For the lesser known pharaoh of the 8th Dynasty, see Neferirkare.
Neferirkare Kakai
Neferirkara, Neferarkare, Nefercherês
Neferirkare Kakai, originally depicted as prince Ranefer, on a relief from the mortuary complex of his father Sahure. His royal title and regalia were added later during his own reign.[1][2]
Pharaoh
Reign
Eight, ten, eleven or much less likely twenty years, in the early to mid-25th century BCE.[note 1]
Predecessor
Sahure
Successor
Neferefre (most likely) or Shepseskare
Royal titulary
Horus name
Userkhau Wsr ḫˁ.w Strong of appearances[18]
Nebty name
Khaemnebty Ḫˁ m nbty Who has appeared [by means of] the Two Ladies[18]
Userkhau Wsr ḫˁ.w Strong of appearances [by means of] the Two Ladies[18]
Golden Horus
Sekhemunebu Sḫm.w nb-w The triple power[18] The three powers[19]
Prenomen (Praenomen)
Neferirkare Nfr-jr(.w)-k3-Rˁ The perfect one is the one whom the Ka of Ra has engendered[18] Beautiful is the Soul of Ra[20]
Nomen
Kakai k3 k3.j Uncertain translation: may be a short form of his throne name[21][22]or a birth name meaning My Ka is a true Ka[18]
Consort
Khentkaus II
Children
Neferefre ♂, Nyuserre Ini ♂, Iryenre ♂, Khentkaus III ♀
Father
Sahure
Mother
Meretnebty (also known as Neferetnebty)
Burial
Pyramid of Neferirkare
Monuments
Pyramid Ba-Neferirkare Sun temple Setibre
Dynasty
5th Dynasty
Neferirkare Kakai (known in Greek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before he came to the throne. He acceded the day after his father's death and reigned for eight to eleven years, sometime in the early to mid-25th century BCE. He was himself very likely succeeded by his eldest son, born of his queen Khentkaus II, the prince Ranefer B who would take the throne as king Neferefre. Neferirkare fathered another pharaoh, Nyuserre Ini, who took the throne after Neferefre's short reign and the brief rule of the poorly known Shepseskare.
Neferirkare was acknowledged by his contemporaries as a kind and benevolent ruler, intervening in favour of his courtiers after a mishap. His rule witnessed a growth in the number of administration and priesthood officials, who used their expanded wealth to build architecturally more sophisticated mastabas, where they recorded their biographies for the first time. Neferirkare was the last pharaoh to significantly modify the standard royal titulary, separating the nomen or birth name, from the prenomen or throne name. From his reign onwards, the former was written in a cartouche preceded by the "Son of Ra" epithet. His rule witnessed continuing trade relations with Nubia to the south and possibly with Byblos on the Levantine coast to the north.
Neferirkare started a pyramid for himself in the royal necropolis of Abusir, called Ba-Neferirkare meaning "Neferirkare is a Ba". It was initially planned to be a step pyramid, a form which had not been employed since the days of the Third Dynasty circa 120 years earlier. This plan was modified to transform the monument into a true pyramid, the largest in Abusir, which was never completed owing to the death of the king. In addition, Neferirkare built a temple to the sun god Ra called Setibre, that is "Site of the heart of Ra". Ancient sources state that it was the largest one built during the Fifth Dynasty but as of the early 21st century it has not yet been located.
After his death, Neferirkare benefited from a funerary cult taking place in his mortuary temple, which had been completed by his son Nyuserre Ini. 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, a tale where Userkaf, Sahure and Neferirkare are said to be brothers, the sons of Ra with a woman Rededjet.
^Borchardt 1910, plates 33 and 34.
^Allen et al. 1999, p. 337.
^Hayes 1978, p. 58.
^Verner 2001b, p. 589.
^Altenmüller 2001, p. 598.
^Hawass & Senussi 2008, p. 10.
^El-Shahawy & Atiya 2005, p. 85.
^Strudwick 2005, p. xxx.
^Clayton 1994, p. 60.
^Málek 2000a, p. 100.
^Rice 1999, p. 132.
^von Beckerath 1999, p. 285.
^Allen et al. 1999, p. xx.
^MET 2002.
^Decree of Neferirkare, BMFA 2017.
^Strudwick 1985, p. 3.
^Hornung 2012, p. 491.
^ abcdefLeprohon 2013, p. 39.
^Leprohon 2013, p. 39, footnote 52.
^Clayton 1994, p. 61.
^Leprohon 2013, p. 38.
^Scheele-Schweitzer 2007, pp. 91–94.
Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).
NeferirkareKakai (known in Greek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest...
Neferirkare (sometimes referred to as Neferirkare II because of NeferirkareKakai) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early...
Kakai may refer to: Kaka'i, also called Yarsan or Ahl-e Haqq, followers of Yarsanism, a religion of Iran and Iraq NeferirkareKakai, pharaoh of Egypt...
Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh NeferirkareKakai and queen Khentkaus II. He was known as prince Ranefer before he ascended...
The pyramid of Neferirkare (Egyptian: Bꜣ Nfr-ỉr-kꜣ-rꜥ "the Ba of Neferirkare") was built for the Fifth Dynasty pharaoh NeferirkareKakai in the 25th century...
BC) was a high-ranking priest and official who served under King NeferirkareKakai during the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Based on his skull, he was probably...
pyramids are those of Niuserre, which is also the best-preserved, NeferirkareKakai and Sahure. The site is also home to the incomplete Pyramid of Neferefre...
traditionally believed to have reigned for seven years, succeeding NeferirkareKakai and preceding Neferefre on the throne, making him the fourth ruler...
with Queen Neferhetepes II, and was in turn succeeded by his son NeferirkareKakai. During Sahure's rule, Egypt had important trade relations with the...
Palermo Stone, cataloguing events during the reigns of pharaohs down to NeferirkareKakai, third ruler of the Fifth Dynasty. From the surviving fragments, it...
second half of the 25th century BCE. Nyuserre was the younger son of NeferirkareKakai and queen Khentkaus II, and the brother of the short-lived king Neferefre...
stone in the section concerning the reign of the 5th-dynasty king NeferirkareKakai, who apparently had a mortuary temple built for the cult of Huni....
the 5th dynasty. The papyri were found in the temple complexes of NeferirkareKakai, Neferefre and queen Khentkaus II. The first fragments of the Abusir...
administrative (temple) records of one Abusir funerary cult, that of king NeferirkareKakai. This discovery was supplemented in the late twentieth century when...
how he attempted to put these children – named Userkaf, Sahure, and Neferirkare – to death; however in recent years, scholars have recognized this story...
to Punt. Sahure was in turn succeeded by NeferirkareKakai (2475–2455 BC), who was Sahure's son. Neferirkare introduced the prenomen in the royal titulary...
Global Information
