Ramesses XI

Menmare Ramesses XI (also written Ramses XI or Rameses XI) (reigned 1102 BC to 1073 BC or 1069 BC) was the tenth and final king of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. He ruled Egypt for at least 29 Years, and perhaps as long as 33 Years. The latter figure is based on evidence published by A. Thijs in a GM 173(1999), pp.175-189 article.

Ramesses XI's reign was characterized by the gradual disintegration of the Egyptian state. Civil conflict was already evident around the beginning of his reign when the high priest of Amun, Amenhotep, was dismissed from office by the king with the aid of Nubian soldiers under the command of Pinhasy, Viceroy of Nubia for overstepping his authority over Ramesses XI. Tomb robbing was prevalent all over Thebes as Egypt's fortunes declined considerably and her Asiatic Empire was lost. As the chaos continued, Herihor rose from the ranks of the Egyptian military before Ramesses' 19th Regnal year, to restore a degree of order, and became the new high priest of Amon. Ramesses XI established a triumvirate in his 19th Regnal Year with Herihor ruling over Thebes and Upper Egypt and Smendes controlling Lower Egypt. This period of rule was called the Era of the Renaissance or Whm Mswt by the Egyptians. Herihor amassed numerous power and titles at the expense of Pinhasy, Viceroy of Nubia, whom he had expelled from Thebes. This rivalry soon developed into full-fledged civil war and the emergence of new dynasties in Upper and Lower Egypt as Herihor usurped royal power at Thebes without actually deposing Ramesses, but effectively ignored the king's authority. Herihor died around Year 6 of the Whm Mswt(Year 24 proper of Ramesses XI) and was succeeded by Piankh as High Priest. Piankh initiated one or two unsuccesful campaigns into Nubia to wrest control of this gold producing region from Pinhasy's hands but his efforts were ultimately fruitless as Nubia slipped permanently out of Egypt's grasp. This watershed event worsened Egypt's dire woes because she had now lost control over all of her imperial possessions and was denied access to a regular supply of gold by the time of Ramesses' XI's death.

Sometime during this troubled period, Ramesses XI died in obscurity. While he had a tomb prepared for himself in the Valley of the Kings (KV4), it was never finished and Ramesses XI instead arranged to have himself buried in Lower Egypt at Memphis. Smendes thus inherited the throne based on the traditional convention that "he who buries [the king] succeeds" to the Crown. Since Smendes buried Ramesses XI, he could legally assume the throne of Egypt and inaugurate the start of the 21st Dynasty at Tanis, which was his home town, even if he did not control Middle and Upper Egypt which was now effectively in the hands of the High Priests of Amun at Thebes.

Ramesses XI's reign is notable for the large number of important papyri that have been uncovered from his reign such as the Adoption Papyrus which mentions Regnal Year 1 and Year 18 of his reign, the Turin Taxation Papyrus, the House-list Papyrus and an entire series of Late Ramesside Letters written by the scribes Dhutmose, Butehamun and the High Priest Piankh--the latter of which chronicles the severe decline of the king's power even in the eyes of his own officials. Thijs, in his GM 173 paper, notes that the House-list Papyrus, which is anonymously dated to Year 12 of Ramesses XI(ie: the document was compiled in either Year 12 of the pre-Renaissance period or during the Whm Mswt era itself) mentions 2 officials--the Chief Doorkeeper Pnufer and the Chief Warehouseman Dhutemhab. However these individuals were only noted as an Ordinary Doorkeeper and Warehouseman in Papyri BM 10403 and BM 10052 respectively, which are explicitly dated to Year 1 and 2 of the Whm Mswt period. This strongly suggests that the Year 12 House-list papyrus postdates these two documents and was created in Year 12 of the Whm Mswt era instead(or Year 30 proper of Ramesses XI) which would account for these 2 men's promotions. Thijs then proceeds to use another papyrus, BM 9997, to argue that Ramesses XI lived at least into his 32nd and 33rd Regnal Year(or Year 14 & 15 of the Whm Mswt) since this other document mentions a certain Sermont. This person was was only titled as an Ordinary Medjay(Nubian) in the Year 12 House-list Papyrus but is called a 'Chief of the Medjay' in Papyrus BM 9997. Sermont's promotion would thus mean that BM 9997 postdates the House-list papyrus. If true, then Ramesses XI would certainly have survived into his 33rd Regnal Year or Year 15 of the Whm Mswt before dying. After his death, the Village of Deir El Medina was abandoned because the workmen's jobs in the Valley of the Kings were no longer needed as the Royal Necropolis here was shut down and shifted to Tanis.