Amenemhat III wife A'at-12dy

Amenemhet III was the son of Senusret III and the last great ruler of the Middle Kingdom. Amenemhet III appears to have shared the throne with is father as co-regent for at least a while before the death of his father. The king's principle wives were buried in his pyramid at Dahshur in their own chambers, a very unusual feature at this time. The Chief wife was probably Aat. The second queen we are unsure of. We also know of a daughter named Neferuptah and of course his successor who was probably his son, Amenemhet IV. However, Amenemhet IV may have been a grandson, but in any event, Amenemhet III probably made him a co-regent. It is also possible that the queen who ruled as the last pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty, Sobkhotpe IV, was also his daughter.

Every king before him or after him in the 12th Dynasty, with perhaps the exception of the last female ruler, would either be named Amenemhet, as the dynasty's founder was, or Senusret, the first of whom was probably the non royal father of Amenemnet I. This is the king's birth name, meaning "Amun is at the head". His throne name was Ny-maat-re, meaning "Belonging to the Justice of Re". To the Greeks, he was Ammenemes III. Amenemhet III was the 6th ruler of the 12th Dynasty, and may have reigned for as long as 45 years. According to Clayton he ruled from 1842 through 1797 BC.

It was a good thing he ruled this long, because his first tomb, his pyramid at Dahshur, started collapsing about the time it was finished. It took about 14 or 15 years to build, and he had to start completely over with a new pyramid near to the Fayoum at Hawara. At Hawara, we believe the complexity and splendor of his mortuary temple made it commonly known as the Labyrinth. Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo and Pliny all make reference to this structure. According to Diodorus, Daedalus was so impressed by the temple that he built his own labyrinth for Minos in Crete based on Amenemhet III's temple.

Building activity in the Fayoum, besides his pyramid, included the the Temple of Sobek, the principle local deity, in the city the Greeks called Crocidopolis. (Kiman Faris or Faras). In the Fayoum, Sobek was closely related to a more national god, the falcon, Horus the Elder. He also built a chapel dedicated to Renenutet, the goddess of the harvest, at Medinet Maadi. He participated in agricultural projects in the Fayoum as well. For example, he built a barrage to regulate the flow of water into the large lake, Birket Qarun from the Bahr Yousef canal. This reclaimed a large fertile area, perhaps as much as 17,000 acres, that was further protected by an earthen embankment. To celebrate this achievement, he erected two colossal statues of himself at Biyahmu. The statues stand upon very impressive bases, and overlook the lake. He was so much connected to the Fayoum that during the Greco-Roman era, during which time there was a revival of the area, he was probably worshipped as a god under the name Lamares.

What we do not see during Amenemhet III's time is a lot of military action, other then perhaps strengthening the defenses at Semna. The military activities of his predecessors allowed him a peaceful reign upon which to build, as well as to exploit the mineral wealth of the quarries. He does build, politically, reorganizing the domestic administration. He continued to reform the national administration as did his father. It was probably his father that divided the country into three administrative regions, controlled by departments based at the capital. This "federal bureaucracy" oversaw the activities of local officials, who no longer possessed any extensive power. Amenemhet III continued to refine this new administration.

Apparently Amenemhet III was also able to continue with good foreign relations also without much military action. It is said that he was honored and respected from Kerma to Byblos, and during his reign many eastern workers, including peasants, soldiers and craftsmen, came to Egypt.
However, the extensive building works, together with possibly a series of low Nile floods, may have exhausted the economy by the end of his reign. Ironically, all of these foreign workers, many employed for building activities, may have also encouraged the Hyksos to settle in the Delta, thus leading eventually to the collapse of native Egyptian rule. Upon the king's death, he was buried in his second pyramid at Hawara.