Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC. He succeeded Djedkare Isesi, who might have been his father. Little is known of Unas’ activities during his reign, which was a time of economic decline. Unas built a pyramid in Saqqara, the smallest of the royal pyramids.
About Unas in brief
Unas reigned for 15 to 30 years in the mid-24th century BC. He succeeded Djedkare Isesi, who might have been his father. Little is known of Unas’ activities during his reign, which was a time of economic decline. Unas built a pyramid in Saqqara, the smallest of the royal pyramids completed during the Old Kingdom. He was the first pharaoh to have the Pyramid Texts carved and painted on the walls of the chambers of his pyramid, a major innovation that was followed by his successors until the First Intermediate Period. The growth and decentralization of the administration in conjunction with the lessening of the king’s power continued under Unas, ultimately contributing to the collapse of theOld Kingdom some 200 years later. He is well attested by historical sources with three ancient Egyptian king lists dating to the New Kingdom period mentioning him. He also left a rock inscription on the island of Elephantine, next to the First Cataract of the Nile. In addition, several alabaster vases bearing his name are known from the royal necavations of Nubia. He left a cartouche bearing several vase fragments, which are safely dated to his third, sixth, and eighth years on the throne. He had several daughters and possibly one or two sons who are believed to have predeceased him. His funerary cult continued until the end of the Middle Kingdom and may have survived during the chaotic First Intermediate period.
The cult was still in existence or revived during the later Middle Kingdom. In parallel to the official cult, Unas may have received popular veneration as a local god of Saqqar until as late as the Late Period, nearly 2000 years after his death. He occupies the 33rd entry of the Abydos King List, which is written during the reign of Seti I. His name is also present on the Saqara Tablet and on the Turin canon, both of which were written during Ramses II. The Turin Canon further credits Unas with 30 years of reign. These sources all place Unas as the ninth and final ruler of the Fifth Dynasty, preceding Teti and preceding teti on the coronation of Teti. The Aegyptiaca, a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC during the Reign of Ptolemy II, mentions a pharaoh named “Onnos” Unas is believed to be the hellenized form for Onnos, and Africanus’ 33-year figure fits well with the 30 years given to Unas on theTurin canon. Excluding many reliefs from many documents, surprisingly few have survived to this day, considering the 30-year length that later records give for his reign that give for this day. He may have been succeeded by Teti, but archaeological evidence suggests that the Egyptians at the time made no conscious break with the preceding dynasty and the distinction between the Fifth and Sixth dynasties might be illusory.
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This page is based on the article Unas published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 05, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
