Meryhathor or Meryt-Hathor, Jean Vercoutter, ''L'Egypte jusq'à la fin du Nouvel Empire'', in Pierre Lévêque, ''Le premieres civilisations'', Paris, Presses Universitaires de France, 1987, p. 143. was a

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

of the 10th Dynasty of Egypt, during the

First Intermediate Period The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. It comprises the seventh Dynasty, Seventh (altho ...

Identification

Regarded as the founder of the dynasty, Meryhathor should have begun his reign in 2130 BCE. His name is not mentioned in the

Turin King List The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC), now in the Museo Egizio (Egyptian Museum) in Turin. The papyrus is the m ...

but Djehutynakht II, a

nomarch A nomarch (, Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called Nome (Egypt), nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsible for a nome. Etymology The te ...

of the

Hare nome The Hare nome, also called the Hermopolite nome ( "Cape hare") was one of the 42 '' nomoi'' (administrative divisions) in ancient Egypt; more precisely, it was the 15th nome of Upper Egypt. Wolfram Grajetzki, ''The Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt: ...

residing in

Hermopolis Hermopolis (or ''Hermopolis Magna'') was a major city in antiquity, located near the boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name ''Khemenu'' derives from the eight deities (the Ogdoad) said to reside in the city. A provincial capi ...

, ordered an ink graffito mentioning Meryhathor in the

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

quarries at Hatnub: this is so far the only attestation of this king. There is a dispute regarding his name: since the "

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

" sign (C9 in Gardiner's sign list) is partially damaged, some authors such as Edward BrovarskiRoyal Titulary of Mery... on Eglyphica.net
(search in the Tenth Dynasty) believe that the real name of this pharaoh could be ''Meryibre'' ("Beloved of the heart of Ra") which is somewhat closer to the Memphite tradition. Furthermore, some

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

s who support the alternative reading also combine this king with his successor Neferkare VIII; thus, it is not uncommon to find a pharaoh ''Neferkare-Meryibre'' as the founder of the 10th Dynasty. Nicolas Grimal, ''A History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, p. 141.

References

22nd-century BC pharaohs Pharaohs of the Tenth Dynasty of Egypt {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub