Merikare (also Merykare and Merykara) 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

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

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 Dyna ...

who lived toward the end of 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 ...

.
Purportedly inspired by the teaching of his father, he embarked on a semi-peaceful coexistence policy with his southern rivals of 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 ...

, focusing on improving the prosperity of his realm centered on Herakleopolis instead of waging an open war with Thebes. His policy was not rewarded, and shortly after his death his kingdom was conquered by the Theban

Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his Prenomen (Ancient Egypt), prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt, Elev ...

, marking the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. The existence of his pyramid has historically been ascertained, although it has not yet been discovered.

Reign

Biography

According to many scholars, he ruled at the end of the 10th Dynasty in his middle-age,

Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Sir Flinders Petrie, was an English people, English Egyptology, Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. ...

,
A History of Egypt, from the Earliest Times to the XVIth Dynasty
' (1897), pp. 115-16. Nicolas Grimal, ''A History of Ancient Egypt'', Oxford, Blackwell Books, 1992, pp. 141–45.Michael Rice, ''Who is who in Ancient Egypt'', 1999 (2004), Routledge, London, , p. 113. following a long reign by his father. The identity of his predecessor (the so-called "Khety III" who was the purported author of the '' Teaching for King Merikare'') is still a question of debate among

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

s. Some scholars tend to identify Merikare's predecessor with

Wahkare Khety Wahkare Khety was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 9th or 10th Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period. Identity The identity of Wahkare Khety is controversial. While some scholars believe that he was the founder of the 9th Dynasty, ...

.William C. Hayes, op. cit. p. 466–67. These ''

sebayt Sebayt (Egyptian '' sbꜣyt'', Coptic ⲥⲃⲱ "instruction, teaching") is the ancient Egyptian term for a genre of pharaonic literature. ''sbꜣyt'' literally means "teachings" or "instructions" and refers to formally written ethical teachings ...

'' ("teachings", in ancient Egyptian) – possibly composed during the reign of Merikare and fictitiously attributed to his father – are a collection of precepts for good governance. The text also mentions the eastern borders, recently secured, but still in need of the king's attention. In the text, Merikare's unnamed father mentions having sacked

Thinis Thinis ( Greek: Θίνις ''Thinis'', Θίς ''This'' ; Egyptian: Tjenu; ; ) was the capital city of pre- unification Upper Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, including the classical historian Manetho ...

, but he advises Merikare to deal more leniently with the troublesome

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 ...

ian realms. Once crowned, around 2075 BCE, Merikare wisely resigned himself to the existence of two separate kingdoms (the Herakleopolite and the Theban ones) and tried to maintain the policy of peaceful coexistence achieved by his father. It seems that the period of peace brought a certain amount of prosperity to Merikare's realm. Some time later, the pharaoh was forced to sail up the Nile with his court on a great fleet. Once he reached

Asyut AsyutAlso spelled ''Assiout'' or ''Assiut''. ( ' ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt. It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at , while the ancient city i ...

, the king installed the loyalist

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 ...

Khety II, who succeeded his deceased father

Tefibi Tefibi (or Itj-ibj – ''It(.i)ib(.i)''Donald B. Spanel, in Donald B. Redford (ed), ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt'' vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 154-6. – in a more modern reading) was an ancient Egyptian nomarch ...

; he also made restorations at the local temple of

Wepwawet In Egyptian mythology, Wepwawet ( hieroglyphic ''wp-w3w.t''; also rendered Upuaut, Wep-wawet, Wepawet, Apuat, and Ophois) was originally a jackal deity of funerary rites, war, and royalty, whose cult centre was Asyut in Upper Egypt (Lycopolis in ...

. After that, Merikare advanced farther upstream to the town of Shashotep, likely to quell a revolt, and at the same time as a

show of force A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, n ...

to the turbulent southern border areas.

Alan Gardiner Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner, (29 March 1879 – 19 December 1963) was an English Egyptologist, linguist, philologist, and independent scholar. He is regarded as one of the premier Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century. Personal li ...

, ''Egypt of the Pharaohs. An introduction'', Oxford University Press, 1961, p. 113. Merikare died in c. 2040 BCE, a few months before the fall of Herakleopolis. Thus, the final defeat by the Thebans, led by

of the

, was likely inflicted upon an ephemeral, unnamed successor.

Burial

Many sources suggest that Merikare was buried in a yet-undiscovered pyramid in

Saqqara Saqqara ( : saqqāra ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in the markaz (county) of Badrashin in the Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for ...

, called ''Flourishing are the Abodes of Merikare'', that had to be near to the pyramid of Teti of the 6th Dynasty. The titles of the officials involved in its construction are documented, as his funerary cult endured into the

12th Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty periodically expanded its terr ...

; in fact, Merikare's cartouche appears on the stelae of at least four priests who were responsible for the funerary cult of

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources (died 2333 BC), was the first pharaoh, king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroye ...

and Merikare during the Middle Kingdom. James Edward Quibell
''Excavations at Saqqara (1905–1906)''
Le Caire, Impr. de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale (1907), p. 20 ff; pl. XIII, XV. They include Gemniemhat who also held other important positions.

Attestations

Despite the fact that his name cannot be recognized in 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 ...

, Merikare is the most attested among the Herakleopolite rulers. His name appears on: *the '' Teaching for King Merikare''; *a wooden

scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

palette belonging to the

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Orkaukhety, found in a tomb near Asyut (along with a brazier dedicated to

Meryibre Khety Meryibre Khety, also known by his Horus name Meryibtawy, was a pharaoh of the Ninth Dynasty of Egypt, 9th or Tenth Dynasty of Egypt, 10th Dynasty of Egypt, during the First Intermediate Period of Egypt, First Intermediate Period. Reign Some sch ...

) and now at

the Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

; *the inscriptions from the tomb of the nomarch Khety II, in Asyut; *nine steles attesting the existence of his pyramid and his funerary cult in Saqqara.Arkadi F. Demidchik (2003), "The reign of Merikare Khety", ''Göttinger Miszellen'' 192, pp. 25–36.

Theories

Hypothesis of an earlier reign

In 2003, the Egyptologist Arkadi F. Demidchik suggested that Merikare's placement within the dynasty should be reconsidered. According to him, if Merikare reigned during the campaign led by Mentuhotep II then the former's pyramid and its cult couldn't have survived the Theban conquest; again, Merikare likely would not be able to obtain

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

from the South as mentioned in the ''Teachings''. Demidchik also argued that the battles for Thinis mentioned by Tefibi and Merikare were the same, being fought in the opposite front by the Theban ruler Wahankh Intef II, thus suggesting that Merikare's reign should be placed some decades earlier than usually thought, when the 10th Dynasty's power was at its peak.