Wahkare Khety
Wahkarê Khety | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Achthoês,[1] Khety III | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pharaoh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Reign | c. 50 years | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Predecessor | possibly Qakare Ibi or Wadjkare (if 9th Dynasty); Neferkare VIII (if 10th Dynasty) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | uncertain (if 9th Dynasty); Merikare (if 10th Dynasty) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Children | Merikare? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | 9th or 10th Dynasty |
Wahkare Khety was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 9th or 10th Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period.
Identity
The identity of Wahkare Khety is controversial. While some scholars believe that he was the founder of the 9th Dynasty,[2] many others place him in the subsequent 10th Dynasty.[3][4][5][6]
9th Dynasty hypothesis
If Wahkare Khety was the founder of the 9th Dynasty, he may be identified with the hellenized king Achthoês, the founder of this dynasty according to Manetho. Manetho reports:
The first of these [kings], Achthoês, behaving more cruel than his predecessors, wrought woes for the people of all of Egypt, but afterwards he was smitten with madness and killed by a crocodile.[1][7]
If this hypothesis is correct, Wahkare Khety may have been a
10th Dynasty hypothesis
Many scholars believe instead that Wahkare Khety was a king of the
From the Instructions, it is known that Wahkare Khety, in alliance with the nomarchs of Lower Egypt, managed to repel the nomad "Asiatics" who for generations roamed in the Nile Delta. Those nomarchs, although recognizing Wahkare's authority, ruled de facto more or less independently. The expulsion of the "Asiatics" allowed the establishment of new settlements and defense structures on the northeastern borders, as well as the reprise of trades with the Levantine coast.[9] Wahkare, however, warned Merikare not to neglect guarding these borders, as the "Asiatics" still were considered a danger.[10]
In the south, Wahkare and the faithful nomarch of Asyut Tefibi retook the city of Thinis, previously captured by the Thebans led by Intef II; however, the troops of Herakleopolis sacked the sacred necropolis of Thinis, a serious crime which was reported by Wahkare himself. This crime caused the immediate reaction of the Thebans, who later finally captured the Thinite nomos. After those events Wahkare Khety decided to abandon this bellicose policy and begin a phase of peaceful coexistence with the southern kingdom, which endured until part of the reign of his successor Merikare, who succeeded the long reign – five decades – of Wahkare.[11]
Attestations
There is no contemporary evidence bearing his name. His cartouches appears on a
References
- ^ ISBN 0-674-99385-3, p. 61.
- ^ Jürgen von Beckerath, Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen, 2nd edition, Mainz, 1999, p. 74.
- ISBN 0-521-077915, p. 996.
- ^ Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt, Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, p. 144–47.
- ISBN 0-203-44328-4, p. 7.
- ISBN 1438109970, p. 202.
- ^ Margaret Bunson, op. cit., p. 355.
- ISBN 978-0-19-280458-7, p. 128.
- ^ William C. Hayes, op. cit., p. 466.
- ^ William C. Hayes, op. cit., p. 237.
- ^ William C. Hayes, op. cit., pp. 466–67.
- ^ Pierre Lacau, Sarcophages antérieurs au Nouvel Empire, tome II, Cairo, 1903, pp. 10–20.
- ^ Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs, an introduction. Oxford University Press 1961, p. 112
- ^ ISBN 3-491-96053-3, p. 172.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-918986-01-X.