Historical Facts Regarding the Eighth Dynasty
During the Eighth Dynasty era, we found that the pharaohs of this family remained conservative in calling themselves by the names of their predecessors in most cases. For example, we find among the kings of the Eighth Dynasty, five pharaohs called the name "Nefer Ka Ra" and one was called "Djedkara" and another called himself "Nefer Er Kara".
The Eighth Dynasty (also known as Dynasty VIII) was a short-lived and little-known dynasty of pharaohs who ruled Egypt quickly in the early 22nd century BC, most likely having Memphis as their capital. At what is known as the very end of the Old Kingdom or the start of the First Intermediate Period, the Eighth Dynasty ruled. The influence of the nomarchs, or regional governors, was growing while that of the pharaohs was declining.
By that time, the Egyptian polity had essentially become a feudal one. The Eighth Dynasty was finally toppled by the nomarchs of Heracleopolis Magna, who established the Ninth Dynasty, despite the close ties that existed between the Memphite monarchs and influential nomarchs, particularly in Coptos. By that time, the Egyptian polity had essentially become a feudal one.
The Eighth Dynasty was finally toppled by the nomarchs of Heracleopolis Magna, who established the Ninth Dynasty, despite the close ties that existed between the Memphite monarchs and influential nomarchs, particularly in Coptos.
Eighth Dynasty kings are listed in two historical sources from the New Kingdom. The Abydos king list, composed under Seti I's rule, is the first of the two main historical sources for the Eighth Dynasty. The rulers found on entries 40 through 56 of the Abydos king list are positioned between the end of the Old Kingdom's Sixth Dynasty and the start of the Middle Kingdom's Eleventh Dynasty. Moreover, none of the rulers from the Ninth and Tenth Dynasties—whose names are on the Abydos list—have the same names as these ones. As a result, the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties are attributed to entries 40 through 56 on the list.