Pepi II Neferkare (2284 BC – after 2247 BC, probably either c. 2216 or c. 2184 BC) was a pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty in Egypt’s Old Kingdom who reigned from c. 2278 BC. His second name, Neferkare (Nefer-ka-Re), means “Beautiful is the Ka of Re”. He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Merenre I.
He was traditionally thought to be the son of Pepi I and Queen Ankhesenpepi II, but the South Saqqara Stone annals record that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 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 Merenre after king 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 Merenre, King’s Mother of the Pyramid of Pepy II“. Therefore, today, many Egyptologists believe that Pepi II was likely Merenre’s son. Pepi II would, therefore, be Pepi I’s grandson, while Merenre was, most likely, Pepi II’s father since he is known to have married Pepi II’s known mother, Queen Ankhesenpepi II.
Pepi II’s reign marked a sharp decline of the Old Kingdom. As the power of the nomarchs grew, the pharaoh’s power declined. With no dominant central administration, local nobles began raiding each other’s territories, and the Old Kingdom ended within a couple of years after the close of Pepi II’s reign.
Early years of Pepi II’s reign
Some scholars have taken the relative scarcity of royal statuary to suggest that the royal court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans. His mother, Ankhesenpepi II (Ankhesenmeryre II), most likely 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 in the Brooklyn Museum depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, sitting on his mother’s lap. Despite his long reign, this piece is one of only three known sculptural representations of the existence of this particular king.
A glimpse of the pharaoh’s personality while he was still a child can be found in a letter he wrote to Harkhuf, a governor of Aswan 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 of Pepi II Neferkare
Over his long life, Pepi II had several wives, including the following ones:
- Neith – She was the mother of Pepi’s successor Merenre Nemtyemsaf II. She may be a daughter of Ankhesenpepi I and Pepi II’s cousin and half-sister.
- Iput II – A half-sister of Pepi II.
- Ankhesenpepi III She was the daughter of Merenre Nemtyemsaf I and hence a granddaughter of Pepi I.
- Ankhesenpepi IV – The mother of King Neferkare, according to texts in her tomb. It is unknown which Neferkare as there were several kings with that name during the First Intermediate Period. His name may be Neferkare Nebi.
- Udjebten She was also a daughter of Pepi I.
- Meritites IV – Originally thought to be a wife of Pepi I, she’s now known to have been one of Pepi II’s consorts and a daughter of Pepi I.
Of these queens, Neith, Iput, and Udjebten each had their minor pyramids and mortuary temples as part of the king’s pyramid complex in Saqqara. Queen Ankhesenpepi III and Meritites IV were buried in pyramids near Pepi I Meryre, and Ankhesenpepi IV was buried in a chapel in the complex of Queen Udjebten.
Two more sons of Pepi II are known: Nebkauhor-Idu and Ptashepses.
Foreign policy
Pepi II seems to have carried on a foreign policy similar to that of his predecessors. Copper and turquoise were mined at Wadi Maghareh in the Sinai, and alabaster was quarried from Hatnub. He is mentioned in inscriptions found in the Phoenician city of Byblos.
In the south, the trade relations consist of caravans trading with the Nubians. Harkhuf was a governor of Upper Egypt who led several expeditions under Merenre and Pepi II. His last expedition was a trip to a place called Iam. Harkhuf brought back what his correspondence with the young pharaoh called a dwarf, apparently pygmy. Egypt received incense, ebony, animal skins, and ivory from Nubia. The Western desert was known to have extensive caravan routes. Some routes allowed trade with the Kharga Oasis, the Selima Oasis, and the Dakhla Oasis.
King Neferkare and General Sasenet
Only a tiny number of pharaohs were immortalized in ancient fiction; Pepi II may be among them. In the tale of “King Neferkare and General Sasenet”, three fragments of a papyrus dating from the late New Kingdom (although the story may have been composed earlier) [16] report clandestine nocturnal meetings with a military commander – a General Sasenet or Sisene. Some have suggested this reflects a homosexual relationship, although it is disputed that the text relates to Pepi II. Some, like R. S. Bianchi, think it is a work of archaizing literature that dates to the 25th Dynasty, referring to Shabaka Neferkare, a Kushite pharaoh.
The decline of the Old Kingdom
A decree from Pepi II granting tax immunity to the temple of Min, on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
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 more significant influence. Pepi I, for example, married two sisters who were the daughters of a nomarch and later made their brother a vizier. Their effect was extensive, both sisters bearing sons who were chosen as part of the royal succession: Merenre Nemtyemsaf I and Pepi II.
Increasing wealth and power appear to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II’s reign. Extensive and expensive tombs appear in many of the significant 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, further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of Memphis. Further, the seat of the vizier of Lower Egypt was moved several times. The southern vizier was based at Thebes.
Reign length
Pepi II is often mentioned as the longest-reigning monarch in history due to a 3rd-century BC account of Ancient Egypt by Manetho, which accords the king a reign of 94 years; this has, however, been disputed by some Egyptologists due to the absence of attested dates known for Pepi II after his 31st count (Year 62 if biennial) such as Hans Goedicke (1926-2015) and Michel Baud note. Ancient sources upon which Manetho’s estimate is based are long lost and could have resulted from a misreading on Manetho’s behalf.
The Turin canon attributes 90+ years of reign to Pepi II. Still, this document dates to the time of Ramesses II, 1,000 years after Pepi II’s death, and its accuracy for the reign length of the Old Kingdom king, Pepi II, is uncertain.
At present, the latest written source contemporary with Pepi II dates from the “Year after the 31st Count, 1st Month of Shemu, day 20” from Hatnub graffito No.7 (Spalinger, 1994), which implies, assuming a biennial cattle count system, that this king had a reign of at least 62 full or partial years. Therefore, some Egyptologists suggest that Pepi II reigned for no more than 64 years. This is based on the complete absence of higher attested dates for Pepi beyond his Year after the 31st Count (Year 62 on a biannual cattle count). A previous suggestion by Hans Goedicke that the Year of the 33rd Count appears for Pepi II in a royal decree for the mortuary cult of Queen Udjebten was withdrawn by Hans Goedicke himself in 1988 in favour of a reading of “the Year of the 24th Count” instead. Goedicke writes that multiple-year dates attest to Pepi II until the year of his 31st count, which strongly implies that this king died shortly after a reign of about 64 years. Other scholars note that the lack of contemporary sources dated after his 62nd year on the throne does not preclude a much longer authority, particularly since the end of Pepi II’s reign was marked by a sharp decline in the fortunes of the Old Kingdom pharaohs who succeeded him.
The Egyptologist David Henige states while there have been examples of king lists where rulers were ascribed reigns as long as that assigned to Pepi II, “often exceeding 100 years, but these are invariably rejected as mythical”, the problems inherent in dating Pepi II’s reign are many since:
…a hyperextended duration is not necessary to bring Old Kingdom chronology into some equilibrium with other chronologies. For Mesopotamia, from at least this early until virtually the Persian conquest, numerous localized synchronisms play vital roles in absolute dating but seldom affect the duration of individual dynasties. Not only is the Old Kingdom Egypt well outside any “synchronism zone”, but, as it happens, since Pepy II was the last substantive ruler of Egypt before a period of political and chronological chaos…there are no awkward ramifying effects by reducing his reign by twenty or thirty years, a period that can be added on to the First Intermediate Period.
Henige himself is somewhat sceptical of the 94-year figure assigned to Pepi II and follows Naguib Kanawati’s 2003 suggestion that this king’s reign was probably much shorter than 94 years.
This situation could have produced a succession crisis and led to a stagnation of the administration, centred on an absolute yet ageing ruler who was not replaced because of his perceived divine status. A later, better-documented example of this problem in the case of the long-reigning Nineteenth Dynasty pharaoh Ramesses II and his successors.
It has been proposed that the 4.2 kiloyear event be linked to the collapse of the Old Kingdom in Egypt, though the current evidence is insufficient to make an assertion.
The Ipuwer Papyrus
In the past, it had been suggested that Ipuwer the sage served as a treasury official during the last years of Pepi II Neferkare’s reign. The Ipuwer Papyrus was thought by some to describe the collapse of the Old Kingdom and the beginning of the Dark Age, known to historians as the First Intermediate Period. It had been claimed that archaeological evidence from Syrian button seals supported this interpretation. The admonitions may not be a discussion with a king at all, however. Otto was the first to suggest that the debate was not between Ipuwer and his king but that this was a discussion between Ipuwer and a deity. Fecht showed through philological interpretation and revision of the relevant passages that this is indeed a discussion with a deity. Modern research suggests that the papyrus dates to the much later 13th Dynasty, with part of the papyrus, now thought to date to the time of Pharaoh Khety and the admonitions of Ipuwer being addressed to the god Atum, not a mortal king. The admonitions are supposed to harken back to the First Intermediate Period and record a decline in international relations and a general impoverishment in Egypt.
Pyramid complex
The complex consists of Pepi’s pyramid with its adjacent mortuary temple. The pyramid contained a core made of limestone and clay mortar. In addition, it was encased in white limestone. An exciting feature is that after the north chapel and the wall were completed, the builders tore down these structures and enlarged the pyramid’s base. A band of brickwork reaching the perimeter wall’s height was 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 pyramid’s hieroglyph or that the builders possibly wanted to fortify the base of the network 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 into the floor.
To the northwest of the pyramid of Pepi II, the pyramids of his consorts Neith and Iput were built. Neith’s pyramid was the largest and may have been the first to be made. However, the pyramid of Queen Udjebten is located south of Pepi’s pyramid. The Queen’s pyramids had their chapel, temple and satellite pyramid. The pyramids of the Queens contained Pyramid Texts.
The mortuary temple adjacent to the pyramid of Pepi II was decorated with scenes showing the king spearing a hippopotamus and thus triumphing over chaos. A courtyard was surrounded by 18 pillars decorated with scenes of the king in the presence of gods. Other locations include the sed festival, a festival of the god Min and scenes showing Pepi executing a Libyan chieftain, who his wife and son accompany. The scene with the Libyan chief is a copy from Sahure‘s temple.
Despite the longevity of Pepi II, his pyramid was no more significant 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 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
John Shae Perring first investigated the complex, but it was Gaston Maspero who first entered the pyramid of Pepi II in 1881. Gustave Jéquier was the first to explore the complex in detail between 1926 and 1936. Jéquier was the first excavator to start finding any remains from the tomb reliefs, and he was the first to publish a thorough excavation report on the complex.
Portraiture
A statue now in the Brooklyn Museum depicts Queen Ankhenesmerire II with her son Pepi II on her lap. Pepi II wears the royal nemes headdress and a kilt. He is shown at a much smaller scale than his mother. This difference in size is atypical because the king is usually shown larger than others. The difference in size may refer to the period when his mother served as a regent. Alternatively, the statue may depict Ankhenesmerire II as the divine mother.
Another statue of Pepi II is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (JE 50616). The king is shown as a naked child. The depiction of the king at such a young age may refer to the period he came to the throne.
Successors
There are few official contemporary records or inscriptions of Pepi’s immediate successors. According to Manetho and the Turin King List, he was succeeded by his son Merenre Nemtyemsaf II, who reigned for just over a year. It is then believed that he was followed by the obscure pharaoh Neitiqerty Siptah, though according to popular tradition (as recorded by Manetho two millennia later), he was succeeded by Queen Nitocris. They would be the first female ruler of Egypt. There is considerable doubt that she ever existed, given the absence of contemporary physical evidence in such things as the various King Lists attesting to her rule.
This was the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, a prelude to the roughly 200-year Egyptian history known as the First Intermediate Period.
