The Sixth Dynasty rolled in like the thunderhead that portents a rising storm. There had been tension between the royal line from which Teti descended and the one which had just vacated the throne. Court officials had grown accustomed to wealth. Provincial nobles were flexing their will to independence. Famine. Waves of refugees. Ongoing religious reform. Teti’s agenda could be summarized in two words-damage control.
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Tags: Iput I, Memphis Necropolis, Mereruka, Old Kingdom, Pepi I, Pyramid Complex, Pyramid Texts, Pyramids, Saqqara, Sixth Dynasty, Solar Cult, Teti, Teti's Pyramid, Unas, Unas' Pyramid, Userkare
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The King is dead, long live the King.
The death of Pharaoh Unas prompted the most fragile transfer of power in the Old Kingdom to date, but it would hardly be the last, or the worst. Without an heir, or at least one who ascended to the throne, the fact that the crown passed from one dynasty to another peaceably amidst a time of growing turmoil is a testament to what remained of Egypt’s institutions.
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Tags: Ancient Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, Kagemni, Memphis Necropolis, Old Kingdom, Pyramid Complex, Pyramid Texts, Pyramids, Saqqara, Sixth Dynasty, Solar Cult, Teti, Unas, Unas' Pyramid
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In every recession there are winners and losers. Meet Chief Justice and Vizier Mereruka, one of the winners. Even as the kings during his lifetime were building ever-smaller and cheaper pyramids, this officer of the royal court built the Taj Mahal of the Sixth Dynasty.
Ok, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But Mereruka stands out as an excellent example how the power dynamics were shifting as the Old Kingdom entered its twilight years.
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Tags: Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Tombs, Fifth Dynasty, Kagemni, Mastabas, Memphis Necropolis, Mereruka, Old Kingdom, Saqqara, Sixth Dynasty, Solar Cult, Teti, Unas
Pharaoh Userkaf is one of the many Egyptian kings who have left very few clues regarding his biography and reign. Well, he did leave a pyramid and a few temples from which we have been able to extract a couple of details.
Actually, these structures contain some intriguing clues about Userkaf and his times, and a shadow of things to come.
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Tags: Djedefre, Djoser, Fifth Dynasty, Fourth Dynasty, Heliopolis, Memphis Necropolis, Pyramid Complex, Pyramids, Saqqara, Shepseskaf, Solar Cult, Step Pyramid of Djoser, Userkaf, Userkaf's Pyramid
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