Ramesses XI - Reign Length

Reign Length

Ramesses XI's reign is notable for a large number of important papyri that have been uncovered, including the Adoption Papyrus, which mentions Regnal Years 1 and 18 of his reign; the Turin Taxation Papyrus; the House-list Papyrus; and an entire series of Late Ramesside Letters written by the scribes Dhutmose, Butehamun, and the High Priest Piankh —the latter of which chronicle the severe decline of the king's power even in the eyes of his own officials. Late Ramesside Letter 9 establishes that the Whm Mswt period lasted into a 10th Year (which equates into Year 28 proper of Ramesses XI).

Ad Thijs, in a GM 173 paper, notes that the House-list Papyrus, which is anonymously dated to Year 12 of Ramesses XI (i.e., the document was compiled in either Year 12 of the pre-Renaissance period or during the Whm Mswt era itself), mentions two officials: the Chief Doorkeeper Pnufer, and the Chief Warehouseman Dhutemhab. These individuals were recorded as only ordinary Doorkeeper and Warehouseman in Papyri BM 10403 and BM 10052 respectively, which are explicitly dated to Year 1 and 2 of the Whm Mswt period. This would suggest that the Year 12 House-list Papyrus postdates these two documents and was created in Year 12 of the Whm Mswt era instead (or Regnal Year 30 proper of Ramesses XI), which would account for these two individuals' promotions. Thijs then proceeds to use several anonymous Year 14 and 15 dates in another papyrus, BM 9997, to argue that Ramesses XI lived at least into his 32nd and 33rd Regnal Years (or Years 14 and 15 of the Whm Mswt). This document mentions a certain Sermont, who was only titled an Ordinary Medjay (Nubian) in the Year 12 House-list Papyrus but is called "Chief of the Medjay" in Papyrus BM 9997. Sermont's promotion would thus mean that BM 9997 postdates the House-list Papyrus and must be placed late in the Renaissance period.

If true, then Ramesses XI should have survived into his 33rd Regnal Year or Year 15 of the Whm Mswt era before dying. Unfortunately, however, it must be stressed that there are clear inconsistencies in the description of an individual's precise title even within the same source document itself. For instance, Papyrus Mayer A mentions both a certain Dhuthope, a doorkeeper of the temple of Amun as well as a Dhuthope, Chief Doorkeeper of the temple of Amun. The reference to the first Dhuthope occurs in the regular papyrus entry while the other appears towards the end of the list but few people would dispute that they refer to the same man. Similarly, the Necropolis Journal entry from Year 17 of Ramesses XI lists the Chief Workman Nekhemmut as well as a certain workman named Nekhemmut, son of Amenua. While they appear to be the same person--at first glance--their official titles are different with the latter lacking the senior title 'Chief'. Closer inspection reveals that the latter was actually named as one of eight prisoners in another document while the Chief workman Nekhemmut was noted to be serving in office in Year 17 of Ramesses XI and hardly a prisoner. Hence, Thijs' case for a Year 33 proper for Ramesses XI should be treated with caution. Since there are two attested promotions of individuals in 2 separate papyri, however, there is a small possibility that Ramesses XI did live into his 33rd Regnal Year. Against this view is the fact that no evidence survives of any Heb Sed Feasts for Ramesses XI. At present, only Thijs' proposal that Papyrus BM 10054 dates to Year 10 of the Whm-Mswt (or Year 28 proper of Ramesses XI) has been confirmed by other scholars such as Von Beckerath and Annie Gasse—the latter in a JEA 87 (2001) paper which studied several newly discovered fragments belonging to this document. Consequently, it would appear that Ramesses XI's highest undisputed date is presently Year 11 of the Whm-Mswt (or Year 29 proper) of his reign, when Piankh's Nubian campaign terminated which means that the pharaoh had a minimum reign of 29 years when he died—-which can perhaps be extended to 30 years due to the "gap between the beginning of Dynasty 21 and the reign of Ramesses XI." with 33 years being hypothethical. Krauss and Warburton specifically write that due to the existence of this time gap,

"Egyptologists generally concede that his reign could have ended 1 or 2 years later than year 10 of the wehem mesut era = regnal year 28."

This also fits in well with Kenneth Kitchen's recently published suggestion that Late Ramesside Letter 41 (not 62) (Wente, 75f; cf 15) with reference to West Theban graffito No.1393 likely shows that the Whm-Mswt era reached into a Year 12 (or Year 30 proper of Ramesses XI.)

When Ramesses XI died, the village of Deir El Medina was abandoned because the Royal Necropolis was shifted northward to Tanis. There was no further need for their services at Thebes.