Nebkaure Khety was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 9th or 10th Dynasty during the First Intermediate Period.
Attestations
Like many of the kings who preceded or succeeded him, attestations of Nebkaure Khety are scant; on the Turin King List, he was tentatively placed in the register 4.21. The only contemporary object bearing his cartouche is a weight made from red jasper, which Flinders Petrie unearthed at Tell el-Retabah, a location along the Wadi Tumilat in the eastern Delta; this weight is now exhibited at the Petrie Museum (UC11782).
The name of king Nebkaure also appears on a late Middle Kingdom papyrus (Berlin 3023) containing part of the well-known and popular story The Eloquent Peasant; it is very likely that the king, who enjoyed the peasant’s magniloquence so much, was for this pharaoh indeed.
Reign of Nebkaure Khety
Practically nothing is known about the events of Nebkaure’s reign; due to the contrasting opinions of scholars, even its date is still tricky. Many Egyptologists assign Nebkaure to the 9th Dynasty, possibly the fourth king (and the second king bearing the name Khety), just after Neferkare VII. On the other hand, scholars such as Jürgen von Beckerath believe that Nebkaure reigned during the subsequent 10th Dynasty, possibly before Meryibre Khety.
