Ruler
Mentuhotep II (Nebhepetre)
Reunifier of Egypt and founder of the Middle Kingdom
c. 2055 – 2004 BCE
Approximate regnal dates after Shaw (2000); authorities differ by about a decade.
Biography
A Theban king who defeated the rulers of Herakleopolis and reunited Egypt. After unification he took a new Horus name, Sematawy, "he who unites the Two Lands". He built his mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari in Thebes.
Key facts
Certainty: Established
Mentuhotep II adopted the name Sematawy ("uniter of the Two Lands") after reunification.
- Ian Shaw (ed.) (2000) “The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt” Oxford University Press