Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) was the third ruler of the

Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt 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 la ...

during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes. In his time, Egypt was split between several local dynasties. He was buried in a saff tomb at

El-Tarif El-Tarif ( ''aṭ-Ṭārif'') is a necropolis on the West Bank of the Nile, at the site of ancient Thebes (Luxor), Egypt. It is located in the northwestern outskirts of Luxor and southeast of the Valley of the Kings, opposite Karnak, just to the s ...

Family

Intef's parents were

Mentuhotep I Mentuhotep (also Montuhotep) is an ancient Egyptian name meaning "''Montu is satisfied''" and may refer to: Kings * Mentuhotep I, nomarch at Thebes during the First Intermediate Period and first king of the 11th Dynasty * Mentuhotep II, reunifi ...

and

Neferu I Neferu I ("the beauty") was the first queen of Ancient Egyptian Eleventh dynasty. She was a wife of the Pharaoh Mentuhotep I. Her sons were Intef I Sehertawy Intef I was a local nomarch at Thebes during the early First Intermediate Period ...

. His predecessor

Intef I Sehertawy Intef I was a local nomarch at Thebes during the early First Intermediate Period and the first member of the 11th Dynasty to lay claim to a Horus name. Intef reigned from 4 to 16 years c. 2120 BC or c. 2070 BC during which time he pr ...

may have been his brother. Intef was succeeded by his son Intef III.

Reign

After the death of the

nomarch A nomarch ( grc, νομάρχης, egy, ḥrj tp ꜥꜣ Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsib ...

Ankhtifi Ankhtifi (or Ankhtify) was a nomarch of Hierakonpolis and a supporter of the pharaoh in Herakleopolis Magna (10th Dynasty), which was locked in a conflict with the Theban based 11th Dynasty kingdom for control of Egypt. Hence, Ankhtifi was poss ...

, Intef was able to unite all the southern nomes down to the

First Cataract The Cataracts of the Nile are shallow lengths (or whitewater rapids) of the Nile river, between Khartoum and Aswan, where the surface of the water is broken by many small boulders and stones jutting out of the river bed, as well as many rocky ...

. After this he clashed with his main rivals, the kings of Herakleopolis Magna for the possession of Abydos. The city changed hands several times, but Intef II was eventually victorious, extending his rule north to the thirteenth nome. After these wars, more friendly relations were established and the rest of Intef's reign was peaceful. The discovery of a statue of Intef II, wrapped in a ''sed'' festival robe, in the sanctuary of

Heqaib Heqaib, also Hekaib or Hekayeb, was an ancient Egyptian nomarch of the 1st '' nomos'' of Upper Egypt (" Land of the Bow") under king Pepi II Neferkare, towards the end of the 6th Dynasty. He was also an officer in charge of military expeditions i ...

at Elephantine suggests that this king's authority extended to the region of the First Cataract and, perhaps, over part of Lower Nubia by his 30th year.Nicholas Grimal, ''A History of Ancient Egypt'' (Oxford: Blackwell Books, 1992), p. 145 This impression would appear to be confirmed by an expedition led by Djemi from Gebelein to the land of Wawat (i.e.: Nubia) during his reign. Consequently, when Intef II died, he left behind a strong government in Thebes which controlled the whole of Upper Egypt and maintained a border just south of Asyut. The earliest attested dating of the god Amun at

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

occurs during his reign. The surviving sections of the Turin Canon for the Middle Kingdom assign this king a reign of 49 years.

Titulary

Intef II apparently never held the full royal fivefold titulary of the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

pharaohs. He did, however, claim the dual kingship ''nswt bity'' and the title ''s3-Re'' son of Ra, which emphasizes the divine nature of kingship. Finally, upon accession to the Theban throne, Intef II added the Horus name Wahankh, ''enduring of life'', to his birth name.

Officials

We know the name and activities of some of the officials who served under Intef II : * Tjetjy was the chief treasurer and king’s chamberlain of Intef II and Intef III.Ian Shaw ''The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt'' p.126 His finely carved tomb stele, now at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

, shows that Intef II claimed the dual throne of Egypt but also recognizes the limited extent of his rule: ''"The horus Wahankh, king of Upper and Lower Egypt, son of Re, Intef, born of Nefru, he who lives eternally like Re, ..this land was under his rule southwards as far as Yebu and reaching as far north as Abydos"''.William Kelly Simpson, ''The literature of Ancient Egypt''
/ref> Tjetjy then describes his career in the typical self-laudatory manner of the Egyptian elite. Most importantly, the text demonstrates the undisputed power of the king in the Theban kingdom of the 11th Dynasty ''"I was a trustworthy favorite of my lord, an official great of heart and quiet of temper in the palace of his lord .. I am one who loved good and hated evil, one who was loved in the palace of his lord, one who performed every duty in obedience to the will of his lord. Indeed, as for every task which he commanded me to undertake .. I performed it rightly and justly. Never did I disobey the orders he gave me; never did I substitute one thing for another .. Moreover, as for every responsibility of the royal palace which the majesty of my lord committed to me, and for which he caused me to perform some task, I did it for him in accordance with everything which his Ka desired."'' *Djary was a military officer who fought the Herakleopolitan forces in the Abydene nome during Intef II's armies' northward push. His stele recounts the struggle for the control over

Middle Egypt Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, though Middle ...

: ''"Intef fought the house of Khety to the north of Thinis"''. *Hetepy was an official from

Elkab Elkab, also spelled El-Kab or El Kab, is an Upper Egyptian site on the east bank of the Nile at the mouth of the Wadi Hillal about south of Luxor (ancient Thebes). Elkab was called Nekheb in the Egyptian language ( , Late Coptic: ), a name th ...

who administered the three southernmost nomes of Intef II's realm. This means that there were no monarchs in Theban-controlled territories. Just as in the case of Tjetjy, the constant reference to the king in Hetepy's stele demonstrates the centralized organization of the government of the Theban kingdom and the power of the king, to whom everything was due: ''"I was one beloved of my Lord and praised by the lord of this land and his majesty truly made this servant happy. His majesty said: 'There is no one who . .of (my) good command, but Hetepy!', and this servant did it exceedingly well, and his majesty praised this servant on account of it"''. Finally, Hetepy's stele mentions a famine that occurred during Intef II's reign. * Idudju-iker was ''foremost one of the chiefs of Lower Nubia''. He was in charge of Lower Nubia and helped the king conquering Abydos.

Monuments

On his funerary stele Intef emphasizes his monument building activities. It is significant that the earliest surviving fragment of royal construction at

is an octagonal column bearing Intef II's name. Intef II is also the first ruler to build chapels for

Satet Satet, Satit or Satjet, Satjit in Ancient Egyptian ( egy, Sṯt or ', ."Pourer" or "Shooter"), Greek: Satis, also known by numerous related names, was an Upper Egyptian goddess who, along with Khnum and Anuket, formed part of the Elephantin ...

and

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 ...

on the island of Elephantine. In fact, Intef II started a tradition of royal building activities in the provincial temples of Upper Egypt which was to last throughout the Middle Kingdom.

Tomb

Intef's tomb in

at Thebes is a saff tomb. Saff stands for "row" in Arabic and refers to the double row of columns and entry ways fronting a large trapezoidal courtyard at the eastern end of which was a mortuary chapel.Lehner, Mark. The Complete Pyramids. Thames & Hudson. 2008 (reprint). , pp 165 This chapel may have been intended to serve the same purpose as a valley temple.Dodson, Aidan. The Tomb in Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson. 2008. , pp 186-187 Intef II's tomb was investigated by a royal commission during the reign of Ramses IX, toward the end of the

20th Dynasty The Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XX, alternatively 20th Dynasty or Dynasty 20) is the third and last dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1189 BC to 1077 BC. The 19th and 20th Dynasties furthermore toget ...

, as many royal tombs were being plundered at the time.Darrell D. Baker: ''The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC'', Stacey International, , 2008, pp. 145-146 As reported on the Abbott Papyrus, The commission noted that: ''"The pyramid-tomb of king Si-Rêˁ In-ˁo ''(i.e. Intef II)'' which is north of the House of Amenḥotpe of the Forecourt and whose

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

is crushed down upon it . . Examined this day; it was found intact."'' No remains of this pyramid have been found yet. Following the tradition of his nomarch ancestors, Intef II erected a biographical stele in the entrance of his tomb which relates the events of his reign and credits him with 50 years of reign.Stele of Intef II
/ref> A

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

mentioning the king's dogs was also said to be set up before the tomb. Another stela mentioning a dog named Beha was discovered, but it was found near the offering chapel.