Griffith, Francis Ll. [Editor]: The Petrie Papyri: hieratic papyri from Kahun and Gurob ; principally of the Middle Kingdom (Band 1): Text (London, 1897)

APPENDIX.

85

Highest

(XIIth Dynasty.) monumental

[Kings of the] Residence of Ath'taui
King Sehetep'ab'Ra passed in reigning

[2]9 years.................. 30th year

[King Kheper'ka'Ra] passed in reigning

45 years .....,............ 44

[King NutrkairRa] passed in reigning

30 + x years .................. 35

[King Kha'kheper'Ra] passed in reigning

].9(?) years .................. 13(?)

[King Kha'kau'Ra] passed in reigning

30 + x years .................. 26

[King Ne'maufRa] passed in reigning

40 + x years ................. 44

King Maa'kheru'Ra passed in reigning

9 years, 3 months, 27 days 5
King Sebek'neferu'Ra passed in reigning

3 years, 10 months, 24 days —
Total kings of the Residence [of Atlrtaui] 8 [kings]

makes 213 years, 1 month, 17 days.

(XIIIth Dynasty.)

Kings [that came] after [the sons of (?)] King

Sehetep'ab'Ra.
King [Sekhem (?)] •khu'taui'Ra [passed in] reigning

1 + x [years], 3 months, 24 days.

King Sekhenvka'Ra ........................ 6 years.

&c, &c.

There is no need to enter here upon the
question of contemporary reigns (Petrie, Hist.,
p. 146), as it does not affect the dates on the
papyri. Broadly speaking, the statements of
the Turin papyrus seem trustworthy, though
probably there are minor mistakes by corruption
of the numerals, &c.: at any rate, none of its
data can be disproved. The total of 213 years
for the kings of Atlrtaui perhaps excludes
contemporaneous reigns, for the addition of
the lowest reckonings from the above gives
216 years, and the Kahun documents alone
show that four more years must be added on
to them. As this makes 220 years, and there
is still a considerable margin for increase, the
easiest supposition would perhaps be to correct
213 to 223, the summation being very likely
made only as a check to corruption of the
other figures, and 20 being easily corrupted to
10 in hieratic.

Kahun was evidently founded by Usertesen
II., the builder of the pyramid of Illahun.
The size of that pyramid suggests that his
reign was of considerable length, and in the
Turin Papyrus the remains of the figures giving
the length of his reign clearly indicate 10, 20,
or 30, followed by 9. But the only known dates
of his reign are in the years 1, 2, 5, 6, 6, 7,
besides the date of an unpublished stela, said
to be of the 13th year (Wiedemann, Gesch.,
p. 249). The break after year 7 is very
curious. It is obviously not safe to attribute
to him more than 19 years. Unfortunately
Kahun yields no new dates of his reign, and
it is doubtful whether any fragment of the
papyri dates from that time. Papyrus XTV. 1,
on PI. xx., was written during the life-time of
the founder of Hetep^Usertesen, but there are
reasons for supposing this builder to have
been Usertesen III. (see p. 88, below). In

all other cases where the name (j\ 1*^*^31
or s |jQ occurs, the cartouche is followed
bv ! % fih, " deceased."

There are no Kahun papyri dated from the
age of Usertesen III., except, presumably, the
above-mentioned papyrus XIV. 1 (an isolated
fragment), and the hymn, LV. 1 (Pis. i., et seq.),
though this may be only a later copy. To this
reign, however, we may safely attribute the
date of "year 33 " (hardly 35), quoted in Pap.
XIII. 1 of the 26th year of Amenemhat III.,
although the highest date of Usertesen III.
previously known from the monuments was
the 26th year. The fragments of the Turin
papyrus show that the length of his reign
was between thirty and forty years.

Many of these papyri are from the age of
Amenemhat III.; some name the king as living,
while in others his reign is recognizable by
their high dates. The letter VI. 6 on PL xxxi.
was written during his reign. The following is
a list of all the dates in the volume above the
"10th year."