Mentuhotep II c. 2055–2004 BC
Mentuhotep II of Thebes defeated the kings of Herakleopolis and reunited Egypt, probably shortly before his 39th year, which begins the Middle Kingdom. His terraced temple and tomb at Deir el-Bahari stand beside the later temple of Hatshepsut. A seated statue of him with black skin, found there by Howard Carter in 1900, is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
Throne name: Nebhepetre
nb-ḥpt-rꜥ: “Ra is lord of the oar”
Sign by sign
- Sun N5rꜥ The sun, the sun god Ra. Day.
- Basket V30nb Lord. All, every.
- Oar P8ḫrw Voice, as in mꜣꜥ-ḫrw 'true of voice' (justified, said of the dead).
Birth name: Mentuhotep
mn-ṯw-ḥtp: “Montu is content”
Also written Montuhotep or Nebhepetre Mentuhotep. He changed his Horus name twice during his reign.
Sign by sign
- Game board Y5mn To remain, to endure (as in Amun).
- Ripple of water N35n The sound n. Also means 'of, to'.
- Tethering rope V13ṯ The sound ṯ.
- Quail chick G43w The sound w. Also a plural ending.
- Bread on an offering mat R4ḥtp Offering. Peace, to be content.
- Bread loaf X1t The sound t. Also the feminine ending.
- Stool Q3p The sound p.
Where to see Mentuhotep II's name today
Egyptian Museum, Cairo
The Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square holds some of the most important inscribed objects in Egypt, from the Narmer Palette, with one of the first royal names, to the Merneptah Stela, with the first mention of Israel. You can follow the script here from its beginnings to long New Kingdom texts.
SiteTemple of Hatshepsut (Deir el-Bahari)
Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari tells the story of a woman who ruled as king (c. 1479–1458 BC) in fine painted reliefs, and shows where later kings chiselled her name away.
MuseumBritish Museum, London
The British Museum has one of the largest Egyptian collections outside Egypt, and you can read its hieroglyphs from the Rosetta Stone to painted coffins. Room 4 alone holds the stone and a colossal Ramesses II.
MuseumMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Met's Egyptian galleries let you walk through an Old Kingdom tomb chapel and a whole Roman-era temple, the Temple of Dendur, where the emperor Augustus appears as pharaoh with cartouches. The statues of Hatshepsut from her temple at Deir el-Bahari carry her names in full.
Read more about Mentuhotep II
- Mentuhotep II in hieroglyphs: Nebhepetre, the king who reunited Egypt Mentuhotep II in hieroglyphics: Nebhepetre and Mentuhotep read sign by sign, the Theban king who reunited Egypt, and his temple at Deir el-Bahari.
- Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings, dynasty by dynasty Pharaohs of Egypt in order: the best-known kings from Narmer to Cleopatra VII, period by period, with dates and what each one is remembered for.
Names of gods (Ra, Amun, Ptah) are written first out of respect, even when they are read later. Dates are approximate; we follow Ian Shaw (ed.), The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000).