Neferkare VII was the third

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 Ninth Dynasty of Egypt of

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

, ca. 2140 BCE (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 ...

), according to 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 ...

where his name, Neferkare, is inscribed in the register 4.20. Neferkare is not included on the

Abydos King List The Abydos King List, also known as the Abydos Table or the Abydos Tablet, is a list of the names of 76 kings of ancient Egypt, found on a wall of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, Egypt. It consists of three rows of 38 cartouches (borders enclos ...

or the

Saqqara King List The Saqqara Tablet, also known as the Saqqara King List or the Saqqara Table, now in the Egyptian Museum, is an ancient stone engraving surviving from the Ramesside Period of Egypt which features a list of pharaohs. It was found in 1861 in Saqqara ...

, nor can the existence of his reign be positively confirmed through archaeological finds. William C. Hayes, in ''

The Cambridge Ancient History ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' is a multi-volume work of ancient history from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, published by Cambridge University Press. The first series, consisting of 12 volumes, was planned in 1919 by Irish historian J. B. Bur ...

'', vol 1, part 2, 1971 (2008), Cambridge University Press, , pp. 464–465. The

prenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

"Neferkare" suggests he considered himself a legitimate successor of

Pepi II Neferkare Pepi II Neferkare ( 2284 BC – 2214 BC) was a king of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. His second name, Neferkare (''Nefer-ka-Re''), means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Nemty ...

of the

Sixth Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

, much like the many namesake Memphite kings of the Eighth Dynasty. In some literature he is called "Neferkare VII" because he likely was the seventh king to bear this name, although many of his predecessors are now called by a combination of their prenomen and nomen (for example, Neferkare Neby, or Neferkare Pepiseneb). This otherwise unattested ruler of

Herakleopolis Magna Heracleopolis Magna (, ''Megálē Herakléous pólis''), Heracleopolis (, ''Herakleópolis'') or Herakleoupolis () is the Roman name of the capital of the 20th nome of ancient Upper Egypt, known in Ancient Egyptian as '. The site is located ap ...

has been controversially identified by various scholars with a king named ''Ka-nefer-re'', who is mentioned in an obscure and isolated tomb inscription of

Ankhtifi Ankhtifi (or Ankhtify) was an ancient Egyptian nobleman, administrator, and military commander. The nomarch of Nekhen and a supporter of the pharaoh in Heracleopolis Magna ( 10th Dynasty), which was locked in a conflict with the Theban based 11 ...

, the pro-Herakleopolite

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 Hieraconpolis and prince of

El-Mo'alla El Mo'alla () is a town in Upper Egypt located about 35 km south of Luxor, on the east bank of the Nile. Known as Hefat by ancient Egyptians, it served as a necropolis for the nearby city of Djerty (nowadays El-Tod) since the early First ...

, about south of Thebes.
If Neferkare and Kaneferre were the same pharaoh, his authority is sometimes presumed from Ankhtifi's inscription to have extended at least over

Elephantine Elephantine ( ; ; ; ''Elephantíne''; , ) is an island on the Nile, forming part of the city of Aswan in Upper Egypt. The archaeological site, archaeological digs on the island became a World Heritage Site in 1979, along with other examples of ...

Edfu Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of H ...

and Hieraconpolis, the capitals of the first three '' nomoi'' of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

. However, the inscription in question simply states "

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

brings/brought (or may Horus bring) a (good) inundation for his son Ka-nefer-Re." Uncertainty about the verb tense in the inscription has led to disagreement among various scholars as to whether this named pharaoh would have ruled in Ankhtifi's youth, or at the time of the events he describes, or indeed if it were not a king before Ankhtifi's time, who had ruled toward the end of the Old Kingdom from Memphis. Neferkare’s name appears in the "Abydos King List," a chronological list of pharaohs compiled during the New Kingdom. However, the details about his reign, including its length and achievements, remain elusive, primarily because this period's records are scarce and often fragmented.

References

22nd-century BC pharaohs Pharaohs of the Ninth Dynasty of Egypt {{Africa-royal-stub