| Pepi II the Senile | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 17 April 2279 - 20 August 2185 |
| Predecessor | Nemtyemsaf I |
| Successor | Nemtyemsaf II |
| Co-Ruler | Neferkahor I, 8 June 2203 - 20 November 2199 |
| Born | January 16, 2285 B.C. Mennefer, Egypt |
| Died | August 20, 2185 B.C. (aged 100) |
| Spouse | Neith I, Meritites II, Iput II, Udjebten, Ankhesenpepi III, Ankhesenpepi IV |
| Issue | Neferkahor I, Nemtyemsaf II, Nebkauhor-Idu, Ptahshepses, Udjebten, Neferkara III, Teti |
| Full name | |
| Horus Name: Netjerkhau Nebty Name: Netjerkhau-Neferkara Golden Horus Name: Biknebusekhem Praenomen: Neferkara Nomen: Pepi | |
| House | Khasekhemwy (0thoenid Branch) |
| Dynasty | Tetian Dynasty |
| Father | Nemtyemsaf I |
| Mother | Iput I |
| Religion | Kemetism |
Pepi II Neferkara (16 January 2285 BC – 20 August 2185 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom who reigned from c. 2278 BC. His second name, Neferkara (Nefer-ka-Re), means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Nemtyemsaf I.
Pepi II's reign marked a sharp decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the power of the pharaoh declined. With no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each other's territories and the Old Kingdom came to an end within a couple of years after the close of Pepi II's reign.
Early reign[]
He was traditionally thought to be the son of Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II, but the South Saqqara Stone annals record that Nemtyemsaf I had a reign of 9 years. Several 6th Dynasty royal seals and stone blocks – the latter of which were found within the funerary temple of Queen Ankhesenpepi II, the known mother of Pepi II – were discovered in the 1999–2000 excavation season at Saqqara, which demonstrate that she also married Nemtyemsaf after Pepi I's death and became this king's chief wife. Inscriptions on these stone blocks give Ankhesenpepi II the royal titles of: "King's Wife of the Pyramid of Pepy I, King's Wife of the Pyramid of Nemtyemsaf, King's Mother of the Pyramid of Pepy II". Therefore, today, many Egyptologists believe that Pepi II was likely Nemtyemsaf's own son. Pepi II would, therefore, be Pepi I's grandson while Nemtyemsaf was, most likely, Pepi II's father since he is known to have married Pepi II's known mother, Queen Ankhesenpepi II.
His mother Ankhesenpepi II (Ankhesenmeryre II) ruled as regent in the early years of his reign. She may have been helped in turn by her brother Djau, who was a vizier under the previous pharaoh. An alabaster statuette depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, sitting on the lap of his mother. Despite his long reign, this piece is one of only three known sculptural representations in existence of this particular king. Some scholars have taken the relative paucity of royal statuary to suggest that the royal court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans.
A glimpse of the personality of the pharaoh while he was still a child can be found in a letter he wrote to Harkhuf, a governor of Syene and the head of one of the expeditions he sent into Nubia. Sent to trade and collect ivory, ebony, and other precious items, he captured a pygmy. News of this reached the royal court, and an excited young king sent word back to Harkhuf that he would be greatly rewarded if the pygmy were brought back alive, where he would have likely served as an entertainer for the court. This letter was preserved as a lengthy inscription on Harkhuf's tomb, and has been called the first travelogue.
Family[]
Over his long life Pepi II had several wives, including:
- Neith – She was the mother of Pepi's successors Neferkahor and Nemtyemsaf II. She was daughter of Ankhesenpepi I and hence also Pepi II's cousin and half-sister.
- Iput II – A half-sister of Pepi II and Mother to Siptah I.
- Ankhesenpepi III She was the daughter of Nemtyemsaf I and hence a granddaughter of Pepi I.
- Ankhesenpepi IV – The mother of King Neferkara III.
- Udjebten She was also a daughter of Pepi I, Mother of Nebkauhor Idu ancestor of the Eighth Dynasty.
- Meritites IV - The mother of Prince Ptahshepses, ancestor of the Intefian Dynasty and Prince Teti, first Duke Sehoteptawy-Teti.
Of these queens, Neith, Iput, and Udjebten each had their own minor pyramids and mortuary temples as part of the king's own pyramid complex in Saqqara. Queen Ankhesenpepi III and Meritites IV were buried in pyramids near the pyramid of Pepi I, and Ankhesenpepi IV was buried in a chapel in the complex of Queen Udjebten.
Foreign policy[]
State administration[]
At the beginning of Pepi's reign, his mother Anchenespepi II acted as regent, but his uncle Djau also played an important role. He held the provincial vizierate in Abydos . He was later followed by Idi and Pepinacht. Ankh-Pepi-Heriib and Ankh-Pepi-Henikem are known as viziers in Qis . Resident viziers in Memphis were Ihichenet and Chenu, Ima-Pepi and Shenai, Chabauchnum/Biu and Nihabsedneferkara as well as Teti .
The important office of vizier underwent a restructuring of its responsibilities under Pepi II. The title of "head of all the king's work" was now directly tied to the residence vizier. He was therefore directly responsible for royal building projects and for recruiting workers. In return, however, the offices of barn and treasury manager , which had previously been very closely linked to the viziers, were now increasingly filled by non-viziers. In the provincial administration, it can be seen during Pepi's reign that at least occasionally the office of barn manager was also held by viziers. However, this was almost never the case with the office of treasury manager. The distribution of titles suggests that Pepi originally intended to put the provincial administration on an equal footing with the residence administration or even to make it independent of it. However, this was only partially implemented for the barn department and practically not at all for the treasury department. Instead, control over both departments remained in effect with the Residence Administration by filling them with lower-ranking officials in the province.
Foreign relations and expeditions[]
Numerous expeditions from Pepi's reign are documented by inscriptions, including one to the copper and turquoise mines of Khetuenmefkat on the Biau Peninsula in the 2nd year of the census and two expeditions to the alabaster quarries of Hatnub in Middle Egypt, which took place in the 14th year of the census and the year after the 31st year of the census. Trade contacts with the city of Byblos in present-day Lebanon are also documented by numerous finds (especially alabaster vessels) bearing Pepi's name that were found in the temple there.
As under his predecessor Nemtyemsaf, trade with Nubia also played a central role. However, relations to the south were dominated by increasing hostilities under Pepi's rule. Already in the second year of Pepi's reign, the official Harkhuf, who came from Elephantine, undertook a journey to the country of Iam. He had already traveled to Nubia three times under Nemtyemsaf and described these journeys in detail in his tomb on the Chesethotep. From these reports, it can be seen that a changed political situation made his journey home visibly more difficult on his third expedition and that he only made it safely back to Egypt thanks to a strong contingent of troops from the Prince of Iam. There is no report of his fourth and final journey. Instead, Harkhuf had a copy of a letter from the young Pepi II attached to his grave, in which the latter expressed his great joy that Harkhuf had brought him a "dancing dwarf" (probably a pygmy) from Iam and warned him to take good care of it.
The trade relations in the south consisted of caravans trading with the Nubians, bringing goods such as incense, ebony, animal skins, and ivory to Egypt. The Western Desert was known to have extensive caravan routes that allowed for trade with the Kenemet, Setenu, and Djasdjas Oases.
The journeys mentioned in the tomb of Chui on the Chesethotep seem to have been largely peaceful. There, a servant named Khnumhotep reports that he, together with his master Chui and another high official named Tjetji, made a total of eleven journeys to Nubia and Punt.
Sabni, however, reports hostile conflicts in his tomb on the Chesethotep. His father Mechu I had led an expedition to Nubia and died there. He was evidently murdered, as his body initially remained in Nubia, and Sabni had to march to Nubia with a large contingent of soldiers to bring it home. Sabni himself apparently died in Elephantine immediately after his return from a Nubian expedition. His son Mechu II was in Nubia at the time and, after his return, received support from the royal residence for the furnishing of his father's tomb.
Another inscription on the Chesethotep is by Pepinakht, called Heqaib. He reports on two military campaigns in Nubia. The king had sent him to "chop up" the two countries of Wawat and Irtjet. Pepinakht reports that on his first campaign, he killed several princes' children and military leaders and took a large number of prisoners of war to Egypt. On his second campaign, he finally captured the two princes of Wawat and Irtjet, their children, and two high commanders, bringing them to Egypt along with numerous cattle and goats. A third military expedition took Pepinakht to the Eastern Desert, where the commander Aaenankh and his accompanying troop had been murdered by Bedouins (called "sand dwellers" by the Egyptians) while they were building a ship that was to make a trip to Punt. Pepinakht led a punitive expedition against the Bedouins and brought Aaenankh's body back to the residence.
After the death of Pepi II, expeditions to areas outside Egypt came to a temporary end. Khetuenmefkat was not visited again until around 200 years later in the 12th Dynasty. Trade contacts with Byblos are also not documented again until this time. Expeditions to Punt did not take place again until Mentuhotep III (11th Dynasty), while Nubia did not come under Egyptian control again until the 12th Dynasty.
Decline of the Old Kingdom[]
The decline of the Old Kingdom arguably began before the time of Pepi II, with nomarchs (regional representatives of the king) becoming more and more powerful and exerting greater influence. Pepi I, for example, married two sisters who were the daughters of a nomarch and later made their brother a vizier. Their influence was extensive, both sisters bearing sons who were chosen as part of the royal succession: Nemtyemsaf I and Pepi II himself.
Increasing wealth and power appears to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II's reign. Large and expensive tombs appear at many of the major nomes of Egypt, built for the reigning nomarchs, the priestly class and other administrators. Nomarchs were traditionally free from taxation and their positions became hereditary. Their increasing wealth and independence led to a corresponding shift in power away from the central royal court to the regional nomarchs.
Later in his reign, it is known that Pepi divided the role of vizier so that there were two viziers: one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, a further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of Memphis. Further, the seat of vizier of Lower Egypt was moved several times. The southern vizier was based at Thebes his son and regent Neferkahor I apointed his brother Ptashepses as the vizier of Upper egypt in 2214 in an attempt to regain control of the south.
Pyramid complex[]
Pyramid of Pepi II
The pyramid complex was called "Neferkara Is Established and Living". The complex consists of Pepi's pyramid with its adjacent mortuary temple. The pyramid contained a core made of limestone and clay mortar. The pyramid was encased in white limestone. An interesting feature is that after the north chapel and the wall was completed, the builders tore down these structures and enlarged the base of the pyramid. A band of brickwork reaching to the height of the perimeter wall was then added to the pyramid. The purpose of this band is not known. It has been suggested that the builders wanted the structure to resemble the hieroglyph for pyramid, or that possibly the builders wanted to fortify the base of the structure due to an earthquake.
The burial chamber had a gabled ceiling covered by painted stars. Two of the walls consisted of large granite slabs. The sarcophagus was made of black granite and inscribed with the king's name and titles. A canopic chest was sunk in the floor.
To the northwest of the pyramid of Pepi II, the pyramids of his consorts Neith and Iput were built. The pyramid of Udjebten is located to the south of Pepi's pyramid. The Queen's pyramids each had their own chapel, temple and a satellite pyramid. Neith's pyramid was the largest and may have been the first to be built. The pyramids of the Queens contained Pyramid Texts.
The mortuary temple adjacent to the pyramid was decorated with scenes showing the king spearing a hippopotamus and thus triumphing over chaos. Other scenes include the sed festival, a festival of the god Min and scenes showing Pepi executing a Libyan chieftain, who is accompanied by his wife and son. The scene with the Libyan chief is a copy from Sahure's temple. A courtyard was surrounded by 18 pillars which were decorated with scenes of the king in the presence of gods.
Despite the longevity of Pepi II, his pyramid was no larger than those of his predecessors at 150 cubits (78.5 metres (258 ft)) per side at the base and 100 cubits (52.5 metres (172 ft)) high and followed what had become the 'standard format'. The pyramid was made from small, local stones and infill, covered with a veneer of limestone. The limestone was removed and the core has slumped. The causeway was approximately 400 metres (1,300 ft) long and the valley temple was on the shores of a lake, long since gone.
The site is located at 29°50′25″N 31°12′49″E.
Excavation[]
The complex was first investigated by John Shae Perring, but it was Gaston Maspero who first entered the pyramid in 1881. Gustave Jéquier was the first to investigate the complex in detail between 1926 and 1936. Jéquier was the first excavator to start actually finding any remains from the tomb reliefs, and he was the first to publish a thorough excavation report on the complex.