| Khamure | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kho-Ra | ||||||||||||
![Scarab of Khamure photographed by Flinders Petrie and now in the Petrie Museum[1][2]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKhamure.png) | ||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||||||||
| Reign | unknown duration | |||||||||||
| Predecessor | unknown | |||||||||||
| Successor | unknown | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Dynasty | uncertain, possibly14th dynasty | |||||||||||
Khamure was a ruler of some part ofEgypt during theSecond Intermediate Period, possibly during the 17th century BC, and likely belonging to the14th Dynasty.[3][4] As such he would have ruled fromAvaris over the easternNile Delta and possibly over the Western Delta as well. His chronological position and identity are unclear.
Khamure is one of the few attested kings of the 14th Dynasty with twoscarab seals attributable to him, both of unknown provenance.[3][4] One of the two scarabs is currently housed in thePetrie Museum,[5][6] under the catalog number 11819, while the other was sold at an auction atLotte New York Palace Hotel in December 1991.[7]
The Petrie Museum scarab is peculiar in that it has a unique and elaborate decoration on its back indicating that it was given to an official of the highest rank.[3] The scarab is inscribed with the name of Khamure preceded by the epithetNetjer Nefer, "the good god", showing thatKhamure was this king'sprenomen.[3] This means that Khamure is not listed in the surviving fragments of theTurin canon, a king list dating to theRamesside period and recording the prenomina of the kings.
The archaeologists Olga Tufnell andWilliam A. Ward argue that the name written on the scarab seal of the Petrie Museum is actually "'Ammu", possibly to be identified with'Ammu Aahotepre, a shadowy king of theSecond Intermediate Period.[5][8][9] The EgyptologistsKim Ryholt and Darrell Baker reject this reading, sinceGardiner's sign N5 for the sun-disk is present on the seal.[3][4]Percy Newberry agrees thatKhamure is the correct reading of the scarab.[1][2]
Although the chronological position of Khamure remains uncertain, Ryholt has proposed that he ruled in the 14th Dynasty, some time beforeYaqub-Har andYakareb. This estimation is based on aseriation of the scarabs dating to the Second Intermediate Period.[3]
