King Shepseskaf (2472-2467)

Cartouche of Shepseskaf

King Shepseskaf was the sixth Pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He governed ancient Egypt from 2472 BC to 2467 BC. Shepseskaf was in power through a very difficult political period, during which there were galore confrentations with assorted priests. Many Nomes desired independence and rose against Shepseskaf's authority. He completed his predecessors' repositories, but some records indicate that he was not settled from a royal line. His tomb is in South Saqqara. Mykerinos was delivered the goods by his oldest enduring son, Shepseskaf. His wife, Bunefer; bore him a daughter, Khamaat, who tied the Memphite high-priest Ptah-shepses. According to the Turin King-list, Shepseskaf's reign lasted for just four years.This may correspond well with the fact that the highest attested year for this king is the year after the first cattle count. This, however, left him with enough time not only to errect his have funerary memorial but besides to hastily clean his father's mortuary temple.

Shepseskaf's Mastaba

Again matching to the Turin King-list, his reign was came by a two year reign of an unknown king, who may be identified with king Thamphthis shown by Manetho. Shepseskaf chosen not to have a pyramid, but a sarcophagus-like mastaba as a tomb and he run back to the cemetery of Saqqara. This is seen by some Egyptologists as a sign of shifting beliefs, by others as a sign that he wanted to distance himself from the constructing policy of his sires. Others again see it as proof that the establishing policy of Kheops and Khefren had entirely exhausted the resourcefulnesses and wealth of the royal family. Shepseskaf was the sixth king of the 4th Dynasty. He found ancient Egypt from 2472 BC to 2467 BC. Shepseskaf was in power through a very difficult semipolitical period, during which there were many confrentations with several priests. Many Nomes in demand independence and risen against Shepseskaf's authority. He total his predecessors' memorials, but some records show that he was not descended from a royal line. His tomb is in South Saqqara.

Shepseskaf was probably not of royal standard and had to merry in to the first family to get have of the throne. When he came to power there are denotations of some disorder in Egypt. His first years look to have been quite difficult with oppositions with various chemical groups of priests and probably parts of the nobility as well. The most essential was when states rebelled against his authority. If the conflict escalated beyond civil obedience we don't know, but it credibly did not. He restored order in the country and could clean his predecessor Menkaure's repositories at Giza. The only portraying maybe to be of him is a head of white alabastrine (above right), but its identification is very disputable since it was found in the Valley Temple of Menkaure whose characteristics it looks to have. Shepseskaf is alone in Egyptian history by constructing an invention of his own for his serious monument, today called "Mastabat el-Faraún" - Pharaoh's Mastaba. I was called "the Purified Pyramid" though the hieroglyph in the name (in picture left) was of another shape. This monument was made as a sarcophagus-like mastaba with a slenderly vaulted roof, and placed 20 km south of Giza 3 km southeast of the old memorial park of Sakkara. If this new design (never to be recurring) was a sign of switching beliefs is uncertain, but by this he broke the building tradition accepted by the pharaohs in the past. The superstructure was of clean design with the grave chamber placed asymmetrical to the geometrical centre of the construction.