Neferkare Iymeru was the ancient Egyptian

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

under king

Sobekhotep IV Khaneferre Sobekhotep IV was one of the more powerful Egyptian kings of the 13th Dynasty (c. 1803 BC to c. 1649 BC), who reigned at least eight years. His brothers, Neferhotep I and Sihathor, were his predecessors on the throne, the latter having ...

in the

13th Dynasty In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave p ...

, in the

Second Intermediate Period The Second Intermediate Period marks a period when ancient Egypt fell into disarray for a second time, between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom. The concept of a "Second Intermediate Period" was coined in 1942 b ...

Biography

Neferkare Iymeru was the son of the ''leader of the broad hall'' Iymeru. Neferkare Iymeru himself is known from several monuments, many of them found in

Karnak The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (, which was originally derived from ar, خورنق ''Khurnaq'' "fortified village"), comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Constr ...

. On a statue now in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

(A 125), he reports the opening of a canal and the building of a temple for king Sobekhotep IV. Other objects belonging to him are a scribe statue, statues found at Elephantine and

Kerma Kerma was the capital city of the Kerma culture, which was located in present-day Sudan at least 5,500 years ago. Kerma is one of the largest archaeological sites in ancient Nubia. It has produced decades of extensive excavations and research, i ...

, and a

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

found in Karnak. He appears in an inscription in the

Wadi Hammamat Wadi Hammamat ( en, Valley of Many Baths, ''India way; gateway to India'') is a dry river bed in Egypt's Eastern Desert, about halfway between Al-Qusayr and Qena. It was a major mining region and trade route east from the Nile Valley in ancie ...

. He bore many titles, attested in various surviving pieces of statuary and inscriptions. They are nobleman (''jr.j-pꜥ.t''), Governor (''ḥꜣ.tj-ꜥ''), (''smr ꜥꜣ n mr.w.t''), Overseer of the City (''jm.j-rꜣ njw.t''), Vizier (''ṯꜣ.tj''), Overseer of the Six Great Courts (''jm.j-rꜣ ḥw.t-wr.t''), Great overlord of the land to its limit (''ḥr.j-tp n tꜣ r-ḏr⸗f''), Master of secrets for the house of life (''ḥr.j-sštꜣ n pr-ꜥnḫ''), and sab official (''sꜣb''). Additionally, the title ''jm.j ḏsr.w ḥr stp-sꜣ'' has an unknown translation.

Family

Neferkare Iymeru was the son of Iymeru and Satamun. His father Iymeru held the titles Royal Sealer and Director of the Broad Court/Hall. His mother Satamun held the title King's Sister. Note that his mother did not hold the titles King's Mother or King's Daughter, and her title King's Sister implies that her non-royal brother became king. While the statue is dedicated by

, Satamun can have been a sister to a predecessor.

Theories about his double name

Neferkare Iymeru had a double name. Neferkare is the throne name of several

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

kings, the most famous being Pepy II. Perhaps Neferkare Iymeru was born in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, where this king was still worshipped in the Middle Kingdom.

References

Bibliography

* Wolfram Grajetzki (2009) Court Officials of the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, p. 38-39 * Kim Ryholt (1997) The Political Situation in Egypt During the Second Intermediate Period, C. 1800-1550 B.C, p. 243 {{Commons category, Neferkare Iymeru Ancient Egyptian viziers Officials of the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt