Nebka

This article is about the Pharaoh. See also: Nebka (geomorphology) .

Name of Nebka
Cartouche no.15 with the name of Nebka in the list of kings of Abydos (detail)
Proper name	Nebka (Neb Ka) Nb k3
Royal Papyrus Turin (No. III./4)	Nebka Nb k3 My Lord is the Ka / Lord of the Ka
List of Kings of Abydos (Seti I) (No.15)	Nebka Nb k3 My Lord is the Ka / Lord of the Ka
Greek Manetho variants:	Africanus : Necherophes Eusebius : Necherochis Eusebius, AV : Necherochis

Nebka is the maiden name of an ancient Egyptian king ( pharaoh ) who, according to the Ramesside king lists, ruled in the 3rd dynasty . Since the name "Nebka" has always been passed down as a cartouche name , Egyptology tries to this day to equate the name with one of the contemporary Horus names , which has led to partly contradicting views.

Name receipts

The earliest name evidence for "Nebka" is the mastaba of the high official Akhtiaa , whose term of office is dated to the end of the 3rd dynasty. The closest proof of the name can be found in the famous Papyrus Westcar ( 13th Dynasty ), in which a king “Nebka” witnesses a miracle. The next proofs of name appear closed in the 19th dynasty . The list of kings of Abydos and the royal papyrus Turin mention a "Nebka" as the founder of the 3rd dynasty by placing his name chronologically before King Djoser . The king list of Saqqara from the mastaba of the high official Tjuneroy presents a modified form of "Nebka", namely " Nebkare ". However, the Saqqara list places the name at the end of the 3rd Dynasty, as the direct predecessor of King Sneferu .

identity

Due to the contradicting tradition of names, modern research has difficulties in classifying the name "Nebka" chronologically and in identifying it with Horus names that are documented at the time. Thus, Toby Wilkinson , Stephan Seidlmayer , Kenneth Anderson Kitchen and Rainer Stadelmann convinced that Nebka with King Sanakht is identical. The background to the assumption is a fragment of a clay seal on which the lowest part of a cartridge is supposed to appear. In this cartouche, Wilkinson, Seidlmayer and Stadelmann believe that they recognize the remains of a Ka symbol, which is why they reconstruct the name to "Nebka". Dietrich Wildung also favors equating Nebka with Sanacht, but doubts the informative value of the clay seal, as it is too badly damaged and the inscription that has been preserved does not allow a cartouche with the name "Nebka" to be read.

John D. Degreef , Nabil Swelim and Wolfgang Helck speak out against equating Nebka with Sanacht. They also refer to the clay seal fragment in question, as well as to the fact that the name "Nebka" does not appear on any monument or document from the time before Djoser. Nabil Swelim identifies Nebka with the Horus name Chaba . Wolfgang Helck suggests equating Sanacht with the Nisut-Biti name Weneg . Weneg ruled during the 2nd Dynasty, which is why Helck's proposal has so far met with skepticism.

Chronological order

Wilkinson and Stadelmann refer to the list of kings of Abydos (Sethos I) and the Turin royal papyrus. In both listings, Nebka is presented as the predecessor of Djoser. Therefore, they are convinced that Nebka (alias Sanacht) was the founder of the 3rd Dynasty.

Degreef, Helck, Kitchen, Wilkinson and Jochem Kahl, on the other hand, doubt this classification and cite excavations in the tomb of King Chasechemui near Abydos as an argument. Clay seal impressions of the ruler mention his wife Nimaathapi , who in turn is identified as the mother of only one king. In addition, seals with the name of a "Horus-Netjerichet" were found in the grave. This Horus name is now unanimously equated with King Djoser. Clay seals of Sanacht have not yet been found. From this find situation Degreef, Wilkinson, Helck and Kitchen conclude that Nimaathapi was the mother of Djoser and that the latter must have been the direct successor of Chasechemui. In addition, Kitchen (who for his part equates Nebka with Sanacht) refers to the mastaba of Akhtiaa, the dating of which indicates that Nebka could not have ruled before Djoser. He also finds it striking that the Turin royal papyrus gives the same reigns (19 years) for the names "Nebka" and "Djoser".

The question of the introduction of the king's cartridge adds to the difficulty of the finds. Helck, Kahl and Kitchen point out that the inclusion of the royal cartouche as a permanent part of the name in the royal series of titles can only be reliably proven with King Huni , perhaps the last ruler of the 3rd dynasty, so that the use of cartridges with the name “Nebka “Is very close in time to the reign of Huni, which in turn corresponds to the information in the Westcar Papyrus and the Saqqara King List. Hence Kitchen, Kahl, Helck and Wilkinson conclude that Nebka must have ruled between Djoser and Huni.

literature

• Jürgen von Beckerath : Handbook of the Egyptian king names (= Munich Egyptological studies. Vol. 49). 2nd improved and enlarged edition. von Zabern, Mainz 1999, ISBN 3-8053-2591-6 , pp. 49, 283, 293.
• Wolfgang Helck : Investigations into Manetho and the Egyptian King Lists (= Investigations into the history and antiquity of Egypt. Vol. 18). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1956.
• Wolfgang Helck: Investigations on the thinite period (= Egyptological treatises. Vol. 45). Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1987, ISBN 3-447-02677-4 .
• Kenneth Anderson Kitchen: Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated and Annotated Notes and Comments. Vol. 2. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998, ISBN 0-631-18435-X , pp. 534-538.
• Jean-Pierre Pätznik: The seal unrolling and cylinder seals of the city of Elephantine in the 3rd millennium BC. Securing evidence of an archaeological artifact (= Breasted, Ancient Records. (BAR) , International Series. Vol. 1339). Archaeopress, Oxford 2005, ISBN 1-84171-685-5 (Simultaneously: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 1999), pp. 69-72, 78-80.
• Stephan J. Seidlmayer : The Relative Chronology of Dynasty 3. In: Erik Hornung , Rolf Krauss , David A. Warburton (eds.): Ancient Egyptian Chronology (= Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1: The Near and Middle East. Vol. 83). Brill, Leiden et al. 2006, ISBN 90-04-11385-1 , pp. 116-123 ( online ).
• Thomas Schneider: Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 167, 243.
• Dietrich Wildung : The role of Egyptian kings in the consciousness of their posterity. Volume 1: Posthumous sources on the kings of the first four dynasties (= Munich Egyptological studies. Vol. 17, ZDB -ID 500317-9 ). Hessling, Berlin 1969 (also: Diss., Univ. Munich). Pp. 54-58.
• Toby AH Wilkinson: Early Dynastic Egypt. Strategies, Society and Security. Routledge, London et al. 1999, ISBN 0-415-18633-1 , pp. 101-104.

predecessor	Office	successor
Chasechemui ? Djoser ?	King of Egypt 3rd Dynasty	Djoser ? Huni ?