Neferirkare Kakai

Neferirkare Kakai

Neferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. He was acknowledged by his contemporaries as a kind and benevolent ruler. His rule witnessed continuing trade relations with Nubia to the south and possibly with Byblos on the Levantine coast to the north. He started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir, which was never completed owing to his death.

About Neferirkare Kakai in brief

Summary Neferirkare KakaiNeferirkare Kakai was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. He was acknowledged by his contemporaries as a kind and benevolent ruler, intervening in favour of his courtiers after a mishap. His rule witnessed continuing trade relations with Nubia to the south and possibly with Byblos on the Levantine coast to the north. He started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir, which was never completed owing to the death of the king. He is also mentioned in the tomb of many of his contemporaries such as his vizier Washptah, the courtier Rawer and the priest Akhethetep. The division of the Turin canon of kings into dynasties is a topic currently debated by Egyptologist Mírón Jaromírír Jarír and Egyptologist Miroslav Verner. The entry for Nefer Kirkare is commonly believed to be in the third row-19th column of the column-19 papyrus, but unfortunately this line has been lost in a large lacyrus affecting the papyrus. Neferirkar is attested in two ancient Egyptian king lists, both dating to the New Kingdom. The earliest of these is the Abydos King List written during the reign of Seti I. There, Neferarkare’s nomen \”Kakai\” occupies the 28th entry, in between those of Sahure and Neferefre. During the subsequent reign of Ramesses II, Neferirkare’s prenomen was recorded on the 27th entry of the Qqqara Tablet as a successor to Sahure.

This entry makes a new dynasty start with this entry and thus that of the new dynasty would be its founder, according to Mílós Verner and Jaromún Jarós Jaromós. The second entry is in the Giza writing board, a short list grouping six kings from different Dynasties dating to later Fifth or early Sixth Dynasty. It was written by a high official named Mesdjerw, who may have composed it for his use in the afterlife. The writing board was uncovered in a tomb of a high officials named Mes djerw. It has not yet been located as of the early 21st century but is believed to have been written in the early 19th century by a priest named Akhe thetep, who is said to have composed the board for his afterlife use. After his death, his son Nyuserre Ini completed a funerary cult taking place in his mortuary temple, which had been completed by his son Ranefer B. This cult seems to have disappeared at the end of the Old Kingdom period, although it might have been revived during the Twelfth Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom, albeit in a very limited form. In all probability, it was also around this time that the story of the Papyrus Westcar was first written, where Userkaf, Sahure, and Nefer Dirkare are said to be brothers, the sons of Ra with a woman Rededjet.