Ankhu
Vizier
Stela of Amenyseneb, mentioning Ankhu in the text
Dynasty13th Dynasty
PharaohKhendjer, Sobekhotep II and others
Fatherpossibly Zamonth
MotherHenutpu
WifeMereret
ChildrenResseneb, Iymeru, Senebhenas

Ankhu was an Egyptian vizier during the early 13th Dynasty in the late Middle Kingdom. He is believed to have resided in Thebes in Upper Egypt.

Family

Zamonth, likely Ankhu's father (CG42034).

Ankhu was the son of a vizier. Labib Habachi proposed that his father was the vizier Zamonth who served under king Amenemhat III in the Late Twelfth Dynasty. The mother of Ankhu is known as Henutpu, the name of Zamonth's wife is published as Henut. Habachi wonders whether Henut is a mistake or a short version of Henutpu. The name Henut is otherwise not attested.[1] Detlef Franke agreed with this identification and calculates that Ankhu must have been 50 to 60 years old under king Khendjer.[2]

Ankhu was married to a woman called Mereret. Ankhu was the father of two further viziers: Resseneb and Iymeru. The family formed a strong dynasty of high court officials. One of the daughters of the couple was called Senebhenas. She was married to the overseer of the half domain Wepwawethotep. The latter was related to Queen Aya, albeit it remains uncertain in which way.

Biography

Ankhu is known from monuments dating to the early 13th Dynasty. He is indirectly associated with Sobekhotep II and possibly Khendjer. There are several references between Ankhu and Sobekhotep II, latest at his burial site at Dra Abu el-Naga. Khendjer may have ruled at the same time further north.

Ankhu appears in the Papyrus Boulaq 18 as the head of the court officials. The papyrus may date to the reign of Sobekhotep II, or according to an analysis of the document by Kim Ryholt, it may date to the reign of Imyremeshaw or Sehetepkare Intef. The papyrus mentions a Queen Aya,[3] whose image appears also on a stela which shows that she was part of Ankhu's family. A stela found at Abydos dated to the reign of Khendjer reports on building works at the Osiris temple. In the Amun temple at Karnak he erected statues of himself, his father[4] and his mother. The latter is one of the very few statues belonging to a woman placed in this temple.[5]

Attestations

Several items associated with Ankhu are grouped in 13th Dyn. Theban Workshop 2.[6]

Papyrus Boulaq 18

The Papyrus Boulaq 18 was found in two fragments which mentions Vizier Ankhu.[7]

The larger manuscript is an account of income and expenses as the Court visited the Southern City, dated to Year 3, 2-3 Month of Akhet (Inundation) of an unnamed king.[8]

The smaller manuscript is an account made by Neferhotep. It mentions Great Scribe of the Vizier Resseneb and the Estate of the Vizier Ankhu with entries dating from a period in Year 6, 1 Peret to 2 Shemu.[9]

Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446

The Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 mentions Vizier Ankhu.[10] This papyrus consist of several entries, the first being a list of fugitives from labor duty at the Great Enclosure dated to Year 36 of an unnamed king thought to be Amenemhat III. The last entry is a list of servants dated to Year 1-2 of Sobekhotep III.

The Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 Insertion B mentions an unnamed Reporter of the Southern City ([wḥmw] n njwt rsj (...)) and Ankhu with the titles Overseer of the City, Vizier, Overseer of the Six Great Courts ([jmj-rꜣ] njwt; ṯꜣtj; jmj-rꜣ ḥwt-wrt 6 ꜥnḫw).[11]

The Papyrus Brooklyn 35.1446 Insertion C is dated to Year 6 of an unnamed king. It mentions an unnamed Reporter of the Southern City (wḥmw n njwt rsj), an unnamed Sealbearer of the King and Overseer of the Field of the Southern City (ḫtmw-bjtj; jmj-rꜣ ꜣḥwt n njwt rst [...]-ꜥw) and Ankhu with the titles Overseer of the City, Vizier, Overseer of the Six Great Courts (jmj-rꜣ njwt; ṯꜣtj; jmj-rꜣ ḥwt-wrt 6 ꜥnḫw).[12]

Louvre C12

At Abydos, the stela of Amenyseneb mentions overseer of city and vizier Ankhu and his son Seneb.

Burial

He was buried at Thebes in a granite sarcophagus.[13] At the Dra Abu el-Naga necropolis, a family burial with 30 shaft tombs dating to the Thirteenth Dynasty, included the shaft tomb of Vizier Ankhu. Inside was a 10 ton pink granite sarcophagus with his name. In another of the shaft tombs was a funerary stela beloning to a deputy minister, which had the cartouche of Sobekhotep II.[14][15]

See other contemporaries

Aabeni (high steward) Aya (queen)

Speculations

Ankhu served at least under two, perhaps even under five, kings of the 13th Dynasty. His situation illustrates that during this period the viziers were the real power behind weak kings. The kings were only in power for a short period, while the viziers remained in power for longer periods.[16][17]

References

  1. ↑ Labib Habachi: The Family of the Vizier Ibia in: Studien zur altägyptischen Kultur 11 (1984), p. 123.
  2. ↑ Detlef Franke: Personendaten aus dem Mittleren Reioch (20.-16. Jahrhundert v. Chr. Dossiers 1-796, Ägyptologischen Abhandlungen 41, Wiesbaden 1984, ISBN 3-447-02484-4, p. 137
  3. ↑ Wolfram Grajetzki: Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, London 2009 p. 38 ISBN 978-0-7156-3745-6
  4. ↑ Cairo, Egyptian Museum CG 42034 (JE 36646).
  5. ↑ Grajetzki: Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, p. 39, fig. 18
  6. ↑ https://pnm.uni-mainz.de/4/workshop/28
  7. ↑ Cairo, Egyptian Museum CG 58069
  8. ↑ R. B. Parkinson (2009) Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories, p. 155
  9. ↑ R. B. Parkinson (2009) Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories, p. 155
  10. ↑ Brooklyn Museum
  11. ↑ Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom
  12. ↑ Persons and Names of the Middle Kingdom
  13. ↑ Photos: First family burials from Second Intermediate Period unearthed in west Luxor
  14. ↑ "The Thirteen Dynasty: Vizier Ankhu | The Past". the-past.com. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  15. ↑ "Egyptian archaeologists tout firsts among latest discoveries unearthed in ancient city of Luxor - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2023-01-25. Retrieved 2023-07-05.
  16. ↑ W. C. Hayes: A Papyrus of the late Middle Kingdom in the Brooklyn Museum, New York 1955, p. 146-47
  17. ↑ Rice, Michael: Who's Who in Ancient Egypt. Routledge, 1999, pp. 24-25.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ankhu.

Further reading

  • W. C. Hayes (1955) A Papyrus of the late Middle Kingdom in the Brooklyn Museum, New York, p. 146-47
  • K.S.B. Ryholt (1997) The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, p. 243-45
  • R. B. Parkinson (2009) Reading Ancient Egyptian Poetry: Among Other Histories, p. 155


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