Horwennefer

Horwennefer (Ancient Egyptian: ḥr-wnn-nfr "Horus-Onnophris"; Ancient Greek: Άροννώφρις Haronnṓphris), also known as Hurganophor or Haronnophris,^[1] was an Egyptian who led Upper Egypt in secession from the rule of Ptolemy IV Philopator in 205 BC. Along with his successor, Ankhwennefer (also known as Chaonnophris or Ankhmakis^[2]), they held a large part of Egypt until 186 BC. No monuments are attested to this king, but a graffito dating to about 201 BC on a wall of the mortuary Temple of Seti I at Abydos, in which his name is written Ὑργοναφορ (Hyrgonaphor), is an attestation to the extent of his influence and the ideology of his reign.^[3] He appears to have died before 197 BC.

Some researchers have interpreted contemporary accounts as suggesting that Horwennefer was a Nubian.^[1][4] In contrast, egyptologist Günther Hölbl argued that demotic sources emphasized that Horwennefer and Ankhwennefer were native Egyptians, "reveal[ing] how nationally minded the movement was". Either way, both rebel pharaohs stressed their strong connections to Thebes.^[5]

The Abydene graffito, one of the few documents remaining from his reign, is written in Egyptian using Greek letters, the oldest testimony of a development which would end in the Coptic script replacing the native Egyptian demotic.^[6]

• Hölbl, Günther (2000). History of the Ptolemaic Empire. Routledge. ISBN 9780415201452.
• Mélèze-Modrzejewski, Joseph (1997). The Jews of Egypt: From Rameses II to Emperor Hadrian. Princeton University Press. p. 150.