BRÉ, a sister of the slain Apries, as a GOD’S WIFE OF AMUN,
or a Divine Adoratrice of Amun.
Hebuilt monuments at Sais, BUTO, Memphis, and
ABYDOS, and a temple to the god Amun in the SIWAOasis
ofthe LIBYAN DESERT. Only a few statues of Amasis sur-
vive, as the Persian conqueror CAMBYSES(ruling Egypt
from 525 to 522 B.C.E.) destroyed those he could find.
Amasis was buried in Sais in a stone structure with dou-
ble doors and pillars. SHABTIS,or tomb statues, were
found on the site. His son PSAMMETICHUS IIIsucceeded
him in 526 B.C.E. but faced a Persian invasion a year later.
Cambyses had Amasis’s body exhumed and ravaged
because of Amasis’s support for the Greeks.
Amaunet (Amunet) The divine consort of the god
AMUN, worshiped in THEBESin the early Middle Kingdom
(2020–1640 B.C.E.), her name meant “the hidden one.”
Amaunet was also included in the OGDOAD, the eight
deities of HERMOPOLIS. Self-created, she was depicted as a
woman wearing the crown of Lower Egypt.
Am Duat(Am Tuat) A mortuary text depicted on the
walls in the tomb of TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.)
in the VALLEY OF THE KINGSin THEBES, the Am Duat,
“Book of that which is in the underworld,” shows the
nightly journey of the god Ré, a prototype of the sojourn
required of the deceased. The Am Duatis divided into 12
sections, representing fields or caverns, and traces the
pathway into the earth that starts at the gateway of the
western horizon. The text contains many adventures and
torments but ends in spiritual redemption and the attain-
ment of paradise.
See also BOOK OF THE DEAD;TOMB TEXTS.
Amemait A ferocious divine being associated with
Egyptian MORTUARY RITUALSand traditions, the creature
possessed the head of a CROCODILE, the foreparts of a
large CAT, and the rear of a HIPPOPOTAMUS. Called “the
Great of Death” or “the Devourer,” Amemait was female.
The illustrations of the beast in the BOOK OF THE DEAD
depict Amemait waiting beside the scales in the JUDG-
MENT HALLS OF OSIRIS, where the god OSIRISweighed the
hearts of the deceased against the feather of the goddess
MA’AT. The hearts of those who were evil in life were given
to Amemait as food. The NEGATIVE CONFESSIONS, claims
of not committing various crimes or sins, were designed
to protect the deceased from Amemait, who was clearly a
dispenser of justice, not of mindless terror. AMULETSand
spells were also employed to keep this divine being from
devouring the dead. The horror involved in Amemait’s
dining on the dead derived from the Egyptian’s fear of
going into “nothingness,” or the endless void.
Amenemhab(fl. 15th century B.C.E.) Military general
of the Eighteenth Dynasty
Amenemhab served TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.)
and AMENHOTEP II(r. 1425–1401 B.C.E.) and had a long
and distinguished military career. His wife served as a
nurse for the royal family, and she probably introduced
him to Tuthmosis III. His tomb on the western shore of
the Nile at THEBES provides elaborate autobiographical
inscriptions that contain detailed accounts of Tuthmosis
III’s vigorous campaigns. Amenemhab followed this war-
rior pharaoh across many lands as Egypt forged an
empire. On one occasion, when Tuthmosis III recklessly
started elephant hunting, Amenemhab cut off the trunk
of a maddened bull elephant that charged the pharaoh.
He received the third “Gold of Valor” award for this feat.
On another battlefield, Amenemhab saw the enemy
release a young mare into the ranks of the oncoming
Egyptian cavalry. Such a mare was designed to bring
about a mating frenzy among the Egyptian stallions.
Amenemhab slit open the belly of the mare, thus reduc-
ing the animal’s allure. He dismembered it at the same
time, using the stench of blood and gore to further enrage
the Egyptian steeds in their charge. Ever at the side of
Tuthmosis III, Amenemhab outlived that pharaoh and
served his son and heir, Amenhotep II, a man who
delighted in military life and in hand-to-hand combat in
the field.Amenemhet I (Sehetepibré)(d. 1962 B.C.E.) Founder
of the Twelfth Dynasty
He reigned from 1991 B.C.E. until his death. His name
meant “AMUNis foremost,” and he served as the VIZIERof
Upper Egypt (the southernterritories) in the reign of
MONTUHOTEP IV(r. 1998–1991 B.C.E.), the last pharaoh of
the Eleventh Dynasty, who died without an heir. Amen-
emhet I led an expedition for the pharaoh to the WADI
HAMMAMAT, a dried river gully near KOPTOS, where the
Nile swerves closest to the Red Sea. There he obtained
the stone used for the sarcophagus of Montuhotep IV.
Amenemhet I was a commoner, the son of one Sen-
wosret and a woman named NEFRET, listed as prominent
members of a family from ELEPHANTINE Island. Amen-
emhet I portrayed himself as the true unifier of Egypt
after years of decline and partial separation. Various
prophecies, including the famous one written by Nefer-
rohu, were made public to guarantee authenticity for the
new pharaoh’s claims. The prophecy of Nefer-rohu, also
called Neferti, describes Amenemhet I as the son of “a
woman of NUBIA” (or of the Elephantine area in modern
Aswan).
Having had years of experience as a vizier, Amen-
emhet knew how to force the Egyptians to accept his
rule. He commanded a fleet of ships and sailed through-
out the land to demand obeisance from his people. On
one such voyage, Amenemhet I was accompanied by
KHNUMHOTEP(1), a prince and undisputed leader of the
Oryx Nome (or province) at BENI HASAN. There were 20Amenemhet I 25