Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor Intef II and father of his successor Mentuhotep II, This indicates that Intef III's successor, Mentuhotep II, was his son. This is further confirmed by the stele of Henenu (Cairo 36346), an official who served under Intef II, Intef III and his "son", which the stele identifies as Horus Sankhibtawy (s-ˁnḫ-[jb-tȝwy]), Mentuhotep II's first Horus name.
Another piece of evidence for this parentage is a relief on the Gebel el-Silsileh in the Wadi Shatt er-Rigal, known as the Silsileh petroglyph, depicting Mentuhotep II surrounded by Iah and Intef III. This establishes that she was Intef III's daughter and the sister of Mentuhotep II.
Reign
Intef III's father and predecessor reigned for 49 years and Intef III might thus have acceded to the throne a middle-aged and given as 8 years.
The relative chronological position of Intef III as the successor of Intef II and predecessor of Mentuhotep II is secured by his established parentage to these two kings as well as the Turin canon and two blocks from the temple of Montu at Tod. Another doorjamb was discovered in the temple of Satet, also on Elephantine, which attests to building activity on the site.]]
The necropolis of the kings of the 11th Dynasty is located in El-Tarif, on the opposite bank of the Nile from Thebes. Several saff-tombs of imposing dimensions are found there but, until the excavations of the German Archaeological Institute under the direction of Dieter Arnold from 1970 until 1974, it was unclear to whom some of these tombs belonged. to Intef III. The tomb resembles that of his predecessor Intef II and consists of a wide and long courtyard on a northwest - southeast axis facing a canal. The courtyard is surrounded, on all sides but the east, by many chambers dug into the rock. The courtyard leads to a large double-pillared facade totalling 48 columns behind which many more chambers are located.
In spite of the ruined state of the tomb, the 1970s excavations have shown that its walls must once have been lined with sandstone and adorned with decorations.
Nowadays, the tomb lies beneath the constructions of a village.