Wadjkare was an ancient Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

of the Eighth dynasty who reigned c. 2150 BC 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 spuriou ...

. He is considered to be a very obscure figure in Egyptian history.Thomas Schneider: ''Lexikon der Pharaonen''. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, , p. 170 - 171.

Identity

Wadjkare is mentioned only once: in a royal

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

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. 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 The New Kingdom, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the sixteenth century BC and the eleventh century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasties of Egypt. Radioca ...

king list. A rock inscription in

Nubia Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sud ...

mentions a king that in the past was tentatively read as ''Wadjkare''. It is believed nowadays that the royal name on the inscription is ''Menkhkare'', the throne name of the

Eleventh Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the lat ...

local ruler Segerseni. Scholars such as Farouk Gomaà and

William C. Hayes William Christopher Hayes (March 21, 1903 – July 10, 1963) was an American Egyptologist. His main fields of study were history of Egyptian art and translation/interpretation of texts.W. C. Hayes, ''The Scepter of Egypt'', part II, 4th print ...

identify the

Horus name The Horus name is the oldest known and used crest of ancient Egyptian rulers. It belongs to the " great five names" of an Egyptian pharaoh. However, modern Egyptologists and linguists are starting to prefer the more neutral term: the "serekh na ...

''Djemed-ib-taui'' with a ruler named

Neferirkare Neferirkare (sometimes referred to as Neferirkare II because of Neferirkare Kakai) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC). According to the egyptologists Kim Ryholt, ...

and equate Wadjkare with an obscure ruler named ''Hor-Khabaw''. Hans Goedicke sees Wadjkare as the predecessor of ''Djemed-ib-taui'' and assigns both rulers to the

9th dynasty The Ninth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty IX) is often combined with the 7th, 8th, 10th and early 11th Dynasties under the group title First Intermediate Period. The dynasty that seems to have supplanted the Eighth Dynasty is extremely obs ...

.Hans Goedicke: ''Königliche Dokumente aus dem Alten Reich'' (= ''Ägyptologische Abhandlungen'', Bd. 14). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1967, p. 215.

References

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