Later generations of Egyptians still recognized Mentuhotep's
importance, as the second (after Menes) to unite the Two Lands. In the
Ramesseum (the mortuary temple of Ramesses II in Western Thebes) a
relief shows a procession of priests carrying statues of kings. Among these are
the following three (in this order):
-
Menes, the 1st king of the 1st dynasty: the first to unite
the nation;
-
Mentuhotep II, 11th dynasty: the reunifier of the
country after the First Intermediate Period;
-
and Ahmose, 1st king of the 18th dynasty: reunifier of the
land after the Second Intermediate Period.
The other statues are of the kings of the 18th and 19th
dynasty: the immediate predecessors of Ramesses II. Apparently, the
three unifiers served as a sort of "excerpt", representing all
the
older
kings of Egypt.
(Not bad for a people that is supposed by some not to have had true historic
notions...)
Will the real Mentuhotep II please rise?
There is some confusion over exactly how many
Mentuhotep's there once were. As a consequence, the
builder of the mortuary complex at Deir el Bahri is sometimes referred
to as Mentuhotep I, or even (in older books) as Mentuhotep III.
This question of the true
number of Mentuhoteps is clouded by two issues:
-
A so-called Mentuhotep I did probably
exist, but he was not a king,
-
and the next Mentuhotep (now usually referred to as II) has used no less then three different sets of names during his lifetime.
Jürgen von Beckerath in his book "Handbuch der Ägytischen
Königsnamen" (1999) gives the following sequence of kings of the 11th
dynasty:
-
Mentuhotep I
-
Antef I
-
Antef II
-
Antef III
-
Mentuhotep II
-
Mentuhotep III
-
Mentuhotep IV
Of Mentuhotep
I von Beckerath says:
"(He) has not carried the title of king himself, but was later
considered as the first king of the 11th dynasty" (page 76). He gives a Horus-name of this person that is only
known from later king lists, and that means as much as "forefather". vB:
"This Horus-name is of course later fiction".
Antef I, II and III did call themselves king, but never
used a complete set of royal titles. They contended themselves with a
Horus name and a birth name. Based in Thebes, they controlled the south
of the country. In the meantime, the 9th and 10th dynasties ruled the north from their capital in Heracleopolis. The battle zone between North and South was the region
of Abydos and Assyut in Middle Egypt.
Mentuhotep II completed the reunification. He thereupon included a Nebty
name and a throne name, and later also a Golden Horus name in his
titulary.
The mortuary complex
On the west bank of the Nile, just opposite modern Luxor,
lies what is generally known as Western Thebes. It consists of a series
of mortuary temples of the kings of the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasty -
whose tombs were on the other side of the mountains, in the Valley of
the Kings. As a string of pearls, measuring some 3 kilometers from north
to south, they were once set along the edge of the cultivation. Just one
of these was placed considerably further into the desert, in the natural
amphitheatre that is now known as Deir el Bahri: the mortuary temple of
queen Hatsjepsut (18th dynasty). Thanks to intensive restoration works
by the Egyptian authorities - and to its unique setting into this
magnificent landscape - it is one of the key touristic sites of today.
Busload after busload comes to see the temple of queen "Hot
Chicken soup". From here, it just takes one glance to the left to
see the remains of Mentuhotep's adjacent complex - but of the few that
will take this glance, even fewer will remember it. And hardly
surprising, from what they can see of it: it's no more then a ruin.
Except for the platform, no part of it stands higher then 1 meter.
Why did Hatsjepsut select this place for
her mortuary temple? It is inconceivable that the proximity of
Mentuhotep's complex had nothing to do with this choice.
The one thing that sets Hatsjepsut apart from other kings is her sex,
and the resulting question of her legitimacy as king.
Perhaps
she chose this site to demonstrate her worthiness, and through that her
legitimacy, by outdoing one of Egypt's
most famous kings in beauty and splendor.
So let us now take a closer look at this mortuary complex of the
illustrious Mentuhotep II, founder of the Middle Kingdom. The photographs are arranged as follows:
-
Comparing "M" with "H"
....where "M" stands for the mortuary complex
of Mentuhotep II, and "H" for the adjacent mortuary temple of Hatsjepsut.
-
The platform, 1
Views from a distance.
-
The platform, 2
Views from closer up.
-
On the platform
With the enigmatic "central mound" or "mastaba".
-
Backstage, 1
With the part of the platform behind the "mastaba".
-
Backstage, 2
With the entrance to the tomb, and the offering niche.