Neferkare Neby (also Neferkare III) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Seventh or Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC). According to Egyptologists Jürgen von Beckerath and Darrell Baker, he was the fourth king of the Seventh Dynasty, as he appears as the fourth king in the Abydos King List within the list of kings assigned to this dynasty.
Attestation of Neferkare Neby
Neferkare Neby’s name is readable on the Abydos King List (number 43) and, unlike most kings of this period, is attested by an additional two contemporary sources. Indeed, the pharaoh’s name appears on the false door at Ankhesenpepi II’s tomb and is inscribed on her sarcophagus. These attestations show that the king’s mother was possibly Queen Ankhesenpepi II, which would presumably make his father Merenre Nemtyemsaf I. The stele of Ankhesenpepi II records that Neferkare Neby began the construction of a pyramid, possibly at Saqqara and named him Ḏd-ˁnḫ Nfr-k3-rˁ nbjj, that is Djedankh Neferkare Neby and which means “Neferkare Neby is Enduring of Life”. The pyramid’s location is unknown and probably never significantly entered the building stage.
Like many kings of the Eighth Dynasty, Neferkare Neby is absent from the Turin canon as a significant lacuna affects the location where his name would have been listed.
