Shepseskaf

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Shepseskaf bigraphy, stories - Egyptian pharoah

Shepseskaf : biography

Shepseskaf (also read as Schepseskaf) was the sixth and last pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom. He reigned 6 to 8 years starting circa 2510 BC. The only activities firmly datable to his reign are the completion of the temple complex of the Pyramid of Menkaure and the construction of its own mastaba tomb at South Saqqara, the Mastabet el-Fara’un, "stone bench of the pharaoh”.Peter Clayton: Chronicle of the Pharaohs. Thames and Hudson, London 1994. p. 56

Reign

He was likely the last Egyptian Pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty if he was not succeeded by a certain unknown ruler named Djedefptah as recorded in some Egyptian literature and, indirectly, by the Turin Canon. No ruler named Djedefptah is recorded in contemporary documents such as royal monuments or private tombs in the Old Kingdom cemeteries of Giza and Saqqara which date to this period.P.F. O’Mara, Manetho and the Turin Canon: A Comparison of Regnal Years, GM 158 (1997), p.51 Palace officials who served in the interval between the 4th and 5th dynasties of Egypt such as the long-lived palace courtier Netry-nesut-pu explicitly lists this sequence of Old Kingdom kings he served under in his tomb: Radjedef → Khafre → Menkaure → Shepseskaf, and the first three 5th dynasty kings namely Userkaf, Sahure and Neferirkare.P.F. O’Mara, Manetho and the Turin Canon: A Comparison of Regnal Years, GM 158 (1997), p. 51. O’Mara’s source on Netry-nesut-pu is Kurt Sethe’s Urkunden or Urk I, p.166 Finally,

Attestation

Shepseskaf reign is attested through the funerary inscriptions made by the officials who served him. These are mostly found in Gizah and Saqqara. The fact that many of these inscriptions only mention Shepseskaf without further details hints at the short duration of his reign. The court officials who mentioned Shepseskaf are :

  • Sekhemkare, a son of Khafra, priest of the royal funerary cults. His mastaba, located in Gizah (G8154) yielded a list of the kings under whom he served, from Khafra down to Sahure through Shepseskaf.Cf. K. R. Lepsius, § 89 p.109 et K.H. Sethe, § 106, p.166 Interestingly, this list also gives Userkaf as the immediate successor to Shepseskaf.
  • Bunefer, royal princess and priestess of Shepseskaf funerary cult, buried in Gizah (G8408). She is believed to be either one of Shepseskaf’s wife, daughter or one of his sisters and to have participated in his burial ceremoniesCf. S. Hassan, p.176-199.She bears the title of M23 X1:G39 N35 F32:X1:I9 njswt sA.t n Xt f, royal daughter of his body, which was found in her tomb in Gizah.
  • Nisutpunetjer, who was a priest of the royal funerary cults. His mastaba in Gizah (G8740) yielded a list of pharaohs under whom he served, from Djedefra down to Sahure and mentions Shepseskaf followed by Userkaf.Cf. K.H. Sethe, § 107, p.166 & H. Gauthier, p.180
  • Ptahshepses I, great priest of Ptah. An inscription on his false door stele details his biography. He relates that he was educated at court with Shepseskaf who later promoted him to the office of first priest of Ptah and gave him his daughter Khamaat for wedding.Cf. J.H. Breasted § 254-262 ; pp.115-118
  • Kaunisut, a palace official, cites Shepseskaf in his mastaba at Gizah (G8960).Cf. S. Hassan, pp.75-85

Other than these scanty references to Shepseskaf reign, the only stele known today that is firmly datable to that period was uncovered in Menkaure’s pyramid complex. It mentions a royal decree by Shepseskaf where he makes donations in favor of his father’s mortuary cult.Cf. K.H. Sethe, § 101, p.160

Reign Length

The Turin Canon ascribes Shepseskaf a rule of four years and his anonymous 4th dynasty successor—presumably a reference to Djedefptah—a reign of two years. In contrast, Manetho’s King List explicitly gives Shepseskaf a reign of seven years which may be a combination of the 4 + 2 (= 6) full year figures noted in the Turin Kinglist for the last two kings of the Fourth Dynasty plus a significant monthly fraction. Manetho’s King List does, however, also note the existence of the unknown and possibly fictitious ruler Djedefptah—called Thampthis in his records—who is ascribed a reign of nine years.