Nebkaure Khety was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the

9th 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

10th Dynasty The Tenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty X) is often combined with the 7th, 8th, 9th and early 11th Dynasties under the group title First Intermediate Period. Rulers The 9th Dynasty was founded at Herakleopolis Magna, and the 10th Dynast ...

, 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. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...

Reign

Practically nothing is known about the events of Nebkaure's reign; due to the contrasting opinions of scholars, even its datation is still difficult. Many Egyptologists assign Nebkaure to the 9th Dynasty, possibly the fourth king (and the second king bearing the name ''Khety''), just after Neferkare.William C. Hayes, in ''The Cambridge Ancient History'', vol 1, part 2, 1971 (2008), Cambridge University Press, , p. 465.Michael Rice, ''Who is who in Ancient Egypt'', 1999 (2004), Routledge, London, , pp. 5-6. On the other hand, other scholars such as

Jürgen von Beckerath Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920, Hanover – 26 June 2016, Schlehdorf) was a German Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '' Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journal of t ...

believe instead that Nebkaure reigned during the subsequent 10th Dynasty, possibly before

Meryibre Khety Meryibre Khety, also known by his Horus name Meryibtawy, was a pharaoh of the 9th or 10th Dynasty of Egypt, during the First Intermediate Period. Reign Some scholarsAlan Gardiner, ''Egypt of the Pharaohs. An introduction'', Oxford University P ...

.Jürgen von Beckerath, ''Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen'', 2nd edition, Mainz, 1999, p. 74.

Attestations

Like many of the kings who preceded or succeeded him, attestations of Nebkaure Khety are scant. On the Turin King List he was tentatively placed in the register 4.21. The only contemporary object bearing his cartouche is a weight made from red jasper which was unearthed by Flinders Petrie at

Tell el-Retabah Tell may refer to: *Tell (archaeology), a type of archaeological site *Tell (name), a name used as a given name and a surname *Tell (poker), a subconscious behavior that can betray information to an observant opponent Arts, entertainment, and m ...

, a location along the Wadi Tumilat in the eastern

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

; this weight is now exhibited at the

Petrie Museum The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London is part of University College London Museums and Collections. The museum contains over 80,000 objects and ranks among some of the world's leading collections of Egyptian and Sudanese material ...

(UC11782).Nebkaure's weight UC11782 in the Petrie Museum
/ref> Alan Gardiner, ''Egypt of the Pharaohs. An introduction'', Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 112. The name of a king ''Nebkaure'' also appears on a late Middle Kingdom papyrus ( Berlin 3023) containing part of the well known and popular story The Eloquent Peasant; it is very likely that the king Nebkaure who enjoyed the peasant's magniloquence so much was Nebkaure Khety indeed.

References

External links

Royal Titulary of Nebkaure Khety on Eglyphica.net (search in the Tenth Dynasty)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nebkaure 22nd-century BC Pharaohs Pharaohs of the Ninth Dynasty of Egypt Pharaohs of the Tenth Dynasty of Egypt Wadi Tumilat