| Merdjefare | |
|---|---|
![Merdjefare (right) offering to the god Sopdharsopd (left)[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aStele_Merdjefare_by_Khruner.png) Merdjefare (right) offering to the godSopdharsopd (left)[1] | |
| Pharaoh | |
| Reign | 3 to 4 years, starting after c. 1704 BC and finishing 1699 BC[2] |
| Predecessor | Sehebre |
| Successor | Sewadjkare III |
| Dynasty | 14th Dynasty |
Merdjefare was anancient Egyptianpharaoh of the14th Dynasty of Egypt during theSecond Intermediate Period c. 1700 BC.[2] As a king of the 14th Dynasty, Merdjefare would have reigned fromAvaris over the easternNile Delta and possibly over the western Delta as well.[2]
Merdjefare is one of only four pharaohs of the 14th Dynasty to have left any attestation beyond theTurin canon, a king list compiled in the earlyRamesside period.[3] Indeed, Merdjefare is mentioned on the stele of a royal seal-bearer andtreasurer named Ranisonb. The stele, discovered in 1988–89, shows Merdjefare making offerings toSopdharsopd and probably originates from Ranisonb's tomb atSaft el-Hinna in the southeastern Nile Delta. The stele is now in the private Krief collection.[1][2][3]
Merdjefare's relative position in the 14th Dynasty is somewhat secured by the Turin canon, which mentions him in column 9, line 5. According to this king list, Merdjefare reigned for 3 to 4 years, one of the longest reigns of the 14th Dynasty, and was preceded bySehebre and succeeded bySewadjkare III.[2]
At the opposite, Merdjefare's absolute chronological position is debated. According to egyptologistsKim Ryholt and Darrell Baker, Merdjefare was the tenth king of the 14th Dynasty, reigning c. 1700 BC for 3 to 4 years.[2] Ryholt's reconstruction of the early 14th Dynasty is controversial however and other specialists, such asManfred Bietak andJürgen von Beckerath, believe that the dynasty started shortly beforeNehesy c. 1710 BC rather than c. 1805 BC as proposed by Ryholt. In this case, Merdjefare would only be the fifth king of the dynasty.[4][5]
Since only Merdjefare'sprenomen is known, attempts at attributing him any givennomen remain conjectural. Ryholt however proposed that Merdjefare's nomen may have been eitherWazad orSheneh. Indeed, according to Ryholt, aseriation of 14th Dynasty seals shows that both Wazad and Sheneh reigned after Nehesy. 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, either Sehebre or Merdjefare.
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt Fourteenth Dynasty | Succeeded by |
