| Merhotepre Ini | |
|---|---|
| Ana, Ani, Inai, In(j) | |
 Jar lid of Merhotepre Ini, at theLACMA | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 2 Years, 3-4 Months and 9 days 1677 BC – 1675 BC |
| Predecessor | Merneferre Ay |
| Successor | Sankhenre Sewadjtu |
| Father | possiblyMerneferre Ay[2] |
| Mother | possibly queenIni |
| Dynasty | 13th dynasty |
Merhotepre Ini was a minor king inAncient Egypt, thought to be the successor ofMerneferre Ay in the lateThirteenth Dynasty of Egypt.[3] The Turin King List may assigned him a brief reign of 2 Years, 3 or 4 Months and 9 days.[2]
Attestations are few and must be separated into "Merhotepre", "Merhotepre Ini" and "Merhotepre Sobekhotep". Franke and von Beckerath identified Merhotepre Sobekhotep with Merhotepre Ini, on the basis that they have the same prenomen. Ryholt (1997) argued they were two separate rulers as Merhotepre Sobekhotep was listed in a lacuna below Sobekhotep IV. Merneferre Ay, the predecessor of Merhotepre Ini, seem to be more related to the Memphis-Faiyum region, while Merhotepre Sobekhotep is more active in the Thebaid region.
Two attestations of "Ini" are known.
TheKarnak King List 50 (52) dating to the time of Thutmose III, mentions "Merhotepre" betweenSewahenra (49) andWegaf (51).[8]
TheTurin King List 8:04 dating to the time of Ramesses II, mentions "The Dual King Merhotepra, 2 years, 2-4 months, 9 days".[9] In this king list he was preceded byMerneferre Ay (8:03) and succeeded bySankhenra Sewadjtu (8:05).
TheJuridical Stela mentions a king "Merhotepre". It has historically been linked to Merhotepre Ini, but may also refer to Merhotepre Sobekhotep. The Theban document is dated to Year 1 kingNebiryraw I, contains a genealogical charter which states that Ayameru—the son by Vizier Aya and the King's daughter Reditenes—was appointed Governor of El-Kab in Year 1 of Merhotepre.[10] The reason for this appointment was due to the unexpected death of the childless Governor of El-KabAya-junior who was Vizier Aya's eldest son and Ayameru's elder brother. The charter identifies a certain Kebsi as the son of Governor, and later, Vizier Ayameru.[11] The Cairo Juridical Stela records the sale of the office of the governorship ofEl-Kab to a certain Sobeknakht. ThisSobeknakht I was the father of the illustrious governorSobeknakht II who built one of the most richly decorated tombs at El-Kab during theSecond Intermediate Period.
The exact chronological position of Merhotepre Ini in the 13th Dynasty is not known for certain owing to uncertainties affecting earlier kings of the dynasty. He is ranked as the thirty-third king of the dynasty by Darrell Baker, as the thirty-fourth king by Kim Ryholt and in position 28a in studies byJürgen von Beckerath, a result which Baker qualifies as "nebulous".[2][3][12]
Based on the Juridical Stele,Kim Ryholt proposes that Merhotepre Ini was the son of his predecessor Merneferre Ay with his seniorqueen Ini and with Reditenes as a sister of Merhotepre Ini. The vizierate was an hereditary position at the time and a change of family in charge of the position would have been an important political move. In particular, Reditenes being possibly a sister of Merhotepre Ini, his appointing Aya (thus his brother-in-law) to the vizierate would bring the position into his own family.
For "Ini" see alsoMershepsesre Ini.
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt Thirteenth Dynasty | Succeeded by |
