Seneferankhre Pepi III may have been a
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
of the
16th Dynasty during the
Second Intermediate Period. According to
Wolfgang Helck
Hans Wolfgang Helck (16 September 1914 – 27 August 1993) was a German Egyptologist, considered one of the most important Egyptologists of the 20th century. From 1956 until his retirement in 1979 he was a professor at the University of Hamburg. H ...
he was the fifth pharaoh of the dynasty. Alternatively, according to
Jürgen von Beckerath
Jürgen von Beckerath (19 February 1920, Hanover – 26 June 2016, Schlehdorf) was a German Egyptologist. He was a prolific writer who published countless articles in journals such as '' Orientalia'', ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (GM), ''Journal of t ...
, he was the thirteenth pharaoh of the dynasty. Because his position in the 16th Dynasty is highly uncertain, it is not clear who were his predecessor and successor.
Seneferankhre Pepi III is only attested by a scarab-shaped seal bearing his name. Egyptologist
Kim Ryholt
Kim Steven Bardrum Ryholt (born 19 June 1970) is a professor of Egyptology at the University of Copenhagen and a specialist on Egyptian history and literature. He is director of the research centeCanon and Identity Formation in the Earliest Litera ...
contests the seal as evidence that Pepi was a king of the 16th Dynasty, positing that the seal does not date to the Second Intermediate Period (SIP). According to Ryholt: "the size and design (prenomen + nomen without cartouche or royal titulary/epithets) of this seal is unparalleled during the SIP. Also the style of the signs is quite dissimilar to SIP seals." Instead, Ryholt proposes that the seal of Seneferankhre Pepi III be dated to the
First Intermediate Period
The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spurious ...
, noting however that this is a very early date for a scarab seal, since otherwise the earliest scarabs appear only with the reign of
Senusret III
Khakaure Senusret III (also written as Senwosret III or the hellenised form, Sesostris III) was a pharaoh of Egypt. He ruled from 1878 BC to 1839 BC during a time of great power and prosperity, and was the fifth king of the Twelfth Dynasty of the ...
of the late
12th Dynasty
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some s ...
.
[Julien Siesse: An unpublished Scarab of Queen Tjan (Thirteenth Dynasty) from the Louvre Museum (AF 6755), in: Gianluca Miniaci, Wolfram Grajetzki (eds.): The World of Middle Kingdom Egypt (2000-1550 BC), Vol. ii, London 2016, , p. 243]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepi 03
17th-century BC Pharaohs
16th-century BC Pharaohs
Pharaohs of the Sixteenth Dynasty of Egypt