| Wazad | |
|---|---|
| Uazed, Wadjed, Wasa, Uatched | |
![Scarab of pharaoh Wazad, drawing by Flinders Petrie.[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWazad.png) Scarab of pharaoh Wazad, drawing byFlinders Petrie.[1] | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | c. 1700 BC, possibly 3–4 years (Ryholt) |
| Dynasty | 14th dynasty |
Wazad was anEgyptianpharaoh during theSecond Intermediate Period. According to the EgyptologistsKim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, Wazad was a member of the14th Dynasty of Egypt reigning c. 1700 BC.[2] As a king of the 14th Dynasty, he would have reigned fromAvaris over the easternNile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well.[2] TheMemphis-based13th Dynasty reigned over Middle and Upper Egypt at the same time. Alternatively, according toJürgen von Beckerath andWolfgang Helck, Wazad was a ruler of the16th Dynasty and a vassal of the Hyksos15th Dynasty.[3] This view is debated in Egyptology, in particular because Ryholt and others have argued that the 16th Dynasty was an independentTheban kingdom rather than a vassal dynasty of the Hyksos.
Wazad is known from five scarabs, all bearing his nomenWazad and none giving hisprenomen. For this reason, Wazad is difficult to relate to the rulers mentioned on theTurin canon, where only the prenomina subsist for the kings of the 14th Dynasty.[4] The scarabs of Wazad are now in theEgyptian Museum of Berlin (19/64), in theBritish Museum (BM EA 32319), in theEgyptian Museum (CG 36029) and in a private collection. The last one was stolen in the early 20th century. Finally, a scarab, now in thePetrie Museum (UC 11617) has been attributed to Wazad in the past, but is now believed to be non-royal.[2][5]
Since only Wazad'snomen is attested, attempts at attributing to him any given prenomen remain conjectural. Ryholt, however, proposes that aseriation of 14th Dynasty seals shows that Wazad reigned afterNehesy.[2] Since furthermore "only few of the kings who ruled between Nehesy andYaqub-Har are attested by contemporary sources", Ryholt posits that Wazad may be identifiable with one of the successors of Nehesy with the longest reign, eitherSehebre orMerdjefare (Turin Canon column 9, lines 4 and 5). Both of these kings reigned three to four years.[2]
In previous studies,Jürgen von Beckerath believed Wazad was a "littleHyksos", a member of the16th Dynasty and a vassal of the15th Dynasty.[4][6][7] Ryholt has shown however that the 16th Dynasty comprised kings ruling overThebes and its region from c. 1650 BC until the brief conquest of the city by the Hyksos c. 1580 BC.[2]
