Editing Sahure (section)

== Reign ==
=== Chronology ===

[[File:Abydos KL 05-02 n27.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Three hieroglyphs inscribed on a cream-colored stone: a circle, beneath it three toes and a chick|Cartouche of Sahure on the Abydos king list]]

==== Relative chronology ====

The relative chronology of Sahure's reign is well established by historical records, contemporary artifacts and archeological evidence, which agree that he succeeded Userkaf and was in turn succeeded by Neferirkare Kakai.{{sfn|von Beckerath|1999|pp=56–57|loc=king number 2}} An historical source supporting this order of succession is the ''Aegyptiaca'' (Αἰγυπτιακά), a history of Egypt written in the 3rd century BC during the reign of [[Ptolemy&nbsp;II]] (283–246 BC) 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 "Usercherês → Sephrês → Nefercherês" at the start of the Fifth Dynasty. Usercherês, Sephrês (in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], ΣϵΦρής), and Nefercherês are believed to be the [[Hellenization|Hellenized]] forms for Userkaf, Sahure and Neferirkare, respectively.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|p=51}} Manetho's reconstruction of the early Fifth Dynasty is in agreement with those given on two more historical sources, the [[Abydos king list]] where Sahure's cartouche is on the 27th entry, and the [[Saqqara Tablet]] where Sahure's name is given on the 33rd entry. These lists of kings were written during the reigns of [[Seti&nbsp;I]] and Ramses{{nbs}}II, respectively.{{sfn|Daressy|1912|p=205}}

==== Reign length ====

The [[Turin King List|Turin canon]], a king list written during the [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Nineteenth Dynasty]] in the early [[Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt|Ramesside era]] (1292–1189 BC), credits him with a reign of twelve years five months and twelve days. In contrast, the near contemporary royal annal of the Fifth Dynasty known as the [[Palermo Stone]] records his second, third, fifth and sixth years on the throne as well as his final 13th or 14th year of reign{{efn|group=note|During the Old Kingdom period, the Egyptians did not record time as we do today. Rather, they counted years since the beginning of the reign of the current king. Furthermore these years were referred to by the number of [[Cattle count (Egypt)|cattle counts]] which had taken place since the start of the reign. 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.{{sfn|Katary|2001|p=352}} During the first half of the Fifth Dynasty, this count might have been [[wikt:Special:Search/biennial|biennial]]{{sfn|Verner|2001a|p=391}} although it may not always have happened at regular intervals.{{sfn|Spalinger|1994|p=297}} Following these principles, the Palermo stone actually talks of the years after the first, second and either sixth or seventh{{sfn|Wilkinson|2000|p=168}} cattle counts of Sahure's reign. If the count was indeed biennial, which is uncertain, this would correspond to Sahure's second, third and fourteenth years.}} and even records the day of his death as the 28th of [[Season of the Harvest|Shemu]] I, which corresponds to the end of the ninth month.{{sfn|Wilkinson|2000|p=259}}{{sfn|Breasted|1906|p=70}} Taken together these pieces of information indicate that the royal annal of the Fifth Dynasty recorded a reign of 13 years 5{{nbs}}months and 12 days for Sahure, only one year more than given by the Turin Canon and close to the 13 years figure given in Manetho's ''Aegyptiaca''.{{sfn|Waddell|1971|p=51}}

Sahure appears in two further historical records: on the third entry of the [[Karnak king list]], which was made during the reign of [[Thutmose&nbsp;III]] (1479–1425 BC) and on the 26th entry of the Saqqara Tablet dating to the reign of [[Ramses&nbsp;II]] (1279–1213 BC).{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}} Neither of these sources give his reign length. The absolute dates of Sahure's reign are uncertain but most scholars date it to the first half of the 25th century BC, see note 1 for details.{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}}

=== Foreign activities ===
==== Trade and tribute ====

[[File:Sahure Wadi Maghara.jpg|thumb|right|200px|alt=Relief showing two profiles of the king wearing the crown of upper and lower Egypt, surrounded by hieroglyphs|Relief of Sahure from the [[Wadi Maghareh]]{{sfn|Gardiner|Peet|Černý|1955|p=15}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|p=32}}]]

Historical records and surviving artifacts suggest that contacts with foreign lands were numerous during Sahure's reign. Furthermore, these contacts seem to have been mostly economic rather than military in nature. Reliefs from his pyramid complex show the return of a naval expedition to Lebanon, the boats laden with the trunks of precious [[Cedrus libani|cedar]] trees.{{sfn|Lehner|2008|pp=142–144}} Other ships are represented loaded with "Asiatics",{{efn|group=note|In the context of Egyptology, the term "Asiatics" is used to refer to people from the Levant, including [[Canaan]], modern-day [[Lebanon]] and the southern coast of modern-day [[Turkey]].}} both adults and children who were either slaves,{{sfn|Clayton|1994|pp=60–63}}{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}}{{sfn|Hayes|1978|pp= 66–67}} or merchants,{{sfn|Bresciani|1997|p=228}} greeting Sahure:
{{cquote|text=Hail to thee, O Sahure! God of the living, we behold thy beauty!.{{sfn|Redford|1986|p=137}}}}
The same relief strongly suggests that interpreters were on board the ships, tasked with translations to facilitate trade with foreign lands.{{sfn|Bresciani|1997|p=229}}
A relief, unique to Egyptian art, depicts several [[Syrian brown bear]]s, presumably brought back from the [[Levant]]ine coast by seagoing ships as well. These bears appear in association with 12 red-painted one-handled jars from Syria. The Egyptologists Karin Sowada and William Stevenson Smith have proposed that, taken together, the bears and jars are likely to constitute a tribute.{{sfn|Sowada|2009|p=160 and Fig. 39}}{{sfn|Smith|1971|p=233}}

Trade contacts with [[Byblos]] took place during Sahure's reign. Excavations of the temple of [[Ba'alat Gebal|Baalat-Gebal]] yielded an [[alabaster]] bowl inscribed with Sahure's name.{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}} The layout of the fourth phase of this temple might even have been influenced by the architecture of Sahure's valley temple,{{efn|group=note|It is possible that the Egyptians wielded sufficient influence over Byblos at the time to have the temple built to satisfy their cultic needs, as they could have sought the protection of Baalat as a form of [[Hathor]]. As this remains conjectural, alternative explanations have been brought forth to explain the presence of Egyptian artifacts and Egyptian influence on the temple layout. The architects of the temple may have been Egyptians working for the Byblite king while the alabaster bowl found in the temple could come from Egyptian payments to the Byblite king for wood,{{sfn|Wright|Pardee|1988|p=150}} or it may have been donated by pious individuals.{{sfn|Wright|Pardee|1988|p=151}} While the Egyptian influence over Byblos cannot be denied, there is far from enough evidence to conclude that Byblos functioned as an Egyptian colony at the time of Sahure.{{sfn|Wright|Pardee|1988|p=151}}}}{{sfn|Saghieh|1983|p=121}} although this remains debated.{{sfn|Espinel|2002|pp=105–106}}
There is further corroborating evidence for trade with the wider Levant during the Fifth Dynasty, several [[Stone vessels in Ancient Egypt|stone vessels]] being inscribed with cartouches of pharaohs of this dynasty discovered in Lebanon.{{efn|group=note|Finally, a piece of thin gold stamped to a wooden throne and bearing Sahure's cartouches has been purportedly found during illegal excavations in [[Turkey]] among a wider assemblage known as the "Dorak Treasure".{{sfn|Clayton|1994|pp=60–63}}{{sfn|Smith|1965|p=110}}{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} The existence of the treasure is now widely doubted.{{sfn|Mazur|2005}}}}{{sfn|Mumford|2006|p=54}} So much so that the archeologist Gregory Mumford points to the fact that "Sahure is [the] best attested [king] for international relations" and has the highest number of texts inscribed in Sinai proportionally to his reign length.{{sfn|Mumford|2006|p=55}}

In his last year, Sahure sent the first documented{{sfn|Sowada|2009|p=198}} expedition to the fabled [[land of Punt]],{{sfn|Hawass|2003|pp=260–263}} probably along the Somalian coast.{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=589}} The expedition, which is conjectured to have departed Egypt from the harbor of [[Mersa Gawasis]],{{sfn|Bard|Fattovich|2011|p=116}} is reported on the Palermo Stone{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} where it is said to have come back with 80,000 of an unspecified measure of myrrh, along with [[malachite]], 6,000 measures of [[electrum]] and 2,600 or 23,020 staves,{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}}{{sfn|Wicker|1998|p=155}} possibly made of [[ebony]].{{sfn|Phillips|1997|p=426}}
In his last year Sahure sent another expedition abroad, this time to the [[copper]] and [[turquoise]] mines of [[Wadi Maghareh]]{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=588}}{{sfn|Gardiner|Peet|Černý|1955|p=15}}{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|p=135, text number 57}} and Wadi Kharit in [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]],{{efn|group=note|The expedition to the copper mine of Wadi Kharit left an inscription reading: "Horus Lord-of-Risings, the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Sahure, granted life eternally. Thot lord-of-terror who smashes Asia".{{sfn|Giveon|1977|p=61}}}}{{sfn|Giveon|1977|pp=61–63}}{{sfn|Giveon|1978|p=76}} which had been active since at least the beginning of the [[Third Dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]].{{sfn|Mumford|1999|pp=875–876}} This expedition, also mentioned by the Palermo stone,{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} brought back over 6000 units of turquoise to Egypt{{sfn|Redford|1986|p=137}} and produced two reliefs in Sinai, one of which shows Sahure in the traditional act of smiting Asiatics{{sfn|Baker|2008|pp=343–345}} and boasting "The Great God smites the Asiatics of all countries".{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=108–110}} In parallel with these activities, [[diorite]] quarries near Abu Simbel were exploited throughout Sahure's reign.{{sfn|Verner|2001b|p=589}}
[[File:A procession of Libyan, Nubian, and West Asiatic prisoners before Pharaoh Sahure. From the Pyramid Complex of Sahure at Abusir, Egypt. 2496-2483 BCE. Neues Museum.jpg|thumb|A procession of Libyan, Nubian, and West Asiatic prisoners before Pharaoh Sahure. From the Pyramid Complex of Sahure at Abusir, Egypt. 2496-2483 BCE. Neues Museum]]

==== Military campaigns ====

[[File:Egyptian - Royal Seal of King Sahure - Walters 571748 - Side D.jpg|thumb|right|100px|alt=Small cylinder of grey silver with hieroglyphic signs inscribed on it|Silver cylinder seal of king Sahure, [[Walters Art Museum]]{{sfn|Walters Art Museum website|2015}}]]

Sahure's military career is known primarily from reliefs in his mortuary complex. It apparently consisted of campaigns against [[Libya]]ns from ''Tjemehu'', a land possibly located in the northern [[Libyan Desert|Western desert]].{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} These campaigns are said to have yielded livestock in huge numbers{{efn|group=note|The relief say that the following was taken as bounty: over 123,440 cattle, more than 223,200 donkeys, 232,413 goats and 243,688 sheep.{{sfn|García|2015|p=78}} In another scene, 212,400 donkeys are said to have been taken.{{sfn|Borchardt|1913|loc=pl. 1–5 & 19}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|pp=167–169}} Even if these numbers are overestimates, they show that ''Tjemehu'' was seen by the Egyptians as a rich land,{{sfn|García|2015|p=78}} and that economic considerations motivated Egyptians attempts at controlling the neighboring lands.{{sfn|Bresciani|1997|p=228}}}} and Sahure is shown smiting local chieftains. The historical veracity of these depictions remains in doubt as such representations are part of the standard iconography meant to exalt the king.{{sfn|Altenmüller|2001|p=598}} The same scene of the Libyan attack was used two hundred years later in the mortuary temple of [[Pepi II Neferkare|Pepi{{nbs}}II]] (2284–2184 BC) and in the temple of [[Taharqa]] at [[Kawa, Egypt|Kawa]], built some 1800 years after Sahure's lifetime.{{sfn|Wright|Pardee|1988|p=156}} In particular, the same names are quoted for the local chieftains. Therefore, it is possible that Sahure too was copying an even earlier representation of this scene.{{sfn|Baines|2011|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Kuiper|2010|p=48}} Nonetheless, several overseers of the Western Nile Delta region were nominated by Sahure, a significant decision as these officials occupied an administrative position that existed only irregularly during the Old Kingdom period and which likely served to provide "traffic regulation across the Egypto-Libyan border".{{sfn|García|2015|p=79 & 99}} At the same time, Sahure's mortuary temple presents the earliest known mention of pirates raiding the Nile Delta, possibly from the coast of [[Epirus]].{{sfn|Eisler|Hildburgh|1950|p=130}}

Sahure's pretensions regarding the lands and riches surrounding Egypt are encapsulated in several reliefs from his mortuary temple which show the god [[Ash (deity)|Ash]] telling the king "I will give you all that is in this [Libya] land", "I give you all hostile peoples with all the provisions that there are in foreign lands" and "I grant thee all western and eastern foreign lands with all the Iunti and the Montiu bowmen who are in every land".{{efn|group=note|The Iunti and Montiu were Nubian and Asiatic nomads, respectively.{{sfn|Bresciani|1997|p=268}}}}{{sfn|Bresciani|1997|p=268}}{{sfn|Redford|1986|p=137}}

=== Activities in Egypt ===
==== Religious activities ====

[[File:Aswan, Elephantine, west bank, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photography of the Nile with a lush green papyrus plants and palm trees in the background|Sahure might have visited Elephantine early in his reign.]]

The majority of Sahure's activities in Egypt recorded on the Palermo stone are religious in nature. This royal annal records that in the "year of the first time of traveling around", Sahure journeyed to the [[Elephantine]] fortress, where he may have received the submission of the Nubian chiefs in a ceremonial act connected with the commencement of his reign.{{sfn|Goedicke|1988|p=119}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|loc=243,3}} The fashioning of six statues of the king as well as the subsequent [[Opening of the mouth ceremony|opening of the mouth ceremonies]] are also reported.{{sfn|Dunn Friedman|Friedman|1995|p=29 & Fig. 18b p. 31}}
During Sahure's fifth year on the throne, the Palermo stone mentions the making of a divine barge, possibly in [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]], the appointment of 200 priests and the exact quantity of daily offerings of bread and beer to [[Ra]] (138, 40 and 74 measures in three temples), [[Hathor]] (4 measures), [[Nekhbet]] (800 measures) and [[Wadjet]] (4,800 measures) fixed by the king.{{sfn|Strudwick|2005|pp=71–72}} Also reported are gifts of lands to temples of between 1{{nbs}}and 204 arouras (0.7 to nearly 140 acres).{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=108–110}} Concerning Lower Egypt, the stone register corresponding to this reign gives the earliest known mention of the city of [[Athribis]] in the Delta region.{{sfn|Rowland|2011|p=29}}

Further indication of religious activities lies in that Sahure is the earliest known king to have used the Egyptian title of ''Nb írt-ḫt''.{{sfn|Routledge|2007|p=216}} This title, possibly meaning "Lord of doing effective things", indicates that he personally performed physical cultic activities to ensure the existence and persistence of the [[Maat]], the Egyptian concept of order and justice.{{sfn|Routledge|2007|p=220}} This title remained in use until the time of [[Herihor]], some 1500 years later.{{sfn|Routledge|2007|p=194}} Sahure's reign is also the earliest during which the ceremony of the "driving of the calves" is known to have taken place. This is significant in the context of the progressive emergence of the cult of [[Osiris]] throughout the Fifth Dynasty, as this ceremony subsequently became an integral part of the [[Osiris myth]]. In subsequent times, the ceremony corresponded to [[Set (deity)|Seth]]'s threshing of Osiris by driving calves trampling fields of barley.{{sfn|Tooley|1996|p=174|loc=footnote 22}}

Sahure reorganized the cult of his mother, Nepherhetepes{{nbs}}II, whose mortuary complex had been built by Userkaf in Saqqara.{{sfn|Baud|1999a|p=336}} He added an entrance portico with four columns to her temple, so that the entrance was not facing Userkaf's pyramid any more.{{sfn|Baud|1999a|p=336}}{{sfn|Labrousse|1997|p=265}}

==== Building and mining activities ====

[[File:El-Kab Necheb 1 P1120570.jpg|thumb|alt=In the foreground the Nile, in the middle ground, luxurious plants and palms trees, in the background the barren hills of the desert|A statue of Sahure was uncovered in Elkab, which may have been the starting point of mining expeditions during his reign]]

Archeological evidence suggests that Sahure's building activities were mostly concentrated in Abusir and its immediate vicinity, where he constructed his pyramid and where his sun temple is probably located.{{sfn|Verner|Zemina|1994|p=110}} Also nearby was the palace of Sahure, called ''Uetjes Neferu Sahure'', "Sahure's splendor soars up to heaven". The palace is known from an inscription on beef [[tallow]] containers discovered in February 2011 in [[Neferefre]]'s mortuary temple.{{sfn|Verner|2012|pp=16–19}} A second palace, "The Crown of Sahure appears", is known from an inscription in the tomb of his chief physician.{{sfn|Wilson|1947|pp=241–242}}
Both palaces, if they were different buildings, were likely on the shores of the Abusir lake.{{sfn|Verner|2003|p=150}}

The stones for Sahure's buildings and statues were quarried throughout Egypt. For example, the limestone cladding of the pyramid comes from [[Tura, Egypt|Tura]], while the black basalt used for the flooring of Sahure's mortuary temple comes from [[Jebel Qatrani Formation|Gebel Qatrani]], near the [[Faiyum]] in [[Middle Egypt]].{{sfn|Bloxam|Heldal|2007|p=312}} South of Egypt, a [[stele]] bearing Sahure's name was discovered in the [[diorite]] quarries located in the desert north-west of [[Abu Simbel]] in Lower [[Nubia]].{{sfn|Smith|1971|p=167}}

Further mining and quarrying expeditions may be inferred from indirect evidence. An inscription of Sahure in the Wadi Abu Geridah in the Eastern desert{{sfn|Green|1909|p=321 & pl. LIV}} as well as other Old Kingdom inscriptions there suggest that [[Hematite|iron ore]] was mined in the vicinity since the times of the Fourth Dynasty.{{sfn|Bradbury|1988|p=151}} The lower half of a statue with the name of the king was discovered in 2015 in [[Elkab]], a location possibly connected with expeditions to the Eastern desert and south of Egypt to Nubia.{{efn|group=note|This is one of only three known statues of Sahure, the other two being that of Sahure with a nome god heading this article, and that dedicated by Senusret I shown at the end this article.{{sfn|Huyge|2017|pp=41–43}}}}{{sfn|Huyge|2017|pp=41–43}} Sahure's cartouche has been found in graffiti in Tumas and on seal impressions from [[Buhen]] at the second [[Cataracts of the Nile|cataract of the Nile]] in Lower Nubia.{{sfn|Petrie Museum, online catalog, seal UC 21997|2015}}{{sfn|Petrie Museum, online catalog, seal UC 11769|2015}}{{sfn|List of attestations of Sahure|2000}}

==== Development of the Egyptian Navy ====

[[File:Berlin 122009 020a.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=Fragmentary relief showing a large boat with men onboard working the mast and sails|Relief from Sahure's mortuary temple showing the Egyptian fleet returning from the Levant]]

Sahure's reign may have been a time of development for the Egyptian [[navy]]. His expeditions to Punt and Byblos demonstrate the existence of a high seas navy and reliefs from his mortuary complex are described by Shelley Wachsmann as the "first definite depictions of seagoing ships in Egypt",{{sfn|Wachsmann|1998|p=12}}{{sfn|Faulkner|1941|p=4}} some of which must have been 100-[[Cubit#Ancient Egyptian royal cubit|cubit]]s long (c. 50{{nbs}}m, 170{{nbs}}ft).{{sfn|Lehner|2008|pp=142–144}}
Because of this, Sahure has been credited by past scholars with establishing the Egyptian navy. It is recognized today that this is an overstatement: fragmentary reliefs from Userkaf's temple depict numerous boats, while a high seas navy must have existed as early as the Third Dynasty.{{sfn|Faulkner|1941|p=4}} The oldest known sea harbor, [[Wadi al-Jarf]] on the [[Red Sea]] was operating under [[Khufu]].{{sfn|Tallet|2012}} Finally, there is the distinct possibility that some of the reliefs are copied from earlier examples. Nonetheless, Sahure remains the earliest known ruler to have depicted, and thus possibly made use of, sea power for transporting troops over the Mediterranean sea, to Syria.{{sfn|Faulkner|1941|p=3}}

The extensive nautical scenes from Sahure's mortuary complex are sufficiently detailed to show that specialized racing boats for the military and perhaps for ceremonial training were built at the time.{{sfn|Mark|2013|p=285}} They also give the earliest depiction of specific rope uses aboard ships, such as that of a [[Hog chains|hogging-truss]].{{sfn|Veldmeijer|Zazzaro|Clapham|Cartwright|2008|p=33}} They permit precise estimates regarding shipbuilding, for example indicating that the mid-ship [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]] for seagoing vessels was of {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Wicker|1998|p=161}}
and that the masts employed at the time were bipodal, resembling an inverted Y.{{sfn|Faulkner|1941|p=6}}
Further rare depictions include the king standing in the stern of a sailing boat with a highly decorated sail,{{sfn|El Awady|2009|loc=pl. 1 & Fig. 2}}{{sfn|Mark|2013|p=272}} and one of only two{{efn|group=note|The only other similar relief is found in Userkaf's temple.{{sfn|Mark|2013|p=280}}}} reliefs from ancient Egypt showing men aboard a ship paddling in a wave pattern, possibly during a race.{{sfn|Mark|2013|pp=270, 280–281}}

=== Court life ===

[[File:Egypt, The false door of the tomb of the physician of Wellcome M0003502.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|alt=Relief with a man and a woman standing, surrounded by hieroglyphs|Niankhsekhmet and his wife shown on his false door, carved and painted in the presence of Sahure]]

==== Officials ====

Several high officials serving Sahure during his lifetime are known from their tombs as well as from the decoration of the mortuary temple of the king. Niankhsekhmet, chief physician of Sahure and first known [[rhinologist]] in history,{{sfn|Pahor|Farid|2003|p=846}} reports that he asked the king that a [[False door#Ancient Egypt|false door]] be made for his [Niankhsekhmet's] tomb, to which the king agreed.{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=108–109}} Sahure had the false door made of fine Tura limestone, carved and painted blue in his audience-hall, and made personal daily inspections of the work.{{sfn|Rice|1999|p=173}}{{sfn|Wilson|1947|pp=241–242}}{{sfn|Ghaliounghui|1983|p=69}} The king wished a long life to his physician, telling him:
{{cquote|text=As my nostrils enjoy health, as the gods love me, may you depart into the cemetery at an advanced old age as one revered.{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=108–109}}{{sfn|Sethe|1903|p=38}}}}
A similar though much less detailed anecdote is reported by Khufuankh, who was overseer of the palace and singer of the king.{{sfn|Wilson|1947|p=242}}
Other officials include Hetepka, who was keeper of the diadem and overseer of the hairdressers of the king,{{sfn|Emery|1965|p=4}}
Pehenewkai, priest of the cult of Userkaf during the reigns of Sahure and Neferirkare Kakai, then vizier for the latter;{{sfn|Sethe|1903|p=48}} Persen, a mortuary priest in the funerary cult of Sahure's mother Nepherhetepes;{{efn|group=note|His [[mastaba]] tomb is located close to [[Pyramid of Userkaf#Pyramid complex of Queen Neferhetepes|Nepherhetepes's pyramid]] in Saqqara.{{sfn|El Awady|2006a|pp=192–198}}{{sfn|Breasted|1906|pp=109–110}}{{sfn|Lauer|Flandrin|1992|p=122}}}} and Washptah, a priest of Sahure, then vizier of Neferirkare Kakai.{{sfn|Sethe|1903|p=40}} The high-official [[Ptahshepses (high priest)|Ptahshepses]], probably born during the reign of [[Menkaure]], was high priest of [[Ptah]] and royal manicure under Sahure, later promoted to vizier by [[Nyuserre Ini]].{{sfn|Online catalog of the British Museum}}
[[File:Palm Column of Sahure MET 10.175.137-Borchardt p45.jpg|thumb|Palm Column of Sahure]]
Two viziers of Sahure are known: [[Sekhemkare (Vizier)|Sekhemkare]], royal prince, son of [[Khafre]] and vizier under Userkaf and Sahure;{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=136}} and [[Werbauba]], vizier during Sahure's reign, attested in the mortuary temple of the king.{{sfn|Schneider|2002|pp=243–244}}{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=80}}{{sfn|List of viziers|2000}}

==== Evolution of the high offices ====

[[File:Vizier werbauba.png|thumb|upright=1|alt=Drawing of a fragmentary relief showing a man standing|Werbauba on Sahure's royal hunt relief{{sfn|Borchardt|1913|loc=pl. 17}}]]

Sahure pursued Userkaf's policy of appointing non-royal people to high offices.{{sfn|Schneider|2002|pp=243–244}}{{sfn|Dorman|2014}} This is best exemplified by the office of vizier, which was exclusively held by princes of royal blood with the title of "King's son" since the mid-Fourth Dynasty and up until the early Fifth Dynasty.{{sfn|Schmitz|1976|p=84}} Toward the end of this period princes were progressively excluded from the highest office, an evolution undoubtedly correlated with changes in the nature of kingship.{{sfn|Schmitz|1976|p=166}} This process, possibly initiated by Menkaure because of dynastic disputes,{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=339}} seems to have been completed by Sahure's time as from then onwards no royal prince was promoted to vizier. Those already in post were allowed to keep their status{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|pp=312–313}} and so in the early part of Sahure's reign vizier Sekhemkare was a "King's son" while his successor, Werbauba, seems to have been non-royal. In response to this change, the state administration began its expansion as it included more and more non-royal people.{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=338}}

Concurrently with these developments, architectural and artistic innovations relating to tombs of private individuals can be dated to Sahure's reign. These including [[Molding (decorative)|torus molding]] and [[cornice]]s for false doors, first found in Persen's tomb.{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|pp=10, 15 & footnote 3 p. 10}} This feature would subsequently become common and here demonstrates the particularly high esteem in which Persen must have been held by the king.{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=15}} Another innovation is the depiction of small unusual offerings such as that of seven sacred oils on false doors, first found in Niankhsekhmet's tomb.{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|pp=26–27}} The canonical list of offerings was also developed during or shortly before Sahure's time in the tombs of the royal family, and spread to those of non-royal high-officials{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|p=41}}{{snd}}the earliest of whom was Seshemnefer I{{snd}}under Sahure.{{sfn|Strudwick|1985|pp=39–40}}