Hudjefa I
| Hudjefa I in hieroglyphs | |||||||||
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| Reign: possibly 2 years | |||||||||
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Predecessor: Neferkasokar Successor: Khasekhemwy |
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Hudjefa Ḥw-ḏf3 Turin canon |
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Hudjefa Ḥw-ḏf3 Sakkara kinglist |
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Hudjefa I is the cartouche name and pseudonym of a king (pharaoh) who is said to have ruled during the Ancient Egyptian 2nd dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon gave him a reign of 11 years while the ancient Greek historian Manetho suggested that the pharaoh ruled for 48 years. Egyptologists consider both statements as exaggerations and generally consider that Hudjefa I only ruled for a maximum of 2 years.
The name "Hudjefa I" appears only in the Royal Table of Sakkara and in the Royal Canon of Turin. Both king lists describe Hudjefa I as the immediate successor of king Neferkasokar and as the predecessor of king Khasekhemwy (here named Bebty).
Egyptologists and historians have had great difficulty linking Hudjefa I to any archaeologically identified ruler. The problem is that "Hudjefa" is not a personal name in the conventional sense. Hudjefa means "erased" and might reveal that the original king's name, originally listed in a document or inscribed on some object, was unreadable when the scribe tried to compile the king list. It is thought that a scribe simply noted "erased", but then erroneously put the word into a cartouche, thus making it look like a personal name. Later scribes and students of Egyptian history misinterpreted the arrangement and adopted it into their documents as a king's name.
The ancient Greek historian Manetho probably called Hudjefa I "Sésôchris" and reported that this king's body had a measurement of "five cubits in its height and three hands in its breadth". Egyptologists doubt the basis of this observation as no burial site for Hudjefa I has ever been found.
Egyptologists such as T. Dautzenberg and Wolfgang Helck once considered that Hudjefa I might be identical with king Seth-Peribsen. To support their theory, they pointed out that an 11-year reign – as noted in the Royal Canon of Turin – would be inconsistent with a king whose name has been lost. Rather, in their opinion, it would make sense if the ruler's name was not allowed to be mentioned in later times. This was already considered to be the case of king Peribsen, whose birth name was banished from Ramesside king lists.
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