Recent from talks
Senusret II
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Senusret II
Senusret II or Sesostris II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an extensive irrigation system from Bahr Yussef through to Lake Moeris through the construction of a dike at El-Lahun and the addition of a network of drainage canals. The purpose of his project was to increase the amount of cultivable land in that area. The importance of this project is emphasized by Senusret II's decision to move the royal necropolis from Dahshur to El-Lahun where he built his pyramid. This location would remain the political capital for the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt. Senusret II was known by his prenomen Khakheperre, which means "The Ka of Re comes into being". The king also established the first known workers' quarter in the nearby town of Senusrethotep (Kahun).
Co-regencies are a major issue for Egyptologists' understanding of the history of the Middle Kingdom and the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist Claude Obsomer wholly rejects the possibility of co-regencies in the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist Karl Jansen-Winkeln having investigated Obsomer's work concluded in favour of co-regencies. Jansen-Winkeln cites a rock stele found at Konosso as irrefutable evidence in favour of a co-regency between Senusret II and Amenemhat II, and by extension proof of co-regencies in the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist William J. Murnane states that "the co-regencies of the period are all known ... from double-dated documents". The Egyptologist Thomas Schneider concludes that recently discovered documents and archaeological evidence are effectively proof of co-regencies in this period.
Some sources ascribe a co-regency period to Senusret II's rule, with his father Amenemhat II as his co-regent. The Egyptologist Peter Clayton ascribes at least three years of co-regency to Senusret II's reign. The Egyptologist Nicolas Grimal assigns nearly five years of co-regency prior to sole accession to the throne.
The lengths of the reigns of Senusret II and Senusret III are one of the main considerations for discerning the chronology of the Twelfth Dynasty. The Turin Canon is believed to assign a reign of 19 years to Senusret II and 30 years of reign to Senusret III. This traditional view was challenged in 1972 when the Egyptologist William Kelly Simpson observed that the latest attested regnal year for Senusret II was his 7th, and similarly for Senusret III his 19th.
Kim Ryholt, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen, suggests the possibility that the names on the canon had been misarranged and offers two possible regnal lengths for Senusret II: 10+ years, or 19 years. Several Egyptologists, such as Thomas Schneider, cite Mark C. Stone's 1997 article in the Göttinger Miszellen as determining that Senusret II's highest recorded regnal year was his 8th, based on Stela Cairo JE 59485.
Some scholars prefer to ascribe him a reign of only 10 years and assign the 19-year reign to Senusret III instead. Other Egyptologists, however, such as Jürgen von Beckerath and Frank Yurco, have maintained the traditional view of a longer 19-year reign for Senusret II given the level of activity undertaken by the king during his reign.[citation needed] Yurco notes that reducing Senusret II's regnal length to 6 years poses difficulties because:
That pharaoh built a complete pyramid at Kahun, with a solid granite funerary temple and complex of buildings. Such projects optimally took fifteen to twenty years to complete, even with the mudbrick cores used in Middle Kingdom pyramids.
At present, the problem concerning the reign length of Senusret II is irresolvable but many Egyptologists today prefer to assign him a reign of 9 or 10 years only given the absence of higher dates attested for him beyond his 8th regnal year. This would entail amending the 19-year figure which the Turin Canon assigns for a 12th dynasty ruler in his position to 9 years instead. However, Senusret II's monthly figure on the throne might be ascertained. According to Jürgen von Beckerath, the temple documents of El-Lahun, the pyramid city of Sesostris/Senusret II often mention the Festival of "Going Forth to Heaven" which might be the date of death for this ruler. These documents state that this Festival occurred on IV Peret day 14. However, Rita Gautschy states that this Festival date did not mark the actual day of Senusret II's death, but of his funeral or burial. Lisa Saladino Haney observe. based on Gautschy's interpretation of this date, "Therefore, if one takes seventy days from the feast day IV Peret 14, one gets II Peret 4 as the approximate date of death of Senwosret/[Senusret II].
Hub AI
Senusret II AI simulator
(@Senusret II_simulator)
Senusret II
Senusret II or Sesostris II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an extensive irrigation system from Bahr Yussef through to Lake Moeris through the construction of a dike at El-Lahun and the addition of a network of drainage canals. The purpose of his project was to increase the amount of cultivable land in that area. The importance of this project is emphasized by Senusret II's decision to move the royal necropolis from Dahshur to El-Lahun where he built his pyramid. This location would remain the political capital for the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt. Senusret II was known by his prenomen Khakheperre, which means "The Ka of Re comes into being". The king also established the first known workers' quarter in the nearby town of Senusrethotep (Kahun).
Co-regencies are a major issue for Egyptologists' understanding of the history of the Middle Kingdom and the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist Claude Obsomer wholly rejects the possibility of co-regencies in the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist Karl Jansen-Winkeln having investigated Obsomer's work concluded in favour of co-regencies. Jansen-Winkeln cites a rock stele found at Konosso as irrefutable evidence in favour of a co-regency between Senusret II and Amenemhat II, and by extension proof of co-regencies in the Twelfth Dynasty. The Egyptologist William J. Murnane states that "the co-regencies of the period are all known ... from double-dated documents". The Egyptologist Thomas Schneider concludes that recently discovered documents and archaeological evidence are effectively proof of co-regencies in this period.
Some sources ascribe a co-regency period to Senusret II's rule, with his father Amenemhat II as his co-regent. The Egyptologist Peter Clayton ascribes at least three years of co-regency to Senusret II's reign. The Egyptologist Nicolas Grimal assigns nearly five years of co-regency prior to sole accession to the throne.
The lengths of the reigns of Senusret II and Senusret III are one of the main considerations for discerning the chronology of the Twelfth Dynasty. The Turin Canon is believed to assign a reign of 19 years to Senusret II and 30 years of reign to Senusret III. This traditional view was challenged in 1972 when the Egyptologist William Kelly Simpson observed that the latest attested regnal year for Senusret II was his 7th, and similarly for Senusret III his 19th.
Kim Ryholt, a professor of Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen, suggests the possibility that the names on the canon had been misarranged and offers two possible regnal lengths for Senusret II: 10+ years, or 19 years. Several Egyptologists, such as Thomas Schneider, cite Mark C. Stone's 1997 article in the Göttinger Miszellen as determining that Senusret II's highest recorded regnal year was his 8th, based on Stela Cairo JE 59485.
Some scholars prefer to ascribe him a reign of only 10 years and assign the 19-year reign to Senusret III instead. Other Egyptologists, however, such as Jürgen von Beckerath and Frank Yurco, have maintained the traditional view of a longer 19-year reign for Senusret II given the level of activity undertaken by the king during his reign.[citation needed] Yurco notes that reducing Senusret II's regnal length to 6 years poses difficulties because:
That pharaoh built a complete pyramid at Kahun, with a solid granite funerary temple and complex of buildings. Such projects optimally took fifteen to twenty years to complete, even with the mudbrick cores used in Middle Kingdom pyramids.
At present, the problem concerning the reign length of Senusret II is irresolvable but many Egyptologists today prefer to assign him a reign of 9 or 10 years only given the absence of higher dates attested for him beyond his 8th regnal year. This would entail amending the 19-year figure which the Turin Canon assigns for a 12th dynasty ruler in his position to 9 years instead. However, Senusret II's monthly figure on the throne might be ascertained. According to Jürgen von Beckerath, the temple documents of El-Lahun, the pyramid city of Sesostris/Senusret II often mention the Festival of "Going Forth to Heaven" which might be the date of death for this ruler. These documents state that this Festival occurred on IV Peret day 14. However, Rita Gautschy states that this Festival date did not mark the actual day of Senusret II's death, but of his funeral or burial. Lisa Saladino Haney observe. based on Gautschy's interpretation of this date, "Therefore, if one takes seventy days from the feast day IV Peret 14, one gets II Peret 4 as the approximate date of death of Senwosret/[Senusret II].
Recent media