Some Fourth and Fifth Dynasty similarities

by Damien F. Mackey “Despite all these changes, the 5th Dynasty may have been closely related to the 4th”. ancient-egypt.org The Fifth Dynasty was, as I have maintained in my reconstructions of the life of Moses, for example: Life of Moses and reform of the Old - Middle Kingdom of Egypt (5) Life of Moses and reform of the Old - Middle Kingdom of Egypt the same dynasty as was the Fourth (and the Sixth and the Twelfth). For instance, there are various compelling parallels between the dynastic founder of the Sixth Dynasty, Teti (d. c. 2333 BC, conventional dating) and the dynastic founder of the Twelfth Dynasty, Amenemhet so-called I (c. 1939-1910 BC, conventional dating) – these names being wrongly separated apart by Egyptologists by some four centuries. Then there is the golden thread of the female name “Merris” (Egyptian foster-mother of Moses: Artapanus), as Meresankh (meres + ankh), coupled with her husband, “Chenephres” (Artapanus), running through the Fourth (Chephren/Khafre/Kanefere and Meresankh), and Fifth (Meresankh so-called IV), and Sixth (Pepi Neferkare/ Kanefere and Ankhesenmerire = Meresankh) dynasties. In the Moses article above, I ventured to identify Menkaure of the Fourth Dynasty with Menkauhor of the Fifth Dynasty. The Egyptians commonly switched between the theophoric, re, and hor, as we find, for example in the name of the sage, Djedefre, which name is also rendered as Djedefhor. On this, see my article: Moses in Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty (5) Moses in Egypt's Fourth Dynasty In this article I sketched some possible associations with Menkaure, on the one hand, and Cheops (Khufu) and Menkauhor, on the other hand: …. (b) Incorporating Menkaure Continuing with N. Grimal P. 74 … Menkaure (‘Stable are the kau of Ra’), or, to take Herodotus’ transcription, Mycerinus. We recall Menkaure’s allegedly shameful treatment of his own daughter, reminiscent of Cheops’ own prostituting of his daughter, at least according to Herodotus. Grimal continues: “Manetho is uncertain about the length of his reign, which was probably eighteen years rather than twenty-eight”. Whilst this may not accord so well with some of our longer-reigning (say forty years) alter egos, it is fascinating, nonetheless, that Phouka (http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn04/05menkaure.html also has for Menkaure a Manethonian figure of sixty-three years, a figure that we have already met in the case of … Cheops …. Menkaure may also enable us to incorporate into our revisionist mix the Fifth Egyptian Dynasty via Menkaure’s virtual namesake, Menkauhor, whose reign is otherwise “poorly known” (p. 74). Grimal continues: “… like Neuserre [Menkauhor] sent expeditions to the Sinai mines …”. As did our other alter egos. We read above that Menkauhor is “poorly known”, a phrase that – along with “little known” – one encounters time and time again in ancient history. That is because kings, kingdoms, have been split up into pieces by historians and scattered. The fact that (p. 74): … Menkauhor’s pyramid has not yet been identified, and it is difficult to decide whether it is likely to have been at Dahshur, or at northern Saqqara where a personal cult was dedicated to him in the New Kingdom … could lead us now to the conclusion that Menkauhor’s missing pyramid may have been Menkaure’s (far from missing) pyramid at Giza. (Soon we shall read about a supposedly missing sun temple as well). Note, again (from quote above), that Menkauhor became – like the other alter egos – a “cult” figure. From there I looked also towards: (c) Incorporating Sahure The following description of the Fifth Dynasty expansion by N. Grimal could just as well have been written of the Sixth, the Twelfth, Egyptian dynasties. It is apparently all one and the same. P. 76 During the fifth Dynasty Egypt seems to have been opened up to the outside world, both northwards and southwards. The reliefs in the mortuary temple built by …. Sahure, include the usual … conquered countries …. To which Grimal adds: “… (belonging more to rhetoric than to historical evidence)”. This is another observation that we frequently encounter in ancient history, a failure to believe a straightforward record only because the limited knowledge of historians prevents them from grasping the bigger picture. However, as Grimal then goes on to tell: … but they also show the return [sic] of a maritime trading expedition probably from Byblos, as well as forays into the Syrian hinterland; if the references to bears in these region are to be believed. A campaign against the Libyans has also been dated to Sahure’s reign …. Grimal then becomes negative again, adding: “… although there is some doubt surrounding this “. Re trade to Byblos, we find M. Bernal (Black Athena, p. 149) mentioning three Old Kingdom names in connection with it, all of whom are “new king” alter egos of mine: “… the names of Menkauḥōr and Izozi [= Isesi, to be discussed in (e)] as well as that of Sahureˁ …”. Sahure’s trade and exploits read like Snofru again, as well as others: … primarily economic: the exploitation of mines in the Sinai, diorite quarrying to the west of Aswan and an expedition to Punt, which is mentioned in the Palermo Stone and perhaps also depicted on the reliefs in Sahure’s mortuary temple. That “diorite quarrying” no doubt served to provide the material for superb 4th dynasty statues: In one of Sahure’s names, Sephris (Manetho), I think that we might come close to Cheops’ name of Suphis (Manetho): http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/pharaoh/dynasties/dyn04/02khufu.html There is some confusion as to the husband of the Fifth Dynasty’s Meresankh. I wrote: The name Meresankh, our ‘golden thread’, also re-emerges in connection with the Fifth Dynasty: https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/djedkare/ “[Djedkare] may have been married to Meresankh [so-called] IV who was buried in the main necropolis in Saqqara, but it is also possible that Meresankh was the wife of Menkauhor”. As with Khufu/Cheops, Meresankh (“Merris”) would have been, instead, the daughter (not wife), who married the succeeding ruler. …. Grimal makes this comparison between Sahure and Djedkare Isesi: P. 79 Like Sahure, [Isesi] pursued a vigorous foreign policy that led him in similar directions [also, again, like Snofru]: to the Sinai, where two expeditions at ten-year intervals are recorded at Wadi Maghara; to the diorite quarries west of Abu Simbel; and further afield to Byblos and the land of Punt. There is also a Merenre connection – {for more on Merenre, see (f)}: “Isesi’s expedition to Punt, mentioned in a graffito found at the lower Nubian site of Tomas, was evidently still remembered [sic] in the time of Merenre”. But this (e.g. Nubian site of Tomas) also connects perfectly with Teti (founder of the 6th Dynasty), whom I have already linked with the “new king” [Exodus 1:8], especially akin to his persona in Amenemes I. On Teti, Grimal has written: P. 81 [Teti] … was able to continue [sic] many of the international links of the Fifth Dynasty: he maintained relations with Byblos and perhaps also with Punt and Nubia, at least as far as the site of Tomas in northern Nubia. As with … Menkauhor (Menkaure?), so with Teti, the chief officials and governors appear to have been allowed greater power. Thus: P. 79 The acquisition of greater powers by officials continued during Isesi’s reign, leading to the development of a virtual feudal system. Likewise, with suggested alter ego Menkauhor: P. 78 It was during this period that the provincial governors and court officials gained greater power and independence, creating an unstoppable movement which essentially threatened the central authority. Likewise, with suggested alter ego Teti: P. 80 Thus ensconced in the legitimate royal line, [Teti] pursued a policy of co-operation with the nobles …. P. 81: “Clearly, Teti’s policy of pacifying the nobles bore fruit”. Likewise, with suggested alter ego Amenemes I: P. 160 … he allowed those nomarchs who had supported his cause … to retain their power … he reinforced their authority by reviving [?] ancient rites. Nor is one now surprised to read (p. 80): “… there were a good number of officials who served under Djedkare and Wenis as well as Teti …”, because this historical period in my revision (including Wenis in Part Two later) encompasses only two successive reigns. Correspondingly, we find in Auguste Mariette’s (https://pharaoh.se/library-vol-9) Note on a fragment of the Royal Papyrus and the Sixth Dynasty of Manetho the sequence … Tet [Teti], Unas [Wenis] …. They read: 1. Menkeher 2. Tet 3. Unas. (e) Incorporating Merenre The era of Merenre introduces us to some key characters, including my 6th Dynasty Moses: WENI …. As well there is “Khui, a noble from Abydos” (p. 83), who is my Khufu (Cheops). Khui, in turn, had a daughter Ankhenesmerire (i.e., Meresankh), who is (my) Khufu’s daughter, Meresankh, the “Merris” of Moses’ legend. …. On p. 168 we learn that Sesostris III (probably our “new king” of Exodus 1:8’s actual successor – he to be considered in Part Two), “… began by enlarging the canal that Merenre had built near Shellal to allow boats to pass through the rapids of Aswan”. In my revision this activity of Sesostris would have occurred soon after the death of Merenre. In conventional history it would have been a time distance of roughly (2260 – 1860 =) 400 years. Finally, just as we have found that our founder king (Teti; Amenemes I) had come to a sticky end, having been murdered, so, too, it may have been with Merenre. https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/merenreII/ “However, according to Herodotus, Merenre was murdered, forcing his queen, Nitocris, to take revenge before committing suicide”. In the course of this section the following names all became potential candidates for reconstructing the “new king” of Exodus 1:8: SNOFRU; KHUFU … MENKAURE; MENKAUHOR; NEUSERRE; SAHURE; DJEDKARE ISESI; TETI; MERENRE; AMENEMES I (AND PERHAPS II-IV) That is a conventional time span of some (2600 – 1800 =) 800 YEARS! At http://www.ancient-egypt.org/history/old-kingdom/5th-dynasty/index.html we read about this about the impressive Fifth Dynasty (we can immediately ignore, though, the inflated dates given here): 5th Dynasty (2465-2323) Compared to the previous dynasties, the 5th Dynasty is fairly well known. All kings noted in the king-lists and by Manetho are attested by archaeological sources. This is largely due to the increased amount of documents from this period. This dynasty has brought some significant changes and innovations to the Egyptian society. First of all, the rising importance of the solar cult, already noted for the 4th Dynasty, came to a climax. Except for the last two of this dynasty, all kings built a so-called solar temple. Two such solar temples have been found and have proven to be quite unique buildings. The first solar temple, at Abusir, to the north of Saqqara, was built by Userkaf and extended by Neferirkare and Niuserre. The only other remaining one, was built by Niuserre at Abu Gorab, north of Abusir. The names of the other solar temples are known, but they have not yet been identified. Probably due to a shift in religious views, the building of solar temples came to a sudden stop with the reign of Djedkare. A second innovation only came at the end of the dynasty, with the reign of king Unas, who was the first to have religious texts, known today as Pyramid Texts, inscribed in the burial chamber, antechamber and part of the entrance corridor of his pyramid at Saqqara. It is not impossible that the appearance of these texts is related to the disappearance of the solar temples. The Pyramid Texts found inside the pyramid of Unas at Saqqara are the oldest known funerary texts found thus far on the walls of a royal tomb. On an architectural level, we not only note the building of the solar temples, but also a standardisation in the building of pyramid complexes. Most kings built their pyramid complex at Abusir, near the solar temple of Userkaf, who had built his own pyramid at Saqqara. The organisation and number of rooms in the pyramid, the buildings outside the pyramid and the rooms inside these buildings would more and more become part of a canon. We also note that the pyramids are significantly smaller than those of the beginning of the 4th Dynasty. This has often been explained by the more limited resources available to the 5th Dynasty kings. Against this view, it should be observed that most of the 5th Dynasty kings no longer appeared to limit their building efforts to a pyramid complex and that the complexes were often beautifully decorated. The Ancient Egyptian penchant for standardisation may also explain the smaller pyramids. The royal titulary was also extended and would from this dynasty on consist of 5 sets of titles. Although it was first used by 4th Dynasty king Djedefre, the title Son of Re would become an important part of the titulary. It was followed by the king's personal name and links him directly to the solar cult. The older titles, the so-called Horus- and Nebti-names, would still be part of the titulary. From the beginning of this dynasty on, we also note an increase in the number of high officials. Contrary to the 4th Dynasty, high offices were now no longer restricted to members of the royal family. Government and administration were reformed and this resulted in a far more efficient bureaucracy through which the king could control the country. The larger number of dignitaries also resulted in more documentation left to us and this is one of the reasons why we know more of this dynasty then of the previous one. Despite all these changes, the 5th Dynasty may have been closely related to the 4th. The Turin King-list lists the kings of this dynasty immediately after those of the 4th, without marking any change. The founder of this dynasty, Userkaf, is believed to have been a descendant of Kheops, perhaps directly or through marriage. The story noted on the Papyrus Westcar, however, makes Userkaf the brother of his two successors and the son of a priest of Re and a woman named Radjedet. Archaeological sources contradict this view, which has been held for true by many Egyptologists. The story is likely to have been intended to explain the close relationship between the 5th Dynasty and the solar cult. [End of quote] Some things here, though, are just not quite right. Most significantly, three of the presumed six sun temples of the Fifth Dynasty are – as has been said of evolution’s missing link – “still missing”. I wrote about this sensational fact in my article: Missing old Egyptian tombs and temples (3) Missing old Egyptian tombs and temples And, just as I expect that evolution’s missing link will forever remain missing, so do I believe the same to be the case with some of the missing temples of the Fifth Dynasty. My amalgamation of Egyptian dynasties Four and Five would mean that, in this revised revolution of Egypt’s Old Kingdom, there is no need to look for missing links, as Menkaure (Ka-nebty… nub-netjery-) seems to merge well into (Menkauhor) into Sahure (khau-nebty … netjery-num). Most strikingly, though, one has only to look at the almost identical faces: