With the end of the Second Dynasty, Egypt history into what is called the Old Kingdom - a period encompassing the Third through Eighth Dynasties. The greatest achievements of the Old Kingdom are still visible nearly 5,000 years later: the pyramids. However, the existence of these monumental structures is dwarfed by the sheer scope of the economy, government, and popular will needed to create them.
The first pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, king Nebka, begins the Third Dynasty. However, his predecessor, Djoser, the builder of the first pyramid, overshadowed his reign. Djoser, the son or son-in-law of Khasekhemui, worked with his trusted assistant and architect, Imhotep, to create a monument worthy of the pharaoh in the after life. They built upon the idea of the mastabas used by previous pharaohs in Saqqara. Their novel idea was to take the mastaba, which looked like a raised building with a flat top, and build a smaller mastaba on top of the first, and so on, until they created a series of mastabas that reached to the heavens themselves. Thus was born the first, or the step pyramid.
After Djoser, the remaining pharaohs in the Third Dynasty, Djoserti, Khaba, Mesokhris, and Huni, attempted but failed to build their own step pyramids. Most of their tombs have yet to be found. Snefru's first two pyramids were step pyramids like Djoser's. His final pyramid began as a step pyramid, but later was finished off in true pyramid form. This was the first of its kind. Although not without problems. As the pyramid neared completion, the ground underneath it gave way, and it collapsed upon itself. This resulted in the now-famous outline known as the Bent Pyramid. This failure, however, taught later pyramid builders to use a less steep gradient. Advancements in construction design and pyramid location also contributed to more stable edifices. At the time of their construction and for almost 2,500 years afterwards, the pyramids sported a sheath of polished white marble. Reflections of the rising and setting sun could be seen for dozens of miles in all directions. When Arabs conquered Egypt in the 7th Century AD, they stripped the marble from what they saw as the work of godless pagans and used it to build their palaces in Cairo. Snefru’s son, Cheops, used these advances to create the amazing Great Pyramid. However, outside of the Great Pyramid, there is little record of Cheops as pharaoh. There are some claims that he was cruel and abusive, but there is little evidence to support this. What is known about Cheops is that, during his 30-year reign, he mobilized the entire state to create a wonder so magnificent that, not only does it stand to this day, parts of its construction are still mysteries. Also, recent studies have begun to point to Cheops as the creator of the mysterious Sphinx, another of Egypt's wonders. These studies point to the lack of a beard on the Sphinx (the royal beard was a concept that came later in Egypt’s culture) and the style of the architecture as proof that it was created during Cheops’ rule. His successor and son, Djedefre, attempted to build his own temple but failed due to an untimely death. The next pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty was Djedefre’s younger brother, Chephren. Chephren was in his mid-20’s when he assumed the throne and began work on his pyramid in the hopes of making it as monumental as his father’s. Chephren’s pyramid falls nearly 10 feet short of the Great Pyramid. Chephren’s reign also marks the decline of the great pyramid-building era. Although later pyramids were built, none rival those created by Cheops and Chephren. The Fourth Dynasty ended quietly under the reign of the pharaohs Bikheris (who followed Chephren), Mycerinus, and Shepseskaf, who returned to the creation of a mastaba for his tomb. The Fifth Dynasty, ruled over by the pharaohs Userkaf, Sahure, Neferirkare, Shepseskare, Neferefre, Niuserre, Menkauhor, Djedkare, and Unas is relatively unremarkable. Of note is the reduction in scale of monument building and the rise of mortuary temples in place of pyramids as the burial place for the pharaohs. The Dynasty 6 was as peaceful as the last, but marked a decline in the Old Kingdom. While mortuary temples were used extensively during the Fifth Dynasty, the first pharaoh of this period, Teti, returned to the pyramid as a tomb. However, his pyramid, while technically sound, remained on a much smaller scale than those of the Fourth Dynasty, keeping roughly the same size as the mortuary temples of the Fifth. The decline continued through the peaceful reigns of the first four pharaohs of this time. Userkare, Pepi I (who also built a pyramid), and Nemtiemsaf I followed Teti. The reign of the next pharaoh, Pepi II, seems to have been the point where the Old Kingdom truly began to fall apart. Pepi II ruled peacefully for 60 years of his life, an immense length of time for a pharaoh. While he completed his pyramid, society fell into idleness and stagnation. Pepi allowed his control of the government to slip, and regional governors realized that they no longer needed the Empire. They could control their own smaller state fine by themselves and not have to worry about the pharaoh looking over their shoulders.