Ta-Wer howled. Around 2000 BCE, the southern kingdom was rising quickly. But the north was not out of the fight. Not by a long shot…

Episode chapters

1. Prologue – A Royal Inspection (00:30 ).


2. The Fall of Tjeni / Thinis (07:25 ).


3. The Long Reign of Intef II (11:58 ).


4. Intef’s Dogs (20:58 ).


5. Khety Merykara (34:03 ).


6. Making Ta-Wer Howl (47:25 ).


7. Conclusion (01:06:37 ).


8. Epilogue – Intef’s Hymns for Ra and Hathor (01:08:30 ).

Dendera excavations: Moeller and Marouard, The Development of Two Early Urban Centres - Edfu and Dendara (2018).

The History of Egypt Podcast:

• Website: www.egyptianhistorypodcast.com.


• Support the show via Patreon www.patreon.com/egyptpodcast.


• Make a one-time donation via PayPal payments.


• Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.


• Music and interludes by Luke Chaos www.chaosmusick.com.


• Logo image: The "Dog Stela" of Intef II, from his tomb at El-Tarif (Mariette 1858).

Select Bibliography:

• A. E. Demidchik, ‘The Reign of Merikare Khety’, Göttinger Miszellen 192 (2003), 25--36.


• A. Dodson and D. Hilton, The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt (London, 2004).


• C. Langer, ‘The Political Realism of the Egyptian Elite: A Comparison Between The Teaching for Merikare and Niccolò Machiavelli’s Il Principe’, Journal of Egyptian History 8 (2015), 49--79.


• R. J. Leprohon, The Great Name: Ancient Egyptian Royal Titulary (Wilson, 2013).


• M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms (Los Angeles, 1973).


• M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Autobiographies Chiefly of the Middle Kingdom: A Study and an Anthology (Freiburg, 1988).


• J. Malek, ‘King Merykare and his Pyramid’, in C. Berger et al. (eds), Hommages à Jean Leclant, 4, 4 vols (Cairo, 1994), 203--214.


• G. Maspero, ‘On the Name of An Egyptian Dog’, Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology V (1877), 127--128.


• R. B. Parkinson, The Tale of Sinuhe and Other Ancient Egyptian Poems (1940—1640 BC) (Oxford, 1997).


• R. B. Parkinson, Poetry and Culture in Middle Kingdom Egypt: A Dark Side to Perfection (London, 2002).


• D. Polz, Die Sogenannte Hundestele des Königs Wah-Anch Intef aus el-Târif: Eine Forschungsgeschichte (Wiesbaden, 2019).


• D. Polz, ‘Dra’ Abu el-Naga, Ägypten: ein angeblicher Fund aus Dra’ Abu el-Naga. Die sog. Hundestele des Königs Wah-Anch Intef. Eine Forschungsgeschichte’, e-Forschungsberichte des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts 2020 (2020), 12--16.


• S. Quirke, Egyptian Literature 1800 BC: Questions and Readings (London, 2004).


• D. B. Spanel, ‘The Herakleopolitan Tombs of Kheti I, Jt(.j)jb(.j), and Kheti II at Asyut’, Orientalia 58 (1989), 301--314.

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