Idudju-iker 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 high official who lived around 2050 BC in the

11th 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 ...

. His title ''foremost one of the chiefs of Lower Nubia'' demonstrates his important position in the administration of

Lower Nubia Lower Nubia (also called Wawat) is the northernmost part of Nubia, roughly contiguous with the modern Lake Nasser, which submerged the historical region in the 1960s with the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Many ancient Lower Nubian monuments, ...

. Idudju-iker is only known from the fragments of a stela found reused in the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period dates from 1700 to 1550 BC. It marks a period when ancient Egypt was divided into smaller dynasties for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a Secon ...

tomb of king

Senebkay Woseribre Senebkay (alternatively Seneb Kay) was an ancient Egyptian king during the Second Intermediate Period. He is thought to have reigned somewhere between 1650 and 1600 BCE. The discovery of his tomb in January 2014 supports the exist ...

at Abydos. On the stela Idudju-iker bears the titles ''sole friend'', ''count'' and ''hereditary prince'' (smr waty,

haty-a Ḥaty-a was an ancient Egyptian rank and title given to local princes, mayors, or governors. There is no standard translation for Ḥaty-a, and it is frequently left transliterated in scholarly literature. In strings of ranking titles ''Ḥa ...

iry-pat Iry-pat ( "member of the elite") was an ancient Egyptian ranking title, that is a title announcing a high position in the hierarchy of the country. Iry-pat was indeed the highest ranking title at the royal court, and only the most important offic ...

) but is also called ''foremost one of the chiefs of Lower Nubia'' (HAt HqAw nw wAtwAt). The first three titles place him high in the social hierarchy, while the latter title is so far unique. He was evidently the highest official in charge of Lower Nubia. The stela contains an autobiography of Idudju-iker that is heavily destroyed. Lower Nubia and the land of the

Medjay Medjay (also ''Medjai'', ''Mazoi'', ''Madjai'', ''Mejay'', Egyptian ''mḏꜣ.j'', a Arabic nouns and adjectives#Nisba, nisba of ''mḏꜣ'') was a demonym used in various ways throughout History of ancient Egypt, ancient Egyptian history to refe ...

are mentioned and the text also refers to many rituals that Idudju-iker performed at Abydos. On stylistic grounds, the stela can be dated under the 11th Dynasty king

Intef II Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) (died 2063 BC) was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes ...

. From several texts it is known that the king conquered Abydos, an event that had a high symbolic importance. Although the texts on the stela are heavily destroyed,

Josef W. Wegner Josef William Wegner (born October 1967) is an American Egyptologist, archaeologist and Professor in Egyptology at the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained his Ph.D. degree i ...

concludes that Nubian soldiers perhaps under Idudju-iker were part of the military forces that seized the city.Wegner, inː ''Revue d'Égyptologie'' 68 (2017-2018), 188-194.

References

Officials of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt History of Nubia