Amenemhet

Amenemhat, also written Amenemhet, is an ancient Egyptian personal name meaning "Amun is in front" or "Amun is foremost." The name was borne by several rulers of the Middle Kingdom, most notably four pharaohs of the 12th Dynasty, along with other members of the royal family.

The four pharaohs commonly identified as Amenemhat I–IV ruled during the 12th Dynasty, in the early to middle part of the Middle Kingdom. Amenemhat I is traditionally regarded as the founder of the 12th Dynasty; he established Itjtawy as the royal residence and initiated major building projects and administrative reforms that consolidated centralized governance after the turmoil of the preceding era. Amenemhat II and Amenemhat III continued the dynasty’s program of state-sponsored building and development. Amenemhat III is especially associated with extensive hydraulic and agricultural works in the Nile valley and with the legendary but later-attributed Labyrinth complex at Hawara. Amenemhat IV has a more limited and less well-documented record, and the dynasty declined after his reign, giving way to the 13th Dynasty.

Etymologically, Amenemhat reflects the central role of the god Amun in royal ideology during the Middle Kingdom. The name appears in inscriptions and monuments from the period, illustrating its continued cultural and political significance. In modern reference works, Amenemhat is sometimes used to refer collectively to the rulers who bore the name, and to notes about the 12th Dynasty more broadly. See also Amenemhat (disambiguation) for other uses of the name.