THE KINGS OF THE SIXTH DYNASTY

This month NETFISHING continues its look at the history of Egypt by seeing what the World

Wide Web has to say about the kings of the Sixth Dynasty.

Quite why there is a change from the Fifth Dynasty to the Sixth Dynasty, after the reign of king Unas, is still not fully understood although it is believed that Teti, the first king of the Sixth Dynasty, was actually Unas’s son-in-law, rather than his son. Teti’s Horus name ‘He who reconciles the Two Lands’ may suggest that there was a period of unrest after the death of Unas and, with no obvious heir, Teti claimed the throne and became the founder of a new dynasty. An outline of the Sixth Dynasty can be found at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixth_Dynasty_of_Egypt

http://www.crystalinks.com/dynasty6.html

http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn06/dyn06.html

http://www.guardians.net/hawass/oldkingdom.htm

Teti’s marriage to one of the daughters of Unas, Iput, provided his link with the royal family of the Fifth Dynasty and so gave credence to his claim to the throne. It is clear, however, that Teti also sought support for his reign from both the nobility and the priesthood. He married his own daughter Seshseshet to his vizier Mereruka (whose famous tomb is at Saqqara), conducted building work at a number of temples and awarded exemptions from taxation to others. All this created goodwill, which bolstered his position on the throne, but, by setting a precedent that removed temple lands from taxation, he unwittingly began a downward spiral which would eventually contribute to the downfall of the Old Kingdom. Manetho states that king Teti was murdered by his bodyguard, although whether this is true or not remains unclear. In any event he was buried in his pyramid at Saqqara, named ‘Lasting are the places of Teti’, and like his predecessor secured his afterlife by inscribing its internal chambers with copies of the Pyramid Texts. Refer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teti

http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn06/01teti.html

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/Teti.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Teti

https://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/pyramid-and-mortuary-temple-of-teti/

http://ib205.tripod.com/teti.html

Little is known of king Userkara, though he may have been a son of Teti by a secondary wife. He appears to have reigned for only some two to six years although his name is recorded in both the official king list of Sety I at Abydos and in the Turin Canon, so despite his short reign he appears to have been recognised as a legitimate king. Refer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Userkare

http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn06/02userkara.html

Pepy I appears to have been a son of Teti and Queen Iput who came to the throne at an early age. He had a long reign of some 53 years and we know of six wives who were married to the king. His first wife was removed after a harem conspiracy, following a judicial investigation led by the important official Weni. Two other wives, Nubunet and Inenek Inti, are recorded, as they had pyramids built for them, whilst another wife, Mehaa, is know only from a single inscription. Pepy continued the process of making dedications to temples, and endowments were made to the Temples of Hathor at Dendera, Min at Koptos, and Horus at Hierakonpolis, Osiris at Abydos, Satet at Elephantine and Bastet at Bubastis. All of these dedications, while gaining support for the king, further reduced the royal coffers by exempting land from taxation and so created problems later in the dynasty as royal revenues became reduced. Refer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepi_I_Meryre

http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn06/03pepi1.html

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pepi1.htm

http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/PepiI.html

http://ib205.tripod.com/pepi_1.html

https://egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/pyramid-and-mortuary-temple-of-pepy-i/

At the end of his reign, Pepy is known to have favoured the family of Khui at Abydos, and he married two of the daughters of that family. Queen Ankhnesmeryra I was the mother of Pepy’s successor, king Merenra, whilst her sister, Queen Ankhnesmeryra II, became the mother of king Pepy II.

An interesting aside to the reign of Pepy I is that he used the throne name Meryra from his tenth regnal year and when his pyramid was constructed, at Saqqara, it was called ‘Meryra is established and beautiful’. It was this title Mn-nfr which was later misunderstood, in the Greek period, when it was taken to be the name of Egypt’s capital city – Memphis. Thus Pepy I, inadvertently, provided the name for Egypt’s most important town (until the advent of Alexandria).

Victor Blunden

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