Merdjefare

Merdjefare was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 14th Dynasty of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period c. 1700 BC. Indeed, Merdjefare is mentioned on the stele of a royal seal-bearer and treasurer named Ranisonb. The stele, discovered in 1988–89, shows Merdjefare making offerings to Sopdharsopd and probably originates from Ranisonb's tomb at Saft el-Hinna in the southeastern Nile Delta. The stele is now in the private Krief collection.

Identity Since only Merdjefare's prenomen is known, attempts at attributing him any given nomen remain conjectural. Ryholt however proposed that Merdjefare's nomen may have been either Wazad or Sheneh. Indeed, according to Ryholt, a seriation of 14th Dynasty seals shows that both Wazad and Sheneh reigned after Nehesy. Since furthermore "only few of the kings who ruled between Nehesy and Yaqub-Har are attested by contemporary sources", Ryholt posits that Wazad may be identifiable with one of the successors of Nehesy with the longest reign, either Sehebre or Merdjefare.