Eighth Dynasty of Egypt | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ca. 2181 BC–ca. 2160 BC | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Memphis | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Egyptian language | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | ancient Egyptian religion | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Bronze Age | ||||||||||||||
• Established | ca. 2181 BC | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | ca. 2160 BC | ||||||||||||||
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TheEighth Dynasty ofancient Egypt (Dynasty VIII) was a little-known and short-lived dynasty of pharaohs who ruled in quick succession during the early 22nd century BC, likely based inMemphis. The Eighth Dynasty held sway at a time referred to as the very end of theOld Kingdom or the beginning of theFirst Intermediate Period. The power of the pharaohs was waning while that of the provincial governors, known asnomarchs, was increasingly important, the Egyptian state having by then effectively turned into a feudal system. In spite of close relations between the Memphite kings and powerful nomarchs, notably in Coptos, the Eighth Dynasty was eventually overthrown by the nomarchs ofHeracleopolis Magna, who founded theNinth Dynasty. The Eighth Dynasty is occasionally grouped with the preceding Seventh Dynasty due to the absence of archaeological evidence for the latter, which is considered by some scholars to be possibly fictitious.
Egyptologists estimate that the Eighth Dynasty ruled Egypt for approximately 20–45 years and various dates have been proposed: 2190–2165 BC,[1] 2181–2160 BC,[2][3] 2191–2145 BC,[4] 2150–2118 BC.[5]
Two historical sources dating to theNew Kingdom list kings belonging to the Eighth Dynasty. The earliest of the two and main historical source on the Eighth Dynasty is theAbydos king list, written during the reign ofSeti I. The kings listed on the entries 40 to 56 of the Abydos king list are placed between the end of theSixth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom period and the beginning of theEleventh Dynasty of theMiddle Kingdom. Furthermore, the names of these kings are different from those known from theNinth andTenth Dynasties, none of which are on the Abydos list. As a consequence, entries 40 to 56 of the list are assigned to the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties.
The other New Kingdom source on the Eighth Dynasty is theTurin canon, written during the reign ofRamses II. The Turin papyrus was copied from an earlier source which, as the EgyptologistKim Ryholt has shown, was itself riddled with lacunae and must have been in a poor state. In addition, the Turin papyrus is itself heavily damaged and cannot be read without much difficulty. In total three names are present on papyrus fragments which might be allocated to Eighth Dynasty kings. These areNetjerkare Siptah, another hard to read name and finally, that ofQakare Ibi, the fifty-third king on the Abydos king list. There seems to be room for two[6] or three[7][8] more kings before the end of the dynasty as recorded on the list. This would indicate that the missing parts of the Turin canon probably contained the kings in the fifty-first to fifty-fifth registers of the Abydos King List. Because the Turin papyrus omits the first nine kings on the Abydos list, W.C. Hayes thinks it reasonable that the Egyptians may have divided Dynasties VII and VIII at this point.[6]
The Egyptian priestManetho wrote a history of Egypt during the 3rd century BC known as theAegyptiaca. Manetho's work has not survived to this day and is only known to us via three later writers who quoted from it. Unfortunately, these three sources are exceedingly difficult to work with. For example, they often contradict each other, as is the case for the two ancient historians –Sextus Julius Africanus andEusebius of Caesarea – who quote from the section of theAegyptiaca regarding the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties. Africanus claims that the 7th Dynasty consisted of 70 kings that ruled during a period of seventy days inMemphis, and the 8th Dynasty consisted of 27 kings who reigned for 146 years. However, Eusebius records that during the 7th Dynasty five kings ruled over seventy five days, and the 8th Dynasty includes five kings who ruled for 100 years. Seventy kings in seventy days is usually considered the correct version of Manetho concerning the Seventh Dynasty, but likely not a factual account of history. Rather, this is interpreted to mean that the pharaohs of this period were extremely ephemeral, and the use of seventy may be a pun on the fact that this was Manetho's Seventh Dynasty.[9] Because Manetho does not provide actual historical data on this period and no archeological evidence for the Seventh Dynasty has emerged, many Egyptologists have argued that this dynasty is fictitious.[10] Concerning the Eighth Dynasty, it is now widely agreed that Manetho's estimate for its duration is a very substantial overestimation of the reality.[8]
The main archaeological evidence for kings of the Eighth Dynasty are royal decrees discovered in Coptos, which name some of the last pharaohs of the dynasty. Further tentative evidence for the early kings of the dynasty comes from tombs in Saqqara, in particular the pyramid of Qakare Ibi in Saqqara. Beyond that, there are royal inscriptions found in theWadi Hammamat and in Upper Egypt, as well as non-royal ones from Upper Egypt as well.[8][11][12]
The Eighth Dynasty has traditionally been classified as the first dynasty of the First Intermediate Period owing to the ephemeral nature of its kings' reigns as well as the sparsity of contemporary evidence, hinting at a decline of the state into chaos. Recent re-appraisal of the archaeological evidence has shown a strong continuity between the Sixth and Eighth Dynasties, so that EgyptologistHratch Papazian has proposed that the Eighth Dynasty rather than the Sixth should be seen as the last of the Old Kingdom period.[8]
Given that five Eighth Dynasty kings borePepi II's throne nameNeferkare as part of their own names, they may have been descendants of6th Dynasty, who were trying to hold on to some sort of power.[13] Some of the acts of the final four Dynasty VIII kings are recorded intheir decrees toShemay, avizier during this period, although onlyQakare Ibi can be connected to any monumental construction. Hispyramid has been found at Saqqara near that of Pepi II and, like its predecessors, had thePyramid Texts written on the walls.[13]
However many kings there actually were, it is clear that during this time period a breakdown of the central authority of Egypt was underway. The rulers of these dynasties were based inMemphis and seem to have relied on the power of the nomarchs of Coptos, on whom they bestowed titles and honours. This must have been to no avail as the Eighth Dynasty was eventually overthrown by a rival group based inHerakleopolis Magna.
Given the lack of evidence for the Seventh Dynasty, all kings mentioned on the Abydos king list in the entries after that ofMerenre Nemtyemsaf II and before that ofMontuhotep II[4] are usually attributed to the Eighth Dynasty. Following Jürgen von Beckerath, they are :
| Name | Comments |
|---|---|
| Netjerkare Siptah | Sometimes classified as the last king of the6th Dynasty. Possibly identical withNitocris. |
| Menkare | Possibly attested by a relief from the tomb of queen Neit. |
| Neferkare II | |
| Neferkare Neby | Planned or started a pyramid"Neferkare Neby is Enduring of Life", possibly at Saqqara. |
| Djedkare Shemai | |
| Neferkare Khendu | |
| Merenhor | |
| Neferkamin | |
| Nikare | Possibly attested by a cylinder seal.[14] |
| Neferkare Tereru | |
| Neferkahor | Attested by a cylinder seal. |
| Neferkare Pepiseneb | Turin Canon gives at least one year.[15] |
| Neferkamin Anu | |
| Qakare Ibi | Turin Canon gives rule of two years, one month, one day.[16] Attested byhis pyramid at Saqqara. |
| Neferkaure | Turin Canon gives rule of 4 years and 2 months,[16] attested bya decree concerning the temple ofMin.[17] |
| Khwiwihepu Neferkauhor | Turin Canon gives rule of 2 years, 1 month and 1 day,[16] attested byeight decrees concerning the temple of Min,[18][19][20] and an inscription in the tomb of vizierShemay.[21] |
| Neferirkare | Turin Canon gives a reign of 1 and a half years.[16] Maybe identical to Horus Demedjibtawy. If so, he is attested by a decree concerning the temple of Min. |
The Egyptologist Hratch Papazian believes that such a reconstruction gives too much weight to Manetho's account, according to which the Seventh Dynasty is essentially fictitious and a metaphor of chaos. Instead Papazian proposes that the earliest of the above kings are immediate successors of Pepi II and should be attributed to the Sixth Dynasty, while those just after them belong to a short-lived Seventh Dynasty. Then the Eighth Dynasty would only start with the well-attested Qakare-Ibi:
| Name |
|---|
| Qakare Ibi |
| Neferkaure |
| Khwiwihepu Neferkauhor |
| Neferirkare |
In addition, the identity and chronological position and extent of rule of the following rulers is highly uncertain:Wadjkare,Khuiqer,Khui andIytjenu.
The kings of the seventh and eighth dynasties are rarely recorded on king lists. However, theAbydos King List provides the most complete list with 17 names fromNetjerkare Siptah toNeferirkare. TheTurin King List includes 7 names for this period and omits the kings who reigned between Netjerkare Siptah and Neferkare Pepiseneb. The Turin list is in a fragmentary state, and some names and reign lengths are lost.
| Pharaoh | Abydos King List | Turin King List[22] | Turin King List Reign Length[22] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netjerkare Siptah | Netjerikare | Netiqerty Siptah | Lost |
| Menkare | Menkare | – | – |
| Neferkare II | Neferkare | – | – |
| Neferkare Neby | Neferkare Neby | – | – |
| Djedkare Shemai | Djedkare Shemai | – | – |
| Neferkare Khendu | Neferkare Khendu | – | – |
| Merenhor | Merenhor | – | – |
| Neferkamin | Sneferka | – | – |
| Nikare | Nikare | – | – |
| Neferkare Tereru | Neferkare Tereru | – | – |
| Neferkahor | Neferkahor | – | – |
| Neferkare Pepiseneb | Neferkare Pepiseneb | Neferka Khered Seneb | Lost |
| Neferkamin Anu | Sneferka Anu | Nefer ... | Lost |
| Qakare Ibi | Kaukare | Ibi ... | 2 years, 1 month and 1 day |
| Neferkaure | Neferkaure | Lost | 4 years, 2 months and 0 days |
| Khwiwihepu Neferkauhor | Neferkauhor | Lost | 2 years, 1 month and 1 day |
| Neferirkare | Neferirkare | Lost | 1 year and half month |
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: location (link)| Preceded by | Dynasty of Egypt c. 2181 – 2160 BC | Succeeded by |