Amenemhat III (Nimaatre)

The economic zenith

Amenemhat III reigned for roughly 45 years during the absolute economic and cultural peak of the Middle Kingdom. He successfully completed the massive Fayum irrigation projects started by his grandfather. This vastly increased Egypt's agricultural output.

The labyrinth and the black pyramid

He constructed two enormous pyramids. The first, the Black Pyramid at Dahshur, suffered structural failures due to shifting groundwater and was abandoned. He built his second pyramid at Hawara. This structure featured a mortuary temple so massive and complex that classical Greek historians later described it as the legendary "Labyrinth."