Temples of gods in the religious policy of the pharaoh Amenemhat II

The article surveys the pharaoh Amenemhat II’s religious policy in relation to the temples of gods. All known data on the king’s building and cultic activity in various regions are collected and summarized. The author points out to serious decrease in building program of Amenemhat II’s reign as compared with his predecessors. Legitimation of king’s power was not so vital as it was during the time of the first two rulers of the XII dynasty. Hence, rather than building new temples of gods, Amenemhat II concentrated on providing cult activities in the ones already existing. It seems also significant that no literary texts of the king’s propaganda are known from this reign. «Annals» of Amenemhat II are closely examined as the most prominent written source of the reign. It highlights Amenemhat II’s activity in Fayum, where the main cultic centers of gods Igai and Sobek were situated. There was a stunning increase in importance of these two cults, due to the king’s massive building and cultic efforts. This reflects the overall determination of Amenemhat II towards ideological establishing and sustaining his major project, an agricultural and economical expansion in the oasis of Fayum.