Hudjefa I

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.

Name sources

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).

Identity

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.