Pepi I Meryre
Pepi I Meryre was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled for over 40 years at the turn of the 24th and 23rd centuries BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of Teti, the founder of the dynasty, and ascended the throne only after the brief intervening reign of the enigmatic pharaoh Userkare. His mother was Iput, who may have been a daughter of Unas, the final ruler of the preceding Fifth Dynasty. Pepi I, who had at least six consorts, was succeeded by his son Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, with whom he may have shared power in a coregency at the very end of his reign. Pepi II Neferkare, who might also have been Pepi I's son, succeeded Merenre.
Several difficulties accumulated during Pepi's reign, beginning with the possible murder of his father and the ensuing reign of Userkare. Later, probably after his twentieth year of reign, Pepi faced a harem conspiracy hatched by one of his consorts who may have tried to have her son designated heir to the throne, and possibly another conspiracy involving his vizier at the end of his reign. Confronted with the protracted decline of pharaonic power and the emergence of dynasties of local officials, Pepi reacted with a vast architectural program involving the construction of temples dedicated to local gods and numerous chapels for his own cult throughout Egypt, reinforcing his presence in the provinces. Egypt's prosperity allowed Pepi to become the most prolific builder of the Old Kingdom. At the same time, Pepi favored the rise of small provincial centres and recruited officials of non-noble extraction to curtail the influence of powerful local families. Continuing Teti's policy, Pepi expanded a network of warehouses accessible to royal envoys and from which taxes and labor could easily be collected. Finally, he buttressed his power after the harem conspiracy by forming alliances with Khui, the provincial nomarch of Abydos, marrying two of his daughters, Ankhesenpepi I and Ankhesenpepi II, and making both Khui's wife Nebet and her son Djau viziers. The Egyptian state's external policy under Pepi comprised military campaigns against Nubia, Sinai and the southern Levant, landing troops on the Levantine coast using Egyptian transport boats. Trade with Byblos, Ebla and the oases of the Western Desert flourished, while Pepi launched mining and quarrying expeditions to Sinai and further afield.
Pepi had a pyramid complex built for his funerary cult in Saqqara, next to which he built at least a further six pyramids for his consorts. Pepi's pyramid, which originally stood tall, and an accompanying high temple, followed the standard layout inherited from the late Fifth Dynasty. The most extensive corpus of Pyramid Texts from the Old Kingdom cover the walls of Pepi I's burial chamber, antechamber and much of the corridor leading to it. For the first time, these texts also appear in some of the consorts' pyramids. Excavations revealed a bundle of viscera and a mummy fragment, both presumed to belong to the pharaoh. Pepi's complex, called Pepi Mennefer, remained the focus of his funerary cult well into the Middle Kingdom and ultimately gave its name to the nearby capital of Egypt, Memphis. Pepi's cult stopped early in the Second Intermediate Period. Pepi's monuments began to be quarried for their stone in the New Kingdom, and in the Mamluk era they were almost entirely dismantled.
Family
Parents
Pepi was the son of the pharaoh Teti and Iput. Her parentage is directly attested to by a relief on a decree uncovered in Coptos that mentions Iput as Pepi's mother, by inscriptions in her mortuary temple mentioning her titles as mother of a king and as mother of Pepi, by the architecture of her tomb which had been changed from an original mastaba form into a pyramid on the accession of her son to the throne,and by her mention as being Pepi's mother on the Sixth Dynasty royal annals. Iput may have been a daughter of Unas, the last pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty, although this remains uncertain and debated. She seems to have died before Pepi's accession to the throne. The observation that Teti was most probably Pepi's father follows from the location of Iput's tomb, next to Teti's pyramid as was customary for a queen consort.
Consorts
Egyptologists have identified six consorts of Pepi I with near certainty.Pepi's best-attested consorts were Ankhesenpepi I and Ankhesenpepi II, who both bore future pharaohs and were daughters of the nomarch of Abydos Khui and his wife Nebet. Further consorts are Nubwenet, Inenek-Inti, who became one of Pepi's viziers, and Mehaa. All were buried in pyramids adjacent to that of Pepi. Relief fragments from the necropolis surrounding Pepi's pyramid mention another consort, Sebwetet.
Two more consorts have been proposed for Pepi I based on partial evidence. The first is Nedjeftet, whose name is recorded on blocks excavated in the necropolis adjacent to Pepi's pyramid. The identification of Nedjeftet as Pepi's consort remains uncertain owing to the lack of inscriptions explicitly naming her husband. Given the location of Nedjeftet's blocks in the necropolis, she may be the owner of a pyramid west of Pepi's. The second is another consort, named Behenu, who was buried in the second largest queen pyramid of Pepi's necropolis, north of his. She could either be one of his consorts or a consort of Pepi II.
A final unnamed consort, only referred to by her title "Weret-Yamtes" meaning "great of affection", is known from inscriptions uncovered in the tomb of Weni, an official serving Pepi. This consort, whose name is purposefully left unmentioned by Weni, conspired against Pepi and was prosecuted when the conspiracy was discovered.
Children
Pepi fathered at least four sons. Ankhesenpepi I probably bore him the future pharaoh Merenre Nemtyemsaf I. Ankhesenpepi II was the mother of Pepi II Neferkare, who was probably born at the very end of Pepi I's reign given he was only six upon ascending the throne after Merenre's rule. While a majority of Egyptologists favor this hypothesis, an alternative one holds that Pepi II could be a son of Merenre.Another of Pepi I's sons was Teti-ankh, meaning "Teti lives", whose mother has yet to be identified. Teti-ankh is known only from an ink inscription bearing his name discovered in Pepi's pyramid. Buried nearby is Prince Hornetjerkhet, a son of Pepi with Mehaa.
At least three of Pepi I's daughters have been tentatively identified, all future consorts of Pepi II. The first, Meritites IV, was the king's eldest daughter and was buried in the necropolis surrounding her father's pyramid. The second is Neith, whom he fathered with Ankhesenpepi I. She may have been the mother of Pepi II's successor Merenre Nemtyemsaf II. The third is Iput II, whose identity as Pepi's daughter remains uncertain because her title of "daughter of the king" may only be honorary.
Chronology
Relative chronology
The relative chronology of Pepi I's reign is well established by historical records, contemporary artifacts and archeological evidence, which agree he succeeded Userkare and was succeeded by Merenre I Nemtyemsaf. For example, the near-contemporary South Saqqara Stone, a royal annal inscribed during the reign of Pepi II, gives the succession "Teti → Userkare → Pepi I → Merenre I", making Pepi the third king of the Sixth Dynasty. Two more historical sources agree with this chronology: the Abydos king list, written under Seti I which places Pepi I's cartouche as the 36th entry between those of Userkare and Merenre, and the Turin canon, a list of kings on papyrus dating to the reign of Ramses II which records Pepi I in the fourth column, third row.Historical sources against this order of succession include the Aegyptiaca, a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC during the reign of Ptolemy II by Manetho. No copies of the Aegyptiaca have survived, and it is now known only through later writings by Sextus Julius Africanus and Eusebius. According to the Byzantine scholar George Syncellus, Africanus wrote that the Aegyptiaca mentioned the succession "Othoês → Phius → Methusuphis" at the start of the Sixth Dynasty. Othoês, Phius, and Methusuphis are understood to be the Hellenized forms for Teti, Pepi I and Merenre, respectively, meaning that the Aegyptiaca omits Userkare. Manetho's reconstruction of the early Sixth Dynasty agrees with the Karnak king list written under Thutmosis III. This list places Pepi's birth name immediately after that of Teti in the seventh entry of the second row. Unlike other sources such as the Turin canon, the purpose of the Karnak king list was not to be exhaustive, but rather to list a selection of royal ancestors to be honoured. Similarly the Saqqara Tablet, written under Ramses II, omits Userkare, with Pepi's name given as the 25th entry after that of Teti.
Length of reign
The length of Pepi I's reign remains somewhat uncertain, although as of 2021, the consensus is that he ruled over Egypt for over 40 years, possibly 49 or 50 years and possibly longer.During the Old Kingdom period, the Egyptians counted years from the beginning of the reign of the current king. These years were referred to by the number of cattle counts which had taken place since the reign's start. The cattle count was an important event aimed at evaluating the amount of taxes to be levied on the population. This involved counting cattle, oxen and small livestock. During the early Sixth Dynasty, this count was probably biennial, occurring every two years.
The South Saqqara Stone and an inscription in Hatnub both record the 25th cattle count under Pepi I, his highest known date. Accepting a biennial count, this indicates that Pepi reigned for 49 years. That a 50th year of reign could have also been recorded on the royal annal cannot be discounted, however, because of the damaged state of the South Saqqara Stone. Another historical source supporting such a long reign is Africanus' epitome of Manetho's Aegyptiaca, which credits Pepi I with a reign of 53 years.
Archaeological evidence in favor of a long reign for Pepi I includes his numerous building projects and many surviving objects made in celebration of his first Sed festival, which was meant to rejuvenate the king and was first celebrated on the 30th year of a king's rule. For example, numerous alabaster ointment vessels celebrating Pepi's first Sed festival have been discovered. They bear a standard inscriptions reading, "The king of Upper and Lower Egypt Meryre, may he be given life for ever. The first occasion of the Sed festival." Examples can now be found in museums throughout the world:
The Sed festival had a considerable importance for Old Kingdom kings. Representations of it were part of the typical decoration of temples associated with the ruler during the Old Kingdom, whether the king had actually celebrated it or not. As further evidence of the importance of this event in Pepi's case, the state administration seems to have had a tendency to mention his first jubilee repeatedly in the years following its celebration until the end of his rule in connection with building activities. For example, Pepi's final 25th cattle count reported on the Sixth Dynasty royal annals is associated with his first Sed festival even though it probably had taken place some 19 years prior.