Nebiriau II
| Nebiriau II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nebiryerawet, Nebiryraw | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Statuette of Harpocrates from the Ptolemaic period, believed to bear the throne name of Nebiriau II | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pharaoh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reign | c.1600 BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Nebiryraw I | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Successor | Semenre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Nebiryraw I? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dynasty | 16th Dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nebiriau II (also Nebiryraw II, Nebiryerawet II) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Theban-based 16th Dynasty, during the Second Intermediate Period.
Identity
[edit]He is commonly assumed by some Egyptologists to be the son of his predecessor Nebiryraw I, given the rarity of the name Nebiriau in Egyptian historical sources.[2] Unlike his presumed father who ruled Upper Egypt for 26 years, he was an obscure king who is completely unattested by contemporary archaeological sources.[3]
The only two non-contemporary attestations for Nebiriau II are the mention of his personal name on the Ramesside Turin Canon (position 13.5, his throne name was lost), and a bronze statuette of the god Harpocrates (Cairo 38189). The four sides of the base of the statue were inscribed with the names written into cartouches; these are "Binpu", "Ahmose", "The good god Sewadjenre, deceased" and "The good god Neferkare, deceased" respectively.[4] The first two were likely two princes of the royal family of the 17th Dynasty which would replace the 16th Dynasty shortly thereafter; Sewadjenre was the throne name of Nebiriau I and finally, it is believed that Neferkare is the otherwise unattested throne name of Nebiriau II. The finding is also peculiar because the cult of Harpocrates – and thus the statuette itself – dates back to the Ptolemaic period i.e. about 1500 years after the people named on the statuette had lived.[4]
Nebiriau II was succeeded by an equally obscure king named Semenre who is attested by a single axe – inscribed with his throne name – and then by Seuserenre Bebiankh who is given 12 years in the Turin Canon.
References
[edit]- ^ von Beckerath, Jürgen (1999). Handbuch der Ägyptischen Königsnamen. Mainz. ISBN 3-8053-2591-6., pp. 126-127
- ^ Kim Ryholt, The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c.1800-1550 B.C, Museum Tusculanum Press, (1997), p.155
- ^ Ryholt, p.201
- ^ a b Donald B. Redford (1986). Pharaonic king-lists, annals and day-books: a contribution to the study of the Egyptian sense of history. Mississauga: Benben Publications, ISBN 0920168078, p. 55