Senusret II in hieroglyphs
praenomen or throne name
nomen or birth name

Senusret II was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1897 BC to 1878 BC, and was the fourth monarch of the Twelfth Dynasty. His pyramid was constructed at El-Lahun. Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an extensive irrigation system from the Bahr Yusuf through to the future Lake Qarun by means the construction of a dyke at Lahun here and the addition of a network of drainage canals. The purpose of his project was to increase the amount of cultivable land here. The importance of this project is emphasized by Senusret II's decision to move the royal necropolis from Dahshur to El-Lahun where he built his pyramid. El-Lahun, would henceforth, remain the political capital of the 12th and 13th Dynasties of Egypt. The king also established the first known worker's village in the town of nearby town of Kahun whose New Kingdom prototype would be Deir El Medina. Hieroglyphs on an Egyptian funerary stela Hieroglyphs at the Memphis museum with Ramses II statue on the back. ... copied from http://fi. ... copied from http://fi. ... copied from http://fi. ... copied from http://fi. ... Pharaoh (Hebrew פַּרְעֹה (without niqqud: פרעה), Standard Hebrew Parʿo, Tiberian Hebrew Parʿōh, Arabic فرعون) is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. ... Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Twelfth Dynasty. ... Located in the Faiyum, Kahun is the workers village of the pyramid of Senusret II. It is located in the modern village of el-Lahun, and is often refered to by that name. ... Dahshur (Arabic دهشور Dahšūr [often incorrectly rendered in English as Dashur]), located in a patch of desert on the west bank of the Nile approximately 40 kilometres south of Cairo, is a royal necropolis, known chiefly for several pyramids, two of which are amongst the oldest, largest and best preserved... Located in the Faiyum, Kahun is the workers village of the pyramid of Senusret II. It is located in the modern village of el-Lahun, and is often refered to by that name. ... For other versions including architectural Pyramids, see Pyramid (disambiguation). ... Located in the Faiyum, Kahun is the workers village of the pyramid of Senusret II. It is located in the modern village of el-Lahun, and is often refered to by that name. ... The New Kingdom is the period in Egyptian history between the 16th century BCE and the 11th century BCE, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt. ... Deir al-Madinah is the Arabic name of an Ancient Egyptian village that was home to the artisans who built the temples and tombs ordered by the pharaohs and other dignitaries during the New Kingdom period (18th to 20th dynasties). ...

Unlike his successor, Senusret II maintained good relations with the various local and influential nomarchs or provincial governors of Egypt who were almost as wealthy as Pharaoh. His Year 6 is attested in a Wall painting from the tomb of a local nomarch at Beni Hasan. A nomarch in ancient Egypt was a provincial governor, the regional authority over one of the 40 or so nomes (Egyptian: sepat) into which the country was divided. ... Beni Hasan (or Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) is a village in Middle Egypt about 25 km south of Al Minya (or Minieh), on the east bank of the Nile, with remarkable catacombs that have been excavated. ...

Reign Length

Of the rulers of this Dynasty, Senusret II's reign length is the most debated amongst scholars. The Turin Canon gives an unknown king of the Dynasty a reign of 19 Years (which is usually attributed to him) but Senusret's II's Highest known date is only a Year 8 red sandstone stela found in June 1932 at Toshka. Some Egyptologists prefer to ascribe him a reign of only 10 Years and assign the 19 Year reign to Senusret III instead. Other Egyptologists, however, such as J. Von Beckerath and the late Frank Yurco have maintained the traditional view of a longer 19 Year reign for Senusret II given the amount of work which the king performed in his reign. Yurco notes that limiting Senusret II's reign to 6 or 10 years poses major difficulties because he "built a complete pyramid at Kahun, with a solid granite funerary temple and complex of buildings. Such projects optimally took fifteen to twenty years to complete, even with the mudbrick cores used in Middle Kingdom pyramids."(p.69) June is the sixth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with a length of 30 days The month is named after the Roman goddess Juno, wife of Jupiter and equivalent to the Greek goddess Hera. ... 1932 (MCMXXXII) is a leap year starting on a Friday. ... nomen or birth name Senusret III was a pharaoh of Egypt. ... Jürgen von Beckerath (born 19 February 1920) is a German egyptologist. ...

Bibliography

• Mark Stone, Reading the Highest Attested Date for Senwosret II: Stela Cairo JE 59485, GM 159(1997, pp.91-100
• Frank Yurco, "Black Athena: An Egyptological Review"(p.69) in Black Athena Revisited,(editor: M. Leftkowitz), University of North Carolina Press: 1995, 544 pages (ISBN:0807845558)

External links

• Senusret (II) Khakheperre
• Senusret II: Fourth king of Egypt's 12th Dynasty