Baka (prince)

Baka is the name of an ancient Egyptian prince. He is known for his destroyed statuette. He is also the subject of a theory that claims he was pharaoh of Egypt for a very short time. Thus, he might be identical to a scarcely known king named Bikheris.[1]

Identity

Baka was a prince and son of pharaoh Djedefre. He lived and worked during the 4th Dynasty. His family life is unknown, and the names of his wives and children are lost. Since the names of three other sons of Djedefre, namely Setka, Harnit and Nykau-Djedefre, are archaeologically attested, these should be Baka's brothers or half-brothers. The daughters of Djedefre, Hetepheres III and Neferhetepes, would be Baka's sisters or half-sisters. His mother is unknown, too. She could be one of Djedefre's wives, Khentetka or Hetepheres II, but this is highly uncertain.[2][3]

Possible reign as pharaoh

According to Rainer Stadelmann and George Reisner, it is possible that Baka was pharaoh in Egypt for a very short time (maybe one or two years). Their assumption is based on the so-called Unfinished Northern Pyramid of Zawyet el'Aryan, which is located at Zawyet el'Aryan. This unfinished pyramid shaft was abandoned shortly after being started and only a dozen of workmen's inscriptions in black ink were found. These provide a royal cartouche name, which remains partially illegible. The first sign can be identified as a Ka-sign, but the first (and former) sign was copied by the pyramid excavator so fuzzily that it remains undecipherable. According to Stadelmann and Reisner, the first sign shows a walking ram, as it does in the birth name of the prince. Baka simply put his citizen name into a royal cartouche due to his lifetime, but then the name was changed after his death into Bakarê ("soul and Ka of Râ"). In ancient Greek chronics Baka's name was hellenized into Bikheris. For this reason, the unfinished tomb shaft at Zawyet el'Aryan is also called the "Pyramid of Bikheris".[4]

This theory is not commonly accepted, though. Aidan Dodson is convinced of the depiction of a sitting Seth-animal, reading the royal name as Seth-Ka ("Seth is mine Ka"). In this case, Setka had actually followed his father onto the throne.[3]

References

Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros Verlag, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3491960533, p.91,
Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, ISBN 977-424-878-3, p. 52-61.
Aidan Dodson: On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan. In: Discussion in Egyptology, vol. 3. University Press, Oxford (UK) 1985, p. 21–24.
Rainer Stadelmann: Die Ägyptischen Pyramiden: vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder ( = Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, vol. 30). von Zabern, Mainz 1985, ISBN 3805308558, p. 77, 140-145.

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[1] Thomas Schneider: Lexikon der Pharaonen. Albatros Verlag, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3491960533, p.91,

[2] Aidan Dodson, Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. The American University in Cairo Press, London 2004, ISBN 977-424-878-3, p. 52-61.

[ADO-3] Aidan Dodson: On the date of the unfinished pyramid of Zawyet el-Aryan. In: Discussion in Egyptology, vol. 3. University Press, Oxford (UK) 1985, p. 21–24.

[4] Rainer Stadelmann: Die Ägyptischen Pyramiden: vom Ziegelbau zum Weltwunder ( = Kulturgeschichte der antiken Welt, vol. 30). von Zabern, Mainz 1985, ISBN 3805308558, p. 77, 140-145.