Wadjkare
Wadjkare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth dynasty who reigned c. 2150 BC during the First Intermediate Period. He is considered to be a very obscure figure in Egyptian history.[1]
| Wadjkare | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pharaoh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | duration unknown; c. 2150 BC (First Intermediate Period) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | uncertain; possibly Qakare Ibi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | uncertain; possibly Wahkare Khety I | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Burial | unknown | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Identity
Wadjkare is mentioned only once: in a royal limestone tablet known as Coptos Decree R (Cairo museum; obj. JE 41894), which is said to have been created by the king himself. It contains a list of punishments for everyone who dares to damage or plunder a shrine dedicated to the god Min-of-Coptos.[2] However, from an archaeological standpoint there is nothing else known about this king. His existence is questioned by some scholars, because he is not mentioned in any Ramesside king list.[3]
A rock inscription in Nubia mentions a king that in the past was tentatively read as Wadjkare.[4][5] It is believed nowadays that the royal name on the inscription is Menkhkare, the throne name of the Eleventh Dynasty local ruler Segerseni.[6]
Scholars such as Farouk Gomaà and William C. Hayes identify the Horus name Djemed-ib-taui with a ruler named Neferirkare and equate Wadjkare with an obscure ruler named Hor-Khabaw.[7] Hans Goedicke sees Wadjkare as the predecessor of Djemed-ib-taui and assigns both rulers to the 9th dynasty.[8]
References
- Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3, p. 170 - 171.
- Nigel C. Strudwick: Texts from the Pyramid Age. BRILL, Leiden 2005, ISBN 9004130489, p. 123-124.
- Margaret Bunson: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN 1438109970, p. 429.
- Henri Gauthier, "Nouvelles remarques sur la XIe dynastie". BIFAO 9 (1911), p. 136.
- Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs: an introduction, Oxford University Press, 1964, p. 121.
- Jürgen von Beckerath, Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen (MÄS 49), Philip Von Zabern, 1999, pp. 80-81.
- Farouk Gomaà: Ägypten während der Ersten Zwischenzeit (= Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Reihe B: Geisteswissenschaften, vol. 27). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1980, ISBN 3-88226-041-6. p. 57, 59, 127.
- Hans Goedicke: Königliche Dokumente aus dem Alten Reich (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Bd. 14). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1967, p. 215.
