Neferkare II was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC). According to the Egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Jürgen von Beckerath and Darell Baker, he was the third king of the Eighth Dynasty. Accordingly, the capital would have been Memphis, a pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty.
Attestation
Neferkare II is only attested through his name, given on the 42nd entry of the Abydos King List. The Abydos king list was redacted some 900 years after the First Intermediate Period during the reign of Seti I. Another king list of the Ramesside era, the Turin canon, has a significant lacuna affecting many kings of the Eighth Dynasty and the duration of his reign, which would have been reported on the document, is lost.
Identity of Neferkare II
Jürgen von Beckerath tentatively identified Neferkare II with the prenomen Wadjkare (“Flourishing is the Ka of Ra”), which is attested on a graffito from the Wadi Hammamat contemporary with the First Intermediate Period. This identification is seemingly rejected by Baker, who makes no mention of any attestation for this pharaoh beyond the Abydos king list. At the same time, Thomas Schneider relates Wadjkare to either Neferkare II or Neferirkare II.
