Ankhu
Encyclopedia
Ankhu was an Egyptian vizier
who lived in the 13th Dynasty
around 1750 BC.
Ankhu is known from several monuments dating to the reigns of the 13th Dynasty kings Khendjer
and Sobekhotep II
, attesting that he served several kings. Ankhu appears in the Papyrus Boulaq 18
as the head of the court officials. The papyrus is dated to the reign of Sobekhotep II and mentions Queen Aya
. The queen's 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 and his mother. The latter is one of the very few statues belonging to a woman placed in this temple.
Ankhu was the son of a vizier, perhaps of Zamonth
and the father of two viziers, Resseneb and Iymeru. The family formed a strong dynasty of high court officials.
Ankhu ruled 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.
Vizier (Ancient Egypt)
The vizier was the highest official in Ancient Egypt to serve the king, or pharaoh during the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. Vizier is the generally accepted rendering of ancient Egyptian tjati, tjaty etc, among Egyptologists...
who lived in the 13th Dynasty
Thirteenth dynasty of Egypt
The thirteenth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties XI, XII and XIV under the group title Middle Kingdom. Other writers separate it from these dynasties and join it to Dynasties XIV through XVII as part of the Second Intermediate Period...
around 1750 BC.
Khendjer
Khendjer was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. The name Khendjer is poorly attested in Egyptian. Khendjer "has been interpreted as a foreign name hnzr and equated with the Semitic personal name hzr, [for] boar" according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt...
and Sobekhotep II
Sobekhotep II
birth name: Sobekhotep throne name: Sekhemre KhutawySobekhotep II was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty.He is known from several monuments, including a statue, several Nile level records in Nubia and from building works at Medamud and Luxor...
, attesting that he served several kings. Ankhu appears in the Papyrus Boulaq 18
Papyrus Boulaq 18
The Papyrus Boulaq 18 is an Ancient Egyptian document found in 1860 AD in the tomb of the scribe of the great enclosure Neferhotep. It is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo....
as the head of the court officials. The papyrus is dated to the reign of Sobekhotep II and mentions Queen Aya
Aya (Queen)
Aya was an Ancient Egyptian king's wife of the Thirteenth Dynasty.She is known from two sources. Aya appears on a stela now in Würzburg. From this source it is clear that she was part of an influential family of high court officials and was related to the Vizier Ankhu.She also appears in the...
. The queen's image appears also on a stela which shows that she was part of Ankhu's family. A stela found at Abydos
Abydos, Egypt
Abydos is one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, and also of the eight Upper Nome, of which it was the capital city. It is located about 11 kilometres west of the Nile at latitude 26° 10' N, near the modern Egyptian towns of el-'Araba el Madfuna and al-Balyana...
dated to the reign of Khendjer
Khendjer
Khendjer was an Egyptian king of the 13th Dynasty. The name Khendjer is poorly attested in Egyptian. Khendjer "has been interpreted as a foreign name hnzr and equated with the Semitic personal name hzr, [for] boar" according to the Danish Egyptologist Kim Ryholt...
reports on building works at the Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
temple. In the Amun temple at Karnak
Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex—usually called Karnak—comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, notably the Great Temple of Amun and a massive structure begun by Pharaoh Ramses II . Sacred Lake is part of the site as well. It is located near Luxor, some...
he erected statues of himself, his father and his mother. The latter is one of the very few statues belonging to a woman placed in this temple.
Ankhu was the son of a vizier, perhaps of Zamonth
Zamonth
Zamonth or Samont was an Ancient Egyptian vizier who was in office at the end of the Twelfth Dynasty, around 1800 BC.Zamonth is known from a stela, showing him sitting in front of an offering table. The stela is now on display in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo. The mother of Zamonth is a woman...
and the father of two viziers, Resseneb and Iymeru. The family formed a strong dynasty of high court officials.
Ankhu ruled 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.
Further reading
- K.S.B. Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (Carsten Niebuhr Institute Publications, vol. 20. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 1997), p. 243-45