Baqet III was an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian official and '' Great Chief of the Oryx nome'' (the 16th nome of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

) during the 11th Dynasty in the 21st century BCE. Apart from the position of governor of the entire nome, Baqet III also held the titles '' haty-a'', ''treasurer of the king of

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

'', ''confidential friend'', ''true royal acquaintance'', and ''mayor of Nekheb''. As a son of his predecessor Ramushenti, he administered the governorate in the city of Men'at Khufu. Realizing that the fate of the civil war was definitely in favor of the

Thebans Thebes ( ; , ''Thíva'' ; , ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the largest city in Boeotia and a major center for the area along with Livadeia and ...

led by

Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his Prenomen (Ancient Egypt), prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt, Elev ...

, Baqet cunningly broke the long neutrality of his territory and took the Theban side. After his death, his new loyalty allowed him to be succeeded by his probable son Khety and by his descendants until the time of

Amenemhat I :''See Amenemhat (disambiguation), Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat I (Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-ḥꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet I, was a pharaoh of ancient ...

, when a family turnover took place in the governorship with the installation of Khnumhotep I.

The tomb BH15

Baqet III was buried in the necropolis of his clan in

Beni Hasan Beni Hasan (also written as Bani Hasan, or also Beni-Hassan) () is an ancient Egyptian cemetery. It is located approximately to the south of modern-day Minya in the region known as Middle Egypt, the area between Asyut and Memphis.Baines, John ...

inside the tomb no. 15. The tomb is composed of a cult chapel and an inner burial chamber, and is well known for its remarkable paintings. The northern wall depicts Baqet and his wife in their daily life, the hunting of various animals including fantastic ones,Margaret Bunson, ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt''. Infobase Publishing, 2009, , p. 64. and various artisans whilst working.
The eastern wall shows a fortress garrisoned by Egyptians and besieged by a mixed army composed of Egyptians infantry,

Nubia Nubia (, Nobiin language, Nobiin: , ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the confluence of the Blue Nile, Blue and White Nile, White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), and the Cataracts of the Nile, first cataract ...

n bowmen and maybe Libyan slingers, likely representing a Theban offensive; on the same wall are also depicted an impressive number of

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

positions and techniques.
Finally, the south wall mainly shows Baqet's funeral, but also some people playing ''

senet Senet or senat (; cf. Coptic language, Coptic , 'passing, afternoon') is a board game from ancient Egypt that consists of ten or more pawns on a 30-square playing board.Crist 2019 p. 107 The earliest representation of senet is dated to 2620 BC ...

''.

The tomb BH15

References

Further reading