page_title: Khendjer
section_title: Chronological position and reign length
hierarchical_section_title: Khendjer / Chronological position and reign length
caption_attribution_description: English: East face of the pyramidion of the pyramid of Khendjer, depicting the king with Atum and Re. Egyptian Museum, Cairo, JE 53045
context_page_description: Userkare Khendjer was the twenty-first pharaoh of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period. Khendjer possibly reigned for four to five years, archaeological attestations show that he was on the throne for at least three or four years three months and five days. Several absolute dates have been proposed for his reign, depending on the scholar: 1764—1759 BC as proposed by Ryholt and Baker, 1756—1751 BC as reported by Redford, and 1718—1712 BC as per Schneider. Khendjer had a small pyramid built for himself in Saqqara and it is therefore likely that his capital was in Memphis.
context_section_description: The exact chronological position of Khendjer in the Thirteenth Dynasty is not known for certain owing to uncertainties affecting earlier kings of the dynasty. Egyptologist Darrell Baker makes him the twenty-first king of the dynasty, Ryholt sees him as the twenty-second king and Jürgen von Beckerath places him as the seventeenth pharaoh of the dynasty. Furthermore, the identity of his predecessor is still debated: Baker and Ryholt believe it was Wegaf, but that pharaoh is confused with Khaankhre Sobekhotep, so that it is not known which one of the two founded the Thirteenth Dynasty and which one was Khendjer's predecessor.
  The highest attested date for Khendjer's reign is the fourth month of the season of the Inundation), day 15 in his fifth regnal year. Kim Ryholt notes that two dated control notes on stone blocks from his unfinished pyramid complex give him a minimum reign of 3 or 4  years 3 months and 5 days. The aforementioned control notes are dated to Year 1  I Akhet day 10 and Year 5 IV Akhet day 15 of his reign. In these control notes, the names of three officials involved in building the pyramid are also identified. They are the chamberlain of the palace, Senebtyfy, the chamberlain Ameny and the chamberlain, Shebenu. The latter is also attested by other sources.
caption: Khendjer making offerings on the pyramidion from his pyramid.
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