Userkaf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Userkaf in hieroglyphs

The ruined pyramid of Userkaf at Saqqara

Userkaf was the founder of the Fifth dynasty. His name means "his ka is potent." He ruled from 2465-2458 BC. He constructed a pyramid complex at Saqqara

A bust of Userkaf is displayed in the Egyptian Museum. The head was found in the first (of five) sun temples at Abu Ghurob built by the rulers of the Fifth dynasty. The head of Userkaf is 45 cm high and carved from greywacke stone. The sculpture is considered particularly important as it is among the very few sculptures in the round from the Old Kingdom that show the monarch wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. The head was uncovered in 1957 during the joint excavation expedition of the German and Swiss Institutes of Cairo.

It is believed that he was father of two pharaohs: Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai, who both succeeded him to the throne. Another less common view, in concordance with a story of the Westcar Papyrus, is that first three rulers of the Fifth dynasty were all brothers, the sons of queen Khentkaus I. He is given a reign of 7 Years by both the Turin King List and Manetho; according to Eusebius, Manetho says Userkaf was killed by his bodyguards.

Egyptian Nobel Prize for Literature-winner Naguib Mahfouz published a short story in 1938 about Userkaf entitled Afw al-malik Usirkaf: uqsusa misriya. This short story was translated by Raymond Stock as King Userkaf's Forgiveness in the collection of short stories Voices From the Other World in 2003.

[edit] References

Hawass, Zahi, "The Head of Userkaf" in "The Splendour of the Old Kingdom" in The Treasures of the Egyptian Museum, Francesco Tiradritti (editor), The American University in Cairo Press, 1999, p. 72-73.
Magi, Giovanna. Saqqara: The Pyramid, The Mastabas and the Archaeological Site, Casa Editrice Bonechi, 2006
Mahfouz, Naguib. "King Userkaf's Forgiveness" in Voices from the Other World (translated by Robert Stock), Random House, 2003.
Verbrugghe, Gerald and Wickersham, John. Berossos and Manetho, University of Michigan Press 2001 (ISBN 0-472-08687-1)