Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty. He is credited with reuniting Egypt, thus ending the turbulent First Intermediate Period and becoming the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom. He reigned for 51 years, according to the Turin King List. Mentuhotep II succeeded his father Intef III on the throne and was in turn succeeded by his son Mentuhotep III. Mentuhotep II ascended Egypt’s throne in the Upper Egyptian city of Thebes during the First Intermediate Period. Egypt was not unified during this time, and the Tenth Dynasty, rival to Mentuhotep’s Eleventh, ruled Lower Egypt from Herakleopolis. After the Herakleopolitan kings desecrated the sacred ancient royal necropolis of Abydos in Upper Egypt in the fourteenth year of Mentuhotep’s reign, Pharaoh Mentuhotep II dispatched his armies north to conquer Palestine. Continuing his father Intef III’s conquests, Mentuhotep succeeded in unifying his country, probably shortly before his 39th year on the throne. Following and in recognition of the unification, in regnal year 39, he changed his titulary to Shematawy (, meaning "He who unifies the two lands"). Following the unification, Mentuhotep II reformed Egypt's government. To reverse the decentralization of power, which contributed to the collapse of the Old Kingdom and marked the First Intermediate Period, he centralized the state in Thebes to strip nomarchs of some of their power over the regions. Mentuhotep II also created new governmental posts whose occupants were Theban men loyal to him, giving the pharaoh more control over his country. Officials from the capital travelled the country regularly to control regional leaders. Mentuhotep II was buried at the Theban necropolis of Deir el-Bahari. His mortuary temple was one of Mentuhotep II’s most ambitious building-projects, and included several architectural and religious innovations. For example, it included terraces and covered walkways around the central structure, and it was the first mortuary temple that identified the pharaoh with the god Osiris. His temple inspired several later temples, such as those of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Some depictions of Mentuhotep II seem to indicate that he suffered from elephantiasis, resulting in swollen legs. Family Mentuhotep II was the son of Intef III and Intef III's wife Iah who may also have been his sister. This lineage is demonstrated by