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[[Pepi II Neferkare]] a oa pempvet [[faraon]] ar [[VIvet tierniezh Henegipt|c'hwec'hvet tierniezh]] en [[Henegipt]] (2284-2184 kent J.-K.).
<!-- {{Pharaoh Infobox |
Name=Pepi II Neferkare |
Image=[[Image:AnkhnesmeryreII-and-Son-PepiII-SideView_BrooklynMuseum.png|thumb|center|Alabaster statue of [[Ankhesenmeryre II]] and her son Pepi II, now residing at the [[Brooklyn Museum]].]] |
Nomen= <hiero><- p-p-i-i -></hiero> |
Pronomen= <hiero><- ra-nfr-kA -></hiero> |
HorusHiero= <hiero>nTr-xa-w</hiero> |
Horus= Netcher khaw <br> Horus, divine of apparitions |
NebtyHiero= <hiero>nTr-xa-w</hiero> |
Nebty= Netcher khaw <br> The two ladies, divine of apparitions |
Golden=<hiero>sxm*G5:nbw</hiero> <br> The golden Horus is powerful |
Reign= c.[[2278 BC]] to c.[[2184 BC]]<ref>Clayton, Peter A. <cite>Chronicle of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt</cite>. p.64. Thames & Hudson. 2006. ISBN 0-500-28628-0</ref> |
Predecessor=[[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I|Merenre<br /> Nemtyemsaf I]] |
Successor=[[Merenre Nemtyemsaf II|Merenre<br /> Nemtyemsaf II]] |
Spouse= [[Neith (wife of Pepi II)|Neith]], [[Iput II]], <br />[[Ankhesenpepi III]], [[Ankhesenpepi IV]],<br /> and [[Udjebten]] |
Dynasty=[[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|6th Dynasty]] |
Died= [[2180s BC|2184 BC]]|
Burial= Pyramid in South [[Saqqara]] |
Monuments= Pyramid in South [[Saqqara]] |
Alt= Pepy, Phiops or Fiops |
}}
'''Pepi II''' (reigned c. [[2278 BC]]–c. [[2184 BC]]) was a [[pharaoh]] of the [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|Sixth dynasty]] in Egypt's [[Old Kingdom]]. His throne name, Neferkare (''Nefer-ka-Re''), means "Beautiful is the [[Egyptian soul|Ka]] of [[Ra|Re]]". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the premature death of his father [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I|Merenre I]], and is generally credited with having the [[List of longest reigning monarchs of all time|longest reign of any monarch in history]] at 94 years (c. [[2278 BC]] - c. [[2184 BC]]), though this figure has been disputed by some Egyptologists who favour a shorter reign length of 64 years, given the absence of attested dates known for Pepi after his 31st Count, which would equate to 62 years assuming the count to be biennial. He was once thought to be the son of [[Pepi I Meryre|Pepi I]] and Queen [[Ankhesenpepi II]] but thanks to an inscription from a block of white limestone from her mortuary temple, it is now believed that Pepi II was instead the son of [[Merenre]], who married Ankhesenpepi after Pepi I's death.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20060506232802/magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0210/feature1/fulltext.html]</ref>
Pepi II is therefore the grandson rather than the son of Pepi I. His reign marked a sharp decline of the [[Old Kingdom]]. While the power of the [[nomarch]]s grew, the power of pharaoh dissolved. With no dominant central power, local nobles began raiding each other's territories and the [[Old Kingdom]] came to an end within mere decades after the close of his reign.
==Early years of his reign==
His mother [[Ankhesenpepi II]] (Ankhesenmeryre II) most likely ruled as regent in the early years of his reign. An alabaster statuette in the [[Brooklyn Museum]] depicts a young Pepi II, in full kingly regalia, sitting on the lap of his mother. Despite his long reign, this piece is one of only three known 3D representations (i.e. statuary) in existence of this particular king. She may have been helped in turn by her brother [[Djau]], who was a [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]] under the previous pharaoh. Some scholars have taken the relative paucity of royal statuary to suggest that the royal court was losing the ability to retain skilled artisans.
A glimpse of the personality of the early child pharaoh 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, likely to serve as an entertainer for the court. This letter was preserved as a lengthy inscription on Harkhuf's tomb, and has been called the first [[Travel literature|travelogue]]<ref>Omar Zuhdi, <cite>Count Harkhuf and The Dancing Dwarf</cite>, KMT 16 Vol:1, Spring 2005, pp.74-80</ref>
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==Priedoù==
Hir e voe buhez Pepi II ha meur a bried en doe, en o zouez
Teir anezho, Neith, Iput, hag Udjebten o devoa pep a biramidenn vihan en-dro da hini ar roue e [[Saqqara]].
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==Foreign relations==
It is thought that Pepi II carried on in the tradition of his predecessors and continued with existing foreign relations, and possibly expanding further trade links into southern Africa. [[Copper]] and [[turquoise]] mining were undertaken at [[Wadi Maghara]], and [[alabaster]] was quarried from [[Hatnub]], both in the [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]]. There is at least one trade expedition to [[Land of Punt|Punt]] recorded. Diplomatic records also exist of missions to Byblos in ancient Palestine.
Pepi II is thought to have taken a policy of pacification in Nubia, with Harkhuf making at least two further expeditions into the area. Over time it appears as though relations grew strained, for while Harkhuf managed to return safely from each of his expeditions, one of his successors was not so lucky.
There were also military forays into adjacent lands, but it is noted that there was an increasing reliance upon [[Libyan]] and [[Nubian]] [[mercenaries]]. Further possible evidence of a relative lack of success in these ventures comes from the fact that a scene from the king's pyramid, depicting him as a [[Sphinx]] trampling his enemies — including a Libyan chieftain and his family — is wholly derivative from the mortuary complex of previous pharaoh [[Sahure]], which calls into question the veracity of the events supposedly being depicted.
It is also known that near the end of his reign, some foreign relations were completely broken off, a further sign of the disintegration of central rule.
==Decline of the Old Kingdom==
[[Image:PepiII-DecreeOfOfficialExactionForTempleOfMin MetropolitanMuseum.png|thumb|right|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 [[nomarch]]s (regional representatives of the king) becoming more and more powerful and exerting greater influence. [[Pepi I]], for example, married two sisters who were the daughters of a nomarch and later made their brother a [[vizier]]. Their influence was extensive, both sisters bearing sons who were chosen as part of the royal succession: [[Merenre]] and [[Pepi II]].
Increasing wealth and power appears to have been handed over to high officials during Pepi II's reign. Large and expensive tombs appear at many of the major [[Nome (Egypt)|nomes]] of Egypt, building by the reigning [[nomarch]]s, 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 into two: one for Upper Egypt and one for Lower, a further decentralization of power away from the royal capital of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. Further, the seat of vizier of Upper Egypt was moved several times. The southern vizier was stationed at [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]].
It is also thought that Pepi II's extraordinarily long reign may have been a contributing factor to the general breakdown of centralized royal rule. While there are some doubts that he reigned as long as 94 years (some scholars such as [[Von Beckerath]] believe this to be a misreading of long-lost original texts by early historians such as [[Manetho]], and ascribe him a seemingly more realistic figure of 64 years, which seems more feasible if he was succeeded by his son as Egyptian tradition states, rather than a grandson.) Still all scholars concede that his reign was unusually long. This situation almost certainly produced a succession crisis and also led to a stagnation of the central administration. A better documented example of this type of problem can be found in the long reign of much later [[Nineteenth Dynasty]] pharaoh [[Ramesses II]] and his successors. It should be stressed that Pepi II's highest date is the "'''Year after the 31st Count, 1st Month of Shemu, day 20'''" from Hatnub graffito No.7, according to Spalinger.<ref>Anthony Spalinger, Dated Texts of the Old Kingdom, SAK 21, 1994, p.308</ref> This date would be equivalent to only Pepi II's Year 62 (on the biennial dating system) and conforms well with the suggestion of a 64 Year reign for him by Von Beckerath given the noticeable absence of known dates for Pepi II from his 33rd to 47th 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 Goedicke in [[1988]] in favour of a reading of 'the Year of the 24th Count' instead, notes Spalinger.<ref>Anthony Spalinger, Dated Texts of the Old Kingdom, SAK 21, 1994, p.308</ref>
==Pyramid Complex==
[[Image:PepiIIPyramid.jpg|thumb|250px|Ruins of the pyramid complex of Pepi II]]
Pepi II's pyramid complex (originally known as ''Pepi's Life is Enduring'') is located in [[Saqqara]], close to many other [[Old Kingdom ]] pharaohs. His [[pyramid]] is a modest affair compared to the great pyramid builders of the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], but was comparable to earlier pharaohs from his own dynasty. It was originally 78.5 metres high, but erosion and relatively poor construction has reduced it 52 metres.
The pyramid was the center of a sizable funerary complex, complete with a separate mortuary complex, a small, eastern satellite pyramid. This was flanked by two of his wives' pyramids to the north and north-west (Neith and Iput II respectively), and one to the south-east (Udjebten), each with their own mortuary complexes. Perhaps reflecting the decline at the end of his rule, the fourth wife, Ankhenespepy IV was not given her own pyramid but was instead buried in a store room of the Iput's mortuary chapel. Similarly, Prince [[Ptahshepses]], who likely died near the end of Pepi II's reign, was buried in the funerary complex of a previous pharaoh, [[Unas]], within a "recycled" sarcophagus dating to the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]].
The ceiling of the burial chamber is decorated with stars, and the walls are lined with passages from the [[Pyramid texts]]. An empty black [[sarcophagus]] bearing the names and titles of Pepi II was discovered inside.
Following in the tradition of the final pharaoh of the [[Fifth dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]], [[Unas]] and of his more immediate predecessors [[Teti]], [[Pepi I Meryre|Pepi I]] and [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I|Merenre]], the interior of Pepi II's pyramid is decorated with what has become known as the [[Pyramid Texts|pyramid texts]], magical spells designed to protect the dead. Well over 800 individual texts (known as "utterances") are known to exist, and Pepi II's contains 675 such utterances, the most in any one place.
It is thought that this pyramid complex was completed no later than the thirtieth year of Pepi II's reign. No notable funerary constructions of note happened again for at least 30, and possibly as long as 60 years, due indirectly to the king's incredibly long reign. This meant there was a significant generational break for the trained stonecutters, masons, and engineers who had no major state project to work on and to pass along their practical skills. This may help explain why no major pyramid projects were undertaken by the subsequent regional kings of [[Herakleopolis Magna|Herakleopolis]] during the [[First Intermediate Period]].
===Excavation===
The complex was first investigated by [[John Shae Perring]], but it was [[Gaston Maspero]] who entered it first in [[1881]]. [[Gustav Jéquier]] investigated in detail between [[1926]] and [[1936]].<ref>Shaw, Ian. and Nicholson, Paul. ''The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt.'' p. 220. The British Museum Press, 1995.</ref> Jéquier was the first excavator to start actually finding any remains from the tomb reliefs,<ref>Shaw and Nicholson, op. cit., p.220</ref> and he was the first to publish a thorough excavation report on the complex.<ref>Jéqier, Gustav. ''Le monument funéraire de Pepi II.'' 3 volumes, Cairo, 1936-41.</ref>
== Portraiture ==
Only two statues identified as representing Pepi II exist, even though he was the longest reigning monarch of Ancient Egypt. Even more curious, both of these portraits depict Pepi II as a young child. The first of these, in the [[Brooklyn Museum]], depicts Queen [[Ankhesenpepi II|Ankhenesmerire II]] balancing the youthful Pepi II on her lap, with Pepi II wearing the royal [[nemes]] headdress signifying kingship.
The second, a small statue in the [[Egyptian Museum]] in [[Cairo]] shows Pepi II as a naked child, squatting on the child with his legs apart with his right hand (now missing) touching his mouth (a symbolic gesture of childhood for the god Horus). No other statues of Pepi II are known, though portraits of him as a grown man appear as relief carvings on his funerary complex.
==Successors==
There are few official contemporary records or inscriptions of Pepi's immediate successors, and for this reason in many books Pepi II is typically credited as being the last verifiable pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty and of the Old Kingdom.
However, according the Manetho and the [[Turin King List]], he was succeeded by his son [[Merenre Nemtyemsaf II|Merenre II]], who reigned for just over a year. It is then believed that he was in turn succeeded by the obscure pharaoh [[Neitiqerty Siptah]], though according to popular tradition (as recorded by [[Manetho]] two millennia later) he was succeeded by the [[Nitocris]], who 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 [[Turin King List|Kings Lists]] attesting to her rule.
This was the end of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, a prelude to the roughly 200-year span of Egyptian history known as the [[First Intermediate Period]].
==Literature==
Only a small number of pharaohs were immortalized in ancient fiction, Pepi II is among them. In the tale ''[[King Neferkare and General Sasenet]]'', of which only fragments survive, Pepi is described as making nightly outings and meeting his general Sasenet in secret.
== See also ==
{{commonscat|Pepi II}}
* [[Pharaoh]]
* [[List of Pharaohs]]
* [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt]]
==Notes==
<div class="references-small">
<references />
</div>
== References ==
* Dodson, Aidan. Hilton, Dyan. 2004. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt, Thames & Hudson
* Dodson, Aidan. "An Eternal Harem: Tombs of the Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Part One: In the Beginning". ''KMT.'' Summer 2004.
* Shaw, Ian. Nicholson, Paul. 1995. The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, [[Harry N. Abrams, Inc.]] Publishers.
* Anthony Spalinger, Dated Texts of the Old Kingdom, SAK 21, (1994), pp.307-308
* Oakes, Lorna. Gahlun, Lucia. 2005. ''Ancient Egypt''. Anness Publishing Limited.
* Rosanna Perelli, "Statuette of Pepi II" in Francesca Tiradriti (editor), The Treasures of the Egyptian Museum, American University in Cairo Press, 1999, p. 89.
== External links ==
*[http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/98-030/hist1.pdf A Short History of Egypt Part I: From the Predynastic Period to the Old Kingdom, accessed April 16, 2006]
*[http://members.tripod.com/~ib205/pepi_2.html Pepi II, accessed April 16, 2006]
*[http://www.ancient-egypt.org/kings/0605_pepi_ii/history.html Pepi II, accessed April 16, 2006]
*[http://www.ancient-egypt.org/topography/saqqara/pepi_ii/ The Pyramid Complex of Pepi II, accessed April 16, 2006]
*[http://lexicorient.com/egypt/saqqara25.htm Saqqara: Pyramid of Pepi 2, accessed April 16, 2006]
*[http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/texts/harkhuf.htm Tomb inscription of Harkhuf, accessed April 16, 2006]
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{{s-bef | before=[[Merenre Nemtyemsaf I]] }}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Pharaoh|Pharaoh of Egypt]] | years=[[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|Sixth dynasty]] }}
{{s-aft | after=[[Merenre Nemtyemsaf II]]}}
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{{Ancient Egyptians}}
[[Category:Pharaohs of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt]]
[[Category:Egyptian centenarians]]
[[Category:2284 BC births]]
[[Category:2184 BC deaths]]-->
[[Rummad:Meneger egiptek]]
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