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Wadjkare
Wadjkare
Pharaoh
Reign	duration unknown; c. 2150 BC
Predecessor	uncertain; possibly Qakare Ibi
Successor	uncertain; possibly Wahkare Khety I
Horus name
Horus name
	Djemed-ib-tawy ; Dmḏ-jb-t3wj ; He who unifies the heart of the two lands
;	;
Prenomen (Praenomen)
	Wadj-ka-Re ; W3ḏ-k3-Rˁ ; The Ka of Rê is refreshed
Burial	unknown
Dynasty	First Intermediate Period

Wadjkare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth dynasty who reigned c. 2150 BC during the First Intermediate Period. He is considered to be a very obscure figure in Egyptian history.^[1]

Identity

Wadjkare is mentioned only once: in a royal limestone 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.^[2] 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 king list.^[3]

A rock inscription in Nubia mentions a king that in the past was tentatively read as Wadjkare.^[4]^[5] It is believed nowadays that the royal name on the inscription is Menkhkare, the throne name of the Eleventh Dynasty local ruler Segerseni.^[6]

Scholars such as Farouk Gomaà and William C. Hayes identify the Horus name Djemed-ib-taui with a ruler named Neferirkare and equate Wadjkare with an obscure ruler named Hor-Khabaw.^[7] Hans Goedicke sees Wadjkare as the predecessor of Djemed-ib-taui and assigns both rulers to the 9th dynasty.^[8]

References

^ Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3, p. 170 - 171.
^ Nigel C. Strudwick: Texts from the Pyramid Age. BRILL, Leiden 2005, ISBN 9004130489, p. 123-124.
^ Margaret Bunson: Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Infobase Publishing, 2009, ISBN 1438109970, p. 429.
^ Henri Gauthier, "Nouvelles remarques sur la XIe dynastie". BIFAO 9 (1911), p. 136.
^ Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs: an introduction, Oxford University Press, 1964, p. 121.
^ Jürgen von Beckerath, Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen (MÄS 49), Philip Von Zabern, 1999, pp. 80-81.
^ Farouk Gomaà: Ägypten während der Ersten Zwischenzeit (= Beihefte zum Tübinger Atlas des Vorderen Orients. Reihe B: Geisteswissenschaften, vol. 27). Reichert, Wiesbaden 1980, ISBN 3-88226-041-6. p. 57, 59, 127.
^ Hans Goedicke: Königliche Dokumente aus dem Alten Reich (= Ägyptologische Abhandlungen, Bd. 14). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1967, p. 215.