Wahkare Khety

Wahkare Khety was a Tenth Dynasty ruler based at Herakleopolis Magna during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for roughly twenty-five years, from approximately 2070 BC to 2045 BC, with chronology uncertain by about thirty years. He succeeded Khety II and was the father of his successor, Merikare.

During his substantial reign, Wahkare Khety engaged in long-running military and territorial conflicts with the rival Eleventh Dynasty centred at Thebes. He sought to secure the northern borders in the Delta and consolidate royal control across Middle Egypt. He is most celebrated in Egyptian history as the presumed author of the Teaching for King Merikare, a major Middle Kingdom literary work offering statecraft advice on moderation, border defense, and good governance.

Scholars know of Wahkare Khety through references in these later literary compositions and fragments of contemporary administrative records. His royal tomb has never been located.

Monuments

• Mentioned in Teaching for King Merikare

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Try the name on the Cartouche Desk, or see where the reign falls on the timeline.