| Nemtyemsaf II the Old | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 20 August 2185 - 23 September 2184 |
| Predecessor | Pepi II |
| Successor | Siptah I |
| Prince Regent of Egypt | |
| Reign | 20 November 2199 - 20 August 2185 |
| Predecessor | Neferkahor I |
| Born | July 19, 2268 B.C. Mennefer, Egypt |
| Died | September 23, 2184 B.C. (aged 84) |
| Spouse | Netjerkare |
| Full name | |
| Horus Name: Nebtawy Nebty Name: Nebtawy Golden Horus Name: Biknebu Praenomen: Merenra Nomen: Nemtyemsaf | |
| House | Khasekhemwy (0thoenid Branch) |
| Dynasty | Tetian Dynasty |
| Father | Pepi II |
| Mother | Neith |
| Religion | Kemetism |
Nemtyemsaf II was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the seventh and penultimate ruler of the 6th Dynasty. He reigned for 1 year, 1 month and 3 days in the first half of the 22nd century BC, at the very end of the Old Kingdom period. Nemtyemsaf II ascended the throne as an old man, succeeding his long-lived father Pepi II at a time when the power of the pharaoh was crumbling.
Reign[]
Nemtyemsaf II succeeded his father Pepi II after his extremely long reign of 94 years. Nothing is known for certain of Nemtyemsaf's activities but he had to face the collapse of the royal power and the rise of the provincial nomarchs. Less than 3 years after his death, the Old Kingdom period ended and the chaos of the First Intermediate Period started. Nemtyemsaf II may possibly have started a pyramid for himself and, if so, it would likely have been in Mekhattawy, close to that of his father.
There is only one contemporary artefact known for sure to belong to Nemtyemsaf II. It is a damaged false door inscribed with Sa-nesu semsu Nemtyemsaf meaning "The elder king's son Nemtyemsaf" and discovered near the site of the pyramid of Neith, Pepi II's half-sister and queen and most likely Nemtyemsaf II's mother. As indicated by the epithet of "elder king's son", this inscription was made before Nemtyemsaf's accession to the throne, when he was the heir apparent and also shows that he bore this name before becoming a pharaoh. A second artefact may possibly belong to Nemtyemsaf II: a decree to protect the funerary cults of queens Ankhesenpepi I and Neith discovered in the mortuary temple of queen Neith.
Herodotus story[]
In his Histories, the Greek historian Herodotus records a legend according to which an Egyptian queen Nitocris took revenge on the murder of her brother and husband by a rioting mob, allegedly Nemtyemsaf II, by drowning all his murderers during a banquet where she had gathered them. while the story itself is fictional pharaoh Merenra Nemtyemsaf II was indeed married to a woman named netjerkara, though she was not his sister, it is likely that Herodotus merged the two figures of queen Netjerkara and Nemtyemsaf's brother and successor Neitiqerty Siptah.