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.
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
