Intef the Elder

Egyptian nomarch, ancestor of the 11th dynasty

Intef the elder was an important Theban ruler during First Intermediate Period, and the founder of 11th dynasty. The Royal List of Karnak mentioned as predecessor of Mentuhothep I.

Biography

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the seated statue of Intef the Elder

Intef the Elder was not a pharaoh, but the ruler of Thebes around 2150 BC. In this role, he would have served either a king of the 8th Dynasty or one of the Herakleopolitan kings of the 9th or 10th Dynasty. Intef the Elder’s control would have been from Thebes to Aswan in the south, but not farther north than Coptos, which was then controlled by another dynasty of governers. It is believed that Intef the Elder was the father of his successor on the Theban throne, Mentuhotep I.[2] Intef the Elder is also probably the same person as “Intef-aa born of Iku”, to whom Senusret I dedicated a seated statue depicting Intef as a scribe, the texts on the statue says:

Made by the king of Upper and Lower Egypt Kheperkare as his monument for his father prince Intef the Elder [...] born of Iku

Burial

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Auguste Mariette discovered a stele belonging to the “hereditary prince Intefi” at Dra’ Abu el-Naga’ on the west bank of Thebes. This stele is currently in the Egyptian Museum (CG 20009). The stele provides information about Intef’s titles and indicates that he served an unnamed pharaoh.[3][4]

An offering which the king gives to Anubis, who is upon his mountain, who is in the place of embalming, Lord of the holy place, that he may give to the hereditary prince, count, great lord of the Theban nome, satisfying the king as keeper of the gateway of the south, great pillar of him who makes his two lands to live, the chief prophet devoted to the great god Intefi.

References

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  1. Flinders Petrie: A History of Egypt - vol 1 - From the Earliest Times to the XVIth Dynasty (1897), available copyright-free here, p. 126, f. 77
  2. Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC, Stacey International, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9, 2008, p. 141-142
  3. Darrell D. Baker: The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume I - Predynastic to the Twentieth Dynasty 3300–1069 BC, Stacey International, ISBN 978-1-905299-37-9, 2008, p. 141-142
  4. Little Book of Ancient Egypt by Ian McKenzie