The Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and the Pharoahs of Old Kingdom

ORIGIN OF OLD KINGDOM

The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley (the others being Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom).

The term Old Kingdom, coined during the nineteenth century, is somewhat arbitrary. Egyptians at that time would have seen no distinction between the Old Kingdom and the preceding Early Dynastic Period, since the last Early Dynastic king was related by blood to the first two kings of the Old Kingdom, and the Early Dynastic royal residence at Ineb-Hedj (translated as "The White Walls" for its majestic fortifications) remained unchanged except for the name. During the Old Kingdom, the capital was renamed Memphis.

The Pschent combined the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Upper Egypt

The basic justification for a separation between the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom is the revolutionary change in architecture accompanied and the effects that large-scale building projects had on Egyptian society and economy..

The Old Kingdom spanned the period from the Third Dynasty to the Sixth Dynasty (2,686 BC – 2,134 BC). Many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration that had been firmly established at Memphis. Thereafter, the Old Kingdom was followed by a period of disunity and relative cultural decline (a "dark period that spanned the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and part of the Eleventh Dynasties) referred to by Egyptologists as the First Intermediate Period.

PHARAOHS OF THE OLD KINGDOM

Third Dynasty (2686 BC - 2613 BC)

Djoser

Limestone "Ka statue" of Djoser from his pyramid serdab

Pharoah Djoser formal name was Neterikhet, which means "Divine of the Body"
Reigned somewhere between 2686 BC to 2648 BC (From Most relatable accounts) for 19 to 28 years.
Step Pyramid of Djoser, probably the first pyramid built in Egypt still towers above the surrounding landscape at Saqqara

Sekhemkhet

Relief of Sekhemkhet from the Wadi Maghareh

Reigned for 6 or 7 years say around 2650 BC
He was probably the brother or eldest son of king Djoser. Little is known about this king, since he ruled for only a few years
He erected a step pyramid at Saqqara and left behind a well known rock inscription at Wadi Maghareh (Sinai Peninsula).

Sanakht

Relief of Sanakht from the Wadi Maghareh.

Reigned for about 18 years according to the Turin Canon, most likely less, starting 2650 BC.
The Pharaoh's identity and the location of his tomb is not known with certainty. It was long thought that Sanakht's tomb was the large mastaba K2 at Beit Khallaf, as excavations there yielded relief fragments bearing his name.

Khaba

Serekh of Khaba on a stone bowl of unknown provenance, Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology

The exact time during which Khaba ruled is unknown but may have been around 2670 BC.
Khaba is known by his serekh and Golden Horus name only. His Nisut-Bity title and his Nebty name are unknown

Huni

Pink granite head identified as Huni, Brooklyn Museum

Following the Turin king list, he is commonly credited with a reign of 24 years, ending c. 2613 BC.
Huni is not a well attested pharaoh; most of the attestations only point indirectly to him. There are only two contemporary objects with his name.

Fourth Dynasty (2613 BC - 2498 BC)

Sneferu

Limestone statue of Sneferu, Egyptian Museum

With several suggestion regarding the reign of sneferu, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt suggests 24 years from 2613 BC to 2589 BC, while other claims it to be of 30 to 48 years.
During his years he built at least three pyramids that survive to this day and introduced major innovations in the design and construction of pyramids.
Supposingly buried in the Red pyramid.

Khufu

The Statue of Khufu in the Cairo Museum

Royal Canon of Turin from the 19th Dynasty gives 23 years of rulership for Khufu from 2589 BC to 2566 BC.
He is generally accepted as having commissioned the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but many other aspects of his reign are poorly documented.

Djedefre

Quartzite head of Djedefre from Abu Rawash, Musée du Louvre

The Turin King List credits him with a rule of eight years, but the highest known year referred to during this reign appears to be the year of his 11th cattle count ca. 2575 BC.
He is the king who introduced the royal title Sa-Rê (meaning “Son of Ra”) and the first to connect his cartouche name with the sun god Ra.

Khafre

Statue of Khafre in diorite. Valley Temple of Khafra, Giza

There is no agreement on the date of his reign. Some say it was between 2558 BC and 2532 BC for 26 years.
Reports of Herodotus writing 2,000 years after his life, describes him as a cruel and heretical ruler who kept the Egyptian temples closed after Khufu had sealed them.
His pyramid is the second largest in Giza. Some scholars prefer him as the creator of the Great Sphinx before Djedefra before 2500 BC.

Bikheris

Inscribed limestone fragment possibly showing Bikheris' name

Next to nothing is known about this ruler and some Egyptologists even believe him to be fictitious.
He may have reigned for 10 to 22 years around 2570 BC according to some archeologists

Menkaure

Greywacke statue of Menkaure, Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Mankaure's reign is believed to be of 18 to 22 years starting at around 2530 BC.
Menkaure's pyramid at Giza was called Netjer-er-Menkaure which means "Menkaure is Divine".
His pyramid is the third and smallest in Giza. A legend claims that his only daughter died due to an illness and Menkaura buried her in a golden coffin in shape of a cow.

Shepseskaf

Shepseskaf's cartouche on the Abydos king list

He reigned 6 to 8 years starting circa 2510 BC.
The only activities firmly datable to his reign are the completion of the temple complex of the Pyramid of Menkaure and the construction of its own mastaba tomb at South Saqqara, the Mastabat al-Fir’aun, "stone bench of the pharaoh".

Thamphthis

Thamphthus may have ruled around 2500 BC for between two and nine years.
His original Egyptian name is lost, but it may have been Djedefptah or Ptahdjedef ("he endures like Ptah").
Thamphthis is one of the shadowy rulers of the Old Kingdom, since he is completely unattested in contemporary sources.

Fifth Dynasty (2498 BC - 2345 BC)

Userkaf

Head of Userkaf, recovered from his sun temple

The founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC.
His reign heralded the ascendancy of the cult of Ra, who effectively became Egypt's state god during the Fifth Dynasty.
Userkaf may have been a high-priest of Ra before ascending the throne, and built a sun temple, known as the Nekhenre, between Abusir and Abu Gurab. In doing so, he instituted a tradition followed by his successors over a period of 80 years.

Sahure

The god (smaller one) is giving Pharaoh Sahura rights to rule upper and lower Egypt. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

He reigned for about 12 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period.
Sahure's reign is considered to mark the political and cultural high point of the Fifth Dynasty.

Neferirkare Kakai

Prince Ranefer represented before his accession to the throne as Neferirkare Kakai on a relief from the mortuary complex of his father Sahure

Reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BC
Neferirkare was acknowledged by his contemporaries as a kind and benevolent ruler, intervening in favour of his courtiers after a mishap.

Neferefre

Statuette of Neferefre, painted limestone

Neferefre started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir called Netjeribau Raneferef, which means "The bas of Neferefre are divine". The pyramid was never finished, with a mason's inscription showing that works on the stone structure were abandoned during or shortly after the king's second year of reign.
Neferefre died unexpectedly after two to three years on the throne. Neferefre was nonetheless buried in his pyramid, hastily completed in the form of a mastaba by his second successor and presumably younger brother, pharaoh Nyuserre Ini.

Shepseskare

Drawing by the Egyptologist Georges Émile Jules Daressy of a bronze cylinder seal of Shepseskare bearing his Horus name "Sekhemkhaw"

Shepseskare was traditionally believed to have reigned for seven years
His relation with Neferefre is unclear as as a son or a near nephew as some believe that his reign lasted only for fer months.

Nyuserre Ini

Head and torso in the style of a 5th Dynasty king, thought to possibly be Nyuserre Ini. Circa 2455-2425 B.C.

He is credited with a reign of 24 to 35 years depending on the scholar, and likely lived in the second half of the 25th century BCE.
Nyuserre was the most prolific builder of his dynasty, having built three pyramids for himself and his queens and a further three for his father, mother and brother, all in the necropolis of Abusir.
He built many temples in his time including the largest surviving temple to the sun god Ra constructed during the Old Kingdom, named Shesepibre or "Joy of the heart of Ra".

Menkauhor Kaiu

Statue of Menkauhor, probably from Memphis, now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo

He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24th century BC ( circa 2399-2390 BC ).
Menkauhor ordered the construction of a sun temple, called the "Akhet-Ra", meaning "The Horizon of Ra" which is the last sun temple ever to be built in Egypt.
He was buried in small pyramid built in saqqara called Netjer-Isut Menkauhor, "The Divine Places of Menkauhor" , known today as healdess pyramid.

Djedkare Isesi

A gold cylander seal bearing the names and titles of the pharaoh Djedkare Isesi. From the 5th dynasty, reign of Djedkare Isesi, circa 2381-2353 B.C. Now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Djedkare likely enjoyed a reign of more than 40 years, which heralded a new period in the history of the Old Kingdom.
The pharaoh broke the traditional belief in the Sun god Ra, which was followed by his ancestors and started a new cult by worshipping Osiris.

Unas

Drawing of the rock inscription of Unas on Elephantine

The ninth and last ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC (circa 2345–2315 BC ).
A statistical analysis of clay seal fragments bearing Horus names of pharaohs of the Fifth Dynasty points to a marked decline of the cult of the king during Unas' time on the throne.
Meanwhile, the cult of Osiris was becoming more important with this god replacing the king as the guarantor of life after death for the pharaoh's subjects.
The Pyramid of Unas is inscribed with the earliest instance of the pyramid texts

Sixth Dynasty (2345 BC - 2181 BC)

Teti

Sistrum inscribed with the name of Teti

Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources, was the first pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. He is buried at Saqqara.
The exact length of his reign has been destroyed on the Turin King List but is believed to have been about 12 years starting from 2345 BC to 2333 BC
During Teti's reign, high officials were beginning to build funerary monuments that rivaled that of the pharaoh.
This is considered to be a sign that Egypt's wealth was being transferred from the central court to the officials, a slow process that culminated in the end to the Old Kingdom.
Manetho states that Teti was murdered by his palace bodyguards in a harem plot, but he may have been assassinated by the usurper Userkare.

Userkare

Userkare's cartouche on the Abydos king list

Also known as Woserkare, meaning "Powerful is the soul of Ra" was the second pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty, reigning briefly, 1 to 5 years, in the late 24th to early 23rd century BC.
Some believe that Userkare was a legitimate ruler who roles on behalf of Teti's son Pepi until he came of age, while some believe he usurped teti's throne by murdering him.
Userkare has no evidence in the Egyptian history which might be destroyed after his death.

Pepi I Meryre

Kneeling statue of pepi I

Pepi I Meryre (also Pepy I) was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt, ruling for over 40 years during the second half of the 24th Century BC.
Pepi seems to have faced the decline of the pharaoh's power, which he tried to buttress by forming alliances with the provincial nomarch of Abydos, two daughters of whom became queens of Egypt.

Merenre Nemtyemsaf I

Copper statue of Pepi I or perhaps his son Merenra Nemtyemsaf I, from Hierakonpolis

Reigned for 9 years starting from 2287 BC to 2278 BC was the fourth king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt.
He began a process of royal consolidation, appointing Weni as the first governor of all of Upper Egypt and expanding the power of several other governors

Pepi II Neferkare

Alabaster statue of Ankhesenmeryre II and her son Pepi II

Pepi II is often mentioned as the longest reigning monarch in history, due to a 3rd-century BC account of Ancient Egypt by Manetho, which accords the king a reign of 94 years.
Increasing wealth and power appears to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II's reign.
Nomarchs were traditionally free from taxation and their positions became hereditary. Their increasing wealth and independence led to a corresponding shift in power away from the central royal court to the regional nomarchs.
Later in his reign it is known that Pepi divided the role of vizier so that there were two viziers: one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, a further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of Memphis.
The end of Pepi II's reign was marked by a sharp decline in the fortunes of the Old Kingdom pharaohs who succeeded him.

Merenre Nemtyemsaf II

The cartouche of Merenre Nemtyemsaf II on the Abydos king list

The sixth and penultimate ruler of the 6th Dynasty reigned for 1 year and 1 month in the first half of the 22nd century BC
Nothing is known for certain of Nemtyemsaf's activities but he likely had to face the collapse of the royal power and the rise of the provincial nomarchs.
Less than 3 years after his death, the Old Kingdom period ended and the chaos of the First Intermediate Period started.

Netjerkare Siptah

The cartouche of Netjerkare on the Abydos King List

Netjerkare Siptah enjoyed a short reign in the early 22nd century BC, at a time when the power of the pharaoh was crumbling and that of the local nomarchs was on the rise.
Alternatively some scholars classify him as the first king of the Seventh or Eighth Dynasty.