Baka () was an

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 ...

ian prince. He is known for his destroyed statuette. He is also the subject of a theory that claims he was

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for a very short time. Thus, he might be identical to a scarcely known king named

Bikheris Bikheris () is the Hellenized name of an ancient Egyptian king, who may have ruled during the 4th Dynasty ( Old Kingdom period). Next to nothing is known about this ruler and some Egyptologists even believe him to be fictitious.Jürgen von Becke ...

Identity

Baka was a prince and son of king

Djedefre Djedefre (also known as Djedefra and Radjedef; died 2558 BC) was an ancient Egyptian king (pharaoh) of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, 4th Dynasty during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. He is well known by the Hellenization, Hellenized form ...

. He lived and worked during the 4th Dynasty. His family life is unknown, and the names of his wives and children are lost. Since the names of three other sons of Djedefre, namely Setka, Harnit and Nykau-Djedefre, are archaeologically attested, these should be Baka's brothers or half-brothers. The daughters of Djedefre, Hetepheres III and

Neferhetepes Neferhetepes (''nefer-hetep-es''; '' nfr-ḥtp- s,'' "Her Peace/Grace Is Beautiful") was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 4th Dynasty; a daughter of Pharaoh Djedefre who ruled between his father Khufu and his brother Khafre. Her mother was ...

, would be Baka's sisters or half-sisters. His mother is unknown, too. She could be one of Djedefre's wives,

Khentetka Khentetka or Khentetenka (fl. 26th century BCE) was a queen consort of Egypt; the wife of King Djedefre during the 4th Dynasty. Biography Khentetka's titles include ''King's Beloved Wife'' (''ḥm.t-nỉswt mrỉỉt=f''), ''She who sees Horus ...

Hetepheres II Hetepheres II ( 2590 BC - 2500 BC) was a queen of ancient Egypt during the 4th Dynasty. Biography Birth and family Queen Hetepheres II may have been one of the longest-lived members of the royal family of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, which la ...

, but this is highly uncertain.Aidan Dodson: ''On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan''. In: ''Discussion in Egyptology'', vol. 3. University Press, Oxford (UK) 1985, p. 21–24.

Possible reign as king

According to

Rainer Stadelmann Rainer Stadelmann (24 October 1933 – 14 January 2019) was a German Egyptology, Egyptologist. He was considered an expert on the archaeology of the Giza Plateau. Biography After studying in Neuburg an der Donau in 1953, he studied Egyptology, ...

and

George Reisner George Andrew Reisner Jr. (November 5, 1867 – June 6, 1942) was an American archeologist of Ancient Egypt, Nubia and Palestine. Early life Reisner was born on November 5, 1867, in Indianapolis. His parents were George Andrew Reisner Sr. and M ...

, it is possible that Baka was a king of Egypt for a very short time (maybe one or two years). Their assumption is based on the so-called

Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan The Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet El Aryan, also known as Pyramid of Baka, Pyramid of Bakare and Pyramid of Bikheris is the term archaeologists and Egyptologists use to describe a large shaft part of an unfinished pyramid at Zawyet El Ary ...

, which is located at

Zawyet el'Aryan Zawyet El Aryan () is a town in the Giza Governorate, located between Giza and Abusir. To the west of the town, just in the desert area, is a necropolis, referred to by the same name. Almost directly east across the Nile is Memphis, Egypt, Memphi ...

. This unfinished pyramid shaft was abandoned shortly after being started and only a dozen of workmen's inscriptions in black

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

were found. These provide a royal cartouche name, which remains partially illegible. The first sign can be identified as a ''Ka''-sign, but the first (and former) sign was copied by the pyramid excavator so fuzzily that it remains undecipherable. According to Stadelmann and Reisner, the first sign shows a walking ram, as it does in the birth name of the prince.The theory postulates Baka simply put his citizen name into a royal cartouche due to his lifetime, but then the name was changed after his death into ''Bakarê'' ("soul and Ka of Râ"). It is theorized that this name of Baka was hellenized into ''Bikheris'' in ancient Greek chronics. For this reason,Rainer calls the unfinished tomb shaft at Zawyet el'Aryan the "Pyramid of Bikheris".Rainer Stadelmann: ''Die Ägyptischen Pyramiden: vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder'' ( = ''Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt'', vol. 30). von Zabern, Mainz 1985, , p. 77, 140-145. This theory is not commonly accepted, though.

Aidan Dodson Aidan Mark Dodson (born 1962) is an English Egyptologist and historian. He has been honorary professor of Egyptology at the University of Bristol since 1 August 2018. Academic career Dodson, born in London on 11 September 1962, studied at Lang ...

is convinced of the depiction of a sitting Seth-animal, reading the royal name as ''Seth-Ka'' ("Seth is mine Ka"). In this case, Setka had actually followed his father onto the throne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baka 26th-century BC pharaohs Pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Princes of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt Djedefre African people whose existence is disputed