Bikheris [SEP] position held
Bikheris
Bikheris is the Hellenized name of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, who may have ruled during the 4th Dynasty (Old Kingdom period) around 2570 BC. Next to nothing is known about this ruler and some Egyptologists even believe him to be fictitious.
Identity.
Identity Possible name sources.
In attempts to reconstruct Ancient Egyptian king lists, Egyptologists and historians face several problems. As already mentioned, "Bikheris" is a Hellenized name variation. The name appears in the book "Aegyptiaca" written by Manetho around
, a chronological position between Djedefra and Khafra seems possible. However, the Ramesside king lists provide evidence for placing Bikheris' reign between Khafra and Menkaura. The Saqqara king list provides a very odd sequence of succeeding kings for the 4th Dynasty: after king Khafra, the cartouches from him up to king Userkaf (the first ruler of the 5th Dynasty) are destroyed and thus illegible today. But their number is puzzling, since between Khafra and Userkaf only two kings are archaeologically detected: Menkaura and Shepseskaf. On the other hand