Montuhotep II
(Nebheptre)
2007-1956 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.
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