Weneg

The Nebti Name Weneg

The Nebti Name Weneg.
Source: Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt, p. 87, Fig. 3.4 (1).

Weneg is only known through a limited number of objects that mention his Nebti Name. The absence of a Horus Name, or alternatively, perhaps of a Seth Name, has led to some speculation as to the identity of this king.
The hypothesis that Weneg was the Nebti Name of Horus Nebre is based on a highly damaged inscription where Nebre’s name is followed by what could be reconstructed as the hieroglyph read as Weneg. The inscription is, however, too damaged and too vague to be conclusive.

There appears to be a consensus that Weneg corresponds with the Wadjnes from the Abydos and Saqqara King-Lists and Manetho’s Tlas, making him a successor of Ninetjer. The fact, however, that finds bearing his name are limited to Saqqara, may indicate that he ruled only a part of the country.

Because the source material is very limited, very little is known about Weneg’s reign. The 54 years credited to Ninetjer’s successor in the Turin King-List are clearly wrong. The 17 years credited to him by Manetho seem closer to reality, while the hypothetical reconstruction of the Annals Stone points to a 12-year reign.

There are a few inscriptions referring to a king named Nubnefer, who may have been Weneg’s predecessor or, perhaps more likely successor. Like Weneg, Nubnefer’s name was only found in the Saqqara region, perhaps indicating that Nubnefer’s realm was also limited to the north of Egypt, while, the south was ruled by another king, perhaps Seth Peribsen.

No tomb has, as yet, been identified as Weneg’s, but it is very likely to be located at Saqqara, perhaps underneath the North Court or Western Massif of the complex of Netjerikhet, or in the area near the tombs of Hotepsekhemwi and Ninetjer.


© Jacques Kinnaer 1997 - 2023