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The Pyramid of Pharaoh Teti

Shemsu Sesen — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:12:10 +0000

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.

Pharaoh Teti

Pharaoh Teti (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Pharaoh Teti, also called Othoes, was the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, and ruled for about 11 – 20 years, between around 2347 – 2327 BC. His mother was Queen Sesheshet, but his true claim to the throne probably stemmed from his marriage to Queen Iput I, the eldest daughter of Pharaoh Unas. He had at least one other wife, named Khuit. Evidence found within the queens’ pyramids suggest that Khuit may have actually been Teti’s primary wife.

Teti’s heir, Pepi I, was preceded on the throne by Userkare, whose short reign may indicate a co-regency or an usurpation. Some believe Userkare had Teti assassinated by his own guards.

King Teti was an accomplished politician, which may be why his reign lasted as long as it did, given the political climate. He wisely left much of Unas’ royal cabinet in place, and was not above handing out promotions and titles to curry favor. He further consolidated power by marrying his daughter, Seshseshet, to Vizier Mereruka.

Political savvy was a prerequisite to being pharaoh during the tumultuous Sixth Dynasty, a time of social change. The Cult of Ra based at Heliopolis had become an influential force to be appeased. Famine combined with immigration was causing general unrest across the land. And while not exactly a middle class in the strict sense, the rising wealth and power of high court officials and local nobility signaled a weakening of pharaonic hegemony.

Teti, and the pharaohs who would follow him in the Sixth Dynasty, would do a commendable job of preserving Egyptian ways and institutions. But by the time of his reign, an irreversible gyre had been set in motion that would only continue to gain momentum until it spun the Two Kingdoms apart.

The Pyramid of Teti

The Pyramid of Teti (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Teti’s Pyramid has a height of about 172 feet, and its external surface is mostly rubble. Like other pyramids of the time, it consisted of a step pyramid-style core faced with dressed white limestone that gave it the appearance of a smooth-sided pyramid. Also like many pyramids of the time, the facing stones were plundered, leaving the core to break down due to exposure.

The layout of Teti’s pyramid is similar to that of King Unas, although slightly larger. Like that of Unas, the walls of the antechamber and burial chamber are inscribed with the Pyramid Text, rituals and incantations intended to guide the king through the afterlife. The vaulted ceiling is a painted canopy of stars. The basalt sarcophagus was left intact, and there were fragments of what may have been his mummy recovered inside.

Pyramid Text on the wall of Teti's Pyramid showing his Cartouche (Photo by Keith Payne)

Little remains of Teti’s mortuary temple, although there is enough to tell that there were a few differences from that of Unas, whose design he otherwise closely followed. For one, Teti favored the plain square pillars common to pyramid complexes dating from the Fourth Dynasty, rather than the more modern round pillars. He also changed the approach of the causeway to the mortuary temple so that rather than lining up with the center of the eastern wall of the pyramid it angles away from the south east.

In another apparent nod to the traditions of the Fourth Dynasty, Teti had queens’ pyramids built for his wives within his pyramid complex, and in 2008 the pyramid of his mother, Sesheshet, was also discovered within his complex. These excavations led to the discovery that Teti’s complex was later co-opted for other burials and related funerary chapels from the New Kingdom Period to the Roman Period.

Teti’s policies were clearly intended to maintain the authority of the Pharaoh, and his efforts may have forestalled the coming Intermediate Period. It is apparent that a schism of some variety was thwarted after the death of Unas, although in the end court intrigue would catch up with this master of power politics. His pyramid complex remains one of the most fruitful excavation sites in Egypt.

The Pyramid of Pharaoh Unas

Shemsu Sesen — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:30:54 +0000

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.

Pharaoh Unas

The Cartouche of Pharaoh Unas (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Pharaoh Unas, also called Ounas and Wenis, was the last king of the Fifth Dynasty, and possibly the last sovereign of the Old Kingdom to rule with relative security. He ruled from about 2367 – 2347 BC, around 20-23 years. He had two wives, Nebit and Khenut, the latter of which was probably the mother of Iput I, who would marry King Teti, thus founding the Sixth Dynasty.

Nautical scene from Unas' complex (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Unas was apparently an active king, as reliefs and other narrative art depict him making war with the Bedouin and engaging in trade with other kingdoms. It seems he passed without leaving an heir, and there may have been a brief and tense interregnum, finally settled with the marriage of his eldest daughter to Teti.

Many of his court officers would be retained under the rule of Teti, probably including Vizier Kagemni, which likely did at least as much to maintain law and order as Iput I’s royal pedigree.

The Pyramid of Unas

In terms of pyramid construction, the end of the Fifth Dynasty was as far as you could get from the monuments of Dashur and Giza that symbolize the early years of the Old Kingdom. King Unas’ Pyramid was the smallest of the Old Kingdom Period, and although successive pyramids would be slightly larger, his layout would set the pattern for the Sixth Dynasty.

Monument construction during the Fifth Dynasty was focused chiefly on temple building. The generous endowments extended to the newly-empowered cult of Ra, combined with other growing demands on the royal coffers, left little gold for pyramid building.

The Pyramid of King Unas (Photo by Keith Payne)

In an effort to compensate, finely dressed white limestone was placed over a cheaply constructed step-style pyramid understructure to create the illusion of a small but regal smooth-sided pyramid. As a result, when the limestone casing was plundered in later years the core was left to disintegrate in the elements, leaving behind one of the trademark rubble pyramids of this period.

The inside of Unas’ pyramid, however, is another matter altogether. The inner walls are mostly in very good shape, and contain the earliest example of Pyramid Texts discovered to date. These are passages inscribed on the walls containing rituals and incantations to assist the divine pharaoh in the ordeals of the afterlife.

The burial chamber has a vaulted ceiling that has been painted with a starry nighttime sky. Unas’ basalt and alabaster sarcophagus was found in the burial chamber, and a few fragments of what is believed to have been his mummy were recovered from within.

The base and stairway of Unas’ valley temple remain in fairly good shape, and much of the causeway is in excellent shape. The causeway is decorated with scenes of daily life, including hunting and agriculture, along with depictions of various craftsmen plying their trades.

Starvation during the reign of Pharaoh Unas (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

There are also scenes describing the geopolitical climate of Unas’ reign. In addition to trade and warfare, Unas’ foreign policy resulted in an influx of immigrants who are represented as emaciated to the point of starvation.

This was a time when famine was common throughout the Mediterranean region, and Egypt had her own share of domestic problems. These new additions to the already restless provinces were yet another factor sapping away at the authority of the central government, the very thing that had made the Old Kingdom possible.

At the end of the causeway, the mortuary temple itself is in very good condition. Many elements remain, including flooring, palm-adorned pillars, and niches where statues of the king would have once stood. King Teti’s name appears in the gateway to the mortuary temple, indicating that it was completed during his reign, after Unas had passed.

The transfer of power from the Fifth Dynasty to the Sixth may have been with trepidation, but it occurred successfully, due in no small part to the political genius of Teti. As local leaders and high court officials were enjoying the redistribution of wealth that accompanied the slow death of the Old Kingdom, things were not going so well for the rest of the populace, and the institution of pharaonic authority would increasingly come to feel the heat.

Teti would have his work cut out for him.