Menkare

Menkare was a ruler belonging to the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties at the start of the First Intermediate Period. He reigned about 2181 to 2180 BC, with chronological dates uncertain by about thirty years. Ruling from Memphis, he held nominal power for barely a year following the end of the Sixth Dynasty.

Very little is known about his governance or ancestry. During this transitional era, the centralized power of the Old Kingdom gave way to regional instability and famine across the provinces. No monuments, tombs, or contemporary artefacts survive from his reign. Egyptologists know of Menkare almost exclusively from his inclusion in the Abydos King List. He was succeeded by Neferkare II.

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