Inykhnum
| Inykhnum in hieroglyphs | ||||||
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Personal name:
Inykhnum / Khnum-iny Ijnj-ḫnm Khnum comes to me |
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Inykhnum (also read as Khnum-Iny) was an ancient Egyptian high-ranking official who worked and lived during the transition time between 2nd dynasty and 3rd dynasty. The king(s) under which he served are not known for certain, the subject being currently highly disputed.
Inykhnum's name appears exclusively in black ink inscriptions on alabaster shards and vessel fragments as well as on a few limestone shards. These artifacts were found beneath the step pyramid in the eastern galeries of the necropolis of pharaoh Djoser (3rd dynasty) at Saqqara and in the great fort Shunet el-Zebib of king Khasekhemwy (end of 2nd dynasty) at Abydos. Additional findings bearing Inykhnum's name come from two private mastaba tombs at Saqqara and from the pyramid of king Sekhemkhet. The ink inscriptions are short and written in hieratic writings.
Inykhnum's name is connected to te deity Khnum. Toby A. H. Wilkinson translates the name with "Khnum is my father" and evaluates this as a proof for an upcoming cult of Khnum during the reign of king Nynetjer.
As a high-ranking official and priest, Inykhnum owned elite and pious titles:
Iny-khnum's titles are typical for a member of the royal family, especially for princes. The inscriptions furthermore reveal that Inykhnum participated in a Hebsed festival. He possibly shared his services and works with an office partner named Ma'a-aper-Min.
Ilona Regulski and Peter Kaplony are convinced that Inykhnum held his office some time between the end of Khasekhemwy's and the beginning of Sekhemkhet's reigns. Earlier assumptions made by Wolfgang Helck, who dated Inykhnum's ink inscriptions to the time of Nynetjer (3rd ruler of 2nd dynasty), are questioned by Ilona Regulski. She points to comparisons between the ink inscriptions from Abydos and findings from Saqqara with contemporary cursive writings from the 2nd and early 3rd dynasties. First, Regulski remarks that the "17th time of the cattle count" appearing alongside the official's name, is a way of writing which was not common until the reign of Djoser. Additionally, if the cattle count was celebrated every second year as was the case during the Old Kingdom, Inykhnum must have served a king reigning for at least 34 years. Such a long reign is only attested for king Nynetjer of the early 2nd dynasty. However, Regulski suspects that Khasekhemwy or Djoser may have ruled longer than thought.
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