Merenre Nemtyemsaf I
Encyclopedia
Merenre Nemtyemsaf I was the fourth king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt
. His nomen, theophorically referring to Nemty, was formerly read as Antyemsaf, a reading now known to be incorrect.
, and grandson of the female vizier Nebet
and her spouse Khui.
While Merenre Nemtyemsaf was once believed to have served as a brief co-regent to his father Pepi I Meryre
before ruling in his own right, the publication of the South Saqqara Stone
annal document in 1995 by Vassil Dobrev and Michel Baud shows that Merenre directly succeeded his father in power with no interregnum or coregency. The badly damaged document preserves the record of Pepi I's final year—his 25th Count and proceeds immediately to the first year count of Merenre Merenre shared his father's fascination with Nubia
and continued to explore deep into the region. He also began a process of royal consolidation, appointing Weni as the first governor of all of Upper Egypt
and expanding the power of several other governors. While he was once assumed to have died at an early age, recent archaeological discoveries discount this theory. Two contemporary objects suggests that Merenre's reign lasted slightly more than a decade. The South Saqqara Stone Annals preserves his Year after the 2nd Count whereas Merenre's Year after the 5th Count (Year 10 if biannual) is attested in a quarry inscription from Hatnub Inscription No.6, according to Anthony Spalinger.
The same South Saqqara Stone – which was created during Pepi II's reign – credits Merenre with a minimum reign of 11 to 13 Years, however, (based on a straight biannual count) which would raise Merenre's reign length from a traditional figure of 5 to 6 years. The British Egyptologists Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson in a 1995 book raised Merenre I's reign from the traditional 6 year figure to 9 years. However, they were unaware of the contents of the South Saqqara Stone which was published in the same year by Baud & Dobrev and shows that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 years with no co-regency with his father, Pepi I. (It should be noted, of course, that cattle counts were not always biennial; for example, 18 had been performed by the 30th year of Pepi I's reign. It is therefore entirely possible that Merenre ruled for fewer than 11 years.)
Sixth dynasty royal seals and stone blocks found at Saqqara demonstrate that Merenre's aunt, Queen Ankhesenpepi II
, was the wife of both Pepi I and then Merenre himself. Since the South Saqqara Stone shows Merenre's reign intervened between Pepi I and Pepi II and lasted for a minimum of slightly over a decade, this indirectly indicates that Merenre I was actually Pepi II's father, rather than Pepi I as was traditionally assumed. Merenre's daughter was Ankhesenpepi III
, the future wife of Pepi II.
Sixth dynasty of Egypt
The sixth dynasty of ancient Egypt is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and V under the group title the Old Kingdom.-Pharaohs:...
. His nomen, theophorically referring to Nemty, was formerly read as Antyemsaf, a reading now known to be incorrect.
Biography
Merenre was a son of Pepi I and Ankhesenpepi IAnkhesenpepi I
Ankhenespepi I or Ankhenesmeryre I was a queen consort during the sixth dynasty of Egypt.- Biography :Ankhesenpepi was a daughter of Nebet the female vizier and her husband Khui...
, and grandson of the female vizier Nebet
Nebet
Nebet was created vizier during the late Old Kingdom of Egypt by Pharaoh Pepi I of the Sixth dynasty, her son-in-law. She is the first recorded female vizier in Ancient Egyptian history, the next one was in the 26th Dynasty....
and her spouse Khui.
While Merenre Nemtyemsaf was once believed to have served as a brief co-regent to his father Pepi I Meryre
Pepi I Meryre
Pepi I Meryre was the third king of the Sixth dynasty of Egypt. His first throne name was Neferdjahor which the king later altered to Meryre meaning "beloved of Rê."-Family:...
before ruling in his own right, the publication of the South Saqqara Stone
South Saqqara Stone
The South Saqqara Stone is the lid of the sarcophagus of the ancient Egyptian queen Ankhenespepi which was inscribed with a list for the reigns of the pharaohs of the 6th dynasty from Teti, Userkare, Pepi I, Merenre to the early years of Pepi II under whom the document was likely created...
annal document in 1995 by Vassil Dobrev and Michel Baud shows that Merenre directly succeeded his father in power with no interregnum or coregency. The badly damaged document preserves the record of Pepi I's final year—his 25th Count and proceeds immediately to the first year count of Merenre Merenre shared his father's fascination with Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
and continued to explore deep into the region. He also began a process of royal consolidation, appointing Weni as the first governor of all of Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
and expanding the power of several other governors. While he was once assumed to have died at an early age, recent archaeological discoveries discount this theory. Two contemporary objects suggests that Merenre's reign lasted slightly more than a decade. The South Saqqara Stone Annals preserves his Year after the 2nd Count whereas Merenre's Year after the 5th Count (Year 10 if biannual) is attested in a quarry inscription from Hatnub Inscription No.6, according to Anthony Spalinger.
The same South Saqqara Stone – which was created during Pepi II's reign – credits Merenre with a minimum reign of 11 to 13 Years, however, (based on a straight biannual count) which would raise Merenre's reign length from a traditional figure of 5 to 6 years. The British Egyptologists Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson in a 1995 book raised Merenre I's reign from the traditional 6 year figure to 9 years. However, they were unaware of the contents of the South Saqqara Stone which was published in the same year by Baud & Dobrev and shows that Merenre had a minimum reign of 11 years with no co-regency with his father, Pepi I. (It should be noted, of course, that cattle counts were not always biennial; for example, 18 had been performed by the 30th year of Pepi I's reign. It is therefore entirely possible that Merenre ruled for fewer than 11 years.)
Sixth dynasty royal seals and stone blocks found at Saqqara demonstrate that Merenre's aunt, Queen Ankhesenpepi II
Ankhesenpepi II
Ankhesenpepi II or Ankhesenmeryre II was a queen consort during the sixth dynasty of Egypt. She was the wife of Kings Pepi I and Merenre Nemtyemsaf I, and the mother of Pepi II. She was buried in Saqqara.- Biography :...
, was the wife of both Pepi I and then Merenre himself. Since the South Saqqara Stone shows Merenre's reign intervened between Pepi I and Pepi II and lasted for a minimum of slightly over a decade, this indirectly indicates that Merenre I was actually Pepi II's father, rather than Pepi I as was traditionally assumed. Merenre's daughter was Ankhesenpepi III
Ankhesenpepi III
Ankhesenpepi III was an ancient Egyptian queen of the Sixth dynasty. She was named after her grandmother, Ankhesenpepi I. Ankhesenpepi III was a daughter of Nemtyemsaf I and she became the wife of Pepi II....
, the future wife of Pepi II.