Editing Shepseskaf (section)

{{Short description|Last Egyptian pharaoh of the 4th dynasty}}
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{{Use British English|date=November 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox pharaoh
| name           = Shepseskaf
| alt_name       = Shepseskhaf, Sebercherês, {{lang|grc|Σεβερχέρης}}, Severkeris
| image          = Abydos KL 04-06 n25.jpg
| image_alt      = hieroglyphs inscribed on a yellow stone
| caption        = Shepseskaf's [[cartouche]] on the [[Abydos King List]]
| role           =
| reign          = Duration uncertain, probably four years but possibly up to seven,{{sfn|Schneider|2002|p=248}} in the late 26th to mid-25th century BC{{efn|group=note|name=ShepseskafDates|Proposed dates for the reign of Shepseskaf: 2523–2519 BC,{{sfn|Stadelmann|2001|p=597}}{{sfn|Chauvet|2001|p=176}}{{sfn|El-Shahawy|Atiya|2005|p=33}}{{sfn|Verner|2001c|p=588}} ending 2510 BC,{{sfn|Grimal|1992|p=390}} 2511–2506 BC,{{sfn|von Beckerath|1997|p=188}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=xxx}} 2504–2500BC,{{sfn|Clayton|1994|p=56}} 2503–2498 BC,{{sfn|Málek|2000|p=91}}{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=190}}{{sfn|Sowada|2009|p=3}} ending 2494 BC,{{sfn|Bard|1999|pp=xliv–xlv}}{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=425–426}} 2486–2479 BC,{{sfn|von Beckerath|1999|p=283}} 2472–2467 BC,{{sfn|Lehner|2008|p=8}}{{sfn|Allen ''et al.''|1999|p=xx}}{{sfn|Kozloff|1982|p=214}} ending 2465 BC,{{sfn|Encyclopædia Britannica|2022}} 2462–2457 BC,{{sfn|Vernus|Yoyotte|1996|p=219}} 2461–2456 BC,{{sfn|von Beckerath|1997|p=188}} 2442–2436 BC,{{sfn|Bárta|2016|p=51}} 2441–2438 BC,{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=3}} 2441–2436 BC,{{sfn|Hornung|2012|p=491}} ending 2435 BC,{{sfn|Bárta|2017|p=5}} 2396–2392 BC.{{sfn|Dodson|Hilton|2004|p=288}} [[Radiocarbon dating|Radiocarbon studies]] have yielded the following intervals for Shepseskaf's date of accession to the throne: 2538–2498 BC with 68% probability, 2556–2476 BC with 95% probability.{{sfn|Ramsey et al.|2010|p=1556}} These studies are based archaeological samples to measure fluctuations in radiocarbon activity, specific information on radiocarbon activity in the region of the Nile Valley (anchored by dendrochronology to absolute dates), direct
linkages between the dated samples and historical chronology and relative dating information. Samples dated to specific reigns were collected from museum collections and excavation material while certain types of material (notably charcoal and mummified remains) were avoided owing to their susceptibility to contamination.{{sfn|Ramsey et al.|2010|p=1554}}}}
| dynasty        = [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|fourth dynasty]]
| coregency      =
| predecessor    = [[Menkaure]]
| successor      = [[Userkaf]] (most probably) or [[Thamphthis]]
| notes          =
| prenomen       =
| prenomen_hiero =
| nomen          = {{center|{{ubl|Shepseskaf|{{transliteration|egy|špṣṣ-k3.f}}|''His{{efn|group=note|name=KaRa}} [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#Ka (vital spark)|Ka]] is noble''{{sfn|Schneider|2002|p=248}}|<hiero>M23:t-L2:t-<-A50-S29-S29-D28:I9-></hiero>}}}}
| nomen_hiero    =
| horus          = {{center|{{ubl|Hor-Shepsekhet|{{transliteration|egy|Ḥr-špṣ-ḫt}}|''[[Horus]], noble of body''}}}}
| horus_hiero    = {{center|<hiero>A50-F32</hiero>}}
| horus_prefix   = <!--default is <hiero>G5</hiero>-->
| nebty          = {{center|{{ubl|Shepse-Nebty|{{transliteration|egy|Nbt.j-špṣ}}|''The noble one of the two Ladies''|<hiero>G16-A50</hiero>|'''[[Abydos King List]]'''|Shepseskaf|{{transliteration|egy|špṣṣ-k3.f}}|''His{{efn|group=note|name=KaRa}} Ka is noble''|<hiero><-A50-O34:O34-D28:I9-></hiero>|'''[[Turin King List]]'''|No name readable, four years of reign|<hiero><-HASH-HASH-HASH->-G7-HASH-M4-X1:N33-Z1-Z1-Z1-Z1</hiero>{{sfn|Gardiner|1959|p=16|loc=table II}}}}}}
| nebty_hiero    =
| spouse         = Uncertain; [[Khentkaus I]] or [[Bunefer]]
| children       = Possibly Bunefer (♀), conjecturally Userkaf (♂)
| father         = Menkaure (uncertain)
| mother         = Uncertain; [[Khamerernebty II]], [[Rekhetre]], Khentkaus{{nbs}}I or [[Neferhetepes]]
| birth_date     =
| death_date     =
| burial         = [[Mastabat al-Fir'aun]]
| monuments      = Completion of the temple complex of [[Pyramid of Menkaure|Menkaure's pyramid]], mastabat al-Fir'aun
}}

'''Shepseskaf''' (meaning "His{{efn|group=note|name=KaRa|The word "his" here may refer to the god [[Ra]] rather than to the pharaoh.{{sfn|Stadelmann|2000|pp=535–536}}}} [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#Ka (vital essence)|Ka]] is noble") was a [[pharaoh]] of [[ancient Egypt]], the sixth and probably last ruler of the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|fourth dynasty]] during the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] period. He reigned most probably for four but possibly up to seven years in the late 26th to mid-25th century BC.

Shepseskaf's relation to his predecessor [[Menkaure]] is not entirely certain; he might have been his son or possibly his brother. The identity of his mother is highly uncertain as she could have been one of Menkaure's consorts or queen [[Khentkaus I]] or [[Neferhetepes]]. Similarly, Shepseskaf's relation to his probable successor on the throne, [[Userkaf]], is not known although in the absence of clear indication of strife at the transition between the fourth and [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|fifth]] dynasties, Userkaf could well have been his son or his brother. If Shepseskaf was succeeded directly by Userkaf rather than by [[Thampthis]] as claimed by some historical sources, then his death marks the end of the fourth dynasty. The transition to the fifth dynasty seems not to have been a sharp rupture but rather a continuous process of evolution in the king's power and role within the Egyptian state. Around this time, some of the highest positions of power such as that of [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]] which had hitherto been the prerogative of the royal family were opened to nobles of non-royal extraction.

The only activities firmly datable to Shepseskaf's short reign are the completion of the hitherto unfinished mortuary complex of the [[Pyramid of Menkaure]] using [[mudbrick]]s and the construction of his own tomb at South [[Saqqara]], now known as the [[Mastabat al-Fir'aun]]. Shepseskaf's decisions to abandon the [[Giza pyramid complex|Giza necropolis]] and to build a [[mastaba]], that is a flat-roofed rectangular structure, rather than a pyramid for himself are significant and continue to be debated. Some [[Egyptologist]]s see these decisions as symptoms of a power-struggle between the king and the priesthood of [[Ra]], while others believe purely practical considerations, possibly including a declining economy, are at fault. Alternatively, it may be that Shepseskaf intended his tomb to be a pyramid, but after his death it was completed as a mastaba. Possibly because of this, and the small dimensions of his tomb compared to those of his forebears and his short reign, Shepseskaf was the object of a relatively minor state-sponsored funerary cult that disappeared in the second half of the fifth dynasty. This cult was revived in the later [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom period]] as a privately run lucrative cult aimed at guaranteeing a royal intercessor for the offerings made to their dead by members of the lower strata of society.