King Pepy II (2278-2184)

Cartouche of King Pepy II

King Pepy II, the secondary son of Pepy I, came to the throne as a new child, following the untimely death of his brother, Merenre. He is accorded the easiest prevail in Egypt's history and was the last ruler of importance in the Old Kingdom; Manetho told that he submitted to the throne when he was only 6 years old and lived into his second year. His mother acted as his regent in the early years of the reign. In a wall lettering in the Aswan tomb of the official Harkhuf, the text of a good letter is kept. Harkhuf had processed the kings Merenre and Pepy II and, as Regulator of Upper Egypt, he had led 4 expeditions to Nubia on behalf of the king. Pepy II had evidently written this letter to Harkhuf at the time of one of these expeditions, when he was working a dancing pygmy back from the southeastern for the young pharaoh. The royal child, hot to see the pygmy, exhorts Harkhuf to take great care and to bring him safely to the palace come northwest to the Residence at once! Hurry and bring with you this pygmy!.

This inscription also puts up the most significant source for noesis of Egypt's kinships with Nubia at this time. Broken alabaster vases having the names of Pepy II, Pepy I and Merenre have been learned at Kerma in the Sudan, mayhap arguing that the Egyptians may have already established a trading middle far to the south. Vase fragmentise written with the names of *Pepy I and Pepy II have besides been observed at Byblos in Syria, and swapping ventures to this city were in all probability regular issues during this period. There were besides expeditions to the mines in Sinai, and it is noted that foreign contacts were widely established.

By the time that Pepy II's long prevail came to an end, the royal power had cut as the cumulative result of assorted political, economic and religious factors. The rustic nobility no longer felt a strong allegiance to the king, for they today held their governorships on a transmitted basis; other ingredients included the widening circle of hereditary pattern of some Crown land and the loss of revenue on the land  that  the  king  widespread  to  the  nobility.  In  addition,  the  royal  funerary memorials and the solar temples had placed an raising burden on the kings special resources. Pepy II was perhaps senior in the later years of his reign and incapable of vigorous rulership; he may well be the old king who is observed in the literary text known as the Admonitions of Ipuwer who, isolated in his palace, is unaware of the destruction of his kingdom.

There is too evidence in Pepy IIs prevail that the frames of Egypt were being harrassed. Hekaib (another Governor of Aswan) showed how he was sent to deal with inter-tribal troubles in Nubia, and soon after the death of the king, the *Asiatics plausibly enhanced their penetrations on Egypts north-east frontier. Eventually the society of the Old Kingdom gave and was substituted by the chaotic terms of the First Intermediate Period.

King Pepy II was the last king of the Old Kingdom to build a classic pyramid complex; it is settled south of Saqqara and was excavated by Jequier between AD 1929 and 1936. It is a full example of the most won form of such a complex and shows the same standard of excellence as the pyramids of the 5th Dynasty. In the pyramid mortuary temple, food and other necessities are depicted in the wall substitutes so that these could be magically burned for the king in his next life. Wrong the enclosure wall of the complex there were three small pyramids, each with its own set of edifices; these were meant for three important queens, Neith, Iput and Udjebten.

Pyramid Complex Merenre I

Pyramid Complex Merenre I

Not practically remains, although there was in all probability a valley temple, as Perring (1830s) observed a causeway near 250 ms long that went some the pyarmid of Djedkare. He besides noted a permieter wall of mudbrick. The mortuary temple is completely ruined, but belike the same as pepi II's. It is potential that the pyramid texts were put in the like place as in Pepi II's pyramid.

Entered from the north side through a dropping corridor. A second cooridor is frozen with 3 granite blocks, lead to an antechamber. A hole here leads to the inhumation chamber. Sarcophagus on the west wall, cap had an astromonical base with white stars on a black downplay

Merenre I (Nemtyemzaf) (2283-2278)

Cartouche of Merenre I (Nemtyemzaf)

King Merenre I dominated from 2255 B.C.E. until his death. Merenr was the son of King Pepi I and Ankhnesmery-Re. His wife was Queen Neith or Nit, who married King Pepi II, and his daughter was Ipwet. Merenr I dominated only nine years, and he built a pyramid in Saqqara but never gone the site. Merenre I also employed the mines of Sinai, the quarries of Nubia (modern The state of Sudan), and the mines of Aswan and Hatnub, and  he  visited  Elephantine Island  at  Aswan, appointing  a  governor  for  the  area.  He  protected  as well the serves of General Weni, who had been an official in the dominate of Pepi I.

The Egyptians found the River Nile set to the third cataract during Merenr Is reign. He cut 5 canals at the cataracts of the River Nile and accredited the local Nubians (modern Sudanese) to progress ships for him out of lumbers. A copper statue of Merenr I and Pepi I was discovered in Hierakonpolis. A  dried up  body  was  discovered  at Saqqara, but it was belike not his remains but evidence of  a  later  sepulture.  He  was  brought home the bacon  by  his  half  brother, Pepi II.