Intef I-III

The Intefs were a series of pharaohs of the 11th Dynasty named Intef, who ruled from 1571 to 1566 B.C., 1566 to 1517 B.C., and 1517 to 1509 B.C. respectively. They followed Mentuhotep I, a king of the 7th and 8th Dynasties at Thebes, and were followed by Mentuhotep II who unified Egypt. Not a lot is known about these three kings, other than that they began this dynasty.

Intef III was the son of Intef II, who was the son of Intef I, who was the son of the chieftain Mentuhotep I. Mentuhotep II, who succeeded them, was a son of Intef III.

This period began in 1571 B.C., when Mentuhotep I died and Intef I became the nomarch of Thebes. At the beginning of his reign, power was beginning to centralize around the 9th Dynasty at Herakleopolis and the 11th Dynasty at Thebes, but Intef's power was still contested. During his short reign of four years, he was able to conquer most of Upper Egypt, ending the fractured 7th and 8th Dynasties.

Intef II succeeded Intef I, and he ruled for forty-nine years. During this long reign, Intef was able to unite all of Upper Egypt despite efforts by the opposing 9th and 10th Dynasties to the north. The first part of his reign was marked by constant warfare with these dynasties. However, by Intef II's thirtieth year of rule (1537 B.C.), his authority was uncontested, and the rest of his reign was peaceful and uneventful.

The final pharaoh of this group was Intef III, who ruled for eight years from 1517 to 1509 B.C. He expanded his territory even further, pushing dangerously close to the Herakleopolitan dynasties. Though Intef III's reign was generally peaceful, this act of aggression would lead to a full civil war during the rule of his successor, 14 years after Intef's death.

The evidence for the revised history can be found at Displaced Dynasties. Evidence regarding the chronology of these pharaohs can be found here.