| Nepherites II | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nefaarud II | ||||||
| Pharaoh | ||||||
| Reign | Summer 380 BC | |||||
| Predecessor | Hakor | |||||
| Successor | Nectanebo I | |||||
| ||||||
| Father | Hakor | |||||
| Died | 380 BC | |||||
| Dynasty | 29th Dynasty | |||||
Nepherites II orNefaarud II was the lastpharaoh of the feeble and short-livedTwenty-ninth Dynasty (399/8–380 BC), the penultimate native dynasty ofEgypt.[1][2][3]
An "ineffectual" ruler,[4] Nepherites II became pharaoh of Egypt in 380 BC after the death of his fatherHakor (393–380 BC) and was deposed and likely killed by the rebel prince Nakhtnebef ofSebennytos – the futureNectanebo I, an Egyptian military officer, after ruling Egypt for only 4 months, from June to September 380 BC.[2]
King Hakor had already to face, towards the end of his reign, frequent riots likely inspired by Nectanebo.[3] Pharaoh Nectanebo I, who founded theThirtieth Dynasty of Egypt after overthrowing Nepherites II, reigned until his death in 360 BC and represented the thirdDelta family to assume the rule of the country in just two decades:[4] a signal that Egypt's last phase of independence under native rulers, begun withAmyrtaeus' coup in 404 BC against Persia, was particularly unstable. A quick reference to Nepherites II's fall can be found in a largelimestone stela[5] Nectanebo I commissioned inHermopolis:[4]
[...] the disaster of the king who came before [...]
— Nectanebo I, Hermopolis stela
TheGreekhistorianTheopompus (c. 380–315 BC) links Nepherites II's end with the war led by KingEvagoras I ofSalamis onCyprus against Persia.[3] In a desperate attempt to strengthen his own position, Nepherites II proclaimed himselfWehem Mesut, "Repetitor Of Births" (i.e. Founder of a new era), "like few other sovereigns of the past of very different stature", such asAmenemhat I andSeti I.[3][additional citation(s) needed]
Hisnomen or birth name, meaning "The Great Ones prosper", does not appear on any monument, and it is only attested inManetho'sAegyptiaca and in the 3rd century BCDemotic Chronicle.[3]
| Preceded by | Pharaoh of Egypt Twenty-Ninth Dynasty | Succeeded by |