The identity of Wahkare Khety is controversial. While some scholars believe that he was the founder of the 9th Dynasty, many others place him in the subsequent 10th Dynasty.
9th Dynasty hypothesis If Wahkare Khety was the founder of the
9th Dynasty, he may be identified with the
hellenized king
Achthoês, the founder of this dynasty according to
Manetho. Manetho reports: The first of these [kings], Achthoês, behaving more cruel than his predecessors, wrought woes for the people of all of Egypt, but afterwards he was smitten with madness and killed by a
crocodile. If this hypothesis is correct, Wahkare Khety may have been a
Herakleopolitan prince who profited from the weakness of the
Memphite rulers of the
Eighth Dynasty to seize the throne of Middle and
Lower Egypt around 2150 BC. This hypothesis is supported by contemporary inscriptions referring to the northern, Herakleopolitan kingdom as the
House of Khety, although that only proves that the founder of the 9th Dynasty was a Khety, but not necessarily Wahkare Khety.
10th Dynasty hypothesis Many scholars believe instead that Wahkare Khety was a king of the
10th Dynasty, identifying him with the Khety, who was the alleged author of the famous
Teaching for King Merykare, thus placing him between
Neferkare VIII and
Merikare. In this reconstruction, Wahkare is the last Herakleopolitan king bearing the name
Khety, and the cruel Achthoês founder of the 9th Dynasty is identified with
Meryibre Khety, and the
House of Khety must refer to him instead. From the
Instructions, it is known that Wahkare Khety, in alliance with the
nomarchs of Lower Egypt, managed to repel the nomad "Asiatics" who for generations roamed in the
Nile Delta. Those nomarchs, although recognizing Wahkare's authority, ruled
de facto more or less independently. The expulsion of the "Asiatics" allowed the establishment of new settlements and defense structures on the northeastern borders, as well as the reprise of trades with the
Levantine coast. Wahkare, however, warned Merikare not to neglect guarding these borders, as the "Asiatics" still were considered a danger. In the south, Wahkare and the faithful nomarch of
Asyut Tefibi retook the city of
Thinis, previously captured by the
Thebans led by
Intef II; however, the troops of Herakleopolis sacked the sacred
necropolis of Thinis, a serious crime which was reported by Wahkare himself. This crime caused the immediate reaction of the Thebans, who later finally captured the Thinite
nomos. After those events Wahkare Khety decided to abandon this bellicose policy and begin a phase of peaceful coexistence with the southern kingdom, which endured until part of the reign of his successor Merikare, who succeeded the long reign – five decades – of Wahkare. ==Attestations==