Khnumhotep I (''ẖnmw-ḥtp, "
Khnum
Khnum or also romanised Khnemu (; egy, 𓎸𓅱𓀭 ẖnmw, grc-koi, Χνοῦβις) was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt an ...
is pleased"'') was an
ancient Egyptian ''
Great Chief of the
Oryx nome
The Oryx nome (Egyptian: ''Ma-hedj'') was one of the 42 '' nomoi'' (administrative divisions; Egyptian: ''sepat'') in ancient Egypt. The oryx nome was the 16th nome of Upper Egypt,Wolfram Grajetzki, ''The Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt: history, ...
'' (the 16th nome of
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south.
In ancient ...
) during the reign of
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
Amenemhat I
:''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.''
Amenemhat I ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet I, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the first king of the Twelfth Dynast ...
of the
12th Dynasty
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some s ...
,
Middle Kingdom (early 20th century BCE).
Tomb
His tomb (no. 14) at Beni Hasan consists of a single rock cut offering chapel with two columns. The columns are gone by now. The walls of the chapel are painted although the paintings are today heavily faded. Within the chapel there are two shafts leading down to burial chambers, only one of them was finished.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', p. 20-21] The west wall of the offering chapel, south of the entrance shows a long biographical inscription that is an important historical document. Under the inscription Khnumhotep I is shown on a boat hunting in the marshes.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pl. 67] North of the entrance on the same wall is a
false door and the family of Khnumhotep I is depicted. Especially the scene with the family members is much faded so that not all names are preserved.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pl. 68] The North wall shows Khnumhotep I and his wife Zatipy standing in front of an offering table. In front of them in five registers are workmen at different tasks. In the top register a desert hunt is shown.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pl. 71] On the same wall, Khumhotep I is again shown watching men working in the marshes.
[Miral Lashien, Anna-Latifa Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pl. 62] The east wall is fully dedicated to battle scenes. There is shown a siege of a fortress or town. There are fighting soldiers and wrestlers.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pls. 74-75] The South wall is not well preserved and shows once Khnunhotep sitting and watching people and work as well as musicians playing music for him. A second time he is standing and is watching peasants working in the marshes.
[Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', pl. 77-78]
Biography
Khnumhotep I is the earliest known member of a powerful family of nomarchs and officials, housed in
Men'at Khufu
MinyaAlso spelled '' el...'' or ''al...'' ''...Menia, ...Minia'' or ''...Menya'' ( ar, المنيا ; ) is the capital of the Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. It is located approximately south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile River ...
, which lasted for most of the 12th Dynasty; many of Khnumhotep's descendants were named after him, the most notable of them being his grandson
Khnumhotep II
Khnumhotep II (''ẖnmw-ḥtp, "Khnum is pleased"'') was an ancient Egyptian '' Great Chief of the Oryx nome'' (the 16th nome of Upper Egypt) during the reign of pharaohs Amenemhat II and Senusret II of the 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom (20th ce ...
, well known for his tomb's remarkable decorations. Some biographical information about Khnumhotep I came from his tomb at
Beni Hasan
Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) ( ar, بني حسن) is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Mem ...
(BH14) as well as from that of his grandson Khnumhotep II (BH3).
[Breasted, §§. 463-65.]
![Painting Tomb BH14 Newberry 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Painting_Tomb_BH14_Newberry_02.png)
Khnumhotep's mother was a lady called Baqet whilst his father's name is unknown. His family apparently replaced an earlier family of nomarchs who were active at Men'at Khufu during the second part of the
11th Dynasty
The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the late ...
, whose members were usually named Khety or Baqet (a prominent member of this family was
Baqet III
Baqet III was an ancient Egyptian official and '' Great Chief of the Oryx nome'' (the 16th nome of Upper Egypt) during the 11th Dynasty in the 21st century BCE. Apart from the position of governor of the entire nome, Baqet III also held the title ...
).
[Grajetzki, p. 136.][Grajetzki, pp. 113-14.]
From the inscriptions in Khnumhotep's tomb is known that early in his career he accompanied Amenemhat I in a military expedition aimed to expel a foe from Egypt. The name of this enemy is deliberately omitted in order to prevent his unintended “immortality”, but was undoubtedly one of Amenemhat's rivals for the crown, possibly
Segerseni.
Nicolas Grimal
Nicolas-Christophe Grimal (born 13 November 1948 in Libourne) is a French Egyptologist.
Biography
Nicolas Grimal was born to Pierre Grimal in 1948. After his Agrégation in Classics in 1971, he obtained a PhD in 1976 and a Doctorat d'État in ...
, ''A History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, p. 158–60. Ultimately, Amenemhat emerged victorious over “
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
ns and Asiatics” and Khnumhotep was rewarded for his loyalty with the title ''count of Men'at Khufu''.
[
Khnumhotep I later was granted other titles such as ''great lord of the Oryx nome, hereditary prince and count, wearer of the royal seal, sole companion'', and was also in charge of an important office at ]Nekhen
Nekhen ( egy, nḫn, ); in grc, Ἱεράκων πόλις Hierakonpolis ( either: City of the Hawk, or City of the Falcon, a reference to Horus or ''Hierakōn polis'' "Hawk City" in arz, الكوم الأحمر, el-Kōm el-Aḥmar, lit=the ...
.[
He married a woman named Zatipy who was his main wife. Lesser wives were Herit and Heryib. From a fourth wife, the name is not preserved.][Lashien, Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', p. 14] After Khunmhotep's death, his titles passed to his son Nakht, then to a seemingly unrelated man called Amenemhat and then again to one of his relatives, Netjernakht. Khnumhotep I also had a daughter, Baqet, herself mother of the aforementioned Khnumhotep II who inherited the title of nomarch after Netjernakht.[ See " Nomarchs of the Oryx nome" for further notes about his genealogy.
]
References
Bibliography
* James Henry Breasted
James Henry Breasted (; August 27, 1865 – December 2, 1935) was an American archaeologist, Egyptologist, and historian. After completing his PhD at the University of Berlin in 1894, he joined the faculty of the University of Chicago. In 1901 he ...
, ''Ancient Records of Egypt, Volume I, The First to the Seventeenth Dynasties'', Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906–1907
Available online
*Wolfram Grajetzki
Wolfram Grajetzki (born 1960, in Berlin) is a German Egyptologist. He studied at Free University of Berlin and made his Doctor of Philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin. He performed excavations in Egypt, but also in Pakistan. He publishe ...
, ''Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom'', London 2009.
* Miral Lashien, Anna-Latifa Mouradː ''Beni Hassan, Volume V, The Tomb of Khnumhotep I'', Oxford 2019
*Percy Newberry
Percy Edward Newberry (23 April 1869 – 7 August 1949) was a British Egyptologist.
Biography
Percy Newberry was born in Islington, London on 23 April 1869. His parents were Caroline () and Henry James Newberry, a woollen warehouseman. Newber ...
, ''Beni Hasan. Part 1''. London, England: Kegan Paul, Trench, Tubner & Co., Ltd., 1893
Available online
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Nomarchs
Officials of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
Ancient Egyptian royal sealers