Mentuhotpe II

Montuhotep II

(Nebheptre)

2055 - 2004 B.C.

11th Dynasty

Montuhotep II was not only the fourth king of the 11th Dynasty but also the first king of the Middle Kingdom. Montuhotep took the city of Herakleopolis which was the capital of the kings of the rival 10th Dynasty. This victory established the rule of the land from Thebes. He fought against the Libyans in the Delta and the Asiatics in the Sinai. He built his mortuary complex at Deir el Bahri where he and his wives and members of his court were buried. The sarcophagi contained important information about the Egyptian language at the close of the First Intermediate Period. Also discovered at Deir el Bahri were the bodies of 60 soldiers, all having died of battle wounds. They wore shrouds marked with cartouches and seals of Montuhotep II.