Sixth Dynasty - 2323-2152 BCE

All kings of the 6th dynasty, except for Merenre II and Nitocris, are attested by archaeological sources. Merenre II and Nitocris are only known through the king-lists and Manetho. No known monuments give there names and they are not even mentioned in inscriptions of high officials.

Because the king-lists often give Merenre II the same titulary as Merenre I, it is believed that at least his titulary may be the result of a mistake.

The Turin King-list makes a summation of regnal years for the first five dynasties, before listing the kings of the 6th through 8th dynasties. This may suggest that with the 6th Dynasty, a new royal house came to power. The relationship between the founder of the 6th Dynasty and his predecessor is debated. It is believed by some that he was married to his predecessor's daughter.

From a cultural point of view, the 6th Dynasty is the continuation of the end of the 5th Dynasty. The kings continued to commission pyramids for their mortuary cult.

The pyramids and mortuary temples of this period are of a standard size and basically have the same layout.

The burial chamber, antechamber and entrance corridor of these pyramids are inscribed with Pyramid Texts, following the example set by Unas of the 5th Dynasty.

Most kings of the 6th Dynasty also chose to build their funerary monument in Saqqara and here too they were following the example of the last two kings of the 5th Dynasty.

Governmental reforms were intended to strengthen the residence's hold on the rest of the country. It is often claimed that the policy of instating local governors in the provinces eventually caused the downfall of this dynasty and of the Old Kingdom.

It can indeed be noted that during the 1st Intermediate Period, the power of these local rulers appears to have increased, to the detriment of the central government.

The long reign of Pepi II is also often considered the cause of the end of the Old Kingdom.

In this view, the elderly king's court was the stage of intrigue and plot, with different members of the royal family and some high ranking officials conspiring to get a grasp on the government.

It must, however, be noted that there is no evidence to support this "romantic" fantasy. Even if the ageing Pepi II were unable to rule the country by himself, the central administration was organised well enough to govern in his place.

It is believed more and more that changes in climate and a lower inundation of the Nile are likely to have played an important part in the downfall of the dynasty.



Teti - "He Who Pacifies The Two Lands" - 2323-2291 B.C.

Manetho considered Teti as the founder of a new dynasty, a tradition which may go back at least as far as the composition of the Turin King-list, where Teti is listed as the first of a new group of kings.

Most of his reign was not documented. According to Manetho, an Egyptian historian of the third century BC, Teti was murdered by his body guards.

Teti's internal policy appears to have been directed at stabilising the power of the central government, thus countering a move towards more power for the local administration started under the reign of Djedkare.

Teti sent his army several times into southern Canaan under Wenis, a long lived official who served also under Pepi I and Merenre. After a conspiracy in the royal household, Weni was appointed to try the case. His embattled vizier Fefi (Meref-nebef), whose grave has just been discovered, held power over the finances as head of the administration.

He issued a decree in favor of the temple of Abydos. Teti granted more lands to Abydos and his name was inscribed in Hatnub. He is the oldest known king to be associated with the cult of Hathor in Dendara.

Teti built a pyramid in Saqqara which is called by modern Egyptians the "Prison Pyramid". His pyramid on a spot in North Saqqara, north-east of Userkaf's pyramid. Originally 172 ft (52.5 m) high, it slumped to little more than a rubble mound when the outer casing was robbed in antiquity. His pyramid was discovered in 1853 by Mariette.

Inside, there is a steep pathway that leads to the funerary chamber. The chamber ceiling is decorated with stars. The layout mimics that used by Unas. When it was discovered, it was found that the basalt sarcophagus was inscribed with a band of Pyramid Texts, the first time such a thing had been seen. The walls had been likewise decorated, but these reliefs were not in as good condition as they had been in Unas's pyramid.

During the early Middle Kingdom and the 19th Dynasty, Teti's memory was especially honoured as "Teti, beloved of Ptah".

Egyptologists discovered a statue of him made of black and pink granite, which is located at the Egyptian museum.

His wife, Queen Ipwet, is the daughter of King Unas who was the last king of the 5th Dynasty. She was the mother of Teti's heir, King Pepi I. Historians believe that she is the one that gave him the royal power. Almost all the major court officials of King Wenis remained in power during Teti's reign.

His daughter, Watet-khet-her, also named Sasheshet, may have been married to Mereruka, who held the office of vizier. The Mastaba of Mereruka is located in Saqqara.



PEPI I - MERYRE - "Beloved of Re" - 2289-2255 B.C.

The son of Teti and Queen Ipwet was the third king of the 6th Dynasty.

The internal policy of Pepi I was a continuation of his father's attempts to consolidate the power of the central government. This is demonstrated not only by his marriage to two daughters of a nobleman from Abydos, but also by the extensive building policy of this king. Monuments were erected in Bubastis, Abydos, Elephantine and Dendara. In Dendara, his memory would be preserved by a now lost statue that shows him adoring Hathor, as shown in a few reliefs in the temple from the Greek-Roman era.

An innovative leader, Pepi took the offensive military role. He attacked the Bedouins in Sinai and southern Palestine. He also led a campaign in Nubia to establish garrisons and trading posts. Trade relations with Byblos were flourishing and Punt in the Horn of Africa was frequently reached.

He had to enlist the support of noblemen from Upper Egypt in order to defeat a usurper and Upper Egyptians came to play an important part in his administration.

He married two of his vizier's sisters, and Uni, a close advisor, led Nubian troops against the Bedouins in Sinai and southern Canaan. His first wife disappeared soon after she was discovered in a harem plot to overthrow the throne. Afterwards he married two daughters of a nomarch and named them both Ankhnesmeryre. One of them was the mother of Pepi II.

His funerary complex, called Men-nefer, was built at Saqqara South, a few kilometres to the South of his father's. It was built at some distance from the temple of Ptah of Memphis. Its name would be transferred to this temple from the 18th Dynasty on, and from there on would be applied to the entire city of Memphis.

Copper statues of Pepi were discovered in Hierakonpolis, and are on display in the Cairo Museum.

Pepi I moved his pyramid site to South Saqqara. It is probable that all the land in North and Central Saqqara was now occupied. Originally the same height as Teti's (172 ft / 52.5 m), it is now a rubble mound about 39 ft (12 m) high, the result of the core collapsing following the robbing of the outer casing. In the centre of this mound is a large crater, dug by stone robbers looking for building materials.

Inside the pyramid, it is similar to Teti�s, the principal difference being that the Pyramid Texts had expanded to cover most of the walls, not just the end of the corridor, antechamber and burial chamber.

Interestingly, the canopic chest survived, and a packet of viscera, presumably belonging to Pepi I, was found nearby. The sarcophagus was covered inside and out with Pyramid Texts.

To the south of the pyramid, an inscription made by Khaemwaset, the same man who had restored Unas's pyramid, was found in 1993.



MERENRE NEMTYEMZAF - 2255 - 2246 - "Beloved of Re"

This copper statue, found with a much larger copper statue of Pepi I, has long been assumed to be of Merenre and a boy or young man. However, it has been questioned lately whether it is instead a statue of Pepi II. These are believed to be the oldest, large copper statues ever found, but some are now questioning whether the statue of the boy is actually that of Merenre, or rather a young Pepi II.

There is also a very small sphinx of Merenre in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Merenre I was the oldest surviving son of Pepi I and Ankhenesmerire II, the Ankhenesmerire that Pepi I married during the second half of his reign. [There was a much later king by the same name]. He is sometimes referred to as Merenra. His birth name was Nemty-em-sa-f, which means, "Nemty is his Protection". His Horus name was Ankh-khau.

He had a daughter, Iput II, but the name of the mother of this child is not known.

Merenre, sometimes referred to as Merenre I as there was a much later king by the same name, was the third ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty.

As the oldest living son of Pepi I, he succeeded his father, we believe, at a fairly young age, and probably died unexpectedly young, perhaps between his fifth and ninth year of rule.� He was succeeded by his younger half brother, Pepi II.

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt places the years he ruled as 2287-2278 BC while Chronicle of the Pharaohs gives him from 2283 until 2278.

Merenre was this king's throne name, which means "Beloved of Re". He is sometimes also referred to as Merenra. His birth name was Nemty-em-sa-f, which means, "Nemty is his Protection". His Horus name was Ankh-khau.

His mother was Ankhnesmerire I (Ankhesenpepi I), who, along with her younger sister by the same name, married Pepi I in the later part of his rule. Labrousse, who's team is excavating in South Saqqara where Merenre's pyramid is located, now believes that Ankhnesmerire II (Ankhesenpepi II), married Merenre.

She was a late wife of Pepi I, Merenre's father, and by him, the mother of Pepi II, Merenre's half brother.� She may have not been as old, or much older then Merenre, but sometimes working out relationships is interesting. Not only would she be Merenre's queen, but also his stepmother and aunt.

Pepi II would not only be his half brother and his cousin, but also his stepson. In addition, the Labrousse team excavating at Saqqara now believes that a Queen Ankhnesmerire III (Ankhesenpepi III) who's pyramid is located very near Pepi I's was a daughter of Merenre, and became the wife of Pepi II.

Lets see. That would make her Pepi II's wife, niece and if Ankhnesmerire II was her mother, also his half sister. He had another daughter named Ipwet (Iput II) who's pyramid is also in the South Saqqqara pyramid field.

Merenre may have served as his father's coregent for a few years prior to Pepi I's death. Uni (Wenis), who had worked under Pepi I, continued to make expeditions, and the governor of Aswan, Harkhuf, also led expeditions into Africa.

Around, his ninth regnal year, Merenre himself visited Aswan to receive a group of southern chieftains. It is interesting to note that this was a time when new people, who archaeologists refer to as the Nubian C Group, were migrating from the south into northern Nubia.

Because of the growing relationship with Nubia during this period, Merenre also attempted to improve travel in the first cataract region which was navigated by way of the Dunqul Oasis and canals.

The Nubian rulers are said to have helped by supplying the wood needed to construct the barges. (Since there was no wood in Lower Nubia, they would have had to procure it from sources much farther south).

At the same time the Lower Nubian rulers seem also to have profited greatly by sending their fighting men to Egypt for hire.

By the end of the Old Kingdom (ca. 2150 BC), the Egyptian armies were mainly composed of Nubian mercenaries, many of whom would ultimately settle in Egypt, marry Egyptian women, and become assimilated into the Egyptian population.

During the Old Kingdom, Egyptian texts speak of a land in Upper Nubia called "Yam." Besides troops from "Wawat, Irtjet, and Setju" (Lower Nubia), troops from Yam, too, were hired for service in the Egyptian army.

The only source that provides any real information about Yam is a biography of the Aswan governor, Harkhuf, preserved in his tomb at Aswan. Harkhuf tells us that, on behalf of the pharaohs Merenre and Pepi II, he led four expeditions to Yam, each of which took eight months.

It is believed that during his reign, Merenre not only continued his his fathers policies in northern (lower) Nubia, but actually sent officials to maintain Egyptian rule as far south as the third cataract.

We are told that the conquest of Nubia resulted from the control of the caravan routes and the Western Oasis that relied on trade. Three were successive expeditions to Tomas in Nubia, which connected the Nile to the caravan routs.

Merenre, like his predecessors, maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Byblos, and we know from inscriptions and tomb biographies that he had alabaster quarried from Hatnub and greywacke and siltstone from Wadi Hammamat.

Merenre is further attested to by a Box (Hippopotamus ivory) in Paris, Louvre Museum, a rock inscriptions near Aswan, the inscriptions on an ivory mother monkey that was probably a gift to an official, decrees of the king found at the pyramid temple of Menkawre and in biographies of Uni (Weni) in his tomb at Abydos, Djaw from his tomb also at Abydos, The tomb of Harkhuf at Elephantine, The tomb of Ibi at Deir el-Gabrawi, the Tomb of Qar at Edfu, and an unknown persons tomb at Saqqara.�

He is also mentioned in an inscription in the tomb of Maru at Giza (though this inscription is now in Brussels).

Recently another inscription has also been found by a Polish team that mentions Merenre on a rock wall at Deir el-Bahari on the West Bank at Luxor (ancient Thebes).

Merenre was probably buried in his pyramid at South Saqqara, though apparently because of his unexpected death, this pyramid was not yet completed.

Until fairly recently, it was believed that the first ever mummy was that of Merenre I, though in reality the mummy found in his pyramid may not have been that of Merenre.

Nevertheless, in 1997, excavations began at Hierakonopolis revealing a large predyanstic cemetery full of older mummies. However, if the mummy is indeed that of Merenre, it would remain the oldest know royal mummy.

The mummy discovered by Gaston Maspero in 1881, while working at the pyramid of Merenre I at Saqqara South, presents us with somewhat of a problem with regard to its identification.

Based on the place where it was discovered, in the black granite sarcophagus inside the pyramid, it has been identified as belonging to Merenre I. If this identification is correct, this mummy would be the oldest complete royal mummy known to us today.

An important part of the problem is the fact that the current whereabouts of the mummy are unknown, making it impossible to examine it with more modern tools and equipment than was available in the late 19th and the early 20th century.

Pyramid of Merenre



Pepi II - PEPY II - PIOPI II - PHIOPS II - NEFERKARE - "Beautiful is the Soul of Re"


According to tradition, Pepi II was the last ruler of Egypt's 6th Dynasty, and in fact the last significant ruler of the Old Kingdom prior to the onset of what Egyptologists call the First Intermediate Period.

According to the Turin King-list, he ruled for over 90 years, which appears to be confirmed by Manetho, who recorded 94 years. This would make Pepi II the longest ruling king of Ancient Egypt. Some doubt has however been shed on this high number, and some researchers believe that it was the result of a miss-reading of 64.

However, because of the onset of the First Intermediate Period, the latter part of his reign was probably ineffectual, perhaps at least somewhat due to his advanced age.

His mother was Ankhnesmerire II (Ankhesenpepi), who was the sister of his older brother, Merenre and probably acted as Pepi II's regent during his youth. She may have probably been assisted by her brother, Djau, who was a vizier.

An alabaster statue shows Queen Ankhnesmeryre I with the young but regal Pepi II on her lap, somewhat reminiscent of Isis with the young Horus.

Another statue, shows Pepi II as a naked child.

After Pepi I's death, she seems to have married Merenre. He had a number of wives. These included Neith, the daughter of Pepi I and Ankenesmerire I and Ipwet (Ipu II), the daughter of his brother Merenre.

There is some confusion here, because we are told that he also married Ankenesmerire III, who was another daughter of Merenre, possibly by his mother Ankhenesmerire II.

A final wife that we know of was Udjebten (or Wedjebten).

Pepi ll probably had at least one son named for his brother, Merenre.

Pepi II continued foreign relations in a very similar manner to both his predecessors of the 5th and 6th Dynasties and even developed new links with southern Africa.

He maintained diplomatic and commercial relations with Byblos in ancient Syria/Palestine. However, we also learn of an incident where Pepi had to send Pepynakht (Heqaib) to bring back the body of an official who was killed on a mission in the area of Byblos.

In Nubia, Pepi sought a policy of pacification. We know of several trips and campaigns made south into Nubia both by Harkhuf, and his successor, Pepynakht. In fact, these powerful local governors managed to control Nubia long after the death of Pepi II form their base in Elephantine (near modern Aswan)

Pepi II appears to have been fascinated with some of these travels, particularly by his fathers old retainer, Harkhuf, governor of Aswan. One interesting account concerns a pygmy secured by Harkhuf on one of his African adventures. When Pepi II learned of this he wrote Harkhuf a letter that Harkhuf later incorporated into his funerary autobiography:

You have said...that you have brought a pygmy of the god's dances from the land of the horizon-dwellers, like the pygmy whom the god's seal-bearer Bawerded brought from Punt in the time of King Isesi.  You have said to my majesty that his like has never been brought by anyone who went to Yam previously...Come north to the residence at once! Hurry and bring with you this pygmy whom you brought from the land of the horizon-dwellers live, hail and healthy, for the dances of the god, to gladden the heart, to delight the heart of King Neferkare who lives forever! When he goes down with you into the ship, get worthy men to be around him on deck, least 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! My majesty desires to see this pygmy more than the gifts of the mine-land and of Punt! When you arrive at the residence and this pygmy is with you live, hale and healthy, my majesty will do great things for you, more than was done for the god's seal-bearer. Bawerded in the time of King Isesi.

Pepi II continued long established mining practices. We know from an inscription that turquoise and copper continued to be mined at Wadi Maghara in the Sinai. Alasbaster was quarried at Hatnub and Greywacke and siltsone from Wadi Hammamat.

However, some scenes attributable to Pepi II may be ritualistic. For example, one scene depicting the submission of Libyan chiefs during his reign is a close copy of representations in the mortuary temples of Sahura, Niuserra and Pepi I.

Some Egyptologists believe that such scenes are more symbolic expressions of the achievements of the ideal king and bore little resemblance to the reality.

Some would have us believe that the First Intermediate Period, a time of decline in Egyptian power, was bought on by low inundation of the Nile and crop failure. This is mostly because they believe Pepi II's mortuary complex was built and decorated in a much poorer manner then his predecessors. It his possible that this may have been a contributing factor.

However, during Pepi II's reign, we find increasing evidence of the power and wealth of high officials in Egypt, with decentralization of control away from the capital, Memphis. These nobles built huge, elaborate tombs at Cause, Akhmin, Abydos, Edfu and Elephantine, and it is clear that their wealth enhanced their status to the detriment of the king's. Because the positions of these officials was now hereditary, they now owned considerable land which was passed from father to son. Therefore, their allegiance and loyalty to the throne became very casual as their wealth gave them independence from the king. Administration of the country became difficult and so it was� Pepi II� who divided the position of vizier so that now there was a vizier of Upper Egypt and another of Lower Egypt. Yet� the power of these local rulers continued to flourish as the king grew ever older, and probably less of an able ruler.

Foreign relations, particularly concerning Nubia, were also a drain on Pepi II' treasury. In fact, in the latter part of Pepi II's rule, some foreign relations were actually broken off. Hence, we see that towards the end of his reign, the government of Egypt simply unraveled.

Long reigns have proven to create succession problems.� As powerful as Ramesses II was, his successors likewise had problems because of their advanced age when they themselves ascended to the throne. Hence, we find that Pepi II may have been succeeded by a son, Merenre II, but perhaps for only one year. According to Manetho, he was married to a Queen Nitocris, who succeeded her husband to become the last ruler of the 6th Dynasty. However, very little archaeological evidence of Merenre II or Nitocris exists. Merenre II's mother would have probably been Neith. After Pepi II, the marvelous building projects ceased almost entirely until the reign of Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty.�

A temple at Abydos may have been a ka-chapel built by Pepi II. His pyramid and mortuary complex are located in South Saqqara. Most (if not all) of his wife's smaller pyramids have been discovered nearby.�

Pepi II is further attested to by a Calcite statuette of the young king and his mother, now in the Brooklyn Museum of Art, a decree of the king found at the mortuary temple of Menkawre, a decree found at Abydos, and three decrees at Koptos (Coptos).

One inscription, now in Cairo, records his Sed festival and another inscription is has been found in Iput II's mortuary temple. The king was further mentioned in the biography of Djau (now in Cairo) in his tomb in Abydos and is mentioned in the tomb of Ibi at Deir el-Gabrawi.

Smaller items attesting to Pepi II include faience plaque from various places mentioning both his first and second Sed festival, a calcite vessels attributed to his reign, an Ivory headrest inscribed with his full titles and several objects found at Byblos.�


Scene From Pepi's Valley Temple


Pepi ll's Pyramid


The South Saqqara Mound Mystery



MERENRE ll

Pepi II is followed in the king-lists by Merenre II, sometimes also called Nemtimsaf II. If the name of Nemtimsaf II was indeed Merenre, this would make him indistinguishable from Merenre I, so it is generally believed that the name Merenre has been given to Nemtimsaf II by mistake. Merenre II is only known through king-lists, among which the Turin King-list, that credits him with a reign of slightly more than 1 year. He is assumed to have been a son of Pepi II. He was perhaps married to Nitocris, who may have been his sister.



NITOCRIS

Nitocris is not attested by any contemporary source: no decrees, no building projects and not even a mention in some highly placed official's biography. She is, however, mentioned in the Turin King-list, by the Greek traveller Herodotos and by Manetho, which may indeed confirm her existence.

According to Manetho, Nitocris constructed the "third pyramid". It is generally assumed that he meant the third pyramid of Giza, which has been built by Mykerinos. He may have confounded the name of Mykerinos (Men-kaw-re) with Nitocris' probable prenomen, Men-ka-re, which is mentioned in some of the king-lists.

Still according to Manetho, Nitocris has come to power when her brother was murdered. She took it upon herself to have her brother's murderers punished.






DYNASTIES 7-10

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