RULERS OF THE OLD KINGDOM OF ANCIENT EGYPT

OLD KINGDOM RULERS

Khufu (Cheops), builder of the Great Pyramid

Kings associated with the Pyramids include Djoser (also known as Dzoser, Dzoser, Zoser, Tosorthos, and Dozer); Sneferu (also known as Snefru, Snofru, Soris); Kufu (also known as Kufu, Cheops, Kheops, Suphis I); Chepheren (also known as Khafre, Khafra, Rakhaef, Khephren, Suphis II).

The Old Kingdom began with the reign of Snefu. Djoser (2630-2611 B.C.) began the age of the Pyramids. Although he was really an Early Dynastic Period ruler he and his architect Imhotep built the first step pyramid and ushered in a period in which much art was created. The last three pharaohs of the 4th dynasty — Cheops, Chephren and Mycerinus — built the three Great Pyramids of Giza and codified the structure of Egyptian society. Little is known about them. No papyrus scrolls from their era remain. There is only one existing likeness of Pharaoh Khufu — builder of the largest pyramid — and it is a small ivory statue. Herodotus wrote 2,000 years after Khufu’s death that Khufu was an impious tyrant who closed all the temples in his country and compelled his subjects “without exception to labor as slaves for his own advantage.” There is no hard evidence to back up these assertions. See Pyramids. Sphinx and Step Pyramids

Huni was the last Egyptian King of the 3rd Dynasty. He built a pyramid at Miedum on the edge of the Faiyum. However, it is still in dispute whether the Pyramid of Miedum was started by Huni and later finished by the Pharaoh Snefru, or whether Snefru started the Pyramid of Miedum. Unique to the pyramid; however, is the first square ground plan. This was an architectural invention which lasted well into the future of Egyptian pyramids. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

Sahure was the Second King of the 5th Dynasty. There is evidence of trade outside the Nile Valley during his reign and this might have been the beginning of trade with the outside worked or just a continuation of an already existing trade route. It was during Sahure's reign that expeditions were sent to the Near East for cedar trees which were important in later temple building. His pyramid was the largest and best preserved of the 5th Dynasty kings and his mortuary temple contained scenes of conquest and expeditions. +\

Websites on Ancient Egypt: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Discovering Egypt discoveringegypt.com; BBC History: Egyptians bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians ; Ancient History Encyclopedia on Egypt ancient.eu/egypt; Digital Egypt for Universities. Scholarly treatment with broad coverage and cross references (internal and external). Artifacts used extensively to illustrate topics. ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt ; British Museum: Ancient Egypt ancientegypt.co.uk; Egypt’s Golden Empire pbs.org/empires/egypt; Metropolitan Museum of Art www.metmuseum.org ; Oriental Institute Ancient Egypt (Egypt and Sudan) Projects ; Egyptian Antiquities at the Louvre in Paris louvre.fr/en/departments/egyptian-antiquities; KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt kmtjournal.com; Egypt Exploration Society ees.ac.uk ; Amarna Project amarnaproject.com; Abzu: Guide to Resources for the Study of the Ancient Near East etana.org; Egyptology Resources fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

Herodotus on the Early Kings of Egypt

20120211-Builder Second Pyramid Bust of Cephren.jpg
Bust of Chephren,
Builder Second Pyramid Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: “So far, all I have said is the record of my own autopsy and judgment and inquiry. Henceforth I will record Egyptian chronicles, according to what I have heard, adding something of what I myself have seen. The priests told me that Min was the first king of Egypt, and that first he separated Memphis from the Nile by a dam. All the river had flowed close under the sandy mountains on the Libyan side, but Min made the southern bend of it, which begins about twelve and one half miles above Memphis, by damming the stream, thereby drying up the ancient channel, and carried the river by a channel so that it flowed midway between the hills. And to this day the Persians keep careful watch on this bend of the river, strengthening its dam every year to keep the current in; for were the Nile to burst its dikes and overflow here, all Memphis would be in danger of flooding. Then, when this first king Min had made dry land of what he thus cut off, he first founded in it that city which is now called Memphis (for even Memphis lies in the narrow part of Egypt), and outside of it he dug a lake from the river to its north and west (for the Nile itself bounds it on the east); and secondly, he built in it the great and most noteworthy temple of Hephaestus. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]

“After him came three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll. In all these many generations there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to the country; the rest were all Egyptian men. The name of the queen was the same as that of the Babylonian princess, Nitocris. She, to avenge her brother (he was king of Egypt and was slain by his subjects, who then gave Nitocris the sovereignty) put many of the Egyptians to death by treachery. She built a spacious underground chamber; then, with the pretence of inaugurating it, but with quite another intent in her mind, she gave a great feast, inviting to it those Egyptians whom she knew to have had the most complicity in her brother's murder; and while they feasted, she let the river in upon them by a vast secret channel. This was all that the priests told of her, except that when she had done this she cast herself into a chamber full of hot ashes, to escape vengeance.

“But of the other kings they related no achievement or act of great note, except of Moeris, the last of them. This Moeris was remembered as having built the northern forecourt of the temple of Hephaestus, and dug a lake, of as great a circumference as I shall later indicate; and built pyramids there also, the size of which I will mention when I speak of the lake. All this was Moeris' work, they said; of none of the rest had they anything to record.”

List of Rulers from the Old Kingdom

Turin King List 4

Old Kingdom
(ca.2649–2150 B.C.)
Dynasty 3, (ca. 2649–2575 B.C.)
Zanakht (ca. 2649–2630 B.C.)
Djoser (ca. 2630–2611 B.C.)
Sekhemkhet (ca. 2611–2605 B.C.)
Khaba (ca. 2605–2599 B.C.)
Huni (ca. 2599–2575 B.C.)
[Source: Department of Egyptian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2002]

Dynasty 4, (ca. 2575–2465 B.C.)
Snefru (ca. 2575–2551 B.C.)
Khufu (ca. 2551–2528 B.C.)
Djedefre (ca. 2528–2520 B.C.)
Khafre1 (ca. 2520–2494 B.C.:
Nebka II (ca. 2494–2490 B.C.)
Menkaure2 (ca. 2490–2472 B.C.)
Shepseskaf (ca. 2472–2467 B.C.)
Thamphthis (ca. 2467–2465 B.C.)

Dynasty 5, (ca. 2465–2323 B.C.)
Userkaf (ca. 2465–2458 B.C.)
Sahure (ca. 2458–2446 B.C.:
Neferirkare (ca. 2446–2438 B.C.)
Shepseskare (ca. 2438–2431 B.C.)
Neferefre (ca. 2431–2420 B.C.)
Niuserre (ca. 2420–2389 B.C.)
Menkauhor (ca. 2389–2381 B.C.)
Isesi (ca. 2381–2353 B.C.)
Unis (ca. 2353–2323 B.C.)

Dynasty 6, (ca. 2323–2150 B.C.)
Teti (ca. 2323–2291 B.C.)
Userkare (ca. 2291–2289 B.C.)
Pepi I (ca. 2289–2255 B.C.)
Merenre I (ca. 2255–2246 B.C.)
Pepi II (ca. 2246–2152 B.C.)
Merenre II (ca. 2152–2152 B.C.)
Netjerkare Siptah (ca. 2152–2150 B.C.)

Djoser, Creator of the Step Pyramid

Casey Boone of Minnesota State University, Mankato wrote: “Djoser was the most famous Pharaoh of the Third Dynasty and is credited primarily with the creation of the first step pyramid. There are numerous ways to spell his name including Dzoser, Djozer, Zoser, Tosorthos, and Dozer. He lived from 2686-2613 B. C. E. He is described on monuments as the Horus Neterykhet, which means “the divine body.” According to the Turin King list,Djoser ruled for approximately 19 years. He was the second Pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty, a dynasty that started the first golden age in Egyptknown as The Old Kingdom. [Source: Casey Boone, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

Djoser's Stepped Pyramid

“It is believed that Djoser brought an end to a 7-year famine that had afflicted Egypt. He did this by rebuilding the Temple of the ram-headed God, Khnum, on the small island of Elephantine. This island is located by the Nile’s first cataract. Khnum is the god that supposedly controlled the Nile inundation. After the temple rebuilding was complete, the famine ended. This event is depicted in a story from Ptolematic times on a large and lengthy rock on the island of Sehel that is also located at the first cataract. This means that even after 2 millennia after his reign he was still remembered for his actions. +\

“Djoser is mostly known for his step pyramid at Saqqara and the surrounding temples. Saqqara overlooks the ancient capital of Memphis south of modern-day Cairo. In fact, it was Imhotep, Djoser's vizier or priest, that had the conception of the pyramid. Imhotep was also an architect, astronomer and a physician. He was in charge of the entire building process. Saqqara is the oldest stone building in the world. Until Imhotep, everything was made from mud-brick and wood. The pyramid was made from limestone that came from the Tura quarries. +\

“There is a huge stone wall surrounding the pyramid and courtyard that measures 597 yards from north to south and 304 yards east to west. The actual pyramid itself measures 558 feet north to south and 411 feet east to west. It is compromised of 6 unequal stages that rise 204 feet. The primary use of the pyramids was for various ceremonies in connection with Djoser’s afterlife. The pyramid was built to resemble a ladder, not to look like one but to act as one so that the dead Pharaoh could climb into the sky and join the immortality gods. +\

Imhotep, the Pyramid Architect

The ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep was the master mind behind the pyramids. In addition to being an architect and designing the first pyramid---which has lasted until today---he was a sculptor, poet priest, government official, astrologer, magician and a healer. One ancient inscription even gave Imhotep credit for saving his country from famine by convincing Khnum, the god of the first cataract, to let the floods return. After his death, Imhotep was worshiped as a god of wisdom. Small statues often show him as a learned man holding a papyrus scroll.

According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: Imhotep “was born a commoner during the Third Dynasty. He was very skilled and was dedicated to the ideals of his nation. Imhotep quickly rose through the ranks of the temple and court to become a vizier and the High Priest of Ptah. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

“He wrote many medical and didactic texts. He is best known, however, as the chief architect of the step pyramid at Saqqara. It remains today as one of the most brilliant architecture wonders of the ancient world. During the New Kingdom, Imhotep was deified and became the "Son of Ptah." The Romans Claudius and Tiberius inscribed their praises of Imhotep in the temples in Egypt. +\

Sneferu, Builder of Three Early Pyramids

Sneferu, the founder of the 4th Dynasty, built the first true pyramid at Maidum, originally ascribed to his predecessor Huni, and two additional pyramids at Dahshur. The Great Pyramid in Giza surpasses the pyramids of Sneferu in size but not in total volume.

Dr Aidan Dodson wrote for the BBC: “Pyramids became straight-sided under Khufu's father, Seneferu, the new form apparently representing the rays of the sun. Seneferu's accession marked the beginning of the golden age of the pyramids. The greatest builder of them all, he erected three examples, with bases ranging from 144 to 220m (472 to 721ft) square. His multiple pyramids seem to have resulted both from a rapid evolution of religious concepts during his long reign, and a structural failure that led to the abandonment of the 'Bent' pyramid at Dahshur. The 'Red' pyramid, at the same site, became his eventual resting place. [Source: Dr Aidan Dodson, BBC, February 17, 2011]

Richard Bussmman of University College London wrote: "The closest one can get to a political history of the 4th Dynasty are the entries on the reign of Sneferu on the Palermo Stone. In his sixth to eighth year of counting, Sneferu built large boats of cedar and pine wood, seized 7,000 Nubian captives and 200,000 cattle, constructed the wall of the southern and northern land, created 35 estates, erected a double building (palace?), and furnished the palace with a wooden gateway. However, the Palermo Stone was compiled long after the 4th Dynasty, and the symmetric expressions and abbreviated writing style obscure the scale, location, and exact nature of the activities recorded. The numbers, e.g., of prisoners, create a fictional reality and caution against a too literal reading of the Palermo Stone.” [Source: Richard Bussmman, University College London, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2015, escholarship.org ]

Herodotus on the Giza Pyramid Kings

Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: “They said that Egypt until the time of King Rhampsinitus was altogether well-governed and prospered greatly, but that Kheops, who was the next king, brought the people to utter misery. For first he closed all the temples, so that no one could sacrifice there; and next, he compelled all the Egyptians to work for him...And so evil a man was Kheops that, needing money, he put his own daughter in a brothel and made her charge a fee (how much, they did not say). She did as her father told her, but was disposed to leave a memorial of her own, and asked of each coming to her that he give one stone; and of these stones they said the pyramid was built that stands midmost of the three, over against the great pyramid; each side of it measures one hundred and fifty feet. 127. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]

Seneferu

“The Egyptians said that this Kheops reigned for fifty years; at his death he was succeeded by his brother Khephren, who was in all respects like Kheops. Khephren also built a pyramid, smaller than his brother's. I have measured it myself. It has no underground chambers, nor is it entered like the other by a canal from the Nile, but the river comes in through a built passage and encircles an island, in which, they say, Kheops himself lies. This pyramid was built on the same scale as the other, except that it falls forty feet short of it in height; it stands near the great pyramid; the lowest layer of it is of variegated Ethiopian stone. Both of them stand on the same ridge, which is about a hundred feet high. Khephren, they said, reigned for fifty-six years. 128.

“Thus, they reckon that for a hundred and six years Egypt was in great misery and the temples so long shut were never opened. The people hate the memory of these two kings so much that they do not much wish to name them, and call the pyramids after the shepherd Philitis, who then pastured his flocks in this place.” 129.

“After Mycerinus, the priests said, Asukhis became king of Egypt. He built the eastern outer court of Hephaestus' temple; this is by far the finest and grandest of all the courts, for while all have carved figures and innumerable felicities of architecture, this court has far more than any. As not much money was in circulation during this king's reign, they told me, a law was made for the Egyptians allowing a man to borrow on the security of his father's corpse; and the law also provided that the lender become master of the entire burial-vault of the borrower, and that the penalty for one giving this security, should he fail to repay the loan, was that he was not to be buried at his death either in that tomb of his fathers or in any other, nor was he to bury any relative of his there. Furthermore, in his desire to excel all who ruled Egypt before him, this king left a pyramid of brick to commemorate his name, on which is this writing, cut on a stone: “Do not think me less than pyramids of stone; for I excel them as much as Zeus does other gods; for they stuck a pole down into a marsh and collected what mud clung to the pole, made bricks of it, and thus built me.” These were the acts of Asukhis.”

Portraits of Menkaura

Menkaura

Dimitri, Laboury of the University of Liège in Belgium wrote: “The portraits of Menkaura are very consistent since his physiognomy can easily be recognized throughout his various statues and because, at the same time, they display a face clearly different and distinguishable from the one given to his father, Khafra, or the one of his uncle, Radjedef, his two immediate predecessors. This indicates without any doubt an intended and coherent individualization, even if the rendering of the eyes, the ears, the mouth, etc., that is, the stylistic vocabulary of his physiognomy is definitely characteristic of the artistic standards of Dynasty 4. [Source: Dimitri, Laboury, University of Liège, Belgium, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology 2010, escholarship.org ]

“The famous triads of the king, from his mortuary temple at Giza, are especially interesting because they were part of a series and each of them displayed three faces: the face of Menkaura, of the goddess Hathor, and of the depicted nome, the latter two precisely replicating the features of the royal visage.

Their discoverer noticed, every preserved triad is characterized by slight stylistic variations, which allow differentiating each of them, but are also perfectly consistent on the three faces of the same sculpture, denoting a single individual hand (or sculptor) behind each piece. The nature and distribution of these stylistic differences and, at the same time, the strong coherence of the royal physiognomy point to a very well controlled facial model of the king, which was dispatched among the workshops and faithfully copied, in spite of a few inevitable faint alterations caused by the technical and human circumstances of such artistic productions . So in addition to the research of physiognomic consistency, this unavoidable variability has to be taken into account in any portrait analysis of ancient Egyptian art.

“Menkaura’s portraiture is also of particular interest because, with its specific nose and facial proportions, it has deeply influenced the official depiction of later kings, like Userkaf, first king of Dynasty 5, or Pepy I, second king of Dynasty 6, who reigned almost two centuries later.

Herodotus on Mycerinus and the Cow Statue

Herodotus wrote in Book 2 of “Histories”: “The next king of Egypt, they said, was Kheops' son Mycerinus. Disliking his father's doings, he opened the temples and let the people, ground down to the depth of misery, go to their business and their sacrifices; and he was the most just judge among all the kings. This is why he is praised above all the rulers of Egypt; for not only were his judgments just, but Mycerinus would give any who were not satisfied with the judgment a present out of his own estate to compensate him for his loss. Though mild toward his people and conducting himself as he did, yet he suffered calamities, the first of which was the death of his daughter, the only child of his household. Deeply grieved over this misfortune, he wanted to give her a burial somewhat more sumptuous than ordinary; he therefore made a hollow cow's image of gilded wood and placed the body of his dead daughter therein. 130. [Source: Herodotus, “The Histories”, Egypt after the Persian Invasion, Book 2, English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920, Tufts]

Menkaura

“This cow was not buried in the earth but was to be seen even in my time, in the town of Saïs, where it stood in a furnished room of the palace; incense of all kinds is offered daily before it, and a lamp burns by it all through every night. Near this cow in another chamber statues of Mycerinus' concubines stand, so the priests of Saïs said; and in fact there are about twenty colossal wooden figures there, made like naked women; but except what I was told, I cannot tell who these are. 131.

“But some tell the following story about the cow and the statues: that Mycerinus conceived a passion for his own daughter and then had intercourse with her against her will; and they say that afterwards the girl strangled herself for grief, and that he buried her in this cow, but that her mother cut off the hands of the attendants who had betrayed the daughter to her father, and that now their statues are in the same condition as the living women were. But this I believe to be a silly story, especially about the hands of the figures. For in fact we ourselves saw that the hands have fallen off through age, and were lying at their feet even in my day. 132.

“As for the cow, it is covered with a purple robe, only the head and neck exposed, encrusted with a very thick layer of gold. Between the horns is the golden figure of the sun's orb. It does not stand, but kneels; it is as big as a live cow of great size. This image is carried out of the chamber once every year, whenever the Egyptians mourn the god whose name I omit in speaking of these matters: then the cow is brought out into the light; for they say that before she died she asked her father, Mycerinus, that she see the sun once a year55. 133.

“After what happened to his daughter, the following happened next to this king: an oracle came to him from the city of Buto, announcing that he had just six years to live and was to die in the seventh. The king took this badly, and sent back to the oracle a message of reproach, blaming the god that his father and his uncle, though they had shut up the temples, and disregarded the gods, and destroyed men, had lived for a long time, but that he who was pious was going to die so soon. But a second oracle came announcing that for this very reason his life was hastening to a close: he had done what was contrary to fate; Egypt should have been afflicted for a hundred and fifty years, and the two kings before him knew this, but not he. Hearing this, Mycerinus knew that his doom was fixed. Therefore, he had many lamps made, and would light these at nightfall and drink and enjoy himself, not letting up day or night, roaming to the marsh country and the groves and wherever he heard of the likeliest places of pleasure. This was his recourse, so that by turning night into day he might make his six years into twelve and so prove the oracle false. 134.

“This king, too, left a pyramid, but far smaller than his father's, each side twenty feet short of three hundred feet long, square at the base, and as much as half its height of Ethiopian stone. Some Greeks say that it was built by Rhodopis, the courtesan, but they are wrong; indeed, it is clear to me that they say this without even knowing who Rhodopis was (otherwise, they would never have credited her with the building of a pyramid on which what I may call an uncountable sum of money was spent), or that Rhodopis flourished in the reign of Amasis, not of Mycerinus; for very many years later than these kings who left the pyramids came Rhodopis, who was Thracian by birth, and a slave of Iadmon son of Hephaestopolis the Samian, and a fellow-slave of Aesop the story-writer. For he was owned by Iadmon, too, as the following made crystal clear: when the Delphians, obeying an oracle, issued many proclamations summoning anyone who wanted it to accept compensation for the killing of Aesop, no one accepted it except the son of Iadmon's son, another Iadmon; hence Aesop, too, was Iadmon's. 135.

“Rhodopis came to Egypt to work, brought by Xanthes of Samos, but upon her arrival was freed for a lot of money by Kharaxus of Mytilene, son of Scamandronymus and brother of Sappho the poetess. Thus Rhodopis lived as a free woman in Egypt, where, as she was very alluring, she acquired a lot of money—sufficient for such a Rhodopis, so to speak, but not for such a pyramid. Seeing that to this day anyone who likes can calculate what one tenth of her worth was, she cannot be credited with great wealth. For Rhodopis desired to leave a memorial of herself in Greece, by having something made which no one else had thought of or dedicated in a temple and presenting this at Delphi to preserve her memory; so she spent one tenth of her substance on the manufacture of a great number of iron beef spits, as many as the tenth would pay for, and sent them to Delphi; these lie in a heap to this day, behind the altar set up by the Chians and in front of the shrine itself. The courtesans of Naucratis seem to be peculiarly alluring, for the woman of whom this story is told became so famous that every Greek knew the name of Rhodopis, and later on a certain Archidice was the theme of song throughout Greece, although less celebrated than the other. Kharaxus, after giving Rhodopis her freedom, returned to Mytilene. He is bitterly attacked by Sappho in one of her poems. This is enough about Rhodopis. 136.

Menkaura triad (Menkaura with two goddesses)

Fifth Dynasty Rulers

The Fifth Dynasty spanned approximately 140 years The Pharaohs that ruled during this Dynasty were:
1) Userkaf (2498 – 2491 B.C.) — Brother to Sahure and possibly Neferirkare Kakai. He elevated to great importance the cult of Re, god of the sun. His marriage to Khentkaues, a descendant of the main branch of the royal family in the 4th dynasty ended dynastic struggles that rival branches had caused during the 4th dynasty. His queen held a prominent position and had her own tomb, known as the unfinished pyramid, built at Giza.
2) Sahure (“2487 – 2477 B.C.) — Brother of Userkaf and possibly Neferirkare Kakai. Early records indicate that he traded outside the Nile Valley with Punt.
3) Neferirkare Kakai (2477 – 2467 B.C.) — May have also been brother to Sahure and Userkaf. There was evidence found linked to his reign that show well-developed accounting methods and record keeping regarding the redistribution of goods and materials between the royal residence, temples, and officials who held priesthoods.
4) Shepseskare Isi (2467 – 2460 B.C.)
5) Neferefre (2460 – 2453 B.C.)
6) Nyuserre Ini (2453 – 2422 B.C.) is best known for his temple to the sun-god Re at Abu Jirab in Lower Egypt. Located near the sun temple, Nyuserre’s burial place is smaller in height and length than the sun temple indicating the unusual prominence of the cult of re during this dynasty.
7) Menkauhor Kaiu (2422 – 2414 B.C.)
8) Djedkare Isesi (2414 – 2375 B.C.)
9) Unas (2375 – 2345 B.C.) See Below. [Source: Cheryl Dawley, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com]

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Neferirkara’s son Raneferef reigned too briefly to complete a pyramid at Abusir; the monument was instead converted into a mastaba. His temple was hastily finished in mud-brick but is nevertheless known for the rich archaeological finds discovered there. Apart from the papyrus archive, royal statuary, statues of prisoners, pottery, stone vessels, seal imprints, faience inlays, and numerous other categories of artifacts—including, moreover, remains of his mummy from the burial chamber of his pyramid—provide us with a detailed picture of his reign. The reign of Raneferef’s brother, Niuserra, marked a major change in aspects of both the society and state. Niuserra’s reign was one of the longest of the Fifth Dynasty and lasted perhaps more than thirty years, as scenes from the sed-feast in his sun temple at Abu Ghurab indicate. The vizier Ptahshepses, a contemporary of the king, built for himself at Abusir a unique tomb complex, adopting architectural elements that had heretofore been exclusively royal.

Similarly, his sons attained high official positions, though not the vizierate, in their own right. It is from this point that one perceives the growing influence of the hereditary principle in the country’s administration. In the tombs of several officials of Niussera’s reign we find the first attestations of the cult of Osiris. As a consequence of the tendencies toward increasing independence in the provinces, Niuserra created the office of “Overseer of Upper Egypt,” whose primary role was to control the country south of Memphis. The king’s activities are attested from Byblos, Sinai, and the Eastern Desert, and he probably also fought Libyan tribes.

Userkaf

During Niussera’s reign the concept of the family tomb came into being, and monumental, multi-chambered, non-royal tombs were now being built and lavishly decorated. Moreover, new motifs appeared in tomb decoration, including market scenes and representations of the desert, the latter possibly an indicator of changing environmental conditions. The available proxy data of the period—e.g., beetles found at Abusir; the long-term drop in Nile flood levels recorded on the Palermo Stone; settlement drift on the island of Elephantine; and recent paleoclimatic studies of climate fluctuations in northeast Africa and of the hydrogeological regime of the Nile River—all suggest that a major climatic deterioration took place around 2200 B.C., known as one of the Holocene Bond events. Recent explorations indicate that Niussera was reasonably active at Giza and paid considerable attention to the completion of earlier, unfinished monuments at Abusir belonging to his father, Neferirkara, his mother, Khentkaus II, and his brother, Raneferef. He himself was the last king to be entombed at Abusir.

After the apparently uneventful and relatively brief rule of Menkauhor, who was buried in Central Saqqara, it was Djedkara Isesi who ascended the throne. As a consequence of the serious centrifugal trends experienced by the previous Fifth-Dynasty central administration,Djedkara was compelled to introduce significant reforms. These included a new policy stipulating that each nomarch was now responsible exclusively for his own nome. Previously, an official held responsibility for several nomes simultaneously. The king moreover established three administrative centers for the control of the most economically important nomes of Upper Egypt: 10, 15, and 20. It was also in Djedkara’s reign that high administrative officials began to be buried in their hometowns, rather than at the royal residence. There are indications that, from this time on, the office of vizier was held by two individuals, one of them only titular, a probable indication of conflict between the king and powerful courtiers. Djedkara’s funerary complex was built at South Saqqara and is known for its unique representations, such as the royal birth scene, a typical component of the Königsnovellein the New Kingdom.

Unas

Unas ( 2375 – 2345 B.C.) was the eighth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Cheryl Dawley wrote: The Pyramid Texts, which relate to the fate of a king in the afterlife, were found in his pyramid. Worship of the sungod peaked during this dynasty. The last 3 pharaohs did not have personal names compounded with “Re”, the name of the sungod. There was a slight shift away from the solar cult that may be linked to the rise of Osiris, god of the dead. For the first time, high officials were chosen from outside the royal family. To secure their positions, these officials sometimes married royal princesses. They depended on the king and used their position for their own agenda. They and the king often appropriated much of the country's surplus for their own benefit. While the pyramids from this period were smaller and less solid, carvings found from mortuary temples are well preserved and of excellent quality. The end of their dynasty saw some officials with strong local ties begin to move their tombs into the Nile Valley and the Delta, symbolizing the growing independence from the royal control.” [Source: Cheryl Dawley, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com]

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Djedkara’s successor, Unas, temporarily tightened his control over the central administration; no nobles are known to have been buried in the provinces. Unas also continued the policy of employing two viziers, both of them now residing in Memphis. Simultaneously he significantly cut the number of mortuary priests officiating in the royal funerary complexes, likely as a consequence of the introduction of the Pyramid Texts in his pyramid. It is probable that these texts, composed of spells, were introduced into the pyramid’s decoration as astrategy to strengthen royal power in the face of the ongoing “status race” between the king and wealthy officials. The primary function of the spells was to ensure the king’s resurrection and his safe journey to, and acceptance into, the realm of the gods. It is mainly due to the presence of the Pyramid Texts that Unas has been identified by some scholars as the first king of the Sixth Dynasty. The recent discovery in his burial chamber of two alabaster blocks showing king Khufu engaged in a hippopotamus hunt shows that Unas dismantled some constructions of his predecessors. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

Little is known about Unas’s political activities, except for his presence at Elephantine, trade contacts with Byblos, possible clashes with bedouins of the Sinai, and limited military incursions into Syria and Palestine, as reflected in two reliefs showing besieged Asiatic settlements. A cylinder seal, inscribed with the Horus name “Djedkara” and bearing a representation of a priest serving in the complexes of both Djedkara and Unas, suggests that there may have been a co-regency of these two kings — probably a strategic measure to ensure stability and continuity during the upcoming Sixth Dynasty.

Teti

Piriform mace head inscribed with the cartouche of Teti

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Teti was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty. It is relatively certain that his mother was queen Sesheshet I. That a degree of instability marked the early stage of his reign is suggested by the ravages of damnatio memoriaeevident in the tombs of a number of dignitaries of his time—the names of their owners erased forever—and by one of his royal names, Seheteptawy, meaning “He Who Pacifies the Two Lands.” Teti ruled for not more than twelve years, as confirmed by the South Saqqara Stone. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

According to a report related by Manetho, an alleged attempt to assassinate the king was successful.Teti’s principal wives included Iput I, daughter of Unas and mother of Pepi I (one can observe here the continuity between the Fifth and the Sixth dynasties), and Khuit, evidently the mother of his ephemeral successor, Userkara. His reign saw the careers of two notable viziers, Kagemni and Mereruka. Both were his sons-in-law, Kagemni having married the king’s daughter Sesheshet Nubkhetnebti and Mereruka having married the king’s daughter Sesheshet Waatetkhethor; thus, in evidence here is a continuation of the Fifth Dynasty policy in which kings married their daughters to influential courtiers of the period. It is significant that the tombs of several of Teti’s officials incurred damnatio memoriae.

Moreover, the presence in his pyramid of Pyramid Texts that were not painted, in contrast to the painted texts in other royal pyramids, together with the fact that Teti’s sarcophagus is still lying on the wooden beams employed to install it, indicate that Teti passed away suddenly and that his burial was necessarily finished in haste—a scenario perhaps lending credence to Manetho’s later report of assassination.The reign of Teti’s successor, Userkara, constituted an insignificant intermezzo of only two to four years, and his rule left no lasting influence on Egypt’s history. It should be noted, however, that his name indicates an attempt to return to Djedefre’s policy of incorporating the name of the sun god Ra in the royal titulary.

Tomb of Teti’s Queen Discovered

In January 2021, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities announced the discovery of the tomb of Teti’s queen — Queen Neit — in the Saqqara necropolis, south of Cairo. The tomb was discovered at a site adjacent to the pyramid of King Teti, tInside the tomb’s funerary temple were a variety of burial goods, burial shafts, coffins and mummies. [Source: CBS News, January 19, 2021]

"The excavation started in 2010, when we discovered a pyramid of a queen next to the pyramid of King Teti, but we didn't find a name inside the pyramid to tell us who the pyramid belonged to," leading Egyptologist and former minister of antiquities Dr. Zahi Hawass told CBS News. In late 2020, archaeologists discovered a funerary temple, and later found Queen Neit’s name carved on a wall in the temple and also written on a fallen obelisk in the entrance to her tomb. "I'd never heard of this queen before. Therefore, we add an important piece to Egyptian history, about this queen," said Hawass, who heads the archaeological mission. He said the recent discoveries would help "rewrite" the history of ancient Egypt.

Hawass’s team also discovered 52 burial shafts, each around 30 to 40 feet deep, inside of which they found have more than 50 wooden coffins dating back to the New Kingdom, around 3,000 years ago. The team also found a papyrus about 13 feet long and three feet wide, on which Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead is written in hieroglyphics, with the name of its owner recorded on it. The Book of the Dead is an ancient manuscript that explains how to navigate through the afterlife to reach the field of the Aaru — paradise, to ancient Egyptians.

“Other finds from the site include numerous wooden funerary masks, a shrine dedicated to the god Anubis (Guardian of the Cemetery), statues of Anubis, and games that were buried with the dead, to keep them busy in the afterlife. One of them was a game called "Twenty," found with its owner's name still visibly written on it. Another game, called "Senet" (cross), was found in the shafts. It's similar to chess, but if the deceased player wins, they go safely into the afterlife.

Pepi I

Pepi I (also known as Pepy I, Piopi I, Phiops I) was the first king of the 6th dynasty. He was the most aggressive Old Kingdom pharaoh. His armies conquered the Nubians in the south and the sand-dwelling Libyans in the west. Pepi I married Ankhesenpepi II and died young. Ankhesenpepi II married her nephew and gave birth to Pepi II. The Pyramid of Pepi I contains the most complete set of tomb texts in Egypt. Dating to 2300 B.C., they took 20 years to reassemble. In the tombs of Princess Idut, Maya and Teti there is evidence of images being erased and replaced with new images, which some scholars believe to be evidence of murder.

Pepi must have been a mighty monarch, for memorials of him are found throughout Egypt, as well as in various mines and quarries. He erected buildings both at Denderah and at Tanis, and yet it appears that in his time there was a decentralization of the government; this may have been owing to political events at the time of the rise of the 6th dynasty. Formerly the great men, although they can scarcely all have resided in the capital, were buried together in the Memphite city of the dead, but at this time other burial-places in the country began to be used. Many princely families were laid to rest near their homes and others of exceptional piety erected their tombs on the sacred soil of Abydos near the grave of Osiris. An inscription tells us of a great campaign, which Pepy carried on against the Syrian Bedouins, [Source: Life in Ancient Egypt by Adolph Erman, 1894]

Pepi I Murder and kidnaping may have been practiced in the ancient Egyptians court. Based on the reading of hieroglyphics and way figures in tomb were erased and replaced with new ones, some scholars think that a vizier named Ihy, who lived around 2230 B.C., was killed by a mysterious outsider and married the daughter of King Unas and became King Teti, who in turn is believed to have been murdered by Ihy’s son who became Pepi I

According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: “He rose to the throne at a very young age and ruled for approximately 50 years. The capitol's name, Memphis, was derived from Pepi I's funerary monument. During the early part of his reign, the nobles outside his court began to gain influence and wealth by building fine tombs for themselves and boasting of privileges they had as friends of the king. There was a conspiracy against Pepi I that was formulted by one of his wives, Weret-Imtes, but it was foiled. Pepi I sent out various expeditions to bring back fine stone for building projects and although Pepi I built a pyramid for himself, it has not withstood time well. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Userkara was succeeded by Pepi I, the son of Teti and Queen Iput. Indications point towards a conflict between Pepi I and the family of Teti. Pepi I ordered the dismantling of the complex of his grandmother, Queen Sesheshet, the mother of Teti, reusing the blocks in his own complex. He also added the epithet “Daughter of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt” posthumously to his mother’s name (Iput) and thus made explicit his adherence to the Fifth Dynasty royal line. That the early reign of Pepi I was not free of problems may also be perceived in the writing of his Horus name, “Beloved of the Two Lands,” which contains a subtle message: The sign for “beloved” is atypically placed before, rather than after, the sign for “The Two Lands”—that is to say, Egypt—perhaps indicating the symbolic dependence of the king on his country, represented locally by powerful officials. This detail is a minute, yet heretofore unheard of, feature of the king’s titulary. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

Reign Pepi I and His Successors

During the early part of Pepi I's reign, the nobles outside his court began to have great influence and wealth in the political relations of Ancient Egypt. They built fine tombs for themselves and often times boasted of their good relations with the king. Pepi I, however, was not a pharaoh free from problems. One of Pepi I's wives, Weret-Imtes, attempted to take the throne from him. Pepi I, was also an avid builder of pyramids, and went on many expeditions to bring back fine stones for such large scale projects.”

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Some contemporary sources indicate that Pepi I reverted to a coregency with Merenra (who was later to succeed him), perhaps in an attempt to secure stability and continuity within the family . Court intrigue was a feature of Pepi I’s reign, as it was of the reign of his father, Teti. Reports of high official Weni’s investigation into an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the king show that Pepi I was apparently the target of a harem conspiracy initiated by one of his wives. The fate of the king’s opponents is not known. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

Pepi I’s reign was long, probably more than fifty years, and witnessed significant changes, one of them being the replacement of his Horus name, Nefersahor, with “Meryra” (“Beloved of Ra”). The replacement applied even to his Pyramid Texts, the change evidently having been made during his lifetime. Moreover, Pepi I emphatically expressed his veneration for Atum of Heliopolis and Hathor of Dendera, labeling himself as their son.

autobiography of Weni from Abydos

Pepi I’s pyramid complex at South Saqqara, Men-nefer-Pepi, “Enduring is the Beauty of Pepi,” gave the name to the capital of Egypt, Men-nefer (the Greek “Memphis”), which at that time existed east of the complex. It is in Pepi I’s reign that the official titulary of the Egyptian king finally assumed its standard form. The king took in marriage two daughters of the Abydos dignitary Khui, evidently as a strategy to retain (or regain) control over southern Egypt. They are known respectively by their royal names, AnkhenesPepi I and II. Their brother, the dignitary Djau, became vizier, probably as a consequence of the union between the royal family and the Abydos family of influential local dignitaries. In addition to these marriages, Pepi I is known to have taken at least six other wives, as eight pyramid-complexes of royal wives stand close to his own mortuary complex and were the foci of cults that endured for several generations. It is at this point that the Pyramid Texts lose their exclusivity, no longer being the prerogative of the king but now also appearing in the queens’ pyramids.

Pepi I’s successor, Nemtyemsaf Merenra, was the son of Queen Ankhenespepi I. After his succession to the throne, Merenra married AnkhenesPepi II, former wife of Pepi I. She was to become the mother of Pepi II. Merenra’s rule is marked by the emergence and development of numerous local necropoleis of high officials in the provinces south of Memphis, the most important of which were Elephantine, Qubbet el-Hawa, Edfu, Hierakonpolis, Dendera, Abydos, El-Hagarsa, El-Hawawish, El-Hammamiyeh, Deir el-Gebrawi, Meir, Quseir el-Amarna, Sheikh Said, and also Balat in the Dakhla Oasis. These provincial tombs (with the exception of those at Balat) were rock-cut and architecturally very different from the mastabas in the residential cemeteries. Their abundance reflects the fact that many local centers were politically active in Egypt during Merenra’s reign, though most of the related settlements have not been attested archaeologically.After the relatively short reign of Nemtyemsaf Merenra, Pepi II acceded to the throne, and the possibility of a coregency between Pepi II and Merenra cannot be excluded.

Queen Ankhnespepi II

Queen Ankhnespepi II was among the most powerful female leaders of Egypt’s Old Kingdom. She was married to two kings of the Sixth Dynasty — Pepi I and Merenre — and served as regent when her son Pepi II became king at the age of six. [Source: Daniel Weiss, Archaeology magazine, January-February 2018]

Archaeology magazine reported: discoveries by the Swiss-French archaeological mission at the Saqqara necropolis are providing further evidence of her importance. The team has found what appear to be the top portions of the two obelisks that would have stood at the entrance to the queen’s funerary temple. Both measure 3.5 feet on a side, and the larger is around eight feet tall, making it the largest Old Kingdom obelisk fragment yet discovered and indicating that the full obelisk would have stood more than 16 feet tall. Notably, the obelisks were made of granite, which was usually reserved for kings.

“The team, led by Philippe Collombert of the University of Geneva, also found a wooden statue head whose stylistic features — thin cheeks, large circular earrings — suggest it dates to the New Kingdom, though there are no wealthy graves from that period in the area. There is a very slight chance the head could represent Queen Ankhnespepi II, says Collombert. Radiocarbon dating will, he hopes, help find the answer.

Weni

Weni was arguably the most influential military figure in Ancient Egypt. According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: “General Weni was important to Ancient Egypt because he organized the army of Pepi I during the Old Kingdom so successfully that the organization lasted into the New Kingdom. He lived during the 6th Dynasty and originally served under Pepi I, who ruled from 2289-2255 B.C. He also served under Pepi I’s successor, Nemtyemzaf. He became Commander in Chief of the army while Pepi I was the Pharaoh. He was a genius in tactics and defense. He fought many campaigns and is the first person other than a pharaoh to be depicted leading the army into battle. His leadership in battles renewed the Egyptian military spirit. He led an attack against the Sinai Bedouins amongst many other campaigns. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

“Weni reorganized the army into battalions with a core of professional soldiers. Scribes and administrators also followed the army on campaigns. Weni trained his soldiers to be aggressive rather than to be defensive. He also included Nubian warriors in the army. While serving under Nemtyemzaf, Weni became the governor of Upper Egypt. While governor, he made many improvements that benefited the military, such as digging a groups of channels alongside the Nile at the First Cataract. +\

“General Weni also wrote his own autobiography. Battles in Palestine were fought to gain a buffer zone along the Isthmus of Suez. Once, when Weni was sent to repel raiding nomads, he wrote that he had to gather many recruits, including Nubians and then organize them in such a way that quarrel with each other or steal from communities along the way to the battle. He wrote extensively about the planning he did, but gives no details of the actual battle. He only says that they returned in peace after ravaging the land of the Sand-Dwellers. Weni went on a total of five missions to the land of the Sand-Dwellers.” +\

Pepi II

young Pepi II with his mother Ankhnesmeryrell

Pepi II (also known as Pepy II, Piopi II or Phiops II) was Pepi’s successor. He assumed the throne when he was eight years old and his reign was the longest in Egyptian history and proved to be important for the country's future. His elder brother, the pharaoh Merenra, reigned for only a few years and died suddenly. According to tradition, he to the age of 100 and ruled for 96 years. On a carved relief describing Pepi II's military victories were the names of the same Libyan chiefs that were listed 200 years before on the victory reliefs of King Sahure.

When Pepi II was young his mother Ankhesenpepi II ruled as his regent. She was the most powerful woman in the Old Kingdom and is regarded as a precursor of Cleopatra. It is very likely that Ankhesenpepi II and Pepi II's uncle ruled Egypt, not the pharaoh himself. The kingdom began to decline under weak leadership during Pepi II’s rule. Royal coffers shrunk, noblemen paid lip service to the pharaoh and amassed wealth for themselves, and the kingdom began to decline. Pepi II's pyramid was finished when he was 30 and the 60 years of rule that followed was characterized by six decades of corruption. After his death in 2150 B.C., the Old Kingdom came to an end.

Miroslav Bárta wrote: Pepi II became the ruler whom Egyptologists traditionally associate with the official end of the Old Kingdom and the Sixth Dynasty, around 2150 B.C.. A short inscription found on the island of Elephantine indicates, through its mention of the second anniversary of his sed festival, that his rule was a lengthy one of at least 60 years. There are claims that he ruled for up to 90 years, but the figure of 60 years would certainly seem more realistic. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

Pepi II and the Dwarf

When eight-year-old Pepi II heard that one his donkey caravans had brought back a pygmy from Africa he wrote, "Come north to the residence at once! Hurry and bring with you this Pygmy whom you brought from the land of the horizon dwellers...When he goes down with you into the ship, get worthy men to be around on deck, lest he fall into the water! When he lies down at night, get worthy men to lie around him in his tent. Inspect ten times at night!" [Source: David Roberts, National Geographic, January 1995]

There are many surviving inscriptions from the Sixth Dynasty pertaining to trade expeditions to the south into Nubia (Sudan). One, describes a latter by a caravan leader named Harkhuf to nine-year-old Pepi II about a dancing dwarf he was bringing back to Egypt. The following is the letter Pepi wrote back:[Source: Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com]

“You have said in your letter that you have come down in safety from Yam with the army and brought many beautiful gifts which Hathor, Lady of Yamu, has given to the King of Upper and Lower Egypt. You also say in this letter that you have brought a dwarf of divine dances from the land of the horizon-dwellers. Like the dwarf whom the Treasurer of the God, Baurded, brought from Punt in the time of King Isesi. You say to my Majesty, Never before has one like him been brought by any other who has visited Yam.

“Each year you do what your lord desires – spending day and night with the caravan. Now come northward at once to the Court. You must bring the dwarf, alive, sound and well to rejoice and gladden the heart of the King of Upper and Lower Egypt. When he comes down with you into the ship, appoint reliable people who shall be beside him on each side of the vessel and take care lest he should fall into the water. When he sleeps at night, appoint trustworthy people who shall sleep beside him. Inspect him ten times a night because my Majesty desires to see this dwarf more than the all products of Sinai and Punt.

“If you arrive at the Court and the dwarf is with you, alive, and well, my Majesty will make you many excellent honours to be an ornament for the son of your son for ever. All the people will say when they hear what my Majesty does for you: “Is there anything like this which was done for the privy counsellor Harkhuf, when he came down from Yam.”

Reign of Pepi II

dancing dwarf

According to Minnesota State University, Mankato: “During Pepi II's reign there was a shift of power from the king to the nomarchs. Pepi II gave gifts to the nomarchs which increased their treasuries and emptied his. It is likely that foreign interests accelerated the collapse of the 6th Dynasty and Pepi II was the last king of this dynasty. After Pepi II's death, the central government collapsed and the Old Kingdom ended. [Source: Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com +]

Pepi II was Pepi I's brother. “His reign began after his brother's Pepi I's ended which he assumed at the age of eight. Over all, his reign over Egypt was not terribly beneficial to the country. During Pepi II's reign, power mildly shifted from the pharaoh to the nomarchs. Pepi II, often gave gifts to the nomarch's which increased their treasures, but depleted the treasury of the pharaoh. It is in this light, that the interests of the nomarchs, as well as the threat of foreign interests, accelerated the eventual collapse of the 6th Dynasty. After Pepi II's death, the central government collapsed, and the Old Kingdom ended. +\

Miroslav Bárta wrote: The reign of Pepi II was marked by administrative reforms, which can tentatively be divided into three stages. During the first half of his rule the office of the vizier was held by members of the dignitary Khui’s family in Abydos. This was clearly a continuation of the policy put in effect under Pepi I, who married two daughters of that family. [Source: Miroslav Bárta, head of the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Abusir Mission, UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2017]

In years 25-35 of Pepi II’s reign, the office of Overseer of Upper Egypt, held by a single individual, was abolished; rather, from then on the title was applicable to all the nomarchs of southern Egypt, who were now subordinated to a “Vizier of the South.” In the final stage of Pepi II’s rule the nomarchs also assumed the office of Overseer of Priests, which indicates that they had succeeded in combining the powers of both the administration and the priesthood under their control. These shifts in the administrative structure of the country suggest that the state was incessantly changing its strategy in governing remote provinces in the south. On the other hand, that these measures were in fact implemented uniformly indicates that the state did exercise a substantial degree of executive power. Supportive texts from the time of Merenra describe an expedition, led by Merenra himself, to the southern border of Egypt, the region of what is now Aswan. Here the king met with chiefs of the Nubian tribes of Ircet, Medjat, and Wawat to receive theirhomage and tribute.

Significantly, at the end of Pepi II’s reign and probably earlier, Khui, the local chief of Abydos (the 13th Upper Egyptian nome), began to insert his name in a royal cartouche, indicating that he considered himself an autocratic ruler. Moreover, he had himself buried at the site of present-day Dara in a tomb that conspicuously resembles a pyramid. Khui brought under his authority the provincial administrative and religious centers at Meir andDeir el-Gebrawi (nomes 8, 12, and 14), formerly governed by local noble families. If the duration of Khui’s career is correctly dated, this constitutes proof that the royal office—its symbolism and its incontestability—was unprecedentedly challenged already during the reign of Pepi II.

During his very long reign of at least 60 years, Pepi II took a large number of wives, who gave him a large number of offspring and potential male aspirants to the throne. Following his reign came a period of instability, marked by frequently changing rulers who represent the Seventh Dynasty.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, escholarship.org ; Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Egypt sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Tour Egypt, Minnesota State University, Mankato, ethanholman.com; Mark Millmore, discoveringegypt.com discoveringegypt.com; Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated July 2024