessor | Senusret III |
| Successor | Amenemhat IV |
| Consort | Aat, Khenemetneferhedjet III |
| Children | Neferuptah, Sobekneferu, Hathorhotep, Sithathor, Amenemhat IV (?) |
| Father | Senusret III |
| Died | 1814 BCE |
| Burial | Pyramid at Hawara |
| Monuments | Pyramids at Dahshur and Hawara |
Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC, the highest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. His reign is regarded as the golden age of the Middle Kingdom. He may have had a long coregency (of 20 years) with his father, Senusret III.
Towards the end of his reign he instituted a coregency with his successor Amenemhet IV, as recorded in a now damaged rock inscription at Konosso in Nubia, which equates Year 1 of Amenemhet IV to either Year 46, 47 or 48 of his reign. His daughter, Sobekneferu, later succeeded Amenemhat IV, as the last ruler of the 12th Dynasty. Amenemhat III's throne name, Nimaatre, means "Belonging to the Justice of Re."
He built his first pyramid at Dahshur (the so-called "Black Pyramid"), but there were construction problems and it was abandoned. Around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara, near the Faiyum. The pyramid at Dahshur was used as burial ground for several royal women.
The mortuary temple attached to the Hawara pyramid may have been known to Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus as the "Labyrinth".Strabo praised it as a wonder of the world. The king's pyramid at Hawara contained some of the most complex security features of any found in Egypt and is perhaps the only one to come close to the sort of tricks Hollywood associates with such structures. Nevertheless, the king's burial was robbed in antiquity. His daughter or sister, Neferuptah, was buried in a separate pyramid (discovered in 1956) 2 km southwest of the king's. The pyramidion of Amenemhet III's pyramid tomb was found toppled from the peak of its structure and preserved relatively intact; it is today located in the Cairo Egyptian Museum.
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