Intef III

Intef III

Intef III was the fourth pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He is also known by other names such as Inyotef III and Antef III. His Horus name was Nakht-neb-Tepnefer which, after being translated, is similar in meaning to the name Horus: "Victorious One, the Lord of the Good Beginning."

Intef III's Reign

Intef II reigned for 49 years, so Intef III likely received the throne in his middle age or at an older age. His reign has been determined from the Turin Canon (list of kings compiled in the early Ramesside Period) to be eight years long.
Several dates are proposed for his reign based on the Canon and two blocks from the Temple of Montu at Tod: 2069- 2061 BC, 2063 BC-2055 BC, and 2016 BC-2009 BC.
Due to this short reign of eight years, Intef III left next to no impact on the history of the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st Century BC. During his reign, he ruled along with his predecessors (Intef II) in all the regions his Theban predecessors had. He had defended the city of Abydos from several Herakloepolitan invasions. Like any Eleventh Dynasty King, Thebes was the capital for his throne. His eight-year reign extended over peaceful Upper Egypt, the North Domain being spread as far as the 17th Nome against the 10th Dynasty State.

His Life

The name of Intef III was once inscribed in the mountains of Silsileh. The fact that he was the son of Intef II can be confirmed by the biographical detail found in the tomb of the treasurer Tjetjy: "Then, when his son assumed his place, Horus, Nakht-neb-Tepnefer, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Son of Re, Intef, fashioner of beauty, living like Re, forever, I followed him to all his good seats of pleasure."
Queen Aoh or Iah was Intef III's principal wife, while Henite was his second wife. Queen Aoh was the mother of his successor, Montuhotep II, who successfully reunited Egypt. Queen Aoh was also his sister, as some inscriptions describe her as both the king's mother and daughter; for example, the inscription in the tomb of Neferu II, wife of Montuhotep II, depicts her as the king's daughter and mentions Iah or Aoh as her mother.

Epilogue: The Death Of Intef III

Intef III was buried in a staff tomb in the cemetery of the Eleventh Dynasty in El-Tarif, opposite the bank of Nile from Thebes, next to Intef I and Intef II, near Deir el-Bahri, the site of Montuhotep II's Mortuary Temple. Though there's no such inscription found in these tombs, Intef II's only odd one out, with the latter assessment of the chronological succession led the Saff-el-Baqar to Intef III.
The tomb resembles Intef II's, consisting of a 75 m (246 ft) wide and 85–90 m (279–295 ft) long courtyard on a northwest-southeast axis facing a canal. The courtyard leads to a double-pillared facade totaling 48 columns, with many more chambers behind this pillar.