Heqaib, also Hekaib or Hekayeb, was an ancient Egyptian

nomarch A nomarch ( grc, νομάρχης, egy, ḥrj tp ꜥꜣ Great Chief) was a provincial governor in ancient Egypt; the country was divided into 42 provinces, called nomes (singular , plural ). A nomarch was the government official responsib ...

of the 1st '' nomos'' of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient ...

(" Land of the Bow") under king

Pepi II Neferkare Pepi II Neferkare (2284 BC – after 2247 BC, probably either 2216 or 2184 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom who reigned from 2278 BC. His second name, Neferkare (''Nefer-ka-Re''), means "Beautiful is ...

, towards the end of the

6th Dynasty The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Pharaohs Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho acc ...

. He was also an officer in charge of military expeditions in

Nubia Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...

Career

Born Pepinakht (''ppjj- nḫt'' - "

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

Pepi is strong"), he led at least three expeditions, which are all recorded on the façade of his tomb at

Qubbet el-Hawa Qubbet el-Hawa or "Dome of the Wind" is a site on the western bank of the Nile, opposite Aswan, that serves as the resting place of ancient nobles and priests from the Old and Middle Kingdoms of ancient Egypt. The necropolis in use from the F ...

(near

Aswan Aswan (, also ; ar, أسوان, ʾAswān ; cop, Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate. Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the ...

), after a long list of his titles.
In the first expedition, Pepinakht led a surprise attack in the lands of ''Wawat'' and ''Irthet'', slaying many warriors and taking many prisoners to the court of the

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 ...

. Then, he was sent back to the same places (second expedition) where he captured some chieftains, and also brought back booty. For his third expedition, Pepinakht was instructed to bring back the corpse of Enenkhet; he was an expedition leader in charge to build a ship to reach the

Land of Punt The Land of Punt ( Egyptian: '' pwnt''; alternate Egyptological readings ''Pwene''(''t'') /pu:nt/) was an ancient kingdom known from Ancient Egyptian trade records. It produced and exported gold, aromatic resins, blackwood, ebony, ivory an ...

, but he was attacked and killed along with his escort by the "sand dwellers". Pepinakht's

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

abruptly ends while he was attacking the sand dwellers. However, it's very likely that he was able to accomplish even this mission.
His capabilities and

charisma Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

earned him the nickname Heqaib (''ḥq3- ỉb'' - "He who controls his heart") and then, after his death, a quick

apotheosis Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...

. This fact may be representative of the great power achieved by local authorities in this period, which is a prelude to the forthcoming collapse of the Egyptian state. His son, named Sabni, apparently succeeded him in his charges. In a room in an official building on Elephantine were found several wooden boxes with names of local officials. One box bears the name of Heqaib.Andreas Dorm: ''Elephantine XXXI, Kisten und Schreine im Festzug, Hinweise auf postume Kulte für hohe Beamte aus einem Depot von Kult- und anderen Gegenständen des ausgehenden 3. Jahrtauseends v. Chr.'' (Archäologische Veröffentlichungen 117), Wiesbaden 2015, , p. 166-175 These boxes were most likely used in rituals around the funerary cult of the people mentioned on them.

Legacy

Shortly after Heqaib's death and divinization, a great number of people started to worship this "local saint" initially in front of his tomb at Qubbet el-Hawa, and later in a purpose-built sanctuary. From the various documents left by those devotees it is known that many of them were named "Heqaib" in his honour, and even some pharaohs are known to having left dedications in the sanctuary: among the royal statues found here can be mentioned those of

Mentuhotep I Mentuhotep (also Montuhotep) is an ancient Egyptian name meaning "''Montu is satisfied''" and may refer to: Kings * Mentuhotep I, nomarch at Thebes during the First Intermediate Period and first king of the 11th Dynasty * Mentuhotep II, reunifie ...

(although posthumous),

Intef II Wahankh Intef II (also Inyotef II and Antef II) was the third ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BC to 2063 BC. His capital was located at Thebes. In his time, ...

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 ...

, Sekhemkare Amenemhat V,

Neferhotep I Khasekhemre Neferhotep I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the mid Thirteenth Dynasty ruling in the second half of the 18th century BC K.S.B. Ryholt: ''The Political Situation in Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period, c.1800–1550 BC'', Carsten ...

, and Sekhemre-Wadjkhaw Sobekemsaf I, while it is known that

Intef III Intef III was the third pharaoh of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt during the late First Intermediate Period in the 21st century BC, at a time when Egypt was divided in two kingdoms. The son of his predecessor Intef II and father of his successor M ...

ordered a restoration of the sanctuary during the early

11th Dynasty The Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XI) is a well-attested group of rulers. Its earlier members before Pharaoh Mentuhotep II are grouped with the four preceding dynasties to form the First Intermediate Period, whereas the late ...

. Heqaib's distant successors during the Middle Kingdom such as

Sarenput I Sarenput I was an ancient Egyptian official during the reign of pharaoh Senusret I of the 12th Dynasty. Career Sarenput held several titles such as nomarch of the 1st '' nomos'' of Upper Egypt (" Land of the Bow"), mayor of Elephantine, oversee ...

Sarenput II Sarenput II, also called Nubkaurenakht (''Nbw-kȝw-rˁ-nḫt'', "Strong is Nubkaure", i.e. Amenemhat II) was an ancient Egyptian nomarch during the reign of pharaohs Senusret II and Senusret III of the 12th Dynasty. Family and career Sarenput ...

and

Heqaib III Heqaib (III) was an Ancient Egyptian local governor at Elephantine. He lived at the end of the 12th Dynasty around 1800 BC. He hold the titles ''governor'' and ''overseer of priests of Khnum, lord of the cataracts''. Heqaib was the son of a wo ...

, expanded the sanctuary by building shrines dedicated to him and to themselves. However, with the advent of the troubled

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 by ...

the sanctuary was progressively abandoned and filled with debris, until its rediscovery by Edouard Ghazouli in 1932 and the subsequent excavations by himself and

Labib Habachi Labib Habachi (لبيب حبشي) (April 18, 1906 – February 18, 1984) was an influential Coptic Egyptian Egyptologist. Dr Habachi spent 30 years in the Antiquities Department of the Egyptian Government, ending his career as Chief inspector. ...

Career

Legacy

References

Further reading