11 Facts About Senusret II

Khakheperre Senusret II was the fourth pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt.

Senusret II took a great deal of interest in the Faiyum oasis region and began work on an extensive irrigation system from Bahr Yussef through to Lake Moeris through the construction of a dike at El-Lahun and the addition of a network of drainage canals.

Several Egyptologists, such as Thomas Schneider, cite Mark C Stone's article, published in the Gottinger Miszellen in 1997, as determining that Senusret II's highest recorded regnal year was his 8th, based on Stela Cairo JE 59485.

At present, the problem concerning the reign length of Senusret II is irresolvable but many Egyptologists today prefer to assign him a reign of 9 or 10 years only given the absence of higher dates attested for him beyond his 8th regnal year.

Senusret II initiated a project to exploit the marshy region's natural resources for hunting and fishing, a project continued by his successors and which "matured" during the reign of his grandson Amenemhat III.

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Senusret II's reign ushered in a period of peace and prosperity, with no recorded military campaigns and the proliferation of trade between Egypt and the Near-East.

Murnane identifies that the only existing evidence for a coregency of Senusret II and III is a scarab with both kings names inscribed on it.

At present, no document from Senusret II's reign has been discovered from Lahun, the king's new capital city.

In 1889, the Egyptologist Flinders Petrie found "a marvellous gold and inlaid royal uraeus" that must have originally formed part of Senusret II's looted burial equipment in a flooded chamber of the king's pyramid tomb.

The tomb of Princess Sithathoriunet, a daughter of Senusret II, was discovered by Egyptologists in a separate burial site.

Pyramid was built around a framework of limestone radial arms, similar to the framework used by Senusret I Instead of using an infill of stones, mud and mortar, Senusret II used an infill of mud bricks before cladding the structure with a layer of limestone veneer.