flourished 20th century BC
Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1938–08 BC) who founded the 12th dynasty (1938–1756) and, with provincial governors, restored unity to Egypt after the civil war that followed the death of his predecessor, Montuhotep IV. He moved the capital from Thebes to near modern-day Al-Lisht, south of Memphis.
He extended Egyptian control up the Nile and fortified the delta. Reaffirming the Egyptian monarchy's claim to divinity, he also enlarged the Temple of Amon at Thebes. In 1918 BC he made his son, Sesostris I, his coruler. He was assassinated 10 years later.