"Senwosret III had a long and illustrious career on the throne , ruling for 39 years. In Egypt, he undermined the power of the nomarchs. In Wawat, he built a string of castles spread over a distance of 30 miles Throughout Nubia, he was worshipped as a god . In Palestine his armies marched, spreading Egyptian writing and the Egyptian calendar. Finally, on the cultural front, there were great developments of expressive portraits sculpture during this time.
"Amenemhet III, the last great ruler of the [12th] dynasty (3242-3195 BC), built two important pyramids. at Hawara and Dashur. The former has a sepulchral chamber weighing a staggering 110 tons of yellow quartzite. He built a hall of granite pillars for Sobek. At Medinet Madi he built a temple to Renenutet, the Goddess of the harvest. At Hawara he built the Labyrinth with its massive layout, multiple courtyards, chambers and halls . The very largest building in antiquity, it boasted 3,000 rooms. One thousand five hundred were above ground and the other one thousand five hundred were underground. Our old friend , Herodotus, saw it in ruins 3,000 years later. He was still somewhat impressed:
"'I visited this place, and found it to surpass description; for if all the walls and other great works of the Greeks could be put together in one, they would not equal in labor or expense this Labyrinth; and yet the [Greek] temple of Ephesus is a building worthy of note, and so is the temple of Samos. The pyramids likewise surpass description, and are equal to a number of the greatest works of the Greeks; but the Labyrinth surpasses the pyramids.'"
P. 186-187, "The Later History of the Nile Valley," WHEN WE RULED by Robin Walker (2006)
Monday, August 20, 2018
WHEN WE RULED, EXCERPT....
"Senwosret III had a long and illustrious career on the throne , ruling for 39 years. In Egypt, he undermined the power of the nomarchs. In Wawat, he built a string of castles spread over a distance of 30 miles Throughout Nubia, he was worshipped as a god . In Palestine his armies marched, spreading Egyptian writing and the Egyptian calendar. Finally, on the cultural front, there were great developments of expressive portraits sculpture during this time.
"Amenemhet III, the last great ruler of the [12th] dynasty (3242-3195 BC), built two important pyramids. at Hawara and Dashur. The former has a sepulchral chamber weighing a staggering 110 tons of yellow quartzite. He built a hall of granite pillars for Sobek. At Medinet Madi he built a temple to Renenutet, the Goddess of the harvest. At Hawara he built the Labyrinth with its massive layout, multiple courtyards, chambers and halls . The very largest building in antiquity, it boasted 3,000 rooms. One thousand five hundred were above ground and the other one thousand five hundred were underground. Our old friend , Herodotus, saw it in ruins 3,000 years later. He was still somewhat impressed:
"'I visited this place, and found it to surpass description; for if all the walls and other great works of the Greeks could be put together in one, they would not equal in labor or expense this Labyrinth; and yet the [Greek] temple of Ephesus is a building worthy of note, and so is the temple of Samos. The pyramids likewise surpass description, and are equal to a number of the greatest works of the Greeks; but the Labyrinth surpasses the pyramids.'"
P. 186-187, "The Later History of the Nile Valley," WHEN WE RULED by Robin Walker (2006)