Second Intermediate Period
Intef VII
17th Dynasty (Theban) · c.1580-1550 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Nubkheperre Intef, counted as Intef VII in modern numbering, was a mid-Seventeenth Dynasty king who worked to consolidate Theban authority over Upper Egypt at a time when loyalty among local elites could not be taken for granted. His reign is documented both by a rare surviving administrative decree and by one of the best-preserved royal coffins to survive from the Second Intermediate Period. Research: UCL Digital Egypt; Metropolitan Museum.
Dating: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
Consolidating power in Thebes
Nubkheperre Intef successfully rallied or coerced rival noble families to solidify the 17th Dynasty's absolute control over Upper Egypt. He strictly enforced loyalty, as evidenced by a surviving royal decree from the city of Coptos (Gebtu). In this ruling, he explicitly dismissed an official named Minhotep from the Temple of Min for rebellion and replaced him with the local mayor, a staunch royal loyalist. He was laid to rest in the royal necropolis at Dra Abu el-Naga.
A gilded rishi coffin
Nubkheperre Intef's tomb at Dra Abu el-Naga was entered by excavators in 1827, yielding a distinctive gilded coffin in the so-called rishi style, named from the Arabic word for "feather," its surface carved with a pair of protective vulture wings and originally fitted with inlaid eyes, a uraeus, and a false beard. The coffin, along with a silver diadem also associated with his burial, was acquired by the British Museum from the collection of the British consul Henry Salt and remains one of the finest surviving examples of royal Seventeenth Dynasty funerary craftsmanship, offering a level of material detail rarely available for kings of this fragmented period.
Sources for this profile
- Baker, D. D. (2008). The Encyclopedia of the Pharaohs: Volume 1. Stacey International.
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Ryholt, K. (2004). The Turin King-list. Ägypten und Levante, 14, 135–155.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- University College London. Digital Egypt for Universities.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.